Chapter Text
She stood at attention in Mom’s office once again. Getting a stern lecture about what was the usual job of an escort. Like the one she demanded to be.
‘’I-i didn’t know that…’’ she murmured, once again looking down at the fluffy rug.
Her palm planted on her face, once again, Mom stood up, slightly embarrassed she had to have a talk about the ‘bees and the flowers’ with her eighteen years old child… adopted child, fair, she couldn’t know his parents didn’t teach him anything! Hell apparently his father was a regular here from how often she and others had to take care of Ranma before his deadbeat of a parent was finished with his business, and yet the poor innocent child knew nothing!
He was twelve at the time, reminded her the rational part of her brain.
He lives in a brothel. She shot back.
Taking a few calming puffs of air she turned back to Ranma. ‘’Darling, do you want to continue working for me like this?’’ she asked bluntly.
And Utena had to really think for an answer. If she continued, she could obviously continue pretending to be a girl!
That thought got halted by Nenepi’s voice inside of her head that told her, sternly, that she wasn’t just pretending, because she was a real girl. Which was still kind of a weird thought for the newly realized girl.
So more importantly, did she really wanna do those things, the details Mom told her still fresh in her memory, with complete strangers?
She bit the inside of her cheek as she remembered the wild, bluish, mane of one particular girl..
Her face instantly warm like heating stones.
‘’C-can i stay p-part time?’’ she giggled. ‘’I-i told A-akane to request me again i-if she ever shows up again…’’ she admitted, shifting her feet on the carpet, with a very innocent smile playing on her face.
Mom sighed heavily, before letting the thought roll around in her mind, after all that’s exactly what the Twins have going on, only really serving one customer and doing a day job otherwise. But the real question is if Ranma’s girl is as rich as KiKi-chan. With a slight groan she relented. ‘’Fine, but you have to pick up a day job then.’’
And Utena nearly glomped Mom off her feet. Rubbing her face against the older woman’s like a cat. ‘’THANKYOUTHANK-’’
She didn’t get to scream all her ‘thank you’s out as Mom put her hand over Utena’s mouth, as she wished to walk out of this meeting with her hearing still intact.
‘’I get it, i get it!’’ she chimed letting the child hang on her like a monkey… Or well a cat she supposed. She got long used to those kinda antics from Ranma, she also came to terms with the fact that what led to this kinda behaviour scarred the kid for life. Another reason to get her local butcher to sell long pork for a while. ‘’Now then, run off, this meeting’s over, i will get you some contacts for the day job part of our agreement next time I see you, okay kiddo?’’
And Utena only nodded enthusiastically with a grin, before bolting out towards Nenepi’s room. Feeling like she forgot to mention something.
She didn’t have a long time to dwell on her bad memory tho, as it wasn’t a particularly lengthy run, just up to the attic from the ground floor, and the first doors on the right were her big sister’s-
‘’SORRY!’’ She closed the doors again swiftly as she saw the very naked back of MiMi-chan… with a suspicious tuft of graying hair sticking out from her lap. ‘’DIDN’T MEAN TO!’’ she yelled again before dashing towards her own room.
But she didn’t even get a chance to dramatically slide down her doors and curl up blushing as she saw her big sister doing her job in her room, before, thankfully fully clothed, MiMi-chan opened her doors. ‘’Utena-chan! It’s so nice to see you again!’’
Utena’s face only became brighter red as she once again realized what was Nenepi doing with Mimi all those times she accidentally ran into them when their room wasn’t locked. But those thoughts lasted only a second as the brunette pulled her into her arms. ‘’You little sweetheart of mine, Nene-chan told me everything!’’ and once again Utena was too stunned to speak, was it really that normal to talk about this stuff so casually? Thankfully her big sister showed up just on time to pull both of them into a hug of her own and let Utena avoid the awkwardness. Nenepi was taller than even MiMi, which was honestly quite an accomplishment. Between them, Utena truly felt like a child.
‘’I had to tell her, she was just so worried because her own sister came home really late from her yesterday’s outing, with tears streaked face, and she was worried something bad might have happened to you too.’’ The oldest woman finally let go of her two favorite people in the whole wide world to walk towards Utena’s bed and sit down. ‘’And MiMi-chan knows about me, so I wasn't afraid she’d react poorly.’’ Her sweet smile only made MiMi blush. And made Utena a bit confused. ‘So it was a big deal to talk about this stuff then?’ she asked herself again.
