What Is Manly?

What is Manly?
A Ranma 1/2 lemon fanfiction
by Michael A. Ivins

Ranma 1/2, along with all related characters are the creation and property of Rumiko Takahashi along with her publishers, anime production companies and the like. I am just borrowing the characters.

Chapter 1
Test

Saotome Nodoka sat in the guest room of the Tendo home, the lights turned off. She had a lot of thinking to do. Some of the subjects she needed to think about were the events of the day just past and what she was going to do in the future. Right now she felt she could think better in the dark.

The day had started out to be a joyous occasion. Her son was getting married to Tendo Akane. It had seemed that the feelings shared by Ranma and the youngest Tendo were obvious to everyone except the couple themselves. That had been why the parents of both children had forced the issue.

Even if the young people had not been willing before, they seemed to have accepted the preparations and bowed to the inevitable. They came to the ceremony and were ready to be married.

That was when everything started to go wrong. Others had heard of the wedding and it seemed that some of the other parties had objections. How those others had heard was a matter that was still to be determined. The real problem came in how those objections were voiced.

None of the extra "guests" was subtle enough to simply speak their displeasure about Ranma's marriage. No, these people chose violent means to express their ire. Exploding food, swords and other sharp metal objects had been seen at the wedding. Nodoka herself had been endangered. It had been a frightening experience. However that paled in comparison to what ended up happening.

It seemed that Tendo Soun, the father of the bride, had hidden away something that by rights he should have given to Ranma before the start of the ceremony. A package had been sent from China by a grateful Jusenkyo Guide. The man had wanted to thank Ranma for help he had given in putting down Phoenix King Saffron's bid for power.

The contents of the package were a cask of magic water that was supposed to cure Ranma of the curse that turned him into a girl when splashed with cold water. The package had been delivered while Ranma had been out and Soun had hidden the water away. The Tendo patriarch's reasons for doing this were still to be determined, but everyone had some pretty good guesses for the reason.

There seemed to be a great likelihood that Soun had intended to use the water as blackmail to get Ranma to go through with the wedding on the chance that he got cold feet. It was plainly obvious that he should have just given the cask to Ranma in private right away.

When the existence of the cask had been revealed, every Jusenkyo curse male in the room had tried to obtain the water for their own use. A fight had broken out and as a result of this, the cask had changed hands several times.

The aged pervert Happosai had come in to grab the cask. He had intended to drink it, thinking that the cask contained sake. He had opened the cask but before he could consume even a drop of the coveted fluid, the rest of the cursed males had dog piled on the old man and this had caused the cask to go flying.

That cask had landed right on the head of Saotome Nodoka. That the contents of the cask were as the labeling proclaimed was quickly proven. Where a beautiful middle aged woman had stood, there was now a young man who looked to be in his twenties in her place. Indeed, Nodoka looked like a more mature version of Ranma's male form.

When everyone became aware of this event, the attempt to marry Ranma to Akane was stopped. The guests were kicked out and the members of the family were left to try and sort out what had happened and what could be done about it.

Ranma and Nodoka had spoken, but he could offer no comfort to Nodoka in this situation. The letter that had accompanied the package told that the cask had contained all of the Naniichuan water that the guide was able to get. There was no way to get more from the springs, because of the flooding.

Ranma explained it. "In my battle with Saffron we damaged the source of the waters for the springs. The valley is flooded now and all of them are mixed into one big lake. I don't know if that means the magic of the individual springs is diluted to where it doesn't work at all, or if it is mixed so that it would change you into a combination of all the curses. Whichever it is, it's a pretty good bet that you wouldn't like what happened."

"No," he had said. "The water the guide sent was part of a stash of the water that had been stored away. In his letter he said that it was the last he had. I don't know if he ever had any of the girl water that might be able to cure you, but I will write to him to ask."

"What if he doesn't have any?" Nodoka asked.

"Well, there are other people who might have some." He then advised, "I wouldn't want you to get your hopes up. I can only think of four groups of people who could have any of the water, but even if they do have some, they might not be willing to share. If they did share they would likely ask some price you or I would not want to pay."

"What kind of price?" the Saotome woman asked apprehensively.

His manner grim, Ranma explained, "With the Amazons or the Musk it would probably cost my freedom. The Phoenix would likely want me dead in revenge for me killing their King."

