Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ I'm the Mother and the Father? ❯ Happosai Wants to Help? ( Chapter 8 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

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 7
Ranma visited the gynecologist. Dr. Hinagami got a computer hacker friend to look into Ranma's background. The initial results seem to show there are 2 Ranmas, one female and one male. Confusion resulted. Nabiki used the instant Nannichuan to change into a man and had a sexual session with Ranma lasting hours. For all of that time Kasumi was watching through the slightly open door. Akane woke up partway through and joined in the voyeurism.
 
Chapter 8
Happosai Wants to Help?
 
Kasumi got up at her usual time. It had taken some time for her to relieve the sexual tension she'd built up in the hours she had been watching Ranma and Nabiki. She had dark circles under her eyes and she looked haggard. She felt very tired, but still she was still cheerful. It looked as if both Ranma and Nabiki had found their ideal lifemate. Akane seemed to be bouncing back finally.
 
The elder residents of the Tendo home came down and Soun noticed his daughter's appearance. Concerned, he asked, “Are you alright, Kasumi?”
 
“Yes, father. I didn't get as much sleep as I'd like. There was a… noise that kept me awake.” She recalled Ranma and Nabiki's moans and cries of sexual pleasure.
 
“A noise? That's odd. I don't remember hearing anything.”
 
Genma and Nodoka put in, “Neither did we.”
 
Kasumi thought fast, “Well, I'm closer to the front of the house. Maybe the sound didn't carry that far back. I'm pretty sure it kept Ranma, Akane and Nabiki awake as well. I doubt they will be down for a while.”
 
Nodoka said, “Considering Ranma's condition, it's probably a good idea if she gets some extra rest.”
 
Kasumi had to suppress the urge to snort in amusement. “Yes, her condition.” She supposed sexual exhaustion was a condition that would make extra rest a good idea. The energy Ranma had showed last night made it seem she was remarkably… healthy for a pregnant girl.
 
After breakfast the men said something about a city council meeting and left. Nodoka said there was some shopping she needed to do and she left also. She asked Kasumi to give her love to her son… daughter.
 
It was a couple hours later that Akane came down. She seemed remarkably chipper and Kasumi asked her about it. The youngest Tendo daughter answered, “I think what happened last night helped me to sort out my feelings. I think Ranma has found the one she needs and so has Nabiki.” She paused in thought, “Nabiki always seemed so self sufficient that it never occurred to me that she hasn't had a date in years. They seem good for each other.”
 
Kasumi nodded. “I think in Nabiki Ranma has found someone who can accept her as she is, curse and all. Even if Nabiki was originally put off by the curse as I was, I get the feeling that she now finds it not only acceptable but… desirable.”
 
Akane nodded. “I thought I had come to terms with it, but I guess I didn't. Maybe I never would have. I guess I'll never find out. I shouldn't be lonely too long. After all for the longest time half the boys in school were after me. I'll bounce back, I always do.”
 
Kasumi said a silent prayer that this would be true.
 
It was a short while later that the lovers made their appearance. Kasumi couldn't help thinking of them in those terms. Both girls looked extremely happy and a little smug as if they shared a secret nobody else knew.
 
Ranma was dressed in another outfit from her Tendo Ranko collection. This time it was a black skirt and floral print top. She was also wearing a simple gold bracelet on her right wrist and around her neck a gold chain from which hung a pendant with the symbol of a dragon. Her hair had been brushed and combed but looked a little uneven and could use a trim. Looking at her now, one would never guess she had ever been a boy.
 
Ranma noticed Kasumi's haggard appearance and asked in concern, “Are you alright, Kasumi? You look tired.”
 
Akane felt it was time to have a little fun with the situation. “We could hear you last night you know.”
 
A moment later Akane was laughing as she said, “I don't think I've ever seen anyone turn such an interesting shade of red, have you Kasumi?”
 
“Oh my, Ranma's face is almost as red as her hair.”
 
In spite of her blush, Ranma eyed Akane with evident apprehension.
 
Akane was still in good spirits. She advised, “Relax, Ranma. I'm not going to hit you. I think the two of you are good for each other. I'm glad you two finally found each other.”
 
Ranma seemed shocked, “Ok, who are you and what have you done with the real Akane?”
 