‘’And it’s exciting, now I have another little sister to dot over.’’ the girl with chestnut hair said in just as sweet a voice and ruffled Utena’s raven locks. ‘’That reminds me, I have to buy eel on my way home,’’ she turned towards her lover and pouted. ‘’You couldn’t have called at a better time Nene, my family were just eating breakfast when the family phone started ringing, i had to come up with something on the spot, else our ‘house guest’ would get too curious.’’ She sighed and turned towards Utena. ‘’Speaking of house guests, why don’t you come-’’ she stopped. She did want to invite Utena over for a dinner for a long time now, but then her family would also have to find out about Nenepi, and she couldn’t imagine her father, or her houseguest for that matter, to be understanding of the women’s situation… or of their profession, so to speak. Instead, she led the invite somewhere else. ‘’Wouldn’t you want to come on a shopping trip with me, Utena?’’ she asked with a smile, that extended over to Nenepi, whom she didn’t even have to ask.
And her newest little sister didn’t take a second to answer. ‘’I DO, I WANNA!’’ she giggled loudly and jumped into her arms for yet another hug. Before turning around and doing the same to Nenepi. ‘’When are we going?’’ she asked excitedly. After all, she had some dressing up to do. Hoping Sayuri would help her with make up again.
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On the other side of the ward, KiKi-chan was having one of the best days of her life. Iruka on her right, and Same on her left. Both holding one of her hands as she swung them back and forth. She was way too happy now.
Lounging around the mostly empty aquarium with her two sweethearts, she couldn’t imagine a better time to be alive. ‘’How did you get this place to be so empty?’’ she still asked, trying not to laugh out loud.
Both Twins shrugged at the same time. ‘’It’s sunday,’’ Iruka started.
‘’At the end of the fall.’’ continued Same.
‘’And, well, it’s quite chilly outside.’’ once again gave way to her thoughts, the blondie.
‘’If we didn’t love you so much we’d stay in bed all day!’’ teased the shark boy.
‘’Yeah!’’ endorsed the dolphin girl.
KiKi-chan only grinned. She was still astonished that those two only met in their college studies, they not just looked like twins, they acted as two as well. ‘’Are you sure it’s love, and not the money that’s making you so easy?’’ She pulled the twins' hands up to her face, and kissed both of their knuckles. ‘’Nah just joking.’’ she giggled. ‘’Couldn’t ruin such a fun outing with you two.’’
‘’Nabikichi~’’ purred Iruka.
‘’Nabikitan!’’ voiced Same.
Suddenly pulling their ‘paying customer’ aside, right into the little corner surrounded by octopi enclosures and squid tanks. ‘’H-hey what are you doing?’’ the usually money hungry girl panicked a little. Up until she got pushed against the glass. Now she was panicking a lot. ‘’W-we are in public you idiots, what if-’’
And the blond girl was there to shut her up. Their lips barely touched, it was still enough to take the words away from Nabiki. The boy with bleached hair was next, landing a kiss on the back of her hand, then on her nose, letting his lips continue down to her jaw…
And leaving enough space for his wanna-be twin to tease Nabiki’s neck, and leaving not so subtle red markings. ‘’I hate scarfs…’’ breathed out the very occupied girl.
‘’Sure you do KiKichi.’’ tittered Iruka, just as her lips grazed the suddenly exposed shoulder muscle.
Finally, the twins let their free hands into the work as well. Same was the hungry one, caressing the belly of his prey, drawing slow circles across the soft flesh.
Iruka mimicked her twin’s motions on the, not so, innocent girl’s back. Dragging her finger nails up her spine, until she reached her target, her playtoys neck, grasping the back of it, and pulling her head to the side, into the jaws of the hunter. Claiming her lips thoroughly this time, leaving no time for the drowning to intake air, until she’d pull away, to let the pretty face gasp for oxygen-
Only to be devoured by the great white this time. He was more ferocious, biting down at her tongue, chewing lightly on her lips, leaving no meat of his prey untasted.
Neither let go, holding the pretty fish at place where the dolphin toyed with her, and the shark slowly devoured her.
It was blissful…
And it only got better as she felt one hand dipping under her skirt, and the other into her bra-
The purplish cat had to turn her gaze away, none of them was her target, not the boy with sharp teeth, not the girl with long and slick hair, nor the other woman with a bowl cut and hungry gaze.
No, she was looking for a man that was promised to her by a cursed Panda.
She was looking for a husband, she rightfully won from his father.
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Walking out and about in make-up and a dress felt completely different than making rounds inside her home, she wasn’t as embarrassed as she thought. Maybe all those times she strolled around in skirts, her sisters passed down on her, made her more resilient!
