Chapter Text
A Girl
Realities broke and twisted apart, a myriad of muted sounds slamming into my body with the weight of a galaxy. Languages seemed to slide together in a crashing wave of nonsense, and I almost choked on them.
What/qué/nani/meow?
It was a crush of memories, being swept up in a current, lost in the flow, tossed into a river like I was yesterday’s garbage. I couldn't focus as the rush of sensations and images threatened to tear apart my mind.
Two no three sets of memories collapsed like a fragile house of cards, swirling together into a storm of confusion, rage, and terror. It was a constant screech, a high-pitched sound buzzing and stabbing into the heart of who I was. It was a horrific mental pain, my own skin burning in sympathetic agony.
I bounced up and down as I clung to my mother’s dress, staring hopefully at the store dresses. Her smile was strained and uncertain, and I blinked up at her. I opened my mouth to ask her a question—
I almost bit off my own tongue to keep my mouth from making even a grunt of pain. Another memory struck in my weakness, my arm spasming in response, clinging onto thick fur.
I let out a purr of delight as I devoured the fish, hissing at every interloper in sight. They couldn't be trusted, all of them were potential threats. Whether because of their own selfish needs or the actions of my Father or my other Self enraging them. I could hear Father making his approach, trying to soothe my rage.
He was no different in the end.
The memories looped for a third time as the oldest and most complex set of memories began to settle in the spaces between. Gaps filled with the mass of a lifetime of memories, short as they were, foggy as they were.
I stared at the bright light, like a pillar of lightning had turned to ice. Twenty three years of life was more than enough to know I should not touch that swell of power. But I didn't get much of a choice as that lightning reached out with intent, with will, and power.
And in that moment I was gone.
Ranma
The next time I woke up I was struggling in the grip of a stupid panda, power surging in my veins. My hands were clenched into the shape of paws, digging into flesh and fur.
The giant panda flinched but didn't lose his grip on my waist, even as I dug my claws into his hide.
My mouth moved faster than my brain. “Leggo you old fool, I don't want any damn part of this scheme! Now put me down before I beat your skull in!” I could feel boundless rage surging into my thoughts, to the point I was seeing red at the corner of my vision.
I was going to kill my old man and shit on his fucking corpse—
My memories clashed together in the fog, the oldest set merged with the middle set, like two halves of a whole. The youngest set fought violently, in a battle of feelings and trauma, one side loving cats, and the other terrified.
The Cat was a manifestation of that pain, of that dark pit with hundreds of glowing eyes. Animal fury and instinct, scars of the mind and spirit whispered the eldest to the middle child.
Make it go away, I hate them, I don't want to be near them, the screaming protest of the middle child echoed. Especially not in my brain, cuz of Pop’s stupid training!
It's part of us, we have to accept it, if only for our own sake, the eldest memory whispered. Can we do that?
Maybe… it hurts less now, the middle child whispered. But we don't agree on anything.
Saotome Genma is an asshole, the eldest replied with a pained waver, wary with the pain of experience. And that was that.
The three sets collapsed into a cohesive self in the fog, folding into a single stable mind.
I blinked as I realized I was inside a house, and my next instinct was to punch the old panda in his stupid face.
“Are you an idiot Pops? You’re scaring them spitless!” I yowled, barely keeping a hiss from escaping my throat. I wanted to sink my teeth into his throat for thinkin this wasn't a stupid plan.
Pops stopped in front of a frozen family of three girls, and their dad. I gave them a wild stare, unable to keep my mind from homing in on them.
The dad was a middle-aged man with shoulder-length hair and a mustache, and frankly, I wanted to make fun of him for it. Dork.
Right behind him were two of his daughters, one wearing a bob cut and pretty blue robes, the other was a few years older with dark hair and eyes, and pretty features. Her dress is nice and cute.
“Father, this is your friend?” The older girl spoke in a soft but worried tone.
The man in question shook his head like a dog in denial, and I wanted to laugh at the poor fool. He had no idea how much my old man had screwed us over.
The other daughter gave her single parent a flat unimpressed look. “Oh, so this panda decided to just drop in, is that it?”
I felt my lips pull into a smile, which helped douse the instinct telling me to claw out my father’s eyes. But I did decide to embed my fingers deeper into his skin, drawing blood.
He flinched but didn't say a word. Hah, serves him right.
I was pulled off from my perch by furry paws, and placed directly in front of the four people I was being presented to. My eyes darted to the third daughter, around my height with an athletic build under a yellow gi and dark blue hair.
My eyes darted back to the dad, and I dropped my gaze, feeling oddly nervous and yet content. Like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders, even as new memories slowly flooded in.
“You… wouldn't be…”
I sighed. “Saotome Ranma,” I said shyly, fiddling with my hands. “Sorry about all this.” It was a habit I had since I was a kid, that urge to wiggle, flap, to move, bounce, and hop.
Fortunately for all my old man’s faults, he didn't give a shit about those quirks as long as I became a Man Among Men, the greatest martial artist in the land.
