Ranma ½ Happily Ever After Chapter 91: New Week New Opportunities New Challen, a ranma fanfic

Ranma ½ – Happily Ever After

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ is the property of Takahashi Rumiko and all those other large corporations that publish and distribute Ranma ½. No profit is gained from this work, just a great deal of enjoyment writing it.

Chapter 91 – New Week; New Opportunities; New Challenges

"I don't know how you do it," Miyuki said.

"Do what?" Yuriko answered. She was in her usual spot at the kitchen table with a stack of paperwork and a steaming cup of coffee in front of her.

"How you can drink as much as you do and not feel like crap in the morning," Miyuki replied.

"Oh don't let this smiling face fool you," Yuriko responded. "I do feel like crap. I've just had more practice dealing with it."

"Does the coffee help?"

"Not really," Yuriko answered, "but I need something to drink and this is a better choice than more bourbon. How is Hikari doing?"

"She's fine," Miyuki said. "Well… maybe not fine, but she's awake and will be out in a few minutes to make some breakfast."

"You know, it looks good on you," Miyuki said after several seconds of silence.

"What?"

"The ring," Miyuki said with a broad grin. "The ring looks good on you."

"I never thought I would ever hear myself say this," Yuriko said, "but thanks. Somehow it feels right being there… So… did I miss anything exciting last night?"

"No," Miyuki said with a chuckle. "I think Hikari was asleep before her head hit the pillow and I wasn't awake much after that."

"I figured something like that might happen," Yuriko said after taking a sip of coffee.

"Would you object to a good morning kiss?" Miyuki asked.

"I won't," Yuriko answered, "but are you sure your wife won't have something to say about that?"

"The only thing Hikari will say is 'where's my kiss'."

Aoi sat up and reached to turn of the alarm. The hands on the clock prominently displayed the fact it was six o'clock and Aoi couldn't remember what possessed her to set the alarm so early. Practice wasn't until nine. She and Suzu and Rei and Kenji didn't need three hours to get washed up, dressed and have breakfast.

But Aoi was awake and there wasn't any point in trying to get back to sleep. By the time she fell asleep again, it would be time to get up.

There didn't seem to be any reason to wake everyone else up. If Aoi got a start on breakfast now, everyone else could sleep another hour.

And there didn't seem much of a reason for her to find a robe to put on. Everyone was in the same state of non-dress. After the silliness with the whipped cream, they decided to forgo wearing night clothing and spent the night cuddled up closely with each other.

Aoi sighed. There was a mess to clean up before mom and dad got home, but Aoi had to admit that last night was a lot of fun. As to whether being naked enhanced the ice cream eating experience would definitely require further research and might even require an expansion of the testing sample.

This was definitely an experience that would be worth trying again.

"So everything is in place for tomorrow afternoon," Kasumi asked.

"Megumi and I will meet you and Tofu at the registrar's office at two," Soun answered. "We'll have Megumi's grandmother and step-brother with us. We'll sign the papers and then we'll meet everyone at the Cat Café for a little reception. And then Megumi and I will slip away for a few days to places unknown."

"Don't worry, Kasumi," Megumi said with a grin. "I'll make sure he's on time. It's not like I don't know where he lives."

There was general laughter around the breakfast table.

The breakfast table was full this morning. In addition to the usual cast of characters, Jun had joined Fumiko and Hiroshi had joined Yuka. And of course Megumi was sitting with Soun.

"And I'll talk with Shampoo at lunch time and make sure she reserves some tables for us," Akane said. "Although Tuesday is never really busy in the afternoon."

"Thanks, Akane" Kasumi responded. "Which brings up another important question. Who will be here for lunch and who will be here for dinner?"

"Practice may run long today," Akane said, "since it looks like Miyuki, Hikari and the coach are supposed to leave sometime tomorrow afternoon to go see Hikari's aunt in New York City."

"Where did you hear that?" Sayuri asked.

"Hikari mentioned it Saturday night," Akane answered.

"So when will they get back?" Yuka asked.

"Probably sometime on Sunday," Akane answered. "Hikari said that they'd be back in time for practice on Monday."

"Oh..." Yuka said. "I was hoping to get a little practice time in after New Year's."

"Not a problem," Ranma said. "The coach gave me a key. Akane and I were going to spend some time working on my gymnastics' routines so I can get certified as an assistant coach."

"That's all well and good," Kasumi said, "but it doesn't answer my question. Who will be home for lunch and who will be here for dinner?"

"Soun and I don't have anywhere to go today," Megumi said. "Soun needs to finish up reviewing that development proposal he's been working on for the last month."

"Please don't remind me," Soun answered. "That has got to be the most mind numbing document I've ever reviewed. It would probably make more sense after a few cups of sake."

Kasumi smiled. "I think I could arrange that. How about everybody else?"

"I'm going to be helping Jun move into the apartment over the pharmacy after practice," Fumiko replied.

"You actually convinced Jun's parents that it was better to make the move sooner than later," Ranma said.

"It's more of a matter of necessity than convenience, Jun responded. "My dad has to be on the job in Germany by January second. Mom and dad are scheduled to fly out tomorrow morning at eight."

"Lot of notice there," Soun said.

"It's typical for my father's company," Jun answered.

"Are you and Fumiko going to the airport to see them off," Akane asked.

"We weren't planning on it," Jun answered. "Mom and dad are going to stay at a hotel near the airport overnight, so seeing them off isn't going to work."

"If you need any help," Ranma said, "we'll be available this afternoon."

Jun smiled. "Thanks. I appreciate that… But Fumiko and I will box up all of my stuff this afternoon and my dad's company will have a truck pick it up and bring it to the apartment."

"OK, anyone else?" Kasumi asked.

"Akio and I are going to spend the day sightseeing and shopping in downtown," Aka-chan said, "and maybe go and see a movie. So I don't think we'll be here for either lunch or dinner."

"Anything special in mind?" Ranma asked.

"Not really," Aka-chan answered, "but maybe we'll pick up some souvenirs to take back for grandma and for Akio's parents and sister. "Maybe find something special for Akio's sister for her wedding night."

Akane smiled. "Then I think I have a good idea of where one of your stops may be."

"Yeah… probably…" Aka-chan said with smile.

"OK then," Kasumi said, "Anybody else?"

"Ahhh…" Natsume said. "I'm probably going to have lunch with Gota."

Kasumi smiled. "That's good… And if you and Gota don't have any other plans, why don't you invite him to dinner tonight."

"Hi," Ichiko said.

"Hi," Daniel replied.

The pair stood on the sidewalk outside the entryway to Daniel's house.

"I hope I didn't get you into trouble for what happened last night," Ichiko said.

"No… You didn't cause me any trouble," Daniel replied.

"Do you think your sister saw what happened?"

"She didn't say anything," Daniel answered, "but I think she saw us. When I asked her how to ask you if you'd like to go out with lunch with me today, she gave me a translation. I looked it up. It was pretty obscene."

"Your sister is a real darling."

"My sister has told me more times than I can count how much she hates me and how much I ruined her life."

"How did you ruin her life?"

"I was born," Daniel replied. "Before I was born, my sister was the center of the universe as far as my parents were concerned. I kind of displaced her when I was born."

"Your sister sounds like a spoiled brat."

"She's that and so much more… I expected my cousin and your brother to be here with you."

"Una wanted to get to gymnastics' practice early… And I wanted to talk with you alone first."

Ichiko paused, then asked, "Do you think your sister and your brothers are watching?"

"I'm sure my sister is, but she probably has my brothers watching too."

Ichiko smiled. "So what did your sister tell you to say to me?"

"It's really obscene…"

"Don't worry. I promise that I won't be offended. What did she tell you to say?"

Daniel sighed. "She said to ask you if you wanted to check out the bulge in my pants."

Ichiko chuckled and embraced Daniel. "I would be more than happy to go out to lunch with you."

She tightened her embrace and kissed Daniel… on the lips. "I would definitely be more than happy to go out to lunch with you."

"Well, the two of you look like death warmed over," Yuka said to Miyuki and Hikari as she sat down next to the pair.

"I didn't think we looked that good," Hikari replied.

"Did you and the coach go out partying last night?" Sayuri asked.

"We went out to dinner with my parents last night," Miyuki answered. "Dad's company picked up the tab. So dad wasn't shy about ordering drinks for everyone. Turns out that my parents have to head back to Australia earlier than expected… And with Yuriko, Hikari and I going with Hikari's grandmother to see Hikari's Aunt Chika, last night was our only opportunity to have dinner together before they had to leave."

"Last opportunity to have dinner with them with Miyuki fully clothed," Hikari added.

"I'd rather not bring that up again," Miyuki answered.

"Miyuki still hasn't come to grips with her mom's and dad's familiarity with some of the stuff in the back section of the lingerie shop," Hikari replied with a grin.

"I don't blame her," Ranma said. "I'm pretty sure I don't want to know what most of that stuff is used for."

"So, when do you leave for New York?" Ranma asked.

"Ideally, as soon after practice tomorrow as we can," Hikari answered. "Grandma is going to arrange for a car to pick us up and take us to the airport. Grandma would like to get in the air by five… But the earlier the better."

"And this is on your grandmother's company's corporate jet?" Yuka asked.

"Yeah," Hikari replied. "Grandma says there's seating for twelve plus the pilot and co-pilot. There are even beds available if we want to get some sleep."

"And Akari says that there will be plenty of food," Miyuki added, "and more than enough booze to keep everyone, even Yuriko, happy."

"How long is the flight?" Sayuri asked.

"That will depend," Hikari answered, "on how long it will take to refuel in Hawaii. And Grandma says that it will be easier for us to clear customs and immigration in Hawaii rather than New York. But Grandma says that the total flight time will be sixteen to eighteen hours."

"Wow," Yuka responded. "What are you going to do all that time?"

"Yuriko still has a ton of paperwork to do before the Regional Tournament," Miyuki answered. "And I'm sure Hikari and I can find things to do to keep us occupied."

"Euuu… I'm not sure I want to know," Sayuri responded.

"Sayuri, you assume that all Hikari and I do when we're alone is have sex," Miyuki replied.

"Well…" Sayuri said.

"We don't have sex all the time we're alone," Hikari said. "If we did that, it would stop being special."

"And don't knock it until you try it," Miyuki said. "When Hikari and I are intimate with each other, it really does feel special. And you don't have to take my word for it. You can ask Akane and Ranma."

"You know," Hikari said. "That's one question I've never gotten a straight answer to. Akane, which do you prefer… Having sex with Ranma when he's a guy or when he's a girl?"

