Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ I'm the Mother and the Father? ❯ Ukyo Gets the News ( Chapter 6 )

I'm the Father and the Mother?

A Ranma Fanfic by Michael A. Ivins

 

Ranma and friends are owned by Rumiko Takahashi along with her publishers and Viz Video. I make no money off this so please don't sue me.

 

 

Recap of Chapter 5

Ranma Spent the night in Nabiki's bed. Akane's started to accept how badly she treated Ranma. Ranma told Shampoo about her condition.

 

 

Chapter 6

Ukyo Gets the News

 

Sometime later Ranma had finished her workout and had bathed. As she was getting dressed in her usual silk shirt and pants she idly pulled on a loose fold of fabric and reflected that maybe she should get some other clothes for everyday also. Since she wasn't going to be changing forms back and forth it might be nice to wear some clothes that actually fit her female form. Maybe her mom would have some suggestions.

 

Wait a minute… Back when Ranma was masquerading as Tendo Ranko, her mom bought all of those clothes in an effort to make her more ladylike. At the time it had seemed like Nodoka was always dragging her off to go shopping. Where did all of that stuff get put? Maybe Kasumi would know.

 

She found Kasumi in the kitchen finishing up the last of the breakfast dishes. “Kasumi?”

 

“Yes, Ranma-chan?”

 

The redhead winced at the suffix. “I was wondering. Do you remember back when I was pretending to your cousin and my mom kept taking me out shopping?”

 

“Of course I remember.”

 

“I know at least some of those clothes got returned to the stores. Was there any left?”

 

“Yes, there was. Actually there was quite a bit. There are boxes up in the attic. Why do you ask about them?”

 

Ranma grabbed a loose fold on the front of her shirt and flapped it to illustrate her point. “Since I won't be changing into a boy for a while I thought it might be nice to wear something that wasn't several sizes too big for me. I know I look silly like this, but it seemed the best way to deal with changing all the time.”

 

Kasumi placed the last dish back in the cupboard and led Ranma to the attic. She pointed to a cluster of boxes. Someone had used a marker to write “Ranko's Clothes” on eight fairly sizeable boxes.

 

“That many?” Ranma felt a pang of guilt over the thought of how much money her mother must have spent to fill so many boxes with clothing. She had originally thought of getting out one or two outfits to wear until she could get jeans or something else less `girly.' It now looked like she was going to be dressing girly for a while.

 

She started carrying the boxes to her room. Nabiki came out of her room and saw this and asked, “What's up with the boxes?”

 

“You remember how my mom thought `Tendo Ranko' was too much of a tomboy? Part of trying to make me more ladylike was buying lots of girly clothes. She was always taking me shopping and trying to get me to wear makeup and stuff like that. These boxes have the clothes that she couldn't return to the stores.”

 

“Whoa! That's a lot. But why are you getting it out now?”

 

“When I was getting dressed after my bath I thought how it would be nice to wear some clothes that fit instead of my boy clothes that are too big.”

 

“I thought we were going shopping for that.”

 

Ranma colored a little. “That was my plan but then I remembered this stuff. I had just thought I would get something to wear while we went shopping but I didn't know how much there was. When I think how much mom must have spent on this I feel guilty.”

 

“What are you going to do?”

 

“I guess it wouldn't kill me to dress girly while I'm stuck being a girl. It would save me from buying more stuff and it would probably make mom happy. I'm not going to wear makeup, though.”

 

Nabiki snorted. “With your looks, you really don't need to.”

 

“Mmm, thanks. Would you mind helping me look for something to wear this afternoon?”

 

Each girl dug into a box and began shifting garments around. In the first box that Nabiki looked in she didn't find any suitable daywear but she pulled out 3 pairs of pajamas still wrapped in their original plastic. She wondered, “If they were still wrapped, why couldn't your mom return them?”

 

Ranma looked at them and recalled, “They were on sale. They said no returns on sale items.”

 

“I guess you don't need to buy pajamas today.”

 

“I guess not. Oh, these look good.” She pulled out and set aside a pair of flat soled shoes in black. A short while later Nabiki pulled out a sleeveless yellow blouse that Ranma agreed would be Ok. Ranma found a knee length dark blue skirt she didn't find too objectionable.

