Chapter 19. Friday, July 22

Ranma dreamed… It was back in the time of the Bào Yǐng Shè, and she was one of the leopard warriors, scaling the walls of the Forbidden City under cover of darkness. The moonlight glinted off her sleek spotted fur as she moved silently; when she paused, her muscles were coiled and ready to spring. She could hear the distant sounds of guards patrolling below, their footsteps echoing through the empty courtyards. She was about to leap for a window when a cage crashed down on her from above. The scene changed and now she was in a dimly lit chamber, strapped to a table with the evil Chen Qiyuan looming over her, a cruel smile on his face as he prepared his acupuncture needles. She struggled against her bonds, but it was no use. The needles pierced her skin, and she felt a strange sensation as the curse was manipulated against her will. The imperial physician sighed and intoned in clear frustration, “This one is stuck in leopard form now; take it to the Imperial Zoo.” The scene changed again and it was years later. People outside the bars were looking at her, talking to each other, but she could not understand. She just snarled and wished they’d brought meat.

She woke with a start; it was still dark out, but she had to get up and walk about the house a little, just to confirm to herself that she was still her, and not a leopard. Even after going downstairs and getting a glass of water, and stopping in the upstairs bathroom to stare at her own reflection, there was a disquieting feeling she just couldn’t shake. When she finally gave up and returned to bed it took another twenty minutes before she fell back to sleep.

* * *

Akane dreamed… She was tearfully explaining to Ranma-chan that her father had engaged her to a man named Taro Yamada, and that the wedding was scheduled for the following week. She begged Ranma to help her get out of it, but Ranma seemed confused: “But I thought you liked men? If you’re worried about me, don’t be! Ko-chan likes me a lot, so I’ll be fine. You go and be happy, Akane-chan!” Akane woke, annoyed by the trauma her sleeping brain loved putting her through. There was still half an hour before she needed to get up (school started later than usual today), so she grumbled a bit and rolled over, hoping to get back to sleep and dream something nicer.

When she finally did get up and headed to the bathroom, Akane found Ranma coming out. She looked how Akane felt, not quite as rested as she would have liked. “Morning, Akane-chan,” Ranma said, trying to sound cheerful.

“Hi, Ranma-chan,” Akane replied, a bit more downbeat. “How’s your…,” she tilted her head slightly and gestured downwards.

“My period?” Ranma finished for her, slightly louder than necessary as if she wanted the whole house to hear. In a more conversational tone, she continued, “I thought I was done, but apparently not quite. But it’s basically over now, or will be sometime today, I think.”

“Only about 300 more to go, then,” Akane grinned, having done the mental math in a flash. And then she kicked herself! She might have about that many left, give or take, but who knew how many Ranma would ever have? She was trying to think of something to say to salvage her misstep, but Ranma beat her to it.

“Hey, practice makes perfect at the Ranma Saotome Whatever Works School of Menstruation!” Ranma said with a grin. “We’ll write a book about our special techniques someday!”

Akane laughed. “Yeah, we’ll be famous!” she said, as she zipped past to get to the bathroom herself.

Ranma went back to her room. The banter with Akane had lightened her mood, but she was still a bit on edge from her dream. The whole idea of forgetting who you were and becoming something else and not even knowing it was just so horrible. She eyed Nabiki’s folder on her shelf. Maybe she should toss it in the trash if it creeped her out so much. But then again, maybe she should keep it. After all, it might be useful someday. She sighed. She’d worry about it later.

She got out her school uniform and dressed. This was the last time it would ever be worn—Akane had outgrown it, and it wasn’t a perfect fit for her either, so if, by some miracle, she was still herself come the new term, she’d invest in a new one. Doesn’t fit perfectly, worn for three weeks, and then discarded. Would that also become a description of her? She really hoped not, but whatever; she’d get through today and let the future figure itself out.

She finished getting ready, giving her hair the slightly disarranged look she liked, and then applied some subtle makeup to add to the “looking good without even trying” effect she was going for. She looked herself over in the mirror. “I am Ranma Saotome,” she said, smiling at her reflection, “and if I turn the heads of boys, girls, or strange sexy dryads, so be it!”

She met Akane on the stairs and they headed down to breakfast together. In celebration of the last day of school, Kasumi-oneechan had done a little more than the usual weekday fare, with grilled salmon, tamagoyaki (the rolled omelet taking her extra time to get the layers just right), miso soup (of course), and perfectly arranged pickled vegetables alongside the rice. There was even fresh fruit—melon slices arranged decoratively on a small plate. Ranma was delighted. “Wow, Kasumi-oneechan, this looks amazing!” she said, sitting down eagerly.

“She’s just worried you might get nothing for dinner if your report cards aren’t good,” Soun said, folding his newspaper. “I hope we won’t be disappointed.”

Akane watched Ranma with fondness. Yes, she was eating a little too quickly—that was a habit that she’d seen ever since they’d started living together—but she was clearly enjoying the meal. Akane was struck once again at how Ranma could get up, not even put a comb through her hair, and somehow look totally adorable. You know it’s manufactured, she told herself, her hair is the same every day and you even saw how she really looked in the hall after she’d just gotten up. But it was still hard to believe it was artifice—somehow it just seemed like she’d rolled out of bed looking perfect. It was as if Ranma had received detailed notes on “looks that Akane thinks are super cute” and was exploiting them mercilessly.

At the end of the meal, Kasumi-oneechan slipped into the kitchen and returned with two carefully wrapped bento boxes. “I thought you might want to celebrate after getting your report cards,” she said warmly. “There’s onigiri with different fillings, some tamagoyaki, pickled plum, and a little sweet treat. You can make a day of it if you’d like!”

School was due to end early that day with no lunch provided (presumably to avoid messing up the beautifully cleaned cafeteria), so Kasumi’s offering was a loving gesture and very much appreciated. Ranma and Akane both thanked her profusely. “You’re the best, Kasumi-oneechan!” Ranma said, giving her a quick hug.

Soon enough, they’d gathered their things and were walking to school together. The heat and humidity were a little better than yesterday, but they were still happy to try to stay in the shade as much as possible, even if they weren’t following quite the elaborate ninja path they had taken the day before. Neither of them was particularly stressed about their report cards; their exam results would be the biggest influence on their scores, and they already knew how they’d done.

So their conversation turned to what might be said in the final address by the principal (technically, the acting principal—the real principal was on some sort of extended cultural-exchange program abroad—but Acting Principal Ishida had been in the role so long that few people thought of him as “acting” these days). The speech was essentially the same every time, which led Ranma to suggest that they could have made a bingo card for the various stock phrases that would be used. Akane laughed at the idea, and they started to brainstorm what might go on the card.