Akane smiled. "Ranma is really sensitive when he's in his girl form and he look so cute when he orgasms. But sex with Ranma when he's a guy is really special. I like both, but I think I like having sex with Ranma as a guy a little bit more."

"How do you think she found out about it?" Hikari asked,

"I'm not exactly sure," Arisu answered, "but I think she may have heard some the girls talking about it at the party on Saturday."

Hikari and Arisu looked over at the balance beam. Oniko, dressed in her Sailor Chibi Moon costume was balancing herself on the balance beam with Akane standing at her side on the ground.

"And she understands what a special training run is?" Hikari asked.

"That's what Oniko wants to do for her birthday," Arisu answered. "She said that it would be fun to go running in the park not wearing any clothing."

"It sounds like she has a very good idea of what a special training run is all about," Hikari responded.

"The problem is that I promised her that we could do whatever she wanted to do for her birthday on Saturday,"

"Did you tell her that it would probably be too cold for a special training run on Saturday?" Hikari asked.

"I did," Arisu answered, "and that might put her off for a while."

"You don't think she'll forget about it."

"Not likely to happen," Arisu replied. "She remembers things that her mother and father promised to do with her last year that they stiffed her on. It doesn't help that her parents and grandparents won't be home for her birthday… And she's been so good since the Christmas party at Akane's, I don't want to not keep my promise. I don't know what to do."

"Have you figured out what happened at the party to change her behavior so drastically?" Hikari asked.

"Not really," Arisu answered, "but whatever it was, it's like someone flipped a switch… and I don't want to do anything that would flip that switch back."

"Auntie Arisu… Auntie Arisu…" Oniko said as she ran up to where Arisu and Hikari were standing. "Did you see what I did? Miss Akane showed me how to do a handstand on the balance beam and I didn't fall off the beam."

"I'm sorry I missed seeing that," Arisu replied. "Come on… Show me how you did it."

Oniko smiled. "OK… Oh Miss Hikari, thank you again for my Sailor Chibi Moon costume."

"You're very welcome Oniko," Hikari replied. "I'm glad you like it."

"Miss Hikari I like it a lot," Oniko responded. "I like you and Miss Miyuki a lot too."

Oniko wrapped her arms around Hikari and hugged her.

It took Miyuki a few minutes to realize who the visitors were standing in the doorway to the gym. They were definitely not from Furinkan. They weren't wearing Furinkan uniforms (not that anyone from Furinkan would be wearing a school uniform during the winter break). It wasn't until Miyuki recognized their school uniforms that she could put names to the three girls.

Miyuki walked over to the girls and said, "Come on in. Our coach said that people from the Saint Rose team might be stopping by to get some practice time. Let me see if I remember… Enko… Shiori and Roura."

"That's right," Enko replied. "I'm surprised you remembered. We only really talked the one time."

"I'm pretty good with names," Miyuki answered.

"Is Hikari here?" Roura asked.

"She working with Oniko on the balance beam," Miyuki asked.

"Oniko?" Shiori asked.

"The little girl in the Sailor Chibi Moon costume that just did the handstand on the balance beam," Miyuki responded.

"You certainly start them young here at Furinkan," Enko said with a chuckle.

"Oniko is Arisu's niece," Miyuki said. "Oniko's parents are visiting relatives somewhere and left Oniko with Arisu for the week."

"How old is she?" Shiori asked. "She's pretty good."

"She'll be four sometime after the first of the year," Miyuki answered.

"Wow!" Shiori said as they watched Oniko do another handstand.

"Maybe this isn't a good time for us to be here," Enko said. "I didn't expect that there would be this many people here."

"Today is as good as any day," Miyuki answered. "We usually have a crowd."

"Who are all of the guys?" Shiori asked.

"Husbands, fiancés, boyfriends…" Miyuki answered.

"Husbands?" Roura asked.

"Akane is married to Ranma," Miyuki replied. "They got married just this last summer."

"Ranma… Isn't that one of your assistant coaches?" Enko asked.

"Actually, Ranma is both of our assistant coaches," Miyuki responded with a laugh, "but that's a very long story. So, what would you like to work on? I think the team is working on vaults and the rest of the club is doing floor exercise."

"I wouldn't mind getting some practice on the vault," Shiori said.

"I think Enko and I would like to work on the balance beam," Roura said.

"That shouldn't be a problem," Miyuki responded. "I'll show you where the locker room is so you can get changed and then I can introduce you to everyone."

"You and Hikari haven't mentioned anything about my condition to the rest of your team, have you?"

"Hikari and I haven't said anything," Miyuki replied. "I wouldn't worry too much though if people find out. I think they'd all understand your feelings on the matter."

"Sorry I'm running a little late, "Yuriko said. "So, let's get started."

Miyuki recognized the woman standing next to Yuriko as the coach from the Saint Rose team.

"Before we start," Yuriko said, "I have a couple of announcements. First, I'd like to introduce Coach Inoke. She is the coach of the team from Saint Rose. Since their school is locked down during the winter break, I offered to let them use our gym to practice. They will, more than likely be practicing with us until their school opens again on January nineteenth. Sometimes they will practice on their own, but more than likely we will be practicing together. Please do everything you can to make them feel welcome."

"Next, as you may have heard," Yuriko continued, "Hikari and Miyuki will be traveling to see Hikari's aunt in the hospital in New York City and I will be accompanying them. We will be leaving after practice tomorrow and we'll be back in time for practice next Monday. I'm leaving keys with Akane and Ranma. I've been told that they will probably be here every morning except Wednesday and Thursday working on Ranma's gymnastics' skills… Which should prove to be interesting."

"So, today and tomorrow I'd like the team to work on your repertoire of vaults for the regional tournament," Yuriko explained. "You can have up to seven vaults to select from and you may make minor variations to the vaults you selected, but no wholesale changes. I will need to turn in your lists when we register at the regional tournament, but the sooner you pick out your vaults the better… so you can practice them… Choko… Yuka, can you handle that?"

"Not a problem," Yuka answered.

"Miyuki…" Yuriko said, "would you work with anyone who wants to get practice time on the balance beam."

"Do you want me to run through my vaults first?"

"Maybe later," Yuriko answered. "And once Akane has done her vaults I'll have her join you. Everybody else with Arisu and me to the floor exercise mats. Any question?"

Sayuri raised her hand.

"Yes, Sayuri…"

"Coach, when are we going to work on the uneven bars?"

"We won't start doing anything formally on the bars until Monday," Yuriko answered. "I hope to have a formal training schedule in place by then. Any other questions?"

When no one else indicated that they had any additional questions, Yuriko said, "Coach Inoke…"

"Shiori said that she wanted to spend time practicing her vaults," Coach Inoke said, "if that won't be an imposition."

Yuriko chuckled. "Don't worry. It won't be an imposition."

"Thanks," Coach Inoke replied. "And Enko and Roura would like to spend some time on the balance beam."

"Any problem with that Miyuki?" Yuriko asked.

"Not at all," Miyuki answered. "I was planning to work with Una and Ichiko today.

"Would you mind working with Oniko?" Arisu asked.

"That will be fine," Miyuki replied. "She did so well with the handstand, maybe she's ready to try something a little more challenging."

It wasn't long before Akane and Ranma (in his girl form) joined Miyuki at the balance beam.

"That was quick," Miyuki said.

"They let me go first," Akane replied, "and all I did was my basic vaults. Ranma and I will work on something a little more spectacular while you and Hikari and the coach are in New York."

"I'm sure you will," Miyuki said with a chuckle.

"Get your mind out of the gutter," Ranma responded.

Miyuki laughed. "Roura… Enko… I'd like to introduce to you one of my best friends, Akane Saotome…. And although at the moment he doesn't look the part, this is her husband Ranma."

"But you're a girl," Enko said, "and weren't you your team's other assistant coach?"

"Ranma and Ranko are one in the same person," Akane answered. "If Miyuki said anything about us, she probably said that it was a long story, but the simple fact is that because of a curse, when Ranma gets splashed with cold water, he turns into a girl and splashing him with warm or hot water turns him back into a guy."

"Mr. Ranma is really handsome," Oniko said, "but I think Miss Ranko is very pretty."

"You understand that Ranma and Ranko are the same person?" Akane asked.

"Auntie Arisu explained it to me," Oniko replied.

"That's amazing," Miyuki said, "that Oniko can grasp that and we still have teachers and administrators who are still oblivious."

"Akane… You're the girl who was glowing during your routines on the balance beam," Enko said.

"So I've been told," Akane answered.

"How do you do that?" Enko asked.

"I really don't have a clue," Akane replied. "Ranma has a better grasp of what that's all about."

"But we can talk about that later," Miyuki said. "Hmmm… Oniko, how would you like to show Una and Ichiko on the mat how to do a handstand while Miss Akane, Miss Ranko and I work with Miss Enko and Miss Roura?"

Oniko beamed. "I can do that."

And with that, Oniko, Una and Ichiko (and Seiji and Daniel) moved off a short distance.

"I remember your routines from the tournament," Akane said. "Both of you did very well. Unfortunately the judges at that point were being hypercritical. Even with the little bit of a step you took on your dismount, Enko, you should have scored better... And Roura, even with the fall, you did very well considering that you didn't know you would be competing until that morning. You just need to smooth out your transitions and you'd easily get into the individual balance beam competition. And I was really impressed with your floor exercise."

"I'm surprised you remembered," Enko said.

"Akane watches everyone's routines," Miyuki responded. "She's always looking for things to add to her routine to make it better. OK then… Who wants to go first?"

"Roura, why don't you go first," Enko said. "Maybe Miyuki and Akane can show me some things to look for."

"All right," Roura responded. "Just give me a few seconds to get myself ready."

Roura walked toward the end of the beam and placed her hand on it. Then she took several steps forward almost to the center of the beam. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

She stood by the beam for several more seconds… until Miyuki said, "You can do it."

Roura turned to Miyuki and smiled and after two or three more seconds she mounted the beam and started her routine.

There were no major issues with Roura's routine. She even completed the back walkover that had resulted in her fall from the balance beam at the tournament successfully.

"Not bad," Akane said. "If you could smooth out some of your transitions and picked up your tempo a bit, you could easily have a routine that would score in the high nines."

"Enko, why don't you go next," Miyuki said. "Then we'll let Una, Ichiko and Oniko give it a try."

Enko reminded Miyuki very much of Sayuri.

Sayuri was a consistent performer. She wasn't outstanding in any of the gymnastics' disciplines (except maybe for the uneven bars), but you could be certain that Sayuri would score competitively in each event.

From what Miyuki had observed of Enko's performances at the prefecture tournament, Enko was very much the same. Her overall performance was never going to hurt the Saint Rose. On the other hand, Enko was on the very edge of being a stellar in any of the four disciplines. And Enko still had another year of high school to practice and develop her skills.

