Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ranma let out a relaxing sigh as she ran the towel through her hair. She had worked up a serious sweat in her morning training and took longer in the bath than usual to make up for it. She looked around the empty dining area, noting an absence of the usual suspects.

Her pops wasn't on the deck playing games with Soun. Kasumi wasn't cleaning up around the house. The lack of clamor meant Akane wasn't around. Ranma squinted her eyes and looked around. While she could never be too certain of Nabiki, Ranma had learned to spot the glint of a hidden camera lens to a fifty-percent probability. Or that was at least what Nabiki wanted her to believe.

Her eyes drifted towards a small note resting on the table. 

Ranma,

Our fathers went out to see the new Lupin III film. My sisters and I went to
accompany them, mostly to ensure they do not get into trouble. There are
sandwiches in the fridge if you get hungry.

-Kasumi.

"Mmph." Ranma raised her eyebrow, her mouth already stuffed with tuna and bread. She swallowed, already grabbing another neatly cut triangle, before placing the piece of paper off to the side. "Maybe I should've checked if that was for me in the first place."

She shrugged. Ehh, it worked out in the end.

Ranma strolled through the empty house, taking in a deep breath. It had been a while since it had felt as calm as this; normally there would be some sort of impending tingle on the back of her neck — often causing her pigtail to reactively raise in anticipation — but instead, there was a lull in the air. Ranma closed her eyes and focused; even as she expanded her senses, a technique honed through years of training, she felt nothing.

No bickering fiancés.

No screams of 'pervert!' in the air.

No explosions occurring in the distance.

Ranma opened her eyes and stuffed her mouth — today was gonna be a good day.

Beepbeepbeepbeep Beepbeepbeepbeep

The telephone started to ring from the other room. Her pigtail raised and a soft tingle ran along the back of her neck. Ranma turned her head left and right, instinctively looking for someone to pass the buck onto.

She used a phone a few times, yeah, but it wasn't something she was particularly confident in. Usually, Akane just handed it to the pigtailed girl to answer if someone was looking for her, and in the cases where Ranma needed to make a call, she just asked one of the sisters to help her dial it in.

What if it was urgent?

Beepbeepbeepbeep Beepbeepbeepbeep

Shoot.

"Alright alright! I'm coming! Geez," Ranma swore as she stomped over towards the phone. She looked at the offending console and grimaced. It was rectangular and large, seeing as it took up a small hallway table on its own. It looked particularly fancy and probably doubled as a fax machine.

Of course Nabiki needed a fax machine.

Beepbeepbeepbeep Beepbeep—

Ranma grabbed the receiver, their grip on it like they were grasping a weapon, and practically swung it to her ear.

"Ah. Hello? Is this the Tendo house? Did I get the right number?" The voice was familiar. There seemed to be heavy rain in the background and it made the voice a little bit hazy.

"H-h-hai hello t-this is—" Ranma stuttered, instinctively raising their voice up a pitch. Ranma usually thrived in new and unfamiliar situations. But this seemed different somehow.

"Is this Kasumi?" The voice apparently knew Kasumi. "I was wondering if I could speak to Akane right now."

Ranma's eyebrow quirked.

"What do ya want with Akane?" She sounded more irritated than she intended.

"What, uh oh nothing r-really. I just— uh." The voice stuttered. "S-sorry, Kasumi. I uh, got the number last time I was over. This is my first time being on the phone. I'm a little nervous."

Ranma visibly relaxed and she untensed shoulders she didn't recall tensing up. Whoever the person was, they were just as nervous as she was. Knowing they were in the same place made the whole situation a little bit better.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped. I don't usually use the phone either." She laughed, her pigtail lowering a tad. "New technology makes me a little nervous. I'm used to more traditional ways."

"Oh?" The voice sounded curious. "I'm the same honestly. But I figured it would be easier to learn to use the telephone than trying to train a carrier pigeon again."

"A carrier pigeon?" Ranma laughed loudly. "Why not use the mail like everyone else?"

"I would but I'm a bit... challenged when it comes to addresses. I sort of just find my way to the Tendo Dojo rather than knowing where it actually is. Call it a curse." The voice sighed but seemed to be in a good mood. Ranma could imagine them smiling.

"You remind me of a..." she paused, lips trying to form the word 'friend', "...guy I know. He pops up in the dojo in the weirdest ways sometimes."

"I don't doubt it. I've seen what goes on there."

"I'm surprised I haven't seen you around honestly. I think we would have gotten along great."

"I'm guessing you're not one of the sisters then? I don't really recognize your voice."

"Really? I'm pretty sure I'm speaking normally," Ranma coughed into her fist a couple of times, attempting to clear her throat.

"Is that better?"

"Still sounding the same. I think I heard about this actually. Everyone sounds a little bit different on the telephone compared to in person. Something about how the air vibrates."

"Vibrating air, huh? That could be a really interesting technique..."

Brzzzt

"A what? Sorry? I think I cut out there for a moment."

"Don't worry about it. Just talkin' to myself. I do that a bit when I'm alone."

The voice laughed. "I don't count?"

"Oh!" She was starting to sound a little like Kasumi. "No that's not what I meant, no. Just..." She looked about her area. The house was still empty. "It's weird. I kind of feel like I'm by myself, but also not, y'know?"

"Kind of. There are a bunch of people nearby for me." Listening in carefully, Ranma could hear some voices in the background between the rain. "It's sort of like... I'm surrounded by people, but at the same time, I'm having a private conversation with you. It's a weird feeling. Definitely different from pigeon or mail."

"You mentioned you didn't want to train a carrier pigeon again. What happened to the others?"

There was a pause on the other end.

"...A guy gets hungry when you're on the road all the time."

Ranma couldn't help it. She laughed, practically bowling over with laughter, as she held her hand over the receiver. She tried her best to muffle the noise and not hurt the sap's feelings but she was having too much fun.

"Uh, hello?" The voice said, coming from the handset. "Is everything okay?"

"S-sorry, I'm alright. It's fine." Ranma wiped a tear from her eye and tried to wipe the smile off her face. This was the longest she had spent just talking with someone so frank. Heck, this was the longest she had spent just talking with someone at all. At least in a manner where they weren't trying to coerce her into something or ended up leading into a fight.

"Just uhm," Ranma continued, "just a bit of a cough. I had a sandwich earlier and my throat was a bit dry."

The voice sighed. He sounded relieved.

"Well, that's good. I was worried for a moment. I'm not exactly in a position to help you out anyways. What kind of sandwich?"

"Oh! It was tuna-mayo," Ranma said, coiling her finger around the cord. "It was actually really good. Normally I have it in rice-balls so it was really nice to have it in something different. Western isn't all that bad."

"This town I'm in actually has authentic pizza from America. I'll give it a try while I'm here." The guy seemed to cough as if quickly remembering the purpose of the call. "Anyways, I was calling to see if Akane was available to talk, but I assume she's busy?"

Ranma frowned. They were having a good conversation and he seemed quick to cut it short.

"Yeah, she's busy. The whole family went out to see a movie and I stayed behind for lunch."

"Shoot," the voice made a clicking noise, as if frustrated. "Sorry, it just took a lotta effort to learn how to use this phone. I was wondering if you could tell her I called?"

"Sure," Ranma said, grabbing some pen and paper. "What's your name anyways?"

"It's Ryoga."

The pen stopped.

"Hibiki Ryoga."

Ryoga. Ranma just had one of the most pleasant talks she's ever had and she had it with Ryoga!? She raised a hand to her face and wiped it in frustration. Of course, it had to be him. The jerk was just looking for another way to connect and talk with Akane without having to be near her. Heck, over the phone was probably the only way he could talk to her without stumbling over his feet and chronic nosebleeds.

Of course.

Ranma couldn't just have another good thing without it being ruined by some enemy, fiancé, or both(sometimes the same person). It had to be due to some ulterior motive.

Ranma frowned.

Well she wasn't going to let that happen all willy nilly.

"That's Ryo- as in 'good' and -ga from 'fang'?" She said, trying to keep a chipper, helpful tone despite her mismatched facial features.

"Yeah, that's right." Ryoga sounded relieved.

"Well perfect," Ranma said, with fake cheer. "I'll let her know you called." 'In a thousand years, pig-for-brains.'

"Could you tell her not to call this number? I'm in some place near Aomori, and I'll be traveling. So I won't be sticking around."

"Don't you worry about that." Ranma's strained grin looked like it could've cracked teeth. "Now if that's all I must be—"

"Oh! Before you go," the voice called out just as Ranma was about the slam the headset down.

"What is it?"

"Could I get your name, miss?" Ranma paused, her eyebrows furrowed in suspicion. "It's well— uh..." Ryoga paused as well, letting the awkward silence hang.

Ranma tapped her foot as she waited for him to continue. "If that's all, then—" she moved to slam the phone down again.

"This was the nicest conversation I've had with someone!" Ryoga yelled through the receiver so clearly that Ranma could practically feel him right next to her. "I uhm—, I'm not really good at talking with people and this was the first time I've ever well... Had a chance to just talk a bit. If I call again and you pick up, I'd like to talk more."

"I'd..." Ranma paused, biting her lower lip anxiously. "Yeah uhm. Call me uh..." She racked her brain, trying to figure out something that wasn't either super obvious or something she used before. Yoiko seemed like a good one before she remembered her last Ryoga-scam. She grimaced, a pang of guilt hitting her stomach.

"Uhm... Call me... Sao... Sayoko," Ranma said, her voice mumbling and quiet. "I'm staying with the Tendos for now. And I'd..."

On one hand, Ryoga had some sort of long con and definitely wanted to use the phone to gain Akane's favor in some way. If she wasn't careful, he'd get his pig claws into and would try to take advantage of her or something.

On the other hand, this was sincerely the nicest conversation she had in a single setting.

She gulped nervously.

"I wanna talk to you more."

Chapter Text

"I wanna talk to you more."

It had only been a few hours since Ranma had said those words but it felt like far longer; despite having just taken a bath, the sudden surge of embarrassment sent the martial artist into a tizzy. Having changed to his male form, Ranma's limbs moved like a whirlwind ripping through the air. He tucked downwards, shifting all of his weight onto his right after before springboarding upwards and unleashing a series of helicopter kicks — each swing punctuated with a whip-like crack — before landing into a falling axe kick. The small stack of eight granite blocks didn't stand a chance.

Ranma heaved backward, placing his hands on his hips, and breathed deeply. He had a proud grin on his face. The blocks had turned into gravel so fine it would have put The Breaking Point to shame— Ranma suddenly keeled over into a small hold, holding his head in his hands.

"Haaaaaaaaaah!!" Ranma exclaimed as he rolled left and right on the dirt. "Why why why did I say that!? God it's like I was acting like a girl or something! What is wrong with me!?"

