Redemption: the trainer

By Lord Overon

From the looks of things on the surface, the marriage had been doing spectacularly well. Or so the fathers would say. Neither Genma nor Soun were known for their marriages however. Genma because his was more of a fairy tale than anything that could be called substantial, while Soun’s was short lived; suffice it to say that Soun had adored his dear wife to such a degree that most of their marriage was spent on him pleasing her. He had tried a few times while the children were still alive to go on another journey in the art, but his wife did not see the need for it and talked him out of it every single time. So, in summary, neither of the other Anything Goes Masters’ lives were a benchmark for anyone to strive to. Ranma and Akane had another difference too. The one who was closest to becoming a master between the two of them was now the woman. An unprecedented occurrence since the founding of the School.

Nodoka herself was another party with substantial influence on the marriage. She would be the main woman supplying information and advise on married life. Again this would normally be the role of the mother to her daughter in such a marriage, but since Nodoka’s life had lacked her husband and child for so lengthy a period, was she knowledgeable enough to forestall any mistakes in the budding relationship? The answer had to be in the negative.

The only other person available for advise then was the kindly old meddler by the title of Amazon Matriarch who was personally interested in the pair for relaxation purposes and out of pure curiosity. A source of advice she could be if she was asked. We know though, how much young couples like to ask their elders. So things were already set in place for a destructive end. Funny how it did not turn out that way.

 

 

Akane Tendo watched the neon lights flicker as he walked slowly to his destination. His step was slow and sure and he was returning to the place he called home for his whole life. Most would have thought him eager to return but that was not the case. In as much help as his relatives had been the first few weeks after the birth of the twins, the excitement soon wore off. Kasumi, like him, had finally decided to look towards the future after being prompted by Nodoka. She was currently being trained as a nurse. The first month, they had to pay for a place to stay while she worked and learnt at the nursing home. Her tuition was free since the place needed extra hands urgently so that was one less problem. The other was a place for her to stay since it was quite a distance from home. After two months she had replied to an ad in the office for a part time live in nurse who was around during the night in case anything happened while the regular nurse went home. Kasumi’s problems were solved, Akane’s were just beginning.

With Kasumi gone, that left a hole in the house as to the daily chores, something that would have been easily solved by Ranma’s parents being at home. That however was not to be as the Saotome residence was rebuilt and Nodoka had rushed her husband out to find a job. Akane could not decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Nabiki, resourceful Nabiki, had found herself a study abroad program at a credited institution in order to further her business studies and her appreciation of the English language. If she was to excel in business Nabiki knew that a firm grasp of that language would land her in some lucrative positions especially since good businesspeople who could liaison between the Japanese and American investors were a well-paid commodity.

That left himself, his father and Ranma in the house. All in all not a bad deal if left alone. But, with two newborns in the house, things had gone to hell. Ranma could not go to school as yet so Hinako-sensei felt it her responsibility to bring Ranma her schoolwork every day and tutor her. Whether that was because Ranma had been placed in a tight situation or because Soun was always there Akane did not know. Hinako also could not cook, something Akane could relate too. Neither could Soun for that matter. Akane remembered his father’s cooking from the past. It tasted like rubber but he knew that his cooking had to have been better than that. Ranma should have been a least a little bit more understanding about it.

Absently, he skipped a stone across the concrete wall hearing the hollow clang as it impacted with something metallic and hollow. He had easily fallen into this routine as soon as classes had started back for him. He would wake up alone, go to school, go to the dojo in the next district to teach and then return home. It did not end there though. Dad had decided that since he was now a boy, he could take further punishment and training, so every time he came home, he had to spar with his father and practice the school’s katas under his father’s scrutiny. Homework came after a brief meal and then he plundered into bed. If he heard another ‘the life of a martial artist is fraught with peril’ again from his dad, he was liable to go postal.

At times he would wonder if life would have been better if they had waited until after school before they had children. It certainly would have eased the pressure they were now feeling. He wondered how Ranma dealt with it. If he was feeling the pressure surely she was too. Not only had Nodoka apparent abandoned her only child in her seemingly greatest hour of need, but also she made it seem like a rite of passage. From what she said, Akane could infer that Nodoka had been the only person involved in raising Ranma as a kid during the brief period that Genma had a job. Now that Ranma was a woman not a man, Nodoka thought that she should be a woman amongst women now, which meant that Ranma had to take care of the house along with all the kids by herself. Akane knew that he would have never been able to do it alone. He wondered how Kasumi ever did it. But Kasumi was never by herself. She had Nabiki with her. It was Nabiki who had taken over the financial matters of the house whilst Kasumi the more domestic chores. Ranma had to fill all those shoes at the moment and that would be some feat.

As he approached the outer doors of the compound, he was not surprised to hear barely a sound from the inside. Wordlessly he slipped inside and again he reminisced about the past. There in the front yard would be some form of left over destruction from one fight or another. A hole here or a missing slab of grass, maybe the remnants of a rock. That was something he had become accustomed to. The challenges had stopped abruptly as soon as word got around that Ranma was pregnant. He guessed that although a lot of the people who challenged Ranma were quite liberal in the application of code, fighting a pregnant woman or someone who just had a child was something no one wanted on their conscience. As a result, the grass was green and growing without too many blemishes. There were no new patches in the woodwork that could be seen. The previous patches had already been faded into the normal color by the rays of the sun.

Suddenly Akane felt himself hit by melancholy. It had been a long time since he had really looked upon his home and critically viewed it as such because that was what it was. This was his home now. His and Ranma’s. They were now the heirs of the school and they had united the schools in a way that no one had thought possible, albeit with Ranma around, there was always something different about the way things happened.

Akane announced himself in but heard no reply. That was strange, dad was usually there to start his training, or Ranma and Hinako for that manner. The lights were on though, so someone had been home. He entered the house gingerly and crept into the hallway. He chuckled as he remembered doing the same thing the time he had visited the Kuno mansion. Now that was a place that you needed to be careful where you stepped. The sheer amount of booby traps in the place had him wondering just how did the Kunos remember where they all were.

As he silently crept along the wall using some of the stealth that Ranma had once tried to teach him, tried might have been the most appropriate word to be used in that context. There was a light in the living room and her heart lightened as he took a mental picture of the room.

Upon the table were scattered books from his classes at school. Various books of all sizes and colors including some texts from the previous year. Other notebooks were piled alongside them. There were two piles and he guessed that one was an inbox, the other an outbox. Surprisingly there was no one at the table near the one open text and notebook. There was a lead pencil there but he could tell that it had not been used for a while. The reason he could tell that was because of the futon that was in the living room. It had been moved from the guest room to the living room to allow Ranma to see the kids while she was on the lower floor of the house. From his angle he could barely see the tufts of hair from the kids. The reason why he could not see them was due to another person sprawled out on the futon, her hands protectively around the two small children as they slept. Her hair was unbound and spooled across the futon and onto the floor. Her chest rose regularly with hardly a sound escaping. Yes, Ranma was asleep on the futon with the kids, her schoolwork apparently forgotten.

Akane could only stare at the scene in front of him. He moved to wake her but then thought better of it and walked into the kitchen instead. He would let them sleep for a little while longer.

The kitchen was another place that he had been banished from under Ranma’s orders no less. She had made him stop trying to cook unless she supervised. She was becoming even more possessive of that room than Kasumi had been. Opening the fridge, he found various containers of food. Ranma had a knack for cooking it seemed and she had under Cologne’s instructions, began to experiment with her dishes. Sometimes they tasted like Kasumi’s other times they were just a little bland. She was a pretty good cook though. Having retrieved one container, his eyes fell upon the door shelves particularly the one containing the bottles of pumped milk. He shivered at the thought a little bit. He might never get accustomed to seeing Ranma do that every other day.

After reheating the food in the microwave, Akane settled into a chair that would allow him to look over his family while he ate. When he was almost finished he heard the murmurings of someone else. Curious, he took a peek around the corner and was surprised to see his father helping a limping Hinako. Apparently they had been sparring in the Dojo. He pumped his arm in the air. Yes, finally some rest.

As the two moved on to find the bathroom and the first aid kit Akane allowed himself a little smile. Hinako would have to be helped home which meant he would be able to have a peaceful night for once without his father trying to give him a crash course in the Tendo Advanced Martial Arts techniques. After he did what little homework was left to be done, Akane slid in behind his wife and sighed contentedly.

 

 

 

 

Sometime during the night, Akane was awakened by a pair of healthy lungs. That genetic aspect was apparently inherited from both sides of the family. Almost automatically, Ranma was awake and had one of the two gluttons gorging herself. Those two seemed to behave almost synchronously. By the time that one had affixed her meal, Akane had already disappeared into the kitchen for the others. Ranma sat down and with practiced ease began to comfort the other using a bib to appease the brother. Akane was not long in bringing his son newly heated milk, droplets of which were still cascading down his hand. With the two busy suckling the parents found themselves staring at the time. It was of course almost two in the morning. If there was one good thing, the kids were very regular in their cries for food. They would inevitably wake up at five in the morning.

Gladly they did not wake up any other time in that period, but five in the morning was what could be called the ‘tween’ hours; too early to wake up and too late to go back to bed. That shift was usually handled by Ranma who would use those early morning hours to get the housework and cooking done. Akane was left to guard his kids though while he slept any little thing could probably get through. He knew Ranma worried about that but since no one had shown up to date to challenge either of them, it was an ideal arrangement.

This time, after the meal the kids decided that sleep was on the menu much to the relief of their parents. For five month olds they certainly were very active much to the delight of the grandparents. Of course, at night, that was a downright scary idea. Taking one each, they ascended the stairs to their room which had a crib nearby for the kids. Tonight sleep was needed and after the kids were put to bed the teens dived under the covers until the next feeding time.

 

 

Early morning came and Akane found himself as usual alone in bed. He stumbled out to change and rush down breakfast. He had only given himself enough time for a shower and breakfast before he would have to run to school. Breakfast was already waiting on him as soon as he dropped down the stairs. Soun was there already eating while Ranma he could hear in the kitchen. After scarping down the food, he rushed into the house to greet his wife. Relieving her of his bento while he gave her a kiss, Akane disappeared out the door in a flurry of dust.

Soun warily eyed his daughter-in-law after his son left. He knew what was next. Ranma stepped out of the kitchen with a white communicator linked to her room upstairs. Soun nodded as he placed his dishes to the side. Ranma might be a girl but he knew that Ranma would not clean up after him. Of that much he had been certain. After Kasumi had left, Soun found that his room had become swamped with his clothes and is bathroom unkempt. When he asked Ranma she just gave him a dark look and told him that she wasn’t his slave and if he wanted her to clean up after him her would have to pay her. He had been taken aback since the glint in her eye had a Nabiki-esque tint to it. Somehow Ranma had learnt Nabiki’s money glare. That had Soun scared. If he did push her, she might start demanding that he start training. God knows he hadn’t trained seriously in such a long time. Soun had diligently cleaned his room and bathroom, keeping them spotless so that he would keep on the girl’s good side. That was not to last to his belief.

Ranma needed a sparring partner. Ranma approached him. His first answer was ‘no’ but the word stuck to his mouth unable to get out as she gave him the dreaded bambi-eyes. He froze as he saw the dreaded technique known to all practitioners of the school of Martial Arts Housekeeping. Damn, he shouldn’t have let Ranma spent so much time around Kasumi especially since she picked up techniques like a sponge. The counter to the legendary bambi-eyes otherwise known as the Martial Arts Housekeeping ‘make-your-husband-or-another-male-do-what-you-tell-him-to’ technique was the soulful gaze other wise known as the ‘looking-thoughtfully-as-if-I-had-something-important-to-do’ technique that was passed down from male to male. Soun had now started to employ the technique when a burst of chatter from a speaker meant that the kids were up.

Soun smiled thinking he had won when his face dropped. He had just witnessed the dreaded ‘baby-distraction’ technique which meant that the woman using the technique had already taken his silence as consent. If Saotome were here, his old friend would have provided an arm of comfort, or in Soun’s case would have taken his place. But Saotome had gone with his wife. Soun sighed. His fate had already been decided.

