Ranko’s heart was still racing after Akane’s strike. The other girl hit hard . Ranko didn’t know what to expect since she mostly just fought her own dad, but it wasn’t that. Now that she knew they were doing tournament rules though…she’d go all-in on offense. She stretched and did a few warmup forms to recall her fastest techniques: taekwondo, muay thai, shéquán…she considered Western boxing but wanted to keep her upper body as far away from Akane as possible.

  Usually she focused on dodge speed rather than attack speed, since Genma despised “rabbit punches,” and Ranko had to position herself to punish him when he overcommitted. As long as she hit hard enough that Akane felt it, unlike that chop, she’d be good. If she needed to dodge she’d create as much distance as possible so she could set up before Akane closed, the Tendo style seemed to lack the mobility of the Saotome style.

  As she shadow boxed, a cold, wet sensation spread across her body. “Gah!” she yelped in surprise, feeling goosebumps spread over her body.

  “Huh, guess you’re not cursed.” Someone said, and Ranko whirled to see Nabiki standing there with an empty glass of water.

  “Wh-what was that for?” Ranko made sure not to raise her voice, but she was still mad.

  “I just think it’s weird that you and your dad show up and he’s the only one who somehow fell in a cursed spring while both of you were fighting over it.” If Ranko wasn’t in the middle of a scam and terrified of what her dad would do if she dropped the act right now, she’d be impressed. Nabiki didn’t take things at face value, so she probably noticed something odd was going on.

  “I was soaking wet when we showed up! That wasn’t proof enough for you?” Ranko hoped she’d make the next logical leap and try again with hot water, but she had to keep up the charade. If one of the Tendos figured it out it wasn’t gonna be because Ranko screwed up.

  “In my defense, I just learned that magic exists about fifteen minutes ago,” the middle Tendo sister said with a smirk. “But something else has been bothering me since you got here.” She advanced slowly at Ranko, each step like a tiger stalking its next meal, and once again the pigtailed girl-turned-boy got that sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

  “W-what’s that?” She gulped, praying she hadn’t made some obvious mistake or used the wrong words or something basic like that. The stupid plan wasn’t her idea, but she’d been acting and pretending and lying for years, this stuff should be second nature to her.

  Nabiki leaned forward and craned her neck up as Ranko leaned back and positioned her hands to defend herself. “What’s your problem with me?” Nabiki’s voice was husky, breathy, and absolutely affected Ranko in a physical sense. She couldn’t let that affect her.

  The girl was fine , hot even. All of the Tendo girls were, in their own way, and Ranko was jealous that all of them were taller than her in her true form. Nabiki was clearly practiced at getting boys — and doubtlessly a few girls — to do whatever she wanted just by fluttering her eyes right and pursing her lips.

  Ranko had to learn how to do that when she was way too young and Nabiki probably never had to employ her feminine wiles just to have somewhere to stay for the night. She didn’t know what she was up against.

  “Ranma” pivoted her hands into a shrug and shook her head with a smirk. “Hah hah, slow down girl, I just met you.” It wasn’t a rejection outright, but it was an effective deflection. “Plus I’m in the middle of a match with your little sister, and I’m up .” She’d let the girl wonder whether that was a double entendre.

  She saw Nabiki beginning to pout, so she preemptively countered the emotional attack. “I think it’s fair that I get a chance to meet all you girls before we decide who’s gonna agree to wed, don’t you think?” She flashed her best shit-eating grin, hoping that was the kind of guy Nabiki went for.

  Either it worked or Nabiki needed time to rethink her approach, because the middle Tendo’s nascent pout switched to a scowl and a scoff as she spun on her heel and walked away.

  As soon as she was gone, Ranko exhaled and curled into a ball: hands on her head, crouching as low as possible. This whole thing was exhausting.

  “You handled her well.” Akane’s voice came from the door, and Ranko sprang back up in alarm. The youngest daughter stood there, cheeks red, holding a carafe of water and two glasses. Her statement didn’t read as admonishment or jealousy, so Ranko hoped she understood what she was trying to do.

  “Thanks,” she began, hoping her earnestness came through. “This isn’t the first time I’ve had to deal with someone that…interested in me.” She shuddered as she remembered the parade of men, mostly her father’s age, that made a pass at her at some point. Despite the fact that Nabiki gave her the same ick, she hoped the other girl hadn’t been on the receiving end of that kind of behavior too often: she wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

  A darkness fell across Akane’s face. “Well, looks like Nabiki already gave you some water, huh?” The joke was forced, but Ranko was glad to change the subject.