“It's really me. I think after all that happened yesterday that I feel like a weight has been lifted. I realize now I was the wrong one for you. I think Nabiki can keep you happy.” She leaned close to her sister's ear and said softly, “Isn't that right `stallion?'”
 
She was rewarded by the sight of her sister blushing again. In the verbal battles Akane had with her sister, she almost came up the loser. It was nice for a change to be the one placing the verbal barbs.
 
Akane laughed like she hadn't done in a long time. Finally she stopped and said, “That was fun. Usually I'm the one who's speechless.”
 
When she could find her voice, Nabiki asked, “Does daddy know?”
 
Akane replied, “Are you joking? If he knew he'd have a priest here within an hour and a wedding ceremony ready to go right after that. Never mind that you're both girls right now. He'd either douse Nabiki with more of that instant Nanniichuan water or he'd dress up one of you as a boy.”
 
Nabiki pleaded, “Please don't tell him.”
 
Kasumi said, “When I first realized what was going on I was going to stop you because you shouldn't be doing that kind of thing before you're married.”
 
“Why didn't you?” asked Ranma.
 
“The two of you were so happy together. When I thought about how little real happiness either of you have had, I just couldn't interfere.”
 
Her voice heavy with emotion, Nabiki said, “Thanks, sis,” and hugged Kasumi.
 
“Ah…” Akane started. She was blushing now herself. “I… was just thinking that since Kasumi and I already know and didn't tell anyone, I'd… be willing to cover for you… if you wanted to… do that again.”
 
Kasumi colored a little herself, but otherwise managed to maintain her legendary poise. “I'm willing to help you as well. I do wish to ask one question.”
 
Ranma asked curiosly, “What to you want to know.”
 
Kasumi's face turned a brighter red as said, “I overheard you say you had been together having sex as girls. I wondered when that happened.”
 
Now it was Ranma's turn to blush again. She said, “It was on Sunday when everyone else was out. Right after my little accident. Well… you see… I was right in the middle of a male orgasm and when I got splashed it changed into the female version.”
 
Nabiki took over, “I asked which type of orgasm was better, the boy type or girl type.”
 
Ranma continued, “I told her I thought the girl type was better.”
 
Now blushing again, Nabiki finished, “I asked her if she'd like another one of those and… well… things just sort of kept going from there.”
 
Ranma added, “It's not like we planned anything. It just sort of ... happened.”
 
Kasumi nodded. “If you want to try to `experiment' again, I will do what I can to divert my father and Ranma's parents. There must be a better time to do that when it won't be keeping people awake.”
 
Ranma looked doubtful. “With as many people as are living in this house, have you ever tried to get a moment's privacy. It's not as easy as you think. It'll be even harder once we're back in school.”
 
Nabiki said, “Maybe we could use the dojo at night. That way we wouldn't be keeping Akane or Kasumi awake.”
 
Ranma unconsciously put her hand on her butt and complained, “A futon on the floor won't be as comfortable as a bed.”
 
Nabiki put her arm around Ranma's shoulders and squeezed. “I'd be willing to put up with a little discomfort. You're worth it.”
 
Ranma blushed, but instead of looking down she looked deep into Nabiki's eyes and saw the love there. “What did I do to deserve you?”
 
The youngest and eldest of the Tendo sisters watched as the two lovers embraced and kissed. Both the sisters could think of all kinds of problems and complication that could still come up. There was still Shampoo and Ukyo could be a problem. Nobody wanted to ruin the moment.
 
After a time the two lovers separated and just looked into each other's eyes. Suddenly they heard, “Sweeto!”
 
Ranma groaned and muttered, “Does something always have to happen to ruin my happiness? (Kami-sama must really hate me.)”
 
Ranma braced herself for the usual routine. Happosai would glomp onto her breasts and start to fondle them. She would freeze for a moment and the little pervert would get a good feel. Ranma would knock him away then she would yell and he would tease and mock.
 
Sure enough the diminutive martial arts master leapt onto Ranma and grabbed her breasts. That's where reality departed from the script in her mind. The old man was just holding her breasts, he wasn't fondling. There was a strange expression on his face like someone who had just seen a magnificent waterfall for the first time.
 
Suddenly the tiny old man sprang back to stand a short distance away. “Ranma, you naughty girl, what have you been up to?”
 
“You have the nerve to ask me that!” Wait a minute… he just called me a girl. He always calls me a boy even when going after my girl side.
 
