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 Five: Ring of Fire
Tendo Residence, Nerima, Tokyo
Akane opened her eyes slowly, her mind first detecting the softness snuggled against her, her sleepy brain putting put one and one together and found it equal two mounds of feminine goodness pressing warmly to her face. The addition of two arms and two legs gave her the perfect answer. A smile appeared on her lips and she turned her head just enough so her lips could brush against the hollow of Ran's neck, the girl feeling one of her beloved’s legs loop over her own legs, feeling those protective arms around her waist. The bob-haired girl let out a happy sound, feeling her own hands resting on Ran's bottom, making Akane feel so safe, so happy.
What broke this delicious moment Akane was experiencing? Her dainty nose caught a whiff of her own body. She was tired of being stuck in bed, being bedridden and enduring sponge baths by Kasumi and meds from Doctor Tofu to help keep her calm so could heal. Sure she enjoyed the pampering, she delighted in having Ran feed her and take care of the bedpan, and the snuggling and light kissing the couple did before in bed made everything seem so small.
This did not change the fact Akane was tired of all the pampering from everyone. After all deep down inside of her, this of the youngest Tendo actually relished being known as one tough cookie, even through she had to pay a price for it, including the buffoonery by Tatewaki and endless teasing from Ranma. Of course the teasing from Ran hadn’t stopped, instead it took on a different tenor, a more playful and endearing tone since they are now married. Still, Akane didn't want to smell manly.
Carefully Akane untangled herself from Ran. The dark-haired teen was pretty sure the redhead wouldn't wake up. Despite keeping herself in shape, Akane noticed Ran was pretty tired after the fight with the Kuno twins at city hall. Even after their defeat and Tatewaki ending up in the hospital, Ran kept waking up at different points last night, checking to make sure Kodachi wasn’t trying to ambush the married couple in bed. Such a schedule left the new Tendo female only able to mumble a compliant at losing her snuggle buddy.
On her tip toes Akane sneaked out of the bedroom and down the stairs. She heard Kasumi humming to herself in the kitchen. Akane tried to avoid any of the creaking floorboards, knowing her oldest sister had excellent hearing. Making it through the living room, Akane moved onto the veranda and down the hallway to the bathroom.
Home free.
"You shouldn't assume I would still be in bed, Akane-chan."
"Ack!"
Nabiki smirked at the surprised look on Akane's face, when the youngest sister slid the door open to the furo, only to find her sister there, wrapped in a towel with the ends tuck around the swell of her breasts, one hand holding a long-handled brush while the other had a bottle of liquid soap, "We figured you would try something like this."
Akane sighed, her ears picking up a soft giggle, which drew her attention to Kasumi peeking out from the kitchen, smiling at her sisters before going back in. Akane turned back to Nabiki, saying, "At least can we have a normal bath?"
"Of course," Nabiki grinned, nodding at the stool at the shower. Akane moved over toward it, "Oh, you better take off your wedding ring, Akane, we don't know where Ranma...I mean Ran got it."
"Good idea."
********
The scream jolted Ran out of her sleep, her body rolling off the bed and onto her feet without thinking. The stab of pain from her ankle woke her up even more. A glance at the bed showed no Akane.
The door flew to one side with Ran using the crutches to propel down the hall. She bounced off the wall at the end so she could slide down the banister on her behind, but used one of the crutches on a step near the bottom to launch herself across the living room to land on one foot.
"It came from the furo!" Kasumi came running out of the kitchen.
Ran was moving so fast even with the crutches, but Kasumi kept up with him, her motherly instincts kicking into high gear. Kasumi barely reached the bathroom door before Ran, pulling it open. Kasumi let out a gasp as she saw Nabiki holding Akane, full terror on the middle Tendo's face at her young sister in the depths of seizures, her body shaking and her eyes empty of consciousness.
"What's wrong?" Kasumi asked, moving toward her kneeling sister holding their sister.
"I don't know!" Nabiki was crying, the once proud Ice Queen completely at a loss as she held Akane in her lap.
