Happily Married

Review

This is a very unusual story in the way it's told, as it bounces back and forth between events in 1998 and events in 2004. The basic part of the story is that Ranma is hit into the pond again, hits her head against the rock, again, but this time she wakes up in a future where she's been married for five years and has a child. Meanwhile, the form of her from that time is back in 1998, thinking she's married but finding out she's not.

The story has a lot to do with a lot of the main characters growing up emotionally. It also has a lot to do with the idea of love, and whether someone born a male can actually love another male (even if he turns into a girl half the time.)

The story is extremely well written. The time jumping can get sort of confusing at times, but it still works quite well, and I am quite pleased with the ending of the story. This is one of the most unique Ranma-chan fiction pieces I have read, and one of the best.

Synopsis

Chapter One

The story starts off with Ranma and Ryoga fighting (again). Akane distracts Ranma and he gets hit, sending him into the pond (again.) When she wakes up she checks the house but the people normally there are not there. On the other hand, there is a baby and Kuno arrives shortly thereafter. A baby that turns out to be Ranma-chans, although she's not married to Kuno.

Ranma-chan does realize she may be in an alternative dimension of some type. Ranma-chan finds out she's 21 instead of 16 years old. Later she talks to Akane and finds out that, after the fall into the pond, Ranma become remote from everyone, the only person able to get any kind of life into him being Ryoga. It turns out that Ranma-chan married Ryoga, and Sachiko, the baby, is theirs.

Chapter Two

The chapter starts with the fight from the last chapter told from Ryoga's point of view. Akane reveals her love for Ranma, but she wants Ryoga to stay around anyhow. Ryoga later checks on Ranma-chan's condition and while he's there she kisses him. Nabiki and Ukyo talk, Nabiki telling Ukyo basically that she needs to be more of a girl.

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

This chapter starts off with Ranma and Akane sparring and Ranma returning to male form, and talking to Genma, who wasn't in the first three chapters. Ranma is looking bishoujo in appearance. Ranma has been acting strange, even egging Kuno on with made-up stories. Ranma and Akane talk, and Akane begins to realize the term “pervert” that she throws at Ranma all the time might really belong to her.

Chapter Five

Ranma and Ryoga talk and Ranma finds out that Nodoka knows about the curse, dropped the threat to kill Ranma and melted down the family sword to make the wedding jewelry. Ryoga is a construction worker and goes off to his job. Ranma finds out his father is alive and on a training mission in China.

Ranma also finds out he's been locked into his female form. Ranma-chan and Nabiki have a talk and she fills Ranma-chan in on a little more of what happened. Ranma-chan and Sachiko get along very well, then later Ryoga comes home but brings someone with him.

Chapter Six

This chapter takes place in 1998, the others taking place mostly in 2004.

Chapter Seven

This chapter takes place in 2004.

Ranma-chan is coming to terms with being Ryoga's wife, although she's not happy he brought his boss home with him for dinner. Things go very well at dinner, though. Ryoga shows her their wedding tape and it's obvious Ranma-chan was very, very happy. Ranma-chan gets a little playful with Ryoga, but something seems to be causing Ryoga pain of some kind.

Chapter Eight

This chapter jumps back to 1998.

They have dinner and Ranma insults Genma. It turns out Kasumi and Tofu got married when he was drunk, but he left her. Ryoga and Ranma almost have a fight, but Ryoga realizes something major has happened to Ranma. Ranma and Gemna have an argument, Ranma revealing that, when a girl, he really feels like a girl, not like a man in a girl's body.

Ranma-chan ends up holding on to Ryoga while she's crying.

Chapter Nine

Back to 2004

Ryouga explains to Ranma-chan how he managed to overcome his problem with finding directions. Ryoga and her talk some and Ranma-chan is realizing she has strong feelings for him. Ryoga kisses her. There's a girl's night together and Ranma-chan finds out that Kodachi is in a mental hospital, having tried to hurt her when she was carrying Sachiko. Shampoo had returned to China.