"I could never imagine doing a vault like that," Shiori said to Choko as she sat down after doing a roundoff on to the spring board with a back handspring and a half turn on to the horse and triple forward tuck summersault off the horse. "I couldn't do a double summersault without landing flat on my ass. How long have you been practicing that vault?"

"Actually, that's the first time I ever tried that vault," Choko said.

"What? That's the first time you attempted that vault," Shiori responded. "How do you do that?"

"I don't know," Choko answered. "I guess I just visualize the vault in my head and what I need to do to make it work just kind of happens. That's why Miss Nohina yells at me. She says that one of these days one of my vaults isn't going to work out and I'm going to hurt myself. I've had a few vaults that didn't work out the first time I tied them, but usually by the second or third try I work out all of the problems."

Shiori just looked at Choko and shook her head.

"My ultimate goal is to do a triple layout summersault with two and a half twists off the horse," Choko said. "I haven't worked out everything I need to do it yet and the coach doesn't think the competition committee will let me do it because it's too dangerous… But I think I've figured out what I need to turn that triple tuck into a quad."

Yuka just looked at Choko and shook her head.

"Let's take a fifteen minute break," Yuka said, "and then we can try another run through."

Yuka sat down on the bench next to Hiroshi and gave him a kiss. "That girl is going to kill herself someday."

"I'm assuming you're talking about the quad summersault she just landed," Hiroshi asked.

"It was bad enough when she did it in the tuck position," Yuka responded, "but pike summersaults… I'm afraid she'll try layouts and land head first in the mat. But she's so convinced that if she can imagine a vault, she can do it."

"At least she hasn't tried doing five summersaults," Yoshio said.

"Quiet," Yuka said. "Don't give her any more ideas."

"What would they even call that," Sayuri said, "… a quint?"

"I don't even want to think about," Yuka responded. She paused then asked, "So… What did Mr. Tendo have to say about the idea?"

"He was concerned that we might feel that we were being a burden," Yoshio said, "but I assured him that that wasn't the case."

"But Mr. Tendo would like to talk with our parents," Hiroshi said, "including my parents, about the move first."

"Well, that won't happen until Mr. Tendo gets back from his honeymoon," Sayuri said.

"Mr. Tendo's fiancée is really nice," Hiroshi said. "She and I were trading pastry recipes."

"It's funny," Yuka said, "that Megumi is only a little older than Kasumi."

"What do Akane and her sisters think about it?" Hiroshi asked.

"Akane and her sisters are overjoyed," Sayuri replied. "Apparently they've been after their dad to go out and meet someone for a while."

"It sounds like Megumi is quite a party animal," Yuka said. She paused for a moment then asked, "Did Akane mention anything about having a get-together tomorrow night?"

"She mentioned something about having a bit of a party and a sleepover," Sayuri answered, "but the plans for it still seemed rather vague."

"It seems to me that a party and an associated sleepover might mean that there will be copious amounts of booze involved," Yoshio said.

"They certainly have enough of that leftover from the Christmas Eve party," Yuka said. "There are six cases of full bottles and four cases with partial bottles stored in the dojo." Yuka chuckled. "Hiroshi, do you think your parents will need you to work Wednesday morning?"

"I'm impressed," Yuriko said to Fukumi. "That was a pretty good floor exercise routine."

"Pretty good… considering I haven't done any gymnastics since I was in high school," Fukumi replied. "Unfortunately, floor exercise was my best event. I could stay on the balance beam, but I always ended up messing up my dismounts. Uneven bars and vaults were always a disaster."

"Let me guess," Yuriko said. "Your boobs always threw you off balance on your dismounts."

"Yeah," Fukumi replied with a chuckle. "I'd want to stop, but my boobs always seemed to have a mind of their own."

"Hikari has the same issue," Yuriko said. "I'm assuming you've always been large breasted."

"Always," Fukumi answered. "In sixth grade I was the only girl wearing a D-cup bra and they only exploded from there."

"So, why did you get involved in gymnastics?" Yuriko asked.

"Our school had a rule that everyone had to be the member of a club or sports team," Fukumi answered. "I wasn't the brightest bulb academically. I wasn't artistically talented and the only reason the art club was interested in me was so that I could model for a room full of hormonal boys. I could never read music and I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. And of all of the sports, gymnastics didn't require that I try out and make the team."

"Even so, those were respectable tumbling runs," Yuriko said.

Fukumi smiled. "Thanks."

Yuriko paused then said, "Aimi says that you work with her mother,"

"Yeah, I do," Fukumi replied. "Iona and I work together at the hostess club,"

"And Sachiko says that you've been spending the last few days with them," Yuriko said.

"Yeah, I was with them at the sleepover at Hikari's and Miyuki's house," Fukumi answered. "And I spent last night with them at Sachiko's apartment and I'll probably going to spend the night with them tonight."

Yuriko sighed. "I hope you understand why I'm concerned.

Fukumi chuckled. "Of course I understand. I'm not exactly the best of role models."

"Please don't get me wrong," Yuriko said, "but Sachiko already has a significant drinking problem."

"I know," Fukumi replied, "and that's not the biggest of her problems, but Aimi is doing her best to keep Sachiko and Kazuko… and me on the straight and narrow. This is the longest stretch I haven't woken up with a hangover in more than a year."

"So Aimi is being a positive influence on you," Yuriko said with a smile.

"That's pretty much been the case," Fukumi answered. "Although last night I was showing the girls how to make a drink last a whole evening."

Yuriko laughed. "I think I should have you come in and teach everyone how to do that, including me."

"It's a hard lesson to learn," Fukumi replied. Fukumi paused for a moment then said, "I'll give you the heads up on this. It is very likely that the owner of the hostess club where Aimi's mom and I work will be inviting the girls to the employee's holiday party. Mr. Kiyobe has some big announcement to make and for some reason he wants Aimi, Kazuko and Sachiko there. It's supposed to be a dinner party, but there will be more than enough booze available… And I don't think I'll be able to keep Sachiko away from it."

"Not likely," Yuriko responded. "When is the party?"

"Tomorrow night," Fukumi answered. "It starts at six and runs until no one is left standing."

"Sounds like my kind of party," Yuriko said. "But the girls will have some time to recover. I'm going to be out of town with Miyuki and Hikari until Sunday. Akane and Ranma will probably be here Friday and Saturday, but no one will be here New Year's Eve or New Year's Day… So the girls will have some time to recover before we start formal practices on Monday."

"Do you mind if I come in with the girls for practice," Fukumi asked, "at least until school starts?"

"Actually I wouldn't mind that at all," Yuriko answered. "Having an extra adult here who understands something about gymnastics would be a good thing."

"I hope Oniko isn't being a problem for you," Arisu said.

Arisu had joined Miyuki at the balance beam along with Shiori and Coach Inoke from Saint Rose.

"Oniko hasn't been a problem at all," Miyuki replied. "She's actually has been a big help. She's got the handstand down pat and she's pretty much mastered the split and cat leap. She can do simple turns and I don't doubt it won't take much more work for her to be able to do a forward and backward roll. The great thing is I usually only have to show her something once. Then she goes and works with Una and Ichiko and they learn how to do the move together. And she's a pretty good teacher for a three year old."

"Almost four," Arisu said. "Her birthday is on Saturday… Ahhh… Did Hikari tell you what she wants to do for her birthday?"

"She did."

"What am I supposed to do?"

Miyuki looked over as Oniko demonstrated how to do a back roll.

"She understands…"

"She understands that we run naked," Arisu replied. "She thinks it would be fun."

"And she understands that there would be boys running with her?"

"I don't think that's an issue for her."

Miyuki sighed. "Unfortunately, Hikari and Yuriko and I won't be here… But maybe Yuka or Sayuri or Akane might want to organize a run."

"You're serious."

"She's starting to become a member of the team," Miyuki answered. "We should start thinking of her like a member of the team… And you might want to ask Akane about running around naked when she was four."

"Do you need any help?" Mousse asked, peeking into the kitchen where Shampoo was cutting vegetables.

"Not at moment," Shampoo replied after she finished chopping an onion. "I not expecting today be very busy. How Ukyo's father doing?"

"Ya-ling is helping him find things in the pantry," Mousse answered, "but we seem to be out of sesame oil, so I was going to the store to get some."

"Why not send Ling-Ling or Lung-Lung?" Shampoo asked.

"They're taking care of the children at the moment," Mousse answered. "They just got Ju and Lan to settle down and they're trying to make sure Ting and Ning don't flood the bathroom getting their showers. Is there anything you need from the store?"

"If go by fish market," Shampoo answered, "see if have fresh octopus. Not make octopus ramen in long time."

"Sure thing," Mousse replied with a smile. "Anything else?"

"Maybe get Shampoo some chocolate," Shampoo replied.

"Anything you want," Mousse replied.

"Not say that," Shampoo responded. "Shampoo want big container of ice cream with chocolate sauce. Shampoo want chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Shampoo want to wash it all down with chocolate milk. If Mousse get everything Shampoo want, Shampoo blow up like giant balloon. Shampoo clothes not fit already. Shampoo boobs not fit in blouse. Shampoo not want get fat."

"I don't think you'll ever get fat," Mousse said, "but even if you do, I'll still love you."

Shampoo put her hands on her stomach and said, "Shampoo already fat."

"That's not fat," Mousse responded. "That's our lovely daughter."

"How Mousse so sure Mousse and Shampoo have baby girl?"

"Because that's the way is has to be," Mouse replied, "and she is going to be as beautiful as her beautiful mother."

"Shampoo think of one more thing Shampoo want."

"And what might that be?"

"A kiss from most wonderful husband."

Mousse stepped over to Shampoo, embraced her and kissed her.

"I love you," Mousse said and kissed her again.

"And Shampoo love Mousse."

They kissed again.

And as Mousse released Shampoo from his embrace, Shampoo said, "Mousse not forget chocolate for Shampoo."

"Show off," Miyuki said after Ranko landed a perfect triple tuck summersault dismount from the beam. She turned to the crowd that had gathered to watch Ranko's performance and said, "I don't want to see any of you trying the moves you just saw… including you Akane."

"Nothing to worry about there," Akane replied. "I'm not sure if half of the moves in his routine are even legal."

"They're legal," Yuriko said, "but just barely."

"I certainly can't believe that that he… ahhh… she has never actually performed on the balance beam before," Coach Inoke said.

Yuka laughed. "Don't let him fool you. That might be the first time he's performed on a balance beam… but… do you know the stretch of walls and fences along the river."