 

The subject of underwear became a debate. Ranma was in favor of wearing her boxers under the skirt, but finally agreed to wearing panties. Ranma flatly refused to wear a bra. It wasn't until Nabiki convinced the redhead to try one that Ranma finally agreed that wearing the bra was more comfortable than she had thought. She finally agreed to wear a bra under the yellow blouse.

 

Further persuasion from Nabiki got Ranma to agree to undo her pigtail and wear her hair loose. Nabiki brushed and combed it for her fiancé. Ranma looked into the mirror and was shocked. With no makeup, no jewelry and no fancy hairstyle she looked gorgeous.

 

Nabiki kissed her cheek and said, “You look beautiful, Ranma. It makes me want to strip off those clothes and do naughty stuff to you right here and now.”

 

“Oh, tempting offer.”

 

She sighed. “It would mess up all the work I just did on your hair. Come on, let's see what kind of reaction we get from the rest of the family.”

 

They stepped out into the hall just as Akane was stepping out of her room. Akane looked at the girl with Nabiki and wondered who she was. When had Nabiki met such a pretty red haired girl? Wait… Red hair? “Ran… Ma…?”

 

“Hi, Akane. Look, I just wanted to tell you I don't hate you. I think we should get together sometime and talk about it when you're feeling better.”

 

“I… you… Your hair… the clothes…” Suddenly she whirled and ran back into her room. She slammed the door so hard the wooden shape of a duck with her name carved into it clattered to the floor of the hall.

 

Nabiki commented, “That could have gone better.”

 

“Maybe it was a bad time to let her see my new look.”

 

“Couldn't be helped.”

 

“I think we should delay any serious discussions with her until she can use full sentences again.”

 

“Agreed.”

 

They headed down the stairs. In the living room they found all the rest of the family. Genma and Soun were playing shogi, Nodoka was watching TV and Kasumi appeared to be dusting. When the two girls entered the room all activity stopped and all eyes were riveted to Ranma.

 

The first to speak was Genma who said, “Boy… I mean Ranma, why are you dressed like that?” Soun just stared, looking as if his eyes were close to popping out of their sockets.

 

Nodoka just smiled and said, “Ranma, you look lovely. Those clothes look familiar.” Kasumi just said, “Oh, my.”

 

“Heh, heh.” Ranma laughed nervously. She announced, “I decided that since I won't be changing into a boy for a while it was silly to keep wearing clothes that are way too big for me. I remembered all the clothes mom got for me when I was being Tendo Ranko and figured that stuff would at least fit me.”

 

“But…” said Genma.

 

Ranma pointed to him and said, “Remember what I said last night.”

 

Nodoka asked, “What did you say to your father last night?”

 

“I said that his son has gone away for a while. Hopefully he'll be back in seven weeks after the baby is born. Until then he has a daughter and should get used to it.”

 

“That's a good idea.”

 

Ranma paused a moment. “Since everyone except Akane is here and I already have your attention I want to talk about a cover story.”

 

“Cover story?” asked Nodoka.

 

“Yes, cover story. Nobody is going to believe that a girl can be the father of her baby. Even people who know about the curse are finding it hard to believe. If I tried telling people that my boy form is my brother and he got me pregnant, then I'd be in trouble when the curse unlocked after the baby's born. I could get arrested for rape or incest or both. To prove otherwise would mean making the curse public knowledge.”

 

Everyone nodded at this. It made sense.

 

Ranma continued, “Nabiki and I figure we need to make up a story about some other guy to blame it on. Since it has to be a family member we'd say that Pop had a brother who died…”

 

“But I did have a brother,” put in Genma.

 

Ranma and all of the Tendo daughters turned toward the panda cursed man with wide eyes. From the reactions it was clear that the elder family members present knew the story. Genma went on, “My brother Kenji and his wife died in a traffic accident about the time you were born, Ranma. I told you about it when you were five but the story made you so sad that I just decided never to mention it again.”

 

Nabiki nudged Ranma with her elbow and said, “I guess that's where you got the idea from.” Ranma just nodded.

 

“Did… did uncle Kenji have any kids?” asked Ranma.

 

“I don't think so. If he had I'm sure Nodoka and I would have been asked to take them in. At the time I hadn't seen Kenji for several years. He and I didn't get along very well.”

