SINS OF THE FATHER CHAPTER SIX Back in Nerima OR Time for Dinner by Lisa Prior
The three teenagers sat lost in their thoughts for the last part of the ride back to Nerima. Suteko's revelations about her mother had touched a cord with her two companions. Each now thought back on the times spent with their own mothers. Akane's memories were a little fuzzy due to the time since her mother had died. She remembered many good things and was secretly glad that she didn't have to deal with the type of personality change that Suteko was dealing with. How a family could treat a young girl the way they had was beyond her. In her entire life, she had always been a cherished child. She may have been misunderstood because of her focus on the martial arts, but she was always loved. To be ignored at a family gathering must have been very painful. She could now understand some of the pain she had seen in Suteko's eyes when she had asked about their families. Akane looked at Ranma from under lowered lashes. She didn't want him to catch her studying him. He always reacted badly. Right now, his face looked thoughtful, something Akane didn't often see. Hearing him reminisce about his mother showed Akane a side of him she rarely saw. She knew that he missed his mother and she wondered just when was the last time he had seen her.
She understood that there was some reason that he and Mr. Saotome couldn't go back home, but she had yet to get that out of Ranma. "Have to work on that," she thought. Maybe having Suteko around would help.
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Ranma sat and thought about his family. Having a sister was just too new a concept to truly seep into his thoughts. After their talk about her mother, Ranma's thoughts turned to his own. It had been too long since he had even talked to his mom on the phone. He hadn't even written her a letter. It was one of the things that he held his father responsible for. "If Pop hadn't made that oath to Mom about raising me to be a Manly man, I wouldn't be in the situation I'm in." Ranma longed to call her up and tell her about his curse, Akane, and his life in general. Surely his mother could help him resolve his feelings about the girls surrounding his life. He knew that he should make a choice but he didn't know who he wanted and he didn't wish to hurt anyone. But thanks to Pop's little training mission in China, and a slip, made it impossible. The more he thought about his mother, the more he hoped that Suteko would knock sense into his father in the morning.
"Just how good is this girl?" Ranma took a quick look at his sister. She didn't notice, staring out the window at the rain. She was certainly quick. He thought back to the morning and had to admit that Genma was a bit slow. But then he remembered her reaction at the airport when he had come up on her unnoticed. His reflexes were fast enough to dodge the staff but also she had seemed to control the strike at the last moment. It would be interesting to spar with her. Maybe.
He sat in thought, debating internally until they were almost to their destination. "Well, why not? The worst she can do is turn me down." He turned to Suteko and opened his mouth to speak. "Suteko?"
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Deep in thoughts of the past, Suteko at first didn't hear her name. She pulled herself back to the present. With a weak smile she turned to face Ranma. "Hmm, what?"
"Suteko, I was thinking. Have you had time to practice, yet?"
For a few minutes Suteko was confused. Practice what? Then she shook her head. Ranma must mean the art. That was his focus in life, if what she had learned today was true. "Been traveling all afternoon, remember?"
Ranma just smiled. "Yep, I just thought that you might like to have someone to spar with. You know --practice."
Suteko was confused. Practice? "Ranma, I don't think we should. At least not until after tomorrow."
Akane joined the conversation. "I agree with you, Suteko." Ranma looked quickly from his sister to his fianc e. Akane continued. "It could be taken wrong. If someone saw you two sparing they might think you were giving her training in your father's techniques. In an honor battle, that could cause problems."
Ranma sighed. "That's true." He thought fiercely for a minute. He really wanted to see his sister in action. "What if I didn't spar with you but just watched you workout?"
She thought about that. Would there be a problem with that? Other than the fact that she didn't have a place to workout. "Ranma, I'm sure there would be no problem but I'm not sure it will be possible. I don't have a place to workout. I doubt Ukyo would appreciate me using her spare room to practice staff work in and I don't know the area at all."
Akane thought of suggesting she use the dojo but that wouldn't be good either. Then she thought of the field that was halfway between the dojo and Ukyo's place. It was close to where the bus would be dropping them off. She mentioned it and Ranma grabbed at the idea. That was perfect. Suteko looked a little doubtful but she did need a workout. She was stiff from all the sitting and wanted to stretch out. She made sure to get directions from Akane before the bus reached it's destination.
