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The second Ranma hit the water he felt something hard begin to form around his body. In an instant, his body was forced into the fetal position. He was going up, spinning like a tumbler dryer. Like struck through the hard shell he was trapped in. He could break out easily though. He pushed against the shell to break it open but it was like his arms had more give than they should. With the little light he could see some sort of slime covering his arms. No. The slime was his skin. This was an egg shell, and he was the thing inside it. That should scare him right? For some reason he just felt so tired. Too tired to be scared. Too sleepy. So sleepy. Eyelids so heavy.
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Genma wrung the hot water out of his bandana.
"Good," he said. "Now my son." Genma gestured to the giant egg in the middle of the room.
"You misunderstand sir customer," The Jusenkyo guide said. "It will not work on the younger sir customer."
"What are you talking about?" Genma asked.
"His body has become fluid within the egg. The hot water will not reach him. You will have to wait one month for him to hatch."
"What!?" Genma screamed. "No! I'll just break him out and pour the water on him directly." Genma held his arm above Ranma's egg.
"NO SIR CUSTOMER!" The Jusenkyo guide yelled. "THAT WILL KILL HIM!" Genma immediately stopped. "You must be patient, sir customer. Keep the younger sir customer safe for one month and he will hatch."
"Explain exactly what that spring is to me," Genma demanded.
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It could only be described as a waking dream. A dream where your consciousness was as if you weren't dreaming. Something along those lines. It was hard for Ranma to describe. Once he had completely transformed into egg-goop, he… they didn't know if there was a technical term for it, lost consciousness. Once their body had begun to reform it started coming back, but their mind wasn't idle, not at all. One by one, each emotion and memory had been dissected, taken apart and put back together without justification getting in the way. Looking at them objectively was an interesting experience, and Ranma just wasn't sure what to make of it. They did know one thing though, apparently they had a tail now.
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The giant panda set the giant egg down carefully. The Tendos had no idea what to make of it. Then the Panda held up a sign.
#Hot water please.#
"Will that be all, Panda-san?" Kasumi asked the black and white beast. It flipped the sign.
#I'll explain once I receive the hot water.# Everyone nervously walked into the engawa, the panda following close bringing the egg with it. It sat down, holding the egg close, seemingly trying to keep it warm. Kasumi had walked over to the kitchen, presumably to heat the kettle.
"So what do you think the panda's deal is?" Nabiki whispered to Akane.
"How am I supposed to know?" Akane responded. A silence fell over the Tendos. Kasumi came into the engawa with a kettle.
"Here's the hot water, Panda-san," she said, handing the kettle over to the Panda who poured it over its back. The Panda's body suddenly shrank, its fur receding and skull shifting, revealing a man.
"Saotome-kun!?" Soun shouted.
"I apologize Tendo-kun," Genma said, putting his glasses on. "I was unable to talk in my cursed form."
"What happened to you?" Soun asked.
"A training accident. I brought Ranma to Jusenkyo."
"The springs of sorrow," he remarked.
"Yes," Genma nodded, trying to appear sagely. "At first nothing appeared amiss, but then Ranma got a lucky hit in. When I plunged into the cold waters below, I was transformed into a panda. The guide shouted at me that it was the spring of the drowned panda, and that it transformed all who fell into it, into a panda. However, I did not process it, nor my transformation until Ranma had been struck into a spring himself. The spring of the drowned egg."
"Saotome-kun," Soun started. "You couldn't possibly mean-"
"Yes," Genma said. "This egg is my son."
"So you turned your kid into an egg," Nabiki said flatly.
"Oh my," Kasumi said. "Does Ranma need hot water too?"
"No," Genma said. "It will do no good. The shell is holding Ranma's body within, the hot water will not touch him."
"So he's just stuck as an egg?" Akane asked, somewhat hopefully.
"No," Genma said. "After learning Ranma could not be turned back, the guide told me the story of the drowned egg. 2000 years ago a man sold eggs of every type passed through Jusenkyo. He carried bird eggs, lizard eggs, fish eggs, spider eggs, even dragon and phoenix eggs." Kasumi tilted her head, the idea of someone who sells eggs feeling strangely familiar. "However his supply fell into a spring. From that point onward that spring was cursed to transform all who fell into it, into an egg."
