Chapter Twenty Three – Everybody Knows

Ranma

Slowly, a warm, luxurious feeling spreading through her chest, Ranma woke up.

She opened her eyes to find Akane already awake, lying in bed next to her, propping her head up, watching Ranma with an elusive smile. Ranma met her eyes, her own smile stretching to match. "How long have you been up?" she asked quietly.

"Long enough," Akane said. "I didn't want to wake you. You looked so peaceful sleeping."

Ranma blushed, reaching out to brush Akane's hand with her own, deep in thought. She felt… still. Like serenity, quick to break, still water under cloudy skies before the storm. Lying next to Akane, her troubles seemed a world away. She had changed. But Akane was still there, at her side, her eyes piercing under her dark lashes, full of the love they both held but had never acknowledged.

Reaching up, Ranma closed her eyes and gently kissed Akane.

"I love you," she said, their lips inches apart.

Akane ran a hand through Ranma's long red hair and pulled her into another kiss, rolling on top of her. They were warm, together, a world away from the December cold outside.

"I love you too."

Akane

Holding Ranma's hand like a lifeline, Akane tugged Ranma downstairs into the kitchen, the reluctant redhead following behind her, nervousness evident in her expression. She has every right to be nervous, Akane thought. This is going to turn Ranma's life upside down.

Akane had pushed for Ranma to wait a few days before taking action, but Ranma had been insistent. "I don't wanna get cold feet," she'd said. "I gotta rip the bandaid off now, or I'm never gonna be able to. I sure as hell ain't gonna tell Pops. But Kasumi, Nabiki… Your dad… They all gotta know."

"Are you sure?" Akane had asked in a hushed tone.

Ranma bit her lip. "No," she'd whispered. "I'm not sure about anything. But I have to know."

"Know what?"

"If I'm still gonna have a place to live."

Akane hadn't stopped holding Ranma's hand since.

They didn't acknowledge why Ranma worried about where she was going to sleep after coming out. They didn't acknowledge why they had no intentions of telling Genma until everyone else knew. They didn't acknowledge the probable fate of their engagement, which was about to become rather illegal, or the possible fate of their relationship, should Soun forbid a relationship between two girls. They didn't acknowledge the fate of Ranko's dear cousin Ranma, busy on 'his' training trip overseas. They couldn't. Acknowledging such things would have ruined the fragile, tentative balance they were striking between social acceptability and taboo perversions.

Magic went unmentioned. Ranma and Akane got dressed together into plainclothes, leaving their uniforms alone – even though it was Tuesday. Neither of them had the slightest attention of attending school that day.

My fiancee, Akane thought, glancing at Ranma. My girlfriend. Her. Ranma.

She chose us. She chose me.

Had Akane done the right thing? She'd strong-armed Ranma into coming to terms with her true feelings – which, Akane suspected, would have taken far longer without her interference. How long could someone live as a girl before becoming one? Ranma was… Ranma was. She defied Akane's understanding of the universe.

It was too late to turn back.

Nabiki and Soun sat in the kitchen, eating breakfast. Nabiki wore her school uniform. Both looked up when Ranma and Akane entered, and Akane watched Nabiki immediately pick up on the change between her and Ranma, her eyes narrowing. "Why aren't you two dressed for school?" Nabiki demanded, earning Soun's attention.

"Hmm, yes. Akane, dear, you do know it's a Tuesday, right?"

Akane and Ranma exchanged a look. Tugging her hand free, Ranma sat down next to Nabiki at the table, unable to meet Nabiki's eyes, which only deepened Nabiki's confusion. "Daddy," Akane said, unable to stop her voice from trembling. "Where is Genma?"

"At the library, I think," Soun said, his eyebrow raising. "Why?"

She frowned. Strange. "The panda doesn't read."

"He does now. Said he had a project of some sort he was working on. Whatever it is, it can't be good," Nabiki offered, chewing on a bite of rice. "He should be gone for an hour."

"Good." Exhaling, Akane sat down next to Ranma, aware that Nabiki's expression had gone from interest to concern. "I need you to go get Kasumi," she said. "And… Can you miss the start of school today? It's urgent. I need to call a family meeting."

The atmosphere in the room dropped. Soun's face went white; he raised his head, stiffening, and stared at Akane like he'd seen a ghost. In a way, Akane supposed, he had. They hadn't had a family meeting since her mother had been dying.