"A lot of things Ranma, did you want the list?" Nabiki's sharp tone caused Ranma to freeze in place as she walked onto the wooden porch. She was carrying a small plastic bag with several brown bags inside of it. She quirked her eyebrow at Ranma's place on the ground.

"Nabiki," Ranma groaned. He unraveled his body and splayed out atop the dirt and grass. "Weren't you supposed to be at the movies?"

"Old news Ranma," she said as she pulled out one of the brown paper bags, retrieving a small bun with pork and cheese atop it. "I ditched them the moment our fathers tried to haggle the snack bar. I've got my pride and all."

Ranma sweated just a bit. "He wasn't trying to—"

"I'm honestly surprised how quickly the fiancé card drops when given the opportunity."

Ranma facepalmed.

"Here, catch," Nabiki said as she tossed a small bag towards Ranma. He happily pulled out another bun that matched hers.

"Where'd you get these? Haven't seen- ulp- this 'round here before," he asked between bites.

"New bakery just opened up a couple of days ago. They're looking for some new staff," she said, pulling out a small nail file from her pocket. "Maybe you can check it out, maybe stop freeloading if you're not planning on marrying my sister."

Ranma frowned. It was less intimidating due to the piece of pork stuck on his lip.

"Now before we get sidetracked," Nabiki continued as she blew on her newly filed nails, "you were just about to monologue about something stupid you said. By all means, don't let me stop you."

"Yeah, no." Ranma stood up and patted the dirt out of the white gi he was wearing. "As if you need anymore dirt on me."

"So you admit it's something dirt-worthy," Nabiki said, licking her lips as a predator that had just found fresh prey. Ranma simply looked back, unfazed.

"I've been livin' here nearly two years," Ranma said as he stepped up onto the porch and sat down next to his possibly-sister-in-law. "You've got enough dirt to blackmail my grandchildren." He turned towards her and made a small circular motion with his hands. "This? This is just you bein' nosy."

Nabiki pressed a hand against her forehead and feigned fainting. "Why Ranma, how could you say such things?" She draped over the porch, her eyes overdramatically overshadowed by her hair. "I thought we were... friends... ahhh!" The drama didn't last particularly long, especially once Ranma wiped a handful of workout-sweat on the middle-sister's face.

"Agh! You little—!" Nabiki swiped her hands through the air in his direction as if trying to retaliate but Ranma quickly backflipped out of the way. "Whoops, too slow."

As Nabiki wiped her face on her arm she stared out back to Ranma's quickly retreating form. Her eyes narrowed as a small smirk graced her features. He was definitely hiding something and she was going to find out what.

The next week went by rather quickly: the only difference overall was that Ranma was suddenly far more aware of the presence of the telephone. Whenever they passed by they, at most, spared it a quick glance before going about their day. It was on the afternoon of the sixth day when Ranma found themselves alone with the phone again. The sisters were off doing their own thing: Akane on a jog, Kasumi out shopping for dinner, and Nabiki off earning money. Ranma wasn't certain where Soun and Genma were, but it was likely due to some scheme or another.

Ranma found themselves in her female form again, having just gotten out of a fight with Happosai. She disgustedly peeled a bra off her shoulder as she hopped into the house.

"Jeez, you'd think he'd give up after all this time," Ranma said as she leaned her body back, stretching until she heard a satisfying pop. She made a happy sigh as she continued to pop the rest of her joints. With all the fights that cropped up in her everyday life, Ranma had learned to enjoy the little things between the fights. Sometimes that meant ice-cream, but right now it meant joint popping.

When she finally came out of the kitchen she was spinning a small tub of rocky road balanced on her fingertips. Sometimes right now also meant ice-cream.

Ranma grinned as she cracked open the frosty shell, digging her spoon into the soft—

Beepbeepbeepbeep Beepbeepbeepbeep

Ranma's pigtail quirked up and she turned her head a little too quick; a silver spoon hung out of her mouth and drops of ice-cream dribbled out of her mouth. "Ah geez," she mumbled around the spoon as she tried to wipe some of the mess off on her shirt. She turned to dive into the kitchen to clean up.

Beepbeepbeepbeep Beepbeepbeepbeep

"I'm coming—!" Ranma yelled as she stumbled back into the living room, a roll of paper towels in her hand. She tugged perhaps a little too much and a majority of it flung off the roll and flew up into the air, spilling over her head, shoulders, and getting all over the floor. Ranma still had ice-cream on her and the silver spoon was still in her mouth. Today of all...

Beepbeepbeepbeep Beepbeep—

"Hello?" Ranma said as she nestled the handset between her cheek and shoulder. "Tendo residence. Whaddya need?"

"Uh, Sayoko?" A voice asked on the other line. It sounded familiar. The background seemed to be noisy as the sound of cars in traffic was evident.

"Sayoko? I think you got the wro—" Ranma stopped. Right. Ryoga. "—uhh I think you got the right person! Ryoga right?" she said rather quickly, as if attempting to cover up her mistake.

"Actually," he chuckled nervously, "I was kind of hoping if Akane was available? I finally found a usable phone."

"And someone that could actually speak Japanese," he added quietly under his breath. Ranma laughed lightly in response.

"Sorry to be bearin' bad news but..."

There was a heavy sigh over the line.

"Argh, I knew I should have called earlier. It was just hard to find something this late at night."

"Wait," Ranma said as she quirked her eyebrow, "at night? It's like only 4 p.m. Where the heck are ya?"

"I think I'm in America. Somewhere called... Chi-car-go? Shicago? I'm not really sure. There's a lot of cars here so it's Chicargo." Ranma sweatdropped.

"You... Weren't really kidding about that directional curse, huh?"

"To be fair I should have had an idea when I used a boat to cross the Shinano River..." Ranma snickered, doing her best to muffle the noise. She wasn't doing a great job if the sigh on the other end was any indication.

"You could probably have jumped the Shinano if you really tried, i-if those martial art stories I've heard about are anything to go by."

"I'm..." Ryoga paused, making a low and small 'hmm' as he thought. "I'm a bit a hydrophobic. Not exactly a fan."

"...So why did you go on a boat?" Ranma said, her face showing incredulous confusion.

The line was quiet for several moments. Ranma almost hung up, thinking the line had gone dead.

Ryouga coughed, as if clearing his throat as well as his dignity. "...In good news, by the way, I finally got to try some authentic pizza."

Ranma just grinned widely. Figures. "Got some in Chicargo?"

"No, Italy actually. The crust is completely different in Naples. I finally realized that 'neapolitan' meant its from Naples."

"Here I thought it meant a type a' ice-cream," Ranma said, wondering if Italy and America were really that close to one another.

"Apparently it's both!"

"Ice-cream and pizza? Now you're just pulling my leg."

Ryoga laughed heartily. "Whatever god you believe in, I swear on it." Before Ranma got to reply, Ryoga continued. "So anyways, tell me about yourself. How was your week?"

Ranma's eyes immediately bugged out. "Uh. Uhm-!" She stalled. She had no idea what she was supposed to talk about or who Sayoko actually was. A martial artist? Ranma shook her head quickly. No that'd be too obvious. School? No one gave a shit about school! What did Ranma actually do or know outside of martial arts? Ranma scrambled to rack her brain to think of something, anything she knew. It'd have to be—!

"Sayoko?" Ryoga said, startling the red-head to the point the handset almost flew out of her hands.

"Waitress! Kinda! No! Uh-!" Ranma slapped her forward. How was this so damn hard!? "I'm uhm uh..."

"Hey hey, shh, it's okay." Ryoga's voice was... calm for once as he tried to soothe her. "Do you get nervous? It sounds like you do."

Ranma nodded on her end, not realizing Ryoga couldn't see her. He continued anyways.

"Put your hand on your chest. Make a small fist, super tight. Put in some strength. Breathe in as you squeeze it tight." His voice was like honey and, unlike the norm where he shouted at her across a field, deep and close as if he were whispering into her ear directly. "Can you do that for me?"

She did. She could feel her entire body tense up.

"Breathe out slowly, let your chest fall. Unclench that fist, and let it rest against your heart."

She did. She could feel her heartbeat slow down.

"W-where... Did you learn this?" Ranma asked slowly, as she did it one more time.

"I've got..." She could hear some rustling, as if he were scratching the back of his head. "Some anger issues to work through. This old lady taught me this trick a few months ago. It's helped me calm down a lot."

"...Thanks. Really. Sorry about that," Ranma rasped out slowly as she could feel her body relax. "I'm just... I'm not really used to talking to people... ever. Honestly, ever."

"It's alright," Ryoga responded, chuckling softly. "I'm the same really. And hey, you don't have to say anything you don't want to."

Ranma felt a tick of guilt in her chest. The asshole had to say that much. Her lips went tight and the redhead felt herself feel more than a little helpless. Ryoga was the one constantly leading their conversations. He traveled, he learned, he... grew. All while Ranma stayed in Nerima, fighting the same fights and doing the same thing day in and day out. All she did was... respond to her environment. Respond to him. Eventually he'd grow bored. Eventually he'd end up catching Akane. Eventually he'd want to stop talking to boring old Sayoko.

Something needed to change.

"No, no, it's okay. I'm just..." she laughed a bit to herself. "I was planning on getting a job soon actually. At this bakery nearby. I guess I just didn't know what to say about it."

"That's really exciting! Probably more interesting than my job," he said, laughing a bit. In the background, it sounded like someone was talking angrily towards him. "Hey uh, I gotta get going. Talk to you soon?"

He wanted to talk to her again.

"Yeah, I should be free—"

"I get it, but I can't hang up on her!" He yelled, causing Ranma to pull away from the receiver. "Sorry, can't stay. Talk later, bye!" A click and dial tone soon followed, leaving Ranma to look quizzically at the handset.

As she walked away she spotted a small box of baked goods on the kitchen counter. In seconds, Ranma was juggling a bun and already stuffing herself with another.

"Guess I'm applyin' there," she mumbled to herself between bites. "Wonder what he meant when—" The bun in the air tumbled onto the floor.

She realized something.

"Crap, my ice-cream!" Ranma exclaimed as she went over to the phone, staring in lament at her half-melted dessert. She stared at the telephone for a moment and, just as she was about to turn around to toss her dessert into the freezer, she stopped again, realizing something she had missed in the conversation.

"Wait, Ryoga has a job?"

Chapter Text

Jingle Jingle

Nabiki and Akane slowly strolled into the softly-colored bakery, breezing through the propped open door to the establishment. The bakery had warm colored wooden floors and cream walls. The furniture was a mix of peach-colored tables and dark brown chairs, with a matching front desk and display. It would have been easy to mistake the place as a chocolate shop if it were not for the fluffy breads stacked on racks and a warm, nutty scent in the air. Behind the counter was a doorway with a short, white curtain decorating it.