"Yeah…" Coach Inoke replied.

"He and Akane run on top of that every morning," Yuka said.

"Not every morning," Ranma responded. "We only run that route on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays."

"Fine," Yuka said, "but he does summersaults across the gaps in the walls and fences."

"You have to understand that both Ranma and Akane are accomplished martial artists," Yuriko explained. "That's all part of their training."

Coach Inoke shook her head and said, "It's all still very mind boggling."

"We still have a few minutes," Miyuki said. "Roura, would you like to run through your routine again and try some of the things I suggested?"

"Ahhh… Sure," Roura replied. "Just give me a few seconds to get ready."

"Not a problem," Miyuki responded. "Take all the time you need."

Roura stepped up to the balance beam and found the end of it. Then, as she had done before, she placed her hand on the beam and took several measured steps toward the center of the beam. She stood silently for several more seconds until Enko said, "You can do it."

Roura smiled and mounted the beam and began her routine.

This time Roura's performance was nearly flawless with only very minor losses of balance after two of her turns. Her dismount was nearly spot on with only a minor flex of her knees on her landing.

"That was pretty good," Miyuki said. "How did it feel?"

"I guess better," Roura replied. "I definitely felt more comfortable doing the walkovers doing what you suggested."

"That's good," Miyuki said. "The rest will come with practice."

"Miss Roura, that was very good," Oniko said. "I hope someday I can be as good as you are on the balance beam."

Roura smiled. "Thank you."

"Miss Roura, may I ask you a question?"

"Sure… I guess…" Roura responded.

"Miss Roura, do you have problems seeing?"

"Why… Why do you ask?" Roura said.

"I don't know," Oniko replied. "It's just that sometimes when I was watching you, you kind of didn't look like you knew where you were… like when you were getting ready to get on the beam. I saw you counting how many steps you were taking."

There was complete silence in the gym. Both Enko and Shiori had a panicked looks on their face.

But after several seconds a broad smile appeared on Roura's face. "You don't miss anything, do you Oniko? Actually Oniko, I'm blind. My eyes can't focus, so everything is a blur."

"Wow," Oniko said. "That's really amazing. Could you show me how you do the walk over? That's really neat."

Roura chuckled. "Of course I can… But you have to do something for me."

"OK," Oniko responded. "What do I need to do?"

"I'd like to keep this our little secret," Roura replied in a whisper that was really loud enough for everyone to hear. "Sometimes people worry too much about me when they find out I'm blind."

Oniko smiled. "I can do that."

"Thank you," Roura said. "Will you be here tomorrow? If you are, I can show you how to do the walk over."

"Auntie Arisu, can I come to practice with you tomorrow?"

"Of course you can," Arisu replied. "You're part of the team."

"So you knew Roura is blind?" Yuriko asked.

"I found out when I was spotting for Saint Rose at the Prefecture Tournament," Miyuki said. "She told me after her fall from the beam."

"And I found out when I walked up with Roura to get her medal for the floor exercise," Hikari said. "Did you know that she does her entire floor exercise with her eyes closed?"

"I guess I would have preferred knowing that she's blind going in," Yuriko answered.

"Roura doesn't want the fact that she's blind to affect how people judge her gymnastic skills," Miyuki responded.

"I know," Yuriko said. "Coach Inoke and I had a talk about it."

"Are they still going to practice with us?" Hikari asked.

"Saint Rose will continue to practice with us," Yuriko replied.

"That's good," Miyuki said. "Akane and Ranma have an idea that will help Roura maintain her balance better."

"This sounds like it might involve some martial arts training," Yuriko said.

"It might," Miyuki answered. "The team is going to get together for lunch on Friday at Akane's for some special training,"

"Speaking of special training…" Yuriko began to say.

"I know," Miyuki said. "I don't necessarily like the idea either."

"Any idea who told her about it?" Yuriko asked.

"I don't think it was anyone in particular," Miyuki answered. "I think Oniko may have overheard a couple of people talking about our special training runs and put it all together herself."

"For someone who's just turning four," Hikari said, "she's really very smart… and observant. She's the only person who noticed our rings."

"And she figured out the short-hand that you use to record our gymnastics' routines," Miyuki said, "and I'm still having problems figuring that out."

"It's almost like Oniko has a photographic memory," Hikari said.

"Even so," Yuriko said, "if we let her run with the team and she says something, we're all in trouble."

"Even if we don't let her run with us and she says something," Hikari said, "we're all still in trouble."

"I don't see that we have anything to lose by letting her run with us," Miyuki said.

Yuriko sighed. "I guess not. What do we do about Una's boyfriend, his sister and Una's cousin?"

"I'll talk with Una about that," Miyuki said. "But Ichiko looks like she might be a good candidate for the team next year."

"By the way, I said that Sachiko's drinking buddy can sit in on practices," Yuriko said.

"Who is she anyway?" Hikari asked. "She looked pretty good on the floor exercise mat."

"She's Aimi's mom's co-worker at the hostess club," Yuriko answered. "She's been staying with Sachiko for the last couple of days."

"She was at the sleepover at our house on Saturday," Hikari said. "Is there a problem?"

"Not really," Yuriko answered. "Aimi seems to be keeping them all sober at least at the moment."

"What do you mean?" Hikari asked.

"Apparently the owner of the hostess club where Fukumi and Aimi's mother work is having a holiday party," Yuriko explained, "and Aimi, Kazuko and Sachiko are invited and expected to attend. Something about a big announcement."

"That doesn't sound good," Miyuki said. "On the other hand, Aimi, Kazuko and Sachiko don't seem to be light-weight drinkers."

"I guess that's what worries me," Yuriko responded with a chuckle. "It seems to me that some people are capable of doing some really stupid things when they're drunk."

"I seem to have heard some stories like that," Miyuki replied. "Did you ever figure out how you got to Yokohama wearing just panties and a denim jacket?"

Yuriko didn't answer.

"So why are we going to your apartment?" Hikari asked.

"I don't know why you and Miyuki are going to my apartment," Yuriko replied. "I'm going to my apartment to get my passport. I never expected that I would be traveling to the United States."

"I'm just trying to make sure that you don't get lost," Miyuki said. "And I figure we can start packing up some of your stuff so we can start moving you after we get back."

"There isn't that much to move," Yuriko said. "Other than clothes, most of the stuff in my apartment can go into the dumpster."

"Well, at least we can make a start," Hikari said.

The trio walked silently for a few moments with the silence being broken by Yuriko saying, "By the way… It was Kawasaki and I was wearing a flannel shirt with no buttons and boxers."

"Do you want to explain to me why we're here again?" Akio asked as he and Aka-chan stood outside the lingerie/'toy store'.

"We're here to find thank you gifts for Mama and Papa," Aka-chan answered, "and get something for your sister for her wedding night."

"But why here?"

"Well… I was thinking of getting them something a little naughty to add to their collection," Aka-chan answered. "And I was thinking of picking up something naughty for myself. I'm open to suggestions."

Akio's cheeks turned a bright red.

"Why does that embarrass you so much?" Aka-chan asked. "I hope it's because you're having some naughty thoughts about me."

But when the blush on Akio's cheeks became even more intense, Aka-chan said, "Akio, I don't mind if you have naughty thoughts about me. In fact, I'm flattered that you do. And you know what, I have naughty thoughts about you. I'll tell you about mine if you tell me about yours."

"So, Oniko, what would you like for lunch?" Arisu asked when she and Oniko arrived at home.

"I don't know," Oniko answered rather sullenly.

"Would you like some ramen," Arisu asked, "or maybe some fried rice."

But when Oniko didn't respond, Arisu asked, "Oniko, is something wrong?"

After several seconds of silence Oniko asked, "Auntie Arisu, are the members of the gymnastics' team angry with me?"

"No Oniko," Arisu answered. "No one from the team is angry with you. Why would you think that?"

"Be… because I said something about Miss Roura not being able to see," Oniko answered.

Arisu smiled and stooped down so that she was eye-level with Oniko. "Nobody is angry with you. Take my word for it. In fact, Miss Miyuki and Miss Akane are really impressed with how well you're doing."

"But I said something about Miss Roura not being able to see," Oniko said, "and she didn't want people to know that."

"That's true," Arisu said, "but do you understand why she usually doesn't tell people she's blind?"

"Because she doesn't want people to treat her different because she can't see well."

"Miss Roura wants people to judge her based on what she can do," Arisu responded, "not because she can't see as well as you or me."

"She is really good on the balance beam," Oniko said.

"Yes she is," Arisu responded, "and Miss Miyuki says that she has a very good floor exercise program. She won a medal at the Prefecture tournament."

"She is really something special," Oniko said. "I really like her."

"I really like her too," Arisu responded. "And do you know who else I really, really like… I really, really like you."

Arisu embraced Oniko and said, "I really, really love you."

"Auntie Arisu, I really, really love you too."

"Shiori, don't worry about it," Roura said. "It's not like I was going to be able to keep it a secret forever."

"I know that," Shiori replied, "but I guess I think it would have been better if you'd been able to tell people when you were ready."

Roura chuckled. "And when would that have been? I think Oniko actually did me a favor."

"I'm still trying to figure out how she figured it out," Enko said.

"You heard her," Roura said. "She noticed things that I was doing and put it all together and figured out that I have trouble seeing."

"But she's only three," Shiori responded.

"Almost four," Roura said. "Miyuki says that she's extremely intelligent for her age. You know that the first time she was on the balance beam was last week."

"She's doing better than some of the girls in our club who have been practicing for a year," Enko said. "Shiori, how did you do with the vaults?"

"OK, I guess," Shiori answered.

"What do you mean, OK, you guess?" Roura asked.

"I guess I did OK," Shiori answered. "I landed all of my vaults without a problem… but…"

"But what?" Enko asked.

"One of the girls from Furinkan… ahhh… Choko… She did a quad pike summersault off the vault horse and landed it perfectly… The thing is that this was the first time she ever tried it."

"A quad summersault," Enko asked. "You're sure about that?"

"I thought I miscounted too," Shiori answered, "but there was no miscount the second time. Her friend said that Choko is always getting into trouble for trying stuff like that, but she said that Choko has been able to do that since they started their special training runs."

"Special training runs?" Roura asked. "What's that?"

"I don't know," Shiori replied. "After that, Choko's friend didn't say anything else. I think she was hoping that I didn't hear her mention it… Like she really wasn't supposed to talk about it."

"I don't know," Enko said. "Whatever that special training run is, it seems to be working for the whole team. I saw some pretty amazing floor exercise routines."

"I don't understand why their team is so willing to work with us," Shiori said.

"I don't understand it either," Enko replied.

