Ten Months in Tokyo

a project by

Dr. Garcia

Disclaimer: Ranma ½, its characters, locations and mythology are property of Rumiko Takahashi and/or Viz Media. The author of this work acknowledges this, and hereby vows to treat the original subject matter with the utmost respect. All characters based on real, living people are done so out of love and thanks for all of the amazing people who made this project, and much of my life, possible. Thank you all. Everyone else, I made up. Thanks to anyone who read the original version, and thanks to anyone reading this now. I hope I don't disappoint.

Chapter One

The rain fell steadily on the streets of Boston, Massachusetts, much to the chagrin of the young, red-headed woman behind the wheel of the champagne colored Ford Taurus pulling into the city proper. How she had been conned into making this trip in the first place was a mystery, even to her. After all, she wasn't the one about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime.

That honor belonged to her three passengers. Those lucky bastards, she would call them. The three of them had, somehow, been selected from the pool of over a hundred candidates, herself included, who had applied for the foreign exchange program. This year, the students would be spending the school year in Tokyo, Japan. It really wasn't fair.

"Something wrong, Lynn?" This had come from the young man to her right, who she cast an icy glare at in response. Mike had seen that look plenty of times before, and knew what it meant. He merely laughed a little, pulling the brim of his ratty red ball cap up just slightly as he turned to face the guys in the back seat.

Lynn had spent the days since the committee had made their announcement trying to figure out how, out of all the possibilities, these three were chosen. None of them were exceptional students. They only had two extracurricular activities between the three of them (Alex played saxophone in the school band and Don was an also-ran on the wrestling team.) They hadn't won any awards or commendations of any kind… they were basically slackers. And yet somehow, the exchange committee had determined that Mike, Don and Alex "best represented the ideals that Merrimack High School was founded upon." So, her three friends would be spending the next ten months in a city she had dreamed of seeing since she was a little girl. It really wasn't fair.

"Lynn, look out!" Don's voice pierced through her thoughts, causing her to look up just in time to see the brake lights of the taxi stopped in the road ahead of them. She slammed on the brakes, causing the guys to grab for whatever they could get their hands on to steady themselves. Lynn felt Alex, who was seated behind her, bump into the back of her seat.

Alex sat back, brushing the dark, shaggy hair out of his face. "What the Hell is going on? Can't a guy sleep in peace?"

Mike laughed again and turned to face Lynn. "Yeah, you should be more careful! You wouldn't want to kill us before our big trip, would you?"

Lynn rolled her eyes, going around the taxi. "Wouldn't I?"

Don leaned forward between the front seats; Alex had already settled back into his nap. "No need to be jealous, Lynn. We all thought for sure that you were going to get picked to go on this trip. We're as shocked as you are… but hey, there's always next year, right?"

Lynn gripped the steering wheel more tightly, her tone just short of menacing. "No. This was the only year it would work for me. I'm trying hard to get into a good culinary school after we graduate, and all the good cooking classes I need are only open to Juniors and Seniors…"

"Oh… sucks to be ambitious." Don leaned back quickly to avoid physical retaliation from Lynn. She wasn't a very big girl, but she could put the hurt on any one of them if she really wanted to, and had done so on many occasions previously.

Lynn pulled the car in toward Logan Airport. The rain seemed like it was starting to finally let up. She sighed. "Look… I might be more than just a little jealous that you guys are getting to go. I mean, this is an incredible opportunity! I just hope that while you're there, you don't forget just how fortunate you guys really are, and that no matter what, you should make the most of your time. After all…" she pulled the car to a stop in front of the terminal, "… it wouldn't be fair to those of us left behind if you didn't… right?"

Don shook Alex back awake, the latter boy making grumpy noises as he was roused. Mike gave another laugh at his friend and then turned to Lynn with a grin. "Don't worry… we'll all live it up one and a third times harder for you."

The four of them exited the vehicle, and the guys got their luggage from the trunk. Alex rubbed his eyes with his free hand. "Lynn, thanks for the ride. Take care of our brothers while we're gone, okay?"

Lynn grimaced a bit in response to this. "Ugh… I'll try to keep them in line." She then smiled a bit and gave each of them a hug. "You lucky bastards, I'm really going to miss you guys. If you don't write letters and send half a million pictures, I'm coming out there to deal with you… got it?"

Don saluted her with a smirk. "Yes, sir!" This earned him a punch in the arm from Lynn, which caused him to burst out laughing. After one last round of goodbyes, the guys hurried inside to catch their flight, leaving Lynn out under the falling rain. Staring up at the still-dawning sky, she sighed.

