[Ranma][Fanfic] Adulthood of a Modern Dynasty - Chapter 2: Friends, Family, and Rivals; Punches and Kicks; Blood and Tears ======================================================================= Adulthood of a Modern Dynasty Chapter 2: Friends and Rivals; Punches and Kicks; Blood and Tears Ranma 1/2 characters/situations created and copyright by Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan/Kitty/Fuji/Viz - Used without permission Adulthood of a Modern Dynasty series created, written, and copyright 2000 by Jim Lazar An ongoing series set after the end of the Ranma 1/2 manga and anime. For maximum enjoyment of this fanfic series, please read my Childhood of Modern Dynasty series before reading Adulthood. E-mail comments and/or criticisms to: jim [at] animeprime.com Make sure to check out my Modern Dynasty website for all released AMD stories, graphics files, and other information: http://www.animeprime.com/ff/md ======================================================================= >From the Journal of James Davidson May 18, 2058 "Class, today we have a new student. Please welcome James." "Hello James!" I smiled and bowed in front of the class of about ten students. It was going to be a little awkward training in the beginner's class, but that was what I was. Of course, there were some novices as well in this class. Yohachi smiled at me and then yelled out a single word. "Begin!" I had a split second to wonder what Yohachi meant before dozens of little fists and feet slammed into my body. I grunted under the assault and crumpled to the floor of the dojo. After what seemed like hours of this, Yohachi called out. "That's ten seconds. STOP!" I looked up at the ceiling and groaned. "What was that?" Yohachi leaned over me and smiled. "Just our way of welcoming new students." I lifted myself to a sitting position with a grunt and rubbed my sore shoulder. I looked out at the rest of the class and was amazed that the punches and kicks from the assorted five, six, and seven year olds could hurt that much. "You could have warned me." "You'd never learn anything that way." Yohachi smirked. "And what did I learn?" Yohachi smiled again. "Daijiko?" This is going to hurt, I know it. "Yes, Sensei," Daijiko said before she jumped into the air and kicked me in my chest. She executed a perfect back flip off my chest and landed in front of me after doing two somersaults in midair. "Sorry, James." I grunted at the impact, rubbed my sore chest, and then smiled at Daijiko to show her I was okay. It was a forced smile, of course, because my chest hurt like heck. "What have you learned?" "That getting kicked hurts?" I tried to get up again and realized I was wrong, Daijiko's kick hurt like hell. "Takma?" "Yes, Sensei." Little Takma jumped towards me and landed a glancing blow to my stomach with his fist. I doubled over. "Tha... that's pretty impressive for a seven-year old. I never knew kids could be that strong." Yohachi smiled. "You're close... but that's not quite the lesson. Sano." My head snapped back under the impact of a punch the five-year-old boy delivered to my chin. "Gaaaaaa... okay... okay... I get the point. I'm weaker than all the other students despite being older!" I didn't really consider myself out of shape and I do jog around inside the Compound wall every day. When I remembered, that is. "You really think these kids are physically stronger than you?" Before answering, I wondered what answer would be less likely to get me attacked again. "Um... yes, I'm impressed." Yohachi shook his head. "It is physically impossible for a five or six year old to be stronger than a man in his thirties who is in good health, which Hanaki assures me you are." He winked. I was suddenly a little worried about what exactly Hanaki might have told him. "Then... then... it's because of how they punch and kick that makes them so strong?" Yohachi grinned. "Exactly. A punch can be strong out of brute strength, but when you combine that with the proper focus and form it can be even more powerful." I shakily got back to my feet. "So even though the kids are physically weaker, their training allows them to focus what strength they have better?" "Exactly. Size and strength doesn't matter as much as the mind and attitude behind it." I rubbed my chin. "Isn't there a better way to show me that?" Yohachi shook his head. "Nope, my dad always said that older students had to let go of their perceptions of what strength was before they could truly grasp the power behind Anything Goes Martial Arts." I looked at the other students. "They all get beat up when they started too?" Yohachi laughed. "Of course not. They're kids, so they didn't come into my class with any preconceptions about strength." I straightened my gi and nodded. "So physical strength means nothing?" "No, but it's not the only part of martial arts. Until you can combine your physical strengths with your mental strengths, you can't master Anything Goes Martial Arts." "Well, I doubt I'll ever master it..." "With that attitude, you won't. Anyone can master it given enough time and if they have the right frame of mind." "What does that have to do with it?" "Everything and nothing, depending on how you approach it." *********************************************************************** April 10-13, 2005 - Nerima, Japan; Kennedy Space Center, Georgia Keys, USA Akane was strolling down a busy street in Nerima, while Daiji--currently a girl--and Yohachi skipped along behind her. They were dressed in their latest set of school clothes, having gone though two sets already due to fights and other mishaps. "Now remember, we have to behave so we can get in at this school. So no fighting and no..." "Hi, Mrs. Saotome!" Akane smiled and waved to a woman across the street. "Hi, Mrs. Takahashi, how are your kids?" "Fine... umm... yours..." Mrs. Takahashi pointed behind Akane. Akane looked back and gasped when she saw that Daiji had Yohachi in a headlock. "Daiji!!" "Yoyo started it!!" Daiji insisted as she attempted to twist his head off. Yohachi cried out and pulled on Daiji's shirt. "Stop it!" A ripping sound a second later told Akane she was too late. She checked her wristwatch. -A- -M- -D- Akane sat up straight in a chair, with her kids on either side of her. They all tried their best not to draw attention to the signs of the fight that Daiji and Yohachi had had on the way over, but despite Akane's best attempts, the signs were fairly obvious. In addition to the bruise Yohachi had on his face from Daiji's first punch, Daiji sported a larger bruise--which caused Yohachi much pleasure--on her face that looked remarkably like the bottom of Yohachi's shoe. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Saotome, but we really can't accept your children at this time," the older woman with horn rimmed glasses said, pushing the glasses back up her pointy nose with a finger. Akane bowed politely. "Thank you for your time." She got up and led her children out of the kindergarten. Well, it was more like pulled. Once they reached the street and she had made sure no one was listening, Akane spoke. "I'm very disappointed with you two. I think we'll have to find separate schools for you two." Daiji's blue eyes went wide as she jumped over and clung to Yohachi's arm. "No!! I don't want to go without Yoyo!!" Akane sighed. "Then you'll have to stop fighting except during your training sessions with your mommy and papa, okay?" Daiji hesitated, but nodded. Akane looked at Yohachi. "Do you promise too?" "No!" Daiji slugged Yohachi. Yohachi rubbed his arm, holding back his tears. "Okay, I promise." Akane sighed. They headed home for a change of clothing and hopefully an attitude adjustment for the kids. -A- -M- -D- Around noon, Akane staggered into the family room. She adjusted her yellow gi and wiped the sweat from her forehead with an already sweat-soaked towel. "Damn, that was exhausting." Ranko look up from the bowl of popcorn that she was trying her best to inhale. "Why are you training now? Usually you just do a morning and evening workout." Akane smiled. "I wanted the kids to work off some energy before this afternoon's appointment." "Want me to come with you?" Akane shook her head. "You have your classes." Ranko nodded. "You're just in time by the way." She gestured towards the television. Akane frowned. "For what?" "The shuttle carrying the astronauts is landing in the Georgia Keys." "Oh my... I completely forgot." Akane knelt down next to her husband and grabbed a handful of popcorn. She turned towards the open door and called out, "The shuttle is landing everyone!!" Soon, the adult residents of the house--except for the Genma, who was chasing his young son around Nerima--made their way into the family room. As they watched the news report on the television screen a small speck dropped out of the dark skies over the South Florida Sea. Ranma had settled in by Akane's other side. "See, told you there was nothing to worry about." He slipped his hand around Akane's waist and squeezed. "Get your hand off my butt, Ranma." Ranma pulled hand away