The Journey is the Destination Epilogue By poetheather So... Ranma mugged me today and she had a bit to say about her life since the end of the story. The final conclusion.

Epilogue

Ranma was sitting in the warm sun in the back yard, feet dangling over the engawa looking out over the garden. She had gotten a little taller in the last seven years and amazingly enough filled out even more, which only made Akane, her sister and all her girlfriends laugh at her. Even she had to admit that it was kind of funny. Her Tomboy had also grown more beautiful, letting her hair grow a bit longer, but not too much, and her body while still strong was much more feminine and filled out. She couldn’t even teasingly be said to be built like a brick anymore. Ranma could happily stare at her wife for hours.

The warmth made her thoughts drift as she was just so happy. Once the situation with the Amazons had been resolved life had simply gotten so much better as there really were no dangers in the same category. Nabiki had used her considerable power against Pineapple Head and for some reason he decided that moving back to Hawaii was in his best interests. There had been great rejoicing for that one and Nabiki had become a bit of a hero once it had been made known who was responsible for it.

Kuno had tried to grope both her and Akane downtown while they had been shopping and they had him arrested. True he hadn’t been held long, but it was just long enough for a mental evaluation to be held. It really couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. That got the city council involved so they could work behind the scenes to avoid the dishonor to the whole of Nerima if it got out that such a “prominent” citizen were such a problem to the community as a whole. Without their father there to help bully the council, Nabiki’s files on the Kunos had leashed them when that had happened. The end result was that the former Mercenary girl had actually blushed and complained from the excessive hugging she got from a lot of people. She was not used to getting all this positive attention and it had shaken her about as much as Nodoka and Kasumi threatening her had. Working with non-profit organizations was a big change from what she had done before but she was using her powers for good now, protecting the little guy and that was what mattered.

Ryoga had vanished. That was kind of sad really as he wasn’t all that bad when he hadn’t been trying to kill her or was trying to sneak into her wife’s bed. She actually kind of missed the pigheaded blockhead. Occasionally Akane woke him with shouts of “Ranma Saotome prepare to die!” to bring a nostalgic smile to her face. She had even bought Ranma a stuffed pig that looked really close to Ryoga’s cursed form that they kept around the house for amusement, occasionally throwing it at each other. For all that he had bugged them Porkbreath had also been a friend when needed. Ranma really missed him and wished that the Lost Boy could be found.

Ukyo and Konatsu’s wedding had been something else. The couple had gone through a lot in the past seven years, a lot of ups and downs, and in the end the ninja had decided to stay male. Ukyo still dressed very masculine on the whole as that was how she was most comfortable and Konatsu very feminine for the same reason and they were happy with the roles they played in each other’s lives. Occasionally they asked Ranma for packets of instant Jusenkyo water and she was happy to give them over so long as she didn’t have to think about her sister and brother-in-law that way. There were some things that were too intimate. But she did admit that Ukyo had looked really good in that Tuxedo and Konatsu had been a stunning Bride.

Kasumi had moved out and had gone to school, which made her very happy. She had picked up her life from where it had stopped when Mrs. Tendo had died, trying to get back to the way she had been before. It was tough work after being a housewife for so long but she had excellent in her classes. In fact everyone’s life seemed to be going better, except for her fathers. Genma had never accepted the very obvious fact that she was a she. There had been all sorts of plots and lame stratagems to “correct” this “misunderstanding” and the continuing beatdowns had been incorporated into Akane’s training. The Tomboy had been so happy to oblige. Her wife had gotten very, very good in the last seven years.

Closing her eyes, Ranma lay back against the wood and sighed, stretching out against the warm wood. This felt so good and the abdominal stretch felt lovely. This was what she needed, rest and relaxation. Early last year she had finally achieved her Grandmastery in Anything Goes and it was a long time coming. It felt like it had taken her forever to finally get there, what with learning the sword, a number of Chinese weapons, various Amazon techniques thanks to their status as members of the Tribe and a lot of things she had come up with herself. The fight that she had with Happosai had been one of the hardest she had ever fought because he hadn’t held back at all. After a half day of fighting she had brought him down with one of her techniques that really had surprised him. The old pervert actually had tears in his eyes when he had conferred the title on her. She had as well and let the slight groping pass as they hugged. Complaining so wasn’t worth the fuss at that point as she had been too tired to really move at that point.

