Series Title: Glory Days
Story Title: Orchid in Full Bloom
By Horosha
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Viz Communications and Kitty Productions
If you have any comments, my email address is:
V_Bashaw@hotmail.com
WARNING: This is an adult fanfic so if you are under the age of 18 or you don't want to read a work that contains adult situations and content, like sex and violence, stop here.
Forward: A while ago, a friend of mine asked me to write a Ranma fanfic where Ranma voluntarily choose to be a full girl. In other words, Ranma decides to stay female. Now anyone who has read Ranma fanfics know, this is a common theme in many of them, but in those, Ranma is either forced to be female by some outside influence (as in Girl Days) or Ranma was originally a girl at birth and was forced to be male (as in Genma's Daughter). I have yet to find one where Ranma choose to be female was made of his own free will.
So I'm giving it a shot.
Chapter Four: Gotta Knock A Little Harder
With a few phone calls, Nabiki arranged for her employees at school to collect notes, assignments and tape the teachers the two Tendo and sister-in-law Ranma would need, the mercenary girl giving her standard excuse for her absence, which strangely or maybe not so strange the school staff accepted without questions.
Nabiki peeked into the bedroom of the newly wedded couple, grinning at the how Akane's arm had slipped under Ranma's pajama top, while one of the redhead's hands had slipped to the youngest sister's bottom.
"Kawaii.."
Nabiki turned to the source of the whispered voice, "I was hoping for less clothes and more skin, Oneechan."
"We both know Ranma is a gentle...gentlewoman, who wouldn't tax Akane's endurance, especially in her condition."
"I'm still curious about how Ranma's curse was changed."
"Ranma will tell us in her own time."
Ranma licked her lips, cracked her eyes open, "Onee...Nabiki-chan...you two as bad as Happousi," she looked at Akane, who was still slumbering, "what time is it?"
"We got plenty of time," Nabiki answered, "I'm going to brush my teeth."
"I will have Akane's tray ready for you to take up to her, Ranma-chan," Kasumi slid the door closed.
Ranma looked at Akane's face, enjoying the soothing look on her face, before realizing where her mate's hand was resting under the redhead's pajama top, "And she called me pervert," then her baby blues go wide when she noticed where her own hand was located, "maybe our subconscious are na?"
Ranma tried to move, but a whimper came from Akane, "Iie...stay here...nice teat..." the redhead shivered at the slight fingering of her right nipple.
"Akane-chan," Ranma moved her hand from her lover's rear, stroking her back, "are you hungry?"
"For you..." the sign of movement under Ranma's pajama top where Akane's hand was located, "yummy."
"Yare-yare, you know Tofu-sensei said we had to wait."
"Spoilsport."
"I'm sure we can soon."
"Hope so...stuck in bed...dribbling...so boring."
Ranma blushed and finally slipped out of bed, pulling her pajama top firmly down, noticing the teasing expression on Akane's face, despite her eyes close, "Is it normal for Tendo girls to be so horny?"
Akane giggled, opened her eyes, "I did wait until I was married like a proper girl," her dark eyes shining, "I just want what is due me from my lovely groom."
"I don't know, some might think I'm the bride and you're the groom," Ranma leaned down, kissing Akane's lips, "Tomboy."
"Womanizer."
Gorilla girl."
"Harem owner."
Another loving kiss ended the playful name-calling, allowing Ranma to slip out of the bedroom on her crutches. Nabiki grinned at the sight of the redhead doing handstands on her wooden legs as she made her way down the stairs, "Going to start offering Martial Arts Crutches ne?"
"You know me, Nabiki-chan, I never do anything easy," Ranma righted herself once on the bottom floor, "besides I need to be able to use these things for more than walking."
Nibiki blinked, "Nani?"
"Xain Poo and the two Kuno coconuts," Ranma reminded Nabiki.
"I see what you mean," Nabiki frowned, "and Kuno hasn't bothered me about either you or Akane."