"Miyuki said it was because their coach didn't think it was fair for us not to be able to practice before the regional tournament," Roura responded. "Do you think Sachi and Risu will join us tomorrow?"

"They said that they would," Enko answered, "but I don't think we'll see Eiha or Serina or Midori until Monday."

"Any word on how Misa is doing?" Roura asked.

"Her ankle is definitely broken," Enko answered. "She'll probably be wearing a cast through the end of the school year."

"That's too bad," Roura responded. "We're really going to miss her on the uneven bars… What do you think about Miyuki and Hikari?"

Enko laughed. "They certainly don't make any attempt to hide the fact that they're a couple."

"And the rest of the team doesn't seem to have an issue with them," Shiori added. "What do their parents have to say about it?"

"Miyuki said that her parents aren't overjoyed," Roura answered, "but that they accept her choice. Both of Hikari's parents died a few months ago."

"I think I remember that," Shiori said. "The news said that the police think it was a murder-suicide."

"That's what Hikari told me," Roura responded, "but that might not be the case. Hikari says that her aunt was with them the night they died. She was knocked unconscious and was in a coma for a while, but her aunt doesn't think things happened like the police said it did. That's why Hikari and Miyuki are going to the United States. That's where Hikari's aunt is being cared for."

The trio walked silently for a few moments until Roura said, "You know, if the two of you want to hold hands, it doesn't bother me at all."

Enko sighed. "I know it doesn't… But if anything got back to our parents, there would be hell to pay."

"But you know your parents are going to find out eventually," Roura replied.

"I know," Enko said, "but I think I'd like to put it off as long as possible… And I think I'd like to be the one to tell them…. when the time is right."

"You know the time is never going to be right with your parents," Shiori responded.

"I know," Enko replied. "Your parents aren't going to be much better."

"I know that too," Shiori said.

"Well, at the moment, it really isn't an issue," Roura said. "Why don't you spend the afternoon at my house? Mom was talking about making teriyaki rice bowls for lunch. You can have lunch with us and spend the afternoon making out with each other in my room."

"So, where would everyone like to go for lunch?" Ichiko asked her brother, Una and Daniel.

"I don't know," Una replied. "Breakfast was kind of light this morning. Mom and dad slept in, so all I had was a slice of toast."

"Your dad didn't have to go to work?" Daniel asked.

"My dad has all week off," Una replied.

"Apparently my dad had to be in extra early today," Daniel said. "He was gone when I woke up this morning."

"Our dad has off until after midnight New Year's Eve," Seiji said. "He starts his postal route around three in the morning."

"Do you think you and your sister will be going to shrine at midnight?" Una asked.

"I don't know," Seiji said. A bit of a blush appeared on Seiji's face. "Actually… I was hoping to go to shrine with you in the morning."

"I wouldn't mind that," Una said, "but it's not quite that simple. Between getting up to see the sun rise and going to shrine, there's a stop at church… But we can talk about that over lunch. I'm kind of hungry."

"Would anyone object to American style pizza?" Daniel asked.

"I guess I've never had American style pizza," Ichiko replied, "but I'm willing to try."

"Are you thinking about the pizza place by the train station?" Una asked.

"No," Daniel replied. "My brother found a pizza place at the far end of the shopping district that makes real American style pizza."

"Sounds good to me," Una responded. "Are you guys willing to give it a try?"

"I willing," Ichiko answered.

"Sounds good to me too," Seiji said.

"Daniel, do you need to check in with your mom and let her know where you're going to be?" Una asked.

"I told my mother that I would be out for the day," Daniel answer, "and that I wasn't sure when I was going to be home."

"I'm sure that went over well," Una said.

"I really don't care," Daniel responded. "At the moment I've had just about enough of my mother."

"What I did last night and this morning isn't going to get you in trouble, is it?" Ichiko asked.

There was a brief pause before Seiji asked, "What did you do last night and this morning that might have gotten Daniel into trouble?"

"I thought that his sister and brothers might be watching," Ichiko replied, "and his sister has been telling him things to say to get him into trouble… so last night I… I kissed him… And then I gave him another kiss this morning."

Nothing was said for what seemed like forever, but then Una began to laugh. "Ichiko… that's… that's wonderful. I do hope your brothers and sister saw that."

Daniel smiled. "I think they did."

"I'm going to assume that you enjoyed Ichiko kissing you," Una said, "and that you wouldn't mind if she kissed you again."

"No… I wouldn't mind that at all," Daniel replied.

"Well…" Una said.

And on that cue, Daniel took hold of Ichiko's hand, then embraced her and kissed her.

Una looked at Seiji, who looked somewhat shocked by the turn of events and said, "Come here."

She embraced Seiji and kissed him.

"Now, that wasn't so bad, now was it," Aka-chan said as she and Akio sat down to eat the burger and fries they had purchased for lunch.

"No, I guess it wasn't," Akio replied.

"I do like the outfit you picked out for me," Aka-chan said. "I think I'll wear it tomorrow for the party for Mr. Tendo and Megumi."

"You are going to wear something underneath it. I didn't realize how see through it was until you tried it on."

Aka-chan chuckled. "I might… but I might try to convince Akane to try one of her mother's outfits without underwear."

Akio sighed.

"Don't worry. I'll at least wear panties."

When Akio sighed again, Aka-chan said, "Come on. I know you like looking at my boobs."

A smile finally came to Akio's face. "Yeah I do… But I'm not that crazy about you showing them off like that in public… Doesn't showing off your breasts like that embarrass you?"

"Actually, not at all," Aka-chan answered. "I guess it never has. I don't even think twice about it when I use the hot spring at the inn with guests I don't really know. I guess I've gotten pretty comfortable with that… Do you think Satoshi will appreciate the gift we got for Karin?"

Akio chuckled. "I'm sure he will. Although I really don't see the point of someone wearing that flimsy on their wedding night."

"I think it has something with unwrapping a very special wedding gift."

"I guess if you put it that way," Akio replied, "I can understand it. All that's missing is a ribbon with a giant bow."

"Hmmm… That sounds like an interesting idea. What color ribbon and bow do you think would be appropriate."

"For Karin… I think a pastel blue," Akio answered. "Blue has always been her favorite color."

"Any idea what Satoshi's favorite color is?"

"I'm not quite sure. I've only met him three times now."

"Karin doesn't bring him around to visit?"

"Not really. The last time Satoshi came over for dinner, mom spent the whole evening trying to convince him that the wedding plans she had in mind were the only options. Sis really doesn't want a huge production. She'd like a smaller event… with less than a thousand people in attendance."

"Well, that's better than Satoshi's mom wanting to fly everyone to Hawaii."

"Satoshi's mom gave up on that," Akio replied. "Now she wants everyone to fly to Las Vegas and have the wedding there."

"Where did she get a crazy idea like that?"

"I'm not sure… But it isn't going to happen either."

"Do you think that your sister and Satoshi will just elope?"

"I doubt sis will take it that far, but she just wants a quiet event with just close friends and relatives in attendance."

"What's your sister's preference? Traditional Japanese wedding kimono like Ukyo wore… or a western style dress like mama wore?"

"My mom would like her to wear the formal kimono," Akio answered, "but I think sis would like something western style."

"I kind of agree with your sister. I think a western style wedding dress would suit her better."

"I think so too," Akio said. "I think a western style dress would work better for Karin. What kind of a wedding dress would you prefer?"

"I guess… someday… a western style dress," Aka-chan answered. "You know that my mom wore a western style wedding dress when she and dad got married."

"I know," Akio said. "Your grandmother showed it to me. I think you would look good wearing it."

There was a long pause and then Akio reached into his pocket and pulled out a small jewelry box and said, "Akane Takayama, will you marry me?"

Akio opened the box to reveal a ring set with a singular, clear, sparkling gem.

"Tha… That's my mother's engagement ring," Aka-chan said, still somewhat in a state of shock. "Whe… where … how did you get that?"

Akio smiled. "Your grandmother gave it to me… when I asked her for her permission to marry you. I was going to ask you the night before we came to visit Akane and Ranma, but when I found out it was just the two of us… I kind of chickened out. I've been trying to find a good time to ask you, but it never worked out."

Akio took the ring from the jewelry box and slipped it on Aka-chan's finger, asking as he did, "So, Akane, will you marry me?"

Tears began to flow from Aka-chan's eyes. "Yes, Akio Asogawa, I will marry you."

The two embraced… and kissed. "I love you Aka-chan."

"Akio, I love you too."

And the crowd in the restaurant stood and applauded as Aka-chan and Akio kissed again.

"Thank you, Auntie Arisu," Oniko said as she finished the last of the ramen soup Arisu had made for her. "That was really good."

"I'm glad you liked it," Arisu replied. "But it looks like I'm going to have to go shopping if I'm going to be able to make dinner for us tonight. I guess I didn't realize we were out of so much stuff."

"Can I go shopping with you?" Oniko asked.

"Of course you can," Arisu answered. "You can help me pick out what you'd like for dinner."

Oniko smiled. Thank you Auntie Arisu."

After a few moments of silence, Oniko said, "I heard people talking at practice that Miss Akane and Miss Ranko were going to have a party for the gymnastics' club at their house. Are you going to go to the party?"

"Probably not," Arisu answered.

"Why not?"

"Well… My guess is that there wouldn't be anything for you to do. Most of the people there will be drinking adult beverages and sometimes people get very silly when they drink too much adult beverages."

"You mean like when grandma and grandpa and mama and papa drink too much sake and shōchū?"

"Yeah, I guess like that," Arisu replied. "Oniko, how do you know about sake and shōchū?"

"Mama and papa talk about it," Oniko replied, "and when I wasn't being a good girl and grandma wanted me to take a nap, she would give me a glass of shōchū to drink with lunch."

"She what?"

"Grandma would give me a big juice glass of shōchū to drink with lunch," Oniko answered. "Usually it would make me sleepy and I would take a nap… But sometimes I didn't fall asleep, so I would sneak into the kitchen while grandma was napping and I would pour another glassful for myself."

"You know drinking adult drinks like that isn't good for you," Arisu said.

"I know," Oniko replied, "but usually that happened when I wasn't being a good girl and I had done something to make grandma angry with me and she wanted some time without me bothering her."

"But it still isn't right that grandma is giving you shōchū to drink… You haven't been sneaking drinks now, have you?"

"No… I haven't. I don't really like how it tastes, but grandma always insisted and after I had my first glass, it didn't taste as bad."

"So you know where grandma keeps her shōchū?"

"She tries to hide it," Oniko replied, "but she doesn't hide it very well."

"What do you mean?"