Life was good, better than it ever had been. The dojo held classes. It was doing well thanks to the knowledge she and Akane had gained in college plus Nabiki’s help with the books and advertising. Their family was doing well. She couldn’t remember the last time she or her wife had been attacked out of the blue by some lunatic or anyone had been kidnapped. Their life at this point was simply calm and filled with happiness. Ranma had to admit that it was hard to believe that all of this had come about because she had been tired and frustrated about her life and was determined to change it. Sayuri and Yuka still teased her about how clueless she had been at the start of things. She really had no clue how to be a girl and yet somehow they had survived. It was amazing that they had managed to pull things off long enough to get Kasumi, Nodoka and Nabiki involved. Their help had been invaluable in insuring that the ridiculous plan worked. She had been such a loon to think that she could pull that off stupid thing off with only Akane’s help.

Now though, at the other end of that craziness, with all the love and support of her friends and family, she couldn’t be happier. A voice called out from inside the house, “Ranma?”

“Yes love?” Ranma remained where she was. The warmth of the sun was too nice to warrant moving for most any reason.

“Someone’s being a bit fussy. I think she’s hungry.” Akane walked out onto the veranda carrying their baby, who was wriggling in her blankets.

Ranma chuckled and sat up, loosening her top as she did so. “I swear she had to have inherited the Panda’s hunger. It seems like she always wants more.”

“You can eat like that as well Ranma, so don’t talk bad about my daughter like that.” huffed Akane, giving the redhead the pre-mallet eye.

As Ranma shifted her daughter into position so the little girl could start on her meal, she said with a slight smirk, “Mommy’s little girl, hunh?”

“Well, she can’t very well be Daddy’s little girl now can she?” pointed out Akane with a bit of a chuckle.

“An excellent observation Love, a very good…” She winced slightly and looked down at her daughter. “No biting Akemi.”

Akane smiled at them fondly. “The great Ranma Saotome hurt by a baby girl. That’s funny.”

“She’s as strong as you Tomboy.” retorted Ranma, glad her child had gone back to suckling and not gnawing. “How would you like it if someone started biting on your nipple?”

“Okay… fair point. I’m glad she takes after me a little. She certainly has your eyes and those wisps of hair certainly look reddish.” Akane ran her hand gently down her daughter’s head, across the downy hair.

“Yeah, she’s beautiful, just like you.” Ranma was looking up at her wife with soft eyes and a warm smile.

Akane leaned down and kissed her wife, smiling happily. As she stood back upright she said, “Oh, I wanted to let you know we got a package from China.”

“We did?” asked Ranma curiously. She had clearly been caught up in her thoughts enough to have missed the mailman.

“Yep. I opened it and it seems as if Cologne finally took care of something for us.” The Tomboy’s grin was full of mischief and promise. It was one of Ranma’s favorite looks.

Ranma quirked an eyebrow at his wife. “Oh?”

“We have more ladle and kettle water.” Akane’s eyes twinkled happily.

The grin on Ranma’s face was slow to build but it grew nonetheless. She looked at Akane so excitedly. She struggled to keep from bounding to her feet or yelling out as their daughter was quieting down and eating peacefully. That was not a state that needed to be disturbed. “That means that…”

“Yes.”

“And you and I…”

“Yes.”

“And you can finally…”

“Yes.” Akane’s grin was so bright and blissful that it made Ranma’s heart soar to see it.

“I love you.”

“I love you too. Just think, if we do this right, our little princess Akemi here can have a brother or sister in a year or so. I can become pregnant and then you can get back to normal. No more worrying about wanting to be a guy so I could have your baby, it would all be taken care of.” Akane crouched down and hugged her wife.

Ranma was sniffling a little, tears collecting at the corner of her eyes. It had been Akane’s dream to have her child for the longest time now and it had only gotten worse since she had gotten pregnant. Akane had enjoyed getting Ranma in that state, coming to terms with the fact that the form could be fun and had some pleasurable uses, but as Ranma had started showing she had gotten a bit melancholy. She had taken to watching Ranma, clearly wishing this had been her and not the other way around. This simple present of water from the Musk would undoubtedly solve all of that, that in and of itself was reason to celebrate. “I would love to make you happy Akane. I think you being pregnant would be wonderful. I kind of like the idea of you carrying my child. It is rather exciting. And while the first three months are less than pleasant or they can be, I pretty much enjoyed the whole thing. The rest of the pregnancy can be lots of fun, until the end when you’re ready to pop. Then you just want it to be over. But in between… it’s lovely. You know, when this happens, I can show you the Saotome school of Anything Goes Pregnancy arts.”

Akane started snerking, leading into a full chuckle before saying, “Only you Ranma… only you.”