quickly and looked at his sister. "Um... sorry." Akane giggled. "I know. Thankfully, my worries were for nothing." The small shuttle--being one of the new compact shuttles built after the events of ninety-nine cut the original shuttle fleet in half--came into view of one of the chase planes and gracefully turned to line itself up with the landing strip at the Kennedy Space Center. Unlike the larger shuttles--at least the two that weren't damaged beyond repair in ninety-nine--that still performed missions requiring their larger cargo capacity, the smaller Mark II shuttles had bowed wings that turned up at the tips and had slightly wider fuselages. The familiar black tile-covered bottom gave way to a whitish-silver top. The Mark II shuttle could hold up to fourteen people and had about half of the cargo capacity of the original shuttle. As the shuttle glided into a landing, a vapor trail slipped off the wingtips and short vertical stabilizer. A few seconds before it touched down, the wheels lowered and locked into place. Just then, a pigtailed boy ran through the family room, being chased by a mad redheaded girl wielding a mallet. A few seconds after they disappeared out the side door, a little girl with long black hair scurried in and tripped into her father's arms in her attempt to keep up with her older siblings. Ranma brushed the hair out of Ayami's eyes. "What did Yohachi do to his sister this time?" Ayami looked up and smiled at her father. "Donno... I just like seeing them fight." Akane sighed. "And here I thought that workout would calm them down." Ranko smiled. "Could be worse... at least they don't break stuff like..." A loud crash from the front of the house heralded Genma and his younger son's return. "Kenage's home!" little Ayami remarked, smiling ear to ear. "Yup." Ranma remarked and kissed his daughter on her forehead. So preoccupied with their own family at that moment, they weren't watching when the shuttle landed or when the three astronauts in flight suits stepped off and waved to the cameras after their triumphant return from their lunar landing. The other three astronauts would not receive the same welcome. -A- -M- -D- The night sky over the Georgia Keys cast no light on the Mark II shuttle as it was towed into a hangar. Once inside, the large hangar doors were closed and all of the various technicians and ground crew that would normally start servicing the shuttle were escorted into a lunchroom at the back of the building and kept there by several men dressed in black. Two tall men dressed in black suits remained behind with the shuttle and calmly waited in front of it. They stood alertly, their muscles slightly tensed as if ready to go into action at a second's notice. A buzzer sounded after about thirty minutes. The two men looked slowly to their left as a third man in a black suit joined him. The third man was a good two heads shorter than the others were. "It's clear. Let's get the astronauts and the samples." The two tall men nodded silently and all three of them approached the machinery they would use to open the cargo hold of the shuttle and remove the three mummified corpses of the ill-fated shadow astronaut team. After the body bags were loaded into a black van nearby, they started to unload the cases containing the samples retrieved when the lunar rover of the shadow team was remotely driven away from the monolith, pulling the three spacesuited corpses behind it by their tethers. The samples and bodies secured in the van, the three men cleaned up all traces that they had been there and then drove away in the van. The workers returned shortly thereafter and unloaded the 'public' samples from the 'public' landing site. -A- -M- -D- Back in Nerima, Genma and Nodoka were hunched over the table and shuffling though various papers. "What are we going to do, Genma?" Nodoka said looking up from the bills in front of her. Genma held up a sign reading, 'I have no idea'. Nodoka sighed. "You're human now." Genma smiled awkwardly as he put down the sign. Nodoka fingered the bills again. "We have to find some way to keep Kenage from breaking everything he sees, touches, or thinks about touching." She sighed. Genma rubbed his sore arm that fortunately was only sprained and not broken by Kenage earlier that day. "Well, I don't know. I've tried everything and the boy just won't settle down. Ranma was pretty energetic too, but never this much. Maybe I need to take him on the road for a training trip." Nodoka gasped. "No... I don't want to be separated from another son for years." "Oh... well, maybe if I get some fish-saus-" Genma went quiet and froze in his current position when the tip of Nodoka's katana was pressed to his throat. "Um... never mind then." "Mr. Tendo has been very generous in helping us pay for some of these expenses, but we can't impose on him forever." "I don't believe he thinks we are a burden." Nodoka shook her head. "But I do." "Honey, he's making a lot of money since he started doing sword and naginata training for the Japan Self Defense Force." Nodoka nodded. "Yes, you should learn from his example." Genma gulped and tried to think of a way out of him doing actual work. "Um... the dojo doesn't have enough students that they need another teacher and I'd hate to upstage our son and daughter's classes." Nodoka knew her lazy excuse for a husband was sidestepping the issue of him working. "There are other ways to make money." "Like?" Nodoka grinned devilishly and looked at the cold water in the pond. -A- -M- -D- At about the same time, Akane and the two kids sat up straight in front of a different woman with a pointy nose and glasses. The kids' clothes were clean and the bruises from the morning's fight had faded already. They were Saotomes, after all. Well, by blood at least, Daiji was a Tendo by name. The vice-principal slid her glasses back up her face. "Well, Mrs. Saotome..." Akane braced for the inevitable outcome. "Everything is in order, your kids can start tomorrow morning. Please bring them around eight." The vice-principal slid a form forward. "We'll just need your signature here and then the deposit for the first six weeks." Akane just stared at the old woman without blinking. "Mrs. Saotome?" Akane blinked and shook her head. "Sorry... They're in then?" The vice-principal smiled. "Yes. Any reason they shouldn't be?" Akane shook her head furiously. "No... no. I... just wasn't sure if you had room." She was doing cartwheels in her mind. -A- -M- -D- Akane did cartwheels down the street after leaving the kindergarten, not even caring about the fact that she was wearing a dress. "That's so cool, Mommy!" Yohachi tried to duplicate his mother's style, but slammed into a light pole within one spin. Daiji clapped at both. -A- -M- -D- The next day, Akane walked down the kindergarten's main hallway to pick up the kids after their first day at the new kindergarten. Even though it was the fourth time they had had a 'first day of kindergarten', it didn't make it any easier for Akane. Beads of sweat dribbled down her forehead. Visions of tied up teachers, curse and tell, bad experiences with water, and large scale property damage danced in her head as she opened the door to the main schoolroom where she had dropped the kids off that morning. Instead of any of the horrible outcomes she had imagined, her two kids ran over and cheerfully greeted her. "It was fun, Mommy!" Yohachi exclaimed, smiling from ear to ear. "Yeah... Daddy, they have better toys than we have at home!" Daiji remarked. Akane frowned when she noticed that Daiji was a boy. "Daiji, did something happen with water?" "Yeah, but I had fun. Can I be a boy again tomorrow? Boys get to have more fun here!" "Um..." Akane was so shocked that nothing bad had happened--despite Daiji's curse apparently being triggered--that she just stared at her children for a few seconds before finding her voice. "I.. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." Yohachi nodded. "Yeah, funny man with tree on head make me laugh." Akane's eye went wide. "Whaaa..." "Oh oh... Ms. Akane Tendo! I remember you when you were just a small little high school keiki being bugged by that bad keiki, Ranma Saotome!" Akane cringed at hearing the voice. When she turned around and saw the gaudy Hawaiian shirt, she backed away quickly and slammed into the opposite wall. She stumbled and only just managed to avoid falling down. "Wha... what are you doing here?" She glanced at her kids and then at the door, mentally calculating how fast she could get out of there after grabbing them. Yohachi and Daiji stood just inside the door and looked confused at their mother/father's reaction. The large man with a palm tree on his head laughed as he walked towards them from down the hallway. "Me get this job after Furinkan get vaporized and go poof! Enjoyed it so much, me not want to go back to teaching nasty older boys and girls after they rebuild Furinkan." "No... no... no..." Akane shook her head. "This will never work." "What's wrong, keiki?" "I'm sorry, but I think I'll have to find another kindergarten." Akane held out her hands for her kids. "I thought you said this was the last one, Daddy?" Daiji reminded Akane, trying to be helpful. "Yeah... you said we were des... des..." Yohachi scrunched up his face as he concentrated on the word. "Desperate!" Akane sighed. "Children, not now..." "Oh oh... you come to right place then, Ms. Akane Tendo." "Um... Mrs. Akane Saotome, actually." Akane hated not being able to call herself Ranko's wife in public, but knew most people wouldn't understand her three-way marriage. She didn't really care, but she wanted her kids to have as normal a childhood as possible. Considering they lived in a fortress patrolled by large-breasted women, that was already going to be a challenge without attracting more attention to themselves. The Principal shook his head. "Awwww... too bad you couldn't escape the clutches of that bad student." Before Akane could comment, he continued. "We best kindergarten in Nerima!" The Principal smiled and gestured to a picture of the school on the hallway wall. "All modern facilities since original school was flattened in ninety-nine. We have thee best teachers, too! They didn't get flattened in ninety-nine!" Akane looked warily at the Principal. "Do you teach?" "Only when a teacher is sick. Me much too busy as thee principal of kindergarten, elementary, and junior high schools here on newly built campus. Which means that kids not have to worry about taking placement tests until they want to get into thee new Furinkan High School, which me am required to tell you that me am no longer affiliated with." Akane could tell he'd given this speech many times before. "I don't know..." "It be about my always wanting to shave your hubby's head and give you a bowl cut, ain't it, keiki?" Akane smirked. "That's part of it." "Don't worry, keiki, no haircut rules here." Akane relaxed. "Everyone here wears wigs!" The Principal reached under his Hawaiian shirt, pulled out a rainbow colored afro wig, and put it on. The kids started laughing hysterically at the big man in the gaudy shirt wearing the gaudy wig. Akane's lip twitched as she fought back her laughter. "I'm sure your teachers look great, but..." She lost her battle when the palm tree on his head burst through the wig's top and dropped a tiny coconut, which slid down the ridge of his nose and then bounced off the tip and onto his waiting tongue. The Principal swallowed the candy coconut. "Ah, keiki is happy! Me plan worked!" He took off his wig and smiled. "Now we discuss your children's education? Very important that they get an early start to get into the best colleges." Akane flinched at the mention of college. Her two attempts to go to college after they had recovered from ninety-nine had ended in miserable failure. Her first attempt was stopped cold when she found out she was pregnant with Ayami and the other when she flunked three entrance exams in a row. She pointed to her long time out of high school--which she and her husbands had finished when they had time for make-up classes and to take tests--and the time raising her kids as why she failed, but the truth was her heart wasn't in it. Her heart was with her kids and family now. She studied her former tormenter and tried to decide if she could trust him with her kids. She glanced at the kids just as Yohachi slugged Daiji for pulling his hair. She was ready to scold her son when the Principal spoke. "Bad, keiki! Boys shouldn't hit girls!" the Principal scolded, ignoring the fact that Daiji was currently a boy. His registration forms listed Daiji as a girl after all. "He's a boy too!" Yohachi insisted. "That's no excuse. Say you're sorry, you bad keiki." Yohachi scrunched up his face. "Sorry." "You will be!!" Daiji tried to tackle Yohachi, but was intercepted by the Principal. "Let me go!" "Bad keiki, you not fight in my school. School is for learning and for having fun, not fighting." Daiji grabbed the principal's sleeve and before Akane could stop her, tossed the Principal out the hallway window. Unfortunately for the Principal, it wasn't open at the time. It was effectively 'open' after he crashed through it, of course. Akane shook her head. "So much for our last chance." She looked down at the kids. "I think you know what I'm going to say, right kids?" Daiji and Yohachi nodded in unison, then Daiji spoke. "You're very disappointed in Yohachi." "You too!" Yohachi pulled back his arm. "Stop it now!!" Akane yelled, a red glow appearing around her body. Yohachi and Daiji cringed backwards from her. Akane gasped when she saw the terror on her kids' faces. She took several deep breaths and started to relax. The red glow faded. "I'm sorry I snapped at you." "How did you glow like that?" Daiji asked, more like he wanted to know how to do it himself than amazement at seeing the glow itself. "I'm sorry... You kids just have to stop fighting all the time." "Why?" Yohachi asked innocently. "Because people who love each other shouldn't fight." "You and Daddy fight." Daiji nodded. "And you and Mommy too." Akane gasped and dropped to her knees. "Sometimes, but we don't hit each other." Inwardly she appended that statement. "Oh... so I can argue with Yoyo if I don't punch him?" "Well, as long as you don't shout and get angry, yes. Everyone has disagreements, but you have to learn to stay under control and not let your anger cause you to lose control." "Oh... okay." Daiji smiled. "You betta stop pulling my pigtail then!!" "I'll pull it..." Daiji started to yell, but then trailed off. "Sorry. I won't pull your hair again." He hugged his brother. Akane smiled, but inside she was worried. She held her hands out. "Come on kids, we'll find another school for you." "Aw... why you not want to let them learn here?" Akane looked down the hall and saw the Principal limp up to her, with all sorts of leaves and branches sticking to his person. "Well, I figured after-" She gestured to the broken window. "No... no... that was nothing. It reminds me of the good old days at Furinkan." Akane opened her mouth to speak, but then smiled. She looked at Daiji and Yohachi who were calmly holding hands and waiting for her to make a decision. "Well, keiki?" Akane sighed and came to a decision. "I'll have to talk it over with my husbands first, but maybe we can give it a try." The Principal didn't even seem to register Akane's use of 'husbands'. "Great, keiki!!" Akane put up a hand to stop him. "Wait! There are a few special circumstances I have to talk to you about first." She glanced at Daiji. "And also about your son..." -A- -M- -D- "No way!!" Ranma shouted later at home. "Double no way!!" Ranko agreed. Akane sighed. "I know how you feel, I almost tripped and broke my neck trying to get out of there when I first saw him." Ranma crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine, it's agreed then." Akane shook her head. "But then I talked to him some and I don't think he'll be as extreme as he was with high school kids. He's also able to handle being thrown out a window without complaining or calling the police." Ranma smirked. "Yeah, I'm sure he got used to me doing it to him." "I won't have the father of that jerk teaching my kids!" Ranko insisted. Akane nodded. "I was worried about that too, but the Principal said he has had no contact with Kuno since his son got married. Apparently, the Principal was against the marriage." "Why?" Ranko asked. "Something about her haircut, I think." Ranma's eyes narrowed. "Does the Principal think Mariko is still alive like Kuno does?" Akane frowned. "I didn't ask about that... but I really think this is our only hope right now. We can have the Amazons keep a close eye on them and it's the only kindergarten within walking distance that will take them. It may be the only one in the world, in fact." Ranma frowned. "Well, I'll just go knock some sense into the others." Akane sighed. "That's why this is our last chance. Ranko tried that at the first kindergarten we applied to, which is why I've taken them to the appointments by myself since then." Ranko frowned. "Hey, that woman kept calling me Daiji's mother instead of her father!" "Get used to it already, you're her mother and it's better for Daiji if you stop fighting it." Ranko looked ready to argue, but relaxed when she saw Akane's serious look. "Okay... I'll try." She smoothed out a crease in her skirt. Akane looked at Ranma. "And both of you have got to try harder to keep those two from fighting all the time. Spend some more time working out with them to burn off all that excess energy they seem to have." Ranma smiled. "I know, I'll teach them the Moko Takabisha!" Akane and Ranko gaped at Ranma for several moments before Akane found her voice. "You will not do that! Wait until they are responsible enough to handle it!" Ranma looked at Ranko for support, but didn't get any. "Don't look at me. I agree with Akane, they're just too young." Ranma frowned. "I thought at least you'd back me up." "Maybe it's the mother in me talking." Ranko winked at Akane. -A- -M- -D- Later that day after Soun's morning naginata classes were over, Ranma and Ranko