"Helloooo?" Nabiki said, her voice echoing slightly.

"Is that a customer?" A female voice cried from behind the curtain."

"Ranma go go, I'll handle this!"

"Ahhhhhhh!! Okay! Hold tight!"

From behind the curtain a partly red blur peeked from behind before hopping a bit towards the counter. Ranma raised her eyebrows slightly in surprise before letting out a bright, wide grin. She leaned forward, resting her elbows onto the counter and propped her head up with an arm.

"Akane, Nabiki. Welcome to Lait et Brioche. What can I do ya for?"

"We're here visiting," Akane said, holding up a small basket, "I figured we'd pick up some things while we were here."

Nabiki stood in front of the counter's large glass display, her hand on her chin. "Admittedly," she said, "I was a bit surprised you suddenly took my advice the other week. Can I get two ham and cheese buns and an eclair."

"Comin' right up," Ranma said, moving towards the counter. Aside from her regular style of clothes, she also had on a white apron with anime-like bread designs and brown stitching. Her hair was held back a bit with a white kerchief. With quick movements, Ranma had two brown paper bags and was quickly already moving to fill them up with the order.

"Hold up," Nabiki said, holding up her hand in a 'Stop' motion. "Let's make that 2 pizza buns, a ginger snap, and 4 cookies."

"Comin' right up," Ranma said, her voice a little strained as she put the first bags to the side, before moving to fill up the bags with snacks.

"Hmmm, wait," Nabiki was barely suppressing the snicker on her face. "Make that 5 tuna-corn buns, 8 eclairs, and 2 slices of cake-OW!" Nabiki exclaimed as she gingerly held her head, the sudden karate shop interrupting her thoughts. Akane stood behind her, her battle aura quickly dissipating as she lowered her hand.

"Nabiki!" Akane exclaimed, "He's actually trying to do something good for once."

"Actually uh-," Ranma started.

"Jeez Akane, when were you were on his side? Here I figured you'd be wondering what's his angle."

"His angle?"

"Hey! Shhhhh keep it down," Ranma said, putting her finger to her lips. "The boss doesn't know I'm a guy so keep it quiet."

"Sorry sorry," both sisters said in unison.

"You've been here two weeks and he doesn't have a clue? What about when you get around water?" Akane said as she moved towards the display herself.

"Nah. The boss handles all the dough and yeast things 'imself so usually I handle the front," Ranma grinned.

"Oh," Ranma quickly went back to the display and pulled out a few slices of cake and a pair of chocolate donuts. "But he's been letting me top up the cakes and dip donuts. I'm gettin' real good too, check it!"

"Wow, these look so good! I wouldn't have guessed you made them," Akane laughed, waving her hand dismissively. She then turned to her sister "It looks like she's doing well here. So what do you mean, 'what's her angle'?"

"Oh come on sis, you don't think Ranma's got some scheme, some technique to learn, or that the owner doesn't have anything over her?" Nabiki raised her eyebrow as Ranma handed over the two bags of goodies. "I don't have a yen to my name that I'm not willing to bet that she doesn't have an angle."

Akane pouted and furrowed her brows, seemingly in thought.

"So Ranma," Nabiki turned back to the redhead in the apron, "what's your angle?"

"Isn't that usually my line?" She quipped in response.

"Stuff it Saotome," Nabiki responded, holding a hand on her hip. "You got something for me, or do we have to keep up the song and dance here?"

Ranma looked a bit nervous, her eyes darting left and right. She was evidently in thought for several moments before her shoulders eventually sagged.

"I don't got nothin' really," she sighed. "I just... needed a change. Aside from the Art I don't really have much goin' on. And part of the Art is picking up new things all the time." She leaned forward on her elbows. "So I wanted something to do. Something to-," she paused, and Nabiki noted a soft pink hue on Ranma's face, "something to talk about..."

Nabiki's eyebrows only narrowed in suspicion.

"Well Ranma," Akane said, stepping up and opening up her purse, "some of us welcome the change. Especially when it nets us a family discount." She elbowed Nabiki in the side. "Don't we, sis?"

"Yeaaah, I suppose. I'm certainly not going to complain about a discount." Nabiki turned a bit on her heel and started to walk out the way they came in.

"I'm just saying," she said, pausing at the entrance, her hand resting against the doorframe, "you don't start digging holes when there's nothing to bury."

Nabiki waved her hand lightly, as if saying 'toodles', and left the bakery. Ranma and Akane stared at each other for just a moment before laughing at the situation.

Click

Pierre Couteau let out a soft sigh as he lowered the phone receiver to the base. The blond faced man scribbled a few notes in a binder to his side and tapped his pen against the table.

"Ranma, could you please come in please?" He said rather loudly through his office doorway. Within seconds a small redhead was bouncing into his office as she wiped her hands on her apron.

"Yeah, boss? What's up?" She asked quickly. "Plannin' on letting me prep the chocolate for tomorrow?"

"Close, but a bit more than that my dear," Pierre said, not noticing the tiny twitch of Ranma's pigtail. She knew he meant nothing by it, but being called pet-names in any fashion was an uncomfortable feeling. Ukyo and Shampoo's frequent outcries of it practically trained her to always be on guard when she heard similar affections.

"That's the fifth catering request this day alone," he continued, "I'm effectively booked up for the next two weeks.

"Admittedly I'm surprised we've garnered as much attention as we have." He looked up at Ranma, "And I'm fairly certain it's due to the lovely help. I don't know if you're a blessing or a curse."

"Hah. Hah. Curse. Uh, good one boss." Ranma combed her fingers through her pigtail nervously.

"All in all, what it means is that I'll barely have the time to run the shop, let alone do all the additional work," he sighed heavily. "Eventually I'm going to need to take on more help. But until then, I need to ask if you're able to work longer hours until then. I'm suggesting evenings and the next two weekends."

The man looked up at her pleadingly. "Please, miss Ranma. I can even offer you a bonus."

"Ah geez boss," Ranma sheepishly scratched the back of her head, "you already pay me pretty well and all. If you need me that badly I don't mind."

"Ah ma cheri," he exclaimed, rising up from his chair and taking her hand, "thank you so much! You're an angel!"

"Of course," she said, grinning from ear to ear, "I'm the best around. Martial artist, baker assistant, angel, whatever!"

Pierre clapped his hands together. "Magnifique! You should think about what you want with your bonus! But for now, let's get you started on the soda bread!"

"No way!"

<1 week later>

Ranma trudged her way through the quiet Nerima streets, her feet practically dragging behind her. She had been through rampant fiances, nightmare training, and going to literal hell and back, but still, she had never been so exhausted in her life. Not only had she accepted extended evenings, but mornings on top of that. If Pierre could, she had no excuse not to. She pictured the growing dark circles around the man's eyes and she shuddered.

It wasn't the most physically exerting work she'd ever been through, but the lack of sleep and constant high pace, between working the orders as well as the daily operations, were running her ragged.

It wasn't even on top of the near misses she's had with her various rivals. While the rumor of her picking up work somewhere was circulating around, Ranma had convinced Nabiki to run a misinformation campaign. Despite that, there were more than a few cases where a wandering Mousse, Shampoo, Kudo, or Ukyo either passed by or nearly missed entering her work. When that happened it set operations back even further and they had to make up the time somehow.

Ranma tilted her eyes upwards, catching the moon in her gaze, and sighed. And in all this, she knew there was just one thing she was missing.

"Stupid idiot," she mumbled to herself.

The martial artist barely had the energy to skip along the rooftops so instead, she walked slowly through the streets. She didn't mind walking around this late at night. Nerima was a fairly rural ward so most of the house-lights were dark and there was barely a soul on the street. Compared to the more hectic daytime, Nerima at night almost felt like a different town. Ranma looked off to the side, staring down the nearby river canal. She opened her mouth as if to say something but closed it quickly shut. 

Ranma clenched her fist.

She didn't know why life seemed to slow down lately despite it only speeding up. Ranma could think back in the last few weeks and could detail dozens of small, innocuous memories she normally didn't bother caring about. But now she did. Fights were easy to focus on just as easy they were to forget. Ranma could remember fixating on each challenge in front of her for days at a time, only for the memory of it to be shunted to the side when the next combatant of the week showed up. Every moment was hectic and exciting, just as they were forgettable. 

Ranma realized, right then and there, that she was looking for things to remember. Things to talk about.

"Stupid," she said, chiding herself as she walked through the Nerima streets.

As she finally arrived at the Tendo dojo she looked up at the building only for her vision to spin.

Wake up. Work. School. Work. Home. Sleep.

Wake up. Work. School. Work. Home. Sleep.

Wake up. Work. School. Work. Home. Sleep.

Ranma pressed her hand against the sliding wooden door and slipped in quietly. She spotted a clock from the wall. 11:00PM. With the household filled with martial artists, she knew everyone was already tucked in, ready to wake at five the following day. Maybe if she slept right now she could get maybe five hours, maybe six if her father didn't have a surprise for her that morning.

As she passed by the telephone Ranma did her best not to stare down towards it. As she went into the kitchen to grab water, she did her best to glance at the receiver. Ranma moved into the living room and turned on a small lamp before collapsing onto the dinner table. She slumped her head towards the phone again yet again before burying her head between her arms. The room felt small around her.

"What am I doing," she groaned, her voice muffled. "I shouldn't care. I don't care."

It had been three weeks since her last phone call with Ryoga. The wait hadn't bothered her before. She knew it was hard to get a phone wherever he was. She knew it wasn't like she had the ability to call him herself. She also knew their phone didn't have any way to record messages. She was painfully aware of that fact.

Ranma felt tired; she felt stupid. Stupid for waiting around this late at night on the off chance he might call. Stupid for wondering how he was doing. Stupid for taking a job just so she could talk about it only for the person she wanted to talk to just up and vanish.

The exhausted martial artist simply nuzzled her head into her arms. Her warm, soft arms. It wouldn't have been the first time she had fallen asleep on the table, and life was just getting so, so stressful. Normally she preferred sleeping with her pops, wanting any sort of company as she slept. But lately, it had felt lonely even then.

"Just... just gonna rest my eyes."

Somehow, it just felt less lonely here.

<1:13AM>

A dark shadow slowly made its way down the stairs of the Tendo household. It paused for just a moment at the bottom, quizzically staring at the figure sleeping at the table. It slowly made its way to the soft lamp illuminating the room, before clicking it off softly, as if not to disturb its nearby guest.

The figure stared downwards at the sleeping pigtailed-girl resting on the table. It softly unwrapped a bundle around their arms, then draping the blanket around Ranma's shoulders.

"Snnrk.. Jus... jus call already dumbass..."