"I doubt that is going to last for much longer," Ranma began to make his way across the living room to the kitchen, this time using the crutches as she should.
"Agreed," Nabiki wearing a dark purple business suit, with a stickpin in her purple and black necktie, "the Kuno family has quite of bit of influence with city hall."
"So you believe your old boyfriend is going to be there?" Kasumi asked, placing the traditional Japanese breakfast on the kitchen table while the pair sat.
Ranma's jaw dropped, "Oneechan, that was a long time ago," Nabiki’s tone showed she was very annoyed at Kasumi, "we haven't been an item since Kuno's mother died."
There was a shared look of sadness between the two sister, Ranma decided to change the subject, "Onee, I think you're going to need to keep a close eye on Akane," the redhead accepted a bowl of rice from Kasumi, "she is getting antsy and might try to sneak out of her room."
"Akane was always like that," Kasumi joined Ranma and Nabiki at the table, "even when she was sick, I had a hard time keeping her in bed," she poured the tea for them, "only Tofu-sensei could keep her in check."
"Barely," Nabiki popped a boiled quail egg in her mouth, "you think Akane is a tomboy now. She was a bigger one when she was little."
Ranma nodded, took a sip of her miso soup, "How’s the plan for the dojo expansion going ka?"
"The plan should be ready by the end of this week," Nabiki nibbled a piece of fish, "what we are doing today will get the ball rolling."
"Which reminds me," Ranma looked at the kitchen clock, "we're to meet Momma and Ukyo here or at city hall?"
"Here," Kasumi replied, "it was a good idea for Nodoka and Ukyo to spend the night together, getting to know each other and Ukyo calling sweet Kotastu so he wouldn't worry about his employer."
"You think Kotastu will catch Ukyo on the bounce?" Ranma watched Kasumi add cream to her tea.
"Hard to say," Nabiki replied, "when she first got here I did a background check on her," the middle sister reached into her purse, pulling out a tiny notebook with Ukyo's name on it. After a few seconds, she said, "Ukyo's mother died in childbirth, the father owns a chain of eateries in Kyoto and has a family there. I sent a letter to him to let him know Ukyo was in Nerima, he replied he had no daughter named Ukyo."
Ranma's chopsticks broke in her right hand, her eyes flashing with anger, "Usunoro".
"Ukyo stayed at a Catholic orphanage in Nagasaki after Genma abandoned her and went to the Catholic junior high school there, where she excelled," Nabiki turned pages as she talked, "her IQ tests show she has genius intelligence, but her social skills were non-existent, with a note in her file about her refusal to wear the girls uniform, opting for the boys uniform. The psychologist at the orphanage wrote about a seething rage within the young Ukyo and believed it was caused by her abandonment and the verbal abused she suffered in elementary school in Kyoto."
"A Catholic orphanage?" Ranma munched on a piece of her grilled fish.
"Of the Christian organizations in Japan, the Catholic Church is the largest and the most organized," Kasumi answered for her sister, "going back to the seventeenth century, when Jesuit priests brought the religion to Japan."
"Uaa?" Ranma expressed her surprise by Kasumi's knowledge, "Onee, you studied them?"
"Western medicine was brought here by the Jesuits," a dainty smile on Kasumi’s lips, "so the Catholic Church is a part of my studies," a slip of her tea, "even with the prosecution of Christians during the Shoganate and the atomic bombing of Nagasaki during World War Two, the Catholic Church is a thriving entity in Japan, with churches, charities, orphanages and schools. In fact, its success has spurred reforms in Shinto in an attempt to counter not only the Catholic success but also the success of other Christian groups as well as cults that mix Christian, Islam, Buddhist and Shinto together, like the Shinning Path."
Ranma nodded slowly, trying to look like she understood what Kasumi told them. Kasumi grinned, "Now back on the main subject," she looked at her own writing, "Ukyo best classes were Physical Education and Home Economics, especially cooking and was so good in Japanese traditional cooking, she won contests, worked at festivals and dinners for visiting dignitaries."