stood in front of a row of students who were all dressed in gis. Most of the students were in their early teens, except for one cocky teenager who looked to be a couple years older than the rest. "Now then, today we're going to practice breathing and focusing your..." The tall, cocky teenager smirked as he interrupted Ranko. "When are we going to get to the kicking and punching already? I've heard this is the best place for that." Ranko looked at the boy, who had just joined the class a week earlier. "In time. First things first. A punch is only as good as the power of the mind behind it." The boy rolled his eyes. "That's not what my pop says." "Well, your pop is wrong. A punch can be strong out of brute strength, but when you combine that with the proper focus and form it can be even more powerful." "Man, if I wanted to go through all this crap, I'd have stuck with my last dojo." Ranma studied the boy for a moment before responding. "Why are you here, Kamajirou?" "To learn the best way to beat the crap out of people." "Is that all that martial arts are to you?" "Yeah... what else can it be?" "Everything and nothing, depending on how you approach it." Inside, Ranma thanked all the time he spent reading those martial arts manga for that little piece of inspiration. "Save me the spiritual crap, I've heard the stories about you two." Ranma frowned and glanced at Ranko. "Stories?" "About how you used to run around Nerima and beat everyone up." Kamajirou looked at Ranko. Leered would be a more accurate term for his failed attempt to see through Ranko's gi. "Most of those people came looking for a fight," Ranma responded. "Yeah, when you're the world's greatest martial artists, you get challenged," Ranko explained, unconsciously tightening her gi sash. "A lot," Ranma added, earning a nod from Ranko. "Someday you're going to have to prove that. Just because it's on your flyers doesn't make it true." "Someday I'll prove it to you personally." Kamajirou stood up. "Is that a challenge?" "No, not now. When you're much, much better I'll give you a full match to show you that martial arts is more than just physical power." Kamajirou tightened his sash. "I'm ready now. I may not win, but I can give you a run for your money with these." He held his clenched fists up in front of him. "Hardly. Now if you could beat-" Kamajirou interrupted Ranma. "This is the part where you recommend I fight your sister, right? That's such a cliche. I imagine that you think I'd hold back against a girl." He leered at Ranko again. "I won't. It'd be interesting to see if that hot body hides any real power." Ranko started to protest, but Ranma's next statement stunned even her. "No, I was going to suggest my five-old-son. If you can beat him, then I'll let you skip the introductory part of the class." Kamajirou didn't know how to respond at first, so he just stared at Ranma with his mouth open. Ranko leaned over to Ranma and whispered to him. "Are you sure Yohachi is ready?" Ranma smiled confidently. "Of course he is." Ranko's stomach tightened with concern for Yohachi when she recognized that confident smile, since she used it often as well. Kamajirou finally recovered from his shock. "So if I beat the crap out of your little boy, I can skip all this mental training crap?" "Nope, if you even land a single solid punch to his body I'll let you skip." "Ranma!" Ranko gasped, astonished that Ranma would give the teenage boy that big of an edge. Kamajirou smiled broadly. "Bring the runt on." -A- -M- -D- Ranma tightened Yohachi's little sash on his gi. "Are you focused?" Yohachi nodded. "Are you rested?" Yohachi nodded. "Are you scared?" Yohachi nodded and trembled a little. Ranma smiled. "Good, that's natural. Only fools aren't afraid of a fight. The trick is to draw on that and use it to focus more. Then use that focus to do whatever it takes to win a fight." "Okay... So you get scared too?" "Ummmm.... well..." Ranma looked around to see if anyone was in earshot and then whispered to his son. "Yes, but I use it to strengthen my attacks." Yohachi stiffened. "Okay, if Daddy can do it, I can too!" "That's my boy!" Ranma smiled broadly and patted him on his backside. "Just don't tell anyone else that we get scared, okay?" Yohachi nodded. "Now go out there and show Kamajirou that there is more to martial arts than brute strength." "Okay." Yohachi took one step before Ranma restrained him. "Don't use any of your sneaky attacks, okay?" Yohachi hesitated. "Not even the one's that Grandpa Furball showed me?" Ranma's eyebrows raised. "Especially not those." Yohachi nodded his agreement. "Can we get started already? I really want to beat the spud to a bloody pulp!" Kamajirou shouted from the other side of the dojo. He was repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fists in anticipation of his easy victory. Ranko stood in the middle of the dojo and glared at Kamajirou. "You do more than land that single winning hit and I'll make sure you..." Ranma interrupted. "Ranko, let it be. Yohachi will be alright." Ranko looked back at Ranma and then down at Yohachi. "You ready?" Yohachi nodded and stepped forward to his starting position, about two meters from Kamajirou. Ranko looked at Kamajirou. "Are..." "Yeah... yeah. Let's get this started already." "Beat him up good, Yoyo!!" Daiji shouted from where she sat against the wall and watched. Yohachi smiled at his sister before looking back at his opponent. He took a deep breath. Ranko looked between the two combatants and then raised his hand. "Okay, the fight ends when Kamajirou lands a solid hit against Yohachi or Yohachi renders Kamajirou unable to continue." Kamajirou chuckled. "This'll be quick." He cracked his knuckles. Ranko looked one last time at Ranma to be sure he wanted to go through with this. Ranma nodded confidently. Ranko looked back at the combatants. "On three. One... two... THREE!" Kamajirou charged straight in and swung a fist at Yohachi's face, but the five-year-old easily sidestepped the undisciplined lunge. Yohachi spun around and tried to kick Kamajirou in the back, but the teenager had gotten out of range of the young boy's short legs. "Yoyo, he's bigger than you! You have to adjust to that!" Ranma smiled at Daiji. "Let your brother fight it himself, okay?" Daiji nodded, but looked very worried as she watched the fight. Yohachi sprung to the side as Kamajirou charged at him again. And missed again. Yohachi sprung into the air and landed a kick to the older boy's chest. Kamajirou smiled. "That tickled." He lashed out with his fists, but Yohachi had already used his foot to springboard straight up from Kamajirou's chest. "Huh?" Kamajirou looked up and got a face-full of five-year-old foot. Daiji smiled and cheered. "That's the way, Yoyo!!" As Kamajirou toppled backwards, Yohachi somersaulted down the tall boy's body, kicking and punching all the way down. A loud grunt was heard when Kamajirou hit the dojo floor. Hard. The other students were stunned at the unexpected ending to the fight. The winner's proud father overflowed with pride and smiled at his son. The winner's sister cheered. "Way to go, Yoyo!!" The winner's other father--the one with breasts--smirked. Yohachi landed in front of the prone boy and waited in his ready stance. Ranko walked over and looked at her student. "Kamajirou?" The boy didn't move. "Kamajirou?" The boy's chest rose. "He's alive." She looked at Yohachi. "And the winner is... Yohachi!!" Daiji sprung from the floor and gave Yohachi a hug harder than the blows Yohachi gave Kamajirou. "That was cool, Yoyo!" Ranko walked over to Ranma and whispered to him. "Why'd you do that?" Ranma looked to make sure that no one was watching. "Because Kamajirou's a jerk." Ranko smirked. "It has nothing to do with wanting to give Yohachi confidence since he can't beat Daiji during their sparring sessions, huh?" Ranma flinched as Ranko hit the nail right on the head. "No... of course not." Ranko smiled. "Well, it was a good plan if it was." "Thanks," Ranma said absently. Ranko smiled more, but then frowned when she looked back at the center of the dojo. "Look out!!" Kamajirou had regained consciousness and jumped at Yohachi like a feral cat at the last mouse in the world. Before he got to Yohachi, Daiji jumped over her brother and smashed the boy savagely across his face with her elbow. His head snapped to the side as his body crumpled to the ground. The students were even more stunned than when Yohachi pummeled Kamajirou. The mother/father was overjoyed. Yohachi was pissed. "No fair, I was supposed to beat him up!" Ranma smiled and walked over to his son. "You did, son, Daiji just finished him off after you won the match. That's what big sisters and/or brothers do for their little brothers." Yohachi thought about that for a few seconds before smiling. "Oh... okay then." Ranko looked oddly at Ranma, with a look that asked 'when did you ever do that for me?' Ranma smiled, shrugged, and raised his hands. -A- -M- -D- Later, Kamajirou was bowed very formally in front of Ranma, Ranko, and the two kids. "Sensei, I am deeply sorry