ATTENTION READERS:

When you are finished, please take the time to read the A/N at the end of this. Thank you very much.

~oOoOoOoOo~

Epilogue

The sky was beautiful.

It was a canvas of vibrant azure that stretched from one horizon to the other, without a single cloud to mar it. The spring sun blanketed the city and neighborhoods with rejuvenating rays of warmth. Birds sang their songs and people went about their business like they normally did while students headed for school. It was just simply a beautiful day, one that could have been like any other with summer approaching not too far around the corner. The sound of construction work all across a good section of the ward was the only negative on an otherwise peaceful, gorgeous day.

It had been many days since everything had happened.

The great black tornado that had appeared out of nowhere had been country wide news for days, before they had found something more interesting to run with. The events of the day though were already shrouded in mystery, having been told and retold so many times now they barely resembled the truth anymore. In the end all the damaged that been occurred had been blamed on the tornado; no one from the new outlets were willing to report claims of a tiny red head battling a monster across half the ward. It sounded too much like something out of an anime to be believable. The tornado had been a freak weather anomaly and after awhile, despite knowing better, everyone believe it was the truth. No one was willing to discuss what had caused the giant ball of light that had appeared in the sky.

As far as anyone was concerned, the investigation was closed.

Besides, people were more worried about fixing the damage than they were about what had caused it in the first place. Not to mention most Nerima residents were used to the constant strange occurrences that took place in the ward; they'd stopped questioning it a long time ago.

Slowly, but steadily, everything was returning to normal again.

No one had even seen height or hair of the mysterious underwear thief that had been terrorizing the ward for weeks. He had just up and disappeared one day, and frankly no one was sad to see him gone either. He had been a pain in everyone's asses for far too long and they were glad to be rid of him... for however long that ended up being at least.

Despite it all, Ranma kind of wanted to thank him though; without him, she had no doubt the fight with Tetsuya may have turned out very different...

'Honey, you're going to be late for your first day back!' her mother called from downstairs. 'Do you need a hand?'

'I'm fine!' she rolled her eyes in exasperation, muttering to herself. "Geez mom, what am I? Five?"

She winced as she gently touched her tender ribs, grimacing at the massive bruise of dark discolored skin that almost wrapped her stomach and back from one set of ribs to the other. The pain was intense, but she felt the need to test it every day despite knowing it was going to be a while before it and all her other bruises and injuries healed completely. The tips of Tetsuya's claws had left a nice array of pierced markings that – were it not for the unmistakable bruising around her neck in the shape of a hand – made it look like she'd been ravaged by a damn vampire... or gods forbid everyone thought it was Ryoga had been the one doing the ravaging... What was worse was that she had to keep her arm the bastard had dislocated in a sling most of the time; which she grudgingly slipped on before her mother could nag her to do it.

She wasn't used to being this injured; with almost all of her ki drained during the big fight she may have well been healing like a regular person. At least that's what it felt like and Cologne's warning that it would only take longer if she pushed herself too far too fast was the only thing that kept her from testing her limits just yet.

After the battle, in the dojo, all of her injuries had hit her all at once; she'd been out of it for two days before she had woken up in a hospital bed, weaker than a new born kitten and barely able to do more than move her head. Everything had hurt so much she'd nearly passed out again straight away. She'd had a couple of fractured ribs and her and her lungs and heart had felt like they were on fire. Explaining how she'd gotten so injured wasn't hard; they'd just told the doctors that she'd gotten caught up by the winds from the tornado, though she suspected the doctors didn't buy it entirely, even if it was partly true... Within a couple of days though, she'd recovered enough strength that they'd sent her home to rest and recoup and she had been ever since.

But now she was sick of it. Her mother had done nothing but fuss and nag her endlessly from the moment she'd gotten home whenever she tried to do anything to even remotely relieve the boredom of not being able to train or exercise... not that she got to escape the huge pile of homework that had stacked up during her time away... Even her father who was still recovering from being impaled with a freakin sword couldn't escape it. She couldn't stand the idea of being cooped up inside for another day though, she needed to get out, even if she had to go back to school to do it. Not that she wasn't grateful that her mother cared, but with everything that was going on she was convinced her mother was going insane, and she imagined things were only going to get worse from here on out...

