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Blessed Curse

Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi

Author note: Thanks to Blissfull Wulf for betaing this fic.

Chapter 4

"Dr. Tofu!" Akane yelled as she ran into the clinic.

"Akane-san? Are you alright?" Doctor Tofu Ono asked as he poked his head out of his examination room.

"It's... not... me..." Akane panted slightly. She had run all the way from the market place with the girl she found on her back. While she wasn't extremely heavy, she wasn't light either. Knocked out, the girl was a bit of a dead weight on her back. "It's her!"

"Oh my, let me help you there," Tofu easily took the girl off of Akane's back and carried her into the back to lay her on an examining table. "Now, tell me what happen."

"I was picking some things up for Ka... for dinner tonight and I heard somebody in the alleyway," Akane explained. "I went in thinking someone needed help. I found her all pressed up against the wall across from a couple of cats. She was really afraid of them so I shooed them away but afterward she didn't seem to notice me and when I touched her shoulder she sorta jerked back and hit her head on the wall."

"Ah..." Tofu carefully moved the girl's head and gently touched it. "Yes, there is a bit of a goose egg back here. You said that she was afraid of the cats?"

"Yeah, they weren't doing anything just sitting there but she acted like they were attacking her or something," Akane said. She looked up admiringly at Tofu as he finished examining the girl she brought in. Tofu Ono had been the Tendo family doctor for years and had taken care of Akane whenever she got into a fight or had accidently hurt herself. Akane had a bit of a crush on Tofu, to her he was the perfect example of a man. Kind and a strong martial artist and a very good doctor it was hard not to admire the man.

"Hmm, sounds like she might have Ailurophobia," Tofu said as he pressed a couple of pressure points on the girl's neck and shoulder. "There we go, she should come around here in a moment."

He was proven right as a moment later the girl started to groan softly and stir.

"It's alright miss, you're safe here," Tofu said softly as he helped the girl sit up.

"Owww," The girl said, reaching up to touch the back of her head. "What happened?"

"You had a bit of an accident and have a bump on your head," Tofu explained. "Don't worry, it will go away in a day or so. Can you tell me your name?"

"Err, yeah," The girl said, sitting up to look at him. "My name’s Ranma, Saotome Ranma." In the background Akane gasped.

***

Ranma felt like she was having the most rotten day ever. After beating up the gang of thugs the night before Ranma and Kit-chan had found a nice place in a small park to set up camp for the night. It wasn't the same park Ranma had slept in the night before, at least she thought it wasn't. She had settled in for the night with Kit-chan nestled in her arms.

But come the next morning Kit-chan was gone. Worried that her new little friend had gotten lost, Ranma left her pack after hiding it away and went looking for the fox. Unknown to Ranma, during the night Ryoga had walked off to go use the little fox’s room and in typical Hibiki fashion had gotten completely and utterly lost, unable to find his way back to Ranma. He didn't want to leave Ranma's side, he felt with him there she was at least a bit protected but his family curse had struck again.

Ranma searched all over the town she was in, calling out the name she had given Ryoga's cursed form. Hearing a noise from an alleyway and thinking it might be her fox, Ranma had quickly ducked in to check. She found something much much worse. She found those things. Those horrible things that haunted her worst nightmares.

After that Ranma didn't really remember much, just the blinding fear then blackness.

Ranma stirred on a semi-soft surface groaning softly, her head ached horribly and she wondered what the heck had happened.

"It's alright miss, you're safe here," A man's voice said softly as someone helped Ranma sit up.

"Owww," Ranma said, reaching up to touch the back of her head. "What happened?"

"You had a bit of an accident and have a bump on your head," the man explained. "Don't worry, it will go away in a day or so. Can you tell me your name?"

"Err, yeah," Ranma said, sitting up to look at him. He was at least a decade older than her with soft looking longish brown hair and wearing a pair of glasses. "My name’s Ranma, Saotome Ranma."

"Hello there, my name is Doctor Ono Tofu," Tofu said with a smile. "I'm the chiropractor here in Furinkan."

"What happened?" Ranma asked.

"You hit your head and Akane brought you here," Tofu said. "As I said, you'll be fine, the bump will go away in a day."

"Akane?" Ranma asked wondering who the man was talking about. Tofu smiled and turned, holding a hand out toward the girl with long blue hair that was standing by the wall.

'This is the person Daddy was waiting on!?' Akane thought when she heard Ranma's name then wanted to laugh. 'She's a girl!' Akane almost couldn't believe it then frowned slightly. 'Ok, hold on there Akane, maybe it's not the same Saotome Ranma Daddy was talking about. He seemed really sure that it was a boy that was supposed to come to the house and this is obviously a girl. Maybe they just so happen to have the same name. How common of a family name is Saotome anyway?'

"Akane?" Tofu called to her, trying to get her attention.

"Hmm? Yes Dr. Tofu?" Akane asked knocked out of her own thoughts. Tofu nodded toward Ranma, Akane blushed slightly and stepped toward.

"Hi, my name is Akane," She said with a bow. "I...err... found you in the alley and brought you to Dr. Tofu for help."

"Oh... thanks," Ranma blushed, she really hoped that the other girl just saw her knocked out and not scared out of her wits by a couple of cats.

"Well Miss Saotome I think you'll be fine. You can go ahead and jump down but if you feel light headed or dizzy, try to make it to a hospital if you can't make it back to me," Tofu said as he ushered the girls out of the clinic.

"Oh yeah, thanks doc," Ranma said.

"My pleasure," Tofu smiled as he watched the girls walk off. 'Hmmm... there was something very strange about her chi but I can't put my finger on what it is.'

***

"So... I can help you home if you need it," Akane offered as she and Ranma walked down the street.

"I... umm... don't really have one," Ranma said, scratching the side of her nose. "Me and my Pops have been on a ten year training trip and we just recently came back to Japan."

"Oh? Where's your father then?" Akane asked her mind racing as she remembered her own father mentioned that the Saotomes had been on a training trip as well.

"Don't know, we kinda got separated," Ranma said with a shrug. "We were suppose to go to some guy he knew house but Pops is kinda... tangled up in something else now." Ranma almost smirk, she wondered if Genma was enjoying being the new attraction at the zoo.

"Do you remember who?" Akane asked.

"Err, something that started with Ten I think," Ranma said, tilting her head back. Akane licked her lips before asking,

"Tendo?"

"Yeah, that's it!" Ranma said. "Wait, how did you know?"

"My family name is Tendo, I think you and your father were suppose to come to our house a couple of nights ago," Akane said. She couldn't believe it, it was the same Ranma her Daddy was talking about! She couldn't help but be relieved that Ranma was really a girl. 'Daddy is going to be so disappointed, I can't believe he didn't know that Ranma was a girl. What has his friend been telling him?'

"What? Really?" Ranma was just as surprised.

"Yeah," Akane said with a nod. "Hey... if you don't have any place to go, you can stay at our house for a couple of days."

"Are you sure?" Ranma asked. "I mean, you just met me."