Ran froze for a second, just long enough to spot Akane's ring finger, "Nabiki! Where’s the ring?"
"Nani?"
"The ring! Where is it?"
Nabiki looked confused, then she remembered, "There!"
Nabiki trembling hand led Ran to the ring upon an old bamboo displayer attached to the wall next to the entrance. Without another moment the redhead grabbed the ring, dropped to her knees and slip it onto Akane's twitching finger. It must have felt like forever to the three girls kneeling around Akane, but it was only a few seconds before Akane began to calm down, the seizures fading until an exhausted sound came from the youngest of the Tendo, the teenager falling into a deep sleep. A happy sound came from Nabiki, hugging Akane tight and gently rocking her sister.
"I'm going to call Tofu-sensei," Kasumi looked the picture of calm, but there was something in her eyes, when they turned to Ran, the redhead saw the oldest sister was very angry, "and you, Tendo Ran, have some explaining to do."
Ran swallowed, "Hai, Onee."
********
Location: Nerima Hospital, Nerima, Tokyo
Everyone sat in the waiting room at Nerima Hospital. The only good thing about the whole situation was Tatewaki's room was in the south wing and Akane was in the north wing. Very little chance of Tatewaki or Kodachi butting in, at least Ran hoped so.
Doctor Tofu came out of Akane's room with two other doctors. The threesome chatted for a moment, nodding before going separate ways. The thirty-something doctor came to the group, with Nodoka standing up, "How is Akane?"
"Akane is doing well for someone with extensive brain injury," Tofu sounded calm but also curious, turning to the redhead, "Ranma..."
"It's Tendo Ran, Sensei," Ran corrected, her baby blues conveying misery.
"Ran-chan," Tofu's expression was gentle, "could you tell me how I could have misdiagnose extensive brain injury as a severe concussion ka?"
Ran stood up, looking dejectedly, feeling the eyes of the others on her, "With this," she held up her hand, showing the wedding ring, "some ojiisan in the alleyway gave it to me, said it would help the one I loved, but at a price."
"As I expected," Doctor Tofu exam the band of gold, "the MRI done on Akane focused my intellect upon something like this."
"MRI?" Ran asked, while Kasumi and Nodoka came to stand each side of her, with Ukyo and Nabiki standing behind them.
"It is amazing," Doctor Tofu nodded, "to myself and the assistant doctors who watched as Akane's brain was repairing itself," his tone showed awe, "we saw the brain's nervous system re-knitting torn pathways, repair damaged brain cells and even reline parts of the brain tissue, which had been jarred out of place by the enormous impact of the explosion against Akane's body."
"Doctor-sensei," Nodoka looked concerned, her left hand gently on Ran's trembling right shoulder, "will Akane recover?"
"I can't be sure," Doctor Tofu's expression was thoughtful, "my examination here at the hospital along with the opinions of my associates, we agreed the magic of the wedding rings were attempting to keep Akane stable while her brain was repaired by the same magic," his expression became uncertain, "but when Akane removed the ring, it is clear its effects on her was removed, until Ranma...I mean Ran was able to place it back on her finger."
"Oya Maa..." Kasumi spoke softly, "how much of her memories did she lose?"
It was a struggle, you could see Doctor Tofu clamp down on himself internally as his gaze met Kasumi's soulful eyes, "Unknown, Kasumi-chan," he took off his glasses, "from the brain damage I saw on the MRI, I would have to say the initial catatonic state Akane was in kept her alive until Ran could get the wedding ring to her."
"Tofu-sensei," Nabiki handed the good doctor a handkerchief when he began to pat his doctor smock, "isn't there just a little too much luck going on here wa?"
"I agree, Nabiki-san," Doctor Tofu accepted the handkerchief, "before the arrival of Ranma and the wake of magic and supernatural events surrounding him...her," he smiled at the redhead, "I would have been very skeptical of what I'm about to suggest, despite my own studies into acupuncture and the pressure points of the body."