 

Nabiki commented, “That adds a certain weight of authenticity to the cover story.”

 

Ranma nodded. “Ok. We could say that Uncle Kenji and his wife had a kid who had been left with a babysitter on the night of their accident. Nobody there knew how to contact Pop, so he got put in a foster home.” She proceeded to outline the idea that she and Nabiki had worked out between them. A discussion followed as suggestions were made to fine tune the story.

 

Finally Ranma asked, “Does that sound believable?” The question was met with nods. “Will everyone agree that this is what to say if anyone asks who is the father of my baby?” More nods.

 

Nodoka offered, “No one should volunteer this story. It will be more believable if we appear reluctant to tell it. The first time anyone asks we don't want to talk about it. Only if someone presses with the question do we tell.” Everyone nodded.

 

Ranma noted, “Akane's not here. I don't know if she's like this with everyone or if it's just me. When I tried to talk to her she got totally tongue tied and flustered. She ran back into her room and slammed her door. Somebody should talk to her and let her know the story we agreed on.”

 

Soun explained, “I think it's just you right now Ranma. She seemed calm enough when I spoke to her earlier. I'll tell her. It might be a comfort to everybody to know that I have made an appointment for Akane to see a doctor so she can be tested to see if her problem is medical or mental.”

 

Nabiki looked at the living room clock and said, “We'd better get going.”

 

Kasumi seemed surprised. “You aren't going to stay for lunch?”

 

Ranma shook her head. “Ucchan deserves to know about the change in my engagement. While we are doing that I can tell her about me being pregnant. It will give me a chance to try out the cover story. We'll eat there.”

 

Kasumi nodded.

 

As they passed out of the gate, Nabiki asked, “Would you like to make a bet on who Ukyo will pick as the likely father of your baby?”

 

“What? Me, bet against you? No way. Besides, she'll probably just say Ryoga like everyone else has.”

 

“Ah, you're no fun.”

 

Ranma thought about what it would be like telling the people at school. Suddenly she laughed.

 

Curiosity aroused, Nabiki asked, “What is it.”

 

In a joking tone, “Hey Nabs, care to make a bet on who Kuno will pick as the probable father of my baby?”

 

The brown haired girl thought for a moment. Then she struck a dramatic pose and lowered her voice, “Surely `twas that foul sorcerer Saotome who has so defiled my pigtailed goddess. Fear not fair one for I shall smite him to gain vengeance for the wrong he has done you.”

 

Ranma permitted herself a hearty laugh. Finally she said, “To be able to live with the curse and all the other weird stuff that happens to me you have to be able to appreciate the absurd. Still I think it's kind of a sad comment on my life that the only person likely to guess the actual truth is a crazy person.”

 

“He'll guess the truth but for all the wrong reasons.”

 

“Yeah, he'll probably imagine me and my male side having hot sex, that my male side forced female me into. That just proves what a pervert he is.”

 

“I've know he was a pervert for a long time.”

 

Ranma gave a grunt of assent. The continued to walk on, making small talk.

 

They had been able to time their arrival fairly well. When they got to Ucchan's the found there were still a lot of people there but all seemed to have already been served.

 

They were greeted by what appeared to be a pretty young woman in a kimono.

“Welcome to Ucchan's. Miss Tendo, it is a pleasure to see you here. And…” The male kunoichi trailed off. The appearance of this red haired girl was unfamiliar but there were not too many Japanese girls with hair that color. He examined the face.

 

“Ranma, is that you?”

 

“Hello, Konatsu. I don't know what the problem is. The clothes may be different and I'm not wearing my hair in a pigtail today, but the face is still the same.”

 

In an overly hearty tone Konatsu said, “Indeed it is! Did you wish a seat at the counter?”

 

“Today it might be a good idea if we got a table in the corner. I'd like my usual and a shrimp for Nabiki. We'd both like some tea to go with that. Could you also ask Ukyo to come over to the table when she has a free moment?”

 

Konatsu nodded and led them to the table. After they were comfortably settled he went off to place the order.

 

Both girls sat quietly as they waited. A few minutes later they heard a man's voice tell Konatsu, “I'll have just glass of water. I want to talk to Saotome.”