"Yeah maybe, but you said you didn't have any place to go right?" Akane asked. When Ranma nodded she continued. "Well, I'm sure Daddy wouldn't mind if you crash at our house for a while, both of our dads are friends after all, and Kasumi would love it too."

"Kasumi?" Ranma asked.

"My oldest sister, I have two of them," Akane explained. "Hey, it's where you and your father were heading anyway right? Well maybe he'll look for you there."

"Yeah, maybe," Ranma muttered, she didn't really want to see her dad but Ranma really didn't know where to go from here. "Okay... if your parents don't mind, I really would like a warm place to sleep for a couple of days."

"Great!" Akane said with a sunny smile. "Want to be friends then?" She asked. Ranma smiled shyly, she didn't have many friends.

"Sure, I would like that," She said. "I need to get my pack I left it in the park."

"Ok, the park is this way," Akane lead Ranma back to the park she had slept in. "Say Ranma."

"Hmm?" Ranma looked over at the taller girl.

"Did... did your father ever tell you why you were coming out to our home?" Akane asked.

"No, not really," Ranma said. "I kept asking him about it but all Pops would tell me was that we were going to see some friend of his. Honestly, he was really edgy about it like he was hiding something."

"Oh... I think I might know what it was. Daddy told me and my sisters that there's betrothal between our families."

"Wh-what?!" Ranma asked, stopping and looking at Akane in shock. Akane nodded her head, holding the basket of dinner items in front of her.

"Yeah, Daddy thinks you’re a boy and he told us that you have to marry either me or one of my sisters," Akane said. "But that's just silly, not only is that an outdated practice, we're both girls!" Akane giggled and shook her head. "I feel sorry for my Dad, he's going to be heartbroken a bit but I'm glad you're a girl."

"Y-yeah," Ranma sweat dropped and rubbed the back of her neck. 'What the hell have you gotten me into Pops? Kami, an engagement? That's why Pops has been acting so weird and why he reacted like that when I lied and said Shampoo wanted to marry me. Fuck, how is Akane going to act when she finds out I do have a boy form? Unless I leave before I start changing again, she's gonna find out... well... maybe I can explain before that happens. I hope she believes me, Akane seems really nice. I hope I don't regret this.'

"Ranma? Are you ok?" Akane said, waving her hand in front of the other's face.

"Huh?" Ranma blinked as Akane brought her back out of her thoughts.

"Sorry, you just seemed to drift off there for a moment," Akane said. "Your head isn't hurting you is it?"

"No no, I'm fine," Ranma said. "I was just thinking. Hey, there's the tree I left my stuff in." She quickly changed the subject and jumped up into the tree. Akane watched as the other girl pulled something out of the branches, a large newish looking travel pack with a bed roll on the top.

"Okay, now that you have your things, let's head back home," Akane said with a smile. "So... what sort of things did you see during your travels?"

As the girls walked, Ranma described some of the things she had seen and learned while on the road for ten years.

**

"I'm home!" Akane said loudly as she opened the front door and toed off her shoes. Ranma quickly followed her example and set down her travel pack.

"Oh Akane, I was getting worried," Kasumi said as she exited the kitchen, a cleaning rag and a bottle of cleaning spray in each hand. "Who's your friend?"

"This is my new friend Ranma," Akane said. "Ranma, this is my oldest sister Kasumi."

"Hi," Ranma said with a small wave.

"Ranma?" A man's voice asked as a middle aged man with shoulder length black hair and a mustache wearing a brown gi came running into the house from the back porch. "Oh my dear boy I am so happy to finally see you!" Akane and Kasumi's father Soun swept the surprised Ranma up into a hug.

"Father!"

"Daddy!"

"Oh how I've waited for this day my boy now our families..." Soun stopped speaking as he squeezed Ranma closer in confusion, there was something wrong here. Ranma's front was too soft and squishy, it felt nothing like a boy’s chest. Placing his hands on Ranma's shoulders, he pushed the teen back so he could look at her.

"Are you sure Ranma is a boy Daddy?" Nabiki asked as she leaned forward. She had heard Soun yelling from her room upstairs and came down to see what all the fuss was about. "He looks like a girl to me," she added as she reached out and squeezed one of Ranma's breasts.

"I-I-I don't understand," Soun said in woeful confusion as his arms dropped to his side.

"Could you please stop that?" Ranma said in an irritated tone as she slapped Nabiki's hand away from her breast, the way the other girl was squeezing her had hurt a bit.

"Nabiki!" Kasumi said in a scandalized voice. Nabiki held up her hands as she backed away slightly.

"Alright, alright," She said. "I'll stop. I'm just staying that this isn't a boy, I think Daddy was wrong about his friend having a son... if this is really Saotome Ranma."

"She is," Akane said as she grabbed Ranma's arm and pulled the smaller girl with her into the kitchen. "I am so sorry about that Ranma, that was my other sister Nabiki and she's.... a little forceful and blunt but she doesn't mean any lasting harm."

"She's got a grip on her," Ranma said rubbing her abused breast. She looked back as she heard a wail from the other room while Akane sighed. "What's wrong with him?"

"Daddy is just very disappointed that you're a girl and not a boy," Akane said as she placed the basket of food on the counter. "And he's very emotional, he's out there crying I bet."

"I didn't mean to cause problems," Ranma said.

"Don't worry about it, this isn't your fault," Akane said. "You dad shouldn't have told Daddy that you were a boy all this time. They shouldn't have made that stupid promise either."

"Ye-yeah," Ranma agreed with a bit of a sweat drop, when she started changing back into a boy she was going to be so dead.

"Ranma-chan, I apologize for our father," Kasumi said as she walked into the kitchen. "He hasn't been the same since our mother died and well..." She shrugged helplessly.

"Errr, it's ok I understand," Ranma assured her.

"Where is your father Ranma, will we be expecting him too?" Kasumi asked as she put her cleaning supplies to the side.

"Yes, where is Saotome?" Soun asked with a bit of a growl, he had moved on from sadness and was now angry at his old friend for deceiving him all these years. "I would like to have a little word with him."

"I'm not sure where Pops is," Ranma said with a shrug. "We got separated and he disappeared."

"Hmm, maybe he didn't want to face Daddy after lying to him about Ranma being a boy," Nabiki commented with a smirk as she leaned against the doorframe.

"Daddy, can Ranma stay with us? At least for a while?" Akane asked. "I mean, she doesn't have any place to stay right now and if her father is looking for her he might come here."

"I... guess that isn't a problem," Soun said as his anger deflated slightly.

"Ah guys," Nabiki said holding up a hand. "We really can't afford-"

"Nabiki, don't speak like that," Kasumi scolded then turned to Ranma with a smile. "We'll be happy to have you here Ranma, you can sleep in the guest room. I'll get out the guest bed so you don't have to sleep on the floor."

Nabiki sighed and shook her head as she turned and left, she wasn't sure if they could afford to have a house guest. And if Ranma's father showed up...

'I guess I'll have to hold back on that new computer for a while,' Nabiki thought with a sigh. /'Maybe I can start charging Kuno more money for photos of Akane... hmm... or maybe...' /Nabiki thought and plotted to herself as she walked up the stairs into her room.