"I remember Ukyo telling me she went to martial arts cooking...Oi!" Ranma jumped at a firm handclasp upon her right shoulder.
"I've been sneezing all the way here," Kasumi giggled at Ukyo’s remark, the tall girl and Nodoka seeming to appear like magic. Ukyo spotted and snatched Nabiki's notebook, "Oh...someone did a little ninja work." The tall teenager quickly paged through the little black book. Nabiki giving her big sister a dirty look, the middle sister sure Kasumi saw the newcomers entering the kitchen behind her and Ranma, "I will say all of this is true...Un...Mother Superior said that of me? I always thought she thought of me as a violent tomboy." Ukyo was wearing a black male kimono with white kanji of the Kunojo clan on the right shoulder, "Dekashita, Nabi-chan," she complimented Kasumi before giving the notebook to Nodoka, "Here, Okachan."
Ranma grinned at the way Ukyo addressed Nodoka, "You look naked, Uu-chan."
"Nani?" Ukyo looked herself over before she noticed Ranma’s baby blues was looking where the handle of her king-sized spatula would be visible, "You mean my Ichimonji, Ran-chan," she chuckled softly, "I figured security at city hall would get nervous at seeing it slung on my back."
"To say the least," Nabiki sounding a little soared due to the loss of her little black book.
"Oi...what's this, Uu-chan?" Nodoka pointed at an entry in the purloined notebook.
"So ka?" Ukyo looked at the entry, before smiling, "Hai, its true. I'm Christian," her amusement touching her dark eyes, "although Mother Superior always called me her wayward lamb."
"Kohitsuji?" Nabiki grinned like a cat getting squirted milk from a cow's teat.
"Hitsu-chan according to your notes," Nodoka answered, while Ukyo rolled her eyes.
"I much prefer Uu-chan," the tall teenager got a bad feeling as Nabiki's grin grew.
"I better take Akane's breakfast up to her," Ranma finished her food and stood up.
"Can I come, Ran-chan?" Ukyo asked, her fingers fidgeting, "I could carry the tray for you."
Ranma glanced at Nodoka, who smiled, "Okay." Ukyo accepted the tray with the breakfast on it, Kasumi smiling at her. The pair left the kitchen and headed up the stairs, "You're getting good on those crutches, Ran-chan."
"Tofu-sensei is absolute about me staying on them," Ranma curled her legs so their heels touched the nap of her neck, using only the crutches to go up the stairs.
"Pretty flexible even with the inflated case on one leg," Ukyo kept her voice cheery.
As Ranma was about to knock on the door, Akane called out, "At last! I thought I was going to starve."
Ranma slid the door open, "So I'm a bad wife, starving her poor hubby," Ranma smiled, hobbling into the room, "but I did bring a visitor."
"Uu-chan!" Akane smiled as Ukyo stepped inside, "You look so dashing."
"Arigato," Ukyo blushed at the comment. She gave the tray to Ranma once the redhead was seated, "You look good, Aka-chan."
Ukyo fidgeted as she stood, Akane smiled, patted the bed, "Please sit with us, Uu-chan. After all, you're going to be Ranma's sister."
A sensation of warmth replaced Uyko’s awkward feeling, the tall teenager sat on the bed by Akane's knees, "I'm sorry about what happened at the wedding."
"I don't blame you for that, Uu-chan," Akane bit into a rice ball, pickled red cabbage filling in the center, "we all fell for Nabiki's schemes."
"Ditto," Ranma agreed.
"I'll bet you have butterflies in your stomach," Akane quickly finished off the rice ball.
"It's better than what I felt yesterday," Ukyo smiled at her friend, "at noon I thought I lost my only chance for a family, but I found another chance offered to me on a silver platter."
"Good," Akane's winked at them, "I was worried I was going to lose my only friend from Ranma's harem."