Nodding rigidly, Nabiki rose to her feet and left the kitchen.

Ranma shifted closer to Akane. "I'm nervous," she whispered, and Akane leaned into her shoulder.

"It'll be okay. I promise."

Returning to the kitchen with a confused Kasumi, who hadn't finished putting her hair in order, Nabiki sat back down at the table. Ranma looked around at the Tendos, at Akane, who gave her a subtle nod, and she exhaled. Soun seemed to realize they were gathered due to Ranma, and he turned to her, all of his usual fanfare vanished for a deadly seriousness.

"Ranma," he said, forcing Ranma to meet his eyes. Soun looked at Ranma with concern. "What's wrong? And why don't you want your father here?"

You can do this, Ranma. We all love you. They'll understand. Akane squeezed Ranma's hand.

"It's about my curse," Ranma murmured.

Nabiki made an O with her mouth, eyes lighting up. Kasumi hid a small smile behind her hand. Soun just seemed confused. "Your curse?" he asked. "Of course. If you feel it's important enough to call a family meeting, of course I'll listen, son."

Ranma flinched. "Yeah… About that," she said. "I've come to a realization, Tendo-san." She met the Tendo patriarch's eyes, and spoke as evenly as she could, leaning on Akane for support.

"Ever since I woke up from my coma, I've been plagued with doubt about my curse and what it… what it means for me. My father raised me to be a man-among-men, but…" Ranma raised an arm, indicating herself, her eyes shining with loss. "Obviously I'm not. And I've been so miserable, and I didn't understand why. But I think I do now. I've been in denial, I think, and living under false pretenses, but now that I am aware of my own transgressions, my- my honor demands that I tell you."

Ranma bowed her head in shame, pressed her spare hand against her folded knees. "I don't know why. I wish more than anything I could be, I could want to be, what my father wants of me, but I can't. I can't tell you why. I don't know whether the curse has messed with my brain, or if- if I've been hiding my perversion all my life, and my curse just brought it to light." Akane withdrew into herself, looking away from Soun; Ranma hadn't told her what she'd intended to say ahead of time, and hearing the words aloud hurt. Ranma paused, collecting herself, then spoke softly. "I don't just take on the form of a girl. I am a girl."

Soun stared at Ranma. "You are?" he questioned in a low tone.

Biting her lip, Ranma nodded. "I am," she echoed. "Even… Even when I'm a guy. If this is my true curse, then it's cruel. But I have no choice. I can't-" Her voice broke. "I can't live like this anymore."

For a moment, there was silence. Nabiki got up, moved around the table, and pulled Ranma into a tight hug. "Oh, Ranma," she said. "I'm so proud of you.

Akane smiled, wiping away a tear. Ranma hung limp in Nabiki's embrace, a blank look on her face. "Huh?"

"Ranma, dear." Kasumi said. "We know."

"You know?"

"We know," Nabiki agreed.

Releasing Ranma, Nabiki sat back at Ranma's side, taking her other hand in her own, turning to Soun. Kasumi, in her Kasumi way, rose to her feet and poured a glass of water for Ranma, delivering it to her with a box of tissues. Bewildered, turning from one Tendo sister to the other, her gaze finally settling on Akane, Ranma shrunk in on herself. "I- I don't understand."

Akane knew it was her turn to step in. "We've all suspected for a while, Ranma," she told Ranma in a quiet voice, meeting her fiancee's blue eyes. "But after you started going to school as a girl, it became a little obvious. We've been waiting for you to figure out your own feelings, but I think we all have known you don't hate your curse for a while."

Nabiki nodded. "You're not a pervert, Ranma," she said, and there was steel in her tone. "You are a biological female, legally and physically, who happens to have an unfortunate affliction."

"And if I wasn't?" Ranma asked, her voice quavering. "If I had no curse? If I still had these feelings, what would that make me then?"

Nabiki's gaze softened. "My little sister," she said, a note of vulnerability Akane had almost never heard from her sister entering her tone. "If you'll have me."

"Oh," Ranma whispered.

"Legally?" Soun said sharply. "Nabiki, what did you do?"