"Which is?" Nabiki folded her arms over her chest, the middle Tendo looking more like a patient, since she was wearing a bathrobe and barefooted. The others were dressed much like her except for Nodoka, who was wearing a dark blue kimono with the butterfly motif done in white.
"Ran-chan, when the old man told you there was a price for using these wedding rings to save Akane," the thirty-something doctor focused on the emotional teen, "what did you believe that price would be?"
Ran's baby blues shimmer, "My manhood, Tofu-sensei," her voice thick with emotion, "and I gave it to save Akane."
Nodoka squeezed her daughter's shoulder, "A noble sacrifice, Ran-chan," her eyes glowed with approval, "I couldn't think of anything greater to show your love for Akane."
"You're not mad, Okasan," Ran's turned to her mother, "I wasn't sure...givin’ something ya prized so much in me."
"If you gave up your manliness for something frivolous or swallow," Nodoka softly caressed her daughter's dark crimson hair, "I might've had you split your belly," a tiny smile on her lips to suggest this was more a tease than serious statement on her part, "but this only proves you are not only a man amongst men, you are a woman amongst women."
Ran hugged her mother tight, tears rolling from the corners of her closed eyes, Nodoka hugging her daughter back, her own eyes closed as she continued to pet those dark curls. When Ran opened her eyes, she saw Uyko looking at her. Suddenly the redhead looked away, a play of emotions on her face.
SLAP!
Nodoka stumbled back and Ran was stunned, touching her left cheek where Ukyo's backhand had connected, "How dare you." Ukyo's eyes flashed with rage, "How dare you think I would want Akane dead," her words kept everyone silent, "how many times do I have to say it? Akane is my friend!"
"Uu-chan..." Ran saw tears running down Ukyo’s cheeks.
"It was nothing more than a childish crush," the tall teenager tried so hard to keep her voice a whisper, "sure...I got carried away...all of the competition for you...even hatching plots and schemes with Xian Poo and Ryoga...but I never...ever tried to hurt Akane on my own...she...she was so much of a friend for me...she never thought of me as a tomboy...never looked down on me for dressing as a boy...acting like one."
"Gomen..." Ran hugged Ukyo as best as she could with the crutches holding the young redhead, "jus’ shows how much of a sucker I was in the whole mess."
"I'm not surprised Akane felt a kindred spirit with you, Uu-chan," Kasumi held out a handkerchief for Ukyo to use, "our little sister wasn't sure of her sexuality."
"That's saying a mouthful, Oneesan," Nabiki smirked, Ukyo accepting the handkerchief, "Akane could give a lot of guys instructions on being manly."
The dark mood was broken by the jest, Nodoka holding both of her daughters, looking at the young doctor, "Tofu-sensei, could Ran and Uyko go in to see Akane?"
"Akane was moved to a private room," Doctor Tofu put his glasses back on, "she is being kept heavily sedated until the healing process is done," he looked at Ran and Ukyo, "and while physically she wouldn't know they were they, I'm sure Akane would be happy to have them sit with her for awhile."
"Domo arigato gozaimasu," Ran's words matched the expressions of the group.
As the good doctor lead Ran and Ukyo to the room, Nabiki said, "I'm going down to make sure the hospital paperwork is done right."
"Nodoka-san," the older woman turned to Kasumi, "would you like to stay with me for the rest of the day," the oldest sister smiled softly, "I could use some help at home. I'm sure everyone will come home hungry later on."
"That sounds like a capital idea, Kasumi-chan," Nodoka walked with Kasumi down the hallway, "and I could do with something to keep me busy. I'm not as young as I once was."
"I don't know about that," Kasumi objected, her tone light, "after all you just brought a new daughter into the Kunogo clan."
Noboka laughed, "Indeed I did."
********
Akane was under a oxygen tent, an iv taped to the soft underside of her right elbow, two wires going under her hospital gown to the sensors attach to her chest, while two more where attached to her temples. While the monitor showed her heartbeat and breathing to be normal, her brainwave was chaotic, influx, with only the movement of her eyes under their closed lids suggesting anything was happening. As Doctor Tofu had told them, the two wedding rings on Akane's finger and Ran's finger used their magic to keep Akane physically stable while her brain was being repaired.