Kasumi paused for a moment, blinking her eyes in soft surprise. She homemaker looked towards the phone resting on the hallway table before looking back down towards Ranma. Her eyebrows furrowed in worry before leaning down to adjust the blanket over Ranma's shoulders. She quietly shuffled across the room towards the phone with grace not unknown to a former martial artist.

[1 Missed Call, 12:57AM]

"Oh I missed it again," she said, tilting her head in quizzically. Kasumi gently pressed the 'Clear' button before slowly making her way back up the stairs.

Chapter Text

Ranma darted down the street, his pace brisk as his black hair rustled against the wind. Clutched to his hands was a small envelope that seemed to bulge prominently.

"Thank you for your hard work Ranma," Pierre had said, handing Ranma the slip of paper. "Take the next week off, enjoy your bonus! Live life and maybe find yourself a boyfriend!"

The pigtailed boy scowled, his eyebrows furrowed and his teeth grit slightly in frustration. Pierre was still under the impression Ranma was always a girl. The thought of being with another guy made Ranma feel just a bit ill to his stomach. Almost immediately after work he had changed back into his male form and raced for home. While it wasn't likely if Nabiki, Genma, or Soun knew he had gotten paid it wouldn't stay in his hands for long. He hadn't even counted all the other people he likely owed money to.

"Prolly also Ucchan, Hiroshi, Daisuke..." Ranma counted off his fingers and started to sweat. "Yeaaaah, it'll prolly be best to keep this under wraps. I don't even wanna think about Nabiki." He hopped atop a roof and continued to move. "Only a coupla' more blocks... So long as no one notices me I should be-"

"Saotome! Prepare to die!"

Ranma's brain stopped for a moment as if the brakes had been hit; his scowl dissipated for a look of surprise and confusion. Instead of dodging he instinctively turned to look behind him, expecting to see the familiar pig boy. "R-ryo-GAH!!?"

Instead, he took a heavy metal weight to the stomach and was sent careening into the roofing tiles.

"Sunnava..." Ranma winced, holding his stomach closely as he pried himself off the roof. He looked upward with a defiant look. Atop a particularly high pole balanced Mousse, whirling a metal chain that ended with a heavy cowbell-shaped weight.

"Foolish Ranma," Mousse said, laughing, "but you don't expect me to miss out on an opportunity to defeat you once and for all, do you!?"

"Coulda' picked a better day moron! I'm a little busy here," Ranma yelled, carefully clutching the envelope in his left hand. He silently cursed his lack of pockets and moved his arm behind his back.

"So confident you're only using one hand!?" Mousse looked on, his chains rattling as he trembled in anger. "How impudent! Take this!"

With that, Mousse swung out his sleeves, releasing several rope darts all homing in on Ranma. They flew the air, seven in all, in wide, curving arcs and threatened to cover all of Ranma's escape routes. Ranma jumped forward, not wanting to give the ranged fighter any more distance. Mousse only smirked in response and twisted his arms. The rope darts Ranma had passed suddenly twisted around a chain-link fence and tugged. Just as Ranma reached Mousse to release a series of fists, the bespeckled martial artist surged forward and rammed his forehead into Ranma's own with the speed of an arrow. "Too slow Ranma!"

As Ranma flew backward he flipped about, responding by firing off two blasts of bright yellow-orange ki. "Double Moko Takabisha!" he roared as the blasts soared through the air and struck the still airborne Mousse.

As Ranma flew backward a small envelope flew out of his hand.

Mousse gently landed atop the chain fence and shook his wrists. The rope darts uncoiled around it and retreated back into his sleeves. "Behold my new technique Ranma! The arrow fist! I fly as fast as an arrow!"

In response Ranma backflipped mid-air, lowering his in-air momentum, before landing on an adjacent roof. "That wasn't a fist you stupid duck! You just headbutt me! Now get over here before I-!" Suddenly Ranma stopped, a look of panic in his eyes, and quickly started patting his clothes.

"Hm?" Mousse looked upwards as a small object dropped from the air. He snatched it up with a flick of his wrist, a dart wrapping around it and retrieving it. "What's this?" He raised his glasses as if to get a better look at it.

"Mousse! Give that back right now!" Ranma roared as his battle aura quickly surged up in a flair.

"For all I know Saotome these are ravenous pictures of my beloved Shampoo! I couldn't bear to let you keep these on your person!" Mousse responded, opening the envelope only to find a large sum of money.

"Mousssssssssssssseeee!" Ranma's battle aura flared up even further and even the non-martial artists in the area could feel the tension in the air. As Ranma prepared to charge a Moko Takabisha, he spluttered as he was suddenly hit in the face with a flat piece of paper.

"Fool," Mousse said as he lowered his outstretched arm, "I'm no thief or robber. Do you believe I don't understand the labor of a hard day's work?" He flicked his hair dramatically. "I toil every day with my beloved Shampoo and the old woman just to stay in Japan. All to satisfy their obsession with making you theirs."

The pigtailed boy's battle aura dissipated just as quickly as it arose. Before it vanished it almost looked abashed.

"Have you not thought for a moment, that perhaps my being here, my working here..." Mousse spat towards the ground. "Shampoo insists on staying here, in this land where paper is more important than trade until she has you. So take your money Ranma. Every yen of it is a bead of sweat you shed."

"Mousse..."

The long-haired boy turned his head away, refusing to look at Ranma. "My break is over. Place it somewhere safe, like a bank. Till next time, fool." And with that Mousse jumped away, headed off towards the Nekohanten.

Ranma looked down at the envelope in his hands. "Maybe a bank would be a good idea," he said, before hopping away in the opposite direction.

As Ranma meandered into the Tendo household, landing from the rooftop to the garden, the first thing he noticed was an evident lack of bodies. He initially figured it must have meant that everyone was out again—an increasingly common behavior at the house—but upon further listening, the pigtailed boy could a soft mumbling by the entranceway. Oddly, it was accompanied by this somewhat irritating shrill noise of something being pushed through plastic. Ranma let out a small breath, quickly expanding his senses using his ki.

"-hy yes I did receive it. The fax has been surprisingly helpful. Now I had questions about the copy-" Ranma opened his eyes, surprised somewhat that it was Kasumi's voice accompanying the odd noise. He shouldn't peak in on her. 'It's not exactly the most manly thing to be sneaky,' he thought, pushing memories of the Umisenken to the side.

Ranma strolled into the living somewhat loudly, with some manner of respect for Kasumi. "Kasumiiii," he said loudly, calling out to her, "is that you? What's that noise?"

"Oh Ranma!" Kasumi said out loud, quickly turning to Ranma. She had the receiver of the phone tucked between her head and shoulder. She had a small stack of paper tucked in her arm, as she pulled more off from the fax with her other hand. "I'll be just a moment," she exclaimed to Ranma before tilting her mouth back to her phone.

"I'm sorry, Ranma's home now. I need to start preparing dinner— Why, the things you two say are always so funny. Mmmhm, yes. Two days you say? Nine o'clock GMT? Alright. I'll expect them then. Yes, the publisher is okay with that. I'll talk to you soon." With that Kasumi gently put away the phone as she settled and straightened the papers in her arm.

"What cha got there Kasumi?" Ranma said, leaning over slightly with his curiosity winning out over decency. Ranma had no idea Kasumi did much else aside from housework.

"Oh these?" She hummed happily to herself as she hefted the small stack. "Just a bit of work I can do from home." With a smile, she quickly slid the papers into a prepared manila envelope.

"Wait, do you actually do well-" Ranma had difficulty putting it to words, "like, actual work work?"

"Yes, quite," said Kasumi. "Housework and meal preparation only go so far in the day. So I take a bit of time working as an editor. It started by reading and finding errors in the local newspaper, but now I have a small handful of personal clients."

Ranma just blinked.

"Is it truly that absurd of a thought, Ranma?" Kasumi huffed, puffing up her cheeks just a bit.

"No- well, uh yeah! Sorry Kasumi ugh." Ranma ran a hand down his face as he tried to stop his mouth from running. "It's cool, really. I'm just surprised. I don't mean anything by it. I guess I just never thought you did much else from house-stuff. I'm sorry."

"That's quite alright," Kasumi said, all matter-of-factly as she cradled the envelope between her arms. "You're free to make it up to me by preparing the vegetables for dinner tonight. It'll give me a bit more time to go over these before my deadline."

"You got a deal, Kasumi," Ranma said with a grin. "Sides, if you don't mind, I picked up some baking goods. I could show everybody somethin' I've been practicin' at work."

"That would be lovely, Ranma!" said Kasumi, gently clapping her hand over her arm, keeping the envelope secure. "I haven't had much, but what Akane and Nabiki have brought home have been delicious."

"Then wait till you see this! Boss has been teaching me this thing called a 'cornet' and get this, it has chocolate--"

Ranma let out a small, cat-like mewl as she stretched up from the oven. She had turned into a girl as it always felt more natural to move around the kitchen as a girl—as to whether that was due to her upbringing or to the last month she'd spent working in the bakery, she wasn't exactly sure. Anyways, her coronets were just placed into the oven and she had prepared all the veggies for dinner that night. She slowly made her way back into the living room, hoping to escape the heat of the kitchen. Ranma was casually wiping her hands on her apron as she meandered into the open room, her thoughts turning to the events earlier that day.

Even though she'd been busy the last little while, it had been quite some time since she'd gotten into a fight. Ever since the Failed Wedding, Nerima had... slowed down a little. Not too much—there were still random martial artists attempting to take down Ranma for some reason or another—but it had gone down from a daily occurance to a weekly once or twice. People had become more secure in their roles. The fiancés' realized that even though Ranma and Akane had gotten to the altar, they still couldn't cross that last mile.

Ranma realized that everyone calming down left more... room for people to breathe. When she wasn't reducing each situation to a fight or flight, everyone seemed to be a lot more nuanced—not that she knew that word—than she expected.

It was at that moment that the phone rang.

Chapter Text

Ranma's ears were particularly sensitive, contrary to perhaps one might imagine of the typically dense boy—currently girl. Years of living on the road meant she and Genma had to sleep lightly as an animal, a suiter, or a slighted rube attacking at night was never too far away. If you asked Akane or any number of his fiances, however, they'd all say his hearing must have been bad, as he rarely paid too much attention to what they were saying. His hearing was quite impeccable—it was his god-awful /listening/ skills that failed him.

Chapter Text

Nabiki knew something was up. While having little to no talent for the arts, the years of her initial training had imparted a useful swathe of skills to her. Aside from her light footedness, she also retained a martial artist's sense of danger; though hers manifested quite a bit differently. Rather than killing intent, Nabiki could feel the presence of a scheme on her skin like one could feel rain or the air. She knew when people were hiding things when they were lying, and she had an almost 6th-sense to be at the right place at the right time. 