As if pronouncing a great revelation the old man said, “You're pregnant!”
 
“You say that like it should be news. I've know it since my curse locked.”
 
“Oh? Of course, of course you'd know.”
 
Ranma demanded, “How do you know?”
 
“I read your chi, you silly child” The aged martial arts master fairly vibrated with unconcealed glee.”
 
Now definitely puzzled, Ranma asked, “What are you so happy about? Is my being pregnant that much of a good thing for you to find out?”
 
“A good thing? If I'm reading your chi right it's one of the most wonderful things that could ever happen. To think I would be present to witness such an event twice in one lifetime.”
 
Now all the women in the room were confused. Kasumi asked, “Grandfather Happosai, I know a pregnancy can be a wonderful thing, but I don't understand why you think Ranma's pregnancy is so special.”
 
“'Special?' Ranma's pregnancy is an event the like of which has only happened one other time I know of in the entire history of the world.”
 
“Old freak, you're starting to scare me.”
 
“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. You do know who the father of your child is, don't you?”
 
“Well, yeah.”
 
“Ranma, please let me touch your stomach so I can be sure.”
 
The old freak was asking permission to touch her? What weird parallel universe did we all wake up in this morning?
 
Ranma motioned the old man to come forward. He placed his hand gently, almost reverently on Ranma's abdomen. His face took on an expression of concentration. Finally he stepped back and the glee had returned to his face.
 
“Ok, old man, what's up?”

“I can easily imagine you would have gone to ask Cologne about your situation. Did she tell you the story of a warrior named Gel?”
 
“You know?”
 
“Yes, I do know. For the first time in more than a century the two halves of a single cursed individual have come together to produce a child. I won't ask you how it happened, I don't need to know.”
 
Ranma couldn't think of anything to say to that.
 
The aged martial artist was thoughtful. “Every mother dreams that her child will be special. They imagine their child as a leader, a healer, a person of great importance.”
 
Ranma answered this one, “I'll just be glad if she's healthy.”
 
“You worry that her… unique parentage might threaten her health like inbreeding weakened some of the royal families of Europe in the past?”
 
“Yes, I'm worried.”
 
“I understand why you're worried, but you needn't be. Your child is not just a being of flesh, she is magic as well. The magic of such parentage insures that your child will not just be healthy, she will be perfect.”
 
“Perfect? That's saying a lot.”
 
“What did Cologne tell you about Pomade?”
 
“Pomade?”
 
“She didn't tell you the name of Gel's daughter?”
 
“No. Her name was Pomade?”
 
“That's right.”
 
“Cologne said she was beautiful, strong and skilled in battle. She was a warrior who fell in battle against the Musk.”
 
“That's all true but it falls short of telling the full story. When you hear that you are both mother and father of your child you fear for her health and safety as if your male side were your brother. You don't need to do that. Your child is magic just as Pomade was.”
 
He sighed. “A child with the gifts she had should have been trained as a leader or a healer. It was a pure waste of potential to make her a warrior. To be fair to Amazons of her tribe, they didn't recognize what they had in Pomade. They just didn't know what to do with her. I tried to help her but they wouldn't let me. They didn't want someone like me coming near the child. They were afraid I'd turn her into a pervert like myself.”
 
The old man seemed sad. “I wasn't always a pervert. At one point in my life I was forced to make a decision. I was dying and the masters who treated me used the only thing available to them at the time to keep me alive. That was absorbing chi from the bodies of women. At the time I decided that if I had to do it anyway, I'd at least have fun with it. That's when I started acting like a pervert.”
 
He continued, “Mostly I haven't had any regrets about that decision. I do regret that it kept me away from Pomade. She was a cute, smart, precocious child with a smile that could melt the hardest of hearts. She was the kind of child you couldn't help falling in love with.” He sighed again.
 
“Have you chosen a name for your child, Ranma?”
 
The red haired girl nodded, “I'm going to call her Ranko. I once picked that name to use for myself when I was pretending someone else in front of my mother. I thought it was a nice name then, I think it is a nice name for my daughter.”
 
“I like it. I'm too old to take an active role in the raising of a child and with the habits I have, I wouldn't be the best person to be around a growing child. If you'd allow it, I would like to visit like an uncle or grandfather.”
 