Ranma rolled her eyes, Ukyo chuckling, "You did lose a friend but you got a sister-in-law in return."
Akane sipped some of her miso soup before eating some grilled perch held by Ranma with chopsticks, "You going to keep the okonomiyaki shop ne?"
"I thought to at first," Ukyo watched how much affection showed in the newlyweds eyes for each other, "but after what Nodoka told me about Ranma's plans last night, I'm thinking of closing the shop and using my savings to help with the expansion of dojo, if it is alright with you two?"
Akane smiled, nodding, while Ranma grinned, "Sure, more the merrier," the redhead, turned to Ukyo, "Could you take over, Uu-chan. I gotta dress-up for city hall."
Ukyo nodded, accepted the tray and held it on one bent knee so Akane could reach the food, "I figured Nodoka will need help with the cooking and cleaning should the dojo really take off, since Kasumi is going back to school."
"Kotastu can come too," Akane enjoyed the showing off of Ranma's sexy body once the pajamas are off.
Ukyo grinned, "Helping Cupid are you, Aka-chan?"
"We all know Kotastu has the hots for you, Uu-chan," Ranma hopped over to the new dresser added to the room, getting out a pair of blue silk panties and matching bra, "and you're both are cross-dressers."
"Maybe..." Ukyo looked down a little, "I need to first take care of what is on my dish before getting second helpings," the martial arts cook smiled when Akane's right hand squeezed her hand, "besides the adoption, helping Nodoka with all the family holdings and school, I won’t have time to dip my toe into anything romantic with Kotastu." Ukyo looked over her shoulder, blinking owlishly at the outfit Ranma was putting on, peach blouse with ruffles at the cuffs, neck and down the middle, dark orange vest and mini-skirt, "Very kawaii, Ran-chan."
"Hai," Ranma sighed, although her old expression of wearing anything girly wasn’t there, "Momma picked it out for me specifically for the city hall appointment," she hopped back to the bed with a peach stocking and one black heelless shoes, "I'm surprised she didn't try it with her."
"I said no, told her it was a matter of honor," Ukyo told them while Akane finished the remains of her breakfast, "so she got out this kimono," she motioned with one hand, "Nodoka said it belonged to your...our grandfather, a family heirloom," she grinned, "I like it."
"Looks really good on y..." Akane burped, causing the others to giggle, “gomen...really does,” she blushed.
Ranma slipped on the peach stocking, the shoe and stood up on one leg, "How I look wa?"
"Peach ice cream ready to be licked," Ukyo teased.
"Yare-yare," Ranma giggled before putting on the white Easter bonnet, adding to her cuteness.
"It looks really nice on you, Ranma-chan," Akane took two caplets of her meds with a glass of water.
“Oi, by tonight I’ll be Tendo Ran,” Ranma came back to the bed.
Ranma kissed Akane softly on the lips, the bedridden teen kissing back, gently rubbing mouths together, "You two are so lucky to have each other," a tone of envy from Ukyo.
"You're find your Prince Charming, Uu-chan," Akane grinned, "I'm lucky my rode in on a panda."
The three giggled as Ranma and Ukyo departed.
********
Location: Nerima City Hall, Nerima, Tokyo
If a casual onlooker or a tourist walked by Nerima City Hall, he or she might have thought a couple and their relatives had come to get a marriage certificate. The redheaded girl looked so cute in the peach-colored outfit, a sympathetic feeling might be felt at the sight of the blue inflated case on her right foot and the crutches she was using. Next to her stood a taller teenager in a black kimono with long black hair and dashing features. With them was an older woman wearing an elegant kimono and another teenage girl wearing a plum-colored business suit with one hand holding a briefcase, wearing a dark purple business suit, one obviously the mother of one of the couple while the other could be a witness, maybe even a lawyer.
Ranma's eyes look about as the group neared the front entrance, causing Nodoka to ask, "Looking for someone, Ranma-chan."
"Okasan, me and Uu-chan," her gaze shifting to the roofs, "some of the students at our school are weirdoes."