 

Ranma looked up and saw a teenaged boy in a white robe with long black hair and thick glasses. The boy carried his glass of water to the table where Ranma and Nabiki sat.

 

Ranma cast a wary look at the Chinese boy and asked, “Are you sure talking is all you want to do, Mousse?”

 

The male Amazon sat down and said, “I guess with the way I've acted toward you in the past, I deserved that. I'm not here to fight with you, Ranma. Shampoo told me about your… condition. Understand that one of the most sacred laws of our tribe is that a pregnant woman is not to be hurt. Even if you are a cursed man, still you are a pregnant woman now and I won't raise a hand against you.”

 

“Well, it's a relief to hear that. But if you know, what did you want to talk about?”

 

Mousse held up a hand to indicate “wait” as he could hear Ukyo approaching. The chef carried a tray with the requested food and drinks. She expertly slid plates in front of Ranma and Nabiki and also set aside an extra plate with an second helping for Ranma. After propping the emptied tray against the wall, she sat down at the table.

 

She said, “Hello, Mousse, what brings you here today? Wouldn't Cologne consider this to be consorting with the enemy?”

 

The boy tapped the side of his glass and said, “I'm just having water. I wanted to talk to Ranma. I was heading over to the Tendo dojo when she and Nabiki passed me on their way here, so I followed.”

 

Ukyo bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement. She turned, “Ranchan, you look really different today. Is this one of your disguises?”

 

“Not exactly, Ucchan. Mousse has already heard about part of this so I don't mind if he hears. My curse is locked again, I'm stuck as a girl.”

 

“Oh Ranchan, I'm so sorry. I know how you hate it when that happens. What caused it this time?”

 

Ranma blushed and looked down at the food on her plate. Finally she said, “I… I'm pregnant.”

 

“What! How! Who?”

 

She paused for a moment, “Was it Ryoga?”

 

Ranma rolled her eyes and said with a sigh, “No, it wasn't Ryoga.” She decided it would be useless to make the kind of protest over this concept she had before.

 

She launched into the cover story. “Last Saturday I found out that I have a cousin I didn't know about before. Although now I'd be happier if I'd never heard of him.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“It seems my dad had a brother who died about the time I was born. Both my uncle and his wife were killed in a traffic accident, but their son had been at home with a baby sitter, so he survived. He was put in foster care because they didn't know how to contact my dad.”

 

Nabiki now spoke up, “He came knocking on the door saying that he was trying to connect with his family and had tracked Ranma and Genma down at our place. Maybe that was his original reason, but the guy was a total sleaze. He made passes at every female in the house, including Ranma's mom. We all turned him down and he was acting frustrated until Genma threw Ranma into the pond. When he saw Ranma's girl form he went after her.”

 

Ukyo seemed confused, “He saw you change and he still put the moves on you?”

 

Ranma nodded. “He didn't care. I mean after getting the explanation of the curse he seemed fascinated by the idea that I had a `fully functional' female body. He was a real smooth talker and gave me all kinds of arguments along the lines of `don't knock it if you haven't tried it.' I guess you could say that I never got any of the `lines you should look out for' that real girls get. At the time it seemed to make sense and he made me wonder if I was missing out on something.”

 

“He talked you into having sex with him? Your cousin?”

 

Ranma hung her head with an expression of acute embarrassment. All she said was, “Yeah.”

 

Ukyo knew she shouldn't ask, but couldn't resist, “How was it?”

 

Ranma blushed, “Ucchan!” She sat silent for a few moments before finally continuing, “I guess he must have had a lot of experience at it. He made me feel really good. We were at it for hours. I guess I got so exhausted that I sort of passed out about three in the morning. When I woke up Sunday morning he was gone. I think he was afraid that I'd pound him for what I'd let him do.”

 

Ukyo asked, “When did you find out you were pregnant?”

 

“When I got in the bath on Sunday and didn't change back to a boy, I knew something was wrong. I went to see Dr. Tofu on Monday and he checked me over. When he couldn't find anything else that might have caused the curse to lock he had me use one of those home pregnancy tests. It showed positive.”

 

“Oh Ranchan, I'm so sorry.”

