Chapter One
Nerima

Akane eased the door open and peeked into the dark bedroom. On the upper bunk Hideto was curled into a tight ball of sheets, pillows and pajamas. Below him Masato lay sprawled sideways across his bunk, his little feet sticking out from under the covers.

She marveled at how accurately each twin mimicked one of his parent's sleeping habits. Even more amazing, half an hour from now their roles would likely be reversed. She closed the door quietly and moved across the hall to the nursery.

Entering without turning on the light, Akane crossed the room and looked into the crib. In the dim light from the hallway she couldn't make out the color of Ranko-chan's hair. Not that there was all that much difference between the dark red hair of her daughter and the black hair of her son to begin with. She and Ranma mostly relied on the color of her eyes to tell which gender she was at any given moment. Somehow the twins seemed to know without even looking.

It had been a rough couple of months since Nabiki's wedding. Akane overcame her initial disappointment at Ranko-chan's transformation very slowly. Ultimately common sense won out over unreasoned anxiety. Her daughter rarely stayed male for more than a few hours at a time and nothing so trivial was going to change the love she felt for the littlest Saotome.

Akane turned on the baby monitor and stepped quietly back into the hall. The children were all asleep in bed, now if she could only make the biggest kid in the house join them she might get a few hours sleep herself tonight.

She headed down the stairs and stopped at Happosai's old room, which they now used for Ranma's office. The ancient pervert had left the house shortly after Akane, Ranma and Kasumi went off to college. The scarcity of panty thefts during the past decade led everyone to believe he'd departed Nerima for good, but the threat of his return always loomed shadowy and menacing at the back of Akane's mind. If that depraved old man ever laid a finger on her babies, nothing her father could say would save him from her wrath.

Behind the door she could hear Ranma's voice as he spoke on the phone. A sudden thought made her smile wickedly. If Happosai ever did show up and try anything perverted, Akane's wrath would be nothing compared to Ranma's. The world's greatest martial artist had, in the months since Ranko-chan's birth, acquired a lioness' share of maternal instinct.

It was cute watching her husband suddenly turn into super-mom without even changing genders first. He would suddenly stop whatever he was doing to clean a messy face, wipe a runny nose or cuddle a crying infant. But there was a darker side to it that worried Akane. Ranma's battle aura, which had not changed significantly since high school, had recently taken on a new quality. One distinctly female in nature and alarmingly unstable.

She noticed Ranma was speaking English. He wasn't as good at it as she was, but then she couldn't speak Spanish, Portuguese or Italian as he did. Ranma could always master anything he really applied himself to and after the dojo went international that included foreign languages.

She eased open the door and slipped into the office where Ranma was sitting at his desk talking to someone on the computer screen. He looked up and waved her over.

"Hold on, Jeffu. Akane just walk through my door." Ranma said in English, then in Japanese he said, "Come say hello to Jeff. He was just asking how you were."

Akane walked up behind her husband and leaned over his shoulder so the camera wouldn't have to pan up when she talked. On the screen was the smiling face of Ranma's old friend and business partner from America. Jeff's rugged good looks, sandy blond hair and big toothy grin were sadly canceled out by the hideously loud Hawaiian shirt he was wearing. The bookcase behind him was bathed in bright sunlight, reminding her that Jeff was indeed talking to them from the other side of the world.

"Hello Jeff, how have you been?" Akane said with a big smile.

"Busy, as usual, but I can't complain."

"That not what you just tell me. You complain plenty!" Ranma interjected with a laugh.

"Well I might complain to the boss, but I'm not foolhardy enough to complain to the boss's boss. I remember how Akane deals with most problems." Jeff made a chopping motion with his hand and then dragged a finger across his throat.

"I only do that to cinder blocks and blockheads."

"Exactly why I'm being extra careful. I can hardly wait to see you again, Akane." Jeff said with a big grin.

"Oh?" Akane said with surprise. "Are you coming to Japan soon?"

Ranma began frantically waving his hand close to his chest where he thought Akane wouldn't notice. Unfortunately she did, but Jeff didn't.

"Probably later this year, but I'll be seeing you long before that here in LA."

Ranma stopped waving his hand and used it to slap his forehead. Turning to his wife he said in Japanese, "I'll explain later."