Ranma looked hard at the old man. “If you promise to behave yourself when you are around her, I think I can agree to letting you visit Ranko.”
 
The old man smiled. “Right now you must be worrying about a lot more than if your baby will be healthy or not. I can imagine that for person your age looking forward to the prospects of school, raising a child and finding a job must be frightening. I can help with that.”
 
“Help how?”
 
“You may find this hard to believe, but I am actually fairly wealthy. With the way I live there is little to spend my money on.”
 
“How would you get money?”
 
“When you've lived as long as I have, it isn't that hard. A lot of it came from real estate. A century and a half ago I bought parcels of land that are worth a lot now. I can give you money to pay for Ranko's care and education. It will also pay for you and Akane to finish school and go on to college.”
 
Akane blushed and looked down. She didn't say anything.
 
Nabiki spoke up, “Actually… that would be Ranma and me.”
 
“What, when did that happen?”
 
Still looking down Akane answered, “I realize now that I have a problem with my anger. I hit Ranma with my mallet so much, so often that he stopped loving me and I can't blame him… her.”
 
Happosai looked confused. He looked at Nabiki. “I thought you looked at Ranma as a way to make money.”
 
Nabiki hung her head. “That was true in the past, but not anymore. I've come to appreciate her for brave, loyal and fun person she really is.” She looked up with a defiant expression on her face as if expecting a challenge, “I love Ranma.”
 
With an equally defiant expression Ranma said, “I love Nabiki. We're going to be married when my curse unlocks after the baby's born.”
 
The old man smiled, “I'm impressed. I didn't think you had it in you Nabiki.”
 
Ranma spoke up for her fiancé, “When I proposed to Nabiki I told my mom there is a lot to Nabiki that she has been hiding from the world. She's let me see some of that and I like what I see.”
 
The aged martial arts master nodded. “I go away for a little while and everything changes. Nabiki, I think you would be the best one to talk to about making formal arrangements.”
 
Ranma said, “I hate to say this but I do have some pride. We don't need charity. We can find a way to earn the money.”
 
Happosai, “I was expecting you to say that. We can call it a loan. If I'm still alive after you graduate from college, you can pay me back from the income of whatever job you get at the time.”
 
A feeling of relief washed through Ranma at this. “I think I can live with that. That would also free me from a promise to Cologne.”
 
“What kind of promise?”
 
“I was worried about being able to support and care for Ranko. I told Cologne that if I couldn't find job or some other way of supporting myself and Ranko by the time my curse unlocks, I'd agree to go back to China to the Amazon village.”
 
“I think that would be a big mistake.”
 
“I do too, but I was feeling kind of desperate at the time.”
 
The little man nodded. “Change of subject - I think I may know at least part of Akane's problem.”
 
Akane sounded hopeful, “Really?”
 
“Your mallet is a chi attack. I've seen you use it enough to know that the chi is based on anger. Is that right?”
 
The black haired girl nodded.
 
“Emotion based chi attacks can be very powerful and they are relatively easy to learn. There is a problem with using a negative emotion like anger that each time you use the attack it leaves a residue in your aura. Over time that can build up. If you keep using your mallet, you might find yourself using it to attack someone who doesn't have Ranma's martial arts training.”
 
This brought a gasp as Akane clapped a hand over her mouth.
 
“I see you realize how serious that would be. You could end up killing someone.”
 
“What can I do?” Akane wailed.
 
“I have some scrolls I can loan you. So that you won't be defenseless you can use the scrolls to learn how to use pure ki. That is the true power of the life force, the energy of the universe. It is harder to learn and to master, but it doesn't have the same kind of lingering bad effects that emotion based chi can. Using pure ki can also cleanse your aura of the built up effects of the emotional chi.”
 
He turned to Ranma. “You have been using chi based on confidence. This is a much more positive emotion, but there can be problems with that as well. What happens to a martial artist who becomes overconfident?”
 
Ranma's eyes got big, “He starts making mistakes that could get him killed in a serious fight.”
 
“Exactly! I think you are more than ready for training in this discipline. When I was reading you I got the feeling you had already touched the power of pure ki.”
 
“Oh, that must have been yesterday. I woke up with what I thought was morning sickness and I used a meditation technique I learned that's supposed to speed healing. It seemed strangely easy for me to balance the chi flows and to clear blockages. After I did that, I didn't have the morning sickness anymore and I felt great.”
 