So without further ado, one of the masters of the School of Anything Goes made his way to the Dojo followed by another woman. He took up a ready stance and waited. Anything Goes was based upon reaction and not action as its primary tenet but Ranma was going to be proactive in this match and he knew it. He had been comparing the level of Akane and Ranma’s skill since the change over and even though Akane had had a couple of weeks to catch up to Ranma’s fervent pace of martial arts study, the boy had made barely a dent in his knowledge. He had thought that during the period where Ranma had been pregnant, the girl would have been more docile in her application to martial arts. That had clearly not been the case as she had made up her own katas during the pregnancy period. Even now, he could tell that something had changed. Before Ranma was always keen to leak of ki in the form of a battle aura or in those ki blasts. When they sparred, Soun could hardly ever detect her aura now unless she was consciously projecting it. That reminded him too much of the perverted grandmaster. Happosai was the only one he knew who could project a near dead aura whilst still being as effective without it. That was why Genma could never stand up to the old pervert. The old pervert had way too much reserve to draw on and he knew how to use it economically. That same ability he could now sense in Ranma. He had been trying to bring Akane up to spar. The teaching and training had been an attempt at that and while it had felt good to be teaching the boy again, Soun could still see holes in the boy’s defense that needed patching up. He also depended too much on his opponent’s weakness. Some of that had been addressed by Ranma but there was still much to be done before Akane could even mingle with the likes of Ranma’s regular opponents.

They stared at each other when at some unknown signal, Ranma attacked. Using her speed she blurred in with some soft rabbit punches which Soun easily blocked while he pivoted to release a feigned crescent kick. Instead of blocking, Ranma’s head rolled under his foot as she dropped to take advantage of his position. Soun of course knew this would happen and instantly used his momentum to propel himself. Ranma’s toes shaved the wood from the floor but she knowingly followed up with a roundhouse that Soun ducked. With Ranma in a somewhat awkward position of imbalance where her options were limited, Soun went on the offensive with a flurry of punches in a combo he had developed a long time ago. Ranma blocked with her forearms and in the blink of an eye, she grabbed Soun in a throw sending him into the air. Soun righted himself and landed with barely a patter, though his hands came up instinctively to block the jump kick that would be coming. He blocked a least ten midair kicks as Ranma showed her superiority in the air, hanging there using the momentum from his blocking before she jumped away, connecting with the wall and returning to fight again. This was the typical Saotome versus Tendo fight with the Saotome style being air based and the Tendo style land based. Ranma was both. She could manipulate both of the styles effectively as it suited her, something Akane was yet to gain experience in. In the air, Ranma was a natural. Akane could do a little but was severely mentally hampered. The boy needed more training Soun knew. Slowly but surely he would get the boy to where he wanted him to be. Ranma had given him the initial push before she could no longer be his sensei. Soun could see the massive improvement already, all he had to do now was find a good enough sparring partner for the boy.

The lapse in concentration had been duly noted and taken advantage of as the back of Ranma’s heel made an unexpected stop on Soun’s shoulder. Soun rolled with the blow and winced. He berated himself for losing his concentration so easily. Ranma was not an opponent to be taken lightly as she smirked cockily at him. Of course that just made her look sensuous and Soun was forced to remind himself that this was his daughter-in-law. That didn’t mean that he would be light on her.

He extended his roll until he met the wall and crouching at the base, used the moment to send him flying towards Ranma. The girl was unperturbed however and just smiled at him lowing her defenses. Knowing the Saotome guises he wondered how she was going to attack. Neither Saotome ever adopted a neutral stance unless they were about to do something. Soun readied his attack. Ranma would not let him know what she was planning and he wasn’t going to give her much of a chance to counterattack him. He was within five feet of her when he hit something and went down hard.

There was still fight in him yet and he rolled over from his unexpected trip to the floor thinking that the girl might press her advantage. She had not however and just stood there pushing out with her hands in the simile of some Tai Chi exercises. Soun took no real notice of it though his mind was trying to figure out what he had slammed into. That was when he got a subconscious feeling that something was not right. Indeed something was moving towards him, though he felt nothing. Slowly he crept forward on the toes of his feet wary that Ranma could attack at any time. She certainly was well versed in taking advantage of the situation. He only inched a couple of feet before his foot met with something solid. That wasn’t right!

Again he pushed forward and again he met resistance. Finding the barrier, he launched a physical attack against it, all of which was pushed away. Just in his line of sight he could see Ranma concentrating and Soun smiled. So she was the one doing this. He took a step back and evaluated the barrier in front of him. Nothing could be seen of it but pushing his senses forward he could certainly feel it. By the looks of things it certainly wasn’t taking too much out of her. Amazing, simply amazing!

“You like?” she asked.

Soun nodded his head. “How did you do it?” he asked.

“I was just thinking about something Cologne had told me. She said that I had been making solid walls of ki and turning them inward so I thought that maybe I could do the same thing instead turning them outward this time.”

“Ahh… I see,” Soun replied though he really didn’t. Unlike Cologne and Genma, he hadn’t the zeal to pursue the art as much as the others though that might have been one reason why Akane had been so misled in his earlier days. “While it’s a good technique, it still has its flaws.”

“True, it does use a lot of energy but then again, it is nice to have.”

Soun couldn’t agree more especially since he could see it as a useful technique to protect his grandkids. The wall suddenly disappeared though and Ranma took a stance. This was the part that Soun had been fearing. Now his name was going to change from sparring partner to punching bag. Punching it seemed was something Ranma did well though the girl was trying to take some of the firepower she had in her hands and transfer it to her feet. The thought was almost too hard to comprehend. If she could take that speed and transfer it to her kicks without losing the power she would become near unstoppable. Soun though didn’t have too much time to think as he found himself on the defensive against the onslaught. At least with this beating he would have something for Hinako to pamper him about. He jumped back suddenly as he blushed so as not to give Ranma too easy a target. He had to concentrate otherwise he would be taking another trip to Tofu’s.

Damn, those accursed modeling people. They had taught her how to look alluring even as a pregnant woman. If she was able to make herself look beautiful after so much time, it would be simple for her to apply those techniques now and since she didn’t have to compensate for the clothes she wore… the rest did not need to be said. She had requested leave from that job in order to take over the other here at the Dojo but Soun knew it was only a matter of time before she was coaxed to starting back on her modeling career. While Soun did not fully approve of it, it did bring in a substantial amount of money he had been told by Nabiki.

Almost half an hour later, Soun was begging for mercy at Ranma’s hands. Well not literally begging but the tears flowing from his eyes and him asking the kami why he had such an abusive daughter-in-law did sorta hint that he was begging to be released. Luckily for him relief came in the form of one crying voice over the mike soon to be joined by another. Soun sighed in relief as Ranma disappear around the corner. Ahh yes, to have wonderful grandkids who would save him in his hour of need. That was the true gift of the heavens.

He would have continued in that train of thought until Ranma appeared unexpectedly with the two in her hands and handed them over to him.

“Time to earn your keep,” she told him. “I need to go out to get some stuff.”

“Hai!” he responded.

“Oh, did you feel as if someone was watching us this morning?” she asked.

“Huh, what do you mean?”

“It must be nothing… sometimes… sometimes I feel that someone is watching me in the house.”

“It’s probably just paranoia with the kids and all,” Soun declared.

“Yeah… I guess you’re probably right. Well if those two need anything, there’s milk in the fridge.”

With that, she was out the door leaving Soun with two kids to amuse. He was brought out of his stupor by a sharp pain as the two reminded him that long hair and children usually don’t mix. Now there was a new battle to occupy his mind: how to get his hair out of the grasp of Nouma. A sudden pain on the next side of his head told him that Nouma’s sister had decided to join in the fun. Ordinarily getting hair out of a child’s hand would not be two difficult but both kids seemed to have inherited their father’s strength; something that did not bode well for Soun’s current predicament. Sakura was now actively tugging at his hair. Soun hoped that the kids would grow up a little more so that he would at least still have hair.

 

 

While Ranma was home, Akane’s remained school bound. His usual crowd hadn’t changed all that much since the change. Yuka and Sayuri were still close friends although Ranma’s friends Diasuke and Hiroshi had now taken the lead. As a former girl he thought that their jokes lacked tact and were demeaning to women. When he mentioned it to Ranma, all she said was that that was how they were and their jokes were mostly harmless. Akane being on reasonable terms with the dynamic duo allowed them a free pass to talk to Yuka and Sayuri. Although Akane had also been spending a lot less times with the girls and more with the boys. That had to do a lot with the topics the girls discussed, that topic being mainly boys. When Akane was a girl she was free to tag along with the gossiping even though she had not actively participated in it. When they starting gossiping about boys again now, he felt very uncomfortable since by proxy he was also discussing boys. He knew Ranma wouldn’t care one way or another but that thought just didn’t settle well with him. Thus he had settled for Hiroshi and Diasuke who also talked of girls but were also into other things that surprisingly he had also followed.

Among those were wrestling. Akane loved to watch wrestling since she could by happenstance pick up some devastating moves earlier on for the morning challenges. She also liked the action even though she knew the majority of it was fake. The Dynamic duo was also in wrestling as well as soccer (football) where they would critique almost every player in the J-league depending on their past performance. Even the new players were critiqued after hearing some of their previous displays in the lower leagues.

Akane had to admit that she did get along well with the two boys once they weren’t talking about sex. That topic had to be one of their favorites and every few minutes they would turn on him and ask him some very personal questions. He had taken it personally the first few times but then Ranma warned him that they had not meant any of it and to not take them seriously. Strangely enough it worked.

Unlike the girls where rumors could fly from one side of the room to the other if one was not careful, those two were just like Yuka and Sayuri and anything said to them somehow never made it into the open. It was sort of an unwritten code and as soon as they all started hanging out together the code extended to all and sundry. It was weird how little things like that could make you feel so accepted.

 

As school ended, all five of them walked towards the park nearby. They would be meeting the next member to complete their group and that of course would be none other than Ranma. They spied her with the kids and the girls took off gibbering about how cute they looked amongst other things. Ranma saw them and smiled as they took over watching the kids. Akane greeted Ranma with the usual kiss which got ‘oohs’ from Hiroshi and Diasuke.

To those comments Ranma responded with: “If you want, Akane could give you both a kiss…”

The open invitation and the blush on their face was enough to make the girls laugh at them. Hiroshi and Daisuke groused a bit before they too joined the girls in trying to mimic baby talk. With babysitting being taken care of, Ranma and Akane were finally allowed some time alone to relax together and though both knew that it would be short-lived, they both made the best of it. Looking back across at their classmates, they were mow in a tug of war with the infants. It seemed that the girls had forgotten the cardinal rule like Soun had about infants and long hair; hair that was currently being pulled.

“Damn, this has to be Akane’s kid!” exclaimed Hiroshi.

“Yeah man,” replied Diasuke, who was unsuccessfully trying to pry open the little fist. “Just like Ranma said, ‘got lots of brute strength.’”

Akane grimaced at the comment and moved to defend himself when he felt a sharp elbow in his stomach.

“You can beat him up later,” Ranma judged in a tone that meant that she would broke no argument and if Akane did move, he had better make an appointment with the local chiropractor first. Akane shuddered and backed down. The internal war began as his anger simmered. Restitution or relaxation. The former meant getting up which meant upsetting Ranma which meant no food or even worse, sparring. The latter meant staying where he was and enjoying the feel of a well-proportioned woman on his lap and chest. The latter won, barely, especially since Sakura followed her brother’s example and was now claiming Daisuke’s hair as he had gotten a bit too close to her wandering arms.

 

 

With those memories in his head, Akane walked into the changing rooms for the Dojo where he assisted. Although their was a slight financial incentive, the real need for him to be here was to experience what teaching in a dojo was like. Ranma had been to so many that she already knew the different styles of teaching having been to so many dojos with so many different instructors. Akane had only two to go by those being his father and Ranma. Ryouga had taught him once but that wasn’t more than helping with basic combos that he had already known. Ryouga was still a sore spot in his book.

 

 After changing, Akane walked into the dojo and bowed to the students. Because of how the classes were set up he had to teach a class of students around his age. As soon as he bowed, he was assaulted by a girl in a pink dogi. Pink, that was not one of his favorite colours as a girl and its value had depreciated even more so after his change.

“Hello Akane-sensei,” greeted the bubbly girl. Akane returned the hug.

“Hello Megami-san. How are you today?”