"Explain what?" Akane said looking back and forth between her rapidly shrinking husband and the frowning American on the computer screen.

"Um... Sorry, boss. I thought you two had already discussed this."

"Not yet, Jeffu." Ranma glanced up and cringed at the look Akane was giving him. "Maybe we talk more later, okay?"

"Sure, boss. I'll have Kelly send you those forms. Fill them out whenever you can and call me back. Um... Good luck. Bye, Akane."

"Goodbye, Jeff." Akane said frostily. "Thank you for letting me in on the big secret."

"So long, Jeffu." Ranma sullenly reached for the keyboard and the screen went dark.

"Well?" Akane stood up and folded her arms across her chest.

"Are the kids asleep? Maybe I should go look in on Ranko-chan."

"Don't change the subject, Ranma. The children are fast asleep. You'd only wake them up on purpose. Now, explain to me why I'm meeting Jeff in Los Angeles."

"Jeff's in trouble. The number of dojos in North America has nearly doubled and it's primarily due to all the publicity surrounding what happened in New York last year."

"That doesn't sound very troubling."

"It is when those new dojos are empty. Kids signed up initially because they wanted to learn the moves they saw me doing on television, but I haven't been seen again since then. The new franchise owners are clamoring for personal appearances."

Ranma leaned back in his chair, stretching his legs out and twirling his toes around in opposite directions. He'd always been a man of action and the sedentary life of a businessman didn't suit him well. "And then there's the training issue. With so many new dojos there's a need for more advanced level instructors. But Jeff thinks I should do all of the advanced instructor training myself."

"Ranma, you're not suggesting I go over there and train the advanced instructors!" Akane was shocked, her husband knew better than to think she was up for something like that. Her most advanced technique involved materializing large heavy objects out of thin air and that only worked reliably when Ranma pissed her off.

"Hmm, I hadn't considered that possibility. Imagine an army of uncute martial arts instructors marching across America teaching impressionable young children how to vent their frustrations by pounding cinder blocks into dust. It boggles the imagination."

Akane felt her face flush and the presence of one of those large heavy objects loomed menacingly above her head for a moment. Then Ranma grinned and she counted to ten. Once again he'd managed to divert her attention from the real issue by infuriating her with an insult.

"Very funny, wise guy. If you'll be doing all that training and personal appearances too, just how long do they expect you to be in the United States?"

"Four weeks." Ranma cringed from the onslaught that was sure to follow such a remark.

"Four weeks!!! Is Jeff out of his mind? Doesn't he realize you have a new born baby to take care of?"

"Yes," Ranma was trying to sound as composed as possible. "He's well aware of that, but as far as the rest of the company is concerned that's only an excuse for my female half not to be there."

Akane seethed. Even if Ranma hadn't been the baby's mother, how could they ask him to abandon their daughter for a whole month? She knew this was important to the business, but how could he even consider such a thing? "Ranma, do you really think you can stand to be separated from Ranko-chan that long?"

Ranma's expression darkened. "I can't imagine myself leaving her for a day, much less a whole month. No, I'm taking her with me."

"You're what? Oh…" A light bulb suddenly went on over Akane's head. "So you want me to come along to take care of her while you're working, don't you?"

Ranma grinned broadly and nodded his head. "You and the boys too. Think of the wonderful opportunity this would be for them to see the world outside of Japan. We can take them to the original Disneyland. Visit Nabiki and see that enormous casino they're building. You and I can go to a real Broadway show together. What do you say, Akane?"

"We can't take the boys out of school for something like this."

"I told Jeff we can only come during August while the boys are on summer break."

"They won't like missing summer baseball camp."

"Maybe… or maybe not when I tell them they can see a major league ballgame in three different American cities. Jeff says he has the contacts to get us box seats."

"I don't know… Have you thought about what traveling with a five month old baby is going to be like?"

"It'll be great! Ranko-chan's a little angel. She loves riding in the car."

"Yeah, but she cried all the way home from the hospital."

"That's because we were flying in that noisy propeller driven thing Kuno showed up in. We'll be flying in nice quiet jets and not all that often. Jeff's assistant Kelly is going to arrange it so the family only stays in major cities while I fly out on day trips to the smaller ones. This is going to be great, Akane. Please say yes."

