Of Mothers, Of Fathers

By: Lord Archive

Part of the Hard Life timeline. 

This series deals with some serious, adult topics. There are no sex 
scenes in this series, but some sexual references do occur.

Characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Video, etc..., and are 
used without permission. I'm only borrowing them. I'll return them. 
(I wonder if they'll notice if I kept Yuka.)

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Chapter 2 - Shattered Future
-------------------------------------

Kasumi was a little surprised to hear the front door open. No one should 
be visiting today, considering Ranma and Akane were still on their 
honeymoon and it was raining rather hard now. A frown formed on her face 
when she heard onna-Ranma sadly call, "We're home." They were a couple 
days early which meant something went wrong. She grabbed a teakettle and 
went to greet them at the door.

Kasumi stopped cold when she saw onna-Ranma, Ukyou, P-Chan, and some guy 
with navy blue hair. Kasumi held out the kettle for Ranma to take, and 
nervously asked, "Where's Akane?"

Ranma hesitated before taking the teakettle and handed it to the man. 
The man sighed when he took the kettle and poured it over himself. "I'm 
here, Kasumi," Akane said from where the guy had stood a second before.

"Oh, Kami-sama!" Kasumi uttered, her hand covering her mouth.

Ranma walked to the dining room. Everyone followed her. When Ranma 
entered the room, she found the remaining members of the Saotome and 
Tendo clans there. Ranma took one look at her mother and ran to her. 
Ranma hugged her mother tightly and started crying.

This startled everyone in the room. No one thought Ranma would ever cry 
like that.

"Ranma, what's wrong?" Nodoka asked, very concerned.

Ranma couldn't answer through her tear soaked sobs. When she felt 
Akane's hand touch her shoulder, Ranma jumped away, shouting vehemently, 
"Don't touch me!"

"Ranma, please," Akane said with tears in her eyes.

"Please what?! This is all your fault! My life is hell now. As bad as it 
was before, it's now a hell of a lot worse!"

"This isn't easy for me either," Akane said. She wanted him to know he 
isn't alone in his troubles.

"How can you say that? It is easy for you!"

 Akane thought anger growing in her.

>WHAM<

Everyone stared at Ukyou, who was holding her combat spatula. "Excuse 
me. I need to have a little talk with Ranma." She picked up the 
unconscious red head and left.

Everyone was in various stages of shock. Something definitely wasn't 
right, as Ranma was crying like a girl, and Ukyou had hit Ranma, not 
Akane.

Nodoka shook her head, trying to clear it. "Akane, what was that all 
about?"

Akane sat at the dining table and sobbed lightly. "I-I think it'll be 
better if we wait for Ranma before we explain." 

Kasumi was at a loss. Akane seemed to be cursed and Ranma had made no 
move to turn back into a guy. 

-------------------------------------

Ranma woke up in her and Akane's room, rubbing her head. "What did you 
do that for?"

"Because you were being a jackass," Ukyou said bitterly.

"How so?" Ranma scowled.

"You said it was easy for Akane. I have news for you, it ain't."

"Oh really. She's not the one who's pregnant. She's not the one who has 
to carry a kid around for the next nine months!"

"She's cursed now! You going to tell me that's easy for her?!"

Ranma deflated slightly, but not much. "Well no. But she's got it easy 
compared to me. At least she was a macho chick before being cursed to 
turn into a guy. I got cursed to turn into a girl and I'm suppose to be 
a man amongst men."

"We both know better than anyone that changing ones gender isn't easy. 
Akane'll now have to adjust to being a guy. It was hard for me to do 
that. I can't begin to think how hard it'll be for her because her 
change is more than just social."

"It's still easier for her. She isn't the one who's pregnant!"

Ukyou sighed, "Tell me Ranma. What do you think would happen if it was 
Akane who got pregnant?"

"She'd blame me."

"Yeah, and she'd probably say it was easy for you too."

"Right." Ranma nodded smugly, seeing as Ukyou was now agreeing.

"But would it be that much easier for you?"