Arisu knew that her mother usually had a bottle of shōchū in one of the cabinets that should have been out of reach for Oniko, but Oniko opened a lower cabinet next to the refrigerators and reached in to the left where the cabinet seemed to extend under the sink and extracted bottle after bottle and set them on the floor until there were eight bottles lined up next to the cabinet. Three bottles were about half full.

"There are more bottles in there," Oniko said, "but I would have to climb into the cabinet to get them. Sometimes I think grandma forgets that she has open bottles down here."

Arisu sighed. "Oniko, why don't you put the bottles back into the cabinet."

"Am I in trouble Auntie Arisu?"

"No, Oniko, you're not in trouble. You're not in trouble at all. Just promise me that you won't sneak anymore of the shōchū."

"Any idea where in all of this mess your passport is?" Miyuki asked as she, Hikari and Yuriko stood just inside the entryway to Yuriko's apartment.

"I know exact where in this mess my passport is," Yuriko replied.

"I didn't think we left the place this trashed the last time we were here," Hikari said as she surveyed the scene.

"Remember, the last time we were here was when my mother showed up,"

"How can I forget," Miyuki said. "I have nightmares about her."

"Welcome to the club," Yuriko responded. "I used to have terrible nightmares about things my mom did to me and my sisters."

"Used to?" Miyuki asked.

"Yeah… Used to," Yuriko replied.

"So now you have nightmares about me and Hikari?"

Yuriko chuckled. "No, I don't have nightmares about you and Hikari… Actually… I've had some pleasant dreams involving you and Hikari."

"Wow, when did this start?" Miyuki asked.

Yuriko remained silent for a moment then said, "About the same time we started our special training runs."

"So what kind of dreams?" Miyuki asked. "Anything intimate?"

"Nothing more intimate than the three of us drinking together," Yuriko answered.

"Did we at least kiss in your dreams?" Miyuki pressed.

"Yeah, we kissed," Yuriko replied.

Miyuki put her arm around Yuriko and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Like that?"

Yuriko smiled. "Yeah, like that."

"So, how many people are you expecting for this party?" Kasumi asked.

"It started out as just being Ranma and me," Akane answered, "and Aka-chan and Akio and Yuka, Hiroshi, Sayuri and Yoshio."

"But then we figured out that we couldn't not invite Karumi and Natsume and Gota and you and Tofu," Ranma (in his girl form) added.

"But eventually word got around," Akane said, "so I think most of the gymnastics' club will be there."

"Well, Tofu won't be here," Kasumi said. "After dinner tomorrow, Tofu is going to get his mother to visit for New Year's. He probably won't be home until Wednesday afternoon."

"She isn't going to be bringing her wedding altar with her again, is she?" Ranma asked.

"No… That's why Tofu is going to get her," Kasumi said with a chuckle. "And she's going to be staying at the clinic with Tofu… So how many people are you expecting?"

"Well… I think… maybe twenty… or twenty-five." Akane replied. "Although Miyuki Hikari and Yuriko are going to New York City to see her aunt… And I'm not sure about some of the first year members… But I'm planning to tell everyone to bring the snacks they want to eat. I don't want you spending time cooking in the kitchen for this."

"Would you mind if I ordered pizza?" Kasumi asked.

"That will be fine," Akane replied.

"How about beverages?" Kasumi asked.

"I guess we should probably pick up some soda and juice," Akane replied.

"But your friends are probably going to be more interested in something a little less tame," Kasumi said.

"Probably," Akane said.

"Well there's certainly enough of that left over from the Christmas Eve party," Kasumi said. "There's all of the liquor in the dojo… Plus there are a quite a few more cases in the kitchen pantry."

"How much liquor did you buy for the Christmas party?" Ranma asked.

"Well… I started out ordering five cases of various liquors," Kasumi answered. "But then the liquor store said that I would get a significant discount if I ordered three more cases. And then they said that they could get me a good deal on the mint liquor that you and Ranma like if I bought four more cases of that… And then Doctor Ushimado gave us six cases of the liquor the university purchased for the awards' reception… And then the liquor store had a deal on a new liquor they had just received. I bought four cases of that and they threw in two more cases for being such a good customer. And then when dad found out that I was going to have liquor at the party, he bought four cases of the liquor that he and Megumi like… And…

"I get the idea," Akane said with a laugh. "We have plenty of liquor for everyone to drink."

"Hi mom," Aimi said as she walked into her apartment. "I wasn't expecting you to be home. Don't you have work today?"

"I do," Aimi's mom replied, "but I don't start at the restaurant until four. Did you stay at Sachiko's last night?"

"Kazuko, Fukumi and I stayed over at Sachiko's last night… And Fukumi stayed overnight at the sleep over at Miyuki's and Hikari's house. Fukumi even went to gymnastics' practice with us this morning. Did you know that Fukumi was a member of her gymnastics' club when she was in high school?"

"That doesn't surprise me," Ami's mom replied. "I've seen her dance at the hostess club… Ahhh… It sounds like you and Fukumi have become pretty good friends."

"Fukumi is really nice," Aimi responded. "She and Sachiko are hitting it off pretty good."

Aimi's mom smiled. "I'm glad to hear that… I'm assuming that Fukumi mentioned something about the holiday party Mr. Kiyobe is having for the staff of the hostess club and restaurant."

Aimi sighed. "She did. She mentioned that Mr. Kiyobe has some kind of big announcement to make and that he wants me and Sachiko and Kazuko at the party."

"That's true," Aimi's mom answered. "Mr. Kiyobe specifically asked that you and your friends attend the party."

"Do you have any idea why?" Aimi asked. "Do you have any idea what this big announcement is?"

"I do," Aimi's mom replied, "but I promised not to say anything. It's something really special and he wants to announce it when everyone is together."

"This doesn't have anything to do with the restaurant… or the hostess club, does it?" Aimi asked.

"Not directly," Aimi's mom responded, "but you and your friends are going to have to come to the party to hear what it is."

"So what do we do now?" Miyuki asked as they departed from Yuriko's apartment.

"Personally I think we need to go do some shopping," Hikari replied. "I can't believe that the only non-sweats outfit Yuriko owns is what she wore to my parent's funeral."

"I'm sorry," Yuriko responded, "but I really haven't had a need for anything more than sweats… And I don't understand why I need something now."

"Because my grandmother was talking about taking us to a fancy restaurant when we're in New York," Hikari answered, "and from what grandmother said, sweats would be completely out of place. And grandma said to make sure we have heavy winter coats. She said not to expect it to be any warmer than four degrees. We may even get the chance to see some snow."

"I didn't see any winter coats in your apartment," Miyuki said.

"That's because I really don't own a winter coat," Yuriko answered. "Just the jacket I usually wear. That's usually enough."

"We really don't have time to do any shopping if we're going to get packed and be ready to leave after practice tomorrow," Hikari said.

"Hmmm… Maybe one of my mom's outfit would work for her," Miyuki said. "Yuriko isn't too much taller than my mom. I think mom has a red dress that would look good… and it won't too much leg."

Yuriko sighed. "I don't feel comfortable wearing a dress."

"I don't see why not," Hikari replied. "You have great looking legs."

"Great looking legs and a cute butt," Miyuki said as she patted Yuriko's backside.

"Stop that," Yuriko protested.

As they walked down the street toward the train station, they noted that Sonia was at her post outside the bar and as usually was wearing only a minimal amount of clothing (a shear pastel pink dress without benefit of bra or panties).

"Hey Coach," Sonia said as Yuriko, Miyuki and Hikari approached. "Long time no see. How are you doin'?"

"Not bad," Yuriko replied. "How are you doing?"

"Bored to hell," Sonia answered. "Business has been crap since Christmas. I think everyone is partied out. You have plans for New Year's?"

"Actually… I'm going to New York City with Hikari and Miyuki for New Year's," Yuriko answered.

"New York City for New Year's," Sonia responded. "Sounds exciting."

"We're going to visit my aunt," Hikari said. "She's recuperating in a hospital there."

"I hope she's doing well," Sonia said. "So, other than visiting your aunt, do you have any big plans for New Year's Eve?"

"The hotel we're staying at is right on Times Square," Miyuki said, "so we'll get to see the ball drop."

"I've seen videos of it," Sonia replied. "It looks more crowded than the main train station at rush hour."

"I've seen those videos too," Miyuki responded. "I wouldn't mind being part of that crowd."

"Personally," Yuriko said, "I think I'd rather watch it all from our hotel room."

"I agree with your friend," Sonia said with a big grin. "I'd want to be out with the crowd."

"And I'm sure you'd be dressed just like this," Yuriko said with a chuckle.

"Oh, I might not be this conservative," Sonia responded.

"You aren't the least bit embarrassed showing your body like that, are you?" Hikari asked.

"Not in the least," Sonia replied. "I'm perfectly comfortable showing off my tits and ass and anything else you want to see… Hey, have you had lunch yet?"

"Ahhh… no," Yuriko said, "but I'm not sure we have time for that."

"Well. I haven't had lunch yet," Sonia said, "and I was just going to head in and make something for myself. Come on in and I'll make some burgers and fries for us… and we can talk. We haven't done that for a while."

"Thanks for helping out today," Gota said.

"Thanks for letting me help," Natsume replied. "Do you think your mom will be OK?"

"Mom will be fine," Gota replied with a smile. "Mom saw Mrs. Kadoshima coming and suddenly took ill."

"Is that the lady who complained that the fish wasn't really fresh and that the prices were too high?"

"That's her," Gota answered.

"Kind of difficult to argue that the fish isn't fresh when it's still swimming in the tank," Natsume said.

"You would think that," Gota responded, "but that's just her way of trying to bargain the price of the fish down. The funny thing is that if she would just ask for a better price, my dad would give it to her."

Gota paused for a moment then said, "I know it's late, but could I get you something to eat for lunch. I promise it won't include fish."

Natsume smiled. "What did you have in mind?"

"At the bakery down the street they have seating and they usually have really good curry bread on Mondays," Gota replied, "and they have a pretty good selection of teas and coffees."

"Sure, that sounds good," Natsume replied. "Ahhh… Do you have any plans for dinner?"

"Not really," Gota said. "Mom will probably use her sudden illness as an excuse to order takeout or for dad to take her out for dinner. What did you have in mind?"

"Kasumi asked if you might be available for dinner tonight. I don't know what she, Akane and my sister have in mind for dinner."

"Well, I know one thing it won't be," Gota responded.

"What's that?"

"It won't be fish or seafood since Kasumi wasn't in today to shop."

"I'm assuming that your drink of choice hasn't changed," Sonia said as she placed servings of hamburgers and fries in front of Miyuki, Hikari and Yuriko (and one on the table for herself).