"Oi, especially the captain of the kendo team and his little sister," Ukyo was showing the same alertness, "their father is the principal at Fuurinkan High School."
"The sister goes to Saint Bacchus's School For Girls," Nabiki clarified as the glass doors slid open automatically.
"My old school," Nodoka sounded pleased, "then you are talking about the twins, Kuno Tatewaki and his sister, Kodachi. I was in the same homeroom as their mother and Akane's mother."
"Don't tell me Akane's mother was related to the Kuno clan," Ranma had a bad feeling.
"In a way," Nodoka had a pleasant look as she lead the group towards the information desk, "you see twins are genetic. The Kuno twins’ mother and Akane's mother were twin sisters, both came from the Tsukino clan."
"People of the Moon?" Ranma's baby blues got wide, Ukyo looked confused while Nabiki let out a sigh of relief, "You mean I'm related to Moonies?"
Ranma's jest broke the ice, getting Ukyo and Nabiki to relax. At the information counter, they got instructions to go to the adoption room on the fourth floor. The city hall was very old, dating before World War Two with stylish Roman staircases and antique elevators of glass and Neo-Classical iron working, the elevators even had an attendant to operate each one, who doubled as a tourist guide, explaining how Neima's location on the north-western part of Tokyo helped the district to avoid the fire-bombing of the last great war. Once in the room, there was a middle-aged man with a couple of assistants. He smiled at the group, his gray eyes seem to linger on Ranma a lot and he was pleasantly surprised to find the young man in the kimono was a young lady. They helped fill out the forms, with Ranma and Nabiki signing their names and using their seals.
"Welcome to the Tendo clan, Tendo Ranma," Nabiki smiled as she placed her copy of the adoption papers into her briefcase, "hopefully this stops the endless trek of fiancées seeking out Ranma Saotome."
"Hai..." Ranma was a little distracted, she watched as Nodoka and Ukyo signed the adoption papers, adding their seals to the document. The redhead smiled as her biological mother stood on her toes to kiss the right cheek of the tall teenager, who blushed and hugged her new mother, "Hai..."
"You're a big softie," Nabiki's tone wasn't nasty.
"Jus’ the way I'm made," Ranma went over to Ukyo, giving the cross-dresser a hug, "nice to see you, Kunojo Ukyo."
"Arigato," Ukyo grinned, "Ran...neechan."
As the foursome left the room, Ranma noticed someone slipping around the corner, "Oh-oh."
"Trouble?" Ukyo became alert.
"I thought I saw Kuno's ninja lackey, Sasuke," Ranma stared at where the figure disappeared, hoping it was just her overactive imagination
"We better get your name changed toot sweet," Nabiki lead the group down the stairs to the next level, entering the room there. There was a long line at this place and it took an hour to get Ranma's name changed to Ran.
“So how does it feel to be an orchid instead of a wild horse?” Nabiki added the copies of the official name change to her briefcase.
“Maybe he should’ve done it earlier,” Ukyo playfully poked Ran in the ribs, “after all orchids are unisex.”
“Aaa...” Ran rolled her baby blues yet grinning at the teasing.
"Now to the marriage department," Nodoka happily commented.
"That is what I was afraid of," Ran's mood changed, her gaze darting everywhere.
"Your Spidey Sense going off?" a hint of fear in Nabiki's voice, she had learned from long experience to trust her new sister's instincts.
"Great," Ukyo growled, "and me without my arsenal."
"Is something wrong?" Nodoka patted her kimono, frowning a little due to having to leave her katana at home. She paused for a moment to let the others set up a mobile defensive position before moving on to the doors leading into the marriage department.