Nabiki shrugged, inclining her head. "Why do you think the school let Ranma register? I called in a few favors from people who owed me more than that was worth. I've done worse since. It's rock solid, I promise – I have everything. Birth certificate, citizenship, all of it. As far as anyone is concerned, Ranko Saotome is a real person. Ranma's twin sister, technically. Not that Genma pays taxes enough to notice that the government is giving him tax breaks, no thanks to that bastard."

"Nabiki!" Kasumi exclaimed. "Not in front of Daddy!"

"What favors did you call in?" Akane asked – she'd had no idea the extent to which Nabiki had gone to create an identity for 'Ranko.'

"We will have words about this, Nabiki," Soun snapped.

"What?" Nabiki said, crossing her arms. "It's not the Yakuza this time-"

"This time?" Ranma squeaked, incredulous.

"Nabiki!"

Nabiki stared down her furious father. "I won't apologize," she said, crossing her arms. "I have a debt to Ranma that I might never repay, and I will do whatever it takes to protect her and Akane. Besides, I don't make deals with the devil – people make deals with me. The point is, I knew, or suspected, that Ranma's girl form meant more from her as soon as she decided to go to school as a girl. So I made her bulletproof. It was an inconsistency I wanted to fix anyways, in case she got stuck or we had to prove her existence, somehow. We're already poor enough – the last thing we need is for the government to come down on us because she doesn't have documentation."

"You did all of that for me?" Ranma asked, and Nabiki nodded. "I- I-"

Akane was just as taken aback. Nabiki rarely let so much passion into her arguments, or went to such lengths – for anyone but family. Ranma is family, isn't she? She squeezed Ranma's hand, trying not to let her own emotion overwhelm her.

Soun wrote Nabiki off, sending her one last stern look, and turned to Ranma. His expression was conflicted. "Ranma…" he said, drawing his words out. "You prefer this form? Even against your upbringing and your father's wishes?"

"Yes," Ranma said.

"And you intend to stay this way? All the time? Both at home and at school?"

"Yes."

Measuring Ranma, Soun wavered. "I-"

"If you don't want me under your roof, I'll go," Ranma said, her voice flat and lifeless. She looked down at the table – away from Akane, away from Nabiki, away from Soun. "I've been here under false pretenses. I dunno what Pops would do with me, and I don't wanna leave 'Kane, but I would go."

"You would break the engagement?" Soun asked quietly. "You wouldn't join the schools?"

Ranma had never looked so small. "I don't want to."

"You don't?"

"No, Tendo-san. I love her." Ranma met Soun's eyes. "I love Akane. And even if you forbid our engagement, I would still want to join our schools. But if you demand that I leave-"

"Nonsense," Soun said, crossing his arms. "This is your home. You are my student, someday my son- erm, daughter-in-law- it doesn't matter. I wouldn't cast you out over something like this – if I were going to, I would never have allowed Genma here when you turned up from Jusenkyo. The engagement is more than the marriage, Ranma. Our families promised each other to become one, in combat and in blood, and I will uphold that vow, no matter how dishonorable Genma has become. If this is what you desire, Ranma, then I would be honored to call you my daughter."

That was too much for Ranma, who burst into tears and hid her face in Akane's chest. Akane wrapped her arms around Ranma and held her tight, rocking back and forth, exhausted but relieved. She shot her father a look, both thankful and in disbelief, blown away by how perfect what Soun had said was. Soun glanced at Akane and nodded.

"It's okay, Ranma," Akane murmured, brushing Ranma's cheek, rubbing circles on her fiancee's back. Ranma sobbed in response, and they both laughed. "Hey, hey. We're all here. Nobody's kicking you out, nobody's forcing you to leave. You're safe."

Ranma responded by curling in closer to her.

"We'll give you two some space," Kasumi murmured. She gestured to Nabiki, and both her older sisters left the room.

Gently, sweeping Ranma's hair out of her face, Akane pressed a kiss to Ranma's forehead, cradling her in her arms. They rocked back and forth. Ranma calmed down slowly, relaxing in Akane's arms, slumping forward in exhaustion.

All the while, Soun watched them, deep in thought, his fingers drumming on the edge of the shogi board.

Ranma

Ranma sat on the park bench in her new coat and watched the birds, deep in thought.

So, I'm a girl now. The thought made her shiver, but it didn't inspire the sense of wrongness she might have expected. The truth was, Ranma didn't really understand what exactly it meant to be a girl, beyond wearing the body and doing the things Yuka and Sayuri said made you one. It was more matter of fact. Like the weatherman giving a seven-day forecast. After all she had built femininity up to be in her mind, years of torment and demands and sparring and travels, being a girl was quiet.