Akane tried to imagine all the stuff they usually packed in the van whenever they took Ranko-chan somewhere being lugged onto an airplane instead. Then she imagined it all scattered around a hotel room… in a five-star hotel… over looking Central Park… in New York City… where she'd always dreamed of going…

"We'll need to find someone to look after the dojo while we're gone. Maybe daddy wouldn't mind teaching a class or two."

Ranma smiled triumphantly. "I was thinking Ryouga might like to do it, if they're still in town by then."

o o o

"Settle down everyone." The police captain stepped up to the front of the crowded briefing room. "We've got a lot of ground to cover this morning, so let's get started. Before we move onto the active case list, I'd like to get an update on a few high profile cases now being handled by the political crimes unit at Tokyo Central. Detective Kuromaki?"

All eyes turned to the side of the room as the police captain gestured to a tall woman with short black hair. The men in the room sat up straighter while all the women assumed a defensive posture. Kuromaki was a stunning woman who knew just how to use her good looks to influence people. She plugged a memory key into the wall screen controller and cleared her throat demurely.

"I have three cases to brief you on this morning and I would like to begin with the one that took place here in Nerima about two months ago. As you are all probably aware, a wedding held at the Kuno estate was disrupted by gunfire and an invasion by a private security force. Because of the large number of dignitaries present at the time, the political crimes unit was asked to head up the investigation."

Kuromaki stepped to one side and the wall screen exploded into a mosaic of small windows, each showing a different video clip. She pointed the remote at one of them and it moved to the center position and expanded. It showed a highly magnified small caliber bullet with a flattened head.

"This slug was recovered from the back wall of the wedding alter and has been identified as the first shot fired. It is a 9mm unjacketed round fired from a handgun somewhere on the grounds of the estate. Forensics tells us the most likely target was this woman," Kuromaki enlarged another window showing an angry woman in a soaking wet wedding gown. "Nabiki Tendo Kuno."

There were murmurs around the room and Kuromaki smiled. "I see my information on this person is correct, you obviously know her and her family well. Mrs. Kuno and her new husband recently formed a syndicate for the purpose of building a casino and hotel complex in America. Included in this syndicate are several corporations, some of which are known fronts for organized crime families both here in Japan and in the United States. Because of this, we are looking into the possibility of this being a yakuza hit."

There were chuckles from quite a few of the police officers in the room.

"Is there some reason why this conclusion should be amusing?" She singled out a female officer in the front row who turned red with embarrassment.

"Um… well… Not to detract from your investigation, detective, but have you considered any of the hundreds of people Nabiki Tendo has blackmailed since she was in middle school?"

There was open laugher now from all parts of the room. Looking unruffled, Detective Kuromaki smiled and nodded her head. "We did, but had to dismiss the idea because so many of them are now employed by the police department." She waited for the ensuing laughter to die down before continuing. "Seriously, we've been considering her past record, but unless some new evidence comes to light we have no reason to follow up on that angle."

Clicking the remote a few more times, Nabiki and the bullet were replaced by a picture of the fractured remains of the wooden stage and images of two men in tuxedoes.

"This is the result of the second shot. So far no fragments of the projectile have been recovered, however there was residue of an explosive substance used by several foreign militaries. That points to either a small rocket launcher or a very large caliber rifle. The most likely target was one of these two gentlemen, Tatewake Kuno or Ranma Saotome, the groom and the best man.

"We are investigating the same yakuza connections for Mr. Kuno as for his wife, but we feel it is more likely Mr. Saotome was the target of this shot and frankly the sheer number of possible suspects has us stymied."

Again the room full of police officers laughed, but this time it was accompanied by much head nodding. Apparently this group was very familiar with Ranma's past and the number of strange and dangerous opponents he'd faced since settling in Nerima.

"A high caliber rifle or rocket launcher is a difficult thing to hide, so we set about a comprehensive examination of security videos from the Kuno estate and the surrounding neighborhoods. So far this has yielded very little in the way of concrete evidence. We have these four images of someone we believe to be the first gunman, but as you can see the generally poor quality makes them of little value."

Four video windows showing a figure running from the cover of one tree to the next popped up, but were all too fuzzy to even confirm the running figure was human. Kuromaki pressed the remote again and a single window showing the skyline of downtown Nerima replaced them.