“Wonderful! I can’t wait to get started!” she replied before running to her place. Most of the students groaned. Akane usually pushed them when they trained and most of the people in the class had no desire for martial arts other than to appease the constant nagging of their parents. Megami was one of the few who showed interest in the classes. Indeed, she was probably his best student.

While most of the others just went through the motions, complaining every so often, Megami attacked her katas surprising Akane with the grace she was able to perform them. All too soon enough, class had ended for the day, ending Akane’s teaching stint. Megami as per usual approached Akane after to help her.

She had been complaining about not being able to do stand up splits so she had asked Akane to help her. Akane had agreed and was now helping the girl stretch the foot into an upright position. She was almost there, so once again they went through the kata which utilized such a move. Megami nearly fell but Akane was quick to catch her.

“Oh gomen Akane-sensei, I’m such a klutz.”

“It’s not a problem Megami-san. Even I had problems at first.”

“Even your wife… what was her name?”

“Ranma…” he replied. “Yes even Ranma had problems at some point in time.”

“Really… “

“When you see her practice though you wouldn’t think she ever had problems.”

“Is she really that good?”

“Yes, I don’t think I could ever beat her in any match.”

“How do you know?”

“Oh Ranma made that very clear when we first met,” Akane replied deceptively. A slight grimace accompanied that comment but what it was for, one couldn’t tell. “Plus, I really can’t challenge her now with the kids and all.”

“Do you still have that picture?” she asked.

“Oh sure,” Akane replied, always the proud father. He pulled out a small wallet and in the picture were the two kids in his arms. No one else was in the picture though. “See there’s Sakura and there’s Nouma,” he pointed out on the photograph.

“Akane, I need to see you!” called the Dojo master from outside.

“Hai coming!” he shouted, then turned towards Megami. “I’ll see you next time okay?”

“Okay, bye sensei!” she waved as he ran to meet the master outside the dojo. The man’s eyes lingered on her for a second longer raising a slight suspicion. When he turned away to chat with Akane, she pulled out the photo from up her sleeve. The twins were awfully cute. Almost picture perfect one would say.

 

 

 

Ranma had been suspicious of someone watching her after having so many times caught Nabiki’s friends attempting to tail her. She was still suspicious even after she had returned home. Whoever was spying on her was doing it from a far enough distance so as to not generate too much suspicion but Ranma knew that someone was watching the house. It was one of those hunches that she usually had. Those she trusted since they usually meant that pops was going to do something soon. Ranma’s concerns were not unfounded.

Half a mile away, a figure had been silent in the spire it had occupied. Under the shade from the outcropping roof it was hard to make out but indeed one could almost spot a lens there, the lens of a camera that was peeking out of the darkness. Beyond that, nothing much could be seen except for the minute movements of the person hidden within the shadow.

Next to the camera lens was a little notebook, which was unquestionably for the purpose of recording what was seen through the eyes of the camera. For what purpose was all this necessary, only the future would tell.

 

As usual, Ranma stopped off at the one place that she dare not pass without stepping in. If she didn’t show up at least once a week she would be sure to hear a few choice words coming over the phone. That was the threat, the person threatening her had never made good on her promise. Well that might have been because Ranma came over so frequently in the afternoon to get a break from all her work.

Entering the establishment, Ranma took her normal seat. As usual, the place was packed and large round disks were being thrown to and fro with ease. Yes, Ukyou was in her element behind the counter cooking up a storm. Every few minutes she would look at the orders and send one of the round okonomyaki’s on its way. Ranma smiled, she had taught Ukyou how to do that. That skill itself was attracting many customers and helped speed up production. Konatsu was here too, though the pseudo-girl was currently running around picking up orders and dropping off food that the customers did not want thrown in the air. Okonomyaki was Ukyou’s specialty but she was learning to adapt and serve some other dishes. Ranma knew that her family art would always be foremost in Ukyou’s mind though. Only ten minutes had passed by while Ranma was assessing Ukyou’s skills. Rush hour was almost over and that was apparent as customers slowly began trickling out. Most of the orders were now take out instead of eat in. Konatsu would be out making deliveries and with the lack of customers in the store Ukyou would have more time to chat.

“Hey Ran-chan, here’s your special!” called Ukyou as she threw a special in the air. Ranma deftly caught it and savored the aroma. She had found that she loved the spices she had recently been introduced to in some of the more eclectic establishments in Tokyo. Naturally she had asked the chefs for the recipe. They had consented but when she had tried to make a copy of what she had eaten, it just didn’t taste the same. She guessed that the chef had added something that was a secret all his own. Chefs in those more expensive areas had a tendency to prize their recipes and while she might have been given the general idea of how to make the dish, the chef had most likely withheld the special additions he had made to give it the flavour that could only be associated with him. Papayas, hot peppers, green peppers, a little vinegar, garlic, onion, among other things went into the concoction. She had given Ukyou the recipe hoping the chef would have better luck. Ukyou’s experience came through. Her copy was not the same as the one she had tasted before but it did taste awfully good. Ranma did keep a small glass of milk around, just in case she bit a seed and got that extra bit of kick from the pepper.

Ranma took time to savour each and every bite. Not being around Genma to steal her food had given her a better appreciation for letting the taste linger just a bit before taking the next bite. When Ranma was finished, Ukyou had started to cook at almost a leisurely pace. The few customers that were there were engaged in casual discussions as they picked at their food.

Ranma offhandedly grabbed some of the soft papaya that had remained and tasted it to make sure it was not too spicy. Satisfied, she began to mash it between her thumb and index finger before feeding it to her greedy children who were eager to dispose of anything their mother gave them. Ukyou came around and walked up to hold Nouma.

“Careful,” Ranma warned. “He’s learned how to pulled hair.”

Ukyou grinned as she braided hers so that the kids would not be able to get to it.

“Ohh, Nou-chan, you’re getting heavier by the day,” squealed Ukyou as she tipped the edge of her index finger against Nouma’s nose. Idly Nouma batted away the finger and then grabbed it, trying to put it in his mouth as was the norm for all kids. Ukyou grinned as she toyed with him. Sakura started to whimper, having been left out of the fun. Ranma giggled as Ukyou was forced to grab the younger sibling too in order to prevent a crying catastrophe. Everyone around the area knew how loud the kids could be if they wanted to. While Ukyou kept the kids occupied, she conversed with Ranma about the normal gossip of the Kunos and everyday life at school.

 

 

While the kids were reacquainted with their grandfather when she returned to the dojo, Ranma quickly created something over a skillet, Miss Hinako appeared and began to set up her after school training for Ranma. Hinako too was not herself as instead of using the ki draining technique that everyone was accustomed to for her to return to her adult form she had been taught something. Well not really taught… She was still in her adult form as tribute to her new method of staying normal. There was a story to that after all.

It all began soon after Ranma had given birth. Ranma was still very tired after her long ordeal and there was definitely too much heavy ki around her after all the pain from childbirth.

While still in the clinic, another one of Ranma’s would be challengers appeared at the Tendo Dojo, except this time, there was no one there to welcome the challenger. The challenger thought this very rude and being of the temperament where something had inadvertently caused the challenger to blame Ranma for whatever had happened in the challenger’s life, the challenger patiently waited for Ranma’s return. That was the day after Ranma had been admitted. Truth be told, this challenger was a little different from the normal run of the mill Ranma challenger. In fact this one was particularly peculiar.

The skin of the challenger was ashen brown and a mass of old worn scars plagued the challenger’s hands. That was one peculiar thing. The other was the fact that the challenger wore instead of normal clothes, animal skin. This would not have been too strange save for the fact that the skin wasn’t made from the same animal and was actually a very bad weave of a lot of different animal pelts. Obviously fashion sense had skipped a generation in the challenger’s family. That wasn’t the only unique characteristic though.

Tall, with arms and legs uncovered showing a course matt of black hair, this was certainly the least groomed of Ranma’s challengers. Especially with the long unkempt beard and stringy hair that exploded from below the bronze helmet that somehow kept the unruly mass under control. Within the beard lay the remnants of the last unfortunate animal to be captured in the iron grip. Why an iron grip? Well that might have to do with the large biceps and calves that would make any Australian Rules Rugby player green with envy. The only other similarity between an Aussie Rules Football player and the challenger was the absence of a perfect set of teeth. Some of those pearly whites or yellows in this case, were obviously missing due to some brawl of another.

The challenger on seeing no one in the house settled himself into a comfortable position while he waited. Not long after though, he was asleep, his snores reverberating through the solid wooden structure of the Dojo. At that time, while he was intent on a match with the Saotome heir for reasons know only to him, the said Saotome heir was at the clinic asleep. Dr. Tofu had graciously allowed the whole family to stay for the night that Ranma was in labor. Of course, the money that Ranma gave him helped the discussion along in their favor too, though one could not say that the Dr. would not have invited them without the financial incentive. Besides the immediate family, most of Dr. Tofu’s regulars knew of the unlikely expecting couple and much discussion had taken place in the market squares and as idle conversation as to the composition of the twins and what their eventual names would be. Nabiki had been taking bets of course. This was the kind of thing she lived for, but she too could participate since even she did not know what names had been chosen. Both Ranma and Akane had been secretive about the chosen names much to Nabiki’s dismay.

Food deliveries at the time were free courtesy Ucchans and the Cat Café. The occupants of both establishments had joined the vigil to await the kids. Indeed it had become a community affair especially for the fact that Kasumi could stand near the good doctor for those few hours without Betty-chan receiving a free trip around Nerima. Most of that had to do with the fact that Ranma had on one occasion almost crushed the good doctors hand when he almost went into one of his reveries. Pain could be a good motivator at times.

Cologne had been the overseer of affairs with Shampoo being her assistant. For the lavender haired amazon, it was not her first time in seeing childbirth but it was the first time that the labor had been seriously painful and even she, a seasoned warrior, was hoping that Ranma would put an end to her misery and opt for the easy way out. Of course, that was the object lesson that Cologne wanted to teach her young great granddaughter. After all the waiting and high-strung emotions, the twins were born on the fifth hour of labor much to the relief of everyone there. Soun and Genma were already in a drunken stupor.

With everyone at the clinic, the house was deserted and so when the challenger awoke, he was treated to the sound of crickets chirping and a dark house. In the excitement, no one had returned to put on the lights; the timers having blown out after all the seasonal abuse by the comings and goings of trained martial artists. After the members of the family and close friends got their view of the children, for Cologne expressly forbade them from holding the kids, the party was well on its way into the wee hours of the morning. This being a community affair since all those martial artists were well known. Or, alternatively, one could say that the neighborhood was hoping with the event of marriage and after childbirth, the chaos surrounding the parents, which would inadvertently grow to encompass the whole prefecture, would fizzle out. So hoped all those wage and property owning people in the district. Two other groups were hoping for the opposite. One of those was the elderly including Cologne for whom the daily chaos gave them something to gossip about and another reason to live an extra day or year. The other was the local construction company who because of Nerima exposure now had lucrative contracts. All the practice had made seasoned veterans of even the newly hired workers. Nabiki was another of those who benefited from the chaos but since she had twisted the hand of the principal to allow her to get an internship and then a study abroad program for the first semester of an American college. She wasn’t too concerned. It was time for her employees to learn the business without her anyway.

While the party progressed, Ranma and Akane were both neatly tucked away in a guestroom above the clinic while the kids slept under the watchful supervision of Shampoo.

Ahh… but I digress. Yes, there was someone sleeping in the Dojo, a challenger. Now who was he supposed to challenge! That, was the question! And in the uniqueness of a Nerima challenge there were also some hidden aspects of the challenger that have not been discussed yet. The primary one being that the challenger was over eight foot tall. Why was he eight foot tall? Hmm, that’s a long story…

 

 

 

See, there was once this family who had to compete with another family in a boulder smashing competition back at the time where manpower was one of the ways of moving iron ore, a priceless component in the age of steel. That ore being a precious thing in the eyes of the ruling party determined that the family who could win the contest would more than likely be more highly favored than the other in the eyes of the Emperor’s liaison to the area. That was just the politics of the bet though and was not the primary reason for the competition. The primary reason was an idle comment by one young buck in one of the families.

“Oye Hiroshi, you’re such a wimp. I bet I can lift twice what you do in a day!” snickered Kazaki as the adrenaline rushed to his head.

Comments like those were normally shrugged off but one hot-blooded kid of sixteen years took offense at that statement.