I didn't get a chance to actually add up all my memories before I was being hugged. The man said something I wasn't paying much mind to because of what he was touching.
“Oh, he is cute!” The bob-cut girl said to my immediate discomfort, my skin itching at her words.
Why did they feel so wrong?
I squirmed under his grip, body tensing and hair puffing up like I was some sorta…
No, not now.
The man squeezed a few times, and I wanted to throw him offa me. Luckily for both of us he took a few steps back, hands raised in confusion.
“Wha…wha…wha…” He stammered.
The bobcut girl, Nabiki crept forward and immediately took the opportunity to poke at my boobs.
“Hmm…” I pushed away her hands, face twitching into a flat glare.
“Do not,” I said flatly. “I ain't exactly hiding these.” I ignored Pop’s puzzled head turn.
The girl just smiled smugly. “So Ranma isn't a boy then, she's a girl.” She ignored me, and I ignored that spark of happiness from her words.
“A girl…” The man trailed off like he was in shock, body trembling.
“I think he's going to—” My warning wasn't heeded.
The man had fainted on the wooden floor of his own home.
Well, crap.
Ranma
I pinched the bridge of my nose, pushing back my pounding headache. The head of the household passing out was not a good sign for anyone no matter how stupid an omiai in this day and age was.
And frankly, I couldn't even give them anywhere near that credit when it was more like an arranged marriage instead of matchmaking. Damn fools.
“Could any of y'all tell me your names?” I couldn't help my rough-and-tumble accent. “Pops didn't exactly bother when he dragged my body here.” I explained bluntly, ignoring his growl. Pops had only told me about his old friend Tendo Soun.
The three girls briefly made silent eye contact, and I fidgeted under their collective gaze.
“Tendo Kasumi,” Kasumi replied serenely, with a kind smile on her face.
“Nabiki.” The weird bob-cut girl gave me a name I recognized. “So you're supposed to be our fiancee?”
I shrugged. “Guess so?” I turned my eyes to the third girl, who had a rather distinct build from her sisters. Where they were slender she was athletic, shoulders broad and strong.
So a total tomboy?
I ignored the disdain dripping into my thoughts, trying to adjust to the memories. Which wasn't difficult, it was my mind and always had been, even with the new… old memories. Same person, two lives.
So personally I thought a tough girl was cute.
“My name is Akane,” I perked up at her friendly response. “Sorry about this mess, can't believe he didn't even check once about this stupid arrangement. Didn't even check to see if you were a boy before trying to marry us to you.” She sounded pissed as she spoke to me.
My memories protested at both the arranged marriage, and the idea that girls couldn't marry girls.
“I am in the same boat, ya know…” I said dryly.
A certain panda growled, and I stuck out my tongue at him. Fuck you, it's your fault we’re in this situation. But I did wonder if I was saying something oddly without noticing.
I was definitely speaking Japanese, but my thoughts seemed to be either in English or some horrific blend of every language my mind had mastered. Could be I was revealing things without noticing, I was never the sharpest when it came to politeness.
“Father must be so disappointed,” Kasumi said to her sisters.
Where had I heard these words before?
Nabiki laughed. “Please, he's disappointed?! Look at her, we've got a tiny redhead for a fiance!” She leered at me as I sat between her and Akane.
“Stop it, both of you!” Akane scolded her sisters, shaking her fist at them. “She is our guest!”
“Father is waking up!” Kasumi warned and I tensed as their attention shifted.
Nabiki immediately turned on her sperm donor. “This is all your fault, Daddy! Can you even tell the difference between a boy or a girl?
Soun grimaced. “Forgive me, but I had assumed Genma’s son would be a boy,”
I covered up my bitter laugh with a cough, assuming anything about my dear old dad was a fool’s errand.
I leaned back from Nabiki’s attempted grope. “You gotta buy me dinner first if you want an anatomy lesson.” I snapped back, feeling profoundly uncomfortable.
Nabiki smirked. “Well, it still proves my point. She certainly doesn't look like a boy, Daddy.” She stared down at her father, and I just side-eyed her for her lack of boundaries.
Boundaries huh?
“Just leave her alone, Nabiki!” Akane defended me. “A guest is a guest.”
“I would hope so…” I whispered.
Akane placed her hand on my shoulder with deliberate slowness. “Hey, you wanna go practice?” Her expression was warm with a hint of curiosity. “Like I said, I'm Akane. Do you want to be friends?”
Why was this so familiar?
My head nodded, thankful for an escape to the conversation… and to end that little void of loneliness inside me.
Ranma
“You study kenpo right?” Akane asked after pulling me away.
“I do.” I said honestly while hiding the fact I had been training in Everything Goes since I was two years old.
“Well, why don't we have a little match between us girls?”
“Huh…” My memories said yes and no at the same time, but I knew which side was losing.
“C'mon, just for fun. Promise it won't hurt.” Akane smiled and I almost choked.