"Forensics was able to plot the trajectory of the second shot to the roof of the Shamiki Bank building, which is just barely visible on the left of this webcam video. The surveillance system within the bank itself was conspicuously deactivated on the day of the wedding. However, this private webcam did yield new evidence which points to there being yet a third gunman. We were fortunate this image was of such high quality and also centered on this particular building here."

One of the police officers chuckled loudly, "Of course it was high quality and pointed at that building. That's the Atamatsu Love Hotel. I'll bet if you checked the webcam tonight you'd discover all sorts of suspects, but not for a shooting!"

Kuromaki grinned. "I believe the owner of the webcam decided to shut it down after we educated him on the various penalties for invading the privacy of others. However, thanks to the quality of the equipment he was using we were able to enhance this portion of the video, which I'm sure you've all seen many times on the Internet news programs."

The view closed in on the roof of the hotel when suddenly a helicopter rose up from the far side and zoomed forward missing the air conditioning unit on top of the building by mere inches. As the chopper plunged into the foreground the image zoomed in again for an even tighter shot of the roof. There, under a flapping sheet of camouflage netting was the barrel of a huge rifle, the lens of a massive sniper scope and a tiny head of curly brown hair.

"We have identified the rifle and scope as a model popular with many paramilitary groups throughout Asia. In combination with good tracking software it can be devastatingly lethal at ranges of several thousand meters." The video advanced in slow motion to a point where the gunman looked away from the sniper scope and revealed the face of a young woman.

"We have these images of the gunman, who has been identified by our counterparts in Beijing as having once been a member of a crack PLA sniper squad. She left the PLA after only one tour of duty and her identity papers have since turned out to be forgeries. About the only thing we do know is she comes from a mountainous province near the Tibetan border."

One of the detectives in the middle of the room raised his hand. "Excuse me, Detective Kuromaki. Could this woman have been a member of the Black Rose Security Force?"

"No, the head of that group…" Kuromaki consulted her handheld databook. "Kodachi Kuno, has confirmed she only hires Japanese women with martial arts gymnastic experience. Oh, you should all be aware Ms. Kuno has been cleared of all charges related to the invasion of her father's estate. She contends she was only trying to protect her brother when she drugged him, stuffed him in a body bag and had him airlifted to the top of the new roller coaster at Toshimaen amusement park."

"Kinda makes me glad I'm an only child," the police captain said with a big grin. He stepped up and tapped his finger on the image of the curly haired woman. "Listen up people! I want this Chinese assassin found as soon as possible. Download these images into your databooks and don't leave a single rock unturned. She is to be considered armed and extremely dangerous, so be careful out there."

o o o

Russell Vogel sat cross-legged in front of a small open campfire. All around him the night air was filled with the sound of crickets and owls hooting in the distance. Above him the sky was filled with a million blazing stars. Somewhere in the distance a lone coyote howled at the moon just beginning to rise full and bright in the east.

Russell tried to tune out all these distractions as he gazed intently at the bed of red-hot coals and the twenty-four chestnuts resting among them.

"I can do this," he said quietly to himself. "I just need to concentrate and focus."

He tried to regulate his breathing and wished he could stop his heart from pounding so loudly in his chest. He held up his right hand and tried hard to make it stop shaking. He had to pass this test, had to become faster, more precise, and less prone to distraction. Failure was no longer an option. 'She' was coming back to America.

Placing his hands gently on the small oriental brass urn at his feet, he prepared to snatch the chestnuts from the fire. An easy enough task, but if he failed to do it properly or to remove all the nuts in under two seconds the result might be painful.

At last he felt ready. He gathered his ki energy and focused it all into his fingertips. Then in a burst of motion he reached into the fire and grabbed the first chestnuts. One after another the nuts dropped into the little urn making a noise like machine gun fire. His focus was complete, his technique flawless and his hands a blur before his own eyes.

Then he tried to pick up the last two nuts at the same time. Even though they were both right next to one another they dropped from his fingertips as his hand raced away from the burning coals. He watched them dancing away from him so he reached out with his other hand to gather them back up before they fell from the fire.