"Don't mind her," Akane said. "Come on, I’ll show you the guest room." Grabbing Ranma's hand, she dragged the smaller girl out of the room. Soun sighed sadly, if only Ranma was a boy.

"Oh don't look so down Father," Kasumi said. "At least Akane made a new friend."

"I know... but the promise..." Soun sighed and walked out of the kitchen to go mope in front of the family shrine. Kasumi sighed and shook her head, she hated seeing her Father so disappointed but like her sisters she was a bit glad Ranma was a girl. She didn't like that their father had picked a future husband for one of them.

'Oh well, he'll get over it in time,' Kasumi decided as she started to prepare a quick lunch. She was glad Akane had picked up enough food for her to make extra tonight.

***

Ranma looked around the guest room that the Tendo’s were allowing her to stay in. It was very Spartan with just a dresser along one wall, which Ranma had set her clothing into already.

"Here we are Ranma-chan," Kasumi said as she rolled the folded guest bed into the room.

"I can just sleep on my bed roll," Ranma said as she came over to help.

"Nonsense," Kasumi said with a smile. "There is no reason for you to do that. Now why don't you go on downstairs, Akane-chan said she wanted to show you the Dojo. I'll make up the bed for you." Kasumi pushed Ranma toward the door gently. Ranma looked over her shoulder at the older girl, she was surprised at how well the Tendo’s were taking her. "Go on, scoot."

"Alright," Ranma said as she left the room. Downstairs she found Akane dressed in a light yellow gi waiting on her.

"Come on, the Dojo is out here," Akane said, leading her new friend outside.

"So does your dad teach?" Ranma said as she looked around. Akane sighed softly and shook her head.

"He use to when I was little," she explained. "But when Mom died Daddy...well... he just couldn't bring himself to do it anymore, his heart wasn't into it. He did always find time to teach me though, I'm the only one who was interested in learning."

"Oh... well it's a nice dojo anyway," Ranma said and it was. It was nice and roomy; Ranma could imagine teaching a large class in here. There was a selection of weapons on one wall and what looked like a bunch of cement blocks and wooden boards set up in one corner next to a well used training dummy. Ranma wondered what in the world the cement blocks were for.

"So Ranma... since you practice martial arts would you like to spar with me?" Akane asked hopefully. She had been dying to ask since Ranma told her about some of the things the red headed girl had learned.

"Oh umm... sure," Ranma said. Akane smiled happily and led Ranma into the middle of the dojo. The blue haired girl slid into her favorite stance while the red headed girl stood across from her, arms crossed behind her head.

'Ok, guess I'll start,' Akane thought as she tossed out a punch. Ranma ducked under the right hook then moved to block Akane's follow up kick with her arm. Akane started to get a bit frustrated as Ranma ducked and blocked her attacks. 'Wow, she is good. Is she reading my moves?' Akane thought as she stepped back slightly, looking at Ranma through her hair that had fallen into her face. /'Time to get serious,' /she decided, brushing her hair out of her face and shifting her feet.

"HYAH!" Akane put the same amount of power into her new punch that she put into destroying cement blocks. The fist flew at Ranma who watched calmly, then to Akane's shock reached up and caught Akane's fist with one hand. Akane gaped at the other girl in shock, no one had ever caught her fist like that before.

"My turn," Ranma said and Akane suddenly found herself on the defensive.

Now before Ranma would have avoided each of Akane's attempts to hit her and most certainly would have never gone out of her way to hit a girl. While she didn't buy into Genma's whole 'girls are weak' thing, Ranma had been trained to never hit a girl by her father. That was the first habit the Joketsuzoku broke her of, she was told she was insulting her opponent by refusing to attack back and how would her opponent learn if she avoided every hit or refused to attack.

Ranma carefully timed her strikes as she easily bypassed Akane's defenses, holding back the power behind her attacks as she gauged how much Akane could take. Bit by bit, Ranma upped her attacks until she was sure Akane couldn't take it.

'She's a bit sloppy in her blocking and she leaves herself wide open when she attacks,' Ranma thought to herself. She ducked under Akane's attempt to attack her head. 'She puts too much power into her hits, she's making herself tired faster. But, she can take a hit and if she focused more she would do a bit better.'

'Damn, she's not even breaking a sweat,' Akane thought, she was panting slightly and her hair was sticking to her sweaty face. 'I've got to end this.'

Akane started attacking again, Ranma backed up toward the wall. With a yell, Akane cocked her fist back and let it fly at the other girl. Ranma jumped into the air, twisted above Akane's head and landed behind the bluenette as she punched a hole into the wall. Akane blinked in surprise and jumped slightly as Ranma poked her in the back of the neck.

"Haaa," Akane started to laugh slightly as she removed her hand from the wall and turned to look at Ranma. "Wow, you are really good."

"Umm thanks," Ranma said, rubbing the back of her neck. Akane gave her a tired smile and headed back toward the house. She was sweaty and had worked up an appetite from sparring with Ranma.

"Ranma, I am really glad you're a girl," Akane said over her shoulder, if Ranma had been a boy... she shook her head as she thought about that stupid challenge one of the upper classmen and her sister Nabiki’s classmate Tatewaki Kuno had given at the start of the year. The older teen had something of an obsession with her and had told all the boys in the school during an assembly that no one could date her unless they defeated her in a fight first. Since then, a group of boys stood at the gates to her school every morning fighting her all at once. Luckily Akane had defeated all the boys every morning but it left a very bad taste in her mouth when it came to the male half of the school.

"Ok?" Ranma said confused, she wondered what Akane meant by that. Her new friend didn't seem to hear her as she headed upstairs toward her room.

"Oh Ranma, there you are," Kasumi said as she walked out of the hallway with a towel and a bucket with bathing things inside in her arms. "I've got a fresh bath going in the furo if you’d like to wash off."

"Oh that's ok, I didn't really-" Ranma said only to be interrupted by Kasumi.

"You were just out in the dojo sparring with my sister correct?" Kasumi asked. After Ranma nodded she smiled and pressed the items into the girl's arms. "Then you should go ahead and wash up. Lunch is almost finished, it'll be ready when you get out."

"Oh ok," Ranma said as she let Kasumi push her toward the furo. A soak in a hot furo did sound good right now, she hadn’t really had a chance to have one in a while.

****

Ranma sighed happily as she slid into the hot water in the furo. There was nothing like a nice relaxing hot soak, it had always been one of Ranma's secret pleasures. Growing up on the road like she had, bath rooms weren't really something you found every day. Ranma had to bathe in cold streams and lakes, and believe her that really sucked when it was cold. Genma would tell her to suck it up like a man but he groused and complained just as much about bathing in cold water. Sometimes they got lucky and came across a hot spring but those were few and far between.

"Hmm," Ranma slid down until the water was almost up to her nose. She loved being able to bathe and soak in the hot water as a girl but she knew that wasn't going to last much longer, in too few days the waterproof soap would wear off and she would start changing into her boy form again.