“That was pure ki you were adjusting, not emotion base chi. I think I can loan you a more advanced scroll. You already have the beginnings. I think the presence of that magical baby may have given you the push you needed to get started.”
 
Ranma looked agitated. “Ryoga uses an attack with chi based on depression.”
 
Happosai said, “He could end up killing himself and maybe a lot of people around him. I think I have an extra copy of the training scroll. I know the boy is hard to find when he gets lost.”
 
Ranma said, “Thanks. Since he got hooked up with Akari at that pig farm, I know he's not as depressed as he used to be. Maybe he won't need it, but probably better safe than sorry.”
 
Happosai went off with Nabiki to make the arrangements for the loan. Ranma went off to the dojo to work out.
 
That afternoon Nabiki had gone of to the bank. There was some work that needed to be done to deposit the money from Happosai. There were some options for that which would allow for growth of the money. There were also some possibilities for investments. If she managed the money right they might come out of the deal with as much to keep as they would eventually pay back.
 
Before Ranma went out Kasumi had insisted on trimming her hair. She had noticed how those glorious scarlet locks were uneven and felt it was best to make them look better as long as Ranma wasn't wearing the pigtail for now.
 
As she walked toward Dr. Tofu's clinic Ranma thought about the image she had seen in the mirror after Kasumi finished with her hair. There was no trace of masculinity in the image other than the somewhat mannish stance she stood with. She reflected that she was likely walking like a boy as well. The question that came to mind was if she wanted to hold onto those last traces of masculine behavior or maybe ask her mother for lessons on how to be more girlish. That might make it harder to go back to being a part time guy when the curse unlocked. Better think more on that later.
 
She was now going to Dr. Tofu to talk about PE class and a possible note to get out of the class. It wasn't that she felt she couldn't take the exercise and sports of the class, it was the whole locker room issue. While stuck as a girl she didn't think she would feel comfortable using the boy's locker room and she didn't think the girls would allow her to use their locker room. By getting the doctor's excuse she was hoping to sidestep the issue.
 
She heard a familiar voice. “Excuse me miss. I was wondering if you could help me. I'm trying to get to the Unryu farm. It's about 20 km. north of Tokyo.”
 
She turned to look up at the fang toothed lost boy. He looked essentially unchanged since the last time she'd seen him. “Hello, Ryoga. How've you been?”
 
“I'm sorry miss, do I know you?”
 
“Uh, Ryoga take a better look. I've got red hair and blue eyes. Check out the height and build. I always used to wear my hair in a pigtail. Who does that remind you of?”
 
“Ran… Ranma, is that you?”
 
She gave a nervous laugh and said, “Yeah, it's me.”
 
The look of confusion on the lost boy's face was replaced by anger. “How can you call yourself a man dressed like that and wearing your hair like that? Is this some new scheme? You don't deserve a wonderful girl like Akane.”
 
The boy in the yellow and black bandana uttered his signature phrase, “Saotome Ranma, PREPARE TO DIE!” He threw a powerful punch and followed it with a kick.
 
Ranma dodged and shouted, “Ryoga, no! I don't want to fight you.” She recalled Nabiki's words on the relationship with Ryoga. She thought, “He must be in the hate part of his love/hate cycle.”
 
“Too bad, Ranma, I want to fight you.” He launched a flurry of punches and kicks.
 
There were some passersby who were wondering why the muscular young man was attacking the pretty young girl. One man pulled out his cell phone and was ready to call the police but he noticed that the girl didn't really seem to be in trouble. She was dodging every attack easily. He decided to leave the two to settle their differences between them. Maybe it was some weird kind of martial arts courtship ritual.
 
Ranma knew she couldn't keep dodging forever. Eventually she would get tired. She was getting frustrated and couldn't stop the tears she felt gathering in her eyes. She shouted, “Ryoga, STOP! Please!”
 
“Why should I!”
 
She hadn't intended it that way but it came out as a scream, “I'M PREGNANT!”
 
Ryoga stood, frozen one fist drawn back ready to throw a punch. As Ranma's words penetrated into his brain the fist began to unclench and he lowered his arm. “You're what?”
 
“Pregnant.” When this was met with silence she rolled her eyes and tried again. “You know, pregnant. I'm going to have a baby.”
 