When she came down stairs there was already fresh toast waiting for her and a glass of orange juice. Her stomach grumbled loudly and she chugged down the glass of juice and grabbed the two slices of toast to take with her.

'Be careful today, alright?' her mother told her worriedly as she kissed her lovingly on the forehead. 'Don't overdo it. If you start to hurt too much, come straight home or go to the nurse's office. Here, I made you a special bento to take with you, and one for Ryoga as well when you see him.'

Ranma felt her cheeks burn slightly as her mother slid the two meals into her bag and groaned. 'Moooom...'

Nodoka huffed defensively. 'Don't Moooom, me! I've seen the way he lives. He needs to eat better than just living off instant ramen all the time.'

'What do you think I lived off most of the time, for all the years I was gone?' she replied with a frown.

'You did not!' her father shouted from the living room.

'Oh right, there was that time you stole Ukyo's Okonomiyaki cart. Remind me, how many days did that all last for again?' Ranma called sarcastically; it was always fun having a dig at her father at any chance she got. 'You know what, don't answer that. I've gotta go or I'll be late. Thanks for the bentos mom. I'll see yahs later, bye!'

'Have a good day sweetie.'

A huge smile spread from ear to ear when she stepped outside, breathing deep the blast of fresh spring air. Her ribs hurt like hell, but it was worth it. It was like pure energy electrifying her cells. She wasn't ready to start hopping roof tops or even ready for a mild fight, but she was certain it wouldn't be long before she was back to fighting fit shape. Not being able to move at her full potential was so frustrating.

'I never thought I'd see you looking so happy about going to school,' Akane joked from the front gate, Ryoga standing next to her. 'I was starting to think you had chickened out on us.'

'I'm just happy to get out of the house,' she replied as she joined them. 'Besides, I think if I spent another day in that house I will start to lose my damn mind. Mom's a complete nightmare at the moment. Keeps fussing over me like I'm gonna snap in half or something every time I move. I need the break and besides, I have enough work to catch up on as it is without wasting any more time layin around the house wishing I was somewhere else. May as well try and get this over with now.'

'Oh such enthusiasm,' Ryoga remarked dryly.

Ranma rolled her eyes. 'Say's the guy that spends all day doing nothing at all, except trying not to get lost.'

'Seriously though,' Ryoga added, looking down at her with concern as they walked. 'Are you sure you're up for this? You shouldn't over do it if you're not ready to.'

She flicked his nose with her good hand.

'If I wasn't feeling good enough to go, I wouldn't,' she replied firmly with a huff. 'Now stop worrying. You're starting to sound like my mother.'

With that she stuffed a slice of toast in her mouth, with all the zeal of a five year old; both Ryoga and Akane shook their heads at her.

The walk to school wasn't as hurried as normal. Even if she did want to get there fast, she couldn't with her body as weakened as it still was. Still, it gave her time to enjoy the morning sun on her face, the fresh air. Passing the places that were being repaired, the places that had been trashed during her battle though sobered her up quickly, flashing memories of her battle through her mind. She couldn't help but wonder what had happened to Tetsuya. She was certain he was still alive, it was a feeling she had that she couldn't shake. She just hoped that wherever he was, he knew better than to come back looking for more trouble.

She would be glad to put this whole mess behind her.

Everything was returning to normal though, and she felt lighter than she'd ever had before. She didn't have Happosai to worry about, or the stupid Jewel or even Tetsuya. She loved martial arts, loved the thrill of the fight, but even she had her limits and the last few months had tested hers. It would be good to sit back and relax for awhile and simply enjoy the peace and quiet….. of course she knew it wouldn't be long before that came to an abrupt end…..

She jumped as a hand waved in front of her eyes.

'Helloooo, Earth to Ranma?' Akane said. 'I said, how does it feel?'

Ranma blinked in confusion. 'What do you mean?'

'You know exactly what I mean,' the youngest Tendo shook her head in exasperation. 'A lot of things are going to change you know.'

Ranma smirked slightly.

'You mean, how do I feel about becoming a big sister?'

The revelation that her mother was pregnant had come as a shock to all of them; it had been exactly the thing that made her father fight harder though against his wound, that made him hold on tighter. For her though, she wasn't exactly sure how she felt about it. She'd never thought about what it would be like to have a brother or sister. It had been the furthest thing from her mind. She sure as hell wasn't going to let her father warp the poor kid's brain like he had hers though. The kid was going to have enough strangeness in its life to worry about. Her mother was excited, as much as she tried to be reserved about the whole thing and frankly Ranma didn't blame her. She'd already missed out on most of the life of her first child, and now she suddenly had a second chance.