"What am I going to do about that?" Ranma asked herself as she sat up. She was conflicted, these people had been nice to her so far but who knew if that would last once she started to change again. Maybe she could explain that she thought of herself as a girl even when she was a boy and about the curse, but would they believe her? Ranma didn't know.

And then there was that whole betrothal thing. It explained why her dad reacted like he did when Ranma lied and told him Shampoo considered her boy form her husband but why didn't the man just tell her about the engagement in the first place when she asked? He just kept putting it off.

"I bet he was waiting until the last minute to tell me," Ranma muttered to herself. She didn't want to marry anyone right now, especially not a girl. Even before she’d discovered what her feelings on her gender meant Ranma had never been interested in girls, boys on the other hand... well there was something else that she had never told Genma.

There was another possibility, she could just leave before the soap wore off and go with her original plan of either going back to China or looking for her mother. That way the Tendo’s never had to find out about her curse. But she was so tired of moving from place to place all the time, she had been doing that for 10 years already. She just wanted the chance to stay in one place for more than a couple of months at a time and to stay in a real house instead of a tent.

"Of course I would have had that if Pops hadn't 'saved me' from the Joketsuzoku," Ranma said with a roll of her eyes. Well she didn't have to decide now, there were still a couple of days before she figured out what to do. In the meantime she would take a chance to rest here. And who knew, maybe the Tendo’s, at least Akane and her sisters, would be understanding and wouldn't call her a freak or something and make her leave.

"I guess I better get out," Ranma said with a sigh. As she stood up and got ready to get out of the bath, the door opened up. Akane stood in the doorway with nothing but a towel that she held in front of her body to shield her nudity.

"A-Akane!" Ranma said as she flushed in embarrassment.

**

"Akane, the bath is ready," Kasumi said as she passed her sister's room.

"Thanks Nee-chan," Akane said with a smile. As soon as her sister was gone, Akane groaned softly and rotated her shoulders. 'Damn, Ranma was a lot better than I thought she would be. I haven't been this sore in years. But now I have a proper sparring partner so I can get better, I'll show Kuno and those pervert boys. Hmm, I think a good soak is what I need to work out the kinks.'

Akane stood and quickly headed downstairs to where the furo was. As she undressed and dumped her dirty gi in the hamper Akane noticed Ranma's red shirt and black pants already there.

"Oh, Ranma must already be in the bath," Akane mused as she grabbed a towel, holding it up in front of her as she slid the door into the bathing area open. She looked up as she opened the door and saw Ranma standing in the tub.

"A-Akane!" Ranma said her face flushed.

"Don't mind me," Akane said. "You don't have to interrupt your bath on my account."

"Epp!" Ranma remembered that she was naked and quickly sat back down in the water. She might think of herself as a girl now but she was raised as a boy and they didn't bathe with girls. Akane giggled softly, Ranma must be shy. Ranma blushed hotly and looked down in the water as Akane dropped the towel and sat down on a stool to start washing up.

"What's the matter Ranma?" Akane asked as she filled up a bucket and dumped the water over her head, shivering as the cold water ran over her.

"Sorry, not use to taking a bath with other people," Ranma said in embarrassment.

"Hey it's ok, we're both girls here," Akane assured her. Ranma just mumbled something under her breath and flushed harder, not looking up at Akane as the other girl rinsed off and stepped into the bath.

'Wow, she sure is shy,' Akane thought as she sighed, the hot water feeling really good. "You are really good Ranma, I haven’t had a work out like that in a long time."

"Oh umm... I didn't hurt you did I?" Ranma asked as she looked up, the water was covering Akane up now so it wasn't as embarrassing for her. Ranma thought she was pulling her punches enough not to hurt her new friend.

"Don't worry about it," Akane said with a wave of her hand and a grin. "A bruise here and there won't kill me. I'll just have to train a lot harder than I have been." Ranma shyly smiled back, glad that her new friend wasn't sore about losing. The girls chatted for a while, Ranma slowly relaxing and getting use to sharing a bath with another girl.

"Akane-chan, Ranma-chan," Kasumi's voice drifted through the door. "Lunch is ready as soon as you two get out."

"Hai Nee-chan," Akane called back. "Come on, Kusami's cooking is the best and I bet you're starving." Ranma's stomach took that moment to growl in agreement making Akane laugh, Ranma giggling with her.

***

Ranma exited the guest room the next morning yawning widely. She hadn't been able to sleep in like that in a long time and the room had been so nice. Kasumi had taken the time to make the room a little more comfortable. The bed had nice soft sheets and blankets on it with fluffy pillows and she had put curtains on the only window in the room. Kasumi had even placed a vase of flowers on the nightstand and put away Ranma's few meager belongings that Ranma hadn’t already put away. Luckily the woman hadn't asked why some of Ranma's stuff looked like it would belong to a boy and not a young girl.

Ranma had spent most of the night being grilled by Akane's older sister Nabiki. The older girl had wanted to know all she could find out on Ranma and her father. Ranma had gotten flustered by the questions as they became more and more personal and had to be saved by Kasumi who sharply told her sister to lay off. Ranma hadn't seen much of the sister's father, Soun Tendo spent most of his time moping out by the family shrine.

"Good morning Ranma," Kasumi said with a smile as Ranma walked down the stairs. "I saved you some breakfast, it's on the counter in the kitchen."

"Thank you," Ranma said as she made a beeline for the kitchen. Kasumi smiled and giggled softly, that girl had quite the appetite. "So where's Akane and Nabiki?" Ranma asked when Kasumi joined her in the kitchen.

"They had school today," Kasumi said. "They left a couple of hours ago."

"Oh," Ranma said, enjoying the okayu Kasumi had made. "Kasumi, can I ask a question?"

"I think you just did," Kasumi joked with a smile. "But you may ask another."

"Yesterday, after me and Akane got done sparring, she said she was glad I wasn’t a boy and I got the feeling that she meant more than what she said," Ranma said. "Why is that? She doesn't like boys or something?"

Kasumi sighed softly as she took the now empty bowl from Ranma.

"Akane is having some problems at school with some of the boys there," Kasumi explained. "You’d have to ask her, she knows all the details. A word of advice Ranma-chan, Nabiki is a sweet girl but she has a very bad habit of charging people money whenever they ask her for something so I would avoid asking Nabiki anything."

"She's kinda pushy," Ranma said.

"Nabiki has always been like that," Kasumi said with a chuckle. "She doesn't mean any harm, and honestly the money she makes goes toward the house. As for Akane, as I said you would have to ask her, it's her story to tell. But don't push her if she doesn't want to answer, it makes her a bit upset."

"Ok, I'll remember that," Ranma said then winced in pain, pressing a hand to her side.

"Are you alright?" Kasumi asked as she noticed the motion. Ranma nodded, she had been getting these little pains for the last day or so and didn't know what was causing them. She hoped she wasn't hurt somewhere.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ranma assured her. "I'll be back," she added as she left the kitchen and headed towards the downstairs bathroom. Kasumi watched her go and shook her head with a smile. She washed the bowl in the sink and was putting it in the drain pan to dry when a scream rang through the house startling Kasumi who dropped the bowl. The bowl hit the floor, shattering into pieces but went unnoticed by Kasumi as she ran from the room to the bathroom.

