Chapter Text
Tokyo. 1994.
Twenty-three year old Ranma couldn't quite believe it. He was back in Nerima.
Spring break had begun for university students all across the country and that included the young, pigtailed man - but it was especially most awaited because he got away with vacation from part time work as well. Martial arts was his life, almost as if it ran in his bloodstream, but work was work. He needed a break from teaching the basics four times a week at the local martial arts kids studio when not drowning in his class assignments. Graduation was on the horizon - the last thing Ranma needed was a mental breakdown.
The morning air was light and crisp as Ranma strode along the concrete sidewalk carrying his backpack and both hands in his pockets. He could've tightrope walked on the fences but he wanted to take in all the surroundings and soak in the nostalgia. Four years away from Nerima felt like an eternity for Ranma.
The past events leading up to this point in his life seemed a little inconsequential at the moment, but back then they shattered his world for a while.
It was a few months after he and Akane had both turned eighteen. They still weren't officially dating yet despite being betrothed years before. One emotional, private moment together led to another, and before they knew it they were laying in Akane's bed at midnight, naked and having taken each other's virginity.
Thus conflicting emotions came forth for the two. Out of sheer happiness Ranma could have leapt ten feet in the air at any moment's notice and not give a damn about any violent suitor, bloodthirsty rival, and panty stealing thief. At the same time, "what now", and "what are we?" nagged at the back of his brain. Akane didn't fare any better; she juggled having to feel both ecstasy from the physical passion she experienced and guilt from engaging in premarital sex.
Despite this, many months after that they ended up sneakily and hurriedly doing it a second time in the Tendo family dojo.
In what felt like a blink of an eye, Akane went on to pursue her university studies several cities away, vaguely hinting at Ranma that she needed to "sort her thoughts out," and put their engagement on hold. Not called off, just on hold.
How the hell was a then just turned nineteen year old Ranma supposed to digest all that? It felt like a gut punch to him at the time.
Another year came and went. Most people in Nerima seemed to have moved on with their lives and so did Ranma. There was no true heartbreak to get over. No closure needed. All he and Akane did was sleep together twice. Gotta move on like the rest. The pig-tailed boy would've never imagined he'd be accepted into a university through their varsity scholarship program, specifically in martial arts, naturally. The world was his oyster at that point, and his pops seemed supportive enough.
~
Tokyo. 1993.
"Oh shit, I'm so sorry, I didn't know Ranma already had a girl in here-"
"KATY. Relax. It's me. Ranma. It's my fault I... didn't tell you sooner."
Ranma also would've never imagined he'd end up having a one night stand with a foreign exchange student by the end of his junior year. She had a surname he hardly remembered because he couldn't pronounce it in the first place. She was proudly British American but that didn't mean much to Ranma. All he knew was that she was hot when he had his beer goggles on and thank god she was still hot the next morning as she stood in only panties and his t-shirt, her mouth agape, eyes staring at Ranma's naked female body in the shower.
Ranma had to give the foreign girl credit. Katy already had to deal with several culture shock lessons every week, and now here she was getting her mind blown as the red-haired, pigtailed girl (wearing a tank top and boxers) carefully narrated the origins of her curse in a manner not unlike explaining a medical syndrome.
"... Okay. I'll take your word for it," Katy sipped her cup of coffee that Ranma had graciously offered when she had managed to gather her bearings and sit on his dorm bed. "It's not as if we're gonna date anyway. This is... none of my business."
"I can prove it right now. I got my hot water since I made you coffee. Hold on," Ranma didn't feel content with Katy's almost unphased reaction after she had calmed down. Almost as if Ranma wanted to prove a point that she was still male Ranma (which she was) but also to shock Katy still. Like a magic trick perhaps.
And so the redhead poured moderately hot water over herself, holding the kettle over her head. Shape shifting immediately, a taller, raven haired male Ranma stood in front of a flabbergasted Katy, soaking wet, steam rising from all over him.
"Woah. Just like that, huh? You said this has been going on for quite a while?" Katy crossed her gorgeous, muscular legs, her face slowly showing amusement.
"Yup. You could say I've gotten pretty used to this shit. Can't deny it's helped me in some ways."
"Uh-huh. Like in what ways?"
"Uhh... Just really specific situations. People are easier to manipulate when you're a cute girl. Maybe you know that."
"True. I just thought you meant... sexually," the blonde tilted her head curiously.
Even given the circumstance that Ranma and the foreign girl were currently in together, he still blushed like mad. He knew what Katy meant, or at least had an idea, but he also didn't know what she meant at all.
"Uh... Whaddya mean 'sexually'?"