  “Yep! She thought I was cursed, even after I showed up drenched with rain. Wild, huh? Thanks for the water to drink though, I’m pretty thirsty.” She took one of the glasses Akane offered her and took a long, relieved swig as she walked back to her starting position.

  The two bowed again and took new stances. Akane kept both feet flat on the ground again, open-palmed, with one hand back near her face and the other held up in front of her. Ranko leaned forward, both arms up, hands in front of her face, and fists clenched. She was all but advertising that she’d be going on the offensive, but if she could overwhelm Akane it wouldn’t matter.

  This time Akane moved first, leaping forward to force Ranko to move. She rolled to the side, going a rotation farther than necessary, and sprang up to her feet in time to jump over Akane’s kick. Few people could react quickly the first time someone literally jumped over them, and Akane only barely managed to swat aside Ranko’s poke.

  Unlike the first point, Ranko didn’t retreat as soon as she was blocked and was already bringing her knee forward to strike Akane in the midsection. The Tendo girl rebuffed the strike with her own knee and slammed her foot forward, driving into a twin punch with the weight of her whole body.

  Ranko’s decision to prioritize offense at the expense of all else was a mistake: she managed to grab the fist coming at her chest but the other one struck her in the thigh. It wasn’t a point but it hurt . Part of her considered letting Akane win.

  She didn’t know how the Tendo girl would feel about that, and she definitely knew how her father would feel about it if he found out, so it wasn’t worth it. Akane’s body was open: if Ranko could tag her with a quick kick she’d get the second point at least.

  Swinging her back foot forward, Akane pivoted to grab her ankle and thigh. With the momentum Ranko gave her she spun into a throw and pitched the temporary boy halfway across the room. The Saotome school was one of the few martial arts that knew how to capitalize on aerial movement so Ranko landed on her feet, her injured leg only throbbing a little, and she dashed forward back at Akane.

  Akane was legitimately surprised by this and couldn’t recover from the throw fast enough. Ranko’s flurry of kicks came so fast one eventually got through and slammed into her solar plexus. It wasn’t a strong attack but the wind was still knocked out of her and she stumbled back to the ground.

  “Point Saotome,” Ranko panted, leaning down to help Akane back up. “You’re very good, I’ve never met another…I’ve never met a girl who fights like you.”

  The fury that spread across Akane’s face told Ranko that was the wrong thing to say, even as she accepted the help. “I’m sorry, I just mean that I don’t get a chance to…err I mean I don’t have to fight women very often. My dad doesn’t think…” She decided to trail off instead of finishing her sentence and rubbed the back of her head.

  Wordlessly, Akane marched over to the water and took a long drink. She didn’t look at Ranko’s face, leaving the pigtailed girl-turned-boy to anxiously squirm.

  Was Ranma just like every other boy? Certainly his dad was trying to make him that way, if his unfinished sentence was going the way she figured. But he also said she was “very good,” so he must have meant it as a compliment. Right?

  Talking herself back from her anger made her forget about Ranma’s slip, but before he probably-accidentally touched on her greatest source of insecurity she caught him almost say “another girl”.

  Of course, then he put his foot in his mouth and Akane had to review everything he’d done since he arrived in their home. Including the fact that he was being carried by his own father, and clearly trying to get away.

  That’s right. Even if Ranma was just a shyer version of a regular boy, he was a kid in a bad situation. Despite the fact that he was a world-class martial artist his own father terrified him, and Akane felt a sense of duty to try and help him. Plus, if his own son’s feelings about him were any indication, Genma Saotome wasn’t someone she wanted in her house, and she definitely didn’t want him in control of her dojo.

  “Don’t worry about it, Ranma.” Her voice was strained but even. “I have to deal with the boys at school making fun of me for being so good at martial arts.” She didn’t need to explain all the other reasons she was made to feel like a broken girl. “I know you didn’t mean anything like that, it’s just hard to be called things like ‘tomboy’ and ‘uncute’ all the time just ‘cause you’re kinda sporty, you know?”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “But you’re so pretty!” Ranma couldn’t help but exclaim at the upper end of his vocal register, and Akane had to do a double take to make sure he wasn’t actually a girl. “Er, I mean, that is…” With each syllable he took his voice down an octave and his skin turned tomato-red.

  Akane blushed too, nobody called her pretty. Not even Kuno, who at least tried but whose actions undermined any sense of romance his words tried to convey. Ranma was too flustered to continue his point, but Akane realized he meant it and that formed a knot in her stomach.