"Ranma? Are you alright?" Kasumi as she opened the door enough to slip in. "What's wrong?"

"I-I-I'm bleeding!" Ranma said, completely freaked out.

"What?" Kasumi asked, drawing the girl into her arms to calm her down.

"I'm bleeding, d-down there," Ranma said. "I-I came in here to use the toilet and I found blood i-in my boxers and I don't know why. I didn't get hurt or nothing!" Kasumi blinked and rubbed Ranma's back.

"Ranma, there isn't any reason to be concerned," Kasumi said soothingly. "You're just having your time of the month."

"M-my what?" Ranma asked confused.

"Your period," Kasumi said making Ranma give her an even more confused look. "Ranma, you haven’t had your period before now?"

"I-I don't even know what it is," Ranma said with a shake of her head. She was shaking all over, she hadn't known about this part of a girl's life. "I've only been a girl for a few wee..." Ranma clammed up as she realized she was babbling and about to give away her secret.

"Ranma, what did you mean by you've only been a girl for a few weeks?" Kasumi asked as she caught what Ranma said. Ranma bit her lip, she wanted to explain as she did feel bad about not telling her hosts about what was going on but she wasn't sure if Kasumi would believe her. Or worse yet, maybe Kasumi would believe her but demand that she leave.

"My pops did have a son," Ranma said softly bowing her head so her hair hid her face. "I was born in a boy’s body but... but I had never felt comfortable or right in it. I didn't understand what it meant until a few weeks ago, Pops and me went to this ancient training ground called Jusenkyo. It's filled with a bunch of pools of water that turned out to be cursed. Pops accidently knocked me into the pool of drowned girl.

"After that I finally felt right for the first time in my life but it turns out I can only be a girl if I'm hit with cold water, hot water turned me back into a boy. The guide brought us to this nearby village and one of the elders helped me understand what my feelings meant."

Ranma looked up at Kasumi, her big blue eyes begging for the older girl to understand.

"I'm transsexual, I might have been born a boy but I'm a girl, I really am Kasumi."

Kasumi stayed quiet, holding Ranma the whole time the red headed girl had explained what she meant. Kasumi was a bit skeptical, a magic spring that turned you into something else? But the tone of Ranma's voice and the look in those blue eyes were enough to convince Kasumi that Ranma was telling the truth. About everything.

Kasumi had a friend that she had grown up with and gone to school with that was also transsexual. Her best friend Aoi had been born a boy but swore all her life that she was really a girl. Aoi was currently working up the funds to start her gender reassignment surgery.

"I understand Ranma-chan," Kasumi said with a smile. Ranma sagged in relief in Kasumi's arms.

"Kasumi, is everything alright?" Soun's voice asked on the other side of the bathroom door. "I heard somebody scream."

"Everything is fine Father," Kasumi called out. "It's nothing for you to worry about, it's something girl related."

"Urrmmm... yes... well I'll leave you to it then," Soun said then the girls could hear him rapidly walk away. He had raised three girls and knew 'girl stuff' was not something he wanted to get mixed up in. Kasumi smiled and shook her head then stood up, holding her hands out to Ranma.

"Let's get you cleaned up and I'll show you what you should do," Kasumi offered as she helped Ranma to stand. "Then we'll go down to the kitchen and I'll make you a nice soothing cup of tea where I'll explain everything."

"Thank you Kasumi," Ranma said in a grateful tone. She had been unprepared for her first time of the month.

**

"So I'll have to go through this every month?" Ranma asked an hour later, nursing a lukewarm cup of tea between her hands.

"Well if you were like this the entire time then yes," Kasumi said, a small frown marring your face. "But I can't say what will happen when you start switching back and forth again. Maybe you should speak to Dr. Tofu, he might be able to tell you more."

Ranma sighed and wished again that Genma hadn't snatched her from the village, Cologne might have been able to help her in this.

"Ranma... can I ask what happened to your father?" Kasumi asked as she had always felt there was something off about Ranma's story of how they got separated.

"Well... to be honest, I tricked Pops into using the last of my waterproof soap when we stopped at a public bath house and the police had a zoo haul him off," Ranma admitted with a tiny blush.

"A zoo?" Kasumi repeated. "Why would a zoo take him?"

"Well it could be because Pops is also cursed, at Jusenkyo I knocked him into one of the springs and now he turns into a panda," Ranma said with a smirk. "It really suits him, he doesn’t look too much different from when he's a human. But I was so shocked when he came out of the spring I didn't move in time and that's when I fell into the spring of drowned girl."

"I see," Kasumi said. "You said the soap lasts a week?"

"Yeah, but I don't know when we'll see Pops," Ranma said, shrugging her slim shoulders.

"I can't imagine he'll have ready access to hot water in a zoo," Kasumi said with a giggle. "Well in the meantime, we'll just have to figure out how to break the news to Father and my sisters."

Kasumi was a bit worried about how Akane would take Ranma being a boy. Her youngest sister was on the biggest boy-hating spree and Akane had a bit of a temper on her. She would have to think of a way to gently break it to her sister and make Akane understand that Ranma was still a girl even when she was a boy.

Nabiki on the other hand Kasumi would have to make sure she didn't take advantage of their newest house guest.

"What about that whole engagement thing?" Ranma asked. "I don't want to marry another girl."

"That will be a bit of a problem, Father is really set on joining our families," Kasumi said with a sigh. "I will think of something don't worry."

"I'm home!" Akane called as she entered the house, groaning in relief as she toed off her shoes.

"How was school?" Kasumi asked as the youngest Tendo joined them. "Where's Nabiki?"

"Same as always, having to deal with stupid boys and we had a test today but I think I aced it," Akane said as she grabbed a cookie off a plate. "Oh she said she had something to do with Kuno. I didn't even want to know, she would have charged me a fee just for asking."

"Well don't ruin your dinner," Kasumi said as she took the plate of cookies away, Akane reaching to grab another as it was taken out of her reach. Ranma giggled softly as Akane pouted.

"Fine, I'm going to change and go work out," Akane said as she headed up to her room.

***

Ranma had decided this was one thing about being a girl that she didn't like. She thought the cramps might be the worst but overall being visited by her 'aunt flow' as she heard Nabiki refer to it has just really sucked. When she mentioned it to Kasumi, the older girl just gave a humorless laugh and said no woman liked it.

Other than that, Ranma's days at the Tendo Dojo were nice. She was getting to be really good friends with Akane and even Nabiki was starting to warm up to her a bit. She didn't have any money on her to pay any rent and she felt bad just lazing around mooching off of her host so Ranma took to helping Kasumi around the house. She liked the older girl, Kasumi continued to treat her like a girl even knowing she had been born a boy and had answered any questions Ranma had. Ranma had found out later that one of the reasons Kasumi was so understanding was that she had a friend who was like Ranma and understood somewhat what Ranma was going through.