"We'll soon find out, Okasan," Ran felt vulnerable, wondering what was setting off her subconscious instincts
No ambush at the entrance, the doors opening smoothly at Nodoka's touch. Four pair of eyes swept the room. Once more the room showed its age, heavy oak tables and dividers, over-stuffed chairs, walls done in Neo-Classical styles with gold frills surrounding murals and statures. The ceiling was one massive painting showing the perfect wedding, with the guests wearing a mix of Western and traditional garb. The only part of the room that looked changed was the far area opposite the entrance, where a man wearing an elegant pressed suit, stood next to a virgin white diadem with large vases of white roses and lilies expertly arranged. The young man looked expectedly at the newcomers, giving the impression he was granted the authority by district government to do marriages on the spot, for those who wanted to avoid the expenses of a wedding hall, some of the groom families going so far as to do both wedding ceremonies, Western and Shinto.
There was something about the young justice-of-peace that bothered Ran, but she couldn't put her finger on it. The group following Nodoka to an empty service window, a young lady wearing a conservative dress with her dark hair done in curls smiled at them, bowing politely, "How my I help you?"
Ukyo was the fourth wheel of the group, so her eyes continue to scan the light crowd in the room, while Nodoka replied, "We are here to register a marriage."
"The name of the couples?" the assistant took out the proper form, picking up a pen.
"Tendo Ran and Tendo Akane," Nodoka motioned to her biological daughter, "My daughter, Ran, decided to go with a traditional adoption to the Tendo family."
There was a puzzled expression on the assistant pretty face, until she spotted Ukyo in the male kimono. The office lady smiled, "Where is the marriage to take place or did the couple want to use our services?" Her gaze shifted to the young man waiting patiently.
"Iie," Nodoka replied, smiling, "My daughter has already married her fiancée in bushi tradition," Ran held up her hand to show her wedding ring, a token of her marriage. The assistant looked startled at Nodoka and then at the redhead before her young eyes fell on Ukyo, once more thinking the bishoren man was the new husband and the mother used the wrong word. "Also, Tendo Akane had an accident and is currently bedridden under a doctor's care," Nabiki handed a couple of documents to Nodoka, "this is Akane's permission for me to sign the marriage certificate in her name as well as her seal," she placed the seal on top of the document, "and this is a statement from Tofu-sensei, who is the treating physician for Tendo Akane."
The female assistant checked the documents carefully, her eyes once more returning Ukyo, changing her opinion about availability of what she assumed to be a pretty boy. Finally coming back to Nodoka and Ran, "Although it is highly irregular, we do recognize the traditions of our ancient customs," she smiled, "you may sign for Tendo Akane."
Nodoka smiled and took a piece sticky paper held between two pieces of wax paper. The sticky paper had Akane's signature on it, so the older woman carefully affixed it to the document before she applied Akane's seal in the proper place.
Ran watched her mother, but there was nervousness in the martial artist’s gaze, even as it came her time to sign her name and place her seal mark on the marriage certificate. It was pure reaction on her part, bending backwards her body, pulling the marriage certificate with her as a twelve-inch pike buried itself in the countertop where Ran's head would have been.
The assistant flew backwards, her eyes bulging at the black spike, which looked like a single rose, thorns and all. The air of the room filled with the swirl of black rose petals as well as an insane cackle. Ran glared at the iron rose, growling, "Kodachi."
Nodoka's hand went to the folds of her kimono where she would normally hide her katana, again feeling regret at leaving it home. Nabiki dodged and fell to the floor, using her Anything-Goes training to hide under the closest table. Ukyo was dropping to a battle stance, which saved her from getting a tip of a wooden bokken jabbing into her left shoulder. She hadn't seen the justice-of-the-peace at the diadem pull the training weapon out of the tall vase of roses, Ukyo's attention pulled to what almost happened to Ran, preventing her from seeing the blur of the man moving on them from the side, only her reaction allowed the wooden sword go over her shoulder, the sting of friction where it rubbed viciously against her neck and cut off a few stray locks of her hair.