As they got off the bus Suteko was glad to see that the rain had stopped. She didn't need to get wet and deal with the transformation being wet caused. There were puddles of course but traffic seemed light at the time so she turned to bid her brother and Akane good-bye. As the bus pulled away they said their good-byes and set up a time to meet later. As luck would have it a car sped by, hitting the puddle square and sending a sheet of water arcing over the three teenagers. As the water settled on the ground, Akane laughed. Suteko and Ranma had the exact same expression on their now opposite faces. Suteko was right, she did look like Ranma. Just like Ranma with yellow hair, like an American version of her fianc .
Ranma looked at his sister and she looked back at him. The disgust that he knew was on his face, was mirrored on hers. "I hate this!" They mumbled in unison. Akane smirked but she quickly went to a nearby tea shop and returned with enough hot water to transform the siblings back to their natural forms.
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Suteko reached Ucchan's without further mishap and went inside. The dinner rush was just starting, so Ukyo just gestured behind her and Suteko eased behind the counter and up the stairs. The rooms at the top of the stairs were small but neatly furnished. One of the rooms was obviously Ukyo's bedroom. She could see a photo of Ranma on the bedside table. She shut the door and went on to the spare room. It was half-filled with boxes. Stores for the restaurant below. There was a futon under the window with a small table next to it. Suteko sat down on the futon and went through her pack. She pulled out her bath kit and a clean set of jeans and a t-shirt. She hoped Ukyo wouldn't mind her using the bath this early in the evening. She really needed one.
She tried the door across from Ukyo's bedroom and found a typical Japanese bath. Spending time in Asia had gotten her used to the difference in the bathing customs. In America, you usually just took a hot shower and you were done. Taking a cold shower was definitely not her favorite change, but soaking in a large hot bath was one of her true pleasures. When she returned to America, she planned on taking some of her inheritance from Uncle Tanto and putting in a large tub for soaking in her private bathroom. After half an hour, she climbed back down the stairs dressed and sat at the counter. When Ukyo had a minute, she came over to speak with Suteko. "Got everything?"
"Yep."
"You hungry?"
Suteko smiled. "Another one of your specials would hit the spot." Ukyo nodded and poured out the batter. Suteko decided to tell Ukyo about her afternoon. "I ran into Ranma and Akane this afternoon."
Ukyo stopped what she was doing for a moment. "And...?"
"We had a good talk on the bus ride. He seems to be a good kid."
Ukyo let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding. That could have been real awkward. Ranma had been with his father a long time. If he had decided that Suteko was a threat, he could have caused problems. No matter how good this girl was, Ukyo doubted that she was as good as Ran-chan. Though, she was an unknown. No one truly knew her fighting style. Ukyo liked her but, in a fight she, would still root for Ranma. "So, whatch'a talk about?" Ukyo asked as she turned back to the cooking batter in front of her. She quickly flipped in pancake over and waited a amount before sliding it onto a plate and placing it in front of Suteko.
"Mostly about family. Learning a little about each other." She took a large bite and held up a thumb in the universal sign for approval. After she swallowed she added, "Plus, I got his side on the fianc e thing." She looked at Ukyo with a sly smile.
"Oh, really?" Ukyo was curious. Ukyo, like the other girls, never really stopped to ask Ranma what he thought of the whole situation. They each knew instinctively that they had the story right, even when they didn't. Out of curiosity, Ukyo asked Suteko to tell her what she learned.
"Much of what you told me with extra information thrown in by Akane. A very interesting story it was." Ukyo thought of asking more but could tell by Suteko's face that she wasn't going to say anymore.
Ukyo decided to give up and asked something else. "What's your plan for tonight?"
"Ranma told me of a place nearby where I could practice. Been too busy lately and I could really use the workout."
"When you going?"
"Thought I'd clean some of your dishes and then go out around eight. Should still have about an hour of light."
"You don't have to..."
"That's okay, Ukyo. I always pay my way and you look like you could use some help here." As she said that, the rush started again. Ukyo turned away to deal with the customers. Suteko picked up her plate and went behind the counter and entered the kitchen. She grabbed up an apron and started in on the dishes.
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An hour and a half later she put the final dish she had washed on the shelf and took off the apron. She walked out of the kitchen and saw that Ukyo was cleaning off the grill. She noticed that the place was empty and the sign had been changed to closed on the door. "Closing for the evening?" she asked, a little surprised.
Ukyo nodded. "I thought I'd join you. I haven't had a chance to practice in a while, either. Thought you might like some company."
Suteko smiled. "Sure, the more the merrier."