“ ‘This unique term was particularly special for me,’ ” Ranma suggested, mimicking the principal’s tone.

“Yes,” Akane agreed, “they’re always unique, aren’t they? And don’t forget ‘I hope you all take the lessons you’ve learned here into the future’.”

“Ooh, there should be a special section on the card for the summer safety reminders!” Ranma added. “ ‘Remember to stay hydrated!’, ‘Avoid strangers!’, and of course, the classic, ‘The sea is a dangerous place!’. Wait, no… it’s ‘Beware the sea!’—that’s it!”

“If we drowned, we’d be letting down the school’s honor,” Akane said with a grin.

Ranma laughed. “Exactly! ‘Be sure to maintain the school’s honor during the break!’ That one’s a must.”

They continued to add to the list as they walked, adding various hobbyhorses of the principal, including his complaints about “music these days” and his strange need to mention his pets in every address. By the time they reached school, they had a pretty comprehensive list of phrases they were sure would be included in the speech.

They’d made reasonable time, and it was still five minutes before the hour when they reached the school gates. Alas, they found Kuno and Shampoo, arm in arm, waiting for them to arrive.

“My beloved maidens Ranma-chan and Akane-chan have finally arrived!” Kuno exclaimed dramatically, bowing low. “You were mistaken about my betrothal to Shampoo here; the marriage has not yet happened, so there is still time for you to attend or to try to pull me from her fond embrace to your own!”

“Kuno silly,” Shampoo said in her fractured Japanese, patting his head affectionately. “I say he happy to love me, but I to marry Ranma. Maybe later he join. Fun three, yes?”

“It appears,” Kuno said, straightening up, “that my nemesis, the interloper Ranma Saotome, has once again meddled in my romantic affairs. Yet the coward hides; he has been nowhere to be found for weeks now. I would vanquish him if I could only find him! Yet girls quickly tire of an absent lothario, and his loss will be my gain!”

Ranma was irked by the suggestion that she might be a coward, and so she declared, “Kuno-senpai, do you not know that my name is Ranma Saotome? I am not hiding. If you want to fight, I’m right here.”

Akane just rolled her eyes.

“Oh, my beloved Ranma-chan,” Kuno said, bowing again, “I can see how your girlish brain could be confused by your namesake. I know I, too, have been perplexed at times. But I assure you, I seek to defeat only the true Ranma Saotome, the dashing youth who has sought to confound my plans. Now, if you have amorous intentions towards Shampoo, well, I would only ask that you let me hold you both in my arms as you pursue them.”

“I have absolutely no romantic interest in Shampoo,” Ranma replied firmly. “So I think we’re all good. She’s all yours.”

“You say that now, but you fight great-grandmother for Shampoo this weekend!” Shampoo interjected, looking at Ranma with determination. “She find you, ha-ha!”

Ranma couldn’t help but be brought up sharply by Shampoo’s declaration. She’d known that a confrontation with Cologne was on the cards at some point and likely soon, but she’d managed to talk herself into believing that the fight would be on her terms. But Shampoo was right—just because she wanted to have a say in when the next confrontation would happen didn’t mean she actually did. Her mood sank. Soon she’d be fighting again to win the Phoenix Pill, a “prize” she was, at best, extremely ambivalent about “winning”. On top of that, between her period, exams, and the rest of the end-of-term events at school, she had let her training slide a bit, so her level of preparation for a fight against an opponent as capable as Cologne was, well, less than ideal. She felt buffeted by winds beyond her control—even though so much of her life had improved for her as Ranma-chan, the chaos that marked her life apparently never receded entirely.

Akane also felt like the world was shifting under her feet. A confrontation had been looming, but now it could suddenly be as soon as tomorrow. She wanted more time. Then she noticed how stricken Ranma looked at the news. She couldn’t help remembering how disastrously Ranma’s last battle with Cologne had gone, how she’d ended up practically catatonic when her path back to normality was thwarted. She didn’t know exactly what Ranma was feeling right now, but she felt a strong urge to protect her.

“Come on, Ranma-chan. Let’s just get to homeroom before we get into trouble,” she said tugging on her arm to pull her away from Shampoo. It seemed to break the spell and they both hurried into the school.

* * *

In their classroom, they were barely in time for roll call. Ranma’s homeroom teacher had changed a few times—more than usual, in fact, though whether that was bad luck or the natural consequence of having Ranma Saotome in the class was unclear. But for the whole of this term, it had been Keiko Tanaka-sensei, whose subject area was social studies and history. As the roll call progressed, Ranma looked at her, wondering what Tanaka-sensei had written in her section of Ranma’s report card. The homeroom teacher always wrote the most detailed overviews of each student, and Ranma was both curious and apprehensive about what she might say. I guess I’ll know soon enough, she thought.

Rather than a normal roll call, Tanaka-sensei seemed to be exchanging a few words with each student as their name was called, usually finding something positive to say about their year and a question about their plans for the summer break or their life at home. Some students seemed a bit put out by the extra attention, but most seemed to enjoy it. Ranma looked at Tanaka-sensei more closely. It was hard to be sure, but she was probably somewhere in her mid-thirties. She had a warm smile and kind eyes behind her glasses, but perhaps there was a touch of fatigue there, too. Ranma wondered if she’d always wanted to be a secondary school teacher or had just been channelled into it by the machinery of Japanese culture. Tanaka-sensei usually seemed pretty upbeat and content, so maybe she was just feeling worn down by the end of the term, or maybe even a little sad that it was ending.

When it was finally Ranma’s turn and she had answered her name, Tanaka-sensei looked up from her list and smiled warmly. “Ah, Saotome-san! It’s been a pleasure having you in my class this term. You’ve shown great enthusiasm in your studies, especially in history, which warms my heart. So much better than… that other one…,” she trailed off uncertainly, then recovered her train of thought. “Any, uh, martial-arts contests planned for the summer break?”

Ranma smiled. “Thank you, Tanaka-sensei! I’ve really enjoyed your class, too. As for martial-arts contests, I didn’t have any planned, but they often take me by surprise, so I can’t say for sure. But I’m very pleased you remembered my interest in them!”

Of course the mention of martial-arts contests brought her back to thinking about Cologne, and the Phoenix Pill, and her training, and whether she’d even be back next year…. The roll call continued as she lost herself in her worries; she managed to miss Akane’s conversation completely.