  Oh shit, I’m getting a crush on him, aren’t I? After spending so much time around awful boys she had given up on men as part of her romantic life, but here was Ranma, breaking down her defenses, and not just in the dojo.

  “Thanks for that Ranma, I appreciate it.” Her smile was subtle but Ranma’s eyes went wide and he averted his gaze, somehow blushing even further.

  “Well, if you get me one more time that’s the match, but honestly you’re the best martial artist I’ve ever met.” Akane was exhausted. They hadn’t fought much but she went on a long run today and spent a good amount of time breaking bricks before the Saotomes showed up. He’d been literally carried in from the rain so who knew what his day was like.

  “And believe me, I wouldn’t say that easily about a boy!” She hoped that would perk him up a little, but if anything it just made him look sadder , and his mouth twisted like he’d just eaten a lemon.

  Pretending she didn’t see that, she poured him another glass. “Let’s be friends!” She said with a big smile.

  Ranko sat on her knees on the dojo engawa, alone. Akane’s smile lingered in her thoughts, burning her cheeks in defiance of the late afternoon breeze. Was the knot in her stomach because she was attracted to the Tendo daughter or because her body was attracted to her? Did it even work like that? Was her dad lounging around daydreaming of panda women?

  She shook her head to dispel that image from her mind. She knew it was possible she liked boys and girls anyway. The happiest time in her life was when she was in middle school, back when she and her dad lived in Suginami. It took a lot of convincing but her dad eventually sent her to an all-girls junior high instead of the co-ed one he was looking at. She’d promised the lessons she would learn there would be good for them while traveling, and in an all-girl environment she’d learn better because she wouldn’t risk being distracted by boys.

  That was, of course, pointless for two reasons. The second crush of her life, after the okonomiyaki boy she hung out with when she was six, was a girl from second period who reciprocated her feelings. The two spent basically every minute together possible, and shared their first kiss during the summer holiday. Then her family moved away at the end of the second semester and Ranko felt like she’d lost her whole world.

  The other reason was that her school was closely integrated with the all-boys sister school, and she met him on the first day of third semester. Ryoga Hibiki was kind of an idiot, but he was kind, cute as hell, and it didn’t hurt that he had an adorable dog and an amazing little sister. For eight months Ranko and Ryoga spent their free afternoons together, sometimes with Yoiko and Shirokuro, sometimes alone.

  Ranko would share the food she made in home ec with him, walk him and his sister home (they had such a terrible sense of direction), and he even made a good impression on her dad when he revealed he could fight. He wasn’t a proper martial artist but he was strong, scrappy, and surprisingly durable.

  They never got a chance to kiss. The last she saw of him was when he gave her a letter (disguised as a challenge to a duel to satisfy Genma) asking her to meet him in a lot 400 meters from his house. She waited three days before her dad whisked her away to China.

  If they ended up staying here, maybe Ranko could go visit him. Suginami wasn’t that far away, after all.

  Genma disturbed her introspection as he plodded up behind her. “ Boy .” Ranko hated how easy it was for him to start calling her that. “Ranma” must have been the boy he always wanted, the child she never had a chance against. It explained her name, which was just Ranma with “-girl” swapped out at the end.

  “ Dad .” Ranko spat back before he could continue.

  “Don’t get catty with me, boy.” The unspoken threat shook Ranko’s spine but she kept her eyes forward and her face neutral. “How’d your little playdate go? You didn’t say anything impolite , did you?”

  Ranko rolled her eyes. “No, pops. I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize your friendship with Mr. Tendo.” She sighed and continued sincerely. “Also I like it here. It’s nice.”

  “Hmph. Good. Finally coming around, then?”

  “No, they’re nice. It’s good to be around nice people for a change.” Genma was clever enough to get what she was insinuating, but didn’t say anything in response. “I won our fight. She’s a fantastic martial artist, not that you care. I hope you’re proud for Mr. Tendo’s sake if nothing else.”

  “Hah hah! I knew you wouldn’t disappoint me!” He soundly clapped Ranko on the back, and for the first time in her life she believed Genma was actually proud of her. “See what a little adversity can do for you, Ranma?”

  Right. He wasn’t proud of her . She didn’t even exist in his world anymore. He got to trade in a daughter he never wanted for the illusion of a son that he did. Anger burned in her belly and she felt like it would burst out in a tidal wave of hot tears if she didn’t keep it contained, so she stood up and stretched.