"I still drink bourbon," Yuriko replied.

"How about your friends?" Sonia asked.

"Ahhh… Hikari and I aren't exactly old enough to get served liquor," Miyuki said.

"Who said anything about serving you," Sonia responded. "I just plan to put glasses and a bottle on the table. If you want to pour a drink for yourself, well that isn't my problem."

"Then bourbon will be fine," Miyuki replied.

"You've got them trained good," Sonia said as she went behind the bar and grabbed four glasses and an unopened bottle of bourbon. "I expected them to want something wimpy, like chocolate crème liquor."

Sonia sat down and twisted the cap from the bottle and filled the four glasses almost to the brim. "After this you pour your own drinks."

"Chocolate crème liquor sounds good," Hikari said, "but bourbon is pretty much our fallback."

"If we drink anything else," Miyuki said, "it's a mint liquor that our friend gets. It tastes like mint but it really burns going down."

"At least the first drink," Hikari added.

"Hmmm… Square bottle… Black label with a double-headed eagle and funny looking rōmaji letters?" Sonia asked.

"Yeah, that sounds like it," Miyuki replied.

"It's called Rumple Minze," Sonia said. "That's one hundred proof. Not a drink for amateurs. I have some behind the bar if you'd like some of that."

Miyuki picked up her drink and took a sip. "Bourbon will be fine."

"Hi Arisu… Hi Oniko," Yuka said, standing behind the counter at the bakery.

"Hi Yuka," Arisu responded. "Helping out today?"

"Hiroshi's parents have a big bread order for tomorrow," Yuka replied, "so they're getting the dough made so it will be ready to bake in the morning. I think Hiroshi's mom figured out that it was safer to have me behind the counter than helping making the dough… Oniko, I saw you on the balance beam today. You really did very well."

"Thank you Miss Yuka," Oniko answered quietly.

"Maybe after the holidays I can show you how to do some simple vaults," Yuka responded. "Would you like that?"

"I… I guess I would," Oniko replied, again in a very subdued voice.

"Is there some kind of a problem?" Yuka asked Arisu. "Oniko isn't usually this quiet."

Arisu sighed. "We were just at the market and Oniko accidentally bumped into a lady there. Oniko tried to apologize, but the woman just kept on ranting about how small children should not be allowed in the market and how she was going to complain to the manager about Oniko's behavior. But it was all an accident… and it was more the lady's fault than Oniko's."

Yuka smiled. "Older lady, a little shorter than me, wire-rimmed glasses, kind of funny looking orange-ish hair."

"Yeah… that's her," Arisu replied. "How did you know?"

"She was just in here about fifteen minutes ago," Yuka answered, "complaining that anyone under the age of twenty should be banned from the market… Oniko, don't worry about her. She complains about everything… And if she doesn't have anything to complain about, she complains that she doesn't have anything to complain about."

"See, I told you," Arisu said to Oniko, which brought a smile to Oniko's face.

"Hey," Yuka said, "I understand that someone has a birthday coming up."

Oniko beamed. "I'm going to be four on Saturday."

"You are," Yuka responded. "Hmmm… Miss Yuriko, Miss Miyuki and Miss Hikari won't be here… but I think we still might have practice. Would you like to join the team after practice for some ice cream?"

Oniko looked up at Arisu and asked, "Aunty Arisu, may I go and have ice cream with the team?"

Arisu smiled. "Of course you may."

"Thank you, Miss Yuka," Oniko responded. "Ahhh… Miss Yuka, would it be alright if I go with the team for a special training run?"

"That will depend," Yuka said. "We usually don't have special training runs if it's too cold, so it will depend on the weather. If it's too cool, we won't go running."

"I understand that," Oniko answered.

"And you understand how we run for our special training run?" Yuka asked.

"You don't wear any clothes when you run," Oniko answered in a whisper just loud enough for Yuka to hear.

"And that wouldn't embarrass you?" Yuka asked.

"No… I think it would be fun."

"And you wouldn't embarrass you if there were some boys running too," Yuka asked.

"I've seen mama and papa not wearing clothes," Oniko answered, "so I don't think I would be embarrassed if there were boys running too."

Yuka looked at Arisu for a moment then said, "If the weather is warm enough, I don't think there will a problem with you running with us."

"That's what mom said," Aimi said.

"But no idea why it's so important that we have to be there?" Kazuko asked.

"I think she knows," Aimi answered, "but she isn't saying anything."

"It sounds like it's going to be quite a party," Sachiko said.

"Quite an opportunity for everyone to get drunk," Aimi responded.

"Is that so terrible?" Sachiko asked.

"I guess not," Aimi replied, "unless you're so drunk that you don't remember having sex with someone on a table in front of everyone… Or you're so drunk that you have no idea how you got home and then spent half the night barfing. Or you drink so much that you go rolling around naked in the snow… Or that you drink so much that you fall asleep and never wake up again. I guess if you don't consider all of that… maybe getting drunk isn't so terrible."

Aimi paused, closed her eyes, took in a deep breath and then slowly let it out. She opened her eyes then said, "I'm sorry… But I worry about the two of you. I love you too much to see you get hurt because someone decided we need to attend a party designed to get everyone so drunk that they can't stand."

Neither Kazuko nor Sachiko responded immediately.

"Aimi, if Sachiko and I promise not to drink too much," Kazuko asked, "would that make you feel better about going?"

Aimi smiled. "I appreciate the offer, but I would never make you promise something like that… especially with my mom around topping off our glasses every time she gets the chance."

"If we go," Sachiko asked, "what time will we be expected to be there?"

"Mom said that dinner will be served at six," Aimi answered, "but we can get there any time after four."

Aimi paused for a moment. "In spite of everything else… I guess I really want to go and find out what this big announcement is… and how it affects all of us that we need to be there to hear it."

"What time is it?" Daniel asked.

"It's a little before four," Una replied. "Do you need to check in with your mom?"

Daniel sighed. "I guess not really. I told her that I'd be out with you and Seiji and Ichiko… and that I wouldn't be home until late."

"Is there a problem?" Ichiko asked.

Daniel didn't answer immediately. "I don't really want to go home at all." Daniel paused. "All my mom and my sister and my brothers talk about is their plans for going back to the United States."

"When is this supposed to happen?" Una asked.

"If you listen to my mom," Daniel answered, "we'd be on a flight back to Boston in the morning… But I don't want to go."

"What about your dad?" Seiji asked. "What does he have to say about it? What about his job here?"

"Apparently my mom has made some contacts back in the United States," Daniel answered. "She said that dad wouldn't have any problems finding a new job that wouldn't require him to travel." Daniel paused. "It's just that I've actually started to make friends here. I never had any friends when we lived in Boston. My sister frightened anyone I tried to make friends with away."

"And it sounds like your sister is making her best effort to mess up your life here too," Ichiko said.

"When do you think you actually would be moving back?" Una asked.

"Dad doesn't want to even think about leaving this job until the project he's working on is complete," Daniel replied, "but this project won't last forever… But even if it did, mom would want to move back to the United States before Ryan is supposed to start college."

"So," Seiji asked, "sometime in April?"

"Well, not exactly," Daniel answered. "The school year is different in the United States. The school year starts in September… But I think my mom would consider any time after the school year ends here."

"I would miss you if you left," Ichiko said.

"I would miss you too," Daniel replied.

Una began to chuckle. "I don't think you two lovebirds need to start saying goodbyes yet. Let's go to my house and we can talk with my parents about it. Your mom and your sister have never endeared themselves to my parents."

"Fukumi, where did you learn to cook like this?" Sachiko asked.

"Mostly from my grandmother," Fukumi answered, "but my roommate showed me how to make this."

"That's a ginger miso sauce, isn't it?" Aimi asked.

"Ginger, garlic, mirin, sesame oil, soy sauce and red miso," Fukumi replied, "but the trick is you have to let the salmon marinade in it for just the right amount of time before you put it under the broiler. If you don't let it marinade long enough, you don't get any flavor from it. But if you let it marinade too long, all you taste is soy and miso. What did you think of the soup?"

"It's different," Sachiko answered, "but it's good. You used dried shitake mushrooms, didn't you?"

"Dried mushrooms and green onions in a dashi stock," Fukumi responded. "My grandmother used to make this all the time during the winter."

"I never cared for cucumber salad," Kazuko said, "but this was really good."

"I never liked cucumber salad either," Fukumi responded, "until my roommate showed me how to make this dressing for it."

"I'm afraid to ask," Aimi said, "but why is there a full bottle of bourbon and four glasses on the table?"

"In simple terms," Fukumi answered, "so everyone can get some practice getting drunk tonight."

"I think all of us have had enough practice doing that," Aimi said.

"This will be a little different though," Fukumi replied as she opened the bottle and filled each glass almost to the brim. "The problem was that the last time at the hostess bar, everyone was pounding down one drink right after another. By the time you were feeling the effects of the first drink, you probably already had three more drinks. We're going to slow the process down a bit. It's likely we'll finish off the bottle, but more likely in three hours rather than one… This should help build up your tolerance for tomorrow night."

Fumiko pushed a glass in front of each of the girls and kept one for herself. "Practice sipping like we did last night."

Aimi put her drink to her mouth and took a small exploratory sip. "This tastes pretty good… and it doesn't burn at all." Then she took a slightly larger sip."

"Aimi's right," Sachiko said. "This is a lot better than the bourbon we had before."

Fukumi chuckled. "That's because this stuff is probably twice as expensive as the stuff you were drinking with Aimi's mom."

Kazuko's sip was more like a gulp.

"Slow down, Kazuko," Fukumi said. "Remember, tomorrow night, if your glass gets under half full, someone will likely top it off… and everyone else's glass too."

Kazuko took another smaller sip then said, "I do like the taste of this. It tastes kind of sweet."

"It has honey in it," Fukumi answered.

"Any chance that we can get this to drink tomorrow night?" Aimi asked. "I don't think I'd mind drinking this."

"I think I could arrange that," Fukumi said with a smile.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Una asked as she, Seiji, Ichiko and Daniel walked away from Daniel's house.

"I didn't think my mother would agree so easily," Daniel responded.

"I think my mom's phone call may have had something to do with that," Una answered. "Did you grab enough clothing for a few days?"

"I've got enough clothing to last me through Sunday," Daniel replied.

"I loved the look on your sister's face when you introduced me as your girlfriend," Ichiko said.

"I hope you didn't mind that I said that you were my girlfriend," Daniel responded.

"No, I didn't mind that at all," Ichiko replied.

"I'm surprised that mom and dad didn't have an issue with us sleeping over tonight at Una's house," Seiji said, "and tomorrow at Ranma's and Akane's house."