"I hope those poor Japanese people are ready for those three..."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Tatewaki Kuno, aged 18, wiped away a bead of sweat from the bridge of his nose as he stared across the athletic field at his opponent. His nemesis. Ranma Saotome. He was an imbecile, he was boorish, and he knew nothing of honor. Ranma, that blackguard, not only held captive the hearts of Akane Tendo and the pigtailed girl, but also had, thus far, foiled all of Kuno's attempts to free the lovely girls from his vile clutches.

And now, once again, they stood face-to-face on the field of combat. This time, however, the prize was not the love of a beautiful woman. This time, it was a secret prize to be issued by Kuno's father, the principal of Furinkan High School. As he tightened his grip around the handle of his bokken, Tatewaki Kuno swore that his forthcoming victory would be a mere stepping stone on his path to the liberation of his two true loves.

"Ranma Saotome!" he cried out, pointing his weapon toward the other boy menacingly. "Today, I swear it, you shall fall under the might of the Crashing Typhoon of Furinkan High, Tatewaki Kuno!"

Ranma groaned loudly. "More like Crowing Buffoon…" he mumbled, clenching his fists. "Jackass, like I haven't heard most of that before…" Kuno had been the first enemy Ranma ever made in Nerima. However, it was pretty widely known around school that compared to Ranma, Kuno was an absolute joke. Of the over one hundred fair fights they'd gotten into, Kuno hadn't won a single one. Despite being the captain of the school's kendo club, Kuno tended to get awfully sloppy in his bouts against Ranma. The fact that he was an insufferable blowhard motivated Ranma to want to beat him down almost as much as just wanting to win did. Ranma checked his shoes and moved into his attacking stance. "Why don't you just shut up and fight me?"

Kuno narrowed his eyes and reared back his bokken. "Very well, if that is your last request…" With a roar, he charged at Ranma, weapon at the ready, as he'd done over a hundred times before. Ranma counter-charged with a look of disbelief. Did Kuno really think he could win using the same, tired technique?

The boys converged on one another for merely an instant. To the untrained eye, it seemed that not a single blow was struck. The eyes of Akane Tendo, however, saw eleven hits in the exchange. Nine of them were a series of lightning quick kicks that Ranma struck as he used the momentum of his run to practically run right up the front of Kuno's body. One was the upward slash of Kuno's bokken, striking Ranma flush on the back. The eleventh was Kuno, after a slight wobble, falling to the grass face-first. Akane half-smiled. She didn't much like Ranma beating up on Kuno, even if he did deserve it most of the time. However, this time was a bit different. She was quite excited to find out what it was that Ranma had won. After all, since her father was kind enough to let Ranma and his father stay at their home for free, it was only fair that he share his prize with the family.

Ranma grimaced in pain. Kuno had shocked him this time by actually managing to score a hit. However, he didn't want the other students to know he was hurt, so he gritted his teeth and toughed it out until the ceremony was over, when he could go see Dr. Tofu.

Principal Kuno came toward him carrying a small envelope. Ranma grinned – money came in small envelopes, and he could certainly use some of that. The principal came to a stop atop the fallen Kuno's back, grinning that idiot grin of his.

"Ranma, me keiki, I know we two be havin' our troubles in da past, but dis time I was hopin' ya'd be da winnah." The grin persisted as he held out the envelope.

Ranma took the envelope hesitantly, raising an eyebrow. Was this guy actually happy for him? "Uh… thanks?"

"Dis be a most special prize, ya? One of a kind. But don'tcha be openin' dat until ya get home, else da other students might be tryin' ta take it." Principal Kuno patted Ranma sharply on the back, causing the boy's eyes to water profusely.

"Y-yeah… thanks…" Ranma croaked, before making his way off the field and toward home.

"Hey, Ranma? Wait!" cried out Akane as she chased after him.

Ranma had managed to get a few blocks away before Akane managed to catch up to him. He was moving at a rather brisk pace and, Akane noted, was walking a bit stiffly. Finally, she strode up alongside him.

"Ranma, where are you going? School isn't over yet!"

Ranma grimaced, holding up the envelope. "I don't care. I got what I came for. Besides, what could we possibly learn on the first day? If it was that important, they wouldn't need all the other days after it, would they?"

Akane rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Ranma. You'll be sorry you have that kind of attitude come test day."