Without her weapons, Ukyo fell back on her hand-to-hand training plus some of the techniques she had picked up from watching Ranma and Akane. With her left hand she grabbed the knot of the attacker's tie. With her right hand she cupped the black-haired male's left armpit. Twisting her body, using her lesser height to her advantage, she pulled him off-balanced, over her right shoulder, sending him into the floor in a classic judo throw.
"Kuno-chan," Nabiki shook her head in disbelief from her position under the table, while Ukyo jumped away to avoid Kuno's wild swing, "you dingbat."
"VILE HARLOT!" From a hidden door up in the ceiling dropped Kodachi, "I will not allow you to marry my sweet Ranma," her ribbon snaked out from her baton to snag one of the antique brass chandlery hanging from the ceiling, "his pokochin is only meant for me!" As the ribbon went taut, pulling Kodachi out of her dive, into a swing, her left hand unleashed a storm of phallic paper cutouts at the redhead.
Ukyo landed on top of the table Nabiki was hiding under, slipping a little in her wooden geta, "Saotoome Ranma! You demon sorcerer!" Tatewaki stormy eyes glared at the cross-dresser, "you have gone too far with your depraved spells, using them to bending the will of the Pig-tailed Girl, the siren of my heart," his front foot slid forward, preparing charge so he could deliver a two-handed overhead strike, "to wed you!"
"You dickhead Kuno!" Ukyo grabbed up a fistful of free fountain pens from a jar on the table, "I'm Kunojo Ukyo!"
"You weave your spells with your lies!" Tatewaki inched closer, "I only know Kuonji Ukyo," shifting the point of his bokken, "another poor girl you have used your enchantments on to strip her femininity, to caged her in masculinity for your perverted whims!"
Ran was about to use her speed technique to deflect the paper flying dicks with her hands, when she noticed the metallic gleam of their wings, "Kuso..." Immediately the redhead used her crutches in a spinning action like the blades of a helicopters. Many of the missiles imbedded themselves in the crutches or deflected into random directions, but there were too many. A boiling angry risen from the depths of her growing female psyche, her ears hearing the shedding of cloth and the random tugs on her cute dress by the steel-sharp paper, "My Momma brought that for me!" Ran disliked the dress when it was brought yesterday, disliked its cuteness and feminine style, but now was different. The pig-tailed girl vaulted into the air, leaving the ruined crutches behind as she flipped over the countertop, her hand yanked the iron pike out of it and threw it as she landed on top of the counter on one foot.
Kodachi smirked as the black rose spike missed her by a mile, then her expression turned to shock as the razor sharp thorns slash through her ribbon and left her once more in the tender mercy of gravity.
Tatewaki changed at Ukyo, which caused Nabiki to go pale and scramble out from under the table to crouch behind brass floor lamp, just as the team captain smashed the piece of oak in two with a downward swing of his bokken. Ukyo twisted her body as she leap into the air, using the spin of her body to lunch her own attack with the ink pens, "You're gotta knock a little harder!"
The young man expected the attack, lashing the air with his wooden weapon to smash the pens. Unknown to Tatewaki the pens were the old-fashion type, given for free to visitors. As such each of the sliced shells exploded into clouds of ink, covering Tatewaki's face and blinding him.
Ukyo grinned with contempt as Tatewaki slashed with his bokken recklessly underneath her. The only problem for the cross-dresser was the second shadow she spotted growing and merging with her own shadow. Due to being in descent, the longhaired teen could only arch her back and use her arms and chest to catch the falling Kodachi, knocking the wind out of both of them. On the bright side, someone was going to break their fall so nether girls would be hurt...much.
********
Nodaka's Home, Nerima, Tokyo
"I can't believe the twins have grown up to be such hellions," Nodoka complained, while fussing over Ukyo. The black kimono was gone, with the tall teenager wearing white boy shorts and simple cotton bra.
"It looks like you going have to do your cooking with your left hand," Doctor Tofu sat next to the bed, "luckily it is only a fractured support bone that runs along the top of your shoulder. You will be able to go to school but you will need to keep your right arm in the sling for at least one to two months na."