Ranma had been mildly setting off her scheme sense for the last month or so. Obviously, he was hiding something, but she wasn't able to pin down exactly what. The overall sense of someone hiding something from her, the low thrum and unease she felt whenever she visited Ranma at his work...

It drove her crazy.

So, in a way, it was an extreme relief when she finally arrived home from her own "work" and Ranma was all in a tizzy. First off, he seemed extremely distracted as he helped Kasumi in the kitchen—a moment Nabiki made sure to capture on film, as a photo of Ranma in an apron was worth 4000 yen alone. Then, he couldn't seem to sit still during dinner at all. And thirdly, she found Ranma rummaging through his disguise drawer as she was heading up from a bath.

"Ooh la la Ranma, someone's getting ready for a hot date," Nabiki said as she slipped into Ranma's room, leaning against the frame while dressed in her typical garb of small shorts and a graphic tee. When Ranma practically jumped out of his skin, Nabiki could barely hide a playful smirk. 

"Nabiki! Where the heck did you pop out from!?" Ranma squeaked.

"By your reaction, I'm right on the money?" She chuckled, low and predatory. 

"You can't just spook somebody, then say you're /right/ when they respond like somebody that got scared!" Ranma half-yelled at her as she grit her teeth, her face flush with surprise... or something else.

Nabiki smirked. This cat seemed to have finally caught her mouse. Or horse? Or cat? Ranma had an odd amount of animals associated with him—or her, rather, as Ranma was currently a buxom redhead.

In any matter, Nabiki could see Ranma's inner logic center work itself out, ticking away like a slow clock. Obviously, since there wasn't an outright denial, it meant that Ranma was thinking hard about something, that it wasn't some spur-of-the-moment fancy. It also meant Ranma's inner gears were clashing; there was obviously a conflict between the centers of Ranma's personality. She didn't immediately reveal it was for a martial arts thing or contest, so that part wasn't the case. Ranma also would never say she's just sorting through her clothes cause that would be against being a "man amongst men".

Ah. A gender role issue.

There was something girly Ranma was ashamed of or confused about, so she's hiding it. The perfect point to press.

"Just sayin', it looks like you're going all out here," she said, walking into the room until she towered a bit over Ranma. "You've got some numbers out I didn't even know you had." She held up a checkered skirt that looked like it belonged to a sukeban girl. "Been spending that working money on 'new disguises' eh?"

"If you HAVE to know Nabiki, I'm, uh, tricking..." Ranma stammered, a light pinkish hue on her cheeks. Nabiki narrowed her eyes. Oh ho, so it's someone intimate. That could potentially affect the fiancé bets.

"Some new suiter I'm guessing by the looks of it," Nabiki said, holding the skirt up to her own waist. Ooh, definitely something to borrow from Ranma later. "You don't need disguises for Kuno, and Mousse only has eyes for Shampoo. It could be Ryoga but there haven't been any random holes or explosions yet so he's definitely not in town. So... someone new?"

"...Yup! Definitely someone new! Has a whole martial art of, uh, ...breadmaking? And I figured I'd steal it by pretending to be into them or something," Ranma said, her eyes wide like saucers, trying to look at anything but Nabiki.

Nabiki wasn't fooled for an instant. But needling Ranma too hard wasn't going to get her anywhere. Push too hard with him and he clams up like a shell. So, just for a moment, she let her need for the truth outweigh her desire to torment Ranma just this once.

So yeah, she'll bite for now.

"So," Nabiki started, moving back to the door and closing it, before sliding onto the ground next to Ranma. "Tell me about prince charming. Is he nice? Is he rich?"

"He's... definitely nice. When he wants to be," Ranma muttered, playing with the sleeves of a dress in her hands. "He kinda, uh, he's good at calming me down... despite being kind of a hothead himself. He's stubborn, but I am too. The kind that never gives up even when he gets down on himself. And uh... better with his words than I figured him for."

Nabiki whistled.

"So what does he want from you? Some secret legendary bread recipe from your boss? Your hand in marriage? Your hand, full stop?"

"N- no nothing like that. Honestly... I don't think he does want anything from me. It's kinda different. Everyone either wants me to marry them or use me for money like you an' pops."

Nabiki grinned and quipped, "You say that, but if I showed you the repair costs you're worth you'd be wondering why I'm not asking for organs." She let out a laugh that wasn't entirely joking. Ranma sent back a small, awkward laugh as if saying, 'message received.'

"A- anyway, as I was sayin'... He doesn't seem to want anything from me. A simple kinda guy. We just talk... When we can of course," Ranma said, leaning over and resting her head on Nabiki's shoulder. "I get you're supposed to be some kinda badass Nabiki, but don't you ever just wanna... not be?"

"I fail to see the benefits."

"There! That right there," Ranma exclaimed, poking a finger onto Nabiki's nose. "You always gotta be you. Cause that's what people think of ya. Don't you ever want to just... relax? And not have to be nobody?"

Nabiki nudged the redhead's finger from her face and scoffed. "I never have to be anybody Ranma. This is just who I am," she said as she playfully gave Ranma a headbutt. "If you're feeling that way, perhaps that says more about you than you think."

Ranma didn't respond, her arms sagged a bit and the dress in her hand fell listlessly onto the floor. 

"You know," Nabiki continued, as she twirled a piece of hair around her finger, "people used to think I only got like this after my mom died and... for a little while that was true. When debt collectors started coming and daddy was too out of it to do anything, I thought I was the one that had to step up to the plate."

Nabiki slowly pushed Ranma off her, her hand lingering like a small weight on Ranma's shoulder. "But after a bit, it wasn't about having to do anything. I found that collecting money was something I was good—and I mean REALLY—good at," she said, pushing up from Ranma's shoulder and standing up with catlike grace. "I improvised, adapted, and overcame. I found a me that had control, a me that can take charge—a trait that the rest of my family lacked. And I liked that me I found."

"The you that'll charge an arm and a leg for those pics you just took?" Ranma quipped, giving a smug smile.

"Oops, caught me," Nabiki laughed, holding up the camera she seemed to produce from seemingly out of nowhere. "Point is, Ranma, if you found something new in yourself, maybe try exploring it a little. You might like what you find."

Ranma slowly stood up, giving a small nod and an even smaller smile. "Hmm... alright. Ranma Saotome ain't scared of no one, not even myself! Thanks, Nabiki, that was actually really great advice—"

"Great, that'll be 5000 yen," Nabiki said, not even missing a beat as she held out her hand.

"Geez! I thought advice was only 3000! You're upping your prices already!?"

"Nope," Nabiki smiled—a toothy, devilish smile. "3k is for the regular stuff. 2k is for the fashion advice. Whoever prince charming is, we're going to knock him dead."

When the two of them were done, Ranma couldn't help but let out a small gasp. "Wait, girls can dress like this!?" Ranma was decked out in a fairly plain white top tucked into a blue and white checkered skirt that went past her knees. What really sold the look, however, was the red varsity bomber jacket on top and the laced sneakers on her feet. Furthermore, her hair was tied up into a high ponytail with a black scrunchie which matched the back of the jacket that said "PERSON" in large black lettering.

Nabiki nodded approvingly. "I saw the look in the latest issue of Olive*. You had a lot of the pieces so I just had to put it together."

Ranma's eyes were wide as saucers. The look had a lot of boyish elements yet was distinctly feminine. For the first time since she'd been cursed, Ranma didn't feel like some kinda alien in disguise.

She gingerly put her fingers to the mirror and without looking away she spoke, "hey Nabiki?"

"Yeah?" Nabiki said as she flipped through the notes in her hand.

"Any kinda deals for repeat customers?"

"Why I'm glad you asked," Nabiki said, smirking like a shark about to feed. "So I have this punch card—"

"Say, nee-chan," Akane said, staring at the somewhat busy redhead running around the kitchen. Pans clattered, bowls were being cleaned, and all sorts of noises were busying up the space.

"Mmhm? What is it Akane?" Kasumi responded quietly. She sat at the living room table with a handful of papers and a red pen in her hands. 

"You think Ranma is up to something?"

Kasumi didn't look up from her page. "Whatever gave you such an idea? I know he's a bit out of sorts lately but—"

"Well, for one thing, he approached us saying that if anyone asked about a 'Sayoko,' we should mention she's a friend of yours."

"Just Ranma and his old antics I assume. He's got quite the imagination and so many friends to play with," Kasumi said, circling a few words and writing 'revise' in red pen.

"See, if it was just that, I wouldn't be poking," Akane narrowed her eyes as she craned her head to peer into the kitchen. "But Ranma's been baking—"

"Is that a problem—"

"—and /humming/."

"Oh, dear." Kasumi put down the pen in her hands. "Perhaps this is quite serious."

"Where'd it all go wrong Kasumi?" Akane sighed and laid her head down on the table. "It's been nearly half a year since the... 'wedding,'" she said, a dull emphasis on the last word, "and we haven't really... gone anywhere."

Kasumi reached out and placed a hand on Akane's own in a comforting gesture as she waited for her to continue. 

"We... put ourselves out there Kasumi we really did. Is there something wrong with me? Him?" She sniffled. "Us?"

"The only thing wrong with you two..." Kasumi said, squeezing Akane's hand. When Akane craned her head up she could see the soft look on her sister's face. "...is that you're both still young."

Akane scrunched up her face. That wasn't the response she was expecting.

"I barely understand what love is and I'm your older sister. I've got a big life ahead of me and marriage is the furthest thing on my mind," Kasumi said gently, stroking Akane's back with her other hand. "Maybe your story arc has you marrying Ranma, or... maybe it doesn't. And that's okay too."

"B-but, if we're not supposed to get married then what was... All of this for?" Akane grumbled, waving her hands into the air. "All this and that and the death threats and the big sweeping kidnappings. All of it!?"

"...I'm not quite sure Akane," Kasumi said, her eyes drifting off for a moment before looking back to Akane, "but it's been quite a good story so far, hasn't it?" Kasumi smiled. "But the best part about stories is that there's always another one next on the shelf."

Akane's streaked with tears boiled in frustration. She made no sobbing or choking noises, but let them flow. "You know, if it was something with him and I, I could fix it. We could fix it... But..." Akane looked toward Kasumi and could see her sister holding her breath.

Akane sighed, a resigned smile on her face. "Let it out."

"—It's actually 'him and me' in this case. The way it's framed is in an indirect object, rather than the subject of the sentence which is 'I' in 'I could fix it.' But also it should be 'I could fix us...' and... oh dear I am doing it again."

"That new job of yours is changing you, sis," Akane chuckled and wiped her tears away. "But there's been a lot of good changes recently, I think."