Ranma grinned at her cynically. "And what about you? Shouldn't you be in class? Or are you just one of those dateless, nerdy chicks that'll just study all night since the boys don't call?" His loud laughter at his own quip was short lived, as Akane uprooted a nearby road sign and struck him across the back with it, causing him to sprawl to the sidewalk with a loud, pained shout.

"I just wanted to make sure you were all right, you jerk! I saw Kuno hit you and I was worried, okay? But if you're going to be like that about it, you can just drop dead for all I care!" With that, she stormed back off toward the school, re-planting the slightly bent sign into the sidewalk as she did.

"Nerdy, and a brute, to boot…" Ranma groaned, over the sound of the cracking sidewalk.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

After a patching up from Dr. Tofu, Ranma returned to find the Tendo household clamoring over just what he had won.

"Maybe he's won passes for a pleasure cruise!" conjectured Kasumi as she stirred a bowl of batter for victory brownies. "That would be lovely and relaxing!"

Genma and Soun grinned at one another. "Perhaps he's acquired certificates for a fancy restaurant, eh Saotome?" Soun could hardly contain his excitement at the prospect of delicious food for the whole household, and without a cent taken from his pocket.

Genma nodded, salivating. "Yes, indeed! A large, delicious and high class meal would be a mighty fine prize!"

Akane laughed quietly at her father and Genma, turning to her other sister. "What do you think, Nabiki?"

Nabiki smiled slyly toward the envelope. "What do you mean? Of course it's money. It's not thick enough to be a huge wad of cash, though… maybe a check." She turned to Ranma, grinning now. "The suspense is killing me, Saotome. Open that baby up and show me the sweet, sweet money!"

Ranma quirked an eyebrow. "I don't know what you guys are all excited about… it's my prize…" He tore open the envelope, producing a folded sheet of letter paper. As he read it, his raised eyebrow began to twitch. "Wh… what!"

"What is it, son?" Genma asked, as everyone leaned in around Ranma. He didn't respond, however, prompting Nabiki to quickly snatch the letter away from the stunned boy. She began to read it aloud.

"Dear family," she began, dryly, "You have been selected for the honor of housing this year's exchange students…"

Soun and Akane responded with an exasperated "What?" Genma grumbled about having to share meals with even more people. Kasumi seemed almost delighted at the idea of having more houseguests to entertain. Ranma sat in stunned silence at his prize. Nabiki read on.

"This year's students are from the United States. They will be arriving at Nerima Bus Station today at... 5 PM?" She blinked. "That's only an hour from now. We don't have a lot of time to prepare, here."

Soun rose quickly, looking quite furious. "We will do no such thing! There are too many people here as it is, not to mention how much it will cost to keep these others fed…"

"Uh, daddy?" Nabiki interjected, "The exchange committee covers the costs… and we could always, you know, skim a little off the top for ourselves."

"Nabiki! How could you even consider swindling people like that?" Kasumi asked sternly – stern by Kasumi standards, anyway. The eldest Tendo daughter then turned to her father, finger shaking admonishingly. "And daddy, there's no way you could even think to abandon these poor young people. We may not have asked for this, but it isn't their fault, either. It is our duty to take care of them."

Soun frowned in regret and sat down once again. "Kasumi is right… it is the duty of a martial artist to be prepared for any situation…" He hmmed a bit, before pointing to Ranma. "Ranma! This is your prize, so I leave these students in your capable hands!"

Ranma blinked, snapping out of his daze. "Now wait a minute…"

"He's right, boy…" came Genma, "… you brought this upon us, so it should be your responsibility to see it through. Think of this as part of your training."

Akane sighed a bit. "Maybe it'll be nice to have some new faces around…"

At this, Ranma suddenly perked up. "Yeah, maybe. Maybe we'll have some cute girls our age around here for a change." He ducked away just in time to avoid a saucer Akane threw like a Frisbee toward his face. When he sat up to make a face at her, Nabiki grabbed his arm.

"We don't have much time, Ranma. I'll go with you, okay?"

Ranma gave her a suspicious look. "Why are you so interested all of a sudden?"

She smirked in response. "Easy! If one of them is loaded, I want first dibs!"

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Ranma and Nabiki moved along the Neriman sidewalks toward the bus station, both seeming increasingly more excited about their unexpected guests by the minute, though for different reasons.

"It would be nice to have some well-off Americans in the house…" Nabiki quipped, arms stretched up behind her head as she walked. "If they have plenty of spending money, I might just find a way to claim a small percentage of it. Maybe I'll charge them for tours of the sights around here…."