Ranma sighed as she entered the bathroom and dropped her clothing in the hamper. After that first night at the dojo, Ranma convinced Akane that she’d rather bathe alone. Akane put it off as Ranma being really shy thankfully. It was partly but Ranma still wasn't use to bathing with other girls after growing up as a boy. She headed toward the shower head on the other side of the room, having taken to showers over using the furo during her time of the month.

As Ranma stood under the shower head, letting the hot water pour over it with a content sigh, she began to feel a slight tingling sensation starting from the tip of her fingers to her toes. This was her only warning before her whole body shifted, it was quick and painless, one second she had been a girl and next she was back in her old boy form. Ranma sighed as she looked down at herself, one hand on the wall to keep her balance. After spending weeks as a girl, Ranma had almost forgotten what it was like to stand around in a boy's body.

It felt strange and foreign, if Ranma hadn't already been convinced before of the wrongness of her boy form, she now would have.

'Crap,' Ranma thought as she pushed away from the wall and over to the mirror in the corner of the room. It was weird looking at her male form again, it was like it wasn't even her though she knew it was. This body didn't feel like her's anymore, she snorted softly as even as a boy she couldn’t bring herself to call herself one. 'Just great, now I'm gonna have to explain what's going on.'

Ranma had sorta lost track of how many days she had before the soap wore off. She still hadn't explained to anyone but Kasumi what happened to her, not even Akane.

'Crap,' she thought again as she turned away from the mirror, stumbling slightly as she hurried to finish her shower. She would have to relearn how to walk as a boy again as her center of gravity was off. It was a reverse of what had happened after she fell in the spring she thought with a snort. /'Guess I'll go ahead and head out like this, no point in putting it off.' /Ranma quickly dressed in the extra clothing she brought with her and headed for the kitchen where she could hear Kasumi humming.

"Kasumi," Ranma said just loud enough to catch her attention. Kasumi gasped at the unfamiliar voice and turned on her heel to face who had entered her domain. She blinked and looked closer at the boy.

"Ranma?" Kasumi asked, breathing a sigh of relief when Ranma nodded. It wasn’t hard to tell it was Ranma, her male form stood a head taller than her female one, her form was much broader, and her hair was black as night now, but otherwise Ranma looked the same. Both of Ranma's forms looked like they could be twins had they been side by side. "Well... you are a very handsome young man Ranma," Kasumi said with a soft smile and giggled as Ranma gave her an annoyed look.

"I don't want to look handsome," Ranma said as she sat at the counter.

"Oh don't pout Ranma," Kasumi said patting her shoulder. "Do you want a glass of cold water?"

"I would but I shouldn't," Ranma sighed. "I mean, I've got to let your sisters know and I might as well do it like this," she waved a hand at her current form.

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Kasumi said. If she hadn't already been convinced by Ranma's story before, she was now. Ranma looked uncomfortable and unhappy to be a boy.

"Hey Kasumi, have you seen Ranma anywhere?" Akane asked as she entered the kitchen. "I haven’t seen her... who's this?" Akane eyed the strange boy sitting at the counter. The boy was around her age and something niggled at the back of her mind, something about him was familiar but Akane didn't know what.

Ranma let out a breath, this was going to be a lot harder than she thought it would be.

"Akane, it's me, Ranma," she said.

"No you're not, Ranma is a girl," Akane said with a snort. "Who are you really?"

"This is Ranma Akane," Kasumi said, already filling up a glass of water after putting on the kettle to boil some hot water. "Look," Kasumi poured some of the water over Ranma's head, Akane's mouth dropping open as the strange boy turned into her friend.

"What in the name of Kami-sama?" Akane asked, pointing at Ranma. "You were just a boy... but you're a girl!"

"Akane-chan, calm down," Kasumi said soothingly. "Ranma has a bit of a curse, she changes gender when she's splashed with water."

"But-but curses aren't real," Akane said then realized how stupid that sounded since she just saw Ranma change from a boy to a girl. Her eyes narrowed as she turned to look at the red head. "Were you a boy this whole time?"

"Well no, not really," Ranma said as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"Not really?" Akane answered. "What sort of answer is that?"

"Well... I was born with a boy's body but-" Ranma started to say.

"You're a boy!?" Akane nearly screeched. "Oh Kami-sama, I can't believe I took a bath with a pervert!"

"I am not a pervert!" Ranma yelled back.

"Yes you are, all boys are perverts!" Akane yelled.

"I'm not a boy!" Ranma said, planting her hands on her hips.

"Yes you are! I bet you used your curse just so you could get a peek at me," Akane said. "I can't believe this, all this time you were a pervert." Ranma growled and did the first thing that came to mind, she insulted Akane back.

"What do you know you flat chested tomboy?" Ranma said. Akane's face went red and she grabbed one of the chairs in the room to hit Ranma with.

"AKANE!" Kasumi yelled sharply. "You put that chair down right now young lady!" Akane flinched in shock and quickly put the chair back down. Kasumi marched over and grabbed Akane's arm, dragging her from the kitchen out to the dojo.

"Kasumi, what are you doing?" Akane asked, she had never seen her sister like this before.

"I have never been so disappointed in you little sister," Kasumi said after she closed the door to the dojo and turned to face the younger girl.

"Wha-" Akane started to ask.

"That girl in there dredged up all her courage to tell you about her curse and the first thing you do is insult her!" Kasumi said. "When what she needed was your understanding."

"Nee-chan, that boy in there lied to us!" Akane said, pointing a finger in the direction of the house. "Why do you keep calling him a girl?"

"Because no matter what she looks like on the outside, Ranma is still a girl," Kasumi said calmly. "Akane, Ranma is transsexual. She was born into the wrong gender, her mind and soul are female and she was lucky enough to come across something that would allow her to fully be a girl."

"That doesn't make sense, how can you be born into the wrong gender. You’re either a boy or a girl, you can't be both," Akane said. "And why didn't he say anything before?" Akane felt betrayed, she had thought she found a great new friend but the whole time Ranma was just another boy.

"That right there, that attitude is the reason why Ranma was scared to say anything before now," Kasumi said. "She was afraid that you would reject her over something she has no control over." Akane crossed her arms and pouted, feeling low as her sister scolded her. Kasumi sighed and placed her hands on Akane's shoulders.

"Look little sister, I know you feel a bit betrayed but Ranma didn't do any of this on purpose. All she wants is to be accept as she is, if she could she would be a girl all the time but it's called a 'curse' for a reason," Kasumi said. "She needs a friend right now."

"I just don't understand Kasumi," Akane said. "I mean... she was born a boy, isn't that what Ranma is then?"

"Akane... I want you to go down to Dr. Tofu's clinic," Kasumi said after a few seconds.

"Why? I'm not hurt," Akane said in a confused tone.

"I want you to go and ask him about all this," Kasumi told her. "You respect Dr. Tofu don't you?" Akane blushed slightly, she more than respected Tofu, she had a huge crush on him, and nodded slightly. "Go and ask him all this then. He's a very smart man after all, shouldn't he be able to tell you if something is possible or not?"

"I guess..." Akane said. She was confused still and very hurt by Ranma's lie.

"Go on, go see him now," Kasumi said as she pushed Akane toward the door of the dojo. She was not going to have these two girls fighting if she could help it.

