Akio wasn’t used to girls hanging around, not since his falling out with Kodachi. He hadn’t been particularly charming before, so he only had a couple of girl friends, but after she started pursuing him other girls gave him a wide berth in case they attracted her ire. Unfortunately the other boys were too busy hanging off her every word, so when she challenged them to defeat him in combat he lost most of those friends too.

  It made his freshman year of high school a somewhat lonely experience, to say the least.

  Today, however, he had two girls come stand at his desk, staring at him with expectant curiosity. “Hiroko, Asami…hi?” He had to know why they were here.

  Hiroko leaned in, her freckles suddenly dominating his field of view. “Tell us about Ranma! We met her right before she saved Kodachi!”

  Before Akio could try and formulate a response, Asami joined her friend. “Ranma told people she was living with you! Is that true?”

  They were referring to Ranma as “she” and “her”, so Akio had to be careful what he said. Shifting into what he thought was a cool, casual mode to deflect suspicion he deployed some obfuscatory lines to stall for time. “The whole school is talking about Ranma, what have you heard so far?”

  As the girls recounted what they’d heard — mostly just the things Ranma had confirmed that morning at the pool — Akio offered a little bit of clarity when he thought it would help. His hope was that it would cause Ranma as few problems as possible when he eventually got to school, so he mostly tried to emphasize Ranma’s martial arts skill, minimize anything girly, and head off any obviously fanciful stories about monsters and gods in China. Though he did remember that little story about a giant boar that’d been threatening a village or something.

  Little did Akio realize that he was now subject to the scrutiny of a high school gossip machine, and what he thought was an impenetrable poker face was instead a clear blush as he clammed up; what he thought was talking up Ranma’s martial arts skill was flustered praise; what he thought was ensuring people wouldn’t think of Ranma as a girl gave the impression that Akio thought “she” was a tomboy — and half the school believed he was secretly pining for Kodachi already because she was a tomboy — and therefore Akio’s type.

  What also didn’t help was how he would often pause after they asked a question, blush a little harder, then too-quickly drop a canned answer. By the time the teacher came in, Hiroko and Asami were certain the two were dating.

  For the rest of math, Akio was left to try and sort through his feelings about Ranma’s newfound popularity and the fact that Akio was right next to ground zero. He remembered the fantasy he had about Ranma before he’d walked in on her— him in the bath. It was important that he reconfigure that fantasy, make sure it reflected the reality of their situation.

  Firstly, that Ranma was, without question, a boy . He’d made that abundantly clear, no matter how his muscles moved the same under his skin in both forms, no matter how big and expressive his eyes were, no matter how his pigtail bounced when he giggled, no matter how how Akio’s tank top and boxers had hung off his body this morning—

  Agghhh, no, that was just making things worse. He’d only known Ranma for about a day and he was already doubting fundamental aspects of his identity. Instead, he’d focus on the fact that Ranma — before he even got to school — was already incredibly popular. Akio would be dealing with Kodachi’s Horde for the rest of the year while Ranma was gonna be swarmed by girls. Or worse, the Horde wasn’t even gonna bother him anymore because Kodachi’s attention was gonna be on Ranma and then Akio wouldn’t have anyone .

  “ Mr. Tendo, are you paying attention? ” Came a resounding, sharp reprimand from the teacher. “Are the trees really that much more interesting than my lesson?”

  Before anyone had a chance to sarcastically respond in the positive, he resumed lecturing. Akio, meanwhile, was dealing with a pit that recently opened up under his stomach. His subconscious had one more parting shot for him before he focused on class as he remembered what he’d seen this morning as Ranma sat on the engawa wringing out Akio’s tank top.

  Hana doubted her decision to manipulate the poor Saotome boy into cooking with her after picking him and his father up from Dr. Tofu’s. Though now that Mr. Saotome’s arm was in a sling she would need the extra pair of hands if she was going to make food. Dr. Tofu had been inspecting Genma when Hana arrived and the cute, clumsy doctor bent it entirely the wrong way when she’d announced her arrival. Katsumi hurried her and the Saotomes out, assuring her that their examinations had gone well.