When Nabiki joined them after two hours, Ran asked Nabiki to escort Ukyo home, the redhead noticing Ukyo was showing fatigue probably due to her current injured shoulder. The tall teenager protested but the redhead promised to let everyone know if Akane's condition changed. Uyko sighed but agreed, but getting an addition promise from Ran for the teenager to go home once someone took over her watch.
It was only after Ran left Akane's room for a bathroom break, sipping a cup of tea she had accepted from a hospital volunteer, did the redhead change her direction in the hallway. Soon she was in the other wing of the building. She checked at the nurses' station to see if she could see Kuno Tatewaki, telling the head nurse she was a school friend. A younger nurse guided Ran to the private room, checking in first to see if Tatewaki would like a visitor. Once Ran was given permission, she entered while the nurse left.
"So you have come to see your fallen paladin," the upper part of the bed was elevated so Tatewaki could gaze on Ran, his upper shoulders, neck and head held in traction by a padded steel cage, "I have failed you, my pigtailed diva, for while my spirit was great, my body was susceptible to the fowl illusions of Saotome Ranma, blinding me with darkness to cowardly strike me down."
"Kuno-senpai," Ran rolled her eyes, "after all you have gone through at Ranma's side against the Phoenix King, can you really believe that anymore wa?"
Tatewaki looked like he was going to argue the point, but then he sighed, "What difference would it make now?" A look of defeat on his young face, "you are now married to the perverted sorcerer."
"Iie," Ran was wearing a purple housecoat over her silk pajamas, "the person you mistook for Ranma was really Ukyo," surprised showed on the man's face, "Hai, Ukyo told you the truth, she was renounced her ties to her father's clan."
"Then Ukyo is a member of the Kunjo clan?" Tatewaki tried to smile, but the metal brace only allowed a slight twitch of the corners of his lips, "There is hope for her then. Kunjo is a cadet branch of the Kuno clan."
"Tell me about it," Ran muttered. Then she coughed into her hand when Tatewaki frown, "Ukyo was accepted in the Kunjo family by my mother, Kunjo Nodoka."
"But I thought you had the same name as Saotome Ranma?" Tatewaki looked confused.
"Due to the estrangement between my parents caused by my father's idiocy, my mother officially returned to her parents family, returning to her maiden name," Ran was trying to keep it as simple as possible, for her own understanding as well as for the older teenager.
Tatewaki's eyes flashed with insight, then they dimmed, "Such a foolish knight errant was I, to think I was defending you against some demonic magician, yet both he and you are my distant cousins. I have been negligent in my duties as head of the Kuno family."
"It's alright Kuno-senpai," Ran kept levelheaded, "I only found out about all this after I married Akane."
If it wasn't for the steel brace, Tatewaki's jaw would have popped off, "You married Akane..." his eyes as big as saucers, "then you...and her?"
"Hai!" Ran gave a big cheesy grin, lifting her hand up, spreading her fingers wide so Tatewaki could see the wedding ring, "We're a couple of rezu!"
Suddenly a cackle of laughter sent a chill up Ran's spine, her baby blues almost as wide as Tatewaki's eyes at the sight of Kodachi gracefully coming from behind a hospital room divider. The redhead hadn't noticed a corner of the private room isolated by the movable curtain. In one hand she held a textbook, her dark eyes full of mirth, "Oh my poor brother dear," she moved on the tips of toes, "was it the sight of your dekachin that drove your two love interests into each others’ lustful embrace?" The pleated skirt of her school fuku billowed to mid-thigh as she turn to face the redhead, "Do tell me, is Akane the otachi of your marriage," Ran bristled at having Akane called a bull dyke, "and you are her Chidori-chan?"