And yet, she was so so scared someone would look her way and-
Nenepi suddenly squeezed her hand. ‘’Nobody will notice, don’t worry.’’ she looked down at her little sister, once again giving her the brightest smile she could muster right now. ‘’And even if they did, both me and MiMi-chan are here.’’ She wanted to reach out and take the woman’s hand as well, but it was different holding the hand of someone who looked like her daughter, and of someone who looked like she could have been her wife…
That thought only made her give in to her usual daydreaming. Watching as the loveliest woman in the whole world took a knee in front of her, declaring her burning love and only asking for her to stay by her side till death does them apart. She sighed, putting the free hand on her cheek. Thinking of the time they’d both wear white kimonos, of their homely life after the ceremony, how she’d take care of their house, cook meals for her wife, tidy up and make sure their kids-
She was ready to melt as she imagined holding her own child in her arms. ‘’Two or three, maybe four or five?’’ she sing sang quietly-
‘’We can’t eat that many eels big sis!’’ protested Utena right beside her. It took Nenepi out of her fantasizing, but it only made her feel lighter. She had already proved she can be a good mom, or well, a good bigger sister at least.
‘’NaNa-chan, you could eat that many eels by yourself.’’ she reminded the pinkette. Chuckling into the back of her hand. Making the smaller girl pout and look away.
Utena for her part, started looking around, she knew this part of the town, she wasn’t really looking to find something new and exciting, she was more looking for-
‘’There it is!’’ she called like the store moved each night. ‘’Can I go to the bookstore, please?’’ she asked, already employing her kitty eyes to beg. Which Nenepi didn’t understand, since she never told her little sister that she had to stick with them.
Still, nodding with a smile, sent star-eyed Utena into Nenepi’s arms to give her a quick cuddle, before she quickly made her way towards the ‘Garden of Lilies’.
The building looked completely ordinary, no flashing neon signs, no fancy decorations around the entrance, just a few flower pots and a wooden sign hanging from a pole just above the doors.
And it was her favorite place on the planet, well after Nenepi’s embrace of course.
‘’Oh who do we have here?’’ asked the elderly cashier. Adjusting her glasses, and taking a proper look at the new red headed customer. Their face looked kinda familiar-
‘’Hello Granny!’’ called out a familiar, yet a bit higher voice.
She scratched her head. Before realization struck. ‘’Ranma?’’ she gasped. Which got her a nodding fit from the pretty girl.
‘’Yup yup, tho, now I'm going with Utena,’’ taking a quite deep bow, and blushing slightly. ‘’nice to meetcha.’’ and raising her head with a bright smile that Ms.Grimm only ever saw on her face whenever she was leaving with two or more books in her arms.
‘’MY, MY!’’ she circled the little wooden corner. ‘’You look so pretty, sugar! And the name!’’ she laughed fully, letting her glasses slide down her nose. ‘’If I didn't know you already owned a copy, I'd force Revolutionary Girl onto you.’’ that got the youngster into a laughing fit of her own. ‘’Now, now, I am sure your change of style, and name, has a very heartwarming story behind them, buuuuuut!’’ She walked behind the register and pulled out a book with a blond girl with wings looking up at a starry sky on the cover. ‘’I’ve saved a copy for you~’’
And the little kid awakened again. ‘’No way, no way, no way!’’ grabbing the book from grandma's hands she quickly flipped through, reading the summary on the back. Bouncing on the soles of her feet from excitement. ‘’I didn’t know it was out already!’’
Her Granny only nodded. ‘’Just got the first batch delivered yesterday,’’ Utena hung on every word she spoke. ‘’and it also sold out the same day, save for that one copy I put aside.’’ Witnesses would say she got mauled by a bear. But really, the child just showed her gratitude the only way she knew.
‘’THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!’’
As was the custom, her little granddaughter went completely overboard, both with the intensity of the hug, and with the volume of her appreciation. Thankfully, Ms.Grimm was ready and turned off her hearing aids.
Once the tall girl put her down on the ground again, she nodded a few times. ‘’Now now, do you wanna look around before making your purchase?’’ she of course knew the answer. Granny knew that no matter how much the girl wanted to read right now, she couldn’t leave with just ONE book, now could she?
Shaking her head quickly, before running deeper into the store, once again getting lost amongst various bookshelves, with myriads of genres to choose from. Of course the first she checked was-
Romance.
That's one word that could describe what she saw in the aisle, a blue haired girl stood there, holding open a book with a very familiar name, and a very pretty pinkette holding a sword on the cover.
The girl was fully engrossed in the pages, flipping through slowly as she took the story in, every little line, and every little word. She read it like she was looking for a secret that she couldn’t find anywhere else.
Until she caught movement in the corner of her eye. She had only a second to dodge, but she wasn’t fast enough, and the familiar feeling enveloped her completely.
Had they not been in public, she’d cling to the girl like her life depended on it, she’d cry her feelings out into the world, and begged her to stay.
Begged to be accepted by her.
Make her promise to never leave her side.
But, of course, she knew better than to listen to her heart.