  “Sure thing, pop.” She said as evenly as possible. “I’m gonna go take a bath — and follow up with a cold shower , don’t worry — before dinner. I smell like panda ass.” As soon as she knew he couldn’t see her face she let the first few drops free, and by the time she turned the knob in the shower she was full-on sobbing.

  She felt bad leaving Ranma in the dojo alone again, but she needed to get her sisters together. Kasumi was easy enough: Akane just had to ask for some help in her room and her oldest sister excused herself from the table.

  Nabiki was more difficult. The middle Tendo sister was scheming to capture their nicer guest’s attention and saw her youngest sister as her primary opponent. Akane didn’t believe she was actually romantically interested in Ranma, she was just happy she’d met a boy who wasn’t a complete piece of garbage.

  “Nabiki, please, I’m just worried about him and I need you so we can figure out if he needs our help!” She’d resorted to begging on the floor of her sister’s room. “You know I don’t even like boys!”

  “Yeah, I do, which is why it’s weird to me that you haven’t caved in his skull yet!” Nabiki retorted, unmoved by Akane’s pleas. “That spar of yours was the most controlled, civil display I’ve ever seen from you, especially against a boy. He seems conceited enough that I’m surprised you got through one minute with him, let alone thirty!”

  Akane needed to try a different approach. Something else Nabiki would care about. Akane couldn’t convince her sister that she didn’t have any attraction to Ranma (which was increasingly becoming untrue anyway) so what would unite them even with that issue?

  “Okay, but I know you can tell his dad makes him uncomfortable, right?” If Akane could convince Nabiki that the real biggest threat to a potential relationship with Ranma was his dad, Akane could pivot that into an alliance to deal with Genma’s presence in their home.

  “Obviously, he flinches whenever the guy exhales.” Nabiki responded coldly, which gave Akane a lot of hope.

  “If Ranma is constantly worried about what his dad thinks or does, that means he’ll never be able to feel comfortable here. With any of us.” She prayed Nabiki would follow her reasoning. “I’ve already talked to Kasumi, you know she’s not interested in Ranma because he’s so much younger than her, so you don’t have to worry about her either way. And if she thinks a guest in her house is uncomfortable she’ll do whatever she can to make them feel better.”

  Her middle sister sighed and deflated in her chair. “Fine, okay. You’re right that the dad is a problem. What do you propose to do about him?”

  Akane thanked all the kami: convincing Nabiki without a single yen trading hands? She must be smitten.

  Warm water made Ranko feel so much better. Not just because she was finally back in her real body for the first time in days but because all the stress and pain of the past few years practically floated away. She even let her black hair down. The pigtail was cute and gender neutral, something she legitimately valued while they were traveling, but it pulled at her scalp and was bad for her hair to leave it up like that all the time.

  Maybe now they were in a dojo she could start letting it down more often, or playing around with different styles. She prayed her father wouldn’t make her cut it to seem more masculine.

  A knock at the door to the furo snapped her out of her reverie. “It’s Kasumi,” came the melodic, soft voice of the oldest Tendo daughter. “I need to swap out the showerhead, may I come in, Ranma?”

  Making sure not to panic, Ranko sank until only her head was visible above the water and pitched her voice down as she cleared her throat. “I’d prefer if you didn’t, I’m sorry.” She couldn’t afford to take any chances. “Can you wait until I’m done? I won’t be much longer.”

  “I suppose. You’re done with the shower, right? We turned the water off a minute ago so I could replace it, we didn’t know you were in here.” Ranko swore to herself in a panic, but willed her voice not to shoot up.

  “Uhhh…actually I was gonna use it. I guess you can come in and fix it, I’ll stay in the furo.”

  The door slid open and Kasumi entered holding a little basket. Sure enough there was a replacement showerhead and a few tools. She kept her eyes away from the furo as she started working.

  “Thank you, I know this is probably uncomfortable. We’ve been meaning to replace it for weeks now. Did it give you any trouble?

  Ranko really just wanted the nice woman to do what she came to do and leave. The longer she stayed the more likely something would go wrong.

  “Nope. No trouble at all, thanks.” She could do this, she’d pretended to be a boy before. Magic curses made it easier , but she wasn’t dependent on it!

  “I’m glad to hear it!” Kasumi said sweetly and sincerely. “I’m sorry again for disturbing your bath. How long was your training trip to China? Did you get a chance to bathe in hot springs while you were there?”