Ranma gave her an unbelieving look. "What makes you think that they're going to have any money at all, Nabiki? They're just high school students, after all…"

She grinned. "They might be broke, but would mommy and daddy let them come without at least a little pocket money? You know, for emergencies? Don't you remember last year's exchange students?"

Ranma blinked. "Oh yeah, Viktor and Heinrich, the Germans! I loved those guys, they were a great time… I wonder why they had to leave so soon…"

Nabiki laughed. "They were deported!"

"Yeah… they really knew how to party…"

"And they had all that chocolate company heir money. That's what I'm after. Of course, Rik and Vik were asking a little much for a cut of that cash…"

Ranma raised an eyebrow, but didn't press for more information on that subject. "And you think that these ones will be that loaded? What are the odds of that, Nabiki?"

She sighed and looked up at the sky. "A girl can dream, can't she?"

"She sure can, but she shouldn't get her hopes up too much. I just hope that they…" Ranma cut off in mid-thought as he ducked under a suddenly incoming cinder block. Nabiki gave a startled shout as she ducked for cover behind a nearby mailbox. Ranma glanced up quickly to see the face of his angry attacker: Ryoga Hibiki.

"Ranma! It took two weeks, but I've finally tracked you down! No one, especially you, can hide from me for long!" Ryoga looked especially determined today, but that didn't really worry Ranma. He stood up and looked the other boy right in the eyes.

"Hey, Ryoga! Two weeks, huh? That's gotta be some kind of Hibiki family record or something. Next time you decide to throw something as thick as your skull at me, though, try to be a little more careful of the innocent girls, okay?" Ranma looked over at Nabiki, who was leaning on the mailbox, still trying to compose herself. "Are you okay, Nabi-"

Ranma was cut off again by a sneering Ryoga. "Hiding behind a woman now, Ranma? How typically pitiful of you. If you're really so afraid of me, why don't you just come out and admit it?"

Ranma rolled his eyes and brushed past Ryoga. "I don't have time for this now… if you want to lose so badly, come and see me tomorrow and I'll put you through a wall or something. Come on, Nabiki…"

Ryoga turned and watched the two of them walking away. "Ha! I knew you were afraid! Why do you need to hide behind a woman anyway, Ranma? You could just put on a dress yourself and be one! You wouldn't have to worry about fighting then, your husband would protect you!" He laughed haughtily as Ranma stopped dead in his tracks.

"Sorry, Nabiki," he growled, clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides. "Your moneymaking venture is going to start a little later than expected." He turned on Ryoga menacingly. "Okay, bacon-breath, if you want a fight, you'll get more than you can handle from me!"

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

After stepping off of the bus, Mike, Alex and Don huddled up, as Mike removed a folded sheet of paper from his pocket. "Okay, according to this, someone is supposed to be picking us up here, so let's look around for someone with our names on a little sign or something." The three of them scanned the small terminal area, but they didn't see anyone who might be looking for them. They returned to their huddle.

"Maybe we're early." Alex suggested, "I mean, they wouldn't just not come and get us, right?"

Don nodded. "Exchange student host families have to pass all kinds of tests to get picked. I'm sure this Furinkan High principal guy made sure we were going to a well-qualified family."

"Yeah, it'd be a foreign relations debacle if we were mistreated. The president would probably send troops in to rescue us." Mike joked, looking at a nearby clock with a frown. "Well, we're right on time, God bless those efficient Japanese. Maybe they're waiting for us out front… let's have a look, okay?"

The three of them headed around to the front of the building to see a crowd of people gathered, staring at, pointing at and speaking excitedly about a strange sight – a pillar of water shooting straight up into the sky somewhere downtown.

"Wow, must be some kind of magic spell!" Alex exclaimed, excitedly. "Japan is already awesome!"

Don scoffed. "Dumbass! Someone probably just hit a fire hydrant with their car or something. Anyway, I don't see our people out here, either…"

Mike frowned again and shook his head. "Nope. Not a sign of them. Guess we're stuck here for the time being. Let's wait out here. We stand out a bit anyway, so maybe they'll see us before they go inside."

"Actually," interjected Don, "I'm kind of starving."

Mike blinked at him. "Didn't you eat on the plane?"

"That was a long time ago!" His friend protested. "Besides, I usually eat four times a day to get ready for wrestling. You know… carbo load."

"I'm sorta hungry, too…" Alex chimed in. "And they're late. So it's not our fault. They can wait while we go eat."