Ranma almost said it would be, but the glare Ukyou gave her caused her 
to hold her tongue. She thought for a moment. "No. It wouldn't really be 
easier. I'd still have to help Akane through the pregnancy and raise the 
kid. But I'm a guy, this is worse than if she got pregnant."

"You're right, it is worse. For both of you. Akane would prefer it if 
she was pregnant."

"Yeah right. She's better off because she doesn't have to go through it."

"Is she? Ranma, she was raised a girl. She was raised to be a mother. 
Wanting to have children is part of being a girl. Do you think she likes 
the idea of being a father any more than you like the idea of being a 
mother?"

Ranma stared at the floor. "She might."

"Ranma, look at these," Ukyou snarled.

Ranma glanced up and saw Ukyou pointing to some dolls and stuff animals. 
"What about them?"

"These dolls and stuff animals represent children. When Akane was a 
child she would treat them like she would a child." Ukyou glared at 
Ranma. "How did Akane treat Ryoga when he was her pet pig? She was very 
protective of him, feed him, and pretty much babied him, didn't she?"

"Um, yeah. Now she gets the chance of being a mother without having to 
give birth."

Ukyou was ready to smack Ranma with the spatula again. "Part of being a 
mother IS to give birth. No matter how much she cares for her child, 
she'll always be the father and not the mother. You may have your child 
call her mother, but Akane'll know that's false."

"I'll always be the mother." Ranma started to cry.

Ukyou hugged her tightly, and started to cry also.

-------------------------------------

Ukyou and Ranma returned to the dining room to find Soun demanding Akane 
to tell him what happened. Akane just sat there, sobbing lightly.

"Akane... I'm sorry for saying it's easy for you," Ranma said meekly.

Akane stood up and approached Ranma. "It's all right. As bad as it is 
for me, this is harder for you."

Ranma hugged Akane, crying softly.

Genma, getting upset at how unmanly Ranma was acting, dumped hot water 
over her. Almost everyone gasped when Ranma didn't change.

"What happened? Why didn't he turn back into a guy?" Nodoka nervously 
asked.

"Shall I explain it?" Akane asked, still hugging Ranma.

Ranma nodded, letting go of Akane. 

Everyone sat around the table, waiting to find out.

Akane sighed. "Ranma won't be able to change back into a guy for about 
the next ten months." She closed her eyes tightly. "The reason he can't 
is because... he's... pregnant."

"WHAT?!?" echoed throughout Nerima from a chorus of several voices.

"What do you mean Ranma is pregnant? Don't you mean you're pregnant?" 
Nodoka asked in disbelief.

Akane shook her head. "I wish I did mean that, but it is Ranma who's 
pregnant, not me."

"W-who's the father?" Genma stammered.

"I-I am," Akane answered.

"How can you be the father?" Soun demanded.

"Shampoo gave me instant Nannichaun powder as a wedding present... 
and... well... I used it during the honeymoon." Akane blushed deep red. 
"Ranma stayed in girl form long enough for conception to take place, and 
now he's pregnant. He can't change back until his body returns to a 
certain chemical balance, about a month after he gives birth."

"Well, it wouldn't be much of a problem to solve. All Ranma has to do is 
get an abortion," Genma said.

"No," Ranma said sternly. "I can't do that. The Old Ghoul told us that 
getting an abortion might not lift the lock on my curse. She said that I 
have to give birth to ensure that I'll ever be a guy again." Ranma 
started to cry again, clutching her stomach. "And... I don't want to 
kill my child."

Akane hugged Ranma tightly, both of them crying.

Ukyou watched them, and started to cry too. She glared at Ryoga when he 
put his hand on her shoulder.

Nodoka was stunned, she wanted a grandchild, but not that way.

Genma was unnerved, his son, whom he raised to be a man amongst men, was 
going to be a mother.

Nabiki always had a little trouble grasping the magical events 
surrounding Ranma, since magic tended to avoid logic, but this took the 
cake. 

Soun's mind was all mixed up, so he cried, "My daughter is going to be a 
father!"

Kasumi took this better than anyone, but still wanted to know something, 
"Akane, I thought instant Nannichaun was a one-shot use."