“Piss off ya jerk. I don’t see ya doin’ much more than shootin’ ya big mouth off. I bet ya my ma could lift more that yer men can!”

“That so!” defended the other man. “That big talk coming from a young-un who ain’t even got hair on ‘iz face yet!”

“I mightn’ got hair there but I got big enough size in meh pants to see the likes of you off.”

“Izzat so, young-un, well let’s see who’s got the biggest balls ‘round ‘ere…”

He challenged the other to a contest. Someone had mentioned that they should wait until a week had passed before they had the competition. All the others around agreed that that was the proper thing. It so happened that the competition did not state who was going to compete merely that a member from each family would compete.

As bets were made on who would win and tension arose it was soon realized that whomever was chosen had to uphold the family honor. That of course brought about more betting and more arguing and productivity started to decrease. That was when the relevant authorities began to take notice of the matter. By that time nothing could be done. One family though had an ace up their sleeves. There was a distant cousin who was rumored to be very strong that same cousin had been contacted. He arrived the day before the competition had his presence was supposed to be kept a secret. That meant of course that everyone knew who he was, why he was here and just how strong he was rumored to be.

Another man was in a hut all to himself. Actually, he wasn’t in the hut but was outside on a large stone overlooking the valley they were mining in. He was the one who had been volunteered into accepting the duty. Volunteering was used loosely in this sense.

“Stupid ‘Roshi, I should just go an’ kick his arse for all I care. Damn idiot. Had ta make in into a honor match an’ now he got meh pops ta rope me inta it too,” groused the young man. Well grumbling didn’t help him any as he began to stretch to get some practice in. ‘Sure ‘Roshi was all big about how he was going ta win until he found out who he was going ta be up against. Then he pissed his pants,’ thought Hanzo. “Stupid ‘Roshi!” he shouted out before he began to warm up a bit and do some stretching. The idiots hadn’t even given him two days notice. He was well into his stretches while grumbling when he saw an old man staring at him.

“Watcha doin’ sonny boy,” asked the wrinkled old man who looked more like a wrinkled old monkey minus the hair, than a human.

“Whadda you care old man!” retorted the boy. The old man smiled maliciously.

“Oh, I just heard that you will be going up against a great big lad in a contest tomorrow.”

“Yeah, so what’s it to ya,” replied Hanzo. Little old trolls didn’t just pop out of the air for no reason. Something was fishy here.

“I am the grandmaster of the School of Anything Goes Martial Arts!” proclaimed the old man.

“So what do I care,” shrugged the boy. Before he was belted into a tree.

“You should respect your elders boy and as I was going to say, I can give you a scroll that’ll make sure you’ll be able to win.”

“Oh yeah, why’d ya do that?” asked Hanzo. A little help wouldn’t hurt but he had to figure out what the old man was up to.

“I’m just feeling generous,” the old man replied.

“So what do I have to do for your generosity?” asked Hanzo. He was sure the old man was up to no good. The old man just rubbed his paws in glee.

“All you have to do is help me liberate my silky darlings!”

You can easily figure out after that what Hanzo had to do for the infamous Happosai to help him.

 

Hours later, the moon was high up in the sky and Hanzo was panting as he had narrowly escaped the weapons of various and sundry women angry that their undergarments had been ‘liberated’ by a perverted old man and his accursed pupil. It reminded Happosai that he needed to find a few students. Using all his energy in a burst to evade the women, Hanzo followed the diminutive midget as he continued into the night crying, “What a haul! What a haul!”

Another hour later, Hanzo finally caught up to the old man who was busily burying his face in a pile of women’s underware.

“Hey old man, where’s this scroll you have that’ll make it easier for me ta win tomorrow.”

At this, Happosai forced himself out of his reverie and lit his pipe, using the smoke to create patterns of the silky darling he had just liberated.

“Ahh yes, your reward for helping me,” muttered Happosai while trying to take on the persona of a wizened teacher. Hanzo wasn’t buying the act.

“Hey ya old prune give me that damn scroll!” shouted Hanzo. He grabbed at the old man but soon found himself imbedded in the surrounding rock. He spinning, he wondered how the old man was able to do that.

“Insolent whelp. I shouldn’t give you anything. But seeing that you helped me (and he needed to get rid of some evidence),” Happosai dug into his bag and produced a scroll. “Here, catch!”

Hanzo recovered quickly and jumped to catch the scroll. Unfortunately his trajectory led him over a cliff.

“Just open it tomorrow before the match and you’ll have all the power you want,” yelled Happosai before he bounded off, happy to get rid of that scroll. At least those damned hunters won’t be after him. He liked the attention of the women at first but they were preventing him from adding to his collection. Another person who had followed them heard what had been said and smirked. He would show them all

Bruised and battered, Hanzo thought it best if he rest out the night where he was, his left hand clutching the scroll. That was before someone came and stepped on his hand. Already unconscious, Hanzo did not see who pried the weathered paper from his hand

 

Morning came and there was a ruckus among the gathered crowd. Apparently, Hanzo had not shown up yet, but that wasn’t the cause of the disturbance. The cause was rather because of a huge giant of a man who was lumbering up the trail to the mine. The rocks under his feet were being crushed by simply his weight alone. And, his feet swept up the rubble as if he was kicking sand on the beach. An ominous sign of whom the winner would be if there was one. Everyone already knew who would win the contest but this was better than anything else that they had to do and so everyone gathered around for the contest.

Whispers began spreading as Hanzo had not arrived yet. His immediate family was beginning to sweat bullets, especially since if he didn’t show up, then ‘Roshi would have to take the challenger in Hanzo’s place. ‘Roshi though was smiling uncontrollably until he heard a scraping noise. That was the sound of Hanzo, tumbling down the slope before he came to rest at the base of the valley where the contest was to be held. Thoughts immediately sprung that he had been ambushed and the tension rose. ‘Roshi ran over to his brother in what could have been seen in a show of sympathy and support. Nothing could have been different.

“Hanzo, Hanzo,” called ‘Roshi as he shook his younger brother awake.

“Hn, where’s master Happosai’s scroll,” were the first words out of his mouth.

‘Roshi shook the scroll in front of his brother’s face. “I’ve got it. Don’t worry, I’ll beat him!” ‘Roshi declared with supreme confidence.

“Dumbass…” was all Hanzo could reply. That was probably because he knew what was going to happen. It was what had happened for since he could remember. He would do something and his brother would stand up and take all the credit. That was how things worked around the house. Even when he stood up for himself, his mother would never believe him. So in the end he just gave up on doing things to show them and just did things for himself. Now that dumbass was going to take all the glory for all his work again. He would do something about it but at the moment, he was a bit incapacitated. Oh well…

“I am Okii!” thundered the man ‘Roshi was up against but ‘Roshi paid him no attention as he held the scroll in his hand. Two flat lots had been cleared for the ore that they would be removing from the site.

“Yeah whatever,” replied ‘Roshi irreverently.

Just before the contest began, ‘Roshi unrolled the scroll and chanted the words inside. He didn’t think much of them at the time since he was only focused on winning and nothing else.

They began to dig and from the onset it seemed that ‘Roshi was clearly way out of his league in the contest. As time went on though, a cry went up from the people around him. ‘Roshi said nothing as he felt more energy flow through his body than it had ever had in his lifetime. He could feel the power coming to him in waves. Somehow, every stride he took seemed larger and his hands seemed bigger. He could feel his muscles bulging through his clothes and before long, he had attained Okii’s level of mining. Even though he could hear something being said by those around him, he ignored them mostly, focusing on the task above him. He knew he was growing in strength and all the girls would want him after he showed him just how strong he was. He ignored anything that was said about him until Okii himself had stopped and started staring at him.

“What, never been beaten before?” ‘Roshi asked. Then he held his throat. Something felt out of the ordinary with his voice. It was deep, deep and booming. His voice wasn’t like that. When he reached for his throat though, there he felt the greatest difference. Instead of a clean face, he could feel the tangles of the long mane of a beard. Then his hair fell to the sides of his face blocking his view. He roughly pushed his hair out of his face and suddenly noticed his hands. They were large and hairy limbs with thick coarse hair clinging off of them and falling to the side. Even his lean physique had changed as he could feel a large tire adding to his girth. He looked around wildly but all the people had made a large circle around him. He looked for his mother and took a step forward. The people pushed back, some of them running away to the village with the cries of  “Demon! Demon!” following them. He saw his brother looking disbelievingly at him and lunged.

“Hanzo, what have you done to me!” demanded ‘Roshi, scaring away even more of the people. Hanzo kept his wits about him though.

“Me, done to you?” answered Hanzo sarcastically. “If I remember, you took the scroll away from me. You read the scroll. I didn’t have anything to do with it. You wanted to beat Okii so badly, well now you can!” Hanzo replied emphatically.

‘Roshi lunged for him again but Hanzo was accustomed to being chased around after being blamed for this or the other that ‘Roshi had done. He easily slipped by the lumbering block of a brother. There was no doubt in Hanzo’s mind that his brother could crush him, but first he’d have to catch him. Hanzo definitely knew who had the real brains in the family so while his brother grabbed ineffectively for him, Hanzo deliberately led him closer and closer to the pits.

The pits weren’t really pits but were more akin to loose sand over a deep hollow. So loose was the sand that no one could stand over the sandy soil or risk falling in. Instead one had to run and keep on running until one reached the next side. So Hanzo came to that point and gathering his energy, he raced across the sand. He heard a curse in the background and turned around only when he was sure he was safe. Sure enough, his brother was trying to balance himself in the sand. It was to no avail though as he was too heavy. The sand shifted with him and soon he was a visible landslide down the slope.

“Yo ‘Roshi I didn’t cause you to change like that. Maybe there’s a cure? I don’t know if there’s one but I do know someone who would know and that person is Master Happosai,” he shouted. His brother should have heard him since the barrier against the ravine made the sound echo. His brother wasn’t hurt, that he was sure of, but it would take him quite a long time to walk back home from where he was. Hanzo grinned a little. Okay so maybe he should sympathize with his brother, but it was ‘Roshi’s own fault. If he wanted a cure then he would have to find it himself. He was tired of picking up after his older brother.

 

 

So that was how the story began…this is how it continued.

 

So the Challenger, ‘Roshi was in the Dojo snoring blissfully unaware that he was now the animal irritating a hornet’s nest. Usually it wasn’t, but with the recent events, most of the martial artists were on high alert for anything that could be a potential threat to the two little children sleeping in their mother’s arms. Each felt it their job to protect Ranma and her kids so even though ‘Roshi was looking for one thing in particular who knows what would happen when he was eventually found out.

As the party continued into the wee hours of the morning and then some, Hinako had no trouble at first disciplining those around her who had had too much to drink and were making public nuisances of themselves. That afforded her more time in her adult body than her childlike one. She did not partake too much of the party. As a girl, she doodled on the big snoring sleeping panda on the floor. As a woman she kept watch over Soun while having an amicable chat with Nodoka. While others were now having their sake, the two grandfathers already had their full even before the twins were born so Hinako was anxiously awaiting the revival of the man who had captured her eyes some time ago. Indeed Nodoka was hiding a mischievous smile as she talked to Hinako. She of all people knew the sleeping habits of the two martial artists after they were drunk. It would be anytime now.

She was right as in twenty minutes, Soun shook his head and murmured something. Getting up groggily he shook his partner in crime.

“Saotome my friend, are you awake,” Soun inquired.

“Growf!” was the reply along with the sign, ‘Well if I wasn’t (flip) I am now…’

“Seems you boys missed seeing your grandchildren,” informed Nodoka.

Soun and Genma looked at each other.

“It’s Soun!”

‘And Genma’s (flip)

“Operation: see the grandkids!” they proclaimed.

Soun was able to jostle in front of the large panda and force his way into the room where the kids were supposed to be.

Nodoka looked at her wristwatch.

“Three….two…one…”

Wham!

Out of the room flew the panda.

Wham!

Followed by Soun.

The two fell over each other with stars in their eyes.

Nodoka closed the door and grabbed her husband by the scruff of the neck. She began pulling him out of the clinic roughly. She beckoned Hinako to follow so Hinako copied Nodoka and dragged Soun out.