“But you're…”
 
Ranma gave a snort, “A guy? That's what I've been saying, but I can't argue with my body.”
 
“Wh… when?”
 
“My curse locked on Sunday and I found out I was pregnant on Monday.”
 
“You're locked as a girl?”
 
“Yeah. I asked Cologne about it and she says I'm going to be stuck this way until seven weeks after I give birth.”
 
“Give birth…” Ryoga said the words as if testing them out, not quite believing them.
 
“Yes, `give birth.' That's what usually happens at the end of a pregnancy.”
 
“But you're not…”
 
“Not a real girl? I guess I'm real enough to get pregnant.”
 
“Who…”
 
“Who's the father? I'd rather not talk about that.” When she saw Ryoga open his mouth to say more, she held up her hand and said, “Please don't push me on this. I would rather not say who the father is. It's a bad situation and I'd like to keep it private.”
 
“Why…” He waved a hand up and down to indicate the clothes Ranma was wearing.
 
“Since I'm going to be stuck as a girl for almost a year, I wanted to wear some clothes that fit instead of my boy clothes that are way too big for me. My mom already bought a lot of girl clothes for me when I was pretending to be Akane's cousin, so I'm wearing some of those.”
 
Ranma paused for a moment then said, “You know it would be easier to hold a conversation if you would talk in complete sentences.”
 
Ryoga seemed to take a moment to think. “If you want to keep it private why did you tell me?”
 
“It was the only way I could think of to stop you from attacking me.”
 
“Oh.”
 
“Look, I'm on my way to see Dr. Tofu. Why don't you tag along and he may know a way for you to get to Akari's farm. Maybe one of his patients will be going that way.”
 
As Ryoga fell in beside the red haired girl Ranma looked up at him. “Uh, Ryoga would you promise not to get mad if I tell you some stuff.?”
 
“What kind of stuff?” The tone of voice was wary.
 
“For a start about Akane.”
 
In a dangerous tone, “What about Akane?”

“I'm not engaged to her anymore.”
 
“What happened?”

“Look, I know you blame me for everything bad that ever happened in your life. I may even be guilty of some it. In that you have a lot in common with Akane. She was always blaming me for all kinds of stuff that wasn't my fault. She got mad a lot and hit me with her mallet.”
 
“But you…”
 
“Deserved it? No! I didn't deserve more than a tiny fraction of the times she hit me with that mallet. There were lots of times when she wouldn't let me explain myself until after she hit me. When she found out it wasn't my fault she apologized.”
 
Ryoga's voice was a growl. “Where are you going with this?”
 
“I was getting tired of getting hit. Then I found out I was pregnant and she got mad over something and got out the mallet. I totally freaked out when I thought she would hurt my baby by hitting me.
 
“She wouldn't hurt a baby!”
 
“Maybe not intentionally, but she can't control her temper. If my mom and Nabiki hadn't stopped her she would have hit me. She would have found about my baby dying after and she would probably have gone into a terrible depression.”
 
She shook her head, “I'm sorry Ryoga. The kind and sweet Akane you fell in love with is an illusion. The real Akane is a disturbed girl with serious anger issues. She is going to seek treatment for those problems.”
 
“No, you're lying. You must be.”
 
“Why would I lie?”

“It can't be true. Akane is a nice girl.”
 
“She is nice, but she has problems. I found out that part of that comes from the use of the mallet.”
 
“What do you mean?”
 
“Happosai told me. The mallet is a chi attack base on anger. The more she used it, the more anger built up in her aura. If it had gone on she might have used the mallet on someone who wasn't a martial artist.”
 
Ryoga's face went pale at that. He clearly recognized the implications of such an act.
 
Ranma said, “I'm engaged to Nabiki now.”
 
“You're engaged to that cold hearted witch with the soul of a cash register? Why would you even want to?”
 
“She's not cold hearted! I love her and she loves me!”
 
Ryoga was taken aback by the vehemence of Ranma's words. “Are we talking about the same Tendo Nabiki?” He held out a hand, “About this tall, brown hair and wears it in a style that looks like a helmet?”
 
Ranma nodded. “You just have to learn to look past the surface. The `ice queen' is just a mask she wears. Underneath that she is a kind, caring and loving woman.”
 