'I think it'll be fun,' she said finally with a bright smile, and she meant it. Secretly, for her mother's sake she hoped it was a girl...

Everything was going back to normal, but at the same time, everything was changing...

The uncertain future that she'd fear so much for the last few months, all the ifs and maybes that had plagued her night and day…. None of it seem quite so frightening anymore. In fact it was the complete opposite; she was excited. She had a whole universe full of possibilities ahead of her, and she wasn't afraid to see what was waiting just around the corner for her. If she had learnt one thing from this whole ordeal, it was that life could slip like sand through your fingers so easily. Nothing was certain. Nothing was guaranteed. Sure she had regrets, but there was nothing she could do about that now, and she sure as hell as didn't want any more weighing her down. It was time to move on. It was time to start living, having fun and laughing again...

And she was so looking forward to all of it...

She paused at the school gates when they arrived. 'You go ahead Akane. I'll be right behind you. I just need to speak to Ryoga for a moment...'

'Alright, but don't be too long, you know how Miss Hinako gets...' the other girl warned as she headed off.

Other students filtered past as Ranma watched her go, some stared at the bruises around her neck and her sling bound arm, but she ignored them; let them come up with their wild theories and gossip. Instead she turned to look up at Ryoga as he waited patiently. Suddenly she felt a little shy.

'I... I never said, thank you,' she said softly.

Ryoga blinked in unsurely. 'What do you mean? For what?'

She smiled with amused exasperation. Gods, he was so thick sometimes.

'For snapping me out of it, during the fight...' she explained patiently as she took one of his hands in her good one. 'I was in... a very dark place, and if it wasn't for you, I don't know what would have happened. So thank you. Thank you for being there when I really needed you to be to help me, even if I didn't know I needed it. Saying thank you and accepting help aren't exactly my strongest points and I know I can make it difficult for others, but even still... Thank you, Ryoga... and, I should have said this then, but I'm saying it now... I love you too.'

She stretched up on the balls of her feet and kissed him lightly; oh it felt so good to say that aloud without fear of what anyone else thought.

'Aww, geez you're not going to get all mushy on me now are you?' he groaned jokingly as he pulled back. 'Because I thought we both agreed that was kind of gross?'

'Shut up!' Ranma punched him in the shoulder with a huffing pout. 'Jerk! Here I am trying to be all meaningful and crap and you're making jokes? I should have just let that asshole trap you as a pig.'

She turned and started to walk away, only for him to grab her hand pull her back to him, his hand around her waist as he captured her lips with his own. Her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, but she didn't dare try to pull away; she savored it, melting into it and she didn't give a single shit about who was watching. Feeling this good, being caught in a moment that felt so right could never be a bad thing.

Yes, they were a strange pair.

And maybe they had fallen for each other under weird circumstances.

What mattered was that what they felt was as real for them as it was between anyone else. She had spent so much time worrying about how it would seem to others, how her old self would have been disgusted. Maybe she wasn't ready to accept it then, but she didn't care anymore. Everyone knew and no one kicked up a stink about it. Sure they might not understand it, but what did she care what others thought. She was happy. He was happy. Her friends and family were safe. She was going to be a big sister in less than nine months and she had the rest of her life stretching out before her.

She had everything she needed, and no one was going to ruin that...

'Pigtail Girl!'

Kuno came rushing through the gates with his bokken drawn, and roared dramatically.

'Unhand my beloved, you common peasant!'

Ranma's good fist snapped out and sent him flying over the school, without breaking the kiss even for a second...

...No one

...

...

~oOo~

The woman cast ancient eyes over captive audience, letting the dramatic silence drag on as the fire cast dancing shadows round her tiny form and lit her long ghost white mane of hair aglow. She held their rapt attention, their wide eyes never wavering once.

"...The End..."

She smiled warmly as the children sitting around the camp fire, faces beaming with wonder and awe started to chatter excitedly with a thousand questions as she stoked the flames with the end of her gnarled staff. They clutched sticks tipped with marshmallows roasting lightly over the fire; a foreign tradition yes, but the children loved it, and she loved watching the look of delight on their faces every time they took a bite. But, those faces for all their joy and excitement, were tired and ready for sleep.