***

"Dr. Tofu?" Akane asked, looking into the man's examination room from the lobby. She frowned when she didn't see him them jumped as a bony hand touched her shoulder. She turned around, one hand over her heart, and looked up at the amused Tofu who made the skeleton he kept in his office that he named Betty wave.

"Akane-san," Tofu said with a smile. "What brings you here? How's your little friend from the other day?"

"Oh ummm... 'she' is fine," Akane said. "Dr. Tofu, I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?" Tofu asked as he set Betty back up on the corner of the room, straightening her bones a bit.

"Is... is it possible for somebody to be both genders?" Akane asked.

"In what way?" The doctor asked as he turned to face the teenage girl.

"Huh?" Akane asked with a confused look. There was more than one way?

"Well, do you mean somebody who was born with both genitals? Or someone who is intersex?" Tofu asked as he pushed his glasses up on his nose with one finger. "Or maybe somebody who's transsexual?"

"That one!" Akane said loudly then blushed as she clamped her hand over her mouth.

"I see, did you discover K-k-kasumi's friend's secret then?" Tofu asked, his glasses fogging up slightly as he stumbled over Kasumi's name. Tofu was head over heels in love with the eldest Tendo daughter but whenever he was around her or heard her name he tended to go a little crazy. It was a trait he picked up from his father who went crazy over Tofu's mother Kin Ono when they first started dating.

"Friend?" Akane asked slightly confused, he couldn't mean Ranma.

"Yes, Aoi," Tofu said.

"Aoi!?" Akane asked in a shocked tone. Aoi was her sister's friend who Akane had seen a lot of growing up, the woman was almost like another sister to her.

"Oh dear, isn't that who you meant?" Tofu asked. Akane shook her head slightly making Tofu sigh. "Well I shouldn't tell you other patient’s secrets but then again it really isn't... Akane-san, Aoi was born a boy but she identifies as a woman. She's what's called a 'transsexual', though if I understand it she is currently working on having gender reassignment surgery so her body will match the gender she identifies as."

"I don't quite understand Dr. Tofu, how can you be one gender but see yourself as another?" Akane asked.

"Well, it isn't 100% clear why it happens but sometimes a person is born as either a boy or a girl but everything else about them feels like they should be the opposite gender," Tofu explained. "Not everyone understands it but for the person it happens to, they might always feel like they are in the wrong body. They just know for lack of a better word and feel trapped in their current body. Some people like Aoi take steps to correct this, though modern medicine only goes so far. Maybe one day..."

"So... somebody really can be a girl even if they are born a boy?" Akane asked softly. She felt terrible for yelling at Ranma now like she had. She had let her shock and anger get the better of her when Ranma revealed her curse to her.

"Yes," Tofu said then looked at Akane worriedly. "Akane-san, what is this all about if it isn't about Aoi?"

"I'm sorry Dr. Tofu, I've got to go," Akane said as she turned and ran out of the clinic. Tofu watched as Akane left, feeling very confused.

***

Meanwhile at the Tendo Dojo...

splash

"Would you please stop doing that?" Ranma asked in an annoyed tone as Nabiki poured more cold water over her head. After Kasumi had sent Akane off to Dr. Tofu they had taken the time to tell Nabiki about Ranma's curse. The middle Tendo sister took it a lot better than Akane had, at first she didn't believe it and used the hot and cold water to switch Ranma back and forth. After a few times, Ranma was getting the feeling that Nabiki believed her now and was just doing it to tick her off.

"Nabiki, you're getting water all over my floors," Kasumi said.

"Alright alright," Nabiki said as she stopped playing with Ranma's curse. "So... you were born a boy like Daddy thought but you're really a girl. And then you got a magical curse at this old training grounds that let you become a girl." Already the wheels were starting to turn in Nabiki's head, she could make a killing off this!

"Nabiki," Kasumi said in a warning tone. "You are not to blackmail Ranma-chan."

"But..." Nabiki started to say then took one look at her sister's face and pouted. "Fine... ruin all my fun..." She muttered to herself as she crossed her arms over her chest. She then brightened and looked back at Ranma again. "You ever think about modeling? Your boy and girl forms are very good looking, you would make a killing!"

"Nabiki!" Kasumi said with a shake of her head as Ranma looked a bit flustered by all the questions.

"Errr.... I think I need some fresh air," Ranma said as she raced out of the door. She looked around for someplace to get a few minutes to herself and spied the roof above her. Inside Kasumi looked sternly at her younger sister.

"Nabiki, was that really all necessary?" Kasumi asked once they were alone.

"What, I was just having a little fun," Nabiki said with a shrug. "What are we going to tell Daddy? You know when he finds out Ranma really is a boy, even if he's a girl sorta, that he's gonna push that engagement onto one of us."

"I know, but I think I can stall Father at least for a while," Kasumi said. "Nabiki, we have to help Ranma. That poor girl is just getting use to her body and all she wants is to be herself."

"That ain't gonna be easy sis," Nabiki said.

"I know it's not, but we'll make it work," Kasumi said. "That means you have to help too."

"Alright alright, I'll try not to be too much of the 'ice queen'," Nabiki agreed. "What happens if Mr. Saotome shows up?"

"Ranma said he was taken to a zoo," Kasumi said. "I don't know how long it will be before he discovers he'll be able to change back into a human but if he does and comes here Ranma will have to act like she's still a boy. So we'll have to make sure she'll have time to learn about her girl form."

"This is gonna be a pain in the ass," Nabiki summed it up. "With Ranma living here, it's already a strain on our finances but if her dad shows up..."

"As much as I dislike your... extra actives..." Kasumi said with a scowl. "I'm sure you'll think of something to make more money. I'll try to convince Father to start taking students again, it has been too long since he last taught."

"I wasn't kidding when I said Ranma would make a great model," Nabiki said.

"Do not go around taking pictures of that poor girl. It's bad enough you do that to Akane!" Kasumi said sternly.

"Akane lets me," Nabiki pointed out. "Don't get your panties in a bunch sis, I said I would be good." Kasumi sighed as Nabiki walked away toward the stairs, rubbing her forehead. She was glad their father wasn't in the house at that moment, the man had gone out searching for his 'good friend Saotome'. She looked up as the front door opened and Akane came running in, pausing only long enough to kick her shoes off.

"Where... is... Ranma?" Akane panted.

"I think she's on the roof," Kasumi said then planted her hands on her hips as she gave Akane a stern look. "You're not about to go yell at her some more are you?"

"I'm sorry Nee-chan, I was just so... so..." Akane bowed her head in shame. Kasumi sighed and drew her sister into a hug.

"There there little sister," Kasumi said as she stroked Akane's long hair. "I know it was a bit of a shock but I hope you got over it."

"What you said was true, Dr. Tofu confirmed it," Akane said softly. "Is Aoi really..." she let the question hang as Kasumi nodded. ”So that's why you understood Ranma so well?"

"A bit, I was there as Aoi discovered herself when we were children," Kasumi said. "Go talk to Ranma, Akane. Go make peace with her. Don't let this ruin your friendship with her, she needs it."