As Tanaka-sensei wound up the roll call, Ranma caught Akane’s look of concern and mentally shook herself into paying more attention to what was going on around her. At some point Tanaka-sensei had moved on to explaining how they’d line up for the procession to the gymnasium, and where they’d sit on the floor once they got there. She clearly wanted to draw a diagram on the board, but also didn’t want to mess it up after yesterday’s cleaning. She ended up waving her hands around instead, drawing invisible diagrams in the air. It would probably be impossible to follow if Ranma hadn’t been through the process before. She saw Tanaka-sensei’s eyes glance at the clock, and then she launched into reminding them about what to do if a fire alarm went off during the ceremony. Ranma realized that she’d been given 20 minutes to kill and was doing her best to fill it. But it was nearly time for the ceremony now, and Ranma was impressed by how well Tanaka-sensei had timed her efforts. She wrapped up by thanking a couple of students who had volunteered to stay behind to do a last bit of clean up after the day’s activities were done, and then had everyone stand and get into line for the march to the gymnasium.

Soon enough, they were seated crosslegged on the floor (glad of Akane’s cleaning efforts the previous day), waiting for the principal to arrive and begin his address. It went almost exactly as they’d imagined, and Ranma really wished she’d had that bingo card to check off the various stock phrases as they were uttered. Maybe next year. She turned to Akane, who was also trying to stifle her laughter, and they exchanged a look that said, “We nailed it!”

* * *

Once the formalities were over, it was back to homeroom to get their report cards and dismissal. Despite the name, they weren’t cards at all, but perfectly sized envelopes containing a detailed report from each teacher on the student’s performance over the term. They needed to be taken home and returned, signed by their parents, at the start of the next term, but the students were free to open them now and see how they’d done, and pretty much everyone did so, some staying in their seats to read them and others leaving the class to find somewhere more private. Ranma and Akane stayed in their seats, and they each opened their envelope to find out what the teachers had said about them.

Inside was a small booklet. The first page was the “report card” part, detailing her scores in each subject. The scale was from 1 to 5, with 5 being the best. Ranma was delighted to find she had a 5 in Japanese, but her 4 in history still rankled. She knew she could do better than what the score suggested. The rest of her grades matched up with her expectations; they weren’t amazing, but she was certain that they were much better than Ranma-kun would have managed.

As with the exams, Akane had beaten her in most subjects, but at least her report card had her ahead of Ranma in chemistry, which she took pride in announcing. “See, Ranma-chan, it’s not exactly like cooking!” Ranma smiled back, remembering how Akane had snapped at her when she’d suggested that connection when they’d compared their exam results.

Skipping past the notes from various subject teachers, she found Tanaka-sensei’s report. She was a bit surprised to find two pages, one titled “Saotome Ranma (boy)” and the other “Saotome Ranma (girl)”. She read the boy one first.

::: sf This young man, who has been absent for the final weeks of the term, while capable if he applies himself, has too often vanished during the school day, missing important lessons and activities. This is unfortunate as he is a bright student with plenty of aptitude who could have many career options open to him if he were to focus more on his studies. I hope that in the future he will be able to find a way to attend school regularly and apply himself more consistently. :::

Ranma snorted at the “career options” bit. “Of course,” she muttered under her breath.

She then turned to the second page, her heart pounding a bit.

::: sf This delightful young woman joined us late in the term, but has already made her mark as a conscientious and enthusiastic student. She has shown particular aptitude in history, where her insightful questions and contributions to class discussions have enriched our learning environment. I was particularly impressed by her thoughtful reflections on the role of women in Japanese history in after-class discussions. She has become well-regarded by her classmates and is frequently selected as a team leader in group activities like PE. Some might be concerned at the way she challenges societal expectations, as she does with her keen interest in martial arts, but I believe this is a strength that will serve her well in the future. I look forward to seeing how she continues to grow and develop in the coming terms. :::

Ranma held the page tightly, and then read it over again. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, but she blinked them back. This was her. This was recognition. This was a glimpse of who she was and who she could be. It was almost too much. She handed the page to Akane wordlessly.

Akane read it over. “Wow, Ranma-chan, this is amazing!” she said, genuinely impressed. “Tanaka-sensei really likes the… uh… new you.”

Ranma nodded. Words weren’t coming.

“What’s that bit at the bottom about though? What note?”

Ranma looked back at the page, and there was a small piece of added text saying “Please see attached administrative note.” Huh? She looked back in the envelope and found a formal letter on school letterhead, addressed to her father from the high-school administration. The title read “Student Records Clarification Request”. She showed it to Akane, and they read it together.

::: sf Dear Saotome-san,

We are humbly writing to seek clarification regarding the enrollment status of the student registered as Saotome Ranma, a student who has you listed as their guardian. While our records indicate that only one student by this name is enrolled, it appears that there have been two distinct individuals attending classes under this name over the past several weeks. Perhaps they are cousins, and this is a family name with some significance reused with reverence. Perhaps, for reasons within your family, it was necessary for these students to switch places across two different schools, but we hope you will appreciate that such arrangements, while sometimes necessary to address unique family circumstances, must be properly documented to ensure the integrity of our student records.

We therefore entreat you to provide clarification on the following points at your earliest convenience, but no later than the end of the summer break:

1. If there are indeed two different students named Saotome Ranma attending Furinkan High School, please provide the necessary enrollment documentation for each student, including proof of guardianship and any relevant legal documents for family context.

2. If there is only one student named Saotome Ranma, please provide medical documentation or a full explanation regarding the circumstances that have led to this student attending classes as both a boy and a girl. This information is necessary to allow us to ensure that we are providing appropriate support and accommodations for the student in question.

We would be happy to discuss the matter further in person. Our office is understaffed, and sometimes errors occur in our process. If our letter regrettably contains any misapprehensions of the circumstances that affect this student or these students, we apologize in advance. We hope to resolve this matter promptly and in a manner that best supports the educational experience of the student(s) involved and so look forward to your timely response.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Tsukasa Ishida, Principal (acting) :::

Akane and Ranma looked at each other. “Your father isn’t going to like that,” Akane said.

“No kidding,” Ranma replied. “But at least it’s in writing now. Our fathers can’t just pretend it isn’t happening anymore.” Her face fell a bit as she considered how this new piece fit in with her other worries.

After a couple of minutes, she shook her head, refolded the letter, put it back in the envelope with her report-card folder, and put it all away carefully in her bag. She looked up to see Akane watching her.

“Um… It’s a bit early, but shall we go eat?” she suggested, trying to focus on what she could do and enjoy now instead of on her uncertain future. You have to accept the world as it is and make the best of it, she thought, channeling Akane. “There’s a little park west of the school gate where we could sit in the shade and eat our bentos.”