Ranma-chan finally decides to sleep in the same bed that Ryoga does.

Chapter Ten

Back to 1998

Then she sets up a meeting with Kuno after classes end at noon (it's a Saturday), and lots of students show up to see what will happen. Ranma-chan sends Kuno on a quest with a dead fish and instructions.

(Yep. A dead fish and instructions.)

Kuno first gets a set of clothes. They turn out to be for a woman. Akane ends up crying due to a disagreement with Ranma-chan. Meanwhile, Kasumi has gotten the divorce papers from Tofu and is terribly upset.

All the time Ranma-chan is basically more and more falling in love with Ryoga.

Chapter Eleven

Back to 2004.

Ryoga and Ranma-chan talk and Ryoga reveals a lot about how he felt about Ranma six years earlier and why he always fought him and followed him around. Some very good writing in this part.

Ranma-chan kisses him before he goes to work and she really enjoys it.

Genma returns.

Chapter Twelve

Back to 1998.

Ranma-chan dresses in a fancy kimono. She goes downstairs, and her mother takes the dress a normal and says she and Genma are now reunited, but she still doesn't know about the curse. They all plan to go to a festival that night.

Ranma-chan tells Ryoga about her “dream” of the future, and Ryoga, on his end, is finding he's more and more attracted to her.

Chapter Thirteen

Back to 2004

Ranma-chan and Genma have a talk about what has been happening to her (as far as her memory loss goes) and it's obvious that Genma has done a lot of maturing.

Genma explains that Ryoga and Ranma-chan were attracted to each other partially due to the depression that both of them had.

Ryoga and Ranma-chan have an argument then start to make up. Then Ryoga discovers that Ranma-chan is not the same Ranma-chan at all; the Ranma-chan he is married to had a scar from a C-section, and this Ranma-chan has no such scar. He also had told Ranma-chan that she is not stuck as a woman at all, that it's the special soap she uses; she can change into male any time she wants.

Chapter Fourteen

Again, we're back to 1998.

At the festival it's revealed that Nodoka is a real witch who is selling potions, herbs, charms, etc.

Ranma-chan finishes up her business with Kuno who finally manages to understand what has been going on about Ranma-chan's curse.

Chapter Fifteen

Back to 2004.

Kasumi has taken over Tofu's practice, and she fills Ranma-chan in on some of the things that went on between her and Tofu. She explains that the Ranma-chan that is there is only sixteen years old. Apparently the curse was for the spring of drowned girl and, since Ranma-chan had a baby, and thus qualified as a woman, the curse activated, returning her to the age of sixteen to once again be a girl.

Ranma-chan realizes that the 2004 form of Ranma-cyan may have changed places with her, going back to 1998 while the 1998 Ranma-chan went to 2004.

Ranma-chan, Ryouga and Nabiki realize it was Ryouga who actually is responsible for the two versions of Ranma-chan changing times, and it's critical he find some way to reverse whatever it was that he did.

Chapter Sixteen

This is a mix of 1998 and 2004.

It starts out in 1998 with Kuno demonstrating that he finally has a grasp of just what Ranma's curse is about, and that he stands no chance with Ranma-chan or with Akane. Ranma-chan talks to Ryoga some more and kisses him again.

In 2004, the Ranma-chan of 1998 also ends up kissing Ryoga. Not long after Ryoga's plan works and the Ranma-chan of that time returns. Meanwhile, in 1998, the Ranma-chan of the time kisses Ryoga, not realizing she has returned to her own time.

Chapter Seventeen

This one is for the 1999-2000 time period.

Ranma and Ryoga have a talk, and it's obvious that Ranma is in emotional trouble. A little later Ranma is being married to Akane, but the ceremony is interrupted when Nabiki, Ryoga and Genma all protest. Later Ryoga admits to Ranma that he's in love with her girl half.

He leaves and gets lost for a year but returns, and Ranma-chan and he talk again. It's obvious they're very much in love with each other. Then the story ends with her marrying Ryoga.