"I'll show you who has a funny walk," Ran growled as she unglued from the spot where Kodachi's laughter had frozen her. Then the young redhead stopped, remembering where she was, "Iie...this is the wrong place and the wrong time to fight you, Kuno Kodachi," spotting the black-haired teenager draw her head behind herself, "for I am the bearer of sad news for you."
"Nani?" Kodachi had dropped into her gymnastic fighting stance.
Ran cleared her throat, trying to gather up all of her ability of pretence, "I am also here in the capacity as a former member of the Kunojo clan, to inform the head of the Kuno clan, Kuno Tatewaki, of my joining of the Tendo clan, changing my name to Tendo Ran," she kept her tone formal, "and of the death of the young man who once shared my name, Ranma Saotome."
"Iie..." Kodachi's face was so white, the contrast of her uniform and black hair making it look chalky, "it can't be..." her numbed fingers dropped the thorny rose she held behind her back, "how?"
"The explosion at the abandoned school several days ago," Ran masked herself behind the formality, "it was a trap created by the male Amazon, Mousse. Ranma didn't make it out."
Tears came from Kodachi's eyes while her legs folding underneath her, followed by sounds of sobbing. Guilt wrenched Ran's stomach, she opened her mouth to say something, but Tatewaki interrupted her, "Go, Tendo Ran. Go now," a stern expression on the young man's face, “I do not want you to see my sister like this."
Ran thought for a moment, her expression once more formal as she drew herself up, bowed to both brother and sister, and left.
********
"I wish I was there with a camera to preserve Tatewaki's expression for prosperity," Nabiki relieved Ran at one o'clock, "at hearing you and Akane got hitched."
"Kodachi was there too," Ran felt sick to her stomach, barely able to eat the rice balls Nabiki brought for her. Nabiki also brought Ran a fresh pair of undies, a cherry pink blouse, some white ankle socks and a pale orange skirt that goes down the her feet.
"Now I really do wish I was there," a predator smile on Nabiki's face, "I'll bet Kodachi had a cow when she heard of the demise of her sweet Ranma."
"Give me a break, Nabiki-neechan," Ran put down the rice ball, the pair sitting in the hospital cafeteria, "you know how much I hate to lie."
"Don't be a wet blanket, Ran-chan," Nabiki folded her hands under her chin, "you know as well as I do, for you to make a complete break with your past, Saotome Ranma had to die, which he has in a matter of speaking, allowing you to be reborn as Tendo Ran, the loving bride of my dear little sister."
"I know," Ran picked up the rice ball from her bowl, "but you weren't there when Kodachi burst into tears."
"Yare-yare," Nabiki shook her head, "why can a girl tears turn a steel will like yours into putty?" She reached over the small table and pinched Ran's nose, "Now repeat after me: I'm Ran Tendo. I'm a girl. I'm immune to tears."
Ran did, grinned at the end before swatting Nabiki's hand away from her nose, "Ne-ne, I understand." She spotted Doctor Tofu coming into the cafeteria, waving to him "Oi!"
Doctor Tofu waved back and joined them after getting his own meal, "I'm surprised you two are eating hospital food."
"We not," Ran started on her next rice ball, "Nabiki brought these from home for me."
"That explains the smell," Tofu took a bite of his beef tofu burger, "Kasumi is the only one I know who uses sweet apple vinegar in her rice dishes."
"How is my little sister doing?" Nabiki cleared her chin of sticky rice.
"The MRI we did at noon gave us an image of her brain's process of healing itself at the same astonishing rate," the good doctor spoke slowly, "and her life signs remain strong."
"This morning, you mentioned a possible memory loss when she took off the wedding ring," Nabiki took a sip of milk from a pint container, "how much of a loss?"
"We don't know until Akane's brain is fully healed and we take her off the medications," Tofu took a sip from her juice poach.
"But you do expect some memory loss," Nabiki's tone was edgy
"Unfortunately I do," Tofu wasn't happy being forced to say anything.
"I knew I shouldn't have told Akane to take the ring off," Nabiki blinked as the pint container was crushed in her hands, squirting milk into everyone's face.