Oh, I'm gay. Wait…
I remember the training, even as most of those years were a fog with moments of clarity, like bobbing for apples in murky water. Immersed in martial arts, in mastering my own body and the power within.
Which was why I knew Akane had a lot of potential, there was pressure coming from her, which I was sure was her ki. She didn't have anywhere near the same control as I did, but with more training… she could go far.
I deliberately smoothed out my smirk as Akane took her stance, and folded my hands behind my back. I knew it was mean, but something about her made me want to toy with her.
Just a little, I had enough experience to know words alone could hurt.
Akane struck first, and I hopped a solid six feet, my body effortlessly twisting through the air as I soared. I landed on the ground and shifted from side to side to avoid her powerful strikes. Every strike rang with ki, with radiant power and life.
“What’s wrong? Attack me!” Her demand was very tempting, but I wanted to test her and tease her at the same time. I could read her every move, watching how her body moved, eyes, hands, feet. Elbows, knees, and shoulders.
“Heh…" I smiled softly, as her frustration grew, and her moves became more predictable.
I wiggled my hips, unable to hold back my excitement.
“Yah!” Akane’s fist moved like a bullet, face suddenly flushing red in frustration.
I leapt into the air, enjoying the rush of kicking off the wall to change my direction. I landed right behind Akane and launched my secret technique.
“Pat.” I patted her head with a growing smirk.
Akane just stared at me, pulling away from the new hole in the wall.
I laughed, a bubbly, goofy quality to the voice I had only possessed for two weeks. To my surprise, Akane joined in which made me laugh just a little harder.
“You're pretty good, I'm just glad that we got a girl instead of a boy.”
“Umm…” I wanted to contradict her, I wanted so badly to say I was a man among men. “Yeah.”
But I had enough memories to know it was a lie regardless of what my body was.
Akane lit up, brushing back her dark blue bangs. “It's just well, this fiancee fiasco is just too stressful. And boys… boys are the worst at times, I don't know how I'd have reacted if you were a boy like daddy said.”
“I get it. My old man railroaded me into this just like you.”
She smiled at me as we left the training hall.
All the while, my brain was telling me this was all horribly familiar.
Ranma
I felt a strange sense of vertigo as I sank down in the furo, almost completely submerged. My skin crawled with that sense of wrongness, a numb acceptance that I never had words for in both lives until…
Fuck.
I rubbed my knuckles into my skull, trying to block out the noise, that dull ring of static growing louder.
My name was Saotome Ranma, but that wasn't all that I was. A surge of memories spilled forth, filling my mind. Memories of another world, of another life, and of this world through a screen.
I flexed my arms, feeling the smooth transition from relaxed to hard as steel. Coordinated and bearing more power than I ever thought possible.
I have some big guns, don't I?
A toned body, dense and strong, everything a man would want, everything a man should be according to Pops.
And I hated it.
There was supposed to be relief that I was back in the body I was born in, but I couldn't lie to myself anymore. I remembered falling into that cursed spring, those strange giddy feelings, the euphoria of feeling right for the first time. A golden glow of euphoria I had masked with anger and rage, and buried with our trip back to Japan.
It was a feeling I could have kept buried if it wasn't for the insight of that other life. A life where I had also lied to myself about being a boy, about being happy with being a boy. One where I had been on a journey to become who I wanted to be, until it was cut short by…
Something.
Then and now I was the same person, just with new experiences shaping who I am.
I wasn't going to let anyone tell me who I'm supposed to be anymore.
I growled, my anger surging at the idea. I was Saotome fucking Ranma, and—
“Ranma, is it okay if I come in?”
Oh shit.
“I, wait a moment, Akane!” I protested in a high voice.
“I'll wait?” Akane sounded confused.
I dove for the sole faucet in the room, letting power flow into my muscles.
Cold water splashed on my face as I skidded along the wet floor, and I shivered as mass slid away in a flare of magic. I filled out, hips flaring, waist narrowing, fat and muscle moving as bones shifted very slightly.
I turned off the faucet, wrapped my body in a towel, and jumped up onto the ceiling, fingers gripping the ceiling. I scurried upside down like a spider with tits, cracked the door open, and dove through.
“Ranma?!” Akane was staring at me like I had gone mad, and I hid my burning face.
“Washroom is free, gotta go! We’ll talk downstairs if ya want!” I slipped down from the ceiling, still marveling at the elegance and ease.
I ran off like a coward regardless of gender, the air parting around me as I charged into the guest room. Without a second thought, I shut the door behind me, my chest heaving with exertion and horrible, gripping anxiety.
If there's one thing I don't miss, it was how much dread and anxiety I had then.
I slid down the door with a groan, gripping my head tightly as it all came crashing down.
My name was Saotome Ranma, I was the heir to the Saotome side of Anything Goes martial arts. A poor, stupid fool with far too many accidental fiancees, with a thousand wacky adventures yet to unfold.
I was also most definitely not a boy, not with what my old memories were telling me, and what my feelings were telling me.
I dropped my head.
“Fuck.”