"At least Kuno-sempi broke your fall, Uu-chan," Ran sat in a chair by the entrance, wearing a pair of black tights, a crimson blouse and a light orange sweater tied around her waist, "as well as his sister's fall." The redhead looked over the room, "This looks very nice, Okasan. I'm glad you're putting my old bedroom to good use."
Nodoka smiled at the compliment, "I'm glad it is once more being used by my new offspring," she leaned down, kissing Ukyo on the right cheek, "even though she isn't from my womb."
"Okachan," Ukyo blushed at all the attention, her simple nightwear allowing everyone to see the spread of her rosy tint, "I'm glad all the legal eagle stuff is over with."
"For now," Nabiki stood in the entrance to the bedroom, sipping a mug of tea, “while everyone was busy with the ambulance and the medics, I was able to get the plans for the dojo expansion registered in the building department. The next step is for a meeting with the building commission in the near future.”
“As long as we gotta ball rolling,” Ran grinned.
“Despite my shoulder aching under that hellcat,” Ukyo gave Ran a crooked grin, “I did enjoy the sight of you hoping on one foot, Ran-neechan, trying to yank your skirt down as much as possible to prevent a free panties show ne.”
“Ne-ne, I remembered Ran-chan giving free tit shows,” a wicked look coming from Nabiki, “especially when Hoppousai was around.”
“Everyone’s a comedian...” Ran saw the puzzled look from her mother, sighing, “I was use to gonna bare-chested as a guy and once I got over the shock of lookin’ and feelin’ girl tits on my chest, other gals bathing with me ‘cause they thought I was a girl,” she shrugged, “I sorta got use to it, so it wasn’t until my first challenge fight with Mousse I realize Akane was right ‘bout perverts.”
“Ano...it is manly for boys to be that way,” Nodoka smiled, “what the Americans say, ‘boys will be boys’.”
Ran rolled her eyes, “It’s jus’ I’m a girl now, so maybe I need to be more ladylike,” her expression far from ladylike, “ya know...modest.”
“That would be a new leaf,” Nabiki grinned, finishing her tea.
"Hai," Ukyo nodded, before her gaze shifted to Ran, "You and Nabiki should head home to give Kasumi and Akane the good news."
Ran nodded, kissing Ukyo on the cheek where Nodoka had, "See you later, Uu-chan."
Ja ne, Ran-neechan," Ukyo winked at the pair.
Once the group left the bedroom, Ran using the new crutches Doctor Tofu brought for her, Nabiki asked, "How are the twins?"
"Kodachi was lucky, her gymnastic training allowed her to escape with minor cuts," Doctor Tofu cleaned his glasses, "Tatewaki on the other hand ended up with a cracked skull and will be staying at the Nerima Hospital until healed."
"Most distressing," Nodoka sadly spoke, "it is clear they suffer the lack of a mother's love and guidance," the mother lead everyone to the front door, "what sort of father do they have wa yo?"
"He spends most of his time in Hawaii," Nabiki answered.
"A real coconut," Ran added.
"It is a ruin of children that they have no parental influence to take care of them and to guide them and even discipline them," Nodoka lamented, "it is obvious to me, they have slipped into a world steep in their own fantasies."
"They both seem to hate their father, especially Kodachi," Nabiki observed, "and Tatewaki barely tolerant him."
"It must be their mother's suicide," Nodoka opened the door for them, "maybe I should visit the twins."
"Be careful, Okasan," Ran's face showed her concern, "they are both dangerous and violent."
"I will carry my katana," Nodoka patted her kimono where the hidden blade is located. The mother softly kissed Ran on the cheek, "I'm so proud of you, Ran-chan. With each day your invincible spirit, your sense of honor, your ability to adept and your wiliness to bear the burdens of others, leaves me with a glowing warmth within my heart."
"I had a lot of help, Okasan," Ran blushed while Nabiki and Doctor Tofu looked on, "Ja ne."
********
