Untitled
by Bryan Neef
version 1.1
Chapter 5
The steady rain reflected Ranma's mood as she stepped through the gate of
the large house. She hadn't been here in well over a month. Not since
she walked out on the fighting.
This time, however, she knew where she was going. She paused at the door,
wondering if she was doing the right thing, this time. A fit of coughing
kept her from ringing the door bell.
"Damn rain. I hate this weather."
She waited a few moments before ringing the doorbell. She sneezed a couple
of times before the door opened, revealing Hotaru.
"May I...Ranma! Come in. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," sniffed Ranma. "I got kicked out. Um..."
Hotaru pulled Ranma into the house. She hugged the smaller girl. "You're
always welcome here, Ranma. You should have called, though. I would have
made your room up."
Ranma sneezed again. "Don't worry about it. I can sleep anywhere, even
the roof."
Hotaru frowned at the statement as she pulled several large towels from
the closet. "Not tonight, Ranma. While you take a warm bath, I'll fix
your room."
Ranma smiled as she dried off. "Thanks, but I'll...ACHOO!!...be fine.
Um, do you have something to eat?"
Hotaru smiled as she pulled Ranma to the bathroom. "I'll fix you something
while you get warm. You're starting to catch a nasty cold. Why weren't
you wearing a coat?"
"'Cause the old man burned it last week."
Hotaru gasped. "Why?"
Ranma shrugged as she sneezed. "He said I was getting too soft."
Hotaru shook her head as she finished filling the furo. "Well, you're
here now. Get youself warm while I fix you something to eat. I'll leave
one of Haruka-Poppa's sweatsuits in the changing room."
"Um...Thanks, Hotaru. Where are Haruka and Michiru?"
Hotaru smiled. "They're performing in Kyoto this weekend. Setsuna-mamma
is with them."
"Oh. What about the others?"
"They're at their homes. Do you want me to call them?"
"No! I was, you know, curious."
"If you change your mind, let me know. Should I call Rei, just to let
her know you're here?"
"That's fine, I guess."
Hotaru smiled as she left the room. "I'll be back with something for
you to wear."
Ranma sighed as she started to remove her clothes. She shivered when
her clammy, wet skin became exposed to the air. She sneezed again.
Quickly going to the furo, she shook her head at the warm water. Shrug-
ging, she stepped into the warm water, allowing the change to wash over
her.
***
Hotaru waited patiently at the table. Ranma had been in the furo for
nearly a half hour. She was beginning to get worried. The front door
opened, bringing out of her thoughts.
"It's me and Mako-chan!" called Rei.
Hotaru smiled as she joined her friends in the living room. "I'm glad
you're here. Ranma's been in the furo an awfully long time."
"How long?" asked Rei.
"About a half hour."
Rei and Makoto blinked. "That long?" asked Rei.
"Maybe he fell asleep," offered Makoto.
Hotaru's eyes widened in terror as she raced upstairs. The other Senshi
followed her. They found her at the bathroom door, hesitating.
"Do you want me to check?" asked Rei.
"Could you? I don't think I can lift her without changing."
"He'll be fine," offered Rei as she went in.
As Makoto had suggested, Ranma was asleep. His head was safely out of
the water, though at a poor angle. Rei smiled at his relaxed face.
"Ranma, time to get up."
No response. Shaking her head, she approached the sleeping boy. "Ranma,
dinner's ready."
A aslight stirring brought a smile to her face. she
thought.
She gently touched Ranma's floating hand. "Ran...AAAHHH!"
Ranma bolted at the touch, knocking Rei to the floor. His reaction
caused the water to explode from the furo, drenching Rei.
Rei looked to where Ranma landed. She sighed as the neo-girl covered
her head, the shower hose still on, while muttering, "I didn't see any-
thing!"
Both Hotaru and Makoto saw the cringing girl. Rei crawled over to Ranma.
Quickly turning off the cold water, she embraced Ranma.
"Shh. It's okay, Ranma. You were asleep. I tried to wake you up."
Ranma moved her arms to cover her breasts. Looking up, she saw Hotaru
and Makoto bringing a towel to her. She flinched at their concerned
looks. "Um, sorry about that."
Rei tightend her hug. "It's okay, Ranma. Get dressed. We'll meet you
downstairs."
Ranma nodded as she dried off. She paused as Hotaru spoke, "Rei, you're
wet. Let me find something for you to wear."
"Thanks, Hotaru. What's the matter, RAnma?"
Ranma had her eyes closed, facing away from Rei. "I don't want you to
think I'm a pervert."
Rei blinked as the others brought in the clothing. "Why would I think
that?"
"Because I might see you naked."
Makoto stood in front of Ranma. "Sempai, open your eyes."
Ranma cracked her eyes open. She cringed at Makoto's friendly smile.
Makoto held up the clothes.
"You can't get dressed with your eyes closed, right?"