"That's three," the older woman pointed out. "Who is the fourth group?"

"The Chinese government," was the reply. "Even if they have a stock of the magic water stored away, they would probably deny they had it. If they were willing to admit to having it, they probably wouldn't share from their supply unless they could gain some kind of political advantage."

"Is there any other cure?"

His expression sad, Ranma told his mother, "Not that I know of. Pops and I have looked for most of the time since we got cursed. None of the things we tried worked. Instant Naniichuan did work, but it is only a temporary fix to the problem and hard to come by."

"So I'm stuck changing sexes?"

"I'm sorry Mon, but looks like it," the boy said. "I'll write a letter to the guide to ask if he has any stocks of the girl water or if he knows of anyone else besides the four I mentioned who do. I still believe that a cure is possible, but I'd advise you to not get your hopes up."

The mother turned male had gone to the bathroom to look at himself in the mirror. What he saw looked a lot like Ranma, just older. His son was 18 years old and looked it, while Nodoka's male form looked about 25 years old. He was a little taller and his hair was differently styled, but they could easily pass for brothers.

He used the hot water in the tub to change back to her birth form and then left the room. When the other members of the family asked about her, she said, "I need some time alone to think about this."

Before going to the room she currently shared with her husband, Nodoka went to the kitchen. There she obtained a pitcher of cold water and filled an available thermos with hot water. She took them upstairs.

The rest of the family decided to go out for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Only Ranma stayed to be available if his mother needed any help or questions answered about what changing sexes was like. He hoped that his knowledge of the process and his experience might help cushion some of the shock from the transition.

Now Nodoka was alone in the room trying to think what she/he would do about this. In addition to what she thought about what she would do, she couldn't keep from thinking about how she had treated Ranma after she first learned of the curse.

Now that she thought about it, it seemed obvious that he had been dreadful to the poor boy. Yes, she had made a point of preaching the gospel of manliness. Ranma had to act manly regardless of what shape his or her body was. She had used that seppuku contract as the weapon to enforce that.

Now that this had happened to her, Nodoka had to wonder if such an insistence on manliness was the right thing to do. To try and be a paragon of masculinity when she had a female body had to have been a strain on her son. It must have been especially hard when she had to act manly when she was in situations where people around her would treat her as a girl.

That naturally raised the question of how Nodoka herself was supposed to act now. Would she try to act feminine even when in male form? That might not be the best idea. The public had a certain amount of tolerance of women who acted mannish, but little of that for men who acted in a feminine manner.

That she would behave womanly in her female form seemed something of a given, but should she try to act manly in her male form? That was an important question. The problem was with what Nodoka herself had deemed to be proper manly behavior.

Act manly? That was something to consider. Would he act manly in the way she had been instructing Ranma to behave. That would mean interacting with many women and if possible getting many of them pregnant. Something like that would also mean being unfaithful to her husband.

In her conversations with Ranma she had never heard any indication that Genma had been unfaithful to her. However it was also true that some secrets were being kept about the training journey. On several occasions she had heard either Ranma or Genma let slip something about the "cat-fist." When she tried to get anything more about it, and they would evade the question. They would just say it was a technique or that it was not important.

Perhaps it was time that Nodoka finally got a complete account of the events of the training journey. Such an account would include all major training techniques and it should include anything about visits Genma might have made to women. She might forgive him visiting prostitutes, because there was no emotional commitment with such women.

Then there was another question in Nodoka's mind. Would it be unfaithfulness to her husband if he slept with women while in the form of a man? After all he wouldn't be doing anything with any other men. That was something that would also require further thought.

That led to another train of thought. Would Nodoka even be able to act manly with a woman? She had seen the way Ranma reacted to any suggestion that she might be attracted to men. Such a suggestion brought a hot denial and a protestation that, "I'm a Guy!" The question that idea sparked was to wonder if those protestations of masculinity were truly inspired by disgust at the idea or if Ranma was trying to deny true feelings that he didn't think he should be having.

Would Nodoka even be able to function in a male role in a sexual encounter? That was a good question and would be one that could be tested. Suiting thought to action, she stripped off her clothing then poured some water from the pitcher on her head.

When in male form, Nodoka surveyed himself. He used the makeup mirror on the dresser and looked at himself directly. Again he noted how much this body looked like Ranma's. He looked at his sexual equipment and found that it was fairly large even when seen not aroused.