“That sounds nice,” Akane agreed, and they headed out.

It was a short walk to the park, and they found a nice shady bench under a large horse-chestnut tree. They sat down and unpacked their bentos, enjoying the cool shade and the gentle breeze rustling the leaves above them. The cicadas were buzzing loudly, but it was a comforting sound, helping to block the noise of the city around them.

“That was… a lot…,” Akane ventured, breaking the silence after a few bites of her food. “First, Shampoo’s message about the fight with Cologne, then Tanaka-sensei’s report, and then the letter from the school. How are you feeling about all of it?”

Ranma thought that she’d done a good job of pushing her worries away, at least for the moment, but now that Akane had brought it up, the churn of emotions swirled up to engulf her. She thought for a moment, and decided to hand the question back to Akane.

“What did you see, Akane-chan, when you saw me read the report? What do you think went through my mind?”

Akane paused. Ranma had been visibly affected by Tanaka-sensei’s words. It wasn’t just the praise—that was nice but not stratospheric. She’d seen some powerful emotion ripple through her, but was it joy or sadness that she’d been experiencing in that moment? Or something else? Disgust? Horror? She hated the idea that she might put a foot wrong and ruin their close bond by flubbing her answer yet again.

“Well…,” she started carefully, “Tanaka-sensei had nice things to say, so I think you were… happy?”

On another day or time, Ranma would have been angry at how tentative Akane was. She probably would have ranted about not understanding how Akane couldn’t see what was right in front of her. But today, her worries pushed her more towards despair.

“Oh, Akane,” she said, her eyes tearing slightly, “it wasn’t just happiness. It was… relief, I think. Finally, someone saw me. Not just the surface, but me. The real me.” She paused, and then, more quietly, said, “The me you’re not sure you can really believe in.”

Akane drew breath to explain, but Ranma held up her hand. She wanted to continue.

“I’m going to fight Cologne again, but please think back to that first fight, the one where our Sincerity Silken Cinch-Up technique succeeded but only revealed Cologne’s duplicity. What do you think I said to her back then, the thing I didn’t want you to hear?”

Akane felt uncomfortable being put on the spot like this. Of course, she didn’t exactly know, and she’d promised she wouldn’t try to find out, but now Ranma was asking for her best guess. It was another chance for a wrong word to ruin their friendship, but she also had to be honest about what she thought was going on.

“Well, Ranma-chan, it was some time ago, and we’ve both changed a bit since then, of course, but I… I sort of assumed that you didn’t want me to hear because you were talking about me. Maybe about how you were doing your best to pretend to be like me, but it was hard because, uh…,” she trailed off, worried that she was going to ruin everything, but she knew not answering would just make things worse.

“Do you really want me to say it, Ranma-chan? It’s in the past, and what you said then may not be what you feel now.”

“Please, Akane, say it,” Ranma urged gently.

Akane took a deep breath. “Okay,” she swallowed hard. “You… you were doing your best to act like a girl, using me as your model, but it was hard… it was too much to expect anyone to do, and you desperately wanted the Phoenix Pill because you were beyond your breaking point. You were pleading for Cologne to let you be Ranma-kun again.”

Akane felt uncomfortable about the way she’d put things, but it was her best guess. She’d spent a lot of time thinking about everything that had been happening and what it meant, especially after that night at the Nekohanten. Although she wished it wasn’t true, all the evidence she had seemed to support her theory. Her chest tightened as she considered how much pain Ranma must have been in to expose his weakness to Cologne.

Silence descended. Ranma nibbled on a piece of onigiri, looking down at it. Akane watched her, unsure of what to say next. Akane’s own stomach lurched at the idea of food, so she just sat there unhappily, waiting for Ranma’s response.

Finally, Ranma looked up. “Thank you, Akane-chan. I’ve been so wrapped up in myself that I hadn’t realized how confused you might be about what was happening with me, and I think I’ve made things worse for both of us. I had my own ideas about what you thought and what you wanted that made me stay silent.”

“But no, Akane, that wasn’t what I told Cologne. Not at all.”

Akane waited for her to continue.

“I thanked her. I told her that she’d given me a gift. That I’d foolishly play-acted as Ranma-chan numerous times, but by trapping me in this form, she’d made me live in it. And that I liked it. That I would be happy to live out the rest of my days as Ranma-chan. With her stupid scheme, instead of forcing me into marrying Shampoo, she’d helped me see myself in a way I never had before. I told her that I didn’t want her Phoenix Pill.”

Akane was stunned. Ranma had accepted herself as Ranma-chan so soon after the Cat’s Tongue took effect—little more than a week? How could she have completely missed such a dramatic change in her closest friend’s life?

Ranma continued, “But then I went on. I told her that although I didn’t want the pill, I’d take it anyway. Because I understood duty. I knew that no one else wanted me to be Ranma-chan, and so I would have to go back, to be what everyone needed me to be. I would sacrifice this”, she gestured to her body, “for the sake of others. I would go back to being Ranma-kun, because that was what was expected of me. Even if it broke my heart.”

Akane felt tears prick at her eyes. “Oh, Ranma-chan,” she said softly, setting her bento box aside so that she could hug the girl beside her, “you silly, silly girl. You didn’t have to do that. You don’t have to sacrifice yourself for anyone. Not me, not your father, not anyone. If I were so shallow that I could only like you as Ranma-kun, well… I wouldn’t deserve to be with you in the first place. And your father… Well, what has he ever done to deserve your sacrifice? The man is a dangerous fool; most of the things he’s done to you would be seen as abuse by anyone who knew about them.”

Akane had another thought and pulled back from their hug to ask a question. “Why did you cover up the mirror? I thought it meant you couldn’t stand the sight of yourself as a girl because you were so disappointed when the plan failed and you realized you still couldn’t transform back into a boy.”

Ranma sighed, both at how Akane had fitted all the jigsaw pieces together backwards but also at her own foolishness with the towel and the mirror. And everything else, she supposed.

“I… I’d geared myself up to throw my whole self away for everyone, I tried to have one last perfect day. I said all my goodbyes… And then I opened myself up to Cologne. The technique worked perfectly. I got the locket, but it was empty, and Cologne mocked me, called me stupid—a ‘stupid girl’, actually—and she was right. I’d done all that stuff, I’d been brave and tried to do my duty, to sacrifice myself to make everyone I cared about happy, and I… I failed completely. I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to sacrifice myself again.”