for questioning your teaching methods, breaking the rules of the match, and for belittling your son." He glanced at Daiji. "And daughter." Ranma's ego was almost ready to boil over. "And you want to continue as my student?" "Yes, Sensei, I do." Kamajirou glanced at the two kids. "Now then, let's start working on that inner peace again," Ranma said and gestured to the rest of the class. Ranko looked at Yohachi and Daiji. "You two want to sit in on this class?" The two kids nodded emphatically. -A- -M- -D- Ranma and Ranko worked their students into a sweat and then dismissed them. "That's all for today," Ranma said. "Don't forget that my wife and my sister will be in the All-Japan Woman's-" Ranko flinched. "-Martial Arts Tournament on Saturday." "I'll be winning it too," Ranko boasted. "I'll take that bet." Ranko and Ranma turned around and smiled when they saw Nabiki and Mousse in the doorway. Ranko returned her attention to her class. "Two hundred extra pushups for anyone who bets against me." The students all bowed to their teachers and then slowly filed out of the room. Yohachi jumped at Mousse and exchanged a series of soft punches and kicks with him. "Uncle Ducky!!" Mousse smiled and got Yohachi into an unbreakable bear hug. Yohachi broke it in less than two seconds by knocking Mousse into a bucket of water. "Uncle Ducky!!" Yohachi shouted as he chased the duck around the dojo. Daiji jumped into Nabiki's arms and smiled. "Auntie, can I get three ice cream bars on Mommy winning tomorrow?" Ranko's eye twitched. She frowned and started to say something. Nabiki smiled at Daiji. "You're on, but tell you what..." She checked her watch to make sure she had time before the family meeting Genma and Nodoka had called. "I'll just take you and the other kids for ice cream right now, okay?" Daiji agreed like any other five-year-old would. "Yippie!!" -A- -M- -D- Nabiki sat down in a booth at the neighborhood ice cream parlor and put down the two bowls of ice cream she was carrying. Daiji slid in next to her and reached for the bowl of ice cream Nabiki had set down in front of her. Yohachi and Ayami were on either side of their mother, already digging into their bowls. They were doing a fairly good job of getting it into their mouths, but not perfectly as witnessed by the ice cream on their noses and chins. And cheeks and front of their shirts and the wall behind them and... you get the idea. "I don't recall inviting you." Nabiki looked across the table at Akane, a smile on her face. Akane smiled back at her sister. "Well, I don't get to see you that much since you started Tendo Enterprises." She helped Yohachi--who was sitting on her left--wipe some ice cream off his nose. She started to continue her clean up job, before deciding to wait till he was finished. Trying to keep up with all the ice cream splashes would have been an impossible task. Nabiki laughed. "Just come to Mon Canard and walk up the stairs. Tendo Enterprises is the first room on the left." Akane smiled. "How is it at your new place?" She helped Ayami scoop a spoonful of ice cream into her small mouth. "Great... Mousse-" Nabiki paused to glance at Mousse, who was chasing something around the outside of the ice cream parlor. "-is doing a great job managing the restaurant. We're packed every night and we're looking for some good locations to open a couple more restaurants. Probably Mon Canard Trois and Quatre. I believe you're familiar with those terms?" "They're French for three and four, right? But I really don't know much French other than that." "Well, you do know all about Menage a Trois and Quatre, right?" Nabiki winked. Akane gasped and blushed. "Um... err..." She tried to change the subject. "Wow... so Mousse is doing better than you at running the restaurant, huh?" Nabiki frowned at being reminded of that. "Well... I handle the business end of it... he just runs the day to day stuff." Akane laughed and inwardly congratulated herself at changing the subject, it wasn't something she managed often with Nabiki. "I know.. It's a team effort. Most marriages are." "A... kaaaa... neeee," Nabiki growled. Akane waved her hands in front of her. "Sorry... sorry. What are you waiting for anyway?" Nabiki smiled. "Well, we wanted to wait until I finished school..." Akane interrupted. "Which you did last year." "Yes, but we're just so busy right now. If I can pull off my IPO, then we'll get married." "What does Tendo Enterprises do or make again?" Nabiki smiled awkwardly. "I haven't figured that out yet." "Don't wait too long, Nabiki." Akane smiled. "On both decisions." Nabiki glanced at Mousse as he ran by the window again. "I won't." A loud crash was heard. "Doesn't Kenage ever stop?" Akane shook her head. "Nope." "Maybe feeding him ice cream wasn't a good idea after all." Akane laughed and pointed at the half-melted ice cream in the bowl to Nabiki's right. "He didn't even start it." "Damn, that kid is hyper." "You have no idea," Akane remarked dryly just before the window shattered and covered them all with glass. -A- -M- -D- That evening, Genma sat next to his wife and finished explaining to the other adults in the Tendo household, as well as Nabiki and Kasumi and their significant others. "And so... we'll be leaving in a week." Soun was first to speak. "Are you sure, Saotome?" Genma nodded. "Yes, we feel it's the best way for Kenage to work off the excess energy he has, so I will take my son out on the road and train him to be a man among men." "Good thinking, he can cause more damage that way," Nabiki remarked. "Nabiki," Kasumi scolded. "Kenage is just a very active child, he doesn't mean to destroy everything he touches." A large crash was heard from upstairs. Ranma and Ranko exchanged a nervous look before Ranma responded. "Um... is that a good idea? I still get nightmares from that training." Ranko looked nervously at her father. "Yeah... I'd kind of hate my brother to suffer like that." Genma huffed. "Is that the thanks I get for bringing you both up to be the world's greatest martial artists and to be men among men despite one of you having breasts?" He looked between Ranma and Ranko. Amazingly, Ranma and Ranko didn't respond. Instead, they looked at Akane. Akane took a deep breath before speaking. "I made a list of everything I've had to... prevent my husbands from passing on to our children. Most of them originated from the time my husbands spent on the road with you, Mr. Saotome." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small notepad with about a hundred pages. "And I am still trying to find out why they are so sure that running from police cars is the best way to strengthen their leg muscles." She raised an eyebrow accusingly at Genma. Nodoka reached forward and took the notepad. "Hmmm..." she started flipping through the pages. "I have two more notepads in our room when you're done with that one," Akane remarked. "I'll make some copies." Nodoka nodded. "They'll come in handy while we're on the road." Jaws dropped around the room. "Mom?" Ranma gasped. "You're going with them?" Ranko asked, incredulously. Nodoka nodded. "I don't want to be separated from another son and I can't tru..." She looked awkwardly at her husband. "Trouble my husband to bring up our son alone." Knowing glances went around the room as Nodoka barely avoided spilling her real reasons for going along. Hinako frowned. "I'll miss Kenage, he's such a sweet child." She popped her lollipop back into her mouth. Soun patted his wife's hand and then looked at his friend. "Well, if you're sure this is what you want to do, we'll miss you." Nodoka and Genma nodded. The sound of shattering glass was heard from upstairs. A pile of debris landing in the koi pond quickly followed it. Nodoka and Genma exchanged a glance before responding together. "Maybe we should leave tomorrow..." Ayami shuffled in, clutching her Baka-neko in her hand. "Kenage broke the wall." Akane looked between her youngest and the koi pond. "Yes, we can see that." The adults all sighed in unison. -A- -M- -D- April 16, 2005 - Nerima, Japan Most of the Tendo and Ono families sat down in their two rows of seats in the arena where the All-Japan Woman's Martial Arts tournament was being held. Soun and Hinako were taking care of Ayami, Moyashi, and Yohachi. Daiji was between Kasumi and her husband in an effort to keep Daiji out of pigtail pulling range of her brother. Kasumi was on the aisle at Dr. Tofu's insistence, just in case she went into labor. Akane and Ranko were in the dressing rooms, of course. Ranma was with them and acting as both of their coaches. Ranko didn't like the idea of Ranma being her coach, but the rules of the contest required a coach be registered for each participant. Nabiki and Mousse walked down the aisle and greeted everyone. They plopped down behind Kasumi and Dr. Tofu. "Has it started yet?" Nabiki asked, looking down at the current match between a tall skinny woman and a huge woman about half as tall, but four times as wide. "Nope, there were some matches this morning, but Ranko and Akane's first matches aren't for another