Very well, this would be the test. He would think of women he had seen in the nude. If this brought that fine piece of male meat to an arousal, then it would mean that he would be able to perform in the role of a man with a woman.

Over the years, Nodoka had seen many other women naked. There were the locker and shower rooms in school, there had been public baths. The most recent female body he had seen nude had been Ranko. On some of the occasions when Ranma had hidden from her in the guise of Tendo Ranko, they had gone shopping and Nodoka had seen the girl naked in the dressing room when she had been trying on clothing.

There had also been two occasions when Nodoka had joined the younger girl in the bathroom. She had even washed the girl's back. It had seemed odd to her at the time that Ranko hadn't gone from washing up to go soak in the tub. Now that she knew that Ranma would have changed to male and revealed the truth of the curse, the behavior was explained.

Well, if he was going to test himself... Nodoka sat cross legged on the floor and closed his eyes. While he tried to bring to mind images of girls he had seen in school and baths, for some reason he kept recalling images of Ranko. That cute redheaded girl that looked so much like Nodoka herself did at that age kept coming up.

After a while he gave up trying to imagine any other girls and concentrated on thinking about what Ranko looked like in the nude. He also thought about what it had felt like to rub her hands over that smooth skinned, muscular back. Hmm. It seemed to be working. He felt a stirring at his groin.

When he opened his eyes, Nodoka looked down. Thinking about Ranma's female form had "roused the beast." Nodoka's penis was a fine example of such organs. If Ranma's male form boasted such a member, it would likely be a true pleasure for any woman he got together with.

Why did that thought bring an additional thrill to him? Most likely because his core personality was female, even if his body was currently male. Now that he had proved to himself that he could become aroused as a male, he found it difficult to direct his thoughts into other channels in an effort to decrease that arousal.

Well, there seemed no help for it. He had heard boys talk about it when they hadn't known Nodoka had been listening. He knew the basics and had even performed "hand jobs" when engaged in sex with his husband.

With that thought in mind, Nodoka grasped his rigid member in his larger male hand and started to stroke up and down the length. What he had not expected was how good it would feel. He continued to stroke himself, experimenting with speed and tightness of grip until he found what he felt was the best. He then continued until he shot his seed out onto a towel he had in the room.

If anything were to prove that he would be able to function as a man with a woman, that was certainly it. The troubling thought was the fact that it was images of Ranma's girl form that were the most highly arousing to him. A parent shouldn't be thinking such things about their offspring. Yet it had taken some mental effort to refrain from actually calling out the name of Ranko as Nodoka was masturbating.

His musings were interrupted by a growling from his stomach. Oh, right. If the wedding had gone as planned, everybody would have eaten at the wedding reception. In the fighting, most of the food had been ruined. That meant that everyone had eaten breakfast but they hadn't had any lunch. The Tendo's and Genma were planning to eat out, but neither Ranma nor Nodoka had that option while staying home.

Nodoka got up and cleaned himself as best as he could and dressed in a bathrobe he had. None of his female clothing fit him. It seemed that he would need to go shopping the next day to get garments to fit his male form.

When he was decently covered, Nodoka left the room and went down the stairs. He found the rest of the house deserted except for the kitchen. There he found Ranma in female form puttering around, preparing a meal from odds and ends that were in the refrigerator and cupboards. It was also plainly obvious that the clever girl had managed to salvage some undamaged snacks from the food that had been prepared for the reception.

Ranma had changed out of the tuxedo she had been wearing earlier and was now dressed in her usual casual wear of boxers and a tank top. The tank top was a good fit on Ranma's male form, but on her female form, tended to show quite a lot of cleavage. The sight caused Nodoka to feel a stirring at her groin. It was with an effort that he was able to exert enough control that he would avoid embarrassing himself.

"Ranma, what are you doing?" The man asked.

"Oh, hi Mom," the girl greeted. She paused a moment then added, "Man it feels kind of strange to call you that when you look like an older version of me."

She shook her head and said, "Anyway, about what I'm doing. I didn't know how long you were going to be thinking about the change in you. So I left a note in the living room and went to the dojo to clean up some of the mess. Mostly I concentrated on cleaning up the food. I figured that any damage to the building could be repaired later. The food had to be cleaned up because it would start smelling bad before too long."

"Good thinking," Nodoka stated with approval. "I see you were able to salvage some of it."

