Chapter Text
Ranma was tired. She could feel it deep in her bones, or maybe even in her soul. In the three years since she'd arrived in Nerima, the chaos had only continued to grow. She'd lost count of the schemes, the fights, the number of times someone had almost died... it was wearing her thin, and she knew it. She could tell Akane was tired, too. Their wedding was supposed to be next week, and she didn't think a single person was looking forward to it, aside from their fathers. Well, it was the third reschedule, so maybe that was to be expected.
Sorting out her personal affairs had proven impossible, when she could barely even sort out her own head. Three years ago, she had been so sure she was the pinnacle of masculinity - a man among men. The thought made her chuckle, as she watched the water of the Tendo family pond, raindrops creating countless overlapping ripples on the surface. What had once been a curse had become a part of her life, and at some point after, it had become a blessing. Now, it almost felt like a curse again. She'd been spending less and less time in her male form, to the point that it barely even felt like her body anymore. That... male Ranma, for lack of a better term, was the embodiment of everything wrong with her life. He was the reason she had so many forced engagements to deal with. He bore the weight of her parents' expectations. In fact, everyone seemed to have their own idea of who he was, and they didn't seem to care whether it was true. He was Ryoga's rival, Ukyo's perfect husband, Shan Pu's warrior mate, Kodachi's mysterious rogue, and... and she was NONE of those things.
Even Akane... Ranma sighed, picking at the muddy blades of grass next to her leg. She hated to lump Akane in with the others. It wasn't a fair comparison, really. They loved each other, and Akane did her best to be understanding, but the banter and playful insults they'd fallen into over the years had begun to feel more like a rehearsal. It was the dynamic she'd had with male Ranma, and that Ranma hardly existed anymore. It wasn't Akane's fault, though. Just that the foundation they'd built their relationship so heavily upon had turned out to be shaky at best. If anything, Ranma thought, it was her own fault for keeping up the old macho act, long after it had become stale. She was out of high school now, and while everyone around her had grown, and developed interests, and become full-fledged adults, she felt hollow. A shell of a martial artist with nothing left inside to call her own.
She glanced up at the light coming from the window of Akane's room - their shared room, on the good days. They still bickered all the time, but she found it hard to remember what any of their arguments had been about, or why they mattered. She had a feeling that Akane felt just as trapped as she did.
Her idle picking at the grass paused, as her fingernails clicked against metal, and she lifted a dirty coin up to her face, rubbing it between two fingers. It was just a five-yen coin, no doubt one that Hinako had used for her special technique at some point, before getting disarmed. She flipped it between her fingers a few times, before idly tossing it into the pond.
She stood and brushed herself off, shivering a bit through her soaked clothes, and found herself looking back to Akane's window again. The light was off now, and the curtains were drawn, which meant Akane had either gone to sleep before dinner, or was crying and didn't want Ranma to see. I just wish we hadn't been forced into this dumb engagement, she thought, as she made her way inside.
"Atchoo!"
"Oh my! Ranma, dear, you'll catch a cold, sitting out in the rain like that." Kasumi's voice got clearer as she moved to the kitchen entryway, mixing bowl still in hand. "Why don't you wash up before dinner, and get warm?"
Ranma nodded, mumbling an apology as she slipped off her muddy shoes. In all the years she'd been living here, Kasumi had always been nice to her, though it felt like there was an invisible wall between the two of them. Or maybe that wall was between Kasumi and everyone? She never saw the eldest sister act differently around others. Just the same, pleasant, distant kindness. Like sunshine on a cloudy day.
Nabiki, while less distant, had generally regarded Ranma's life with a "not my problem" attitude, which Ranma supposed was fair. The two of them had become partners in crime, in a sense, with Nabiki eventually letting Ranma in on her schemes in exchange for the talent, muscle, and flexible form Ranma could bring to the table (and a cut of the profits, of course). It was thanks to Nabiki that Ranma now had a proper wardrobe for the first time in her life, plus some trinkets and accessories she'd accumulated, and some basic makeup supplies that she kept hidden like they were treasures. (Nothing was sacred around her father, though he at least stayed out of Akane's room.) Nabiki had left for college, though, and the house felt lonelier with her gone.
The warm bath passed without much of a thought, and Ranma found herself looking into the slightly foggy mirror as she dried off. An almost 20 year old man stared back at her, and she lifted a finger to trace along the dark circles under his eyes. She typically hid them with makeup, but those kinds of cosmetics seemed to stick to the form they were applied in, just like nail polish and hair dye did, for what little she'd experimented with them. When was the last time she'd gotten a good night's sleep?
The man in the mirror examined the broad angle of his shoulders, the sharp line of his jaw, the coarse, dark stubble on his chin... He was handsome, everyone seemed to agree, but to Ranma, he just seemed sad, and lonely. She gave him an apologetic smile, before filling a glass of cold water from the sink and pouring it across her back.
Dinner was a quiet affair, for the most part. Her pops was glaring disapproval at her from the moment she came downstairs, in the simple denim dress that had become part of her usual rotation. (It was durable, easy to move in, and most importantly, it had pockets.) Pops had given up on trying to argue with her over her fashion choices, but she knew she was going to get an extra nasty ambush from the old man the next morning to make up for it. Meanwhile, her father-in-law had taken to simply pretending nothing was wrong, and she almost found that worse. The only other one at the table was Kasumi, who gave her a polite smile as she sat down, before glancing at Akane's empty spot at the table.