  She didn’t pry, but Ranma didn’t behave like things had “gone well”. He was visibly fuming the whole time — at least partially because he’d upturned an entire boiling kettle on himself without waiting for it to cool down — brusquely answered any questions with as few syllables as possible, and glared at the ground in front of him with his arms crossed.

  Once they arrived at the market she sent him off to get rice so she could stay back and question his father about it. “Ah, well, it turns out that Naoki recommended he wear bras in girl form. He, uh, didn’t take the revelation well.”

  Naoki had actually explained his plan to her last night after dinner. She knew he never would have suggested that, so what was Genma talking about? Ranma got back carrying several heavy bags of rice and Hana realized she’d have to deal with his posturing, performative masculinity for a few hours.

  “Ranma, you had a long morning and your father’s injured, you don’t have to help me cook tonight,” she offered in a way that let him save face.

  He perked up at that, and was dangerously close to grinning, but he didn’t immediately accept either. When he was thinking deeply about something he acquired a manic energy that reminded Hana a lot of Katsumi. “I can see you’re thinking about it. Since you’re already here, I hope you’ll at least help me with the groceries, and if there’s anything you want to make for us you can pick it out.”

  Each of her sons had at least tried cooking before and developed a favorite or signature dish — the less said about Akio’s the better — they enjoyed cooking. She hoped Ranma, self-described martial arts master chef, would be motivated if he had something similar.

  The sinister smile on his face made her immediately regret that decision. “Oh, that’s a great idea Mrs. Tendo, thank you. I learned how to make a Sichuanese dish that everyone will love .”

  Genma interjected before he could run off and start gathering ingredients. “Maybe we wait until my arm heals before making anything too… advanced , Ranma?”

  The boy pouted but agreed, muttering something about how “they probably won’t have the right peppers anyway.” Hana felt like she’d dodged a bullet.

  Naoki didn’t know what Kodachi was up to, but he didn’t like it. In the middle of their last class of the day together she suddenly pulled out a letter-writing kit from what he assumed had to be the 1600s and started composing something . When their teacher asked what she was doing her response was, “The only course of action left to me!” in a tone that allowed no disagreement.

  He had a horrifying suspicion it had to do with what he told her at lunch and didn’t want to get involved, so he readied his bag just before the bell, planning to make a dash for the door.

  The martial artist, class president, and hockey team captain was entirely too fast for him however, and she caught his wrist before he made it two steps. Whirling around, she pressed the immaculately handwritten — hand brushed really — letter into his hands. “Naoki-san, heed my words: Deliver this message of apology to thou future…new houseguest. I await her response tomorrow.”

  Without waiting for Naoki’s response she walked away. He stood there, grateful he hadn’t done anything to make any martial arts experts mad at him.

  Ranma perched atop the wall surrounding the Tendo’s home. Ultimately he was too mad to help in the kitchen and took Mrs. Tendo up on her offer. That meant he’d probably have to suffer through another evening of bland food but it couldn’t be helped.

  Unfortunately, just sitting there waiting for Naoki to come home didn’t make him feel any better. For one, he didn’t have a plan or anything like that. He wasn’t even really sure why he should care. He knew he should be mad: another boy had told him to wear a bra, he just used terms Ranma never heard of to describe them so he’d look like an idiot when he eventually asked someone. His dad didn’t even know what they were!

  The other issue is that he didn’t have anything to keep his mind occupied so he just ended up thinking , a dangerous prospect, first about Naoki. He couldn’t let himself reconcile the boy who tried to trick him into crossdressing and Naoki- sensei , who gave him the tools to shape his body no matter what form he was in.

  That in turn led to him wondering if the “binders” he’d been given were bras as well. They didn’t look like the few bras he’d seen — the binders looked like tank tops and the sarashi were just strips of cloth — but he wasn’t sure because apparently bras could have innocent-sounding names like “athletic supporters.”

  Before he could spin his wheels pondering that, he switched to thinking about Kodachi. His dad’s voice echoed in his mind as he considered how differently things would have gone if he’d been a guy when they first met. He knew he was a handsome guy, but would Kodachi like his lithe physique if a beefcake like Akio was what she normally went for?