"It's supposed to be... but... for some reason... I ended up... cursed," 
Akane forced herself to say.

"WHAT?!?" was chorused again.

Akane picked up a glass of water and dumped it on her head. Everyone 
gasped as they saw her grow about six inches taller. Her body became 
very muscular and well defined and her hair was now navy blue. Most 
importantly, her body was now male.

Nabiki blinked. 

Soun fainted.

Everyone else just shook their head in shock, disbelief, or sympathy.

Ranma slowly got up and left for her room. No one knew what to say or 
do. They just sat their hearing the unrelenting rain pound on the house.

-------------------------------------

Nodoka sat in the kitchen. In her hands was a piece of paper that was 
rather old. Over twelve years old to be precise. On the piece of paper 
was an agreement that was signed and also had the hand print of a 
little child. This paper held the oath of seppuku that her son and her 
husband would commit if Ranma proved not to be a man amongst men.

Sometimes she wondered why she hadn't destroyed it already. Despite 
Ranma occasionally being a girl in body, he was still a man in spirit. 
Sure he had faults, but they were usually manly faults.

Nodoka started to cry. Her son, her manly son, had gotten pregnant, not 
his newlywed wife, but him. This was unacceptable. How could a man 
amongst men be a mother? This... this was just wrong.

Nodoka could correct this error. One word and Ranma would redeem 
himself as a man. But he would do so in a woman's body. Not only that, 
she would kill her grandchild. She might as well as kill her 
daughter-in-law too for the pain it would cause.

Nodoka shook her head. Ranma wasn't truly a man amongst men, but he 
was... unique. How many men are also a mother? Very few and they 
weren't born a man, they were only a man through surgery.

But Ranma had failed to be a man amongst men. By honor he should commit 
seppuku.

Nodoka stood up and walked from the table. 

Akane entered the room and asked, "Auntie Saotome, what are you doing?"

"Destroying something which threatens to destroy everything I hold 
dear." Nodoka set the seppuku agreement on fire using a stove burner. 
She felt an odd sort of relief as if a burden was released from her. 
"That was the seppuku agreement that Genma and Ranma signed."

Akane's eyes widened in shock. "You mean you were thinking about..."

Nodoka rested her hand on Akane's shoulder. "Akane Dear, Ranma isn't a 
man amongst men if he's also a mother. It makes him more than that. I 
am proud to call him my son, and I'm happy that I'll be a grandmother 
soon."

"You won't ask him to commit seppuku?" Akane asked, wanting to make 
sure.

"Not for this. I really don't know what Ranma could do to make me ask 
for him to do it. He is my child, and I'll love him no matter what 
happens. Besides, if I asked him to do it and you asked him not to, 
well, I really doubt he'd do it."

Akane nodded, tears finding a familiar track down the side of her face.

-------------------------------------

Genma and Soun played shogi well into the night. Both knew their trouble 
thoughts would not allow them to sleep peacefully tonight. 

If Akane had returned with news that she was pregnant, they'd be 
extremely happy. But the fact it was Ranma who was pregnant made them 
very uneasy. They'd get the heir to the school they wanted, but not 
exactly by who they wanted.

"You know, Saotome, a long time ago I wished for a manly child to father 
strong children and continue the arts. When I had all girls... I thought 
the wish wasn't going to be granted." Soun made a move in the game, 
and started crying. "I never thought that I had to say male child or 
son."

Genma shook his head, and said the only thing he could think of, "Be 
carefully what you wish for, it might come true."

------
Ranma listens in as Akane has a late night talk to Kasumi.
------
Ranma and Akane go shopping for new clothes for Akane.

------------------------
Author's Note: 

The remaining parts of the series will largely refer to Ranma as being 
female since Ranma is stuck in that form.

Gomen Nasai, Rumiko Takahashi-megami-sama. 
This series deals with the one topic that Rumiko-sama said that she 
didn't want to think about and that we shouldn't think about it either, 
a pregnant Ranma. I'm very sorry, but Archive wa hentai. I have thought 
about it, and felt it would make a very interesting story. I hope this 
does not offend her nor any fans of the Ranma 1/2 series.

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