“And then I thought… the more I like being this me, the harder it will be to give up next time. I ended up going around and around about what I could do to pull back from what I’d been doing and how I’d been behaving at school… and… and with you. I wanted to figure out a way I could put the brakes on the train… and maybe run it backwards… or at least to stop it from gaining more speed and momentum. But it was impossible. The tracks sloped downwards and the train was… unstoppable. That idiocy didn’t even last the day.”

Akane was still struggling to regulate her emotions. “Ranma-chan, I… I’m so sorry. I had no idea you felt like that. I wish you’d told me sooner.”

Ranma smiled sadly. “I thought you wanted Ranma-kun. I thought you’d be disappointed in me if I told you the truth. I was scared, Akane-chan.”

Akane shook her head and leaned in for another hug. “You silly, silly, silly girl,” she whispered, holding Ranma tightly. She leaned back just far enough that she could look Ranma-chan in the eyes. “I did find Ranma-kun attractive, yes. And I liked that he seemed to like me, even if he struggled to admit it. And I was even pretty possessive of him. I probably even loved him. But it’s you, Ranma-chan, who I actually fell in love with. You’ve spun me completely around, because I would never have imagined myself falling for a girl. You’re the most adorable person I’ve ever met, and when have the usual rules ever applied to you?”

She paused for a moment as images came into her mind and overwhelmed her a little. “When we’re on the couch and you put your head on my lap? I’m in heaven. When you come down for breakfast with that just-got-out-of-bed look, I can’t stop staring at you. And it’s not just how you look—you’re just amazing, the things you do, the things you deal with like it’s no big deal. Damn it, I came so close to kissing you last night on the couch.”

Now it was Ranma’s turn to be stunned. “Really?” She stared at Akane, who was looking back at her with such earnestness that Ranma felt her heart pounding in her chest. She thought about demanding a kiss right now, right here under the tree and never mind the people in the distance, but, no, this wasn’t the right time. For now it was enough to know how Akane really felt. She nodded, swallowing hard to keep her voice steady. “Thank you, Akane-chan. And just to be clear, it’s absolutely mutual. I love you, not Kuno, not Shampoo, not Koharu-san, not anyone else. Just you.”

A thought occurred to Akane. “Given everything you’ve told me, I guess you really don’t need to fight Cologne at all anymore. You don’t want or need the Phoenix Pill. You can just tell her that and walk away.”

Ranma sighed. “I’ve never backed down from a fight, Akane-chan. Even if I don’t want the prize, I have to fight her. It’s about principle. I can’t leave her feeling she can upend the lives of anyone she chooses with no consequences. If I let her get away with it, who knows who she’ll target next? Probably someone a lot less able to stand up to her than I am. No. I have to fight her. Maybe I won’t win, but even so, maybe she’ll think twice the next time she wants to mess with someone’s life.”

“That’s macho bullshit, and you know it, Ranma-chan,” Akane said firmly. “You don’t have to prove anything to anyone. You can just say no.”

Ranma paused, trying to work out the best way to express how she felt about her beliefs about honor and responsibility, and how they tied in to her self image.

After a moment, she started with, “I know it seems just like the kind of stupid thing Ranma-kun would think, but—here’s the really hard part, Akane-chan—I am Ranma-kun. I mean, obviously not in some ways,” she gestured at her body again, “but in my beliefs, my principles, the things I think matter in the world, the things that I like doing… in so many ways I’m still the same person I always was.

“It’s so easy to think that there are two different people, the girl and the boy, two opposites… but it’s so much more complicated than that. I’m still me, Akane-chan. I just unexpectedly grew up into a young woman. I like who I’ve become and I sometimes cringe at who I was, but there’s still an unbroken line that connects the two. So when I say I have to fight Cologne, it’s not just because of some macho ideal that only men have. It’s because I have to stand up for what I believe in. And I believe in standing up to bullies.”

And never backing down from any fight no matter how stupid or unwinnable it is, Akane thought to herself. But she didn’t say it out loud.

“So if you do get the Phoenix Pill, what will you do then?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Ranma admitted. “Maybe I’ll just throw it away. Maybe I’ll keep it as a souvenir of how crazy my life has been. Maybe I’ll put it in a glass case with a sign saying, ‘In case of emergency, break glass’.”

“But you wouldn’t take it so you could transform into Ranma-kun when you wanted to?” Akane asked.

“I don’t think so,” Ranma said with a tiny bit of hesitancy. “I mean, I can see how there could be advantages to that sometimes, but that’s just like what he did, treating this body like it was just a costume to put on and take off as needed. I don’t want to do that. What he did feels now like he was making a mockery of who I am, and I don’t want to do the same thing to him; to turn who he was into a pantomime, a caricature, a plaything.” She paused and added, “And also, it kind of… creeps me out.”

Akane could see that perhaps Ranma had more to say on the subject, but she didn’t want to push. “I understand,” she said softly.

Ranma rocked back and forth. She was trying to summon the courage to say something she found difficult to admit even to herself.

“And, well, I guess I sort of have this… fear, too,” she said finally, “that if I did take the pill and become Ranma-kun again, that I might think, ‘Oh, how silly I was, thinking I was a girl, this boy form is clearly superior,’ and then I… I’d sort of cease to exist. Like I stole his life and maybe he’d steal it right back.”

“But you just said, Ranma-chan, that you’re still you,” Akane pointed out gently. “It’s not like there’s an evil nemesis trying to take over your body.”

“I know that logically,” Ranma admitted, “but emotions aren’t always logical. And that leopard story, that really did a number on me. You become what you appear to be and forget what you were. I mean, I can’t help wondering if that’s a way to see Ranma-kun’s fate, too; that while I think this experience has been this wonderful journey of discovering an inner truth, it’s really just my own adaptation to external circumstances; and all my feelings of self-discovery are just illusions. And if that’s true, then maybe if I become Ranma-kun again, I’ll forget who I am now and just be him again.”

“It was just a story, Ranma-chan,” Akane said firmly. “Don’t use it to beat yourself up. Who cares how you got to be the cutie you are now? You’re here now, and you’re amazing, and that’s the end of it.”

Ranma smiled, grateful for Akane’s support. “Thanks, Akane-chan. I needed to hear that.”

“And maybe we need to start thinking more seriously about the future, about the summer and beyond,” Akane suggested.

“Yeah,” Ranma agreed. “But I dunno… Right now… I’m glad we finally figured things out, but… honestly… I’m exhausted.”

Akane nodded in agreement.

“Maybe we just need to wend our way home slowly and enjoy the rest of the day and try not to think about much of anything at all for a bit.”