  Probably not. Ranma was built like Naoki, who Kodachi was equally close to. For a chick like her it seemed weird to go for the younger guy if you were at all interested in the older brother.

  …Was it weird to think that? He was just trying to think through things from other peoples’ perspectives. It wasn’t that different from anticipating an opponent’s moves in a fight, right? Except this was in a social situation? If he considered how Kodachi thought about him the way she met him today, for instance, where all she saw was a girl cozying up to the guy she liked. Maybe if she wasn’t such a possessive harpy she wouldn’t scare him away to someone like Ranma. That was something she might think about herself, right?

  His musings were interrupted by the sound of the front gate opening. Shooting straight up he glanced over the side of the wall and saw the tops of Naoki and Akio’s heads coming through the gate.

  “Hey Naoki- sensei !” He leapt down in front of them, which turned out to be a mistake. Akio was apparently a bundle of nerves and right as Ranma’s toes touched the ground Akio’s foot collided with his stomach, sending him careening into the garden and rolling to a stop in a bush.

  Breath thoroughly knocked out of him, he could only listen as Naoki ran over exclaiming “Hells Saotome, what was that about? Damn near gave us a heart attack! I’m only 17, I’m too young to go into cardiac arrest!”

  Ranma blinked and Akio was helping disentangle him from the leaves and branches, and to his horror he felt the enormous Tendo lift him up like a bag of rice instead of just assisting him up like a reasonable person would. The fact that he was doing it while Ranma was a boy was even worse, ‘cause now he knew Akio was strong enough to pick him up like a toy regardless of what shape he was wearing.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Ugggh lemme go you lummox!” He squirmed and rolled out of Akio’s hands, wobbling on his feet as he landed.

  “Sorry for trying to help, man,” Akio held up his hands. He didn’t tell Naoki, but he’d sensed violent intent before he realized it was Ranma. Saotome would get one chance to explain himself but Akio’s defenses were up.

  Wiping himself off, Ranma regained his focus, took a deep breath, and glared at Naoki. For a moment his mouth wiggled while he tried to find the words, and the Tendos weren’t sure exactly what he was gonna do.

  “Why did you want me to wear a bra!?” Was what he finally settled on. Akio turned crimson and was grateful neither of the other boys were paying attention to him.

  Naoki blinked before matching Ranma’s aggressive energy. “I recommended you wear a sports bra, idiot! Do you not know the difference?”

  Akio did not want to be present for this conversation but had to stick around for Naoki’s sake. He really didn’t need the image of Ranma’s girl form wearing just a sports bra and shorts. He’d seen Kodachi in those a handful of times before they stopped hanging out and it never really phased him, but picturing them on Ranma had an entirely different effect on him.

  “A bra’s a bra, ain’t it?” Ranma bellowed. Naoki was a little taller than him, so getting right up in his face wasn’t as effective as it could have been, but he hoped his volume and intensity would do the trick.

  Naoki didn’t want to be angry. He figured Ranma was gonna have this reaction last night, and now at least he had Akio to make sure the firecracker wasn’t going to hurt him. It would be difficult, but if he kept his cool and focused he could keep things from escalating further.

  That being said, Ranma seemed like the sort of guy who didn’t understand a lot outside of violence and shouting. “No! There’s like dozens of types, most of which just provide support and protection. And I know guys who wear them!”

  Something in Ranma broke and his face went slack. That last thing Naoki said didn’t make sense. Bras were clothes for girls. Guys wouldn’t be wearing them. But Naoki said it confidently, possibly truthfully. “...What, like crossdressers?”

  The middle Tendo son sighed, gently pushed Ranma so the kid wasn’t in his face anymore, and clapped his hands on the boy’s shoulders. “No. No, you dumbass. Men with boobs, kinda like you have to put up with but they have to do it all the time because they didn’t find a magic spring to fix it for them.”

  Ranma wanted to shout back about the springs being cursed , that nobody would want this to happen to them, except for the part of his brain that was taking up all the available processing power trying to understand what Naoki was even saying.

  Naoki waved his hand at Akio to leave. He could manage from here. “Ranma, buddy, bro …ehh, no don’t like that one. I’m sorry that I wasn’t more upfront with you. We were short on time and I wanted you to feel good about yourself. Did you at least feel good about yourself?”