Chapter Text

It was a bustling moment in Nerima, just a little after 6pm. In the early fall, the sun was only just beginning to set and housewives were still wandering about, trying to get the best deals in the market. Many stores were still open but one store in particular had already closed. 'Lait et Brioche' or 'Milk & Bread' in French, was known to close relatively early unless they were due in for catering. Bakeries tend to open and close quite early; many customers sought their wares in the morning, and by the evening were looking for more hearty meals. Besides, everyone needed some time to themselves, and even its eternally dazzling owner Pierre had to have his private time.

"Hey, boss?" Ranma called out to the otherwise empty store, her hands filled with bills as she was counting the till.

"Why yes, miss Ranma?" Pierre responded from the back as he cleaned the kitchen. "Is ze till having problems again?"

"...Well yeah," Ranma said hesitantly, "I keep telling ya we need to upgrade. I swear this thing keeps jamming and if I have to hit it one more time it's gonna SHATTER but—, uh, that's not what I was going to say."

"Well, perhaps it's jammed due to all the hitting but nevermind that," Pierre said as he crossed the boundary from the kitchen to the empty store. "What was on your mind, miss Ranma?"

"So you know how you got me on soda breads, and the chocolate, and a buncha the dessert stuff right?"

"Why yes, you're particularly skilled at decorating. I had doubts 'martial arts' would help as much as you said they would but it is... how you say, ah the word escapes me in Japanese..."

"Weird?"

"Unexpected!" He replied chipperly. "To ze point, I might see about hiring more if you were to ever leave."

"Ah boss, don't worry," Ranma said with a grin, "long as the pay is good I'll stick around." 

"You are starting to sound like that 'Nabiki' of yours you tell me about."

"Hey!" Ranma tapped his forehead with a wad of bills she was still counting, "Better watch it. Nabiki's got ears everywhere..." Ranma looked about the store. She still wasn't entirely convinced it wasn't bugged. "But anyways. So I noticed we have a lot of sweet things here. Do you got any recipes with meat?"

"Oh, why of course ma cheri," Pierre said as he moved to clean the store tables with a cloth. "It is simply not part of ze... 'branding' here as it were. I've learned in many parts of ze world. My favorites so far have come from India and Sri Lanka, but China has quite ze selection as well."

Ranma smiled quite brightly at this. "Would you be able to teach me!? I've got someone I need to make stuff for in a couple of weeks."

"Why of course miss Ranma," Pierre smiled, though the look in his eye was quite dangerous. "But tell me, is this a boy or a girl you're making things for?"

Ranma shivered. "It's uh, this guy. Ryoga—, he doesn't come into town often but—"

"Oh zis cannot be!" Pierre said, clutching the sides of his temple and throwing his head backward in a dramatic pose. In an instant, he was in front of Ranma and shaking her to and fro.

"Ranma you are but a young girl! You must be wary of ze dangerous wolves we call boys! Do not let him play with your heart and body like that of a doll!" 

"We—! We're not like that!" Ranma squeaked out, a fiery red decorating her face. "We're friends! I think! He's also a jerk! Sometimes... It's really complicated!"

"Zis is what I was afraid of!" Pierre gasped, clutching his chest and shedding a small tear. "Miss Ranma, I almost see you as a daughter and letting your heart be toyed with, be strung and moved by a man... it breaks my own!"

"You're not my dad! Also, this has nothing to do with my heart!" Ranma screamed as she shook Pierre by his shoulders.

"But alas," Pierre continued, "you are your own woman. Brave, FIERCE, and to be honest I've seen you lift ze heavy duty mixer on your own just to grab a spatula so clearly, there is no concern if he were to force himself upon you..." He wiped a tear from his face. "My recipes are yours ma cherie."

"...I guess... that's what I wanted," Ranma said. Ranma's face was so hot that all wanted in that moment was to spray herself with cold water. She idly wondered if it would turn into steam upon touching her. 

"Anyways, what sort of dish were you looking for? I've got a curried pork bun that is quite legendary."

"Actually, could we make that beef?" Ranma smiled a bit and scratched the back of her head. "The guy I'm making em for doesn't really like pork."

Ryoga was nervous.

More than nervous.

So far he'd been... unlucky in the realm of love. His first love... well his first, FIRST, love was technically Himari Hina from middle school... but she was interested in Ranma. His first (at least by Ryoga's definition) reciprocated love was Akane. However, the difficulties between her, Ranma, and himself always seemed to make it difficult to close the gap. And finally, while Akari doted and loved on him... his feelings around her were still complicated. Her love of pigs was unparalleled, for all the good and bad that came along with it. Sometimes, when they spent time together, she would often dote on him in various ways... but often him feeling no different than a pet.

It was similar to Akane's love. A maternal, caring one. 

But Ryoga was a stranger to such a love. Due to their seemingly genetic disposition for misdirection, Ryoga spent little time growing up around his mother. It was an alien love. As his feelings of loneliness were nurtured, it only left open the more dark ideations that sprung from a depressive mind.

'Am I no more than a pig to her?'

'Am I worthy of this kind of ceaseless love?'

And finally 'What would a life of endless wandering, always looking for Akari, look like?'

Ryoga sighed from his spot under a tree. He had to be somewhere in the mountains. There were clearly trees all around him. His pack was opened as he was reassing his inventory. He had brought gifts again for Akane and Akari—blessed salt and beads from the 'Vatcan'—as well as the third set of gifts. He smiled giddily, almost to the point it was perverse, but he couldn't help it whenever he thought of Sayoko.

Ryoga had no idea what she looked like, but he often thought about their conversations together. Someone,he was actually able to converse with without getting all tongue-tied! He wasn't too certain what she would like, but she seemed to be a nervous type. So he bought some incense for her. They were a special sort of incense and was told by the seller that they enhanced one's dreams and heightened one's desires. Whatever that meant. It probably meant it gave people dreams about eating?

In either case, he was hoping they'd help her relax more. 

Ryoga let out a long stretch. The woods he was in seemed to be relatively tame. He hadn't seen a predator in hours. It was early enough in the evening he had a bit of daylight before the sun went down. If he walked straight for another couple of hours he might be lucky enough to find a road and get some direct directions for Nerima. He was so close he could practically smell it!

"Oya, is that Ryoga I see?" A gruff, familiar voice said from nearby. "Here to give Ranma a run for his money?"

Ryoga practically jumped and readied a combat stance at the alien voice. "Who's there!?" He cried out.

A hand patted his shoulder. A big, wide hand that seemed to come out of nowhere. "Already forgot my face? After Jusendo and everything?" Ryoga turned quickly and found himself face to face with—

"Sorry, uh, who are you again?"

"It's Genma!" The old man cried out, bonking Ryoga over his head. "Ranma's father, Genma Saotome!"

Ryoga barely flinched. "Saotome-san... what are you doing in Nagasaki?" He asked quizzically. 

"Boy," Genma sighed as he rubbed his forehead. "This is Nerima, by the park."

"You'd think someone would remember their old master," Genma chided as he slurped up ramen from a bowl. "You almost became the successor to Anything Goes, to boot!"

"..." A similar bowl of ramen sat in front of Ryoga. Ryoga himself was deep in thought. "That time, you were using me to get back at Ranma for eating your manju..." He said darkly.

"Oh, that's water under the bridge Ryoga! Sides, if you won anyways that wouldn't change the successor bit. Next time's the charm, don't you know!" Genma laughed as he hailed down the waitress. "Nother bowl! Shio broth and make the noodles extra chewy!"

"Sorry if I'm wary why you would call out to me. But what do you even want?" 

"Un," Genma nodded. "I need you to rough up Ranma for me."

Ryoga quirked an eyebrow. An odd request.

"Let me explain," Genma said as he slurped up the last of his soup. "I've been staying back at home lately. My wife, Nodoka, insisted. Said we'd been gone too long and she refused to sit in the house alone. We live back out in Azabu-Juuban and that's a bit far from here, practically a 3-hour walk, and a 2-hour run."

"I don't really see how this has anything to do about beating Ranma but..."

"I'm getting there!" Genma snapped as he flicked the boy on the forehead. "I'm a bit worried Ranma's getting soft without me there. So while you're around I'd like it if you roughed him up a bit. Really challenge him before you all got buddy buddy after China." Genma reached into his gi and pulled out a small scroll. "If you do, I'll teach you a technique. Nothing fancy, but self-taught ones like you could learn a thing or two. Use it to make something better, you know?"

Ryoga gulped. Genma was right. On his own, Ryoga was a fairly accomplished martial artist. But that took months and years to attain. Even then, his greatest leaps and bounds were immediately after finding techniques like the Breaking Point and the Shishi Hōkōdan. Hell, even his Iron Cloth technique was only something he picked up from martial arts gymnastics...

"You got yourself a deal!" Ryoga couldn't help but be ecstatic. "So what's it about?"

Genma laughed loudly as his second bowl was brought to him. Ryoga was like a puppy, always excited at something new like a treat.

"Now alright, it's a shuriken throwing technique, but I figure your bandanas—"

When Ranma finally arrived home it was a little past 8pm. She—at least at the moment—had spent a bit of extra time with Pierre to learn and practice some of his recipes. She hadn't had a night that long since Summer's catering rush. Those were long days and weeks that only felt longer cause she knew she spent most days wondering if Ryoga was going to call that particular day.

Ryoga...

It had been approximately two weeks since the last call. Ranma had spent all that time telling the Tendo sisters (as well as her boss) about the Sayoko 'scam', practicing her baking, and even exercising a bit of her new financial freedom by buying a few clothes. Her eye twitched just a little, reminded how much of that was spent in simply Nabiki's consulting fees. Much of Ranma's 'Sayoko' wardrobe consisted of the same style of clothing: long skirts and varsity jackets. There was just something about the wardrobe that clicked with her. Maybe it wouldn't exactly fit Ryoga's perception of Sayoko, but it felt a lot better to wear than half of the outfits she galavanted around while tricking him. She tugged at the skirt between her fingertips with a little smile. She even started wearing it at work, as it doubled as a disguise from both Ukyo and Shampoo as they'd never expect Ranma to wear such clothing.

But anyway.

Ranma didn't know when Ryoga would show, but she felt she had covered pretty much every base possible. So when she saw him she was absolutely ready to deal with him.

Yet even then, when she opened the door to find Ryoga sitting in the living area, she found herself frozen in place.

"Oh hello, Ra- I mean Sayoko. Welcome home!" Kasumi's said in a sing-song voice.

"S-Sayoko?" A familiar, male voice called out to her, turning his head towards the door.

A moment passed as the two locked eyes. Ryoga had a subtle flush on his cheeks as he finally faced the girl he had been speaking to for weeks. Ranma, however, felt an ill feeling as an annoyance rose in her stomach. As if her entire body had a built-in reaction to want to fight him. She almost found herself shifting into a fighting stance as Ryoga got up and quickly made her way to her. His hand was coming up low... an uppercut!? No! 