Ran glared at Nabiki while Tofu chuckled, taking several paper napkins to dry his face, "You didn't know this would happen, Nabiki-chan," he shrugged a little, "neither did Ran. Not really. Everything Akane told me connected with her miraculous awakening was scientifically possible."
"The loss of Ran's curse should've clued me in," Nabiki mumbled, looking away, "after all I'm the Ice Queen, I'm the one who uses her brain and not her glands..." the redhead pinched her sister-in-law's nose, causing the brown-haired teen to say, "very funny."
"Nothing is ever straightforward, Nabiki-chan," Tofu damped the split milk from his tray, "Akane probably convinced Ran, at least on a subconscious level that the wedding ring only acted as a psychological catharsis on her. There wasn't any evidence of the sort of brain damage Akane had suffered. What the MRI showed us this morning was after the healing process already began."
"You're saying Akane was in a catatonic when Ranma put the wedding ring on her finger," Nabiki felt ice cold inside, "and her body was still functioning but her brain had been turned to gray soup."
"Figures," Ran drew their attention to her, "Akane thought she was still alive and like on Phoenix Mountain, she wasn't ready to die."
Tofu nodded, continued to eat his food, "At that time, the wedding rings were able to preserve Akane's memories because her spirit still held them fresh within itself. We need to be concern about the shock caused by the sudden loss of the magical cocoon around them."
"What sort of loss?" Nabiki whispered.
"We won't know until the healing process is completed,” Tofu repeated himself, "it could be zero memory loss, short-term memory loss or..."
"Or she mighta forgot this whole last year," Ran finished the statement by the good doctor.
"It could happen, but I don't think she would forget her love for you, Ran," Doctor Tofu smiled, "you see emotional bonds between couples, a daughter for her father, a son for his mother, a lover for another lover," he took a sip of his juice, "it isn't depend on only memories they nurtured together, it also depends on the psycho-biological bonds our powerful emotions create. It is why some couples fall in love at first sight, because it isn't the memories that told them they were in love, it is their emotional attraction that did."
"So even if Akane has trouble remembering everything we did together," Ran sounded hopefully, "she couldn't stop loving me wa?"
"Hai," Doctor Tofu heard the sigh of relief coming from Nabiki and hope grow in Ran’s eyes.
********
Location: Tendo Residence, Nerima, Tokyo
With Nodoka taking her shift at the hospital, Ran and Nabiki came home to the Tendo compound. They found Uyko waiting for them there, the tall teenager helping Kasumi with the cooking, "Kasumi invited me to stay here so I wouldn't feel lonely."
"It is better this way," Kasumi explained as she finished the cooking the yakitori, "Nodoka won't be home until after midnight and Ukyo has to be ready for school tomorrow."
"I wish I could dodge school tomorrow," Nabiki sounded depressed, "but I know you won't let me do that, Oneesan."
"Honto ne," Kasumi agreed, taking the baked potatoes out of the oven, "I'm worried about Akane as well, but I think Ran and Nodoka will be enough of a family representation."
"Ran-neechan, are you okay?" Ukyo noticed the silence coming from the redhead.
"Jus’ down, Uu-chan," Ran sighed while her crutches took her down the hall to the furo, "I'm going to take a quick bath before dinner na."
"Mind if I join you wa?" Nabiki followed the redhead.
"No problem," Nabiki had seen Ran naked plenty of times, so it didn't bother the martial artist.
Once the pair were inside the furo, Ran turned to Nabiki as they undress, "You shouldn't beat yourself up, Nabiki-neechan," she gently squeezed the older teenager's left shoulder with one hand, "Tofu-sensei is right, I let my guard down ‘cause I started to think everything was fine da.”
"I know," Nabiki sighed, "but I can't help thinking like this," the middle sister sat on a stool and begins to wash herself, "whenever I made a mistake before, it wasn’t this serious."