  Ranma nodded in response. He had felt good, he felt in control. A whole universe had opened up for him. Hell, he hoped he’d get a chance before he started going to school to get some clothes for himself, put together a wardrobe, figure out what he liked. “Yeah, I just…it felt weird knowing you wanted me to get girls’ clothes.”

  Okay, it was time to use this card. “Ranma, clothes aren’t for men or women. Clothes are marketed to men or women, but they’re just pieces of cotton and plastic arranged a certain way.”

  He needed to tie this to martial arts somehow, needed to find the right metaphor…damn he’d need to talk to Akio about catering his lessons to fit Ranma. “Oh! Okay no, this is perfect. Anything Goes Martial Arts.”

  “Huh?” Ranma was confused at the apparent change in topic.

  “What do our families’ styles have in common, Ranma? Other than the whole ‘created by a petty thief’ thing, I mean.” Naoki knew he could get to him like this. “I know Akio knows like a dozen different martial arts styles but he’s picked out the best parts of each and improvises what to use based on the situation. Is it no longer Anything Goes just because he throws in some…aikido or Jeet Kune Do or…Hamon? Sorry, he got all the martial arts genes in the family, I hope I’m making sense.”

  In fact, Naoki was finally making sense, the most sense he’d made to Ranma so far. “Oh…Oh! Yeah! Naoki- sensei I’m getting it. It’s like Anything Goes…Fashion Arts!” If Naoki’s lesson from the previous night opened a door for Ranma, this new revelation knocked down the whole damn wall. Yesterday he no longer felt like being in a girl’s body had to define him, but now he realized that he had access to the best of all worlds.

  He was gonna be unstoppable.

  Naoki saw the realization dawn on Ranma’s face and worried that he’d birthed a monster. “Not the name I’d pick but I’m glad you get it!” And I can finally unclench, this kid would flatten me .

  As they headed inside, Naoki remembered Kodachi’s letter and fished it out of his school bag. “Here you go, Ms. Kuno called this a letter of apology and hopes you’ll respond tomorrow.”

  Ranma took the folded paper, admiring the brushwork but frowning at the way Kodachi had spelled his name. “She wrote it as ‘orchid horse’. That doesn’t even make sense.”

  “Who spelled it like that?” His dad said, catching only the end of the conversation as they entered the living room. He was playing shogi with Hana again.

  “That Kodachi chick sent me a letter of apology. Haven’t read it yet, just complaining about nothin’.” Despite his grousing, he always enjoyed when people made that mistake. Complaining was just a way to call attention to it.

  Lady Ranma Saotome,

  First I wish to apologize for mine boorish behavior this morn and for disparaging thine lineage. Thine actions prove thee to be of noble heart and integrity, and thine skill is unassailable. I hope in the coming years our friendship blossoms into an indomitable fortress and that I have the opportunity to demonstrate mine skill to thee in a more honorable match.

  Perhaps the opportunity will be tomorrow, for I wish to challenge thee to a proper duel. After the events of this day I understand if you refuse, but know that I will challenge thee again on the day thou step foot in Furinkan as a student.

  Yours, Lady Kodachi Kuno, Black Rose of Furinkan

  Ranma put the paper down. “This lady is wordy ! And insane; Akio, how did you put up with her for so long?”

  Akio, who was walking past the room in his gi on the way to the dojo, had no context and gave Ranma a confused look. “Who are we talking about?”

  “Ehh, never mind, don’t worry about it,” Ranma waved him off and leaned back into his hands. He’d have to go to school tomorrow to turn in his registration form. His dad had filled out everything but the gender space just like he’d promised.

  Honestly, having gotten a proper challenge letter was pretty exciting. And Kuno impressed him. Though he wondered if she’d still want to be friends if she knew…which reminded him.

  Mrs. Tendo and his dad were in the middle of a game so he waited until they hit a break. “Um, Mrs. Tendo, can I ask you something in private, please?”

  “Of course Ranma, let’s go to the kitchen. Mr. Saotome, please reset the board.” Genma grumbled as she’d won the previous couple of games.