Peaceful.

Old couples walked beneath leafless trees arm in arm. The rock garden had a gardener with a rake drawing swirls in the stones. Aside from a small commotion at the nearby shrine and the distant noise of traffic, Nerima was quiet on a Tuesday in December.

She should have been screaming and throwing a fuss. But Ranma was tired of caring about which body she wore. She was happier when she was a girl, when she wasn't purposefully making herself miserable, and the best part was nobody seemed to care. Ukyo, Yuka, Sayuri, Nabiki, Kasumi, Soun. Akane. They all were supportive – no, they had all realized it before Ranma.

When did I stop believing I was cursed? Jusenkyo's magic had changed Ranma's life, but, perhaps it was for the better. If the curse wasn't to take the form of a girl, but to become a girl, then it had worked, taken Ranma, the most macho guy she'd known, and turned her into a girl. Mind and body. Maybe the curse was the loss of identity.

Ranma didn't care anymore. She didn't want to fight to be a guy she hated. The curse had worked, and she felt a deep pang of loss, but to live out the curse felt right. It was all horribly confusing and traumatic.

She blamed Pops.

"Oh, Ranko-chan!"

Ranma blinked, vaguely registering the use of her fake – well, maybe not so fake – legal name, and found Nodoka, the kind lady with red-ish hair, watching her. She wore a yukata and she was beautiful, with a small delicate face and a careful bun. There was an eerie familiarity between them – when Ranma looked at Nodoka, she had flashes of looking at herself in the mirror.

She sat up straighter, arranging her jacket.

"Hello, Nodoka-san," Ranma said, trying to muster a smile. She partway succeeded.

Without further invitation, Nodoka sat down next to Ranma on her bench. "How are you, dear?" Nodoka asked, tutting in concern. "Have you settled in alright at your new school? For that matter…" She frowned at Ranma. "Aren't you supposed to be in school? What are you doing here?"

Squirming under the scrutiny, getting a distinctly strange feeling, Ranma waved her hands and shook her head. "No, no, I'm not skipping!" she exclaimed. "I mean, uh, I am, but we had a bit of a family situation…" Ranma blushed, wondering why she was justifying herself to a near stranger. Something about Nodoka invited familiarity; she gave off a motherly vibe that Ranma had never really felt before.

"I understand," Nodoka said, smoothing out her yukata and giving Ranma a stern look. "Your schooling is important, though. Is everything alright?"

Ranma nodded, feeling suitably chastised. "Yes," she said. "We had a… situation where we had to give different information at school and at home, but we fixed it today. Lots of emotions, I guess. I had to come clear my head, you know?"

Nodoka pursed her lips, but placed a comforting hand on Ranma's shoulder. "Of course, dear. I agree that this park is a peaceful place to clear your mind."

"Yeah."

Nodoka and Ranma sat in companionable silence. Ranma wondered about the older woman – she knew nothing about her, save that she liked to come around the park, but Nodoka didn't seem to have a problem sitting with Ranma, who felt compelled to share her thoughts.

"Guess I feel real lucky," she said, looking at Nodoka. "I didn't use to have real close friends and family back when I lived in China, except for my Pops. But now I got my fiancee and, uh, his family, and a bunch of close friends at school, and I didn't realize how much they all cared until today, not really. Cause I never had that before."

Nodoka's expression lit up. "Your engagement is working out?" she asked, delighted.

Well, if you don't count the fact that we can't actually get married anymore… "Yeah," Ranma offered, trying to come up with a way not to suggest she was engaged to a girl – another girl. "It's, um, it's real great. Honest." She blushed, looking away. "I think I love… my fiancee. We've kissed and everything."

"Oh, that's wonderful." Nodoka beamed at Ranma. "I'm so glad. Young love is a wonderful thing."

"Thanks. I think I'll be happy, after it all sinks in," Ranma said.