"Yeah, some of it was still on the tables," Ranma explained. "Most fell on the floor and got stepped on and that is now in the trash. We're probably all going to need to get in there with mops tomorrow, but what I did should be enough to keep things from stinking. What I was able to save, should be more than enough to make a meal for the two of us."

"Where did everybody else go?" Nodoka had been a little out of it when they had left and hadn't really listened to their explanation of where they were going.

"They said they were going to try and give you some space," Ranma explained. "Since I have a sex changing curse, they figured I'd be the best one to help you get through this when you were ready to talk to someone. The rest of them went to a movie, then they were going to have dinner in a restaurant. Mr. Tendo said they would find something else to do to keep them busy and that we should expect them all to come back sometime between 11:00 and midnight."

Nodding, Nodoka said, "I must remember to thank them for their sensitivity to my situation."

"Yeah," Ranma agreed. To herself she had to wonder if everyone was really being sensitive. She could believe that Kasumi and maybe Mr. Tendo were being sensitive. Nabiki seemed more like she just didn't want to deal with the emotions. She had heard Akane mutter, "Great, another sex changing freak."

That last one had hurt, because Ranma had believed that Akane had come to terms with the curse and had learned to accept it. It begged the question of whether Akane had really wanted to get married to Ranma or if she had just tried to go through with it because of the instance of the fathers.

As far as Genma was concerned, Ranma believe that her old man had left the house not out of sensitivity to his wife's plight, but because he was afraid that Nodoka would hurt him if he said the wrong thing. There might also be the thought that he was slightly disgusted with the idea that his wife now changed into a man at times.

Nodoka went to the dining table and seated herself while Ranma brought in the foods she had salvaged from the wedding reception tables. Most of it consisted of a number of cold snacks and finger food. None of it had been prepared with the intention that it would be a meal, but if one ate enough of them, it would serve in that function.

After eating a few bites, Nodoka looked over at his son, now a daughter and said, "Ranma, I need help to sort out my feelings over what has happened. One of the things that I need for that is to hear about your trip."

"But Mom, I have told you about the trip," Ranma protested.

"True, but when you did so it was only in the most broad and general terms," Nodoka countered. "I think it is time that you tell me more. I especially want to know more about the cat-fist than just that it is a training technique."

"Um, I don't really feel comfortable talking about it," Ranma said.

Nodoka's expression grew troubled. "That's what has me worried. I need to know how I should feel about Genma now and how I am to behave toward him. Now that I am cursed to turn into a man, it seems likely there will have to be a change in how I interact with him and you and the rest of the world, for that matter."

"To help me decide on those matters, I need to know what happened during the training trip," He stated. "I want to hear the parts that you are uncomfortable talking about. Please."

The red haired girl took a moment to study the face of her currently male parent. She could see the seriousness and sincerity in those eyes. Finally she let out a sigh and said, "All right. I'll tell you. Please don't kill Pops when you hear. He may be a dishonorable thief, but he's the only father I have. I can't say that I really like him, but I would miss him if he were gone."

"Don't kill him?" Nodoka thought. Those parts of the trip that had been omitted had to have been worse than he had ever imagined before if Ranma had to ask that. He said, "I can make no promises on that score until I hear what you have to say. I will only promise to take no immediate action until I have heard how your father tries to justify his actions."

"I guess that's fair enough," Ranma said. "Well, I guess I should start with the one thing that you mentioned specifically. I guess you heard me and others mention the c-c-cat-fist. That started out when Pops got hold of this training manual..."

A short while later, Nodoka was literally trembling with fury. "That idiot! He used the technique without even reading the warnings? I swear to you that I will do everything I can to cure you of that condition."

"Thanks Mom," Ranma said.

"But please continue," Nodoka urged, after taking several calming breaths. "I'm sure there must have been other things about the training trip. I want to hear all of the things you avoided telling me before."

Looking decidedly uncomfortable, Ranma told of the other extreme training methods. She told of the verbal abuse, the ridicule that Genma had heaped upon her. Nodoka heard for the first time the reason why Ranma could only claim two people as friends from the training trip.

When the recounting of the events of the trip finished, Nodoka began to ask questions. From the answers that Ranma gave, Nodoka was able to piece together a more complete picture of the trip. To be sure there was training and visits to many senseis. Ranma did learn to be one of the greatest martial artists of his time.