'And now, it is time for bed,' she told them gently, smiling as they groaned in protest as little ones did. 'Now, now. You've all had a big day and you need some rest and I feel like I've been telling this story for years.'

'But you haven't told us about what happened next with Lady Yukino,' one little boy protested with devastatingly wide, pleading eyes.

She couldn't help but chuckle. 'But you know what happened.'

'We like to hear you tell it though,' another explained.

'I wanna hear about Akane and Ukyo,' one girl cut in insistently.

'No, the story about the war is better!'

'It is not!'

'Yes it is!'

'I like the story about the Springs...'

And so it went as the children bickering amongst themselves about which one they wanted to hear more. She couldn't help but smile helplessly at their endless energy, sparking old, old memories that filled her heart with warmth and amusement. It was good to know they still liked to hear her stories, no matter how many times they heard them, even when they were on the verge of a succumbing to exhaustion from a long hard day of training. As much as she would have liked to indulge them some more, as they were all such great students, they would have to wait.

'All are equally good,' she silenced them gently. 'But, I am afraid they are ones for another time. Now, off to bed with the lot of you... unless you dare risk angering the terrible demon, Pantyhose Taro, who gobbles up children that stay up well after their bed time..."

The younglings gasped dramatically, their eyes widening as large as saucers. It was all she could do not to chuckle.

'I'm not scared of that Pantyhose Jerk!' one little girl, no older than five years old with flaming red head and huge sparkling azure eyes announced, pumping her little fist in the air like she could take on the entire world right there and then. Her eyes were fierce with ambition and a powerful drive to win. 'I'll kick his stupid butt if he tries anything!'

The old woman did chuckle that time, at the girl's unwavering spirit. 'I don't doubt that for a second, dear one. Be that as it may however, it's time for bed. Off with yahs now. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow and you need your rest for your Gradings... You don't want to fall asleep during your match now do you? That would look really silly...'

Most of them gave great heaving sighs and groans of defeat, and with all the exaggerated effort that only a child can manage, they started to drag themselves off to their tents, even as their exhaustion started to overcome them; they would be asleep almost as soon as their heads hit their pillows. As they wondered off to their tents though, the little red head lingered behind the rest, waiting till they were out of sight before she turned and ran back to the old woman and threw her arms around her.

'Goodnight Great Grandma Ranma,' she said. 'I love you...'

Ranma smiled gently as she hugged the little girl. 'I love you too, little one. Now, off to bed. Pleasant dreams Ranko dear.'

With a bright beaming grin, the energetic little girl twirled and ran off to her tent with a night of big fantastic dreams ahead of her.

'They always love hearing about your adventures. I know I still do,' one of the other teachers explained, with a small chuckle. 'Ranko's skill is increasing by leaps and bounds. It's remarkable for one so young. She is going to be a great martial artist one day.'

'No,' she shook her head. 'She's going to be incredible.'

Ranma left the camp quietly after dousing the fire, wondering off to the edge of the nearby cliff where she gazed out at the dark forest that stretched as far as the eye could see, eerily illuminated by the watchful eye of the full moon above. She breathed deep the clean night air, filling her lungs... she was so old now. As old as Cologne had been when they first met, all those many, many years ago... and about the same size too...

She glanced fondly down at the staff... Cologne's staff... remembering her sometimes mentor in life.

Ranma closed her ancient eyes as she leaned on the gnarled staff, lips curling into a smile. Memories played through her mind like old movies, memories of friends and family alike and loved ones now long since gone. Memories of holding her son and daughter for the very first time and looking into their wide beautiful eyes as they took in the sight of her and the world for the first time; of children, hers and friends growing like weeds faster than was ever fair, and their children, and their children's children; sometimes it was hard to keep track of all of them... but oh the wonderful times she'd had watching over them, guiding and nurturing them... Memories of grand and epic adventures the likes of which no one could ever believe possible, of the good times and of the heartaches... though thankfully the former far outweighed the later.

When she thought back to that day all those years ago when her male side had been ripped away, she knew that was the moment her life had really started. She'd had no idea what awaited her then, no idea of all the amazing things that she would experience.

She had lived a long, long life, longer than all but a few ever got to live. It had come with its challenges of course... and she would not change any of it.