* * *

Despite the rising heat, they threaded their way back home slowly, taking a delightfully convoluted route that showcased Ranma’s mental model of the city streets, allowing them to enjoy the sights and sounds that surrounded them while maximizing their use of shade. They stopped at a small ice-cream stand and got cones to share, sitting on a bench to eat them and watch the world go by. They didn’t say much more; their conversation in the park had been intense and they were both feeling a little emotionally raw. In one sense, they now understood each other better than they ever had, but in another, learning the ways in which they’d misread each other felt like it undermined the closeness that they’d thought they had. Their bond was strong—stronger than ever—but they also needed to shore up the places they’d damaged with their foolish assumptions so they could heal.

* * *

Half an hour later, as they saw the dojo in the distance, Ranma broke their silence, saying mischievously, “You know, Akane-chan, if this were a movie, the audience would be grumbling about how you haven’t kissed me yet. They’d be shouting at the screen, ‘What are you waiting for? Just kiss her already!’ ”

Akane looked around, trying to imagine where the camera would be. Having made a guess at what the best shot would be, she turned to face its imaginary lens and broke the imaginary fourth wall with an obscene gesture. “Screw the audience!” she declared loudly before turning back to Ranma. “Anyway, you’re supposed to kiss me first! I can’t be the one doing all the work!”

“But I’m the shorter one!” Ranma protested. “It’s only fair that you make the first move.”

“Well, don’t hold your breath,” Akane replied with a grin. “Maybe one day you’ll get lucky. Until then, if you need kisses urgently, there’s always Kuno-senpai.” They both laughed and cringed at the offensive suggestion.

“Nope. I’m only accepting kisses from my bestie,” Ranma said firmly, linking her arm through Akane’s as they walked the last few steps to the dojo. “Besties only.”

* * *

The inside of the house was dim and cool, thanks to the shutters, and the place was quiet. Kasumi-oneechan and Nabiki both seemed to be off running errands, and from the sound of it, their fathers were in the dojo proper. The girls couldn’t make out their words, but it sounded like they were grumbling about the state of the world, as usual. So they had the house to themselves.

They both went into the kitchen to fetch cold drinks from the fridge. Ranma grabbed a bottle of iced hojicha, and Akane took a can of cold coffee that she hoped would give her a bit of a boost. They took their drinks into the living room and flopped down on the couch, stretching out and enjoying the coolness after the heat outside, but tempted to turn the air conditioner on with no one close by to object.

“You know, Ranma-chan,” Akane began, “tomorrow is the Shakujii Hikawa Shrine’s summer festival. That could be a bit of fun in the evening if you’re up for it. It will have cooled off a bit, and we can get some festival food and maybe play some games.”

“If only we had yukatas to wear,” Ranma said playfully, “we could really rock that whole matsuri vibe.”

“Imagine if we had a matched pair of yukatas!” Akane added with a grin. “We could be the cutest couple there!” She did some math in her head and worked out that it would probably be around ¥20,000 all in for just one of them, so it really would be too much money for them to spend right now. And that was a shame, both because she really wanted to do something nice for Ranma after everything that’d happened, and also because it would be a different kind of rite of passage for her. Akane had always wanted her own yukata, but everyone else had apparently assumed that she preferred more practical clothes, so that never happened.

“Yeah, ain’t gonna happen,” Ranma said with a sigh after doing the same mental math. “Yukatas are expensive, and we just don’t have the cash right now. But we can still have fun, even in our regular clothes.”

She sighed, then laughed and said, “And before you say anything, I am not going back to work at the Nekohanten!”

Akane laughed, too, saying, “I should hope not!” and Ranma giggled along with her.

“I guess that’s our evening plan, then,” Akane said, finishing her drink. “Maybe in the afternoon, we can do some training to try to prepare for your fight with Cologne—maybe we can even come up with a new trick to blindside her.”

“Well, I’ve used all my heartfelt confessions on you, Akane-chan,” Ranma said with a grin. “And I’m out of ideas for other tricks, but they say ‘necessity is the mother of invention’, so maybe we’ll figure something out.”

They were about to start talk about morning plans when their fathers came in from the dojo. They didn’t look like they’d been sparring, so presumably they’d just been taking advantage of the large fans to stay cool while they discussed the state of the world.

“So, my boy, do you have a report card for me?” Genma asked Ranma. “I hope you did your family name proud.”

“Would it really hurt you to try to think of Ranma-chan as your daughter?” Akane interjected sharply.

Genma didn’t appear to notice that Akane had spoken and continued to look expectantly at Ranma, who didn’t seem to be fuming—if she didn’t expect better of him, she wouldn’t be disappointed.

“Uh, yeah, here it is,” Ranma said, fishing the envelope out of her bag. “In fact, there’s also a letter in here for you.” She extracted it from the envelope and passed it to her father.

Genma took the letter and skimmed it quickly, shaking his head as he did so. “Bureaucrats! Typical bureaucrats! Always making things difficult. You should just ignore it. They have no business poking their noses into your affairs.”

Damn it, she did expect better, and she was disappointed. Ranma felt her temper rising, but she forced herself to stay calm. She took a deep breath and spoke evenly. “I’ll put the envelope on the shelf over here. Feel free to have a read if you’re curious how well your daughter is doing at school.”

Genma looked up with a perplexed expression, as if Ranma had said, “if you’re curious how your oven mitt is doing at school”. He shook his head and picked up a book he’d brought in with him, settling down to read it, oblivious.

“They’ll come around. Eventually,” Akane whispered into Ranma’s ear. “Don’t let it get to you.”

“After hell freezes over, maybe,” Ranma whispered back.

Akane fished out her own envelope and handed it to her father. He flipped through the contents briefly and said, “Mmm,” before resuming his own reading.

Before Ranma could properly decide which martial-arts technique would be best applied to fathers who had such little regard for their daughters’ feelings, Nabiki and Kasumi came in through the front door, each carrying several shopping bags.

“So, what did you think of the closing ceremony?” Nabiki asked as she dropped her bags in the kitchen and came into the living room. Nabiki was in the year above Ranma and Akane and had also been in the gymnasium for the speech. Afterwards, while Ranma and Akane had gone to the park, Nabiki had come straight home and then out again on errands with Kasumi.

“Oh, I really liked the way Acting Principal Ishida worked in his cat’s urinary-tract infection as a metaphor this year,” Akane replied with a grin. “Very creative.”

“And ‘beware the sea’!” Ranma added with a laugh. “That was a classic.”