"Where is this going?" Akane asked.
"The guide then told me that Jusenkyo not only preserves the forms of those who are immersed in its waters, but their wishes as well," Genma said. "And there is only one thing an egg could desire."
"So Ranma-kun will hatch?" Soun asked.
"Yes. One month from when he was immersed in the spring of the drowned egg, he will not only hatch, but hatch as his true self, with a complete and total understanding of his life up to the point he fell in."
"So how much time does he have now?" Kasumi asked.
"Only around one more week now," Genma said. "Then I am certain that Ranma will hatch into the man among men he was always meant to be!" The koi were apparently very excited today as they created splashes that almost looked like waves.
"Great," Akane complained. "So I have a week before I lose everything." She stomped away.
"Nabiki-chan," Kasumi said. "Do you think we can borrow your giant heat lamps for Ranma-kun?"
"How do you know about those?"
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It felt warm. Very warm. It was nice. Ranma had been feeling fairly cold with only brief reprieves for a while. They kind of started to realize that they missed out on a lot in life. Ranma wished they could have experienced it, or at least tried it. Drawing, music, video games… that dress in the window. It was one of the first memories that were taken apart and reconstructed in objectivity. Ranma barely remembered it before but it was clear as day now. They had seen it passing by the window, just stopping at a somewhat large town and there it was. It was beautiful. It was elegant. It was something Ranma only now recognized they wanted to wear. Ranma was hoping that as more of their memories received the same treatment, it would make more sense.
Ranma had become able to hear things a bit ago. They weren't sure if they could give an exact time frame. It was muffled at first, but slowly it became more and more clear.
"Don't worry Ranma," he heard. "I'll keep you safe until you hatch. We're on the mainland now. Just two more weeks." Apparently that was a week ago now. They assumed it was their dad who said it. They couldn't think of anyone else who would. Their feelings about him were complicated at the moment. With so many memories framed in objectivity, they had seen how flawed he really was. They always knew on some level that their dad was a dumbass but now they saw how he was a dumbass. More specifically in one major way. He never thought things through.
He was also selfish. He would absolutely give Ranma comfort, but if it was at the cost of his own? Forget it. Between that and the training methods Ranma wanted to resent their father in their newfound clarity, but at the same time he still did so many things out of love for Ranma, hence the complicated feelings. Ranma felt like when the time came for them to hatch, they would need a long talk with their dad, probably followed by some space. If that didn't work out then Ranma would probably need to make that space.
Then was the new situation. The Tendos. Ranma wasn't sure why their dad decided to go to them. They were pretty sure one of the girls didn't like them, but they weren't sure about the specifics. They thought they heard someone mention heat lamps so that was probably why they felt so comfortably warm at the moment. Heat lamps were supposed to be good for eggs so they were probably good for them too. Ranma didn't really understand why they could hear what people were saying when they were asleep. Then again, this whole thing was weird.
The sound felt like it was entering another part of their head if that made sense. Somewhere higher up on their skull. They couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with the tail they could swear they had now. Well, they knew that would be answered when they hatched.
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Genma sat looking at the egg in which Ranma was contained. He heard footsteps behind him.
"Your dedication is enviable Saotome-kun," Soun said, sitting down next to him.
"Ranma has not been this vulnerable since he was a child," Genma said. "A single crack in the shell could cripple or even kill him. I'm not taking that chance."
"That's true, though I have an idea." Soun looked at Genma with a smile on his face, one that screamed plan.
"Oh? Please elaborate, Tendo-kun."
"How about we have my daughters take shifts watching over Ranma?" Soun suggested. Genma's eyes widened.
"Tendo-kun," he said. "You are a genius."
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Akane stared at the egg fuming. She had been watching it for hours now and Nabiki's shift was still an hour away.
"First the engagement, then he's taking up room in the dojo, and now I have to watch him!" Akane spoke in escalating volume. She turned to the egg. "Why did you have to show up and ruin my life? If you think I'll marry you and let you take the dojo then when you come out of that thing I'll throw you out myself! I'm the greatest martial artist in Nerima so don't you dare look down on me!" The egg of course gave no response. Akane put her hands to her face.