However, there was another picture that was gleaned from the recitation of the trip. There was thievery, drunkenness and other things. There was the selling of Ranma as a groom for such things as money to buy liquor or even for so cheap a price as a single meal. It was also clear that on a few occasions, Ranma had been traded for sexual favors from brothels and other places.

It was clear that Ranma had not understood much of what had been going on at the time, but from her description of things it was pretty clear. On at least two occasions that Nodoka could be sure of and another two that he was less certain of, Genma had traded Ranma off to people who were running some kind of child prostitution operation. The only reason why her child was not still being used by those people was that Genma had stolen Ranma back from them.

On thinking about it, he had to say that "rescue" was probably not the right word for what Genma had done to get Ranma out of those situations. "Protecting his investment" might have been a more accurate description. It seemed clear that the excellence that Ranma had achieved was not sought as a benefit to the child himself, but for in the hope that Genma would be able to retire on the income Ranma would bring in.

When the questioning finally ended, Ranma asked, "Did that help you like you wanted?"

"Yes, it did," the older man stated. "From what you have told me I know that there was more going on than you were aware of."

"Huh?"

"I think there were things your father was doing that you didn't understand at the time they happened," Nodoka explained. "You have helped me to come to a decision. At my earliest opportunity I am going to divorce your father and I am going to sue for custody of you?"

Now looking confused, Ranma said, "I don't understand."

"I know," Nodoka said softly. "I'm afraid that your father has deliberately left you ignorant of many things."

"Why would he do that?" the red haired girl asked plaintively.

"I can't say for sure, but I have my suspicions," Nodoka told her. "One reason would very likely be that you would be easier to control if you were kept ignorant. That is likely why he kept you out of school as much as he could get away with. Another reason would likely be that he could tell what a basically good person you are."

At the still confused expression on the girl's face, the man clarified, "If you had known more of the ways of the world, it seems a good bet that you would have stopped your father from a lot of the things he had done during the 'training trip.' I doubt you would have let him get away with all of the lying and stealing that he did. As it is I have the impression that he cut back on such things in the later years of the trip."

"Well, yeah," Ranma said. "I mean, I finally figured out that stealing was wrong and I refused to do any more of it even if he did say it was for reasons of training. I think that if he did any more stealing in the last two years before we came back to Nerima he managed to mostly hide it from me."

Nodding, the older man agreed. "That is what I also believe. From what you have told me I feel certain that your father would go to bars and set up a tab in your name and then run out. When they tried to find him later they would be confused because the only Saotome Ranma they could find would have been a child too young to even be served in a bar."

"He did that?" Ranma was angry on learning how she had been used.

"He did," Nodoka confirmed.

"Ok, I can understand this, but how does this help you learn to live with your curse?" Ranma wanted to know.

"In truth you have helped to make things clear to me," was Nodoka's answer. "I had wondered on whether or not I could continue to live with Genma now that I have the curse. I know that I can't for reason's that have nothing to do with it."

He thought for a moment and then said, "I think that I owe you an apology as well."

"Why would you want to apologize to me?" Ranma looked confused again.

"I haven't been the best mother," Nodoka replied. "My first and possibly my worst mistake was letting Genma take you on that horrible trip. At the very least I should have place more conditions on it. I should have required him to come visit at least once a year. In such a case I would have been able to keep better track of you and maybe been able to put a stop to some of the more insane training methods he used on you."

"I didn't turn out so bad," the girl defended.

"True, but I think that was more in spite of your father's efforts than because of them," The man stated. "But there is more to my apology than just that. After you returned you were afraid of me. You believed that if I were to learn of your curse it would mean your death. I know that all of the preaching that I did on the subject of manliness confused you."

The look of confusion was back on Ranma's face. Nodoka saw that and said, "One of the things that I forgot was the fact that even if you were born a boy and had been raised by Genma, you had a girl's body. I believe that there must have been times that the hormones your girl's body produces would have you to react to things in a feminine manner."

"You're saying that I was acting girly?" Ranma sounded belligerent.

"I'm saying that you couldn't help yourself," the older man responded. "I think that you may find it confusing, but it may actually be proper for you to behave at least in a partially feminine manner when in your girl body and masculine when in your male body. By trying to fight against such tendencies you are fighting against what may actually be your basic nature."