"Demo...I remember some of the lumps I took from your schemes," Ran sat on her own stool, "as for my curse not working being a clue, it's a weak clue," she wet herself down with the shower head, "’cause anything can mess witha curse."
Nabiki blinked at Ran, looking a little surprised at her new sister, "I guess you're right, Ran-chan." Feeling a little better, the teenager began to work on shampooing her dark brown hair.
********
The students at Fuurinkan High School knew about Kuno Tatewaki being in the hospital, the rumor mill even mentioned the absence of Kuno Kodachi from the private Catholic school, but it was a surprise for them to see Ukyo come to school with one arm immobilized against her chest, with an added surprise of a protective Tendo Nabiki walking next to her. Another surprise came during homeroom period, when one of the students coming from the admin office, told the class Ukyo was adopted by Nodoka, the martial artist cook now a member of the Kunojo family. Add on top of this cascade of events was Nabiki keeping a low profile, allowing her hirelings to do all the talking. When asked about Ranma and Akane, both Ukyo and Nabiki shook their heads, saying nothing.
After the half-day of school on Saturday, Hiroshi and Daisuke came to the Tendo residence. They hopes to find out what was happening to their friend, Ranma, was curbed by the even polite Kasumi telling them neither Ranma nor Akane were available. After giving each boy a bag of sweet mochi to eat, she lead them to the front entrance and waved them goodbye.
On Sunday at the hospital, Ran sat in a chair next to the slumbering Akane on her bed. Sharing Ran's vigil was her mother, Nodoka, the daughter wearing a yellow sundress while the mother wore a plain sky blue kimono with apple blossoms embroidered. Ran was reading a shojo manga Uyko had picked for her, Rayearth, while Nodoka was reading a translation of an English novel, Jane Eyre. Doctor Tofu had visited his patient earlier in the morning, when the other ladies of the Tendo residence were there. The doctors had decided to stop the medication that kept Akane in an artificial coma, because The MRI taken at dawn showed Akane's brain was fully healed. It was time for the teenager to wake up. Doctor Tofu cautioned it would take time for the medication to get flushed from her system, so Kasumi, Nabiki and Ukyo went home, promising to be back in the afternoon.
"Kami-sama..." Ran put the manga down in her lap, "so boring," she looked at her sleeping wife. The oxygen tent was removed, leaving only the wireless sensors attached to her body, "I thought I’d be on pins and needles waiting for Akane to wake up," she rubbed her tired eyes with the palms of her hands, "instead I feel...ano...tense."
"Ran-chan, why don't you lay on the bed with Akane," the redheaded teen's expression suggested her mother just grew a second head, "Go on, I'm sure the doctors won't object and I know Akane wouldn't."
Ran blushed, feeling uncomfortable about the idea of being in the bed with her mate, in front of her mother, even with the covers separating them. The girl gawked at the older redhead for a minute, getting only a knowing smile from Nodoka before she went back to reading her novel. Ran stared at her mother for a moment longer before sighing, mostly because once the cat was out of the bag, she found it strangely appealing the more she thought of it. Finally giving a shrug, Ran got up, put her closed manga on the chair she just vacated and very gingerly slipped onto the bed, trying to keep her weight from waking up Akane.
Ran laid on her side, her head resting on the far edge of Akane's pillow. Almost immediately the pigtailed girl felt an enormous fatigue hit her. She hadn't slept well the night before, coming home very late due to sneaking into Akane's room after visiting hours had ended. It didn't help Ran could hear the faint breathing of Akane, the wispy sound of tiny breaths of air exhaling, the rhythmic sounds so enchanting to listen to.
The redhead was sound asleep before she knew it.
********
It felt like only like a few seconds to Ran, but by the time her eyes open, the flames of the late afternoon sun filled the hospital room. For a moment she was sleepy, quickly the feeling changing to joy as she found Akane had snuggled against the redhead's body, each pair of arms around the other with feet touching. It was obvious Akane awoke while Ran was in dreamland and decided to join her mate in the same realm. Slowly Ran became aware of the scent of Akane's body, the whiff in her petite nostrils made her realize how much she missed her beloved. Barely able to contain her tears Ran press tighter to Akane, indulging in the sensations she missed so much.