ten minutes or so," Soun explained. Nabiki looked around, confirming that Nodoka, Genma, and their son weren't there. "How are things without Kenage around?" Soun smiled awkwardly. "We of course miss him, but..." Hinako finished. "It's a lot more quiet now." Soun nodded. "They called yesterday. Said they were doing okay in Koriyama." Nabiki smiled. "Didn't a bridge collapse near Koriyama yesterday?" Soun frowned. "That might explain why Saotome needed some cash wired to him." Nabiki laughed. "I guess their travelling panda sideshow isn't going to cover all of their expenses after all." Soun nodded. -A- -M- -D- Ranko pulled off her bra and tossed it aside. "So what's the gimmick in this one?" She pulled a large roll of cloth out and started to wrap it around her exposed breasts. Ranma looked up from Akane's naked back. "Um... what do you mean?" He started to wrap another long piece of cloth around Akane's torso. "I mean, is it something like 'Rock-Paper-Scissors Martial Arts', or 'Naked twister Martial Arts', or 'Beanie Baby Martial Arts', or 'Hopscotch Martial Arts'." Akane adjusted her breasts in her bindings and then looked up. "It's straight karate." Ranko blinked twice. "Huh?" Ranma smiled. "We told you before. This is a regular tournament. No gimmicks and no weight classes." Ranko frowned. "How odd." Akane smirked. "Afraid I'll beat you in a straight karate match?" Ranko laughed. "Hardly. I'll be bringing home the trophy and the cash prize. Wife or not, Ranko Tendo never loses to anyone!" Akane smiled and slipped her yellow gi top on. "We'll see." Ranko finished wrapping her breasts and stood up, causing the bindings to fall to the floor. "Damn..." she muttered as her breasts reappeared. "These things can be really annoying sometimes. Ranma walked over and picked up the cloth wrappings from the floor. "Here let me help." He made 'turn-around' motions with his finger. "No way! I can do it myself." "Ranko, let him do it. We don't have much time until our matches." Ranko sighed. "Okay... but do it nice and tight." "Yeah...yeah..." Ranma wrapped the first couple rows around her ribcage and then pulled it tight. "Urk.... too... tight..." Ranko gasped. -A- -M- -D- "Next up is Ranko Tendo versus the Amazon Bomber!!" the announcer called out over the arena. Ranko rolled her eyes and looked at Ranma in the corner of the ring, which was a raised platform without ropes. There were just lines on the mat to indicate the bounds. "This Amazon fan club has gotten out of hand." She paused as she saw Nipplering and some other Amazons behind her family. "The real fan club, that is." Ranma smiled and nodded. "Just hit her hard and quick, she won't know what hit her." Ranko nodded. "I know that... this will be a piece of cake." She advanced on the center of the ring when the referee motioned to her. She looked at her opponent and then upward. "It's a man!!" The referee shook his head. "No, the judges verified that she was a woman." He glanced at the judges that were still puking into nearby buckets. In the stands, Nabiki's eyes went wide. "Ah! That's one of Kuno's lawyers!" Mousse looked at his girlfriend. "Are you sure?" Nabiki nodded. "Yeah, I've dealt with those hairy knuckles more times that I care to remember." Ranko examined the huge 'woman' in front of her. She was almost a meter taller than Ranko and had muscles everywhere. Even her eyebrows seemed to have muscles on top of other muscles. The five o'clock shadow would be considered pretty thick for two P.M. in the afternoon on a man, but on a woman it made her look very menacing. The gi the woman wore was very tight and looked to be made for a woman half her size. The woman walked forward a step, causing the mat to shake and send a large ripple across the surface. Ranko smirked. "Begin!" The referee shouted. Ranko paused for a half second to read what his opponent would do first. Then she paused another second when the behemoth didn't move a muscle. After five seconds of no movement, a voice called out across the arena. "Beat her up, Mommy!!" Ranko's eyebrow twitched. The Amazon Bomber jumped into the air at what she thought was an indication of Ranko's first attack. It wasn't. Ranko just didn't like to be called 'Mommy'. That didn't stop her from noticing the Amazon Bomber leap into the air, since something that large was hard to miss. Ranko did a backflip and then leapt straight up into the air. The Amazon Bomber came down on the spot Ranko should have been, but wasn't. She jumped to the side as Ranko landed where she was a split second earlier. She swept her foot out to catch the little woman, but Ranko had already jumped forward. Ranko thought as she sprung over the top of the woman's head and grabbed hold of the woman's arm in one swift movement. As her feet touched ground, most of the muscles in Ranko's body tensed. Like a slow motion train wreck caused by a speeding bullet, the small woman flipped the large woman over her head and onto the ground in a perfectly executed shoulder throw. "Ippon!!" the referee called out and glanced a the judges to confirm there were no fouls. "Winner, Ranko Tendo!" The crowd started to clap and applaud. Ranko wiped a tiny trickle of sweat off her forehead and then smiled to Akane and Ranma as they rushed over. "See? No big deal?" Ranma smirked, because he could tell it hadn't been as easy as Ranko had thought going into the fight. Akane hugged Ranko, resisting the urge to kiss her husband in the public place. "Congratulations." Ranko smiled and looked over at the rest of her family. She waved to her cheering section, which would soon be Akane's cheering section. The announcer's voice blared out form the speakers. "In a time of fifteen point four seconds, Ranko Tendo has defeated the Amazon Bomber! Ranko Tendo advances to the next round." A slight pause as the audience applauded again. "The next match is between... Akane Saotome-" Akane smiled and stepped forward. "-and Ukyo Kounji!" Akane's jaw dropped open, just slightly ahead of Ranko and Ranma's jaws. She looked over to the other side of the mat and saw a woman with long black hair step onto the mat. Their eyes met and caused both of their hearts to skip a beat. "Ukyo..." Akane whispered to herself. Ranko looked between Ukyo, Akane, and then finally Ranma. "Did you know she was going to be here?" Ranma shook his head. "I only saw the list of contestants from the Tokyo area... she must have been in one of the regional matches." Ranko suddenly started to scan the area around the ring and the audience. "Then where is..." Ranma realized who Ranko was looking for and started to look for a redhead in the crowd. Other than Daiji, he didn't see one. "I don't see Sanma." "No... me either." At the edge of the ring Akane stood motionless. "Ukyo..." she whispered the name of her friend, rival, and a family member by marriage to her former lover and fiance, who was the sister of her two husbands as well as once being part of her former single fiance. In other words, their relationship was complicated. Very complicated. Ukyo approached the center of the ring where the referee waited. The referee nodded to Ukyo and then looked over at Akane. "Mrs. Saotome?" Akane blinked and then remembered why she was there. She took some nervous steps towards the center of the ring. As she walked, she studied the woman she had not seen in over four years. Like Akane's, Ukyo's long black hair was tied behind her in a tight ponytail to keep it from getting in the way. Ukyo walked to the center with a determined stride that showed she meant business. Those that knew about the injuries she suffered in ninety-nine were amazed at the complete lack of any noticeable limp or sign of those major injuries in Ukyo's movements. Even Akane's keen senses--honed by a lifetime of martial arts training--couldn't detect anything in Ukyo's movements to indicate she was ever injured, despite knowing there should be some trace of the injuries. Akane finally made it to the center of the ring, not even realizing she had briefly paused between each step she had taken. "Ukyo..." Ukyo smiled nervously. "Hi, Akane. I... I sort of thought I'd see you here." "Why... why haven't you come by to see us or called? The letters stopped after you were on the road for a year or so." "I'm sorry about that. I've had a lot going on and just haven't had the chance recently." "I was worried about you." "I know... I'm sorry." "Where is..." The referee apparently had decided waiting for the two women to stop talking by themselves wasn't going to work, so he cleared his throat. "Ladies?" Akane bowed her head. "Sorry." Ukyo nodded her apologies too. "We'll talk after I win this tournament, okay?" "Um... okay." The two women took up their proper positions across from each other and each took deep breaths. "Begin!!" Akane barely had time to read Ukyo's first move from her muscles before the okonomiyaki chef launched herself into the air. Although Akane was surprised at the height Ukyo attained, she had taken four years of training with Sanma into account in appraising Ukyo's possible attacks