  Ranko would love to share the details of her trip any time but now, especially since the heat from the furo was combining with the anxiety of being so close to one of their hosts as a girl. “Nope! Bathed in rivers mostly, upriver from where we washed our clothes and dishes and the like.”

  “Oh, my! How wild. Did you ever get a chance to stay in a hotel or somewhere with a roof?” The softness and kindness of her voice didn’t help the sudden wave of exhaustion Ranko felt. The stress, heat, relief, and lack of sound sleep in the past few years were collapsing in on her and her body just wanted to shut itself off to defend itself.

  “N-no…I’m sorry Kasumi I’m not feeling well, could you bring me a glass of cold water?” She could tell some of her words slurred, hopefully that helped sell the request.

  Kasumi whirled around in panic, “Oh no! I’ll be right back!” She dashed out of the room, leaving the doors open like a monster. Ranko couldn’t let that bother her though.

  Willing her muscles to move, she stepped out of the tub and slid the door closed. Breathing heavy she lay down on the cold tile, wishing her body temperature lower. Based on the distance of the bath to the kitchen, Kasumi could probably get there and back in a matter of seconds, so she gave herself 20 seconds before sliding back into the hot water.

  A few seconds after that, Kasumi burst back in with a glass full of water and ice, which Ranko carefully grabbed without exposing anything above her collar bones. “Thank you Miss Kasumi.” She said graciously after draining the glass. “I think I just got too warm.”

  Nodding, Kasumi kept her attention on Ranko. The opposite of what the younger girl wanted. “Of course, is there anything else I could get you? And you can always come a little out of the water, I promise you I’ve seen mens’ chests before.”

  Not mine you haven’t , Ranko thought. “I have an embarrassing scar just below my neck, but I appreciate it. Please finish what you’re doing, if I need more water I’ll let you know.”

  Instead, Kasumi tapped her chin and grabbed a bucket. “No, you need to get out now if you’re experiencing heat fatigue. Let me fill this up with the tap for you.”

  Ranko smiled. Miss Kasumi was so nice. It felt terrible lying to her, but Ranko hoped they’d get along well as family if this marriage thing worked out.

  Kasumi closed the door to Akane’s room quietly and turned to address her younger sisters. Whispering as softly as she could, she delivered them the news. “Ranma is a girl!”

  Akane and Nabiki both blinked at her, not sure if they understood.

  “Wait, no, I splashed him with water in the dojo. And it was raining earlier.” Nabiki protested. It would be harder to convince her, given how attracted she was to the boy who’d walked into their home today.

  Akane on the other hand was ready to believe it without any sort of proof, but it wasn’t what she was expecting to hear. “Did he tell you that?” She asked incredulously. Their plan was for Kasumi to just chat with him about their China trip, figure out what they could about his dad.

  “No, but there were a few hints and things clicked when he-she…when Ranma refused to get out of the hot water.” Akane and Nabiki’s eyes went wide as they both realized what Kasumi was saying at the same time.

  “When I splashed hi…her with cold water…it’s because she was already in her cursed form!” Nabiki had to sit on Akane’s bed while she processed everything that had happened.

  “Well, what do you mean things clicked, Kasumi?” Akane needed more proof before she allowed herself to believe it. Imagining Ranma as a little shorter than her, with a petite figure, who she could pick up and cuddle with and kis—

  Even if Ranma was into that sort of thing with another girl, she needed to stop thinking of their guest like that. Especially since she was probably in danger from her father. Hopefully if they confronted their own dad about it he’d take them seriously.

  “There were several things. Her hair seemed a little shinier, which at first I thought was because she cleaned it. I couldn’t see through the furo water that well, and I couldn’t look long enough to analyze it, but her body didn’t look…right for a boy’s.” She grimaced before asking something that Akane didn’t like. “And…you know how you have to pitch your voice down when you play Romeo in the school plays, Akane?”

  She narrowed her eyes and nodded.

  “Her voice sounded like that. Good enough that I didn’t notice it, but as soon as I started thinking about it I could tell she was forcing it.” At least her cheeks had the decency to flush out of guilt that she would bring up one of Akane’s greatest shames.

  Nabiki groaned before shooting Akane with a stink eye. “Okay, sis, I guess she’s all yours then. I like women just fine but like Kasumi, I don’t want a younger one.”

  Akane and Kasumi both blushed with Nabiki’s casual admission of her own preferences, but quickly moved on to the most important question.

  What were they gonna do about Ranma?