"Oh come on, Ranma. You get to switch between having a dick and a vagina? That's crazy. Haven't you ever tried... experimenting as a girl?" Katy's green eyes looked incredulous, as if Ranma held the answer to all of life's mysteries but didn't want to share it.
"No. I'm straight," Ranma flatly stated, mentally fighting off flooding memories of the many times he had masturbated in his girl form.
"Okay, I'm straight too. But if I were you? Hmm... well I'd transform into a guy, right? I think I'd try sleeping with girls to see what it's like," by then Katy had stood up, picking up her strewn clothes and seemingly preparing to leave.
"You would? Even if technically you're really a girl?" Ranma found himself drawn into the conversation more than he would like to admit.
"Yeah! But I like sex with guys as a girl. Well, if they're good at it. And pleasuring myself is amazing," Ranma averted his gaze to his dorm wall, knowing fully well what Katy was on about; his own female orgasms from self-stimulation used to leave him, er, her, breathless and lightheaded.
"Studies show that the clitoris is way more sensitive than the penis. So... think about that." Katy winked at Ranma. Now he was wondering how much more powerful his girl form's climaxes would be from... actual sex.
" Your bag is over there by the door," again, Ranma's voice was still a bit monotonous, mostly out of awkwardness. Katy had been struggling to locate her purse, which she had drunkenly let fall to the floor when they were making out the night before.
"Oh, there it is! Thanks, Ranma." By then the foreign exchange student had already quickly put her clothes back on and looked halfway decent.
"D'you want me to walk you back to your dorm?" Ranma offered politely.
"Nah, it's okay. I can manage. There aren't many students out this early anyway," Katy was already by the door, her hand on the knob.
"Hey... Katy?" Ranma spoke up just as the blonde opened the door to step out.
"Yeah, Ranma?"
"Uh, was I good? Er... last night?"
Katy gave a quick nod, "yeah, you were decent. Take that as a compliment because I usually don't remember much after having drunk sex."
"Oh, okay. But uh... when you said I oughta 'experiment' in my girl form... did you mean by myself or... like what we did?"
"Hmm," Katy pressed an index finger to her cheek. "Whichever suits you, I guess. What's important is that you feel safe - if you're gonna do it with someone. I know you're a martial artist and all, but... if you ever decide to do it... it should be a comfortable experience where you won't have to end up defending yourself. Oh, and use a condom, or, uh... you know what I mean. Contraceptives. Safe sex and all that. We used one last night! Anyway, your girl version is adorable. Take care of her."
Katy's last words left Ranma speechless as she closed the door and left.
There was something about the way she chose her words. Clearly distinguishing his cursed girl form apart from his true male existence. "Take care of her." Was this a western thing or something? Something about that "individualism" crap? Anyway, Ranma never listened during history and social science classes.
Shortly after, the pigtailed man wolfed down his breakfast with a tired brain and scarcely any coherent thoughts.
~
Like instinct, Ranma found his way to the Tendo house without needing to look up directions, chuckling quietly to himself while thinking of a certain peer who would've totally lost his way by now trying to get to the very same destination.
Ranma had used a payphone on campus to ring up mister Tendo weeks before, asking for permission to stay a couple nights in the small guest room he and his pops had always used to share. Unsurprisingly, the older man was quick to give him a go.
The Tendo house was uncharacteristically quiet this time around. Mister Tendo was an empty nester of sorts. Upon Ranma's arrival, he and the older man enjoyed two hours of chatting over tea; Kasumi had moved in with her fiancé, doctor Tofu, and Nabiki went straight for law school right after college (most everyone incorrectly assumed she'd enter business school).
"Help yourself, my boy. This was always home to you anyway. You'll have to manage your meals on your own, though," mister Tendo waved to Ranma as he walked away and disappeared into one of the house's many hallways, leaving behind a faint smell of tobacco.
Despite all the chaos of the past that occurred in the Tendo home, Ranma did indeed feel at ease in it.
~
Ranma awoke at the crack of dawn, immediately feeling the weightlessness of knowing he was on vacation. His early rise called for a good work out in the dojo and a jog outside.
Half an hour later, after stretches and a brief solo training session, Ranma hit the public road once again, picking up a decent speed for his jog.
Nerima always had a certain charm to it - something in between urban and country side. Soon, Ranma encountered fellow joggers along farming fields, apparent that he was naturally much faster than all of them as he whizzed past the civilians without even trying.
It had been a couple of minutes when the pigtailed man realized he was now quite a long way away from the neighborhood of the Tendo house. Slowing down his pace, he admired the rising sun and landscape. City buildings could also be seen from a distance.
Then, in the corner of Ranma's eye, something caught his attention. Some feet away, tending to farm crops was the peer that crossed his mind from the day before.
Ranma's greatest rival, Ryoga Hibiki.