"What am I even doing?" She asked. "It's not like you can even hear me. I must be going crazy." She lay on her back looking at the ceiling. It was quiet. "Whatever, I'm serious. I kick the asses of every guy in school, don't think I won't kick yours. Ugh you don't even know what I'm talking about." The egg was silent. "This guy at school Kuno, he- Why am I even telling you this?" The egg did not respond. "Whatever. As long as you can't hear me I guess. So, at the start of the school year, this guy Kuno announced to the whole school that if they wanted to date me they needed to beat me in a fight, and every guy went for it, so every morning before I even get into school I need to fight all of them and then Kuno. I haven't lost yet but if I do, whoever beat me is going to feel entitled to a date with me. It's disgusting. And the school won't do anything about it because they see it as a formal challenge! It feels like everywhere I turn there's something trying to reduce me to just marriage material or something!" Akane sighed. "Wow. That actually felt really good to get out. It probably won't be that big a deal if I do this more often."
"Akane," Nabiki said, frustrated. "Dad says it's my shift." Akane sat up.
"Finally."
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An arranged marriage? It certainly made sense. It wasn't out of character for Ranma's dad, and it would explain why he brought them here. It would also explain why that girl hated them. She basically just spelled it out for them. It sounded rough. She was also probably going to vent to them again. She would probably be so embarrassed if she found out they actually could hear her. It wasn't like they could let her know somehow though.
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Akane walked into the dojo, having just gotten home and now starting her shift of watching over Ranma. She walked over to the egg and laid down. It had been a few days since Genma had arrived with Ranma. Akane had shockingly adjusted well to her after school routine. Having someone to talk to and knowing there was literally a 0% chance of them judging you was surprisingly good for relieving stress. As such Akane's yelling which had swiftly become venting and simply became just talking about her day.
"Honestly I swear they're hiding something from me. They've been weirdly close for a while now. Wait, you don't know who they are. Okay so I've been friends with Yuka since kindergarten. Everyone pushed me into playing Romeo for the school play, even though I really wanted to play Juliet. Nope. That role went to Yuka. I was a bit of a grump over it. That was how we met. At first I was super jealous of her, but she was just too much fun to be around. Well, and she said she thought I'd make an amazing Juliet, which was nice to hear. Sayuri I didn't meet until middle school though. She was on the track team. She isn't that into it anymore but at the time she was convinced she was going to go pro. First day of school she runs right into Yuka on the way. Yuka fell, so Sayuri helped her back up and just took off. Then the two of them wound up sitting next to each other in class. I didn't get to be in the same class as them that year. We haven't all been in the same class as each other since we met until this year. I'm getting side tracked. Point is they started talking and suddenly Yuka was asking if Sayuri could come to our hang outs." A knock was heard on the door of the dojo before it was opened.
"Hey. Akane," Nabiki said.
"Nabiki? It's not your shift yet, mine just started," Akane remarked.
"Yeah I'm not here for that. Ranma has a visitor." Nabiki pointed behind her at a woman who walked through the door.
"Hello," the woman said. "You must be Akane." She wore an elegant Kimono, with her hair tied into a tight elegant bun. Said hair was dark with a slight red hue. Akane wondered if she had Ainu blood. "My name is Nodoka," she introduced herself. "I'm Ranma's mother."
"Oh," Akane said, unsure how to act. "Um. It's nice to meet you." Nodoka walked up to the egg and sat down in Seiza, putting a hand to the shell.
"So this is what's become of my son," the older woman pondered. "I wouldn't have believed my husband when he told me if he didn't demonstrate his own curse."
"Um. It's not permanent," Akane said. "He should hatch soon."
"Yes I know. He'll hatch into a true man among men, my husband told me everything. It's just surreal to see the child I carried in such a manner," Nodoka explained.
"Well not necessarily man among men," Akane said. "Just his true self."
"Oh? Genma told me he'd be a man among men when he hatches." Nodoka said, somewhat nervously.
"Well he seems to be convinced that's Ranma's true self," Akane commented.
"And you?" Nodoka asked nervously. "Do you think it isn't?"
"I don't really know," she admitted. "I've really only talked to him like this."
"Oh."
"Any reason you asked?"
