Part 9: First Day Living at the Tendos.

Lime Warning

Ranma put his uniform in the closet. It was last piece of clothing to put away. With that, he was now moved in at the Tendos. A quick survey of the room revealed a large bed with a red cover, a desk with his backpack on it, and in the doorway, his favorite feature ... Akane.

"May I come in?" Akane asked.

"Sure," Ranma said. "What do you think?"

Akane looked around the room. "It's a little plain." she said,

"Well, I've never really had my own room to arrange before," Ranma said. "And training trips teach you to travel light, so I don't have much to put in one. Mom says she's going to bring some things I had when I was little, but I don't think I really want them."

"Well, you can always thank her then put them away where you don't have to see them," Akane said, sitting on Ranma's bed. It was a double bed that her father had been thinking of selling. "By the way, what is it with you and Ryoga?

"Well, his apartment was next door, and I found out about his family's curse and offered to help him get to school," Ranma said, sitting beside Akane.

"What is his family's curse?" Akane asked.

"They're always lost," Ranma said. "He says the only thing he can ever find are his parents, and even that's not always true."

"Poor Ryoga," Akane said.

"Yeah, I really feel sorry for him," Ranma said.

Kasumi was on the edge of the pond, staring at the fish. Nodoka found her there, and took a seat beside her. "Good Morning Kasumi. It's nice to see you relaxing for a change."

"I really should be cleaning the Dojo," Kasumi said.

"Kasumi, you are fifteen years old," Nodoka said. "You've had to take on duties way too early in life. Don't get all wrapped up in them, or you'll end up an old maid. I almost did."

"That would never happen to you, Mrs. Saotome," Kasumi said.

"Call me Auntie," Nodoka said. "I wish I could say it didn't, but when my Genma left with Ranma, all I knew how to do was cook, clean, and manage some of the family investments. I was quite good at the latter. Anyway, one night a robber tried to break into the house. I grabbed the family sword and some how managed to drive him off. My old friend, Arisa, who is Ranma and Akane's Gym Teacher now, heard about it, and suggested that I get some sword training. My Sensei thought I was good, and after seeing me help out a younger student, decided that I should become his replacement as the school system's sword master. I'm currently helping him out part time while I'm getting a degree in Physical Education. I should finish up next fall."

"I never could do that, Auntie," Kasumi said. "I'm barely getting by at school. I don't have time to talk to my friends. I seems all I ever do is study, clean, and cook. And I'm acting more like a mother to my sisters than a sister."

"You need to learn to delegate," Nodoka said. "Let others take some tasks."

"I don't see how," Kasumi said. "I've already got Nabiki and Akane alternating doing the dishes, but I can't get them to do much more. Akane is a disaster waiting to happen in the kitchen, and Nabiki won't help cook. If I left it to Akane to clean her room, it would be a pig stye. And I still haven't been able to tell Akane how babies are made, and she's been having periods since the day after Mother died."

"If you'd like, I can give Akane that talk," Nodoka said.

"Would you? I've been dreading it," Kasumi said. "She and Ranma have been getting really close and I'm afraid that something might happen."

"I will talk with Akane," Nodoka said. "But it will have to be tomorrow. I've got a class to get to."

"I'll see you tomorrow then, Auntie," Kasumi replied, standing up.

"I left some of Ranma's stuff inside," Nodoka said, heading toward the gate. "Tell Akane to look on page eight of the photo album. She'll understand."

Kasumi entered the house. As she headed toward the kitchen, she spotted the photo album. Curious, she opened it to page eight. On that page was a picture of a three year old Ranma, naked, riding a broom across the room, like it was the wild horse he'd been named after. "Oh my!"

Soun watched Akane and Ranma sparring in the dojo. He'd already spotted some improvements in Akane's form and attack methods. She'd tightened up her defenses and wasn't attacking in anger anymore. That had always been a problem with Akane. She tended to get frustrated with her opponent when she couldn't get a shot in and get angry. She also tended to lose control when she got hit. She was holding her own with Ranma, each of them testing each other, but something seemed to be slightly off. Ah.

"Ranma, please put a little more power into your attack," Soun said. "Akane, try attacking him a little lower."

"I can't get by him there," Akane responded, as Ranma jumped over her low attacks, and a kick got though her defenses. "One for you Ranma."

"You'll close that hole soon enough," Ranma said, executing an unsuccessful attack toward Akane's left side.

"It only opened due to that attack Dad suggested," Akane said.

"If you don't try those attacks you won't learn how to do them right," Soun said. "Break." Akane and Ranma stepped out of their stances and bowed to each other. "Ranma, spar with me."

Akane relaxed in front of the television. It was almost time for the movie she and Ranma had decided on for this week. It was old musical that Kasumi had suggested called "The Pirates of Penzance." Akane had expected Ranma to suggest a martial arts movie, but that was what he didn't want, but perhaps he'd had enough of them. After all, martial arts was all his father let him do.

"Hurry up, Ranma," Akane called, making sure the oversized t-shirt she was wearing was down far enough.

Ranma entered, just wearing a pair of boxer shorts. "This is subtitled, not dubbed, isn't it?" he asked, taking seat beside her.

"Yes," Akane said, snuggling up against him. "Just boxers?"

"You said to put on what I wore to bed," Ranma said, placing his arm around her.

They watched the show for a while. After the second song, Ranma said, "he accidentally was apprenticed to a pirate instead of a pilot! That sounds like something Dad would do."

"Your Dad can't be that bad," Akane said.

"Try him," Ranma said, he looked do to discover that Akane's T-shirt had worked itself up around her waist. "You really should wear more than a t-shirt, Akane."

"So I forgot," Akane said, moving into Ranma's lap.

"I don't mind if you forget that more often," Ranma replied, putting his hand between her legs.

"Pervert," Akane gasped.

"You're the one who forgot the panties," Ranma said, returning his focus to the television, but not moving his hand from Akane's vagina. Akane had no objections.

An hour after the end of the movie, Soun discovered Ranma and Akane asleep on the couch. After turning off the television, he covered them both with a blanket, before turning off the light and heading for his own bed.