Somewhere along the way, Soun groggily awoke from his forced slumber and was then sanctioned to carry the large panda back home. Grumbling slightly, Soun was a little more careful at dragging the panda than Nodoka. Unfortunately, that was when Hinako reverted to her childlike form and she started playing with the panda. Genma woke up suddenly startling Soun as Hinako giggled and clung onto the panda leg first before she found her favorite game of playing tag between Soun’s legs. Soun found himself wishing for the time when Ranma was back at the house allowing Hinako to have someone to drain to regain her true form.

As the four entered the Tendo compound, they could all hear the grating sound of someone snoring loudly. Apparently someone was in the house. After following the sound, it was apparent that the sound did not come from the house but from the Dojo. Soun and Genma crept inside while Nodoka strode in with Hinako bouncing next to her. Genma kept creeping until Nodoka made it known publicly that creeping was not very manly and she still had that contract with him. Genma was caught in a quandary. Either he face the threat in the Dojo or the threat of his wife. His wife was his more immediate concern so he put on a brave face and chuckled.

“Come Nodoka, I was just employing the Secret Technique: The Preying Mantis Fist,” he told her with a straight face as he fold his arms together. Soun stood up next to him.

“Yes, the dreaded Preying Mantis Fist is a technique only a master of the art can perfect,” Soun responded sagely, tears sliding down his face.

Nodoka just grimaced. “Well here’s a technique for you!” she shouted before she raised one leg and booted Genma into the Dojo.

“Ooooh, that looks like fun,” exclaimed Hinako before she too booted Soun into the Dojo.

The two men sprawled into the Dojo stopping when they hit something solid. That something solid at that time was sleeping and was not very happy when he was jolted out of sleep suddenly because two fools decided to wake him up for no good reason. He roared and pulled out his battle axe, swinging at the two. Soun and Genma easily dodged and the axe bit into the wood of the wall making a huge gouge.

“A delinquent!” cried Hinako before she pulled out her five yen piece.

“Happo five yen satsu!” she shouted as she drained energy from the monstrous man in front of her turning her once again into a knockout woman.

Strange, he seemed to not even be affected by her ki drain. Well she would take care of that. As he ran towards her she shouted out, “Happo five yen satsu return!”

The huge man had no chance of evading the ki attack which struck him dead on. Shockingly, he got up right after being slammed into the wall, not even fazed.

Hinako growled slightly and exchanged coins.

“It is time for us to show what true masters in the art can do Tendo.”

“True Saotome, shall we?”

“Yes Tendo. Attack!”

Using a devastating combination, they succeeded in doing the one thing the combination was invented for, which was disarming the master. With the immediate threat gone and having had experience with Hinako’s technique, the two men bowed out of the way. By that time, Hinako had completed the necessary hair flip that all female martial artists had to do at least once.

“Happo Fifty yen SATSU!” cried Hinako.

The beast in front of her growled as energy began pouring out of its body into her. Still it stalked towards her still far away but still moving closer. Hinako increased the drain, this time, the energy flowing around her as she had already absorbed her maximum. Feeling herself about to burst. She tried to lower her hand but she couldn’t. She stood there frozen for a few minutes as a corona of light surrounded her, searing the wood underneath black. Shielding their eyes, the others could only look on until the light disappeared and Hinako fainted into a smoldering pile.

 

Apparently Hinako had soaked up all the extra energy that ‘Roshi had, turning him back into a normal person. By absorbing all that energy though, Hinako had more than enough to sustain herself and as such, she no longer could suck ki from people. Now that she was permanently adult, she wanted to find a way to stay close to Soun Tendo. She knew that she would eventually wear away his defenses and tutoring Ranma was the perfect way for her to do so.

She also liked having a little slave around the house too since ‘Roshi had decided that since she had reverted him to his normal form, that she was a kami in disguise and he vowed that he would stay with her for at least a month to serve his goddess. He had insisted that he help out after she had told him it was not necessary. It was nice to come home to warm food and a clean house though.

 

Currently she was finishing up tutoring Ranma. It was Friday night and because of Principal Kuno, Furiken students had Saturdays off from school as well as Sundays. It was probably the one tribute the students would give to their crazy principal. Friday night also meant something else as could be told by Ranma’s form of dress. Friday night meant date night. It was a custom that had been developed early on when Nodoka thought it best that she come over on the weekends to spoil her grandkids rotten. That they were also of the age that cute was just the ideal word to describe them was also token to why Nodoka wanted to visit on weekends.

Ranma was just about finished with her current battle. The battle against the warring numbers in front of her. That was how she thought of mathematics in front of her. With geometry she didn’t have that much problems after she had been shown the basics. She did have more of a problem with algebra though. The problem though was developing a mental kata for the problems. That was how she did math. She realized that to solve each problem she had to learn to use a certain kata or method to get to the answer, the only problem was deciding which one would get you the right answer. As she had discovered, there were usually more than one answer but only one was the one the teacher wanted. Especially when dealing with word problems. She hated those since she had to start from scratch with them but at least they provided a challenge. As the final problem for the night was dealt with; luckily the kata for this one was similar to the previous problem, Ranma turned her attention to her kids.

A brief trip to the kitchen told her that they had enough food to last them the night. The little buggers were getting too greedy. Cologne had advised her to start weaning them to other liquids and semi solid food. Cologne could tell that they were going to start teething any day now. Ranma had asked her how she knew but the Amazon matriarch just replied cryptically saying that 3000 years of Amazon history could not be wrong.

Bah! Amazon history…

The buzzing at the front door informed her of a guest and Ranma wasted no time in answering the front door. She wasn’t at all surprised to find her mother there with Genma-panda, the water still dripping off his fur. Apparently, he had been tagged on the way.

“Night mom!” greet Ranko.

“Goodnight dear,” replied Nodoka kissing her on the forehead, “now where are my grandchildren?”

“They’re in the bedroom sleeping though they should be getting up in a little while. It’s almost time for them to eat.”

“Okay dear. You go get ready now for Akane.”

“Right mom, lemme just get something prepared in the kitchen for you.”

Nodoka stopped her. “That’s quite alright. Your father’s diet is progressing quite smoothly...”

“Diet?”

“Oh yes… see your father’s working for the local daycare and he gets his daily ration of bamboo. The teacher has strict instructions for feeding him.”

“Are you sure? I mean I know pops and he can easily steal something from the lunchroom,” Ranma warned while giving a sidelong glance at her father who had a sign up in the air with: ‘Who me?’ (flip) ‘Oh the horror!’ (flip) ‘My only child does not believe me.’

“I’ve taken care of that,” Nodoka replied rather proud of herself. “See, next to the daycare is a school for the culinary challenged. If he eats anything he’s not supposed to, he gets to be their taster for the week.” Ranma noted that Genma-panda had turned a whiter shade of pale. “Those girls cook like Akane,” Nodoka whispered in Ranma’s ear a wicked smile on her face. Ranma grinned evilly and turned to face her father who was now busying himself with a rubber tire.

“Oh by the way Ranma,” Nodoka remembered as an afterthought. “The children will be in the guestroom with us. So you kids can have some quality time together.”

Ranma blushed a little at the wink Nodoka gave her but she winked back at Nodoka. Apparently, Ranma had ideas of her own.

 

 

Akane announced himself at the door after he stepped inside. It had been a rather long day and he was intently looking forward to tonight. He knew that Ranma would probably be with Nodoka and the kids as he waved to his father and Genma as they battled over a game of shogi. More than likely they were battling at who had the better cheating strategy. Hinako was absent tonight which was a rare occurrence. He wondered if something was up. Ranma would have told him he was sure of it.

Abandoning the thought, Akane found himself taking a good shower and rummaging for some decent clothes to wear. Eventually he was ready for a night out on the town and ready to find his wife.

That of course was not as difficult as he imagined it would be. He was right when he thought that she would be with the kids. Apparently they wanted some motherly attention before Ranma left for the night. She was there, in the corner breast-feeding as Tenma happily slurped up the meal of the day.

He knew he had been found out but instead of disturbing them further he instead decided to see what his father was up to. He sat next to the two older men as they tried to con the other while playing. Not long after though, Ranma came down the stairs with Nodoka.

He stood up as she walked over and planted a passing kiss on his lips before she turned around to allow him to hold her.

“Now pops you be a good panda,” she told him as Nodoka unceremoniously tossed a cup of water at him. Instant play toy!

Nodoka took the kids and placed them on the panda.

“Did you tell him about their grasping?” she asked her mother quietly.

“No. Maybe this way he’ll stop turning into one so often,” she replied.

“Where’s Hinako?” asked Nodoka as an afterthought.

“Oh, she’ll be here shortly…” The bell rang. “I think that’s her now!” exclaimed Ranma as she went over to answer the door.

“Hello Ranma,” greeted Hinako with the sultry voice that she used on all the boys at school. It was always useful in getting them to keep quiet and pay attention. O doubt she was sure that it also led to pleasurable nighttime activities. “Is Soun ready?” she asked and then a little more quickly and hurriedly she asked, “Does he know?”

Ranma grinned. “Nah don’t worry about it, he’ll come. Mom’ll make sure of it.”

“Oh Mr. Tendo, someone’s here to see you.”

“Send them in Ranma,” Soun responded.

“Soun dear….”

Soun turned looked and froze. He had not been expecting to see Hinako in a red dress that was low cut at the back and that afforded a lot of cleavage to look at in the front. Even Genma-panda gazed appreciatively until he saw the steel in Nodoka’s eyes and quickly found himself busy with the children.

“Soun, I was hoping that you would escort me to the Kabuki theatre?” asked Hinako though her voice made it sound more as if she was pleading.

“He’s going Hinako-chan. Ranma if you please.”

Ranma whacked Soun soundly in the back of the head. He was knocked out of his reverie and was about to defend himself when Hinako prompted by Nodoka took his hand, reducing Soun to a bumbling incoherent mass.

“Hinako dear, don’t keep Soun away from his family for too long, remember now, we need him back by the earliest…” Nodoka gave a sidelong glance to Ranma.

“Monday,” replied Ranma.

“Monday,” reiterated Nodoka.

“Don’t wait up for us,” replied Hinako as she guided Soun out the door.

“What was that about?” asked Akane.

“You don’t want to know,” Ranma informed him.

Akane saw the look that was shared between mother and daughter and dropped the topic. If they were in it together he was better off not knowing. A finger in vision brought him back from his thoughts.

“I believe that you owe me a date tonight,” Ranma reminded him.

“Oh I guess I’ll have to force myself to go out on a date with you,” Akane responded with a wink.

“Interesting words Mr. Tendo,” remarked Ranma and she slipped her arm around his before they exited the door.

Nodoka stared after them through the window. A sharp ‘growf’ brought her out of her reverie. Apparently Sakura was also learning to grab hair. Genma-panda lay down trying to prize his fun out from his granddaughters hands; a hard thing to do with his furry paws. Another sharp ‘growf’ indicated that Tenma had joined in the all-you-can-grab panda fur fest.

 

Finally alone for one of the few days of the week where they did not have to worry consciously about the kids, Ranma and Akane were able to relax. Where they were going would be decided after they went to see the movie. What kind of movie you wonder? Well this is Ranma Saotome and though Ranma Saotome had grown in the last year or so, her taste in movies had not changed all that much. The fact that they were going to see another martial arts movie made this fact well known. That was probably one of the few things that Ranma and Akane could always agree upon. Both of them loved a good beat-them-up movie after a long week.

As relaxed as they were, they were not quite aware of a pair of eyes watching them from under the cover of some bushes. In fact, there were more than one pair of eyes watching. For what purpose, one did not know but they did not interfere with the couple walking down the alley. Indeed they made it an object to stay hidden and out of the path of the two.

One solitary pair of eyes followed from that position, the other pairs staying stationary. After another 50 meters, Ranma looked back, sure that her senses had picked up something in the background. There was nothing there now though. She must be getting paranoid, it was about time for some more chaos to appear in here life. That was just something that she got accustomed too.

With a slight flip of her hair, she dismissed the warning. If the person following them kept out of her way, then that was fine. If they interrupted her date though, there would be hell to pay. Just then a thought came to her.

“Akane dear, do me a favor?”

“Hmm… what’s that?” he asked.

Ranma jumped and Akane reflexively caught her. “Let’s see how much better you’ve gotten at roof hopping ne? There must be some way you can put all your brute strength to use.”