"Yes. When Ranma was a child I was reluctant to allow Genma to take him on a training journey. In the end he convinced me by declaring that if he failed to raise Ranma to be a man among men, the two of them would commit seppuku." Akane's eyes went wide in shock.
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Ranma couldn't believe it. They're mom. They had a mom. She was there, waiting for them to hatch. Ranma couldn't remember her. Obviously they were too young, but they couldn't wait to meet-
"He convinced me by declaring that if he failed to raise Ranma to be a man among men, the two of them would commit seppuku." Ranma's excitement was stopped in its tracks. A man among men? Ranma highly doubted that was his true self. Not just because of the dress memory but several others. Subtle discomfort in every memory of being referred to as a man. A hidden suppressed joy at every time they were mistaken for a girl. Several such memories. The idea of being a man among men wasn't just laughable, it was nauseatingly uncomfortable.
It made sense though. Their dad's flaws made him unbelievably frustrating to be around. Anyone woman he swindled to be his wife was going to bring some caveats. They just wished that it wasn't so blatantly obviously difficult to deal with.
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Akane suddenly felt very bad about her gut assumptions about Ranma. Being raised under pressure like that couldn't be good for anyone. Even if Ranma didn't know he'd probably be horrified upon learning about it. Apparently Nodoka would be taking over Nabiki's shifts from now on. For now she left Akane alone with the Ranma. It was safe to say Akane wasn't going into actually meeting Ranma with any assumptions now. She knew her strange parasocial relationship with the egg wasn't actually interacting with Ranma. Despite that she still felt a desire to try and help Ranma. She just hoped that 'seeing his whole life objectively' would make him willing to accept help. She leaned close to the egg.
"Ranma. I don't know if you can hear this, but if you can, I'll help you deal with your mom."
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Ranma decided. She was going to refer to herself as a girl. It just made her happier. Simple as that. She didn't really want to be a man among men. She didn't entirely know who she was because she was never given the opportunity to explore that. When she hatches, she's going to. She hoped that when she hatched she would be a girl, and she hoped that meant she would.
She knew that put her against odds with the contract, but considering her old man, she really didn't think her family had any honor that would be put in jeopardy, and if they tried to make her? Tough luck she was trained pretty well. That would probably ruin any chance of a relationship with her mom though. In the end if it did she wouldn't be losing anything she actually had in the first place, and if things did work out then Ranma was looking forward to it.
Akane. She was nice. She felt bad about the engagement, but she felt relieved that it didn't seem to be coloring how she viewed her anymore. Interacting with her would probably be awkward for a bit though.
In the end, as the last of her memories fell into place, the memory of falling into the spring of the drowned egg, she concluded that she was happy that it happened.
Ranma woke up. She couldn't breathe. She was squished. It was incredibly claustrophobic. Ranma's arms didn't have give this time. It was time to hatch.
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"We just haven't felt as close lately. I know that friends tend to drift apart when they grow up, but I just thought that it didn't happen until after high school, not during-" Akane heard a crack. "It." Another crack sounded. This one clear in the eggshell.
"RANMA'S HATCHING!" Akane shouted. She knew it would be happening soon, but it still caught her completely off guard. "RANMA'S HATCHING!" Genma and Soun were the first to arrive. Another crack appeared in the shell. Nodoka arrived just a second later, followed by Kasumi, and then Nabiki. One by one cracks appeared in the eggshell. Genma imagined a taller, more muscular Ranma. Another crack. Nodoka imagined a young man much like Genma was in his youth, if more thin. Another crack. No one else had a clear idea of what they thought Ranma would look like. The egg was almost cracked open. Akane just hoped Ranma wasn't the person she feared when she first heard about the engagement.
The top of the egg burst open with a feminine cry, revealing a beautiful girl covered in goop and shell fragments, with short red would be fluffy hair, and the tail and ears of a rabbit covered in red fur. Everyone was stunned. The girl began to cough, taking staggered breaths.
"Finally," she said. "Fresh air." She coughed one more time before taking a deep breath in and out. She then turned to the onlookers witnessing her rebirth, and everyone became acutely aware of the fact that the girl who just came out of the egg was very, very naked. "Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" She ripped off chunks of her eggshell and used them to cover her breasts. "Don't look!" Soun proceeded to fall back, fainting.