 

Further conversation stopped when Mousse leaned down resting his forehead on his hand, hiding his eyes. When he looked up the magnification provided by his glasses clearly showed unshed tears glistening in his eyes. He said, “Ranma, I… That story is so sad. To be so used then tossed aside and in such a condition. That cousin of yours is truly contemptible. Though we have been rivals in the past, I say this: If there is anything I can do to help you through this, tell me.”

 

Ranma felt a little guilty at having had this effect on the Chinese boy. The story was, after all, a fabrication. Still, was the truth any less tragic than the cover story? Knowing him, Mousse would probably find the true story amusing.

 

Still any help would be appreciated. She told him, “Cologne did a deep chi reading and told me that my baby is a girl. I've named her Ranko. I am extremely worried about how I can raise her and support her. I'll probably have to get a job or find some other source of income that will let me feed, house and care for my child. Could you keep an ear open for news of anything like that?”

 

“I will.”

 

“Oh, before you think to offer, I'd prefer not to be a waitress at the Nekohanten. I may still try for that if I can't find anything else, but I'd want to exhaust all my other options first.”

 

“I understand. You don't trust the old monkey.”

 

“Considering some of the dirty tricks she's pulled, can you blame me?”

 

“No, you're right. She's tricky.”

 

“Uh, I kind of feel like I'm taking advantage of you for asking this. It wouldn't really help me take care of my kid, but I've really wanted to know.”

 

“What?”

 

“The Hidden Weapons technique. I always wanted to learn it. I've pretty much figured out what you're doing but can't quite get the how. Could you teach it to me?”

 

“But I'm not…” He trailed off at the pleading expression in Ranma's eyes.

 

She told him, “I know you aren't just hiding stuff in your clothes. I've seen you throw out a length of chain that wouldn't ever fit in your sleeves. I know it must be some kind of chi manipulation that makes it work.”

 

Mousse reluctantly said, “I'm not really supposed to teach that technique to anyone outside of the tribe. Still, I promised to help and you've already figured out part of it. If you promise not to share it with anyone else, I'll teach you.”

 

Ranma respectfully bowed her head. “Thank you.”

 

Then she turned to Ukyo and said, “Ucchan, telling you about me being pregnant isn't the only reason I came here today.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“I'm engaged to Nabiki now instead of Akane.”

 

Ukyo gave Nabiki a look. “You aren't going to try and sell me a date with Ranchan now, are you?”

 

“No. I finally realized what a good person Ranma really is. Akane didn't deserve him… her… Well, you know. I realized I'm really in love with her.”

 

“How did this happen?”

 

Ranma sighed deeply. “After I fought Saffron I really was sure I loved Akane. I thought she loved me too. But she fell into her old habits. She would mallet me for stuff that wasn't my fault, she was always calling me a pervert she never trusted me. You could say my feelings for her just… died.”

 

She sighed again. “It all came to a head yesterday. Because of the pregnancy I had an excess of hormones that were causing me some major mood swings. When I announced to the family I was pregnant Akane called me a pervert and started to swing her mallet. Mom and Nabiki grabbed her arms and stopped her.

 

“As Nabs would tell you, I went into a fit of screaming hysterics at the thought that Akane might hurt my baby by hitting me. I told her she had killed my love for her and that she was acting like she hated me. I told her I didn't want to be engaged to her anymore and my mom agreed to shift the engagement over to Nabiki. She's been a great comfort to me through all of this.”

 

“Where does that leave us?” asked Ukyo.

 

“I don't see where the change in the engagement has to change anything between us. On the other hand the pregnancy could change everything. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about it.”

 

She looked down at the table. “I told someone that having a baby is the most female thing a human being can do. It could result in me going totally girlish. I mean, Cologne said my curse would unlock seven weeks after I give birth. What I worry about is if I'll even know how to be a guy again or if I'll even want to by then.”

 

A tear dripped down her face. “Last week the thought of being stuck as a girl permanently terrified me. Now I'm faced with the reality of being a girl for nearly a year and it's like there's this little voice inside telling me, `maybe it won't be so bad.' If my feelings about this kind of thing can change that much in so short a time it isn't too hard to imagine that little voice asking, `Do you really want to be a guy again?' by the time the baby is born.”

 

Ukyo felt close to tears herself. “Do you want to become a girl permanently?”

 

“Not now, no. But my feelings on being stuck as a girl have already changed. They could change more. If I did change my mind and decided to stay a girl, I know there are ways of getting permanently locked. If that happened, I wouldn't be marrying any girls.”