Akane raised an eyebrow. This could be another one of Ranma’s subtle tests. You never knew with those Saotomes and martial arts. They considered everything training. But, it was an entertaining idea. He had been on the receiving side of a lot of those airborne flights. He would just try and outdo Ranma a little.

“My lady, Tendo Airways is all prepped for service…” was all he told her before he took her in his arms and took the quickest step to the roof by a wall as Ranma whooped in encouragement.

Minutes later, Akane and his cargo touched down right outside the cinemaplex followed shortly thereafter by another person who was understandably a bit fatigued. As the shadow alighted on the asphalt paving, it disappeared into the shadows following its quarry.

Ranma and Akane though were busily preparing themselves for the movie. In this theatre some of the armrest divisions were made to be retractable: a definite plus for the younger crowd. It was also a factor for attracting young couples and as such, Ranma was comfortably snuggled up next to her husband holding the popcorn as the movie started.

In this cinema there was an obvious lack of females due to the nature of the programming. As such, there were a couple of unruly groups of boys who had entered the cinema. Unfortunately they weren’t really interested in the movie. In fact the only reason they were here was because there was nothing else to do. They had also forced their way in through a window. Unfortunately for these boys, they had spied a young redhead leaning on the arm of another guy while watching the show. It was time to have some fun.

Neither Ranma nor Akane noticed the group as they sat down behind them simply because they were enjoying each other’s company and the movie far too much.

As often in a group of young adults, it was usually the one who had something to prove to the others to start something. Either for a lack of something called tact or a general lack of confidence, they were always out to prove themselves by demeaning others. Women of course were the favorite target simply because of the idea that women were weaker than men. An attractive woman made the likeliness of approach even greater. An attractive women in the arms of a man who seemed to be puny: a perfect target.

“Hey cutie, why don’t you dump the loser and join up with us,” whispered a voice behind Ranma and Akane. “We can show you a good time,” the voice added while breathing deeply.

“No thanks, I think I prefer guys with an IQ above one.” Someone behind chuckled but apparently had been silenced quickly as she heard an ‘urk’ in the background.

“Come on baby, I can give you something big and juicy for dinner,” another voice asked lecherously. Ranma could visibly see Akane shaking as he was losing his control. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Akane relaxed, but not by much.

“I already had something to eat, I’m sure that my finger is probably bigger than what you have to offer,” Ranma replied without looking back. The response was followed by some ‘ooohs’ and a growl. Apparently she had hit a nerve. She’d have to thank some of those St. Hebereke girls and their chit-chat. She had finally understood the fine art of hidden insults.

The boy placed his hand on her shoulder. The shoulder that was currently lying against Akane’s chest. She could also see the murderous look on his face. Release his hand she gave him a warning. “Try not to be too loud dear… I’m trying to watch the movie.”

Akane grinned maliciously. “Don’t worry, you won’t hear a peep,” he promised before he slid out from behind Ranma and jumped. A few thuds and groans later, Akane joined Ranma in their previous position. A couple of boys a few rows away had somehow moved to the corner of the cinema giving the Tendo couple a circumference of empty seats around them.

“You didn’t keep you promise,” Ranma scolded playfully.

“I’ll make it up later,” Akane replied as his hands moved a bit closer up north.

“Frisky are we?” Ranma asked.

“You’ll find out later,” Akane replied as he pulled the lobe of her ear with his teeth. Ranma giggled but did not reply instead she relaxed into his embrace and continued to view the film, the hushed silence within the cinema broken every now and again by a few moans.

 

After the movie and some well placed footsteps that had the persons being walked over groaning in pain, Ranma and Akane exited the cinema, both having seen a very good movie and Akane having worked out some of his frustrations from the week. Akane with his arm around his wife was slowly guiding her as they made their way to the restaurant they had reservations for. The actual restaurant was not really visible from the street, having been sequestered inside a number of other buildings. There was a rather small anteroom where guests were greeted. From there, the guests were ushered from the anteroom down a wide corridor lined with various pictures, into a large dining hall. Again there were many differences in this restaurant from many others in the area. There were hardly any tables available on this, the lowest floor. This floor also hosted the business suites and the kitchen of the establishment. The second and third floors were mostly for the dining guests.

The rather meager decorations of the lower floor gave way to the more extensively beautified second floor. Music, an entrancing melody with a captivating percussion background was the entertainment. The room itself was covered in drapes of red and yellow with incense to add a bit of olfactory appeal. There was no real reason for that except for setting the mood. The aroma of spices was enough to make the mouth water.

That was not where Ranma and Akane stopped though. The proprietor knew them well. After a few common visits, they had found to their amazement that they did not need to bother mentioning where they would prefer to sit to the usher, instead their place had already been prepared.

The third floor unlike the second was not for open dining. The music was softer and melodious while incense was the strongest scent. Each eating area was covered off by overlapping tapestries stitched onto thick blankets of fabric. Ranma and Akane entered the inner eating area. Already there were drinks and appetizers awaiting them on the low-lying table. Inside the floor was heavily carpeted with a table off to one side. Most of the area was filled with cushions of maroon and burgundy to match the tapestries on the inside.

Akane was quick to dive into the cushions, followed by Ranma as she snuggled up next to him. Ranma slipped her legs under the table while using Akane’s chest as a backrest. Akane lay parallel to the table, his head and chest supported by the myriad of cushions. He knew that he wouldn’t be feeding Ranma, more likely he would be the one eating. He knew Ranma found happiness from just taunting him and feeding him. Upon the table was a little folder. Ranma opened it and after making a few choice selections, she handed the folder to Akane who stretched one arm out to lay the folder in a little indentation on the side. Ranma rang the bell and then took a small cup and two spoons from the table. She dipped the spoon in and turned towards Akane.

“Open wide.”

Akane grinned and opened his mouth allowing Ranma to place the spoon in his mouth. Greedily he slurped the warm thick yogurt.

“Someone’s hungry today,” Ranma noted while feeding him another spoon. This time, she did not give him the whole spoon; instead, he had reach for it. As Akane came closer, Ranma pulled it away until Akane almost got it. Instead of the yogurt going into his mouth though, it found itself rolling down his cheek. Ranma was quick to take advantage of the situation, attacking his cheek with her tongue which inevitably brought them towards liplock. Ranma finished off the yogurt by continuing to tempt Akane. This time, Akane was ready for the challenge and he did not spill any much to Ranma’s disappointment. As the last of the yogurt disappeared down his gullet, Akane took advantage of his wife’s position and pulling himself up, let her head rest in the crook of his shoulder.

Grabbing a conveniently placed bunch of grapes, Akane taunted Ranma with the fruit allowing her to pick a few with her teeth. Inevitably some of the little purple spheres after being plucked from their roots did not make it into her mouth. They took their own meandering course down the side of her cheek, bouncing once or twice before coming to a rest. Some of them had the distinct pleasure of every other man’s dream. That being lodged smack dab in the middle of a woman’s cleavage.

Even more interesting was the fact that the other person in the room did not want those sweet pearls of nectar to go to waste. Gingerly he reached down to pluck them out with the tips of his teeth, all the while leaving tender little kisses down Ranma’s neck and chest. Ranma did not resist but instead giggled as Akane made note to touch some of the more delicate spots on his wife’s neck. The ones that always brought out a reaction. After removing those little spheres that dare become lodged in the most eye-capturing of places, Akane was ready for a repeat performance.

That was not to be however as the two were interrupted by another person entering.

“Akane, Ranma, so nice to see you two getting along,” the person remarked.

Akane stopped his feeding to give a slight glare at the person before answering.

“Hello Tanaka-san, what brings you here?” he asked.

“Well you might say that I was a bit worried about you. See, my company has an investment in you both and its time for you to return to work. We have a contract you know,” she informed them.

“Yes, yes,” Ranma replied with a wave of her hand. “What are you suggesting?”

“Hmm… right. Let me show you the papers,” Tanaka replied before pulling a folder out of the light brown satchel she carried. The said satchel could be considered her mobile desk. It contained almost everything she needed, including a notebook with all her files of all her clients and employees.

“Same company as before,” Tanaka replied. “And yes, none of the commercials will be shown in Japan as we agreed.”

Ranma winked at her and then righted herself in her husband’s lap as the three sat and mulled over the projects they were being offered.

 

At the end of the impromptu meeting, all parties had decided on a schedule for the next few months and Tanaka rose to leave the couple alone.

“Oh yes, before I go, thanks for dinner,” she added.

“Dinner?” inquired Akane, “But you didn’t eat a thing?”

“You know that, Ranma knows that and I know that, but no one else knows that,” she replied with a wink.

Ranma grinned. “You really do remind me of Nabiki.”

“Ah yes, the Ice Queen of Furiken. I wonder how she’s doing in the sweat shop.”

“In the sweat shop?” queried Akane.

“Oh yes, that company she’s working for. The man in charge loves to work for long hours. If she’s trying to impress him, that’s going to take a lot of work. Ciao!”

“Oh dear, seems Nabiki’ll find herself in a pickle,” Akane confessed to Ranma.

“I doubt it,” she replied. “If anyone can find an angle on a person, it’s Nabiki.”

“I guess you’re right…”Akane answered, before he roughly pulled Ranma down against the cushions.

“So you want to play rough aye?” heckled Ranma.

“Oh yes…” Akane replied huskily. “Very rough.”

“Well I’ll…”

Ranma was interrupted by the ringing of the bell outside.

“Damn!” Akane swore.

“Later dear, good things come to those who wait.”

Akane stifled a chuckle at the pun as the waitress dressed in a sari brought in their selections.

 

 

After feasting themselves to the company’s expense, Ranma and Akane were both ready for a good nap except for one thing. For the whole week, they had both been working tirelessly: Ranma with schoolwork, finances and the kids and Akane with schoolwork, teaching and sparring. The result was that they were altogether too tired at night to do anything but sleep, a complete opposite from how they were before. Add into that the fact that neither could get any during the pregnancy and for a few weeks afterwards. In summation, the tension was high every Friday night, and tonight was no exception. After the very delicious meal, Ranma and Akane exited the establishment through a window as Akane took to the rooftops with Ranma in is arms.

Even though Ranma really didn’t care at the moment and wondered if they could just stop for a quicky, her senses did note something. There was a black shadow following them.

“Akane, we seem to have a tail,” Ranma remarked rather casually.

“What should we do about it?” Akane asked. Ranma scratched her forehead in thought.

“Maybe be could take the scenic route through Kuno’s garden,” she suggested.

Akane grinned. Ranma grinned.

 

Poor Mr. Turtle was sad. He was sad because he didn’t have a playmate anymore. His last playmate had a somewhat abrupt death when someone forgot to feed Mr. Turtle. So Mr. Turtle had been bored for the rest of the week idly waiting for someone or something to pass bye. In general, in Mr. Turtle’s natural surrounding, he could probably waited for a few days before he decided he needed lunch, all the while on the lookout for the said lunch. In the wild, Mr. Turtle had instincts that told his when lunch may be arriving. In Nerima the instincts were slightly different but the ends were the same. Knowing something was coming his way, Mr. Turtle waited patiently and snapped as someone vaulted over his pool. Pooh! They had escaped. Something else though was coming.

So, as he would in nature, Mr. Turtle sank underneath the water with only his eyes above the surface. Mr. Turtle did not have to wait long as something else alighted at the edge of his pool focused only on the snack he had just missed. As it was, Mr. Turtle did indeed have a midnight snack much to the surprise of the shadow who had landed in the Kunos backyard.

 

Relieved of their unknown follower, Ranma and Akane made a quick trip back to the window of the room where they slept. This time, the crib that was always full at night at the side of the room was empty. No doubt Nodoka had taken the children with her to sleep. Akane grinned as he leapt into the room, kicking the panes of glass closed after he entered. Then, while still holding his wife, he began to kiss her ferociously. Ranma was already on board with the program as Akane suddenly found himself without a pair of pants.

 

A few hours later just after they had both fallen asleep, Ranma and Akane heard a rather loud explosion coming from downstairs. Ranma looked at Akane, Akane at Ranma. Yes it was unanimous, neither wanted to get out of bed. Then Ranma sighed and threw off the covers, searching for a robe. Akane handed her hers while he tied his around his waist. Akane kissed his wife softly on the cheek before they both left to check out what was going on. Akane was armed with a shinai. Ranma, well if someone managed to really piss her off, a shinai would be the least of their worries. Downstairs they came across Genma creeping at the side of the wall, intent on finding out what was going on albeit in a very cowardly looking way. Ranma shushed her husband and crept up behind the bald martial artist.