A tiny sound Ran heard just before she felt Akane's lips touch a spot behind the redhead's right ear. A little moan escaped Ran's lips, before her baby blues widen at the hearing of someone coughing, "Akane...we're not alone." A sound of frustration came from Akane, the dark-haired girl rolling onto her back. Ran looked concern at the fatigue she saw in Akane's expression, pulling herself up to sit on the side of the bed, looking at Doctor Tofu and the other ladies of the Tendo residence, "Yare-yare, I didn't know we were holding a convention here."
"We couldn't disturbed you two," Ukyo chided from her seat next to Nodoka, "you both looked so kawaii in your snuggle time."
"I was going to start taking bets on how far you guys would go," Nabiki grinned from her seat between Nodoka and Kasumi, "before you realized you had an audience."
"At least Tofu-sensei had the sense of honor," Kasumi smiled softly, "before things got out of hand."
Doctor Tofu had moved his chair up a little so Kasumi wouldn't be in his line of sight, "I don't think things would've gotten far." His eyes focused on his patient, "You are still tired, Akane-chan?" Akane made another soft sound, nodding.
Ran's concern bloomed into worry, "Nani?" She looked at Akane, "You do know who I am?" The redhead pointed at herself. Akane smiled, nodding as she lifted her hand to display the ring on her finger. Ran sighed with relief, before asking, "But something is wrong?" A serious look showed on Akane's face, another nod.
"Akane's memories, both core and short-term, are intact," Doctor Tofu answered as well, "so the removal of the wedding ring didn't effect it," in the young man's hands was Akane's medical file, "what it did effect was her cerebral neural network. The magic of the rings allowed it to continue to work even in its severe damaged state, allowing Akane to use her body normally."
"Which means?" Ran felt Akane's hand fumble as it gripped the redhead's right hand.
"It means Akane is like a baby first learning to use her body," Nodoka tried to frame her answer in a way her daughter would understand, "and learning how to speak as well."
"The advantage Akane has over a baby is her cognitive ability to think things out logically," Doctor Tofu adjusted his glasses, "and recognize objects and things for what they are, while a baby is trying through the process of trial and error to figure out the same thing."
"I don't know, Tofu-sensei," Nabiki rubbed her chin, "Akane-chan wasn't much into brain power," the middle Tendo grinned when Akane stuck her tongue out, "I wouldn't do that, Akane-chan, seeing your tongue might trigger Ran's Neko-ken."
Akane made a unpleasant sound, which caused the others to smile, lightening the mood in the hospital room, before Ran asked, "Ano...Tofu-sensei...how long will it take?"
"It should only take Akane a month to relearn to walk and use her hands with confidence," Doctor Tofu looked into Akane's file, "learning to speak will take longer as will the more subtle things we do with our bodies like writing, drawing and martial arts."
Ran blinked at the last part of the good doctor's statement, looking down and seeing tears in the corners of Akane's eyes, "Don't worry, Akane," the redhead leaned down, kissing her beloved on the lips tenderly, "I'll teach you martial arts from the very beginning," a soft kiss to each of dark-haired girl's cheeks, "we both know you are a natural."
"I think we should leave," Kasumi got up, placed her hand on Doctor Tofu's right wrist, "Tofu-sensei, I'm thinking of going back to school and getting my high school degree," there was a mix of emotions playing over the doctor's features, "is there a good nursing school close to Nerima?"
"I agree," Nabiki got up, grinning as Doctor Tofu struggled to get words out, "I think my two younger sisters want to do some loving-dovey ne."
"To be young and fearless again," Nodoka sighed as the group left the room.
“I feel a little hungry,” Ukyo walked beside Nodoka, “I think I’ll make some okonomiyaki for everyone when we get home.”
"Kami-sama..." Ran shook her head slowly while Akane giggled, "family."
********