 

At that moment Konatsu came up and whispered in Ukyo's ear. She stood up and said, “I'm sorry, Ranchan. Konatsu can handle the simple stuff, but he just got an order for a really fancy special. I've got to go take care of it.”

 

After Ukyo left Mousse commented, “Maybe that `little voice' you spoke of isn't your masculinity eroding. Maybe it's just you trying to cope with the situation you're stuck with.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“It's like you said. You're stuck being a girl for nearly a year. If you spend all of that time agonizing over your masculinity, you could make yourself crazy. It won't help you regain your manhood, but I have something I want to give you that may help you decide if you prefer being a girl.” Seemingly from out of his sleeve he produced a box marked with Chinese characters.

 

Ranma asked, “What's that?”

 

Nabiki could read the Chinese and told Ranma, “It's Instant Nannichuan powder, ten packets according to the box. Why are you giving this to Ranma?”

 

“Actually I'm giving it to both of you.”

 

“Nani?”

 

“Think of it as an engagement gift. I had long believed that Ranma's relationship with Tendo Akane was doomed to fail. Considering the abuse she dealt to you, I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did. That's part of why I was always fighting you over the attentions Shampoo showed you. I felt it was only a matter of time before you dumped the violent girl and started pursuing Shampoo seriously.”

 

Nabiki said, “But I still don't see why this…” Mousse held up a hand to stop further comment.

 

“Hear me out. Miss Nabiki is obviously a better choice for you, Saotome. She is smarter, more tolerant, more patient and just as good looking as her younger sister. Her sense for business may be just what you need to get the funds to care for your child. Also I have the feeling that she genuinely cares about you. My vision may be poor, but my hearing is excellent and I read it in her tone of voice when she speaks to you or about you.”

 

He continued, “With your curse locked you obviously can't enjoy a normal male/female relationship with Miss Nabiki. If you're willing to be a little adventurous, you might like to try it from the other side with Nabiki as the man, if only temporarily. You've already said you enjoyed your one experience as the woman in a sexual encounter. This might help you to clarify your feelings further.”

 

“I know you are wondering why I would want to do this for you. It is in my best interests. I see this as a way of strengthening the relationship between the two of you. The stronger your relationship becomes, the less chance Shampoo has. If Shampoo was to admit you were out of her reach, she might finally turn to me. I know you might think that being second choice is less than desirable, but I don't mind.”

 

Ranma was hesitant, “I… I don't know what to say.”

 

“It's alright. Even if you decide you don't want to use the powder the way I suggested, you should still hold onto these. They're good for many years. I use them myself for when I want to keep from turning into a duck. After your curse unlocks you could use them to keep from changing into a girl. The effect lasts for a day or until you get splashed with hot water. Each packet creates enough cursed water to transform you twice, although most people use it all at once. If you do use only half the cursed water at a time, it is best to pour the rest into a container that can be securely closed to prevent accidents.”

 

Nabiki took the box and placed it in her purse. “I'm going to have to think about this. I'm not sure how well I'm going to like being a guy even temporarily.”

 

Mousse actually seemed to be getting excited. “That's the beauty of the temporary powder. One use of the instant cursed water lasts for a day or until splashed with hot water. After the hot water the temporary curse won't reactivate with cold water, it's done and over. However, I do suggest that you give it a fair trial for as long as practical for your situation.”

 

Mousse had one more positive thing to say on the subject. “There is one additional risk factor you don't have to worry about. If you decide to try it, you can't get Ranma pregnant because she already is pregnant.”

 

“Like Nabiki said, we'll have to think about it. Thank you for wanting to help strengthen our relationship even if it is for a selfish reason.”

 

Mousse nodded and got up. Ranma looked over to the kitchen and saw Ukyo still seemed to be cooking. She gestured toward the door with her head and Nabiki nodded. Having finished their lunch, the got up from the table. Ranma poked her head into the door to the kitchen and called out, “We'll talk more when you aren't so busy.”

 

Ukyo nodded and waved.

 

 

Author's Note: No note this time

Coming up - Dr. Hinagami sets a computer hacker to digging up info on Ranma. Nabiki and Ranma follow Mousse's suggestion.