"What?"
"Ranma and Akane are supposed to meet me at this open field by the bus stop."
"I know the place."
"Good." Suteko eased around the counter. "Why don't you finish up here and meet me later?" Ukyo nodded and kept up her work.
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Suteko walked briskly, glad to be moving and a little glad to be alone. It was nice to have company, but she was used to being alone. When Ukyo volunteered to come along Suteko wasn't sure how to respond. First Ranma and Akane and then Ukyo. In one day, she went from being totally alone to an abundance of attention. It wouldn't do in her warm up. She always spent a few minutes mediating before beginning her exercises and new people would just throw off her attention.
She quickly reached the field and was pleased to see it was empty. At home, a field this size would have had a ton of kids with bats and balls out playing a pick up game. She walked across to a lone tree near the back fence and sat down in a lotus. Easing into a light trance, she let the images of the day slide across her mind and out. Within moments, she was grounded and centered. She stood up slowly and flowed into the first kata of her warm up. Though not traditionally taught at her home dojo, her Uncle Tanto had decided that Suteko should learn Tai Chi Chuang from an old friend of his, Master Wing. The gentle flowing motions of the art had at first seemed strange to her, but after years of study, she found that they were the best warm up she could have. The art was a defensive one, different from the attack staff work she had trained in. Uncle Tanto had realized that she had been training exclusively in a weapon system and had no skills for unarmed combat. Now, she could defend herself but she was a far cry from being able to master unarmed combat. If he had lived, this past year would have been used to train her in the unarmed style he had developed. She was lucky that she had learned the defensive work she had. Mother had been furious when she learned that Suteko was splitting her attention between the family's art and that of a man from China. Her mother had become very predijuced after her father had died. That meeting Suteko told Ranma of had changed her mother in many ways. All bad. The thoughts of her mother was pulling her out of her focus, so she forced herself to let them drop.
With a clear mind, she finished her warm up and then started over again, this time bringing the speed up a notch. Her speed was a bit slow, in her way of thinking. She should have reacted faster when Ranma had walked up at the airport. She didn't realize that her speed was the same as she had always had. Her brother was just that much faster than she was.
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Ranma and Akane reached home just as Kasumi was laying the food on the table. They moved quickly to their places, making sure to get some food before Genma ate it all. There was just the sound of voracious eating for a few minutes as the family devoured the delicious food. Nabiki was the first to speak up and ask Ranma about their afternoon.
"So Ranma, what's this about you spending the afternoon with that girl?"
Ranma swallowed quickly and responded. "She found us and wanted to talk." He wasn't sure what Nabiki was up to but he didn't think there was any way she could make money off this.
"Well boy, what you learn? What are her plans?" Ranma reached over and bopped his father on the head. "I ain't going to tell you that, old man. Wouldn't be fair!"
"He's right there, Tendo. The girl challenged you." Akane's father started to pontificate. The others just ignored him.
"But Ranma, my boy. The most important concept a martial artist should learn is to be prepared. How can I be prepared if I don't know anything about my opponent."
Ranma ignored him to steal the last pickle off his plate. Genma didn't notice at first but when he did he roared and leapt up to attack Ranma. Ranma bounced back and they were off. Genma chased him around the back yard until one of them ended up in the pond. It was Genma, this time. Ranma laughed and bounced up to the wall. "Well, good-bye, old man. I got to meet Suteko now!"
Genma held up a sign that said, "Come back here, Ranma!"
Ranma just bounced off. Akane jumped up to follow but she felt Nabiki's hand on her arm. "Time to spill, little sister."
Akane looked at her older sister. "What do you mean, Nabiki?"
Nabiki pulled Akane away from the table and into the livingroom. "What'd you and Ranma learn about this sister of his? Is she going to be a problem? We don't need another character coming in here at all hours, tearing down our walls."
Akane sighed. She had planned on following Ranma but it looked like she wouldn't get to. "We mostly talked about family, Nabiki. She wanted to know about our mothers and stuff like that. I don't think she'll be much of a problem. She really just wants to finish up her business with Genma and go home."
Nabiki lifted a brow, "Really, little sister. Do you believe that?"
"She seemed to be very nice. Just tired of traveling."
Nabiki looked thoughtful for a moment. It seemed strange to have someone come here who wasn't after Ranma or Akane. "Well,...." she continue to ponder and talk to Akane for the rest of the evening. There had to be some way of making a little money out of the situation.
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