“Yo pops, what’s up?” she asked from directly behind him. The said bald martial artist jumped and grabbed hold of the ceiling with his fingernails in fright, leaving his daughter and her husband snickering below.

“Very funny Ranma,” Genma replied as he tried to regain some of the self-respect he had just lost. “Your mother sent me down here to check on things. I was just biding my time. After all, if someone was to get past me, that would mark the end!” he finished dramatically.

“Sure pops, whatever,” Ranma replied while grabbing Akane’s hand. “Let’s go dear.”

“Right!” Akane answered as the two soldiered onward. In the living room, they did find something rather amusing. Apparently, Soun and Hinako had gone out last night, and now the two were back. From the smell of things, they had been drinking but that did not explain the Soun indentation on the wall nor Hinako crying over Soun’s prone form.

“Hey, what happened?” asked Akane. Hinako did reply and the couple were unsure as to if Hinako even heard Akane. Simple cure. Ranma flicked a coin from on the table. The aim was true and hit Hinako in the head with a thwack.

“Hey, what’re you doin’? slurred Hinako as she rubbed the back of her head.

“Well,” repeated Akane. “What happened?”

“Oh Soun-chan, Soun-chan was in a fight! Soun-chan got hurt!” wailed Hinako. Which for a grown woman looked pretty pathetic. At least now she did have something in common with Soun.

“Who was he fighting with?” Ranma asked.

“Some big meanie came here to hurt my Soun-chan!” she wailed.

“Any idea why?” Akane asked. He couldn’t remember any enemies his father had. Or maybe this was one of Ranma’s ‘friends’ as Kasumi liked to put it.

Hinako pointed to something lying on the table.

“Seems we’ve got a winner,” announced Ranma. “You got challenged.”

Akane nodded then his eyes bulged out.

“I got challenged!” he shouted.

“Why of course dear,” Ranma replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “You are the man of the house and you have been training. It’s time to see what you can do,” she said matter-of-factly.

“What I can do! Hey this has probably something to do with your dad?”

Ranma’s eyes started to water. “Don’t you want to protect me and the kids?” she asked softly while allowing the tears to roll down her eyes and clasping her hands in front of her.

Akane objection faltered and crumbled under the pleading loving cuteness of his wife.

“Alright, I’ll take up the challenge,” he told her.

Ranma suddenly dropped the act and grabbed her husband by the arm.

“Good, now come on, there’s still some night left and I need some exercise.”

Akane almost fell flat on his face. How in the world did she get him to do that? Ranma was silently thanking Kasumi for making her watch those soap operas. The action sucked but the girls did know how to get their own way. Akane was wondering just when that morning Ranma would allow him to go to sleep. Her appetite was something a bit on the excessive side of healthy.

 

That morning, Akane was late in getting up. That probably had something to do with the person who was currently cuddled next to him. He might have been able to extract himself from her but unfortunately she had gotten rather strong of late. He doubted that even Ryouga would have been able to handle her at this point and he was strong. If he decided to pull away, she would only try to hold on longer. There was another way of waking her up but that would mean he would have to exert himself again. He didn’t know if he had enough stamina in him for a triple crown. In the end he ended up trying to tickle her nose. That had worked in the past.

This time, it did not work like Akane had hoped. Instead of waking up, Ranma just buried herself under the cover. Akane growled a little. He would have to get a little more aggressive. With determination, his arm (only one was free) crept under the cover. He had to search a little but then he found the little spot that Ranma had just under the breast; the sure thing to tickle her nerves. With a little wiggle, she moved trying to get rid of the irritation, a small smile popped up on her face. Akane strengthened his attack and sure enough she started to giggle. Soon he was staring into a pair of baby blue eyes.

“Good morning,” she greeted seductively. Akane was slightly confused until her realized that in his bid to wake her, he had by pure accident cupped and caressed her breast. Now he had to deal with a once again fully aroused Ranma. He sighed in defeat, hoping that he would be able to get out of the bedroom sometime that day.

 

 

 

 

“Ranma, I was expecting you to get up a little earlier,” noted Nodoka as her daughter finally wandered into the kitchen. The kids were still quite content at playing with the panda and his ball.

“Oh, just had a little tension to work out,” Ranma replied with a smile.

“I see… well shall we get lunch started?”

“Okay…”

 

Akane was not in the best of conditions. His wife had left him to soak while she dressed. At that moment there was nothing more he wanted to do that eat and sleep. He could now see what had attracted Genma to that profession of lethargy. That was not to be however. As soon as he allowed his head to lay back against the side of the furo to enjoy the water, he was rudely awakened by a splash of very cold water. Chattering, he was ready to dish out some retribution when he saw who it was.

“Dad, what ya do that for!” shouted an annoyed Akane.

“Stop whining boy,” Soun commanded. “It’s time for some training. Saotome has agreed to help me train you today.”

“Well I’ll train later, right now I’m tired and I need a soak.”

“Boy, the life of a martial artist is fraught with peril…”  Taking a peek Soun found that his son was annoying him. So Akane thought he would get away. “Perhaps I should ask Nodoka to give Ranma that copy of the MARITAL arts that she borrowed for her honeymoon. You know how Ranma likes to learn new techniques,” Soun stated.

Akane stared at his father, betrayal evident on his face. He hoped that his father would see the panic in his eyes and show mercy but evidently Soun was not falling for it. Damn! In seconds, Akane had dried, changed, and rushed to start his warm ups.

Soun pumped his fist in success. He would eventually demand that those two move into his room. All that damn creaking was keeping his up all the nightlong and he was hung over too. If it wasn’t for Nodoka’s hangover cure… he shuddered. It was time for the boy to learn some respect. Good thing he still had Ranma as his trump card. He was able to reduce Kimikio’s urges after Kasumi but his inability after Nabiki was how Akane was conceived.

 

As the panda was relieved from daycare duties, Nodoka brought the children into the kitchen where they were very happy to see their mother, or rather very happy to have their mother to nurse them again. They needed another spot of milk. As Ranma was taking care of the motherly duties, Nodoka was finishing up some of the dishes. Unfortunately, she found something amiss. They had run out of curry.

“Oh dear, Ranma we don’t have any curry,” Nodoka informed.

“I guess I’ll just get Akane to go out to the store to get some.”

After removing her greedy kids from her person, Ranma covered herself and marched to the dojo to see what Akane and the fathers were up to. Inside she took a peek. Akane was holding out well against them as far as she could see, but she could tell that he wasn’t being pushed enough. So he ended up with bruises but Soun wasn’t much in the department of strength and neither was her father. Both were relying on speed to overcome Akane’s strength. Although that did help to increase Akane’s speed, he definitely needed some help in the strength department too. Maybe she’d see if Cologne had any ideas. It had been far too long since she had seen the old mummy.

Seeing that Akane was indeed in a miniature brawl with the fathers, she decided to forego asking him and to go herself. She did need to get out a bit for some fresh air and no doubt, Cologne would mind scaring the hell out of her kids with that face of hers.

“Mom, I’m going to the Nekohanten to get some curry,” Ranma told her as she took the kids in her arms.

“Taking them for a walk too?”

“Yeah, they’ll probably like Shampoo and Mousse.”

“Have fun dear and don’t stay too long,” Nodoka added.

“Hai, hai,” Ranma waved off as she searched for the kids pram.

Out in the sun, Ranma was very glad she made the decision to go out. She’d almost forgotten about those days when all of the martial artists in Nerima would be following her leaving a wave of destruction behind them. Someone tapped her on the shoulder.

“Could you direct me to….”

 

 

For Cologne, Matriarch of the Amazons, it was just another day of business. Shampoo had been starting to grow up from her adolescence quite nicely. Her little punishment and the drive she got from visiting Ranma those few times was enough to lead the steadfast girl onto the right track. Now, Shampoo came to her for training instead of her having to prompt Shampoo too develop her skills. But for Amazons Cologne had a different way of teaching. Ranma was easy to teach. Genma had prepared Ranma well in advance for hard techniques and harsh training methods. Ryouga was hardened to anything due to his journeying ways. Shampoo, Shampoo was an Amazon but her training had not reached the intensity of Ranma or Ryouga. She was a formidable warrior but she lacked the drive of her former students; a drive that she was now developing. She had seen Ranma persevere through her training and Shampoo looked to be using Ranma as the benchmark for her success. A worthy benchmark in Cologne’s mind.

Mr. Part-time had returned to ‘grace’ Shampoo with his presence but Shampoo hardly paid any attention to him. She neither acknowledged him nor did she punish him. Her indifference to his presence was making more holes in his drive than anything else. At least punishment meant that she knew he was there. Her lack of acknowledgement was finally winning the psychological war that Mousse was hoping would work for him. Unfortunately it seemed that her granddaughter had wised up. Cologne rubbed her hands. Who needed a television with a real life soap opera right around her. Even the customers were interesting to study. Couple walking in and out. Slaps because the boys stared at Shampoo too long. Just what an old woman wanted to take care of the usual dullness at her age.

“Hey ya old bat! What you up to?”

Cologne frowned then crossed her eyes. That girl never learned to address her elders properly. Not that Cologne really cared one way or the other, but it would be nice to beat the girl at something.

“So son-in-law, what can an old woman like me do for you?” Cologne asked while trying to pout. Something that had almost everyone in the room cringing.

“Just make sure this idiot doesn’t walk off. I’ve got a job for him,” Ranma replied before walking with the stroller to Mousse and Shampoo who were making their way over.

Before her other guest could say anything Cologne bonked him on the head with her staff. “Boy you’d better not move from that spot,” she ordered.

“I don’t have to do what you say,” the boy replied.

“You’d better, I’ve been dying to try out this recipe for Kuan Pai pork,” Cologne replied while she smirked. At least to her she smirked, the boy almost had a heart attack when he saw her facial contortion.

 

 

Mousse was the hated enemy or Ranma Saotome but his relationship with Ranma Tendo was something completely different. He could easily attack Ranma Saotome, the outsider betrothed to Shampoo but he could not attack Ranma Tendo, friend of the Amazon tribe. Well he could have attacked her under the marriage challenge but since Ranma was married and did have kids, he was satisfied that there was nothing that Ranma could do to take his beloved Shampoo away from him. The only problem now was convincing Shampoo that he was the best choice for a husband.

There was one rule about kids in the Amazon Village and that was the no danger rule. Kids were to be kept out of danger and trouble by all who were of age. That also extended to friends and family of the Amazons. As such, Mousse was forced to help if the need arose. Not that he really didn’t mind. He just wished that Nouma would stop tugging at his long hair. The boy had a fearsome grip. Mousse feared that Nouma had gained Akane’s strength. With Ranma’s genes and training, the boy could become a force to be reckoned with.

While Mousse was engaged with Tenma, Shampoo was busy tickling Tenma’s sister, Sakura. Shampoo had no doubt that the giggling girl would grow up to be one of the finest warriors. She couldn’t wait to have her own kids but first she had to find a worthy husband. With a girl in one hand and food in the other, Shampoo attended the customers.

“Hey old ghoul, you got some curry I could borrow?” Ranma inquired.

Something shot out from under the old woman’s robes and Ranma grabbed it out of the air.

“Oh…and you got anything that will keep Ryouga from getting lost?”

Ryouga looked at the two.

“You have something that can keep me from getting lost?” he exclaimed.

“Maybe, let me check…” Cologne replied. Ryouga’s eye twitched and with a growl he jumped to attack the old woman.

“Why didn’t you ever give it to me!” he demanded, before an old gnarled cane ran his head into the floor.

“You never asked,” Cologne answered from on top of her staff which was positioned directly on top of his head. “Now let me see what I still have…”

Ryouga suspiciously stared at Ranma. “Why are you doing this?” he asked.

Ranma pouted. “Can’t a girl do something nice?”

Ryouga shivered. Ranma pouting, having kids. She really was a girl. It didn’t help that her coke bottle figure also made her very attractive. Luckily Ranma wasn’t looking at him, instead her attention was focused on the store room Cologne had disappeared into. He still couldn’t figure out how Ranma had allowed himself to be changed into her. It was like Ranma. Ranma was stubborn, Ranma hated the girl form. Ryouga just couldn’t understand how Ranma could so easily decide to become a girl.