Not one day!

Those memories were amongst her most treasured possessions.

The ancient martial artist continued to smile as she stared out the world before her, before sighing in helpless exasperation.

'Now... to find out where that dolt of a husband of mine has wondered off to this time...'

...THE END

~oOoOoOoOo~

::An Authors Thanks::

For five very long years, I have been writing this story and in that time it has became a labor of love and more often than not, a whole ass load of frustration. But here we are, at the end of this long, freaking ass road after five years and I am proud to post this last part on the anniversary of the day I started this story.

When I started Tabula Rasa back in 2009, I was at the end of my rope as a writer, doubting my ability or right call myself that and everything I wrote felt so stale and boring. It wasn't satisfying in the least, but people kept encouraging me to keep trying, pushing me to push myself. So, to that end I decided to challenge myself to write something I had never written before.

A love story.

At that point I was only used to writing action adventure kind of stuff and participating in Role Play narratives on forums that were always action stuff. I knew that if I was going to do this it had to be something that I was interested in and that was Gender Bending in fiction; specifically the magical and science fiction variety, and since Ranma ½ was always about that, I chose it as my fiction. I originally didn't plan on having any action orientated conflict in it and the story was only going to be at the absolute maximum, ten chapters long...

Oops...

Removing the action element from Ranma ½ was obviously easier said than done and even though I still ended up having action in it I tried to keep it more about the characters person struggles than about discovering brand new fighting techniques at every turn.

However, I just want to say this story would never have come this far or ever been completed, if it hadn't be for you, the readers and your incredible support of the story for all these years.

Likewise, this story would never have been finished without the support of my friends that had to listen to countless hours of my bitching and procrastinations about tiny stupid little problems I was having with it at any given time. There are many things throughout this story that came about because of their suggestions. And gods know there was a very dark period in my life back in 2010 that stopped me from writing for a very long time, that I'm not sure I would have gotten through without their support. They're more than just friends to me. They're my family.

For that I thank them, and I thank you, one and all.

Do me a huge favor and go check out the stories by Blade Redwind and Nokito-chan (if their stories are your kind of thing that is) on the website; they are both fantastic writers and helped me out so much through the course of this story. They deserve a lot of praise for putting up with me… XD

Now, as to the Future.

Specifically Mine, here on the site...

With Tabula Rasa coming to a close, my main priority is going to be focusing on my novel projects. Quite a while back now I had decided that when I finished Tabula Rasa I would be hanging up my fanfiction writing for good and moving on to the next chapter of my life now that I've proven to myself that I can write what is apparently some good stuff when I set my mind to it.

If you are interested in reading some of my original work (the first of which is looking to be a Gender Bender series! Too) when I publish it via the Kindle Storm, please join my Writer's Page that I set up on Facebook. You can find the link to it in my profile and if you know anyone that you think might be interested in my stuff, invite them along to join as well. I am also going to be starting a blog for the same thing as well as for other things, and possibly a twitter account at some point too.

This being said though... I am a sucker for punishment.

While I will never devote my time entirely to another fanfiction as I did with this one, to the exclusion of all my other work, I still have a couple more stories that I would like to share with you all, including a few sequels to TR teased at in the second half of this Epilogue, along with a fun little Amazing Spider Man fic that a friend of mine is pressuring me to write, XD

And I am also working on another project with FFNet writer, Maltrazz (another Ranma ½ fic writer here on the site; check his stuff out, it is seriously good stuff!) that has a lot of fun potential I just can't say no to and one I think you will all enjoy as well. It will be more light hearted than Tabula Rasa has been, but it will have its serious moments too…. Just not as many and I already have a structure set out for how many chapters it will be.

HOWEVER, I will not be posting any chapters of anything on this site, until the story is complete. Once Chapters start going up you'll known that whatever it is I'm uploading is done or VERY close to being done and will mean there will be less waiting between stories for you the readers and less stress on me to get things done. As I said though, these stories will not be my primary focus; that will be elsewhere.

For now however... it is time to say farewell.

These last five years have been one of the greatest learning experiences of my life and while I primarily wrote Tabula Rasa for myself, to satisfy my own curiosities, this story has also been for all of you and I sincerely hope, from the bottom of my cynical, procrastinating little heart, that you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it...

Farewell for now...

... For I will return!