She smiled hesitantly, finding Nodoka's wide smile infectious, taking in the little details of how Nodoka held herself – her tightly coiled hair, the fine blue fabric of her yukata. She admired the older woman- don't think that! Wait, she could think that now! Ranma almost laughed out loud on realizing her thoughts around her curse were free, for the first time, and proceeded to think something she would never have allowed herself to think before: she admired the way Nodoka dressed and held herself. She was soft but reserved, with a clear steel beneath, walking with the poise of a martial artist and the formality of a woman of honor. It was – Ranma's thought train almost stuttered again – how Ranma might have imagined herself, herself, to be in twenty years.

And Nodoka looked so much like her. It made visualizing a future for herself as a girl easy, leaving Ranma breathless, torn between shame and a strange elation she'd never felt before in terms of herself. Her body.

This is wrong, Ranma thought, her smile turning genuine. I shouldn't be feeling these things.

But she was. She had crossed a threshold, a point of no return, and found she didn't want to look back.

"Family is a wonderful thing, Ranko-chan," Nodoka said, looking on Ranma with an odd wistfulness. "You should treasure it. I had a family once, a long time ago, but I was prideful and I allowed my husband to take my son away when he was young, which I dearly regret. I haven't seen either of them since. Sometimes, I think I would give anything in the world to find them again."

Something twinged in Ranma's chest. "I'm sorry. I never knew my mother neither. It's hard, but my Pops has always been around for me, even when he's a lazy ass."

"Language, dear," Nodoka clucked.

"Oh. Right. Sorry."

"It's quite alright. I can understand how a young lady would grow up with such a vulgar mouth, if you only ever lived with your father. I do hope you can find some proper feminine influences – it would be such a shame if you picked up even worse habits from your fiance." Nodoka shook her head, coming back to herself. She gave Ranma a wry smile. "My apologies. I don't mean to be rude. I just… I miss my little boy so much, and I suppose you remind me of him. He would be about your age, now."

Ranma, surprisingly, felt some indignation at that. She crossed her arms. "I'm a girl," she declared for what felt like the thousandth time in the last day, and each time she said it, she felt a little more certain.

"Of course you are," Nodoka said. "You're a beautiful young lady who will make a wonderful wife someday. I didn't mean physically. Your spirit reminds me of him. I know he was very young, but he already showed such vigor and determination. But I'm rambling again."

"You really love them," Ranma said. "Even though they've been gone."

"Of course I do," Nodoka replied. "They are still my husband and my son. I love them even more for all the distance between us. I've waited half my life for them to return, but I've never lost hope. I know someday, they will find their way back to me."

Ranma looked down to her hands, folded in her lap. Sitting on the park bench, they were small among the barren trees, the winding gravel path, the empty park. "That sounds lonely."

"Yes." Nodoka looked skyward, the morning light illuminated her delicate features. She smiled, sad. "I suppose it is."

[A/N] Hey, what's this? The beginning of Part Two? Sweet!

Oh, Nabiki. Never stop being you.

Ranma tells the Tendos about her feelings and begins to come to terms with what her choices mean for her life. Also, she meets Nodoka again. I think Nodoka is one of the most interesting characters in the cast, but fanon likes to play her up as a total psychopathic caricature that I rather dislike. I have big plans for her character, and I really hope to treat her with the utmost respect and dignity she always displays.

Some folks in the reviews noted that the Part One/Part Two division came out of left field. In a sense, yes. This chapter and last chapter could have rolled together no sweat, and nobody would complain that the fic isn't split into logical parts. But I wanted to underscore the weight of Ranma's realization. She made a very real step from he to she, both in the story and on the written page, and I want to underscore what a tectonic shift that is in her life – and the reader's experience. In that way, it's as much a symbolic division as a plot division.

I think one of this fic's strength is that I know exactly what it is – a coming out story, a romance, and a meditation on identity. I'm glad I get to share it with you.

I'm thinking of making a TV Tropes page for this story – authors, did you know that TV Tropes is the website that drives the most traffic to FFN by far? I'll probably get around to in when this fic hits 100k, so sometime in the next few months, but if someone else wanted to get the ball rolling before then feel free lol ;).

Thank you Beedok, Katt1848, elusivetruth, bobthebuilder27, jesstersmasque, Noies, The Keeper of Worlds, Fuyukazehime, Bigou, Alucard45, Ryo Oh Ki7, and Lukkai for reviewing. You're all as lovely as always, muffins.

Lol hehe should I start calling my reviewers Muffins?

Also this chapter marks over 800k words published on this site, so cheers to that!

Much love, Allie (*exhale* long A/N)