“Ah here it,” announced Cologne as she returned with an old box.

“What is it?” asked Ranma.

“Oh just some old wards. They aren’t really worth anything but it’s always good to be on the safe side with Happi around.” Cologne took out one ward and slapped it on Ryouga’s head. Shocked, Ryouga couldn’t even react in time before Cologne hit him. Almost as soon as it touched his head, it disappeared. “Right. Ranma see that little mark on his forehead. Just hit it, and the ward will materialize again.”

“So what does it do?” Ranma asked.

“Well, Ryouga can get more than ½ a mile of the other ward that’s in this box,” Cologne replied as she handed the box to Ranma. “See the little gems on the side?”

Ranma nodded.

“If Ryouga gets out of the ward’s immediate range, the gems in his direction will light up… What’s this for anyway?”

“Oh Akane has a challenge to defend against and I need someone to help him train.”

“Ahh… I’d like to see that.”

“Heh so would I. Mr. ‘I’m a martial artist too’ is going to get his first real challenge all by his lonesome.”

Suddenly a gnawing lump developed in the pit of Ryouga’s stomach. He would have to face Akane again. Not the beautiful sweet Akane who always held him when he was P-chan, but the male Akane, the father of Ranma’s children. The one who Ryouga knew, if given the chance, might want to kill him. To say Ryouga was apprehensive about going was like saying Ranma had a mild dislike of cats. A sudden tug pulled him from his thoughts. When did he get a chain around his neck?

“Come on Ryouga. It’s almost time for lunch. Bye Cologne, come by anytime!”

Cologne returned the gesture and chuckled. This would indeed be interesting.

 

Ryouga was silent all the way to the Tendo Dojo and Training Hall. Ranma held him by the leash and kept him going in the right direction but her attention was focused mostly on the two kids in the trolley in front of her.

“Mom, I’m back,” Ranma greeted as she entered.

“Ranma did you bring… oh, hello Ryouga.”

Ryouga smiled weakly.

“Ranma are you sure its wise to invite Ryouga here?”

“Heh, Ryouga’s Akane’s training partner. I’m guessing that Akane’s probably outlasted those two old farts,” Ranma responded. “Oh yeah, here’s the curry.”

Apprehensive, Ryouga was not keen on following Ranma. Actually, Ranma was dragging Ryouga through the house to the Dojo but with her mind on one thing, she barely recognized Ryouga’s indecisiveness. Ranma took a peek in to see what was going on. It was just as she suspected. Without her to give pops a good workout, her old man had become flabby and his skills had deteriorated. He was still beating Akane but that was because he was pulling out all his tricks. Pathetic really, if someone really wanted to beat him they would have already.

Soun wasn’t any better. Her morning sparring sessions had sharpened him up a bit but they didn’t have much to sharpen on since the man looked to have lost most of what he had learned. He was still formidable- to an average opponent. She knew in the beginning that they had probably beaten Akane thoroughly but now, now Akane with his stamina was giving them a run for it. She saw some particularly nasty bruises on Genma.

“Halt!” she shouted.

All three men froze in position and stared at her.

“Good. I’ve found Akane a new training partner,” she announced and then tugged at the line behind her.

“Ryouga!” growled Akane. Ryouga flinched and was it, could it be that he was hiding behind Ranma, his self-proclaimed lifelong enemy. That couldn’t be right?

Akane’s stalk of death was halted by Ranma’s outstretched hand.

“I don’t care if you want to kill him. You can do that after the match, but Ryouga’s your sparring partner,” she emphasized.

“Oh thank you Ranma,” Soun praised as he bent down on his knees and bowed repeatedly in front of her. Genma was tempted to do the same but then, he knew he would never hear the end of it. As a reward Ranma kicked Soun into the wall.

“Enough of that crap!” she bellowed. “You’ve got a student to train and you’d better do it… otherwise I’ll have to lengthen our training sessions in the morning,” she threatened.

“Genma your daughter’s trying to kill me,” Soun pleaded to his best friend.

“My friend. It doesn’t seem like the best thing to do now but you will thank me for it later…”

Soun was confused until Genma threw him the in middle of the Dojo. Ranma slapped the ward on Ryouga and its mate on the wall of the Dojo. With that done she walked the lost boy over to her husband who still looked as if he was going to melt Ryouga with the glare in his eyes.

“Now you two boys play well,” she told them before turning to Akane. “And if I hear that you get angry again…” she added as she moved into whispering range. “I’ll just have to find something else to do with all that energy tonight,” she ended in a sultry voice. Akane blanched. That probably meant that he would definitely not get any sleep at all for at least six hours.

Akane watched his wife walk away and then addressed Ryouga. “Okay Ryouga while we’re training, I won’t kill you, but after that, all bets are off.”

Ryouga sighed in relief and then suddenly, he felt someone touching his shoulders.

“Ohh Akane, can I keep this one… big… strong… I can think of a lot of things I can keep him busy with.”

“Who…Who said that?” blurted out a spooked Ryouga. The father’s looked at him as if he was going crazy.

“Oh, that was just Mai, our resident house-ghost. She harmless, now,” Akane answered while stressing the ‘now’ part. There was a nervous chuckle in the room which faded away quickly. Ryouga just stared into the space where he thought the voice had come from. Akane was just trying to ignore the voice as he adopted an aggressive stance.

Genma walked up to stand between the two.

“Now I want you two to spar and Soun and I will evaluate your performance.” Genma stuck his hand out between them. “Honto!”

Akane was quick to attack, trying to score a few hits in. He knew that Ryouga was strong but he was strong too. If he could get a few good hits in on Ryouga, he knew that he would be able to force his control on the sparring contest. It was supposed to be sparring but Akane knew it was a contest. It was unspoken but he knew that everyone around expected him to get beaten up by Ryouga but he would show them. He hadn’t been practicing for nothing.

Akane came in fast and hard catching Ryouga slightly off guard. At least ten good strikes landed squarely sending Ryouga into the side of the Dojo. Akane smiled in triumph knowing that he had hurt Ryouga. Imagine his surprise when Ryouga nonchalantly got up, dusted his clothes off and smirked.

“That was a freebie,” Ryouga informed. “You’ll have to work for the rest.”

It dawned on Akane that his previous hits had not even fazed Ryouga. He had a disconcerting feeling that he would be in a world of pain later on.

 

 

Ranma and Nodoka had finished cooking and Ranma went to check on the boys. Genma and Soun had recovered from their beating at the hands of Akane. Ryouga was standing in the middle of the dojo, and Akane, Akane was trying to stay on his legs. Apparently, the rock was an apt name for Ryouga.

“How’d he do?” asked Ranma.

“He’s a lot slower than I expected,” Ryouga started.

“Hey!” protested Akane.

Ryouga threw his hands up in the air. “You were being trained by Ranma,” he noted, as if that fact alone raised the bar of competition. Then he turned towards Ranma. “So has having a child made you soft?” he barbed.

“Heh… well let’s see pork brains…”

Akane knew this was not a fight for him to get involved with. After training with Ranma, the fathers and then with Ryouga, he had finally understood just how far they had taken the bar, and just how much he needed to practice. No wonder dad was taking it so harshly with him in the daily training.

Strangely, Ranma adopted a stance that Akane had never seen before. It must have been something she had been working on. A slight turn of the face allowed Akane to see her father’s expression. He was not surprised which meant that he was expecting it.

“A new technique Ranma? It won’t help you this time!”

“Pig-boy… you ain’t seen nothing yet!” she replied as she attacked. Akane was stunned, Ranma attacked first? Where was the taunting? Where were the insults? Weird?

Ryouga flew back as the first stack caught him off guard but unlike with Akane, he rolled with the blow. He knew Ranma would follow up her blows so he blocked as soon as he felt the floor underneath him. Sure enough he had deflected something. Reacting on pure instinct after having so many battles with Ranma. He had an idea of where Ranma would attack. It was only guesswork though as to which hole she would take advantage of. Ranma was more than capable of changing her focus of attack with every fight. Ryouga used one of her kicks to give himself a bit of space.

“I see you haven’t been playing house all this time,” Ryouga taunted.

“Oh I have, I just didn’t realize how much training I could get out of it. Of course there are some little advantages…”

Ryouga didn’t bother to hear the rest as he attacked using his strength as his weapon. He knew that there was no way that Ranma could ever match him in that arena. Training from Cologne had ensured that. He was completely taken by surprise when her fist met his and neither moved. Time and time again Ryouga attacked with his fists and instead of blocking them Ranma’s fists met his. Ryouga stared at his hands.

“That’s impossible! My Bakusai Tenkatsu training…”

“….was meant to strengthen a woman’s body,” finished a shrunken old figure from the doorway. “You all assumed that it was to prevent anything outside from disrupting the pregnancy. That’s only part of it.” Cologne turned her attention to Ranma. “It was also to protect the mother from the children within her so that she does not die from carry them. The strain of carrying a child has weakened many of our greatest warriors in the past. The Bakusai tenkatsu was meant to ensure that the mothers would be able to carry the burden. Ranma did not undergo the training. She did something completely different. She folded her ki around itself into barriers around her body.”

“Barriers? What barriers?” asked Akane.

“Simple… she used her ki as a wall, creating wall upon wall upon wall to protect herself and her children from the outside. This eventually caused her to delay their birth –something very minor I assure you- but she also did something else. With all that ki practice, she can easily and quickly create a barrier that would be almost impenetrable to a normal attack.”

“Oh…” Akane replied impressed.

“How can I do that!” demanded Ryouga.

“Have a kid.”

Everyone fell flat on the ground.

“…or you could train on focusing your ki to that level,” Cologne added as an afterthought.

“Ranma I’m going to train and when I come back I will defeat you!” Ryouga cried turned to leave when he was punched in the face.

“No, you are going to help train Akane,” she replied evenly as suddenly a pair of walnuts appeared in her hands and she crushed them into little itsy bitsy pieces. The guys in the room reached down reflexively. “Am I clear!”

“Yes!” Ryouga was quick to reply.

“Good. Now its time for lunch.”

 

 

*******************

Ranma and Akane, along with the others were waiting patiently for the eldest pair of their children to return, not that they were actively waiting. The pair’s siblings and their friends would tell them that it was their own fault. If they had arrived early, they would have had enough to eat. As it was, the dojo was full of the friends of Ranma and Akane.

The youngest twins were well, behaving like the youngest, and they had friends to join them. Oh joy!

Senko herself was not having any problems with the party. She had Jen on one arm and Yoshi was still sporting a bruise from their previous game of chess. Well the bruise did not come from the game of chess per se, but she was the daughter of a pair of martial artists so their had to be some martial arts linked to the game. She could have been like her aunt and played for something more racy, like going a whole week without underwear. That had actually crossed her mind, but then if she lost, she knew mom would find out. Getting punished by mom was not a pleasant experience. She had had to tutor the youngest twins for two weeks. They couldn’t sit still for five minutes without jumping around like deranged frogs, and she had to tutor them for a whole two hours a day every day. Just the thought of going through that again made her nauseous.

The purpose of the party was the real mystery. They had been having one since after the youngest had been born and every year Aunt Kodachi would come and sit with her parents and she would begin to cry every so often. It was hard to figure out what was going on since mom had preventing anyone from hearing what was being said, or seeing what their lips were saying. Sometimes it frightened her just how much her mom could do if she thought about it.

Aunt Kodachi was another of her favored aunts. According to the adults, she was nothing like her former self in her school days. It was hard to compare her well cultured soft spoken aunt to the malicious she-devil the others spoke of, then again, her father was her mother and her mother was her father legally. That was still something that her parents had never changed. Well not after the incident that allowed them to change back to their birth forms. That only happened during the full moon and she knew it had to do something with her elder siblings. Those two were always getting into trouble. Always running around hunting for adventure, if she didn’t know them any better she would have sworn them deranged.

Her parents hardly ever talked of the incident and even Prince Habuu who had the habit of literally dropping in every once and awhile rarely talked of it. She knew whatever happened had involved him somehow but she had never been told. She did wonder as did her Aunt Nabiki but mom and dad had asked her to drop it the first time she had asked about it. She had complied, unwillingly, as had aunt Nabiki when she asked. All she knew was that it involved Prince Habuu, some old man and a deranged kendoist.