  “What’s on your mind, sweetie?” She worried the epithet was too familiar, too girly, or too infantilizing as soon as she said it, but he took it in stride.

  “Uh, so…I’m considering going to school as a girl. I’ve already talked to my dad and he said he would support me. I just wanted to know what you thought.” He was sure she was going to say no. Maybe even feel disgust.

  Instead, Hana began pouring two glasses of cold barley tea, a thoughtful look on her face. “Do you mind if I ask why you’re considering it?” She was legitimately curious, not understanding why a perfectly healthy, attractive young man like Ranma would want to present as anything else.

  However, she had a secret, an impulse that she hadn’t shared with anybody, that she was terrified would impact her judgment, that she was ashamed to even be thinking. She always wanted a daughter, it’s why they’d tried for a third child, something she’d never even told Soun.

  She never stopped thinking of Ranma as a girl. Her first impression had been of a lost little thing, fiery yet polite, who immediately got along with her youngest. There was chemistry there, even after the Saotomes’ curses were revealed.

  Raising Naoki taught her about the diverse world of gender and gender presentation, so she was determined to keep that urge in check. It’s why she had gotten so frustrated when Ranma flounced around topless this morning. Yet here she—he was asking her permission to…live as a girl.

  Sipping his glass slowly to gather his emotions, Ranma thought about how to answer. She was supposed to give him a Look, accuse him of being a pervert, or at the very least say it wasn’t a good idea. Did he give people the idea that he liked being girly? Between Naoki telling him to wear a bra, Dr. Tofu refusing to write down a single letter, his dad giving him advice, and now Mrs. Tendo’s curiosity he wondered if there was a sign on his back.

  “Well, three main reasons.” He would be as honest as he could, at least with the first two. “People already know me as a girl, they saw me save Kodachi from drowning and swarmed me with questions. Then some of the other…some of the girls came up and were super impressed with me.” People had been impressed with his martial arts skills in the past, but he always got the sense that they were happy to be impressed from a distance. The girls he’d met today were impressed and wanted to know more about her, about him .

  “Some of them even asked if I would teach classes. Girl classes. I don’t wanna disappoint ‘em, and based on the few guys I met while I was there I get why they’d want that.” He didn’t know if Akio taught classes or anything like that, but he imagined the two of them running the dojo together, teaching a Unified Anything-Goes style to all comers. He’d never thought of himself as a teacher but he pictured herself standing proud shoulder to…well, pecs with Akio, proudly beaming at a collection of students.

  “Also, Kodachi seems to respect me, at least if that letter meant anything.” He pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to Mrs. Tendo. “I doubt she’d issue me a direct challenge if she knew I was a boy. Did she ever challenge Akio?”

  Hana shook her head as she read the note. “No, her methods against boys are usually indirect. I don’t know if it’s because she thinks they’re stronger than her or because she thinks she’s too strong for them, but either way I’ve never seen anything like this.” Part of her hoped that Kodachi would leave Akio alone now that he was living with a gir…another boy with comparable skill.

  “I’m worried that if she thinks I lied to her she’ll do something like that to me, or at least make my life way harder.” Memories of middle school resurfaced, well before the curse, and the way the other students in his all-boys school mercilessly teased and bullied him until he had to make them stop, only this time the instigator would be a girl he couldn’t properly fight without looking like an even bigger bully.

  He didn’t want to tell her that though. “And I didn’t have a good time in school when I was a boy.” That was the true, if vague, explanation he went with.

  Hana swirled the tea around in her glass, savoring the nutty, caramel scent before she sipped. Ranma wasn’t asking permission to peep on girls in the shower, if he wanted to do that he wouldn’t broadcast it to the two adults in his life. She remembered when Naoki had asked if he could stop going to school altogether, so afraid he was after his secret got out.

  “Ranma I’m going to say a few things that I want you to consider, but the short answer is that if this is what you want I will support you.” If only she could trust she was making the right decision. “I don’t believe Kodachi will retaliate like that if she finds out, she never did anything like that to Naoki for instance.” Ranma wondered what she meant but was too busy reeling from Hana’s support.