"Hai Nee-chan," Akane said softly.

***

Ranma sighed as she stared out over the neighborhood that the Tendo's lived in from where she sat on their roof. Her legs were drawn up to her chest and her chin rested on her knees.

'This day couldn't have gone worse,' Ranma thought to herself sourly. Akane had taken the knowledge about her curse very badly, even calling her a freak. Ranma's fingers tightened around her legs, that had hurt her so much and now she wished that she had gone ahead and left when she had the chance, going back to China and the people she knew would accept her. She also felt a little bad called Akane a 'flat chested tomboy', but only a little since the other girl insulted her first.

thunk

Ranma looked up at the noise and noticed that a ladder was propped up against the wall. Akane's head popped up over the edge of the roof as she climbed up.

"There you are," Akane said as she climbed onto the roof. Ranma looked away making Akane sigh softly. The long haired girl walked over to sit beside the red head, both of them sitting quietly. "Ranma... look I'm sorry about how I acted earlier. I guess... well I guess I freaked out a little."

"A little?" Ranma asked as she turned to face Akane. "I think you freaked out more than 'a little'."

"Ok, I really freaked out," Akane said with a sigh. "I don't really like boys Ranma. I find them immature, stupid and perverted and well... I kinda felt betrayed when I saw that you were a boy."

"But I'm not," Ranma said with a sigh as she lay back on the roof, looking up into the sky that was starting to darken as the sun set. "Not really, I may have been born with a boy's body but that doesn't make me a boy. My spirit, my soul is a girl if that makes any sense and this 'curse' I got at Jusenkyo, it's the real me."

Akane sighed and drew her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

"Yeah, I kinda understand that now," She said. "I talked to Kasumi and Dr. Tofu, they both explained to me how it worked. Ranma I really am sorry, can you forgive me for the way I reacted?"

"Why do you hate boys Akane?" Ranma asked curious. Akane sighed again and scowled.

"There's this boy at my school, he's in Nabiki's class, name’s Kuno Tatewaki," Akane explained. "He's sort of a big deal, his dad is the principal of the school and his family is really wealthy and he's captain of the Kendo team. He asked me out on a date at the start of the year but I turned him down."

"Why?" Ranma asked as she sat up. "Isn't he cute? Or is he ugly? And don't some people go for the rich guys?"

"He's ok looking I guess but he's just a really big jerk," Akane said as she grit her teeth. "He went up before the school assembly after that and told all the boys in our school that no one is allowed to date me unless they can defeat me in combat."

"What?" Ranma said with a small laugh. "Does this Kuno guy think he's an Amazon or something?"

"A what?" Akane asked confused then shook her head, not sure if she wanted to know. "Now every morning before school I have to fight almost all the boys in the school in a great big group."

"What? All together?" Ranma asked surprised then scowled when Akane nodded. "That isn't a fair fight."

"No, but I'm able to kick all of their asses every day so I can handle it," Akane said with pride in her tone. "After I take care of them then I have to fight Kuno too. He's such a pushover it's not even funny, I don't know how he became the captain of the Kendo team," Akane rolled her eyes and huffed as she crossed her arms. "But because of them, I hate boys."

"So you compared me to all the boys in your school," Ranma said.

"Well yeah but... it's also because you beat me in our spar and I remembered what Kuno said at the start of the year," Akane admitted.

"Akane, I have no desire to date you," Ranma said. "I don't like girls at all, I like boys."

"So you're gay?" Akane said, that made her feel a little better at least.

"No, I'm straight," Ranma pointed out then frowned. "Well... I guess as a boy I would be gay but since I'm really a girl..."

"Yeah, I get it," Akane assured her then looked at her friend. "Ranma... I am sorry that I blew up and called you all those things. Kasumi is always getting onto me about my temper. Can you forgive me?"

"Well... ok I guess," Ranma said. "And I'm sorry I called you a 'flat-chested tomboy', you hurt me earlier so I snapped back."

"So are we ok now?" Akane asked hopefully.

"Yeah, just try to remember that even when I'm in my boy body, I'm still a girl ok?" Ranma said.

"Ok," Akane said with a smile making Ranma smile back.

***

That evening when Soun returned to the Tendo household, the girls sat down with the man and explained Ranma's curse. He didn't believe them until Ranma showed him how the curse worked.

"I see... why did you not tell me you are Genma's son and not his daughter?" Soun asked as he rubbed his chin with one hand.

"Err... well I hadn't been able to change back until today so I thought that maybe the curse was permanent," Ranma said with a nervous laugh as she rubbed the back of her neck. She hated that she had to lie to the man, but all three Tendo daughters told her that Soun, who was very old fashioned in his way of thinking, would have a very hard time understanding or accepting that Ranma was transsexual. "But then I started to switch back today so..." Ranma shrugged her shoulders.

"Hmmm, I see my boy," Soun said with a nod, missing Ranma wince at being called a boy. "Well this isn't so bad. You know of the arrangement between our families," Soun wrapped an arm around Ranma's shoulders with a large smile as he waved a hand at Kasumi, Nabiki and Akane. "Which of my daughters do you wish to take as your bride?" Ranma opened her mouth to protest, a panicked look on her face.

Nabiki opened her mouth to offer up Akane, she had no wish to be engaged to anyone thank-you-very-much, and then winced as Kasumi kicked her in the ankle to shut her up. She glared at Kasumi who ignored her and stepped forward.

"Father? May I make a suggestion?" Kasumi asked. When Soun nodded she smiled and continued. "Father, Ranma barely knows us, you can't expect him to just pick one of us. Maybe Ranma should take the time to get to know each of us before deciding."

"Hmm... you make a good point daughter," Soun said as he started rubbing his chin again. "I quite agree. Ranma my boy, take the time to get to know my daughters and in a year from now you will decide which one you want to marry."

"Sure," Ranma quickly said, glad she wasn't put on the spot to choose now. This would hopefully give them all time to figure a way out of this.

"Wonderful!" Soun said with a large grin as he slapped Ranma on the back. "This calls for a celebration! I must get out the good sake! Oh if only your father was here as well Ranma," Soun walked off to where he hid his good sake. When he left, Ranma and the Tendo's breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was close," Akane said. "But that only puts this off for a year."

"Then we'll just have to figure something out during that time," Kasumi said. "For now, let's just be thankful Father’s letting us have this year."

"Well somebody better think of something, otherwise Akane is going to have to marry Ranma," Nabiki said.

"What? Why me?" Akane asked.

"Well, you're always saying you hate boys," Nabiki said with a smirk. "Well Ranma is only half boy."

"Hey!" Ranma and Akane yelled as Nabiki laughed and left the room.

**

Author note: Ok, just a quick notice, this will be the last chapter for a short while. I'm going on a short hiatus but don't worry it won't be as long as the years old writer's block I had. I am going back over the previous chapters of this and my other stories to give them a tune up. As soon as I'm done, I'll be back to writing.

Edit 9-3-14: And this ladies and gents brings an end to my editing! Thank you so much for putting up with it all. Nothing much had to be changed, just a few spelling mistakes I found.