He only caught one and the mistake cost him dearly. A burning pain suddenly coursed through his hand and up his arm. Involuntarily he jerked away from the searing heat as a loud buzzing noise interrupted the delicate background song of the crickets. Russell sat waving his stinging hand in the air as large green letters appeared above the campfire.

Simulation Completed
Targets remaining: 1
Elapse time: 2.0045 sec.

"Damn!" Russell tore the virtual-reality helmet from his head and tossed it violently into the corner of the practice room. He continued to swear as he peeled the sensor glove from his hand. Then he began sucking on the spot reddened by the electric shock from the feedback mechanism.

A middle-aged man with broad shoulders, graying hair and a black belt around his waist walked over and picked up the VR helmet. "You know, Russ, this isn't some Nintendo game. This is expensive equipment and you shouldn't be throwing it around like that."

Russell took his hand from his mouth just long enough to apologize. "I'm sorry, sensei. I didn't think it would hurt this much."

The instructor bent over and looked at the console as he set the helmet down on top of the simulator. "No wonder it hurt! You've got the feedback set to maximum. You're lucky you didn't get burned for real. And trying to grab twenty-four chestnuts in two seconds, do you have a death wish or something?"

"I'm not fast enough."

"Russell, you're the fastest man in the tri-states region. Heck, you're probably the fastest in the country by now. You're pushing yourself too hard. You've doubled your speed over the last year, what more do you want?"

"I'm still not as fast as Ranko-sensei."

"Well duh! She's Master Ranma's sister. She'd be a master herself if she'd only claim the title. What makes you think you can be faster than she is anyway?"

Russell stopped sucking on his hand and stood up. He pealed off the other glove and set them next to the VR helmet. "I don't want to be faster than Ranko-sensei. I just don't want to disappoint her when she comes to test me."

"What makes you think she's coming here to test you? The e-mail just said Master Ranma was making a personal appearance. It didn't mention his sister at all. Anyway, Ranko-sensei just had a baby. She won't be jetting across the country with a newborn in tow. Take it from a father of three."

"She'll be here." Russell looked across the practice hall to the huge poster of Ranko Saotome. Below it, on a small shelf draped with a white silk scarf, was a single cinder block. Before his very eyes a perfectly round hole had been blasted through it by a swirling mass of hot and cold ki energy. "She promised."

The instructor patted the young man on the back. "Don't get your hopes up, Russ. Hey, how about a little sparring to help loosen you up?"

"What time is it?"

"Almost five o'clock."

"Oh no, I've gotta leave or I'll be late for class and I can't miss tonight. We've got a test on conjugating class two verbs."

"You taking a writing class?"

"Of course not," Russell said as he headed for the locker room. "I'm learning Japanese!"

o o o

"Ranma!" Akane's shout resounded through the house like a banshee's war cry. "Raaan-maaa!"

"I swear that woman's voice would drown out a typhoon." Ranma stuffed another stack of baby clothes into the suitcase he was packing and then turned for the door.

"We could use her out on the farm for calling in the hogs." Ryouga sat in the rocking chair with a tiny bundle in his arms. Next to him a similarly sized bundle lay asleep in the crib.

"I'll trade you one loud wife for one adorable baby boy."

"No way, I've got plans for this little piglet."

"Don't even joke about that, Ryouga. Trust me, that is one trauma you don't want to go through!" Ranma moved out into the hall and shouted down the stairs, "What is it, Akane?"

His wife appeared at the bottom of the staircase. "The van's here to take the luggage to the airport."

"Okay, I'll be done in a couple of minutes. Did the boys finish packing?"

"If you mean did they manage to stuff every toy they own into two suitcases, yes."

Ranma smiled. "That's my boys. They'll have to tramp all the way across America half naked, but at least they'll be entertained"

"Not a chance." Akane grinned, "I packed their real cases last night."

"No man stands a chance against you, Tendo."

"They never did." Akane winked up at her husband and headed out of sight towards the genkan.

Ranma chuckled and stepped back into the nursery. "Akane says the airport delivery service is here. I've gotta get this last bag packed and take it downstairs."

"I'm sorry, Ranma," Ryouga said with a pensive look. "I didn't mean to bring up a sore subject. I know it's really rotten luck that Ranko-chan ended up with your curse. Akari and I are so lucky little Butaro is normal…"

"Huh? That's not a sore subject. Besides, we're not really sure it's the curse. She doesn't change in reaction to water or anything. Akane seems to think it has to do with how much time I spend in male mode."