Ranma hesitated. "I guess."
Rei walked in front of Ranma, her wet shirt unbuttoned. "I trust you.
Besides, it's my fault I'm wet."
Ranma quickly averted her eyes. "I didn't mean to look at you."
Makoto put her hands on Ranma's shoulders. "If you don't want to look
at Rei, then look at me. We'd like to hear why you think we'll think
you're a pervert."
"Rei's a girl. I'm not."
"Ranma, right now, you're a girl. You're also my cousin. Besides, I
saw you naked, while you were asleep. Don't you think you deserve a
little payback?"
"But you'll hit me for being a pervert!" protested Ranma. "Besides,
everyone else does."
"Well, we won't!" promised Makoto as she took Ranma's hand.
The quartet entered the kitchen. Hotaru served Ranma some warm food.
Makoto started making fresh tea for everyone. Rei sat across from her
cousin.
"So, what brings you here? Hotaru mentioned something about you being
kicked out."
Ranma glared at Hotaru. The young Senshi shuddered at the glare. Makoto
thumped Ranma lightly on the back of the head. "Behave, Sempai. Hotaru-
chan is worried about you. So are we. That's why we're here."
Ranma sighed before going back to eating. "I wouldn't bow to my old man's
master, again."
"Is that all?" asked Makoto as she sat next to Ranma.
"Of all the idiotic excuses! Uncle Genma's a complete idiot!" growled
Rei.
"What did his master do?" asked Hotaru. She noticed Ranma's disgusted
look when she mentioned "master."
"I don't want to talk about it."
Makoto and Rei stared at Ranma. Makoto swallowed. "Did this 'master'
touch you?"
"Of course he touched me! I hit him because of it."
"Where did he touch you?" asked Rei.
"How did he touch you?" asked Hotaru.
"He grabbed my boob, okay? Can we drop it?" yelled Ranma.
The three Senshi nodded. Hotaru spoke quietly, "You're welcome to stay
here as long as you want. If you want, Setsuna-mama can have you trans-
fered to a school here."
Ranma sighed. "Thanks. It'll only be for a few days. I can miss that
much school."
"That's still a lot of school, Ranma," countered Rei.
"It ain't nothing. I've been out a lot longer before."
"Then why don't you visit our schools? That way, you can see which
one you want to got to, if you move here."
"I'll think about it. Thanks for the food and clothes. I'll turn in,
now."
After Ranma left the room, Rei spoke quietly. "Something's wrong. Ranma
didn't change back to a guy."
"Maybe it's because we were there," offered Hotaru.
"Maybe."
"Don't worry about it, Rei. Our first goal is to accept him as he is.
He needs friends," added Makoto.
"True."
***
Ranma woke in the late morning. She heard the rain outside. She coughed
as she sat up. Collapsing back into the bed, she muttered, "I hurd."
"Good morning, Dear! How are you feeling?" asked a woman as she entered
the room.
Her smile faltered as Ranma cringed away.
"Who are you?" asked the young girl.
"Tsukino Ikoku, Usagi's mother. Hotaru-chan called this morning, asking
if I could check on you."
"I'm fine, dank you."
Ikoku smiled. "Of course you are, Dear. You're still running a fever.
Here's smoe water. I'll be here until Hotaru comes home."
Just before Ikoku left, Ranma asked quietly, "Why do you care what
happens to a someone like me?"
Ikoku smiled. "I wouldn't be a good mother if I didn't worry about Usagi
and her friends. Get some rest, you need it to fight your fever."
***
Ranma looked up from her book when the Senshi entered the house. She
tried to hide the book, but wasn't fast enough.
"Hi, Ranma! Are you feeling better? Did Mom take care of you?" asked
Usagi as she put her hand on Ranma's forehead. "You don't seem to have
a fever anymore. Isn't Mom the greatest?"
"Honestly, Usagi, give Ranma a chance to answer," growled Rei.
"Sorry."
Ranma let a guarded smile cross her face. "I'm better. Tsukino-san
says I should be fully recovered in the next day or two. She's what
I think a mother should be."
"You don't know? What about your mother?" asked Usagi.
Ranma shrugged. "I didn't even know she was alive, until Rei mentioned
her."
"Would you like to meet her?" asked Minako.
"Will she accept me?"
"Of course she will! You're her daughter, right?" enthused Usagi.
Rei grabbed on of Usagi's ponytails, dragging her into another room.
She was oblivious to Ikoku's presence.
"Good move, Meatball. We're supposed to be helping Ranma, not hurting
her."
"How did I hurt her?"
"You called her Auntie's daughter. She's still her son."
"Then why are you referring to her as a female?" asked Ikoku.
Rei jumped. "It's a long, complicated story. I'm not sure I believe
it all, even after having seen it. But, Ranma has remained a girl
around us. It's also easy to see him as one. He's nothing like I
remember."