The three girls paused for a beat, looked at each other, and then declared, “ ‘It would be detrimental to the honor of the school!’ ” in perfect unison. They all burst out laughing.

Ranma suggested that they move into the kitchen where they could help Kasumi put the shopping away. Once there, Nabiki asked, “So, what else did you do to get up to? I know that Kasumi made you those lovely bentos.”

“Oh, yes—they were amazing. Thank you, Kasumi-oneechan!” Ranma said sincerely, with Akane nodding vigorously in agreement.

“We had a bit of a heart-to-heart,” Akane said, “about… stuff.”

“You mean she finally told you about how she really feels? About being a girl?” Nabiki offered.

Kasumi shot Nabiki a look and muttered words of admonishment that were too quiet for Ranma and Akane to make out.

Ranma and Akane stood transfixed. Wait, what? Did Nabiki just blurt that out? How did she know? Had Kasumi-oneechan told her somehow? And if so, how did she know? They both looked at Kasumi, who was still looking daggers at Nabiki.

“Oh, Kasumi clued me in,” Nabiki said with a shrug. “Didn’t want me upsetting anyone by saying the wrong things to the wrong people.”

“Nabiki!” Kasumi hissed. “That was private!”

“Hey, I’ve been keeping my head down and my mouth shut, but now that they’ve actually figured it out, it didn’t seem worth pretending I didn’t know.”

“And when did you know, Kasumi-oneechan?” Akane asked with a edge to her voice.

Kasumi looked away and then back, then raised her hands slightly, shook her head, and walked quickly out of the kitchen without answering. That was about as mad as you would ever see Kasumi get, and it was pretty disturbing.

“Do you even live in this house?” Nabiki asked ironically, “Kasumi always knows.”

Ranma looked thoughtful, “She was confident enough on Wednesday to tell me, ‘you’re growing into a very caring young woman’ and say she was proud of me. So I guess she must have known for a while.”

Akane’s head darted between Nabiki and Ranma. “And everyone kept me in the dark because… because…,” she stammered, struggling to find the words, “…because they thought I wouldn’t understand?”

“It wasn’t that, Akane-chan,” Nabiki replied bluntly. “But you two have a dynamic and no one wants to get in the middle of it.”

“Well, that’s just great,” Akane muttered, fuming. “I feel so included now.”

She glared at the floor for a moment before she spoke again. “Who wants to spar?” she asked brightly. “I have some frustration I’d like to work out.”

“Well, I need to practice for the fight with Cologne,” Ranma said, “so, yeah, come take it all out on me, Akane-chan.”

* * *

In her room, Kasumi paced back-and-forth, fuming. Nabiki just… And Akane… She shook her head angrily.

She stopped pacing, closed her eyes for a moment, and sat down on the edge of her bed.

She needed to bring back her calmness. Back to being the loving, kind Kasumi who was so helpful and pleasant, and never got upset by anything. A persona she’d developed over the years of dealing with her mother’s death and her father’s eventual collapse, forcing her to drop out of school and take care of her sisters even though she was barely older than they were.

But it really wasn’t working. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking about how she’d come to be the person she was now, falling down an emotional hole she’d hidden from everyone for many years.

Her mother had taught her the essential skills necessary for being a proper Japanese woman. Everything has to be perfect, including you. Anticipate every need and provide for it. Refuse thanks and praise. Be invisible and silent, unless there’s some reason you have to be seen, in which case be pretty, but stay quiet. Don’t contradict a man, or try to influence him with words.

And then their mother got sick, and, being the perfect Japanese woman, didn’t say anything about it, just kept on doing everything that was expected of her until her illness couldn’t be ignored any longer. By which point it was too late.

Kasumi didn’t really know whether there was anything that could have been done to save her mother if she’d sought treatment sooner. Father had been too wrapped up in running the dojo to notice, and she and Nabiki and Akane were busy being children. No one had taught them about cancer, and even if they had known, would they have been able to recognize it? And even then, could they have convinced their mother to get help when none of her friends or her husband could even see there was a problem?

After Mother’s death, after a long two years of her being in and out of hospital, and, when she was home, being kept “safe” and alone in a room the children weren’t allowed near, they’d managed to keep going, with some help from her mother’s friends.

Father was devastated, but, of course, as a Japanese man, he’d never talk about it. He threw himself into his work, teaching a seemingly unending stream of students the style of martial arts he’d learned in his youth.

His daughters learned the Art, too; it was one of the few ways he would allow himself to interact with them. Kasumi and Nabiki were both okay, but Akane took to the martial arts like a fish to water.

Kasumi was too busy trying to get through school and also take up her mother’s place to stick with the martial arts, and Nabiki… she honestly wasn’t sure quite what Nabiki was up to during that time, although she wasn’t particularly happy with how she’d turned out. Another failing on her part.

But Akane got to have a closer relationship with their father than she and Nabiki did, and it did help both of them. Their closeness kept their father functional, and as long as that lasted, they could all pretend that everything was fine.

Until Akane hit puberty. Father had come to think of her like a son, and she’d done her best to meet his expectations, but he couldn’t adjust to the idea that Akane was just another daughter after all, even if she was the obvious heir to the dojo.

Father’s ability to cope fell apart. Kasumi did her best to protect Akane from the fallout, but she realized that to do it properly, she would really need to step into her mother’s shoes. So she left school at age 15, just before high school, because without her, everything would have gone to hell.

As she found herself taking on more and more responsibility, she was relieved to discover that her grandparents had set money aside for their daughter and granddaughters, and that those investments paid out enough money to keep the household running, even as the dojo lost all its students. At least they wouldn’t starve, and there was enough to support Nabiki and Akane in high school. Father spent much of his time in the dark, alternating between deep melancholy and gruff aloofness. There might have been a lot more drinking, too, but she was able to keep him away from the money, with surprise help from Nabiki, who’d somehow acquired a grasp of economics and finances despite her youth. So Kasumi kept everything going. She’d taken up her mother’s traditionalist (and, frankly, misogynistic) teachings as a shield to protect her family from the outside world.

But sometimes the shield just wasn’t enough. Although father’s friend Genma Saotome was, in many ways, a parasite, his presence did seem to help father reconnect with the world. The whole engagement thing had come as a complete surprise, but Akane and Ranma had, she thought, really come to love one another, even if they hadn’t figured that out.

And she had been surprised and touched by Ranma’s changes over the last few weeks. He’d gone from being an obnoxious chip off his father’s misogynistic block to—how had she put it?—“a caring young woman”. And she’d watched Akane become more and more infatuated with Ranma as Ranma embraced her own womanhood.