Mike sighed, "Fine, fine… I'll go in and tell the lady at the desk we're going and to tell our family we'll be back. Stay here!" He headed back inside. Alex looked over at Don.

"Hey, maybe our family got distracted by the magic trick and are over there right now."

Don sighed. "Dumbass! Hey… do you have any money?"

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

P-Chan squealed indignantly up at Ranma as drops of cold water from the ruptured hydrant continued to fall upon them. Ranma grinned a bit. "I know it was a dirty trick, but I told you, I don't have time to deal with you right now!" P-Chan growled and leaped at Ranma, who blocked him with her bare foot and pinned him to the ground. "We can settle this another time, but for now, why don't you run home to Akane? I'm sure she misses her widdle piggy…" Ranma punctuated her statement by punting the pig off in the direction of the Tendo home. P-Chan squealed a vow of revenge on his way out.

Ranma smirked, turning to Nabiki. "Come on, we're really running late now!"

"Uhh, Ranma. Aren't you forgetting something?" Nabiki asked, pointing at Ranma's chest. The soggy pigtailed girl slapped herself on the forehead with a groan, and Nabiki laughed. "Unless you want your secret to be out, it looks like we'll be paying a visit to the good doctor today. Looks like our American friends will be waiting just a little bit longer…"

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Meanwhile, the Americans wandered along the street, looking for somewhere to satisfy their hunger, without getting too lost.

"What about that one?" Don asked, pointing to a café that appeared to specialize in ramen. "Neko Hanten."

Alex blinked at him. "Cat Café? No way. No cats."

"I'm sure they don't serve cat there, Alex…" Don grumbled. "I think…"

Mike laughed. "No, that's not it, Don. A few months ago, my brother's cat tried to kill him by knocking a stereo speaker on his head in his sleep," Alex leaned in and brushed his hair aside to show Don the scar on his forehead. "So for Alex, cats are not lucky creatures."

Don looked at his friends, dumbfounded. "Oh, that's pretty messed up. You guys are both pretty damn weird, you know?" He suddenly stopped, sniffed the air and started looking around. This caused his companions to stop as well, giving him a pair of puzzled looks.

"We're pretty damn weird?" Mike asked, "What the hell do you call this then?"

"Mm… no… do you smell that? It's like… mm… I dunno… but it smells great." Don started walking around slowly, sniffing every few steps.

Mike smirked. "You look like that killer cat when Alex is around. But yeah, I think I smell what you're talking about. Alex, you have any ideas?"

The two of them turned to look at Alex, who suddenly snapped out of his daze. "Sorry, did you guys say something? I was too busy smelling something good." Don's eye twitched slightly in irritation, before Alex turned and pointed at another nearby building. "There: Ucchan's." And without another word, he headed toward it. His companions looked at one another wordlessly for a moment, before quickly following him.

The jingling of a small bell announced the boys' arrival, rousing Ukyo Kuonji from the lull she'd entered from a distinct lack of business. Looking up, she greeted the three of them with a happy smile. "Hello, and welcome to Okonomiyaki Ucchan's! Why don't you guys have a seat up here?" she chirped, motioning to the stools at the front counter. Alex and Don hurried up to sit, while Mike stopped in the doorway to admire the cozy charm of the place. Ukyo smiled at the guys at the counter, pointing at the menu. "Everything's listed there! I'll be right back to get your orders." Humming happily, she headed into the back, leaving the guys to try to figure out just what they wanted.

"Okonomiyaki, huh? There's something you won't see on any menus at home." Mike mused, as he joined his friends at the counter. He looked up at the menu and blinked. "Wow, look at the variety!"

"Your nose sure knows how to pick!" Alex said, grinning goofily at Don. Don shook his head, trying not to laugh. Mike turned his focus to an untied shoelace as Ukyo returned from the back.

She turned with a grin to Don and Alex. "You guys ready?"

Alex nodded, "I'll take mine with shrimp, light on sauce but heavy on the greens."

Don was still looking at the menu. "Hmm.. shrimp for me, too, but could I get regular sauce with extra crunchy noodles?"

Ukyo smiled. "Mhm, sure thing!" She then moved over to Mike, who was still fiddling with his shoelaces. "What about you, hun?"

"Huh?" Mike looked up to come face to face with Ukyo, who was smiling at him expectantly. He blushed slightly. "Ahh… umm… I'll have what they're having…"

Ukyo quirked an eyebrow. "They ordered different things…"

"Right, right…" Don and Alex leaned and watched as their usually cool and confident friend stumbled over his words like they were untied. "I'll um… house special…" he managed, returning to his shoelace, which he had managed to tangle into an incredible mess. Ukyo looked curiously at the others, who offered only shrugs in return.