  “Second, and please understand I’m just making a suggestion, you’re going to want to wear a bra.” Hana made sure Ranma was paying attention. “One of the realities you’re going to have to put up with is that boys…sorry, the other boys will make a big deal out of your body. You are…your girl form is very pretty and I want to make sure you understand how that’s going to affect your experience. Girls may treat you worse as well if they think you’re…intentionally flaunting something they’re jealous of.” She hated having to explain this to Ranma, but she didn’t want her to… him to be surprised by it.

  And it got Ranma to scowl at his glass. Whether that was because the idea of wearing specific types of undergarments, the injustice of life as a girl, or some secret third thing bothered him Hana couldn’t tell.

  “I also want to warn you that the longer you go without revealing your curse — which is something that might be beyond your control — the more likely people will be to consider it a deception if it comes out.” Wine would be better than tea right now, it would explain the redness of her cheeks. But she said it, whatever Ranma’s choice would be.

  “Thanks Mrs. Tendo, ‘preciate it.” He mumbled before finishing his tea, rinsing out the glass and setting it to dry, and walking out of the kitchen.

  The groceries they’d picked up today stared at her as the only person left in the room. She glared back at them, downed her tea, and grumbled, “Definitely ordering takeout tonight.”

  Akio needed a chance to unwind and release some stress. He started with stretches and free weights before running through a few kata, some slow, some fast. Then he brought out the cinder blocks.

  As he stacked the first few he thought about Ranma again. His own frustration bothered him, he didn’t want to think badly of him, he liked the guy! Just ‘cause they’d had a connection when Akio thought he was a girl didn’t mean they couldn’t be friends now, especially since he was living with them full-time.

  Maybe that was what was really bothering Akio. Ranma would be a permanent house guest but it had barely been a day. That wasn’t time to get used to the new status quo. He focused on the stack of bricks, only four as a warmup, and let out a “ Kiai! ” as he shattered them in a single strike.

  He felt good as he wiped the sweat from his brow. That’s what he needed. However, as he turned to grab more bricks none other than Ranma was there, holding one at the ready for him. “Here you go, man,” he offered.

  “How did you—!” Akio started. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “Yeah, Saotome School. We’re quiet like that. Haven’t managed to break that many bricks in one go before though. Mind if I watch?” Something was different about Ranma. He was…small, quiet. Not in the sense that he was stealthy, that was also true, but his presence was diminished.

  Taking the brick from Ranma he started stacking and the other boy kept handing him more until he had a tower of three. Part of him wanted to give Ranma something to do that the boy just admitted to not being able to do, just to see him fail at something . But he knew that wasn’t fair, that he was being unreasonable. It shamed him, and even worse was that he didn’t understand why . Could it be as simple as having been the unquestionably best martial artist of his age group for so long, and now he was jealous someone even better had dropped out of the sky?

  It had to be that. Simple jealousy. The only other explanation is that he was mad that he’d thought Ranma was a cute girl when they first met and unfairly blamed him for actually being a cute boy, or that he was scared that he was attracted to Ranma even when he was a cute boy. And it definitely couldn’t be that last one.

  “What about three blocks?” Gesturing to the stack, Akio stepped away to let Ranma have at it.

  His new house guest didn’t take him up on his offer. He just stared at the stack. Was he deciding the best way to come at it? Inspecting the stack to make sure they were even? But he shook his head. “Nah, gotta focus ta do somethin’ like that, I ain’t focused right now.”

  Akio nodded, the other boy seemed like something was bothering him. “Okay, how about a spar then? Or you could tell me how you think I did this morning?”

  Ranma’s eyes went wide. “Holy crap, that was this morning!”

  Akio was more-or-less used to the Horde, especially on Mondays, so he just laughed at Ranma’s revelation. “Long day, huh? What’d you get up to while Naoki and I were at school? Didn’t I hear something about you giving Dr. Tofu a visit?”

  “Ehh, I don’t really wanna talk about it if that’s okay. But I do wanna spar, that sounds great.” For a moment Akio saw the same excitement in his eyes that he saw in hers yesterday and his heart skipped a beat, and for that moment he didn’t care that he found him attractive.