Ryoga didn't know how to respond to that. His preconceptions about two woman were being challenged today. He was about to get another preconception challenged.
 
“Uh, Ryoga, you're going to think this is weird.”
 
“Weirder than what you already told me?”
 
“Yeah.”
 
“I guess I haven't reached my limit for weirdness yet. Tell me.”
 
“When I first told Cologne I was pregnant she said, `It must be the Hibiki boy.'”
 
“Me! I would never…”
 
“That's not all.”
 
“What?”
 
“Both Akane and Shampoo said the same thing when they heard. Well, Shampoo said, `stupid pig boy' instead of your name. Ukyo was the same. “
 
“All of those people thought you and me had sex?”
 
“It seems that way. Nabiki knew we didn't because she was there from the start. But I asked her… if she was just hearing about it for the first time would she think you were the father. She said yes.”
 
“Her too?”
 
“I asked her to explain and she said she had the feeling there was a love/hate thing going between us. Obviously when we are in the hate part is when we fight. She said when we were both in the love part and I was a guy you and I would act like best buddies. In her words if we were both in the love part when I was a girl and I could get past my macho `I'm a guy' thing she saw the potential for hot romance.”
 
“Uh, Ranma?”
 
“What?”
 
“Are you trying to seduce me?”
 
“What? Where'd you get that idea?”
 
“This conversation. You're telling me your friends and family all thought we were having sex together. Nabiki sees us as having `hot romance.' What do you expect me to think?”
 
“I'm trying to understand this. The first time I heard it, I said I couldn't imagine being attracted to you that way. The more I heard it I started wondering if there was something there that I wasn't seeing. Then when Nabiki made that comment about hot romance I got this image in my mind of you and me kissing. I guess that means I can imagine it.”
 
“Why are you asking these questions? What can it do but maybe make you sad over opportunities missed?”
 
“It might help me to figure out what are we to each other now. Are we friends or are we enemies. Do you really hate me? Is there something… more between us? Did you ever think about me… that way?”
 
“No, never!”
 
She looked at the fang toothed boy. “Don't just give the automatic response. I've been honest with you, please be honest with me.”
 
Ryoga blushed. “Ok, I'll tell you. If you ever tell anyone else, you are dead.”
 
“Yeah, yeah, `Saotome Ranma prepare to die' and all that crap. Spill it.”
 
“I… had a dream with you in it. Just the one dream.”
 
“A dream? What were we doing in it?”
 
“We were… kissing (and other stuff.)” The last part was spoken in a whisper but Ranma heard it.
 
“You mean other stuff like sex?”
 
Ryoga blushed an even brighter red. He didn't speak, but he didn't have to.
 
Ranma blushed herself while she digested this bit of information. Unbidden a new image came to her mind, that of Ryoga above her pumping his organ in and out of her as Nabiki had done.
 
Finally she spoke again, her tone businesslike, “We can't be rivals anymore because you have a girlfriend now and I'm not engaged to Akane anymore. Since you were thinking about me in those terms I guess you don't really hate me so I'm hoping we can be friends. It can't be anything more than friendship because I'm in love with Nabiki.”
 
Ryoga seemed bemused by this.
 
Ranma said, “It would help us to be friends if you stop with the whole `prepare to die' thing. After my baby's born I'd be happy to spar with you if we do it on the basis of a friendly match and not life-or-death.”
 
A trace of a smile came to the Lost boy's face. “I think I can handle that.”
 
“Do you still use the shi shi hokodan?”
 
“Not as much. I haven't been depressed enough.”
 
Ranma nodded. “I'm glad to hear it. Come by the dojo next time you can find it and stop in. I have a scroll I that Happosai gave me. It will teach you how to change over from that depression based chi attack to using pure ki. In the long run it would be much safer. “
 
“Uh, I need to get back to the farm.”
 
“Tell you what, I'll mail it to you at the farm.”
 
“That could work.”
 
“If I had know I would be running into you I would have brought it with me.”
 
Author's Note: I've thought for a long time that at least part of the reason Ryoga is always so angry at Ranma was a sexual attraction he had for girl Ranma. Since he knows Ranma is really a guy that attraction threatens Ryoga's masculinity, thus the anger.
 
Coming up - Dr. Tofu writes a doctor's note to get Ranma out of PE. She still asks if she can go to girls' PE class. The girls in gym class agree to vote on it.