Ranma shrugged. "Tomboy's sleepin' I guess. Musta tired herself out yellin' her head off earlier." Genma huffed, and Kasumi just looked a bit sad. Ugh, she hated making Kasumi sad.
"Is that so...? Well, I'll make sure to save her some leftovers for later, then."
Ranma glanced back down at her plate, only to find a portion of her food missing, swiped by her pops while she was distracted. She quickly focused on eating what was left before it disappeared.
Back upstairs, after helping with the dishes out of guilt, Ranma stopped by Akane's door and knocked gently, listening for a response.
She knocked again.
"Nene?"
She heard the faint rustling of blankets, and nothing more. Yep, it was going to be another guest room night. She went to curl up on her old futon, tensed for any sign of an ambush, and slowly drifted off into a fitful sleep.
"...-ma. Ranma?"
"He seems a bit shell-shocked, daddy."
"Respond when someone is speaking to you, boy! I thought I raised you better than this."
A heavy hand clapping against Ranma's shoulder snapped her back to wakefulness, and she blinked several times, trying to make sense of the sudden situation.
She was standing in the main room of the Tendo dojo, while five faces stared back at her expectantly. Something felt off.
"What?" she mumbled. Akane's eye twitched (and why did she seem so small?), while Soun patted her on the shoulder once again.
"Finally come back to us, have you? Well, as I was saying..." He pointed at the three girls, in sequence. "My daughter Kasumi. Nineteen. And Nabiki. Seventeen. And Akane. Sixteen. Pick the one you want. She's your fiancee."
I must be dreaming, she thought to herself, as she glanced around the room. She'd imagined going back to this moment, sometimes. Where everything began. It all felt too fresh, even though it had been three years ago, as the girls' voices continued in the background of her thoughts.
"You must be joking! Why would I be-"
"Well... you hate boys, don't you?"
"So you're in luck! He's half-girl!"
"Me? Marry that pervert?! Never!"
Ranma cleared her throat, feeling the old irritation rising up as they turned to look at her. "I've barely met 'em, y'know! How 'bout giving me some time to actually get to know 'em first before forcin' us into somethin'?!"
There was a pause that felt like it lasted ages, before Soun finally broke the silence. "...Hmm. Well, I suppose as long as you make your choice sooner or later, that's not a bad idea."
"Nice to see you taking some initiative for once, boy!" came her pops' reply, a big hand clapping her on the back. If only it had been that easy. She remembered how everything had actually gone, with her getting offended, and insulting Akane, and getting slammed by a table. Well, at least she could enjoy the dream while it lasted.
"Really, old man, how'd ya expect things to work out if ya just shoved us together like that? What if it all goes wrong, and ya can't merge the schools?"
"Well, Ranma, I must say I didn't expect you to be so passionate about the merge!" Soun seemed moved by her declaration, but Genma looked suspicious.
"Yes... especially after you were complaining about it the whole way here. You'd better not be trying to weasel your way out of this, son."
She gritted her teeth in irritation. Even in her dreams, she couldn't catch a break. "Fine, I promise I'll make my decision by the time I graduate. Happy, old man?"
"Hmph. See that you do."
It was a compromise she'd always wished she had made.
The Tendo sisters glanced at each other awkwardly, as their father began to sob. "Oh, my old friend! After all this time, we'll finally be able to join the schools! What a joyous day!"
Ranma quickly tuned out the celebrating fathers, as she crossed the room towards the sisters and gave a polite bow. They seemed so... young. None of them had ever asked for all the chaos, either. "Sorry 'bout everything. You guys're probably just as upset about all this, huh? If... if things don't work out, I'll deal with my pops, so... just don't worry about it, alright?"
"My, that's very thoughtful of you." Kasumi smiled, and while Ranma could still sense that distance she always felt from the older sister, she was surprised to find it was barely there. Kasumi seemed genuinely relieved. Meanwhile, Nabiki was eyeing her like a piece of meat, but she found it hard to hold that against her, knowing what she knew now about the Tendos' finances. Nabiki did what she could to keep her family afloat, and Ranma hadn't been part of the family back then. (A small part of her wondered if she ever was, but she did her best to dismiss it.)
She glanced over to Akane, who was glaring at her with open hostility, and thought back to the horde of teenage boys Akane had been fighting off every day. The girl just looked so... hurt. She wondered how she never saw that the first time around. Ranma gave another small bow. "I'm sorry for startlin' you like that. Hope we can still be friends." Akane softened her gaze just a bit, before she huffed and turned away.
"Hmph! Not likely."
Ranma shrugged, which was followed by a yawn. For it being a dream, she felt surprisingly tired. "Alright, well, g'night I guess." She gave a sleepy wave, and headed for the guest room.
"Oh, you'll be sleeping in the-... hmm. I suppose she already figured out where the guest room is." Kasumi seemed baffled.
"He didn't even change back," Nabiki mused, "maybe he's more like two-thirds girl." She nudged Akane with her elbow, quickly stepping back to avoid the retaliatory swing with a laugh.
Ranma curled up on the familiar futon, brand new and freshly laid out, and tried to ignore the strange feeling in her chest as she settled in.
In the dim light, she thought she saw the glint of a five-yen coin lying on the floor, as she drifted off to sleep.