"Really?" Ryouga glanced into the crib where a shock of red hair was just visible under the light blanket covering Ranma and Akane's daughter.

"That's her theory, but once Ranko-chan changed into a boy while I was in the middle of breastfeeding her. So I don't really see how it can have anything to do with me being a guy."

"You know, it sounds really weird when you say things like that, Ranma. I watch Akari feeding Butaro and I just can't imagine what its like."

"It hurts, but in a nice way." Ranma grinned as he closed the suitcase and pressed down on the top to get it latched. He hoisted the large case off the changing table and balanced it easily on his shoulder. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad she's on formula now, but I'm a little sad because I'll never have her that close to me again. It all goes by so fast, that's why I want to take her with me to America. I can't stand to miss even a single day."

"It does go by fast, doesn't it? It wasn't all that long ago you were stealing my bread at middle school. Now we're both parents with families to care for."

"Good grief! You make us sound like a couple of old geezers!" Ranma said as he slipped out the door with the suitcase. A moment later he poked his head back in. "Besides, I never stole your bread, you were just too slow to get to it before I did."

Then the father of three, mother of one, owner of two successful international businesses and recognized Master of the Art of Anything Goes Martial Arts stuck out his tongue while pulling at his lower eyelid with an index finger.

Ryouga shook his head and slowly stood up from the rocking chair. With a chuckle he leaned over the crib and settled his son down next to his best friend's little girl. He covered them both with the same blanket and then stretched his massive arms above his head.

"Ranko-chan, you have the world's most exasperating father."

Walking over to the open window, Ryouga waited until Ranma appeared in the courtyard below carrying several additional suitcases before he hopped up on the windowsill, laughed loudly and shouted, "Ranma Saotome, prepare to die!"

o o o

"At this time Japan Airlines would like to welcome our pre-boarding passengers for flight zero-zero-nine, non-stop service to Los Angeles. This includes anyone holding a pre-boarding pass, those traveling with small children and any children under the age of twelve who are traveling alone today."

"Okay, boys. Pick up your backpacks it's time to get on the airplane." Ranma shifted Ranko-chan in the carry-sack he was wearing across his chest so he could bend down and pick up her diaper bag. They were standing in a separate line at the second of four gates used for boarding this one trans-Pacific flight. Just beyond the rope barrier a couple of hundred men and women in business suits stared at them.

"You have all the tickets, right?" Akane anxiously searched the carry on bags she was toting for the folder containing their boarding pass.

"Relax, Akane, its right here. Remember, I do this all the time." Ranma reached into a side pocket of the diaper bag and pulled out a white and red JAL envelope. "But this is the first time I've been in a pre-boarding group. It's kinda nice."

Herding the twins in front of him, Ranma edged past his nervous wife and handed the boarding pass to the gate attendant. Akane wasn't normally this anxious about flying. The few times they had flown down to Okinawa on vacation she'd never acted like this.

The attendant removed a credit card sized boarding pass from the jacket and passed it over the keyboard of her computer. The screen lit up with five little windows containing a photograph and information about each of them. "Welcome back to JAL, Mr. Saotome. It's been quite some time since you've flown with us."

Ranma patted Ranko-chan on the rump. "I've been busy."

"So I can see. And who are these two handsome young gentlemen?" The attendant knelt down in front of the twins so that she was on the same level.

"I'm Hideto."

"No you're not! He's Masato and I'm Hideto. You're pretty!"

"Well thank you for the compliment. Now you'd better figure out who's who because the scanner always knows who's lying." The attendant held out a small black box attached by a long coiled cable to the computer. "Do you know what this is?"

Both boys' hands shot into the air, but it was Masato who spoke first. "You're gonna take…"

"…our fingerprints." Hideto finished and held out his index finger. The attendant let him put his finger on the scanner and there was a friendly beep from the computer.

Looking up at the screen she said, "Looks like you were Hideto Saotome after all. Now, how about you?"

Masato stuck his finger on the scanner and a similar beep sounded. Ranma glanced at the computer screen and saw big green check marks next to his sons' pictures. The attendant stood up and Ranma coughed. That was enough to remind the boys to bow and thank the attendant.