"All right!" Ukyo shrugged as well and started to work on their orders. "You boys from out of town?"

Alex blinked at her in amazement. "That's incredible! How could you tell?" Don groaned, causing Ukyo to giggle a bit.

"Well, for one thing, I've never seen you guys around before. And, you know… you're not Japanese." She poked at the cooking okonomiyaki a bit. "Nerima's pretty small, so it's not hard to tell who isn't local."

"Oh! That makes sense." Alex returned with a polite smile.

"You guys look a little young to be businessmen. What brings you to Nerima?" she asked, flipping the food with a quick flashing of spatulas.

Don blinked in awe of her display of culinary aptitude. "We're students. Exchange program."

Ukyo nodded. "I see. Well, I hope you guys are better than those German guys from last year. They would always leave such a mess, and they were lousy tippers. Not to mention the time they set that garbage can on fire…"

"That sounds horrible. I promise you won't get that kind of trouble from us." Don said, reassuringly. "Alex is a peace loving hippie, I was raised by a police officer, and Mike's some sort of Zen master…"

Ukyo smirked at Mike, who quickly turned his head toward Don. "He's exaggerating. Stop exaggerating!"

Don furrowed his eyebrows, turning focus back to Ukyo. "Anyway… we were supposed to meet with our host family at the bus station, but we didn't find them and they didn't find us. We were hungry so we came here. Any idea who we're looking for?"

Ukyo shrugged. "Sorry, no one said anything about it. They've got all three of you in the same place, though? That's a lot of work for one family."

Alex nodded to her. "Yeah, seems a bit strange, but we weren't going to fight them about it. We need somewhere to stay, and it's nice that we get to stick together."

"I guess that is nice for you guys. Just go easy on that poor family, whoever they are." She smiled slightly and flashed her spatulas across the grill area once again, serving up their okonomiyaki. Alex applauded and looked excitedly over at Don, before the two of them began to dig in. Mike sat for a moment, trying to determine the best way to attack this strange new food, when Ukyo made her way back over to him. "So, what's your story? Are you feeling okay?"

Mike took his cap off for a moment, running his hand through his dark, messy hair. "I'm a little, uh, jet-lagged, I think." He put his cap back on and shook his head. "I'm not usually like this."

"Don't worry about it. It's not easy being away from home, you know." She patted him gently on the shoulder. "Just enjoy your meal, and you can make a good impression on me at school tomorrow."

Mike rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "R-right…"

The bell on the door chimed once again, and Nabiki stepped inside the shop. Ukyo smiled politely to her. "Hello, Nabiki. What can I get for you?"

Nabiki smirked slightly in response. "Not that I don't like your food, Ukyo, but I haven't paid for my own meal in… well, a really long time. This is merely an exploratory visit. See, Ranma 'won' us the 'right' to be the host family for some Americans, and I was just wondering…" The three boys, at hearing this, turned to face Nabiki. Her eyes traveled from Alex to Don to Mike. "…if you'd seen them."

Ukyo blinked. "You guys are the host family? Uh… is that…?" The guys turned back toward Ukyo, who suddenly looked cheerful again. "Guys, this is Nabiki Tendo. Nabiki, these are your students!"

Mike nodded to Nabiki, adjusting his cap just a bit. "Michael Garrett, Donald Fournier and Alex Edwardson." The other guys nodded slightly when their names were said, with Alex throwing in a goofy wave, as well.

Nabiki shrugged indifferently. "Well, they seem normal enough, I guess. Though by Nerima standards, that isn't saying much."

"They've been very polite. That one's a little weird, though." She playfully pointed to Mike.

"Jet lag! It's just jet lag!" he stammered.

Nabiki seemed unfazed. "Well, pay the lady and let's go, guys. My family's been waiting for you long enough."

Ukyo put their food in take out boxes, and after a short huddle up, Alex paid the bill with a credit card, which caught Nabiki's eye.

"Hope you enjoy those, boys! I'll see you all tomorrow, I'm sure!" Ukyo called after them, as Nabiki led them out. Mike's focus once again shifted to his shoetops. When they were outside, however, he seemed to return to his usual self, moving up ahead of his companions and beside his hostess.

"Miss Tendo?" he asked, causing Nabiki to give him a funny look. "What did you mean by 'won'?