Now looking at her male parent with an intent gaze, Ranma asked, "Are you sure your brains didn't get scrambled when you got the curse?"

"I'm pretty sure my brains didn't get scrambled," Nodoka stated with a chuckle. "When I was upstairs by myself, I tried a little experiment."

"What kind of experiment?"

The black haired man said, "Well, you need to understand that I have been a woman for 37 years. In all of that time one would think that I was so firmly established in the feminine role that just having a male body couldn't possibly change that. However that worried me because people tend to be rather cruel to men to behave in a feminine manner."

"So what did you do?" Ranma begged.

"I tried to imagine myself in a situation where I would behave as a man," Nodoka explained. "I imagined myself becoming intimate with a woman. Even with all of those years as a woman myself, I found that I did react as a man would. I became aroused."

"Uh... Mom, are you sure you want to be talking to me about this?"

"Yes, because I think this may relate to how you deal with your own curse," was the answer. "I know that any time anyone even suggests that you might feel the slightest attraction to a man when in your girl form, you automatically say, 'I'm a guy, damn it!'"

"Yeah, that's about right," Ranma agreed.

"I started to think about all of the times I heard you say that," Nodoka went on. "After going over it in my head I think I may have noticed something. Now maybe I'm seeing something that isn't there."

"What do you mean, Mom?"

"I have the feeling that more recently your protests of masculinity had been more a matter of form than anything," stated the man. "I get the feeling you are still making that protest out of denial and because it is what is expected of you."

Finally understand where her mother was going with this, Ranma demanded, "Are you trying to say that I really do feel attracted to guys and have just been lying to myself about it?"

Sitting silently for a moment, Nodoka thought about it. Finally he said, "I'm not sure. Again, maybe I'm seeing something that isn't there. I'm not saying that you are attracted to men, but I am saying that it is possible. If it were true, then with the way your father trained you and the way I had behaved, you would naturally deny it. For you to feel such a thing would not be manly and you had learned to fear the though of being unmanly."

"Maybe," the redhead conceded.

Nodding now, Nodoka said, "What I have in mind is a simple test, something like the test that I did with myself. It should be safe enough, since I am still your mother even if I don't look like it at the present."

"What kind of test did you have in mind?" The girl sounded apprehensive.

Glancing at the clock, Nodoka saw that they still had some time before the rest of the family came back. He said, "I think that denying your feminine urges (if you have any) could be causing you emotional problems. What I suggest is that you let me kiss you on the lips. If you find that you don't enjoy it, then you can claim that you don't have the urges I mentioned and you are still male regardless of the body."

"Wait a minute!" protested the girl. "You want to kiss me... on the lips? And you want me in girl form and you as a guy?"

"Yes," was the simple answer. "Since in this form I look mostly like an older version of your male body, we know that I look handsome for a man. You wouldn't have the excuse of saying that I look ugly."

Ranma looked troubled. After a moment she explained, "I heard a couple of guys talking about how pretty one of the teachers was. The one guy said he'd really like to spend some time with her away from school. I wasn't sure exactly what he meant, but one of the other guys said that kissing a teacher would feel as bad to him as kissing his mother."

"Was this teacher attractive?" Nodoka asked.

When Ranma nodded the man then asked, "And was the other boy's mother not very attractive?"

"I never met his mother," Ranma confessed. "But he did show us a picture. I wouldn't rate her as ugly, but she was pretty plain looking. If the expression on her face in the picture was normal for her, then it would have been her attitude that would have turned him off more than her looks."

"I see," Nodoka said in a musing tone. Finally he looked Ranma in the eyes and said, "Are you afraid of what you might learn about yourself if you try this experiment?"

Unknowing, Nodoka had said just the thing that it would take to get Ranma to agree to the test. The girl looked angry and said, "I ain't afraid of nothin'!"

After a moment she calmed down a bit and then said, "Ok, Mom. I'll take your little test. I'll show you that I'm as manly as they come."

At this Nodoka stood up and said, "We're done eating now, I think. To make it a proper test, we would need to be more comfortable. Let's go to the living room and sit on the couch."

Standing up from the table, Ranma looked at the dishes and asked, "Shouldn't we put the dishes in the kitchen at least? Even if we don't wash them now, it would be sort of rude to leave them on the table for Kasumi to pick up when she gets back."