and countered by jumping straight forward and then cart-wheeling to the side. Ukyo had anticipated the first move, but had guessed wrong on where Akane would go after the jump forward. So her follow-up lunge and leg sweep went way wide of the target. In the stands, Daiji was smiling. "Beat her up, Daddy!!" She earned some odd looks from the people around her family. Yohachi tilted his head. "She looks familiar..." Soun looked down at Yohachi, who sat in the seat next to him. "Um... she married your Uncle Sanma." Yohachi's eyes went wide. "Ah! Mommy showed me pictures of her and Uncle. Where Uncle Sanma?" Daiji, who was sitting in Nabiki's lap, scrunched up her face. "Uncle Sanma?" The adults looked around the arena again, but like their first attempt before the current match started, they didn't see Sanma. Nabiki tweaked Daiji's nose. "He's been away for awhile. With Ukyo around, I'm sure you'll get to see him soon." She looked around again. "What does he look like?" Daiji asked, looking at her brother. Yohachi thought about the photo he'd seen for a second. "He kind of looks like your mommy." "Uncle's a girl?" Nabiki nodded. "Yes... he's sort of like you, but doesn't change forms... most of the time. He was around for a while when you were very young, but he went on the road with his wife." Nabiki pointed at Ukyo, who had just managed a glancing blow to Akane's side, but received a kick to her shin for her trouble. "Ukyo." Daiji's eyes went wide in sudden recognition of the name. "Oh, the bitch who stole Daddy's third husband!" The jaws of the adults dropped and they wondered where exactly Daiji had heard that phrase. And who she had heard it from. They looked back at the fight and saw Akane get a tight grip on Ukyo's gi and lift her from the ground. The crowd went silent for what they assume was a match-ending throw. The crowd gasped as one when it wasn't. Instead of being cleanly thrown over Akane's shoulder and onto the mat for a win for Akane, Ukyo swiveled in mid air and caught Akane's elbow. A slight amount pressure from Ukyo on Akane's elbow caused Akane's throw to go wide, allowing Ukyo to land outside the ring's boundary. "Out of bounds!" the referee shouted. Ukyo grinned as she stood up. "You've gotten a lot better since we last fought. Sanma assured me you'd never be able to counter that first leg sweep." Akane straightened her gi and made her way back to the center of the ring. "Sanma has shorter legs," she explained, smirking slightly. "You've gotten better too. I see Sanma's been giving you help with your unarmed combat." "Yeah... um... I'm sorry we've stayed out of touch." "I'm sorry I didn't try harder to keep-" "Continue!" Akane lashed out with a fist and pegged Ukyo's chest. "-in touch!" Ukyo grunted under the savage blow and swung at Akane, trying to grab her opponent's yellow gi. "You couldn't have known where we were... it's my fault!" Akane did a swing to the left and tried to both grab Ukyo's gi and sweep her legs, but failed at both. "Fine, it's your fault then!" Jab followed by a kick. "I hope you're happy!" Savage punch to Akane's stomach. "I am!" Swift kick to Ukyo's solar plexus. "How's Sanma?!" "He's great!" Ukyo back flipped out of Akane's range and caught her breath. Akane jumped forward, trying to corner Ukyo. "Great, can you come for dinner?" Her elbow smashed across Ukyo's face. Akane snagged her opponent's gi and tugged. "We'd love to!!" Ukyo pivoted her hips and grabbed Akane's gi. The two women rocked back and forth, locked in a tight embrace. For almost a minute they each tried to break the other's hold or throw the other, while they caught up on old times. The referee hovered nearby, watching closely and trying not to join the conversation. "Anything interesting happen to you on the road?" "You could say that..." Ukyo sensed an opening and pushed down with her arms, causing Akane to get slightly off balance. The second Ukyo felt Akane's leg shift, she spun to her left. Akane felt the pull and countered by pulling to the right and upward. Unfortunately, Ukyo had expected that and shifted to her right. Akane suddenly found herself tumbling backwards with Ukyo on top of her. Akane countered by shifting so they booth landed on their shoulders. It was painful, but it also prevented either from claiming points or a win. Which is the move Ukyo expected Akane to do. As her own shoulder impacted the mat, Ukyo rolled. In a swift movement, Ukyo's right foot came up and was shoved into Akane's lower abdomen. Ukyo exerted upward pressure on her leg and downward pressure on her arms, which were still tightly gripping Akane's gi. Akane suddenly found herself flopped in midair and slammed back first against the mat. She looked around for the line that indicated the ring and swore when she realized she was in-bounds. "Ippon!!" the referee called out and glanced a the judges to confirm there were no fouls. "Winner, Ukyo Kounji!" Ukyo's shadow passed over Akane and she held her hand out. "You okay?" Akane nodded and took the offered hand. "That... was unexpected. How did you get your leg up like that and still kick that strong?" "My right side has strengthened to compensate for my left side." Ukyo patted the left side of her stomach where she had been horribly injured inside the Buyierfei monolith. Akane sighed. "Where's Sanma?" Ukyo suddenly looked nervous. "He's around..." -A- -M- -D- More matches followed. Akane didn't have a chance to talk to Ukyo further than their brief conversation after their match, since Ukyo had to rest for her next matches. She was upset at losing, but was more concerned with Ukyo's sudden reappearance and the fact that she still couldn't find or see Sanma anywhere. She scanned the audience from where she sat with the rest of her family. "I'm starting to get worried. Why wouldn't Sanma be in the tournament or at least in the arena?" Nabiki put a hand on Akane's shoulder from her seat behind her. "I'm sure Sanma's fine. Ukyo said so, right?" "Yeah... sort of..." Akane sighed and divided her time between watching Ranko's latest match and looking for Sanma. In the ring, Ranko tossed a young woman about the same size as her around like a rag doll. The frail looking woman crashed to the mat. "Ippon! Ranko Tendo is the winner and advances to the final match with Ukyo Kounji which will determine the champion!" Akane tensed. -A- -M- -D- "Begin!" Ukyo and Ranko waited briefly at the referee's call, each trying to gauge the other's first moves. Ranko leapt into the air. Ukyo dove forward and spun to the side. Ranko dropped to the right of where Ukyo had been and hopped backwards immediately, bouncing off one hand and landing right on top of Ukyo. "Crap!" Ukyo spat and tried to squirm out from under Ranko's small body. A blush appeared on her face. "Koka!!" the referee called out. "Partial pin, three points!" Ranko got up off Ukyo and took her position. Crossing in front of Ukyo, she noticed the blush. "Are you okay?" Ukyo tried to hide her nervousness. "Um... yeah..." She took a deep breath as she retook her position. She took a deep breath and shook head. "Continue!" There was no pause this time. Ukyo shot to the left and lashed out with her foot to deflect Ranko's precisely timed lunge before the redhead could grab Ukyo's gi. Ukyo spun to the side and landed an elbow to Ranko's back. "Gaaaa..." Ranko gasped and snagged Ukyo's gi top with her hand. A quick yank and Ranko tossed Ukyo over her back. Well, she would have if Ukyo were still wearing her gi top. "Stop!!" Ranko looked behind her to see the topless Ukyo. "Um... sorry." Ukyo smiled, as she covered her bound breasts with her arms. "Not a problem." She glanced at the audience that suddenly seemed to be made up of nothing but horny guys. Ranko bent down and picked up the gi top and approached Ukyo. She frowned when she noticed the extensive scaring visible on her left side between her gi pants and the cloth that bound her breasts. It was a patchwork of color variations due to the skin grafts she had received to replace her burned flesh. Worst of all was an area on her left side that was indented, probably due to the damage caused to her internal organs. Ukyo took the top and slipped it on, causing the audience to boo her. "Thanks... and don't worry, I'm fully healed." She patted her left side. Ranko looked nervous. "Um... well... that's good." The referee looked at Ukyo and confirmed she was ready to go again. "Take your places." Ranko and Ukyo took up their positions facing each other. "Continue!" -A- -M- -D- "Uncle's wife is good," Daiji remarked as she watched the match in the stands with Akane and the others. Akane looked down at her daughter and smiled. "Yes... she is." "But Mommy will win!!" Akane smiled and looked at the ring where her first husband and former friend were fighting their match. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud cry from the ring. "Ippon!" Akane's eyes went wide as she saw her husband on her back after being cleanly thrown by Ukyo. "He... he lost?" At ringside, Ranma was flabbergasted. "You lost?! You stupid jerk!" Ranko was so stunned she just lay on the mat, unmoving. Ukyo was breathing heavily and crouching low, trying to catch her breath. "I..." She smiled. "Won..." "Hold! The judges have determined that Mrs. Kounji stepped out of bounds during her throw. The throw doesn't count, the match will continue." Ukyo looked at the referee with disbelieving eyes. Ranko hopped back to her feet and smiled at Ukyo. "That was impressive, Ukyo. I won't let you do it again, of course." Inside, she was slightly less confident. Ukyo forced a smile onto her face and staggered back to her starting position. She strained to look at the match clock and was amazed that it read thirty-eight minutes. "Begin!!" -A- -M- -D- "Ippon!!" The referee called out about ten minutes later. "The winner and new All-Japan Woman's Martial Arts Champion, Ranko Tendo!!" Ranko's eyebrow twitched at being called 'woman', but that didn't stop her from basking in the glory of her win. Ukyo got up off the mat and wiped the sweat off her face with a towel that had been tossed to her by Ranma, who was walking up to the ring. "Congratulations, man," Ranma remarked at he tossed Ranko a towel as well. Ranko smiled. "Thanks." "How does it feel to be the All-Japan WOMAN'S Martial Arts Champion?" Ranma crumpled to the ground as a result of Ranko's jab to his stomach. "How does that feel, jerk?" Ranko looked at Ukyo. "That was great, I can't remember the last time I've had such a long fight." She paused. "Against a human, that is." Ukyo smiled slightly, her tired body protesting even that movement. "Thanks... I..." She paused to catch her breath. "I thought I had you when I pulled off that throw." Ranko smiled. "You did. That was an impressive throw." She looked around to make sure everyone was within earshot and raised her voice. "I still won, though." Ukyo frowned. "Yeah..." Ranko put her arm around Ukyo's shoulder and walked towards the edge of the mat where her family waited to greet them. Ranma got back to his feet, rubbing his stomach. "Bitch..." he muttered as he followed them. "Congratulations, honey." Akane gave Ranko a big hug when she approached and then looked at Ukyo. "Sorry." Ukyo smiled nervously. "Yeah... me too." There was dead silence for several seconds as no one wanted to bring up any unpleasant topics. Which pretty much amounted to everything they wanted to say or ask. "Where's Uncle Sanma?" Everyone looked down at Daiji. The term 'from the mouths of babes' came to their minds as they hesitated saying anything. Daiji blinked a few times and scanned the faces of the adults for an answer. None was forthcoming so she repeated her question. "Where's Uncle Sanma?" A voice was heard from behind the group. "Um... hi." Akane and the others turned around and froze, unable to believe what they saw. But kids have a different way of looking at things. Daiji looked at the new arrival and smiled. Yohachi saw the huge belly in front of him and stated the obvious like only a five-year-old could. "She's so fat!!" Ayami peeked out from behind Yohachi and giggled. "Mommy's fat!" Akane finally found her voice. "I take it this is a real long story?" The other Akane sitting in a wheelchair a few meters in front of Akane nodded. "Yes, it is." She rubbed her large, pregnant belly. "Really long." *********************************************************************** >From the journal of James Davidson May 18, 2058 "It was odd seeing someone else who looked like my mother show up like that, but we kids took it in stride." "Only the adults freaked out, huh?" I laughed and looked over at Yohachi. We had gotten to talking after my first class ended. Mostly because I was too sore to walk home at the time. So we ended up sitting on a bench near the main dojo and watching the water in the nearby stream flow by. "Yeah... at the time it was great fun to have a second mother around for us kids." "Even a pregnant one?" Yohachi smirked. "What did we know? As far as we knew we were going to get a new brother or sister." "Yeah. Personally, I was hoping for new brother to replace you." We both looked around and saw a woman around Yohachi's age stroll up. Her blue eyes looked very weary and she apparently hadn't had time to worry about arranging her long hair into the bun she normally wore. Yohachi's eyes widened. "Hi, Sis, you just get in?" Ayami shook her head. "No, I got in from the European Compound late last night. I spent most of the night by Mom's side until they kicked me out and made me get some rest. Care to go check on her with me?" Yohachi nodded and looked at me. "Yeah, I was planning on going over when I got my legs back." I stood up, my legs trembling. Ayami looked at me with concern. "What the hell did my brother do to you?" "Had most of the class beat me up," I said as I took a tentative step. Ayami sighed. "Dad never crippled his students, Yohachi." Yohachi laughed. "James will be okay after a couple days." I wish I felt as confident about that as Yohachi sounded. Although Yohachi had said this was a class for beginners and novices, it still took its toll on me. Maybe I should have asked for an infant's class. -A- -M- -D- As we walked towards the South Building, I started to find it easier to walk. "Maybe I'll be okay." "See?" Yohachi said and looked at his sister. "He'll have horrible cramps in the morning," Ayami replied, matter-of-factly. I had a bad feeling that she was right. As we walked down the clinic hallway, I smiled at Ayami. "It's okay... I knew it would be a rough class and I would have some pain." I winced. "Maybe not all on the first day, but I'll manage." The three of us were smiling as we walked into the viewing room and we stopped dead in our tracks. The smiles vanished from our faces in unison when we saw the scene that was unfolding behind the window. Ayami dropped to her knees. Yohachi clutched the doorframe and I just started dumbfounded through the glass window separating us from Akane's room. "Still no pulse!" "Clear!" Akane jumped from the bed as the one of the doctors attending her applied a pair of paddles to her naked chest. "No pulse." "Continue CPR." "Twenty CCs of intercine." One of the nurses hit a few keys on a keypad nearby and a syringe inserted into a receptacle above it quickly filled with a liquid. She pulled the syringe out and handed it to one of the doctors, who quickly injected it into her arm. Just then, the inner door to Akane's room burst open and Moyashi, Kasumi's son, rushed in. "Status." "No pulse. Her heart stopped three... no four minutes ago. I've given her 20 CCs of intercine." "Shock her again," Moyashi instructed as he scanned the myriad of holographic displays floating around his patient. "Clear." Akane's body spasmed. "No pulse." "Damn... scalpel! Prepare the rib spreaders." Moyashi ran his finger across Akane's ribcage, just under her right breast. He held out a hand and a scalpel was slapped into it. He retraced the invisible line he had just drawn with his finger, but used the scalpel this time. As the blood poured from the incision, I dropped to my knees beside Ayami unable to take my eyes off my... my best friend. After the doctors inserted the rib spreaders, a sickening cracking sound was heard. All the doctors and nurses quickly turned away and shielded their eyes as a bright, blinding light erupted from inside Akane's open chest. "What the..." I gasped in surprise. As I looked around the viewing room and the critical care room Akane was in, I seemed to be the only one present that was surprised by the light. "What... what is she?" [End - Chapter 2] Coming soon: Chapter 3: Fifty Ways For an Okonomiyaki Chef to Get Her Cursed Husband Pregnant ======================================================================= The real author's (Jim Lazar) notes/ramblings: Curious about the light? About Akane's fate? About the wheelchair? About how Sanma got pregnant while in Akane's body? Some answers are forthcoming, but not all of them. Most of the martial arts tournament details in this chapter come from watching Yawara!, so they may not be 100% accurate. I originally just used judo (what Yawara focuses on), but switched to karate due to the use of punches and kicks in my tournament. And, yes, Nabiki's "Good thinking, he can cause more damage that way," comment was inspired by Ghostbusters. I had just bought the DVD about the time I was writing this chapter and couldn't resist. It fit the situation and Nabiki so well. I'd like to thank my pre-readers Michael A. Chase, David Johnston, Jonathan Ng, and Thomas C. Kinnen for helping me find and fix problems with this story. FFML members Rebeka Thomas, Thierry Chartrand-Chamblay, and Steven A. Pirrone were also helpful in fine tuning this story. Thank you all. Of course in the end, any mistakes and botched characters are my fault. Revision 0.0 - Rough draft began (March 31, 2000) Revision 0.1 - Rough draft finished (April 7, 2000) Revision 0.3 - Pre-reader draft (July 9, 2000) Revision 0.4 - FFML draft (July 31, 2000) Revision 1.0 - Final version (August 16, 2000) Revision 1.1 - First RAAC posting (August 25, 2000)