Ryoga's hands found Ranma's and clasped around them. "It's g-good to meet you Sayoko-san! Y-you're just as pretty as I expected!"

That ill feeling in Ranma's stomach was now fighting for relevance in her body as she felt her chest beat like a hummingbird in flight. The Ryoga that she fought for ages with was also the same Ryoga now grasping her hand in a half-shake, half-grasp. The annoyance didn't go away... but neither did the fluttering.

For once she finally knew how Akane felt, to be caught between hot and cold like soaking in a hot spring in the middle of Winter. Not that she realized that bit of irony.

"H-Hello, Ryoga-san," she couldn't help but nervously stutter. The trademark anxiety of Sayoko, while not on purpose, flowed through her effortlessly. 

"I'm glad to finally meet you," Ranma said, her smile low as she failed to meet his eyes.

Ryoga smiled right back at her, before giving her hands two soft squeezes. "I've got uh, a lot to tell you but uh, I also brought gifts! I'll show you after and—"

The two of them stood like that for a moment, like two awkward peas in a pod.

Off to the side, leaning against the kitchen doorway, Nabiki stood with her eyebrow quirked. She raised her instant camera, newly purchased from Ranma's recent funding, and snapped a shot. "Looks like we just found prince charming," she said quietly, her tone awash with mischief. 

Chapter Text

What would Sayoko do?

Ranma had this picture of what Sayoko was like. Kinda, sorta, somewhat. He had months to think about her character and how he should act like as her. Problem was, however, that Ranma also had all the experience of his previous trickings of Ryoga. They all undoubtedly worked—for all of Ryoga's shortcomings, his worst was that he had a facial blindness of such degree Ranma wondered if he had some sort of degenerative vision—for all of a day. Usually Ranma's scams were quick and easy; much like a feint in combat, they only needed to hoodwink someone just long enough for Ranma to follow up and finish up. This time, Ranma knew he needed to pull off something long term, and something that wasn't easily outed.

Thankfully, his newfound partnership with Nabiki yielded more than positive results. With Ranma's regular work schedule he suddenly had more money to throw around; with more money to throw around he was able to consult Nabiki more often. With more money coming Nabiki's way she didn't have to hound and pressure Ranma out of money to cover their food and board. Nabiki said what she was doing was entirely business—entirely for profit—but more than once Ranma found her smiling while 'strategizing' with Ranma.

"Let's make a profile for Sayoko," Nabiki had said a few days ago, pulling out a sheet of paper with Ranma's face paper-clipped to the front. There were a number of blank sections all over just waiting to be filled in. 

"A profile?" Ranma blinked quizzically, having never heard the term before.

"It's like..." Nabiki paused, unable to come up with what modern audiences would call a 'character sheet' since it was still the 80s and tabletop rpgs (while present in Japan) weren't popular enough for a semi-affluent highschool girl to know of.

"It's kinda of like a mini-biography. It just keeps all the details of who you are in one place to keep them consistent!" Nabiki continued. She got the idea from one of her business contacts: a matchmaker. Apparently matchmakers used them all the time to connect would-be couples together; a detail Nabiki tactfully left Ranma unawares of.

"Why'd I need that for? My disguises work, like, all the time. I can prolly wing it."

Nabiki rubbed her forehead. 

"Because this isn't just a disguise, dummy. This isn't someone you're trying to hoodwink out of something. You've got everyone else fooled but there's something else here."

"W-w-whaddya mean there's n-nothing—" Ranma's face was almost as red as her hair.

"In any case," Nabiki said, pressing past Ranma's blubbering, "if you don't want prince charming to get wise, and if this has to last several days, your best bet is getting a consistent profile." Nabiki stared as Ranma continued to deny deny deny, and sighed. It was going to be a long day for old Nabs.

Back in the present, after an impossibly long dinner where Ranma had barely let out a peep only to retire to her room as soon as possible, Ranma was flopped face first onto her futon. She was making out a mix of sighs and groans, leaving Soun downstairs to wonder if the house had become haunted. 

Ranma knew this was going to happen. She had prepared weeks in advance. She got a whole new wardrobe (not that she would admit it), readied a profile (and was super upset when she learned what it was used for), and even got a whole week off work for this. 

And she *still* froze up.

So in the light of her fuckups and failures, Ranma was left where she already was: groaning into her pillow.

She was so wrapped up in herself she couldn't even bother to respond to the sound of an opening door. No matter who it was, it's not like it would make her feel any worse than she did now–

"Ryoga? Really?" 

Nabiki.

Yeah, she was wrong; she felt like an idiot.

"You know he's tried to kill you, like, actually kill you kill you multiple times."

No response.

'And he's done more damage to the house than you and your father combined, right?"

"Blengafbkl."

"Ranma, those aren't words. Be a big girl and get your shit together. I'm not going to mother you like Kasumi does."

"I'm not a girlll." Ranma rotated her head to stare out at Nabiki. While no tears were actually falling her eyes were big and wide and watery in a way that reminded Nabiki of those anime shows Akane liked to watch. 

"You're right," Nabiki said, stepping into the room and sitting on the floor beside Ranma. "you're being a child. And clearly you thought I'm as stupid as one if you didn't think I wouldn't realize who you're doing this all for the moment they *walked through the front door*."

Ranma didn't respond. She just pursed her lips tightly trying to figure out what to say.

"What was your gameplan here? You know, when prince charming actually did walk through the door."

"Don't caaaaaaaall him that. He's just Ryoga," Ranma whined, tilting her body so she was on her side. "And I really don't know... I half expected him to get lost and just never show up again or maybe I could just run off before he showed up or maybe you could've all been out at the same time for like... three days maybe or—"

"You made a number of calculations, clearly forgetting you're all but failing math." Nabiki sighed. "Ranma... Falling for a rival? Really?:

Ranma practically jumped up, landing perfectly on her butt, a look mixing both embarrassment and dread plastered on her face. "I- I never said I was in love! This was all a trick! For his martial arts winemaking!"

Nabiki only raised an eyebrow. "You mean breadmaking? Cause that's what you said it was about two weeks ago." Before Ranma could respond again Nabiki stood up and walked over to the entrance. She perched against it, hand resting on the frame, her silhouette gazing back towards Ranma. There was this weird look on her face; she looked concerned, but distant, like she was trying not to be as invested in this as she was. "Look, whatever the two of you have got going on, you better figure it out before anyone gets hurt, okay? If you need anything else, it'll be 5000 yen."

And just like that Nabiki was gone, door shut behind her, leaving Ranma alone with her thoughts.

What would Sayoko do?

Ranma realized Sayoko was probably impatient; a lot like herself. She tried a lot to be patient, but she practically drove herself mad waiting for a call from Ryoga. Sayoko also liked to banter, almost like trading blows with fists, but more playfully and with her words instead. If Ranma was more astute perhaps she would have realized just how much of the character of Sayoko seemed to be fixated on Ryoga, but neither Ranma nor Sayoko seemed to be self-aware enough to pick up on that. Ranma knew that, as Sayoko, she wanted to talk to Ryoga. Even as Ranma was almost frozen in place at the prospect of being found out by someone for what she was doing with Ryoga, the desire to chat with him was even stronger.

So Sayoko went down the stairs. Well she would have. Ranma just did what Sayoko would have wanted.

Ranma traipsed her way downstairs, her heart pounding with each step, listening carefully down the stairs in case someone she didn't want to explain herself to (anyone and everyone) came up. It was a few hours since dinner time and most everyone else would have retired to their rooms by now. As she came down, she was surprised to overhear what seemed to be a rather heated conversation between Ryoga and... Kasumi?

"Ryoga? Kasumi?" Ranma stepped in from the shadows, curiosity finally beating out her skittishness. At the table sat Ryoga and Kasumi, papers and journals piled up beside them alongside a pot of tea and two half-filled cups.

"Oh R-- uh, Sayoko dear! Come on in. Let me grab you another cup for tea," Kasumi said, almost snapping upwards in habit. Ryoga gave a sheepish smile accompanied with a little wave.

"Oh, it's okay I'm fine," Ranma said, waving her hands back and forth. "What's all this?" Ranma asked, gesturing to the papers. "I figured you'd be in bed by now."

"Oh this?" Kasumi sat back down, putting back on what seemed to be a pair of glasses. "Do you remember me mentioning that I picked up work in proofing? Well this is it." She said, smiling as she patted the plethora of papers on the table. "We're going over Ryoga's latest book before sending it over to print."

"...I'm sorry, what?" Ranma's squinted, as if that would somehow help her understand what was going on.

"Ryoga's latest book, dear," Kasumi said, a small chuckle on her lips. She even pulled out a small book, no larger than a manga in size, with a picture of Ryoga in front of the Buckingham Palace. "His 'Wandering Guides' are quite popular with many readers. A mix of travel guide and travelogue, with a 'touch of fantasy' as the reviews like to say."

"Look, I'm telling you I saw a guy walking on water in Winnipeg. I don't know what else to say!" Ryoga exclaimed, throwing his hands up into the air exasperatedly. "Just cause the readers suddenly think Jesus is somehow in Canada doesn't mean nothing."

Ranma snickered, then chuckled, then practically snorted. "Just wait till America hears about this Ryoga!" She exclaimed, full out laughing as she held her sides. "And Ryoga!" Ranma slapped the boy on the back. "Why didn't you tell me you were an author? That's kinda surprising!"

Ryoga turned back towards Sayoko, a dubious look on his face. "Excuse you?" For some reason he had the strongest urge to tug on her ponytail, but wasn't sure where exactly that came from. "I'll have you know that there's even people overseas looking to translate my stuff!" Ryoga puffed up, pride swelling in his chest.

"Perhaps they're trying to fact check your claims, don't cha think?" Ranma grinned, cheeky and challenging.

"Maybe in my next book I'll talk about this cute gremlin I found hidden in Japan?" Ryoga stood, emphasizing their difference in height. He grinned as well, placing a hand on her forehead, pushing down slightly. He noted how soft her hair was, and quietly resisted the urge to ruffle it.

"...!" Ranma opened her mouth to say something back, but her stomach knotted oddly. There was this odd, troubling feeling being complimented by Ryoga—all the while paired with a soft squishy one in her stomach.

"Oh, sorry, uh," Ryoga paused a moment, "so a gremlin is this thing from Roald Dahl? He wrote this book for Disney-" His rambling was quickly cut off by Kasumi putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Now now Ryoga, it seems like we are getting distracted," said Kasumi, as she pulled away to start stacking papers. "We can continued this tomorrow, given that you're still here in the morning." Kasumi bundled up the papers in her arms and started to walk away. "I am certain you have a lot to talk about," she said, a warm smile on her face as she made her way up the stairs.

And thus Ryoga and 'Sayoko' were alone. Kasumi's words lingered in the air and brought a small heat to their cheeks. In this moment, their rivalry was non-existant; one had no idea, while one did their best to forget. 