The older man nodded and started picking up his dishes. Shortly they had all of the food put away and the dishes neatly stacked in the sink. When they were done, they went to the living room and sat down side-by-by side.

Now Nodoka turned to Ranma and placed his hands on her shoulders. He admonished, "For this to be a fair test you have to be honest about your reactions and feelings. If you really enjoy it, you must say so. If you aren't sure, we can repeat it."

Now looking distinctly nervous, Ranma said, "Ok. I promise I will tell you how it makes me feel. Just to be clear, the contract is torn up and is no longer good, right?"

"Right!" Nodoka agreed. "If you are feeling feminine urges in your girl form, I will not ask you to commit seppuku. We may need to think about ways to train you how to properly express those urges in the future. I think that if you truly are feeling such things that suppressing may be hurting you. We will need to find a way for you to be more healthy in the way you express those urges."

The next thing Nodoka did was to put his hands on Ranma-chan's shoulders. As he began to move his face toward hers, he thought about how beautiful her eyes were. Indeed they were beautiful in both forms. The were the one thing that didn't change with the curse.

The next thing that Ranma was aware of was the sensation of a man's lips pressing against her own. There was a part of her that said this should be disgusting. She should be feeling repulsed by it. Instead it felt kind of good and she closed her eyes to be better able to concentrate on how it made her feel.

The only times she had ever been kissed in female form, it had been with someone she didn't like, such as Sanzenin. This was very different. Even if this was a man, it was still her mother, someone she cared about even if she had been afraid of her at one time.

When Nodoka finally ended the kiss and withdrew, he looked at the girl. It took a while for her to open her eyes again. Cocking one eyebrow, he asked, "Well, did you enjoy that?"

"Uh... " Ranma wasn't quite sure how to answer that. She wanted to say no way, but that wouldn't be an honest answer. She had agreed that she would admit it if she did enjoy the kiss. After a moment she finally said, "I'm not completely sure. Could we do that again?"

"Of course," Nodoka replied and moved in again. This time he didn't just hold his daughter's shoulders, but enveloped her in a hug. This time Ranma was surprised when she felt a tongue probing at her lips. She had never done this sort of thing before, but instinct told her that she should open her own lips to let her mother's tongue inside.

It felt good! She wasn't sure if she was reacting this way because it was man kissing her or if it was because it was her mother and basically a girl even with a male body. All she knew was that this did feel good and she wanted to keep doing it. She responded to the tongue invading her mouth by sticking her own tongue into Nodoka's mouth in response.

A little while later she felt almost angry when she felt the tongue withdrawing from her mouth and the lips leaving hers. This time there was a distinct sound of amusement in the voice that asked, "Well, did you enjoy that, or did you need to do it again to be sure of it?"

She was breathing harder and felt many other sensations she couldn't avoid. Still, she said, "Could we do that one more time please?"

Now looking decidedly amused, the man said, "As many times as you need." He moved in again. This time they went direct to the open mouthed kiss and the dueling tongues. This time Nodoka's arms went around Ranma and his hands were rubbing up and down her back. One of Ranma's hands went over Nodoka's shoulder and behind his neck. The other hand sort of trailed along his body, feeling the muscular chest and hard abs. When her hand arrived at his lap, it grasped something long, round and hard.

When the kiss broke this time, Ranma let go of her grasp and leaned against the back of the couch. Nodoka said, "Well, did you enjoy that or did you want to try it some more."

It took a few moments for Ranma to slow her pulse and get control of her breathing. When she did, she finally said, "Um... Yes."

The part-time man's expression became confused and he asked, "Yes? Yes, what? Do you mean yes that you did enjoy it or yes, you want to do that some more?"

"Uh, both actually," Ranma confessed.

Author's Note: Well, do you think Nodoka is being manly? Yes, Nodoka is OOC but she has just undergone a profoundly life changing event. She is trying to reconcile her new form with her ideas of manliness.

Note for Blog Post: This is another one from the Ideas file. (You can read it elsewhere on this blog.) As with most of the other first chapters and prologues I've posted this week, I'm interested to get feedback from people. Do you think this story deserves to be continued. I have more chapters written, but before I put more work into it I'd like to see what people's reaction to the concept is.

In the later chapters that I've written I have Ranma reacting to the "test" by deciding that maybe he is also a girl and getting together with Nodoka to experience sex where Ranma is the female and Nodoka is the male.