‘’Get off me.’’ she growled, but failed to put any real warning behind her words. Instead she sounded like a hurt puppy that didn’t know yet what love was.
‘’O-oh sorry!’’ Utena still jumped back a few meters. She wasn’t even sure what got to her to do such a thing to a person she wasn’t sure ever wanted to see her again. Or liked hugs in the first place.
‘’What are you doing here?’’ Akane asked, not being able to meet her eyes.
Utena looked around confused. ‘’Looking for a new stuff to read of course, and you?’’ She failed to notice Akane’s distress, and continued being as enthusiastic as she always was in any bookstore.
Akane ignored the words she heard for a second. Instead, taking in how Utena looked, she was dressed in a simple red midi dress with long sleeves, something that complimented her hair, and made her eyes pop out. With a wide belt at her waist, that made her frame look slimmer, making her features pop out more-
‘’What happened to your breast?’’ she asked, instead of admitting her reason at being in the bookstore. Just last night she’d swear the girl had at least C-cups, but now she was flatter than herself.
It got Utena red as a tomato, that was for sure. But she was ready to be honest… as honest as to not reveal what she really was, because she still wasn’t sure how big of a deal it was to stop being a boy so suddenly... ‘’I… stuffed my bra last night, I wanted to look prettier,’’ she remembered what she was actually payed for- ‘’a-and to be more desirable.’’
That got a chuckle out of the curious girl. ‘’It sure had an effect.’’ she said before she could stop herself. Already beating herself up as she noticed how much brighter the other girls blush got. She had to save it somehow, but her mind stopped working when she saw the shy smile on Utena’s face. Her heart nearly leaped from her chest. She knew the woman for less than two days, yet this smile alone would make her buy a ring…
Two women cannot marry one another.
Nor can they love each other.
She nearly cried.
‘’Akane?’’
Looking up.
Only to see how much worry she put the other girl into.
‘’It’s fine, it’s fine.’’ She shook her head. ‘’I just…’’ she was afraid. ‘’This should stop.’’
‘’Wha-’’
‘’I mean whatever this is,’’ she looked around, embarrassed by her own mind, when she didn’t see answers to her problems in the bookshelves that surrounded them, she let the anger feed her words instead. ‘’you are a prostitute for crying out loud, i payed to have sex with you!’’ she didn’t want to admit it. ‘’If you were a guy, i would have!’’ she threw her hands in the air, she hated herself. ‘’I was supposed to prove I can love a man!’’ her face close to Utena’s, putting just enough force behind each word to forget how much she wanted to kiss the girl right now. ‘’I know you for less than a day, yet here i am, falling in love with you already, just because you told me few pretty words, just because you hugged me… just because you’re so pretty…’’ her knees gave out from underneath her, as the weight of her tears couldn’t be supported anymore. She wanted to die. It was the only escape from becoming a monster. ‘’I want to HATE you!’’ Her words, mere lies now. ‘’I was so close to healing my mental illness!’’ ugly crying in the middle of a random bookstore she used to get to know Utena more, without having to talk to her… She at least held off her sound, muffling the gasping, keeping the weeps to herself.
And Ranma could only stand above her and watch. He knew he made a mistake. Being a woman only hurts people around him, he should have-
‘’AKANE?!’’
‘’UTENA?!’’
Both MiMi-chan’s and Nenepi’s voices boomed across the entire bookstore. Their voices shook both younger girls to their cores, they both froze, unable to move, unable to think. Afraid of the screaming that was about to happen.
Until suddenly, they both were embraced by their older sisters. And they both started weeping. Both whispering different mantras into their sister’s clothes.
One apologising for choosing to live her life.
And the other for not trying to be normal hard enough.
Both younger girls calmed down after a while. Neither noticed that the bookstore was completely silent, no other customers were present as Ms.Grimm acted quickly.
She knew Kasumi since she was a toddler, and she knew Nenepi from way back when she was still working in construction. She met little Utena when she was only getting into the hobby, and now she knew Akane as well.
She cared for all her customers, but these were truly special.
Utena held onto Nenepi’s hand, and Akane did to Kasumi’s.
The brown eyed teen bowed deeply. ‘’I’m sorry for pushing all of this on you, it’s not your fault.’’ her eyes avoided her crush, feeling like she was ten again, and her bigger sister made her apologise to another kid on the playground.
Utena wanted to apologise too, after all it wasn’t Akane’s fault that she was a girl now. But, it hurt, trying to apologise for being herself, it hurt thinking that she could just stop being a girl… and yet. Taking an apologetic stance herself. ‘’I’m sorry I turned out to be a girl.’’ she voiced. Hoping she’d get a chance to explain herself.
Hoping for just one more moment, with a girl that stole her heart.
…