"They're adorable, Mr. Saotome." She held out the scanner for Ranma's finger.

"Yeah, would you like to keep them for the summer?" He chuckled as the screen beeped and another big check mark appeared next to his own picture.

"Can I assume this strangely shaped piece of carry on baggage is Miss Ranko Saotome?"

Involuntarily Ranma glanced down to make sure the peach fuzz he'd been stroking all the while was still red. "Yup, the one and only."

"Oh? I thought Ranko was also your sister's name."

"Not really. Ranko is my sister's nickname. Her real name is Ranma, just like me but spelled differently."

"Really? How unusual. As often as the two of you travel with us, I'd never noticed. Excuse me, Mrs. Saotome?" The attendant reached past Ranma and held the scanner out to Akane.

"Huh? What's that?" Akane seemed to be having trouble juggling their carry on bags by herself.

"On international flights you have to let them scan your finger before you can get on the plane, Akane. Here, let me take one of those bags." Ranma held out his hand and Akane started to hand him the bag in her left hand. "Other hand, sweetheart."

As Ranma took the bag and moved towards the jetway, Akane stepped up and held out her finger. "I'm sorry, this is my first time flying overseas."

"No problem, Mrs. Saotome, and perfectly understandable what with the new baby and all. How old is she?"

"Just eighteen weeks." There was a nice loud friendly beep as the scanner confirmed Akane was the same person as the passport on file with the airline.

"I've always heard the second pregnancy is easier than the first. Is that true?"

Akane thought for a moment and then glanced over at Ranma standing with the boys. "To tell you the truth, this pregnancy was much harder on me than the first."

"Really? Well I hope you have a pleasant flight and a nice vacation in America. Your seats are on the second level in business class." The attendant handed Akane their pass and turned to take the next passenger's card.

"And just what was so hard on you during my pregnancy?" Ranma asked his spouse as the family headed down the jetway.

"Well I was kidnapped and held hostage for three days. I had to put up with your constant whining about being stuck as a woman for sixteen months. Then there was that time…"

"Oh never mind."

Business class on a JAL Boeing 797 consisted of the entire second floor not used up by the first class cabins. Originally designed to carry one thousand passengers, the massive airliner in this configuration only held seven hundred and ninety seven. A factoid which must have amused some JAL executives and left designers at Boeing scratching their heads about how to arrange an odd number of seats.

Akane got the twins settled in on the right hand side of the plane while Ranma strapped Ranko-chan into the infant carrier the airline had already installed for them in the center seat of the three that made up the middle row. The seven across arrangement made for wide comfortable seating compared to the four rows of three seats each in economy class one level below.

The rest of the passengers were beginning to file in just as Ranma and Akane settled into their own seats at last. Ranma noticed his wife was still grinding her teeth over something. "What's the matter, Akane? You're all tense today."

"I just can't get over the feeling that this was a big mistake. A thirteen hour flight with an eighteen week old baby just seems to have disaster written all over it."

"You're just a worry wart, Tendo. Ranko-chan slept all the way here on the train. She went right back to sleep after we fed her at the station. Now look at her, sound asleep and as comfortable as a bug in a rug. I'll feed her again half way to Los Angeles and there's even a baby changing room on this behemoth. If you're going to worry about anything, just hope that the boys don't get too bored."

"I just hope you're right, Ranma."

As the two hundred or so other business class passengers settled into their seats around them, the screens in the seat backs lit up with the standard safety lecture repeated in five different languages. When a low rumble shook the cabin, Akane jumped in her seat.

"What's that?"

"That's just the sound of the engines starting up. Nothing to be worried about."

As the low rumble grew to an insistent whine, neither Ranma nor Akane noticed Ranko-chan's eyes pop open. She looked frantically around, taking in her strange surroundings and finally locating both of her mothers sitting beside her. Then, as the noise grew louder, her brilliant blue eyes turned a dark golden brown.

x x x

Author's Notes:

(1) yakuza – the generic name for organized crime in Japan, similar to the term mafia in the west.

(2) genkan – the sunken entrance to a Japanese home where guests remove their shoes before entering.

(3) Butaro – literally means 'pig's son'. I know it's cruel, but what else would Ryouga and his hog loving wife call their son?