"I see. That explains all of the flinching and discomfort. I figured
you were exaggerating when you told me about her, Usagi. Have you seen
the change?"
"No, Mom."
"Rei?"
"Twice. The first time was at his home. The other time was here."
"Any of the others?"
"I don't think so," replied Rei.
"I see. How are you planning to deal with her gender identity?"
Rei sighed. "For now, keep her gender neutral. I hope she'll ger com-
fortable enough to, at least, let us see her male."
Ikoku nodded. "That's reasonable. I suggest you find out how she wants
to be referred to, and stay consistant. That will show her you want to
be friends."
"Yes," replied both girls.
The pair returned to the family room. They were concerned to see Ranma
angry at the others. "What's going on?" asked Rei.
"we're trying to get Ranma to go to school with us Friday," answered Ami.
"I ain't going to another school! It's bad enough going to Furinkan."
"I told you not to press her, Ami," added Makoto.
Rei sighed. "I though you were going to think about going to the schools."
"I did, and I don't want to. Besides, I'll only be here for a couple of
days."
"Why don't you want to go to school? I mean, I don't like school, either,
but I need to school to get a job," asked Usagi.
Ranma growled, "Because I only know martial arts! I missed too much
because of the Art. I don't know what's being taught. I can't read
enough to understand the books. Happy now?"
The Senshi were stunned silent as RAnma stormed off. Makoto was the
first to recover. She followed Ranma up the stairs.
"Well, that was educational," quipped Minako.
"Now what? We can't exactly force her to go to school. And she can,
legally, drop out," asked Ami.
Makoto knocked on Ranma's door. She sighed at Ranma's "Go away!"
"I;m sorry, Sempai. We're trying to help you. Usagi came in at the
end of the discussion."
There was a long silence as Makoto waited at the door. "Please, let
me in, Sempai."
The door opened. Stepping into the room, she shook her head at the
sight of Ranma almost swimming out of her borrowed clothes.
Ranma sat heavily on the bed, crossing her arms. The excess sleeves
fell loosly onto her lap. Makoto shook her head to keep from smiling
at the sight of the girl before her. Sitting next to Ranma, she pulled
Ranma into an embrace.
"Let me tell you about our little group. Usagi, Rei, and Ami are probably
the most normal of all of us. I'm an orphan, so is Hotaru. Minako
travels with her folks around the world. Haruka and Michiru are deeply
in love with each other, causing most people to shy away from them.
"Since I learned to fight, I have been labled a 'problem' student. Maybe
they're right. But since I've met the others, I've not had to prove myself. It also doesn't help that I'm half Japanese and my parents were killed a few years ago.
"Since Minako travels, she's had to change schools quite often. She's
smart, but lonely. I've watched her chase boys and girls for little
more than entertainment. I worry about her because of that.
"Haruka and Michiru have their own set of problems. Because they're
lesbians, people shy away from them, when they find out. They have
to be discrete. They're also accomplished musicians. They tour quite
a bit. Haruka even races cars. On top of that, they're raising Hotaru
as their own daughter.
"Hotaru is almost always living in fear. She can heal with a touch.
Because that's rare, she's feared and attacked by most people her age.
Even her teachers shun her.
"Her mother disappeared, and her father was kidnapped. Someone seriously
messed with her mind before Haruka and Michiru adopted her."
"So what does that have to do with me?"
Makoto smiled as she stroked Ranma's hair. "Usagi is downstairs, with
her school books out, ready to help you the best she can. Rei's probably
trying to get her to chill out, for now. The others are going to help
you as well."
"Why? I've only met them a couple of times. What can they see in a
perverted idiot like me?"
Makoto sighed. "None of us see a pervert, Sempai. And we definitely
don't see an idiot."
"But that's what I am. That's what my fiancee says," replied RAnma as
she sobbed into Makoto's chest.
A short time later, Makoto returned to her gathered friends. Usagi got
up. "Where's Ranma? Is she all right?"
Makoto took a deep breath. "She's fine, now. She's resting." Seeing
the school supplies, she smirked, "You're so predictible."
Usagi blinked. "I am?"
"You are. I told Ranma about you having the school books ready for her."
"Oh. So why was she crying?"
Makoto blinked. "How...?"
Usagi gave the victory sign. "You have tear marks on your shirt," she
replied, pointing to the wet spots on Makoto's breast.
Ikoku cleared her throat. "I would like to know that as well."
Makoto sighed. "She thinks she's a perverted idiot. Apparently, that's
what her fiancee thinks about her."
"Akane," stated Rei.
"I think so, too. She was calling Ranma a pervert when we took her
back the first time," stated Hotaru.
"I just don't understand it. Why would Akane think that? She's always
been kind to people," asked Ami.
"Because she's a self-centered brat," replied Rei. "She practically
beat Ranma when she didn't verbally answer Grandpa's question."
"There must be more to it than that," suggested Ami.
"There's always Uncle Genma."
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