She wasn’t surprised that Akane had taken so long to understand who Ranma had become and that she truly was attracted to her. Being a tomboy had been fine when she was little, but it had left Akane with a mix of contradictory ideas about what sorts of behavior were and were not acceptable. She loved the feeling of power she got from her mastery of the martial arts, but she also felt that her schoolmates judged her for not being feminine enough. Ranma’s arrival had stirred that conflict even more. He was the first real challenge to her martial-arts abilities she’d had in many years, but his lack of respect for her abilities and his petty misogynistic taunts pushed every insecure girl button she had.

Having a fiancè was a powerful counter to some people’s assumptions about her sexual interests based on her behavior and interests, but that was gone with Ranma’s self discovery, and they were now going to have to figure things out in a world that was both overtly hostile to a relationship between two women and disgustingly prurient about such a relationship at the very same time.

Kasumi sighed deeply. One thing she knew was true: they would need her support, her love, and her encouragement to make it through. Neither of their fathers was going to be happy when they finally figured out what had happened, and that was why she’d warned Nabiki. It did seem like her warning had kept her from cluing their fathers in thus far, so she supposed she would have to accept it as a partial win.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she could see that her shield was back, ready to protect her family. That would have to do for now.

* * *

It was a workout and a half. Akane declared that she wanted Ranma to try avoiding attacks like the ones Mousse had used to almost beat her, and immediately began flinging rapid volleys of various miscellaneous objects at her. Ranma was nimble and quick, and she managed to avoid most of them, but Akane’s aim was excellent, and if she hadn’t added some protective padding before they started, the ones that connected might have left some interesting bruises. Even with the padding, she could feel the impacts and noticed that some of them were even affecting her balance. After half an hour of intense throwing and dodging, they were both sweating profusely and breathing hard.

Ranma disappeared briefly into the house and returned with a basket of other objects for Akane to try, including paper airplanes, used train tickets, and rubber bands. Akane resumed the fight, but the increasing absurdity of the objects, while being true to Mousse’s strange fighting style, made it hard for Akane to keep a straight face. After a few minutes, she completely broke down laughing, and Ranma took advantage of her distraction to tag her lightly on the shoulder, declaring victory.

Akane seemed to be in better spirits, Ranma thought, which was a very good thing. As they lay on the floor looking up at the fans, Akane asked, “So, Ranma-chan, when did you know?”

“About wanting to stay this way?” Ranma asked.

Akane nodded and said “Uh huh.”

“Well, the fight with Cologne was a big deal. It was hard for me to say it out loud to someone, to admit it like that. Remember how I said I had to do it at the end of my shift? I needed to be so tired that the part of me that was afraid of saying it just didn’t have the energy to fight back. So that was the second Monday, but even before then—the first Friday after the Cologne hit me with the Cat’s Tongue—I fought Kodachi and afterwards, I was like, ‘Wow, I’m actually better at martial arts as Ranma-chan than I ever was as Ranma-kun.’ That was a big moment for me.”

Akane laughed, “Martial arts. Of course you’d find your true self through fighting.”

“Hey, what can I say? It’s in my blood,” Ranma replied with a grin. “But anyway, it wasn’t like there was this sudden realization, like, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m a girl, duh!’ and that was that. It was more like a gradual thing, where it just got more and more obvious over time. But it still did my head in, especially with the curse and Nabiki’s creepy story. You can really tie yourself in knots thinking about this stuff.

“I guess you saw that earlier today when you pulled me out of a spiral.”

“Kasumi-oneechan should have told you earlier,” Akane joked. “She probably thought you wouldn’t understand.”

They both laughed.

* * *

After they’d showered and gotten changed, it was almost time for dinner. Given the heat, Kasumi had made a simple meal of cold soba noodles with dipping sauce, along with some tempura vegetables. She was just applying the finishing touches to the meal when Ranma and Akane cornered her in the kitchen—not for a confrontation but for a hug. They surrounded her from both sides and squeezed her tightly. “Thank you, Kasumi-oneechan,” Ranma said softly. “For everything.”

“We love you, Kasumi-oneechan,” Akane added.

Kasumi, who had been moving a little stiffly in the kitchen, apparently still annoyed by how Nabiki had exposed something shared in confidence, relaxed and returned their hugs. “I love you both, too,” she said quietly, ruffling the hair on each of their heads. “Now go sit down and eat before the noodles get soggy.”

Their hug was very welcome. She was glad that the girls had finally talked, but she was also very sure that there would be more trouble to come, and she’d have to be ready when it did.

The meal passed quickly and pleasantly, with some light conversation about how Nabiki should make (and sell) bingo cards for next year’s school closing ceremony, and a bit of discussion about the Hikawa-san no matsuri (summer festival) that Ranma and Akane planned to go to.

After dinner, as they were clearing things away, an idea occurred to Akane and she asked Nabiki, “Hey, sis, you don’t by any chance know a good place to get yukatas, do you? Like, at a good price?”

Nabiki raised an eyebrow, “Yukatas, huh? Well, actually there’s a shop in Ikebukuro that usually has a decent selection. It’s called Kimono Yamaguchi. It’s a small place, but the owners are nice people. I helped them sort out their accounts properly a couple of years ago, so I have a bit of a connection there… and they promised to offer a family-friend discount if I sent anyone I cared about their way. That’s probably the best price you’re going to get for decent quality yukatas. Probably ¥25,000-ish for two complete outfits, including obi, geta, and accessories.”

It was still quite a lot of money, even if it was half the amount they’d calculated themselves. But Akane thought about it for a moment and decided, saying, “Well, I think we can manage that if we both pitch in. I have some savings for a rainy day, and Ranma-chan can probably scrape together something from her Nekohanten earnings. It would be really nice to have something special for the festival.”

“Well, it’s not like it’s going to go out of style,” Ranma said with a grin. “And we can wear them again next year, too!”

That settled it for Akane—just seeing Ranma thinking that she had a future was enough to make it worthwhile. “Let’s do it,” Akane said decisively. “We’ll go tomorrow morning, before it gets too hot.”

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully, with some TV (but no cuddling), and then bed.

Ranma was pleased to conclude that her period was done with, finally, so that there would be plenty of days without needing to think about enduring cramps or worrying about leaks for a while. She also had to admit that, for all her grumbling about traditional Japanese gender roles, she was looking forward to wearing a yukata for the first time in her life. Especially together with Akane-chan. The evening cicadas outside chirped as usual, but Ranma couldn’t hear them; she was already asleep.