What would Ranma do? He would want to punch Ryoga in the face.

What would Ryoga do? He wanted to talk to Sayoko through the night.

And what would Sayoko do? This would have been her first private moment with a boy she's been talking to for nearly half a year. A boy that she had gotten to know as surprisingly charming, somewhat witty, and always knew how to relax her. Someone she's changed a surprising amount for.

Sayoko bit her lower lip as Ranma wondered if she would kiss him.

Chapter Text

Ranma and Ryoga found themselves on the porch just outside the dojo, overlooking the Tendo pond before them. It was the trail end of Summer and the last remnants of its warm evenings were all that was left as the first Autumn wind snaked it's way through the air. Sayoko's bomber jacket kept Ranma cozy but even she had to suppress a sudden shiver. Though whether that was due to the wind or her proximity to Ryoga, she wasn't sure.

An awkward silence sat between the two of them. Ryoga kept sneaking glances, almost as if trying to read her expression. The only way Ranma knew this was because she, too, was sneaking her not-so-sneaky glances. Once particular glance held the two of them in place. Ryoga, wide eyed with his lips parted—as if he was willing himself to say something—and Ranma, looking up at him with an intense and expectant gaze.

"Well this is awkward." Ryoga put a hand on his face, just covering his eyes, and let out a low chuckle. 

There it was. That little laugh of his. A laugh she had never heard as Ranma, but as Sayoko felt like it was reserved only for her. 

Everything about this moment would completely change if Ryoga knew. Ranma was certain. That's what made this so difficult. One slip up and bam, it was all gone. All Ranma could do was awkwardly smile back, as all the topics she had built had transmuted into this squirming, fluttering feeling all around here.

Ryoga slowly put his hand to the side of his head, his thumb and pinky outstretched to his ear and chin respectively. "Ring ring," he said.

"No way," Ranma snorted, a smile slowly forming on her face. 

"Ring ring ring!"

"You're so corny you know that!" Ranma laughed, hitting him slightly on the shoulder.

"Sorry (ring) can't hear you (ring). You gotta pick up the phone (ring)!"

Ranma almost pushed him over with her next shove, but the big grin on her face was practically beaming. 

"Fine fine!" She exclaimed, putting a hand to the side of her head as well. "Hellloooo, Tendo Dojo. Sayoko speaking."

"Hey, is Soun there? This is about his property taxes."

"Ryoga! Geez! You're going to give him a heart attack!" Ranma was downright laughing at this point, and she smacked him on the chest a couple times for good measure.

"Hey look, she *can* smile," Ryoga said, his hand still poised against his head like a phone. "I was wondering when I'd get to see it."

Ranma leaned back, her laughter dying down into little chuckles. "I was surprised to see you! Sorry if I was being weird or anything."

Ryoga just smiled, the barest of grin revealing his little fang. It was a warm and steady smile—not one Ranma was used to from Ryoga. Usually he was like a roaring blaze or a depressive ball of nothing; for once, Ranma could see him practically radiate like a warm campfire. The kind of campfire you longed for.

'That's so like him,' she thought, raising a hand unconsciously to her lips, as a blush decorated her cheeks.

"I don't think you're weird," Ryoga said, his smile sending a small 'thump' in Ranma's chest. "I think you're a bit quirky. Less shy than I expected, sometimes."

"Sometimes?"

"The way you kept glancing over during dinner? Don't think I didn't see that."

"Well speak for yourself! You're a lot different from what I'm used to... uh, hearing about you." 

"Ohhhh? And what *have* you heard about me?" 

Ranma stared at the floor, apparently finding the wood graining to be an important detail.

"That you're... intense. In a good way! But also that you're kinda gloomy. That you beat yourself up a lot. And..." Ranma slowly put down the hand that held her 'phone' until it rest gently against the hand Ryoga was resting on the floor. A soft blush warmed her cheeks as her gaze drifted just below meeting his eyes. "That you've always been reliable when it counts."

In almost an instant, the Ryoga that Sayoko got to know seemed to slip away. The confident and charming Ryoga was suddenly self-conscious, as he stared down at the hand she had over his. This was the Ryoga that Ranma had seen look at Akane, but now it was aimed at her. He breathed in slow, but shallow, breaths, and his eyes widened as he gazed back up into Sayoko's eyes. For a moment, he almost looked like a puppy—a puppy that rarely received attention and was hurt far too many times, but still wanted to be loved.

For a moment, Ranma couldn't help but think about Akane. In a manner, both Ryoga and Akane were stubborn to a fault and headstrong, but always softened up in moments like these. But where Akane feared, almost resented, the attention she always got, Ryoga desperately craved it regardless of how difficult it was. Ranma didn't really understand attraction. She thought it meant protecting others or defeating enemies in their honor. She wasn't sure if she was attracted to Akane then, or even to Ryoga right now. Ranma just knew that, at this moment, she wanted to be right here,

Maybe that's what attraction was? Wanting to be right there.

Ranma slowly leaned forward, moving her face closer to Ryoga's. Did she want to kiss him? She wasn't sure. Did he want to kiss her? She had no idea. But with every inch, she didn't feel the revulsion to pull away. Even that fire inside her stomach, the one that wanted to punch him, was quieter than ever. Ranma licked her lips, squeezed his hand gently, and moved forward till she could almost feel his breath.

"D-date!' Ryoga suddenly exclaimed, pulling himself to the side, just narrowly dodging the kiss. "S-Sayoko-san! We should uh, I need to-, well! Maybe we should get to know each other first!" His face was beet red and his heart was thumping so loudly that Ranma could even hear it. His protests were half-hearted at best, fueled by his surprisingly proper values. 

Ranma stopped, a cheeky, almost challenging, grin on her face. "What a boy scout," she said, her breath quiet and lingering in the air. She pulled her face away, but left her hand lingering on his. "I guess I'll accept a date... But you'll owe me one."

"One... what?" Ryoga gulped, his throat surprisingly dry.

Ranma blushed brightly, so much so that she could feel her cheeks warm. Her other hand came up and covered her mouth with her ponytail. "Guess you'll have to wait till I cash it in."

For all their martial senses, Ryoga and Ranma seemed to be particularly lax when it came to the matters of the heart. So much so they hardly noticed the three sets of eyes peering from the cracked doorway from the dojo to the main house. Akane, at the bottom, was initially hurt as she watched her ex-fiance get along with Ryoga in a way they hadn't. But when it started getting spicy and flirty she suddenly felt her heart beat with excitement, as if she was watching a live TV drama unfold before her. Nabiki and Kasumi were stacked above her: Nabiki watching to see if Ranma was going to use any of the advice she paid her for, and Kasumi wondering if she could convince Ryoga to start writing romance.

The three of them quietly peeled away as Ranma and Ryoga shuffled closer together, their conversation turning into mumbled whispers. Akane gave them her sisters a look, nodding enthusiastically and flicking her eyes between her sisters and the door. Nabiki nodded sagely, rubbing her chin as if in thought. Kasumi simply placed a hand over her smile, trying to not look too enthused. 

They each shared a look with each other and, with a type of mind reading only doable between family, put their hands between them and nodded.

Things had slowly changed over the past few months and the dynamics between Ranma and the others had fundamentally shifted, but it looked like all it took to win over the Tendo sisters was their own entertainment drama at home.

Ryoga awoke gently in the Tendo guest room, his eyes blearily batting awake as the sun shone down on him. He grumbled slightly and rolled over, hoping to melt back into the dreams that were already leaving him. In Ryoga's memory, Sayoko's blush was so vibrant that it lit up the night like a pink lantern. In his dreams, however, he hadn't held himself back—he didn't stop their kiss. A giddy shiver ran up his spine and he immediately sat up in the futon, his face flush and red.

"Ahhhhhhh, I can't get all worked up like this!" Ryoga slapped his cheeks in good measure, trying to snap himself out of it. "She's finally in front of you so you can't screw this up." Ryoga was trying to keep his cool but he very much couldn't. Ever since their fateful meeting, Ryoga has had Sayoko on the mind. He didn't expect her to be as fashionable as she was; Ryoga's understanding of clothes were they were either frilly and cute, or sleek and ready for martial arts. Sayoko's clothes exuded confidence and femininity and if he was his old self, back years ago before he was with Akari, he'd probably have fumbled the ball. Thinking about the past put a bit of a damper on his mood, but did finally settle down his blush. In moments he was dressed and out of the guest room door.

Ryoga paused for a moment as he stepped out. He'd traversed the Tendo house so much as P-Chan it was practically embarrassing to be lost but picked a direction and prayed.

"Nope, other way Prince Charming," Nabiki chirped, grabbing onto the collar of Ryoga's shirt. In her other hand, she held a mug filled with hot chocolate. 

"Huh? Prince Charming?"

"Don't worry about it Ryoga," Nabiki said, yawning lazily. "Kasumi sent me up to grab you. Breakfast is ready."

"Oh thanks. It's been a while since I had a Kasumi breakfast," he said, following Nabiki as she led him down the stairs.

"Well, keep waiting lover boy, you've got a banquet awaiting you," Nabiki said before sipping her hot chocolate and joining Akane, Kasumi, and Soun at the dining table. She patted the seat beside her, signaling Ryoga over.

"Hm? If Kasumi's in here, then who's–"

As if called from above, Sayoko suddenly burst out from the kitchen, a wide basket in her hands. She had her hair tied up in a ponytail again, with a hair scarf covering on top. Ryoga noticed she had a few smudges of flour on her cheek and dough on her apron that only seemed to accentuate her vibrant red hair.

She plopped down the basket and the wafting smell of freshly baked melon bread made everyone's mouth water. She had made a full baker's dozen and then some.

"Wow Ra- uh, Sayoko, this looks amazing!" Kasumi exclaimed, grabbing the piece nearest to her. "It looks like it came right out of a bakery!"

"Honestly I'm surprised you haven't done this before— could've given Kasumi a morning off sometime," Akane chided, quietly pouting at how good it all looked.

"I mean you know why, sis," Nabiki snickered. "Gotta impress a certain royal guest after all." 

"Now girls, be nice," Soun chided as he took a huge bite. "Mmph, she's been working hard and contributing to the household. Akane and Nabiki could learn a lesson or two." 

"C'mon daddy, I pay up too," Nabiki said, breaking off a small piece and dipping it into her mug.

"Yeah, of other people's money," Akane replied.

As the Tendo family lightly bickered, however, Sayoko and Ryoga were trapped in their own world. Ryoga staring at how beautiful and talented this girl so clearly was, and Ranma eagerly awaiting for Ryoga to take a bite.

Nabiki, watching intently from the side, just rolled her eyes. How was it that the two weirdo martial artists would have the most normal relationship in the household?