"It doesn't surprise me that much," Ichiko replied. "I think you're right. I think mom and dad are seriously thinking about having another baby… Not that I want to imagine our parents getting it on."

"Neither do I," Seiji said. "So, what are the sleeping arrangements for tonight?"

"Although I don't think that my mom and dad would object if we all slept together in my room," Una answered, "I think Ichiko and I will sleep in my room and you and Daniel can sleep in the guest room. There's more than enough room to set up two futons in there… And if things work out the way mom thinks it will, that will be Daniel's room when his family moves back to the United States."

"Thank you, Auntie Arisu," Oniko said, "Dinner was really good."

"I'm glad you liked it," Arisu replied. "It wasn't too spicy, was it?"

"No, it wasn't too spicy," Oniko answered. "I like spicy food."

"Thank you for your help."

"I'm sorry about the mess I made."

"That wasn't your fault," Arisu responded. "I don't know who opened the rice bag like that, but that wasn't your fault… And it really wasn't that big of a mess… Oniko, it's still kind of early. Is there something you'd like to do before bedtime?"

Oniko smiled. "I just want to be with you, Auntie Arisu. I want to cuddle with you and talk."

"Is something wrong Oniko?"

At first Oniko didn't respond, but then she said, "I don't think Mama and Papa love me anymore."

"What… What makes you think that?"

"Mama and Papa never want to spend time with me," Oniko answered. "Mama and Papa are always too busy to do anything with me or take me with them when they go someplace. And before they moved me into your room, I saw them trying to make a new baby."

"You saw them trying to make a new baby?"

"I don't think I was supposed to," Oniko answered, "but while Mama was still giving me milk and I was still in their room with them… and I think they thought that I was asleep… But Mama and Papa would cuddle with each other and Mama would let Papa have some milk. Then Mama and Papa would take off their pajama and Papa would get on top of Mama and put his thing inside Mama to make a new baby."

"How did you know that your Mama and Papa were trying to make a new baby?" Arisu asked.

"Papa and Mama would talk about it in the morning," Oniko answered, "and I kind of figured it out."

"Did you ever say anything to your Mama and Papa about it?"

"I… I was afraid to," Oniko answered. "I was supposed to be asleep. And Mama and Papa were always angry with me because I was always doing things that made them angry… But now I'm really trying hard to be a good girl, but Mama and Papa still seem to be angry with me. I'm doing my best, but they still want to have a new baby to replace me."

Oniko began to sob.

Arisu wasn't sure what to say. She knew it was pointless to deny what Oniko had observed. Oniko was too smart for anybody to get away with that.

Arisu extended her arms and embraced Oniko.

"Oniko, you're right," Arisu said after she had a few moments to think about what to say. "Your Mama and Papa were probably trying to make a new baby… But not to replace you, but so you could have a little sister or brother."

"But I heard Mama say that she hoped that a new baby would be better behaved than me," Oniko responded. "I heard Mama say that."

Arisu sighed. "That wasn't a very nice thing for your Mama to say… But Oniko, you used to do some very nasty things."

"I know, Auntie Arisu," Oniko answered. "I know I did some bad things… I'm trying really hard to be a good girl… But Mama and Papa don't talk to me and they won't hug me… like you talk with me… or you hug me… I don't know what I have to do to make them love me again."

"Oniko, your Mama and Papa love you… and they always will. And I love you and I always will."

"Even if I make mistakes or do something naughty?"

Arisu smiled. "Even if you make mistakes…" Arisu chuckled. "Or even when you do something naughty… I will always love you."

"I want someone to tell me that drinking as much as we did was a good idea," Hikari said as she, Miyuki and Yuriko stumbled into the house.

"Hey," Miyuki said as she closed the door behind her, "I was perfectly content to quit after we finished the bottle of bourbon… but somebody thought it would be a good idea to do shots of mint schnapps… or whatever that was."

"I didn't say it was a good idea," Yuriko responded.

"But you weren't about to turn down a free drink," Miyuki said.

"Well… no," Yuriko replied. "That would have been rude."

"I lost track of how many shots we had," Hikari said.

"I don't think we had any more than three… or four," Yuriko answered.

"I can't believe how much Sonia had to drink," Miyuki said. "And it didn't seem to faze her at all."

"Drinking is what she does for a living," Yuriko replied.

"Drinking and showing off her tits and ass," Hikari said, "and spreading her legs for anyone willing to pay for it."

"I can't imagine anyone wanting to earn a living doing that," Miyuki said.

"Well, apparently she makes a real good living doing that," Hikari responded. "Any idea what time it is?"

"Probably sometime around eight… maybe," Miyuki replied.

Hikari untucked the T-shirt she was wearing and pulled it off over her head and then unhooked her bra, removed that and tossed it into the laundry basket by the entryway.

"What the hell are you doing?" Yuriko asked.

"We still need to pack," Hikari answered as she wiggled out of her slacks and underwear, "and I want to pack this stuff and take it with us… So it needs to get washed. I suggest that you get anything you want washed into the basket so I can get a load in."

"That sounds like a good idea," Miyuki said as she unbuttoned her blouse, removed it and tossed it into the basket. She removed her bra, saying, "I don't think I have enough clean bras and panties to last for a week."

Hikari chuckled. "You could always go without wearing a bra and panties."

"I could," Miyuki said as she removed her skirt and panties, "but I would expect you to do the same."

"Don't tempt me," Hikari replied. "Right now, the idea of spending most of the next six days not wearing underwear sounds a lot better than doing laundry."

"Yuriko, do you need laundry done?" Miyuki asked.

"Of course she does," Hikari said, "considering she only owns five bras including the one she's wearing right now."

"Sounds like we need to take her shopping when we get back," Miyuki responded. "Come on, Yuriko… Get your clothes off so we can get the laundry started. The sooner we get it in, the sooner we can finish packing and the sooner we get to bed and get some sleep."

"Or do I need to open a bottle of something to get you drunker," Hikari said.

Yuriko sighed. "No need to do that. I think we're all going to feel crappy in the morning as it is."

As Yuriko removed her clothing (and tossed it into the laundry basket), she asked, "The two of you don't feel the least bit uncomfortable walking around naked, do you?"

"I thought you would have figured that out by now," Miyuki answered. "I feel very comfortable with the way my body looks… not that I would strut around like Sonia does… But I feel really comfortable being naked in front of people I know."

"I guess it's the same with me now," Hikari added. "Although I do draw the line with cooking in the nude."

"I don't mind that," Miyuki responded. "I think you look sexy just wearing an apron."

"I think you look sexy wearing just an apron too," Hikari said with a smile, "but I like the outfit you're wearing right now even better. But right now, let's get everything you want washed into the basket. Then we can figure out what we're going to do until the laundry is done."

"I have a few ideas," Miyuki replied.

Yuriko sighed. "I'm sure you do."

"So, how was your expedition downtown?" Ranma asked. "Did you get everything accomplished that you wanted to accomplish?"

It's not that Akane and Ranma were acting like concerned parents, but they were sitting at the dining room table, sipping tea and working on a new batch of applications for martial arts' classes that would start after the start of the new year when Aka-chan and Akio arrived back from their day of shopping.

"Pretty much Papa," Aka-chan said with a broad smile. "I found something nice for Grandma and some souvenirs for my friends at school. And we stopped at the lingerie store and picked up something for Karin for her wedding night."

"I hope you didn't get her something from the back room," Akane said.

"I considered the handcuffs and leg shackles," Aka-chan responded, "but I think Grandma has a few pairs up in the attic."

"Somehow I'm sure she does," Ranma replied.

"And I did some shopping for myself," Aka-chan said. "I'm sure there are places back home that does custom bra fittings, but I haven't found any… So I picked up six new bras."

"I still say it looked like that woman was trying to feel you up," Akio muttered.

"Sounds like someone might be a little jealous," Ranma said.

"I'm not jealous," Akio said quietly, "but…"

That's OK," Aka-chan said with a smile, giving Akio a little kiss on the cheek. "It did feel like she was trying to feel me up."

"So what else did the two of you do today?" Akane asked.

"Well… we had lunch and Akio proposed," Aka-chan said. "And then we went and saw a movie and had dinner and then we came back here."

"Wait a minute," Ranma said. "Back up a little bit. Akio did what?"

"We went to see a movie," Aka-chan replied.

"No, before that," Ranma said.

"We went to lunch…" Aka-chan answered with a big smile.

"No… Somewhere between we went to lunch and we went to a movie," Ranma pressed.

Aka-chan began to laugh. She showed Ranma and Akane her left hand and the ring on her ring finger. "He proposed… and I said yes."

"That's a beautiful ring," Akane said.

"It was my mother's engagement ring," Aka-chan answered.

"I asked Aka-chan's grandmother permission before we came," Akio said, "and she gave me the ring to give to Aka-chan. I was going to ask her before we came… but when I found out that we were alone at the inn. I kind of chickened out."

"Well, congratulations," Ranma said. "Have you picked out a date?"

"Actually, we have," Aka-chan answered. "Not this coming August, but either the first or second weekend of the August after that. Ranma, I will expect you to be there to walk me down the aisle."

"Akane and I will be there," Ranma said. "I think this calls for a bit of a celebration. Let me get this mess cleaned up and we can go over to our apartment and have a drink. Is there anything you'd prefer?"

"I guess I've taken a liking to the mint liquor that you and Akane like," Aka-chan answered.

"I think we have some of that available," Akane said. "I am so happy for you and Akio."

Una, Seiji, Ichiko and Daniel had spent the evening in Una's room playing video games, but Una and Seiji had already fallen asleep next to each other on the floor. Ichiko and Daniel were sitting on the floor next to each other, leaning against Una's bed.

"Your brother and my cousin certainly look cute together," Daniel said.

"They do," Ichiko replied. "I feel bad waking them up so they can go to bed."

"Maybe we should get a blanket to cover them and let them sleep there," Daniel said after a moment of thought. "It's not like they're doing anything other than sleeping… And Una's parents didn't seem to have any issues with us all sleeping together in Una's room tonight."

Ichiko sighed. "No they didn't… And I wouldn't mind spending the night with you."

"I wouldn't mind that either."

After several more seconds of silence Ichiko said, "Your sister really is a piece of work, isn't she?"

"She is," Daniel replied.

"I hope she knows that I understood what she said to you when we were leaving," Ichiko said.

"You did," Daniel replied as his face turned red. "I'm sorry. She can really be disgusting at times."

Ichiko smiled and kissed Daniel on the cheek. "Don't be sorry. I honestly wouldn't mind if you took off my bra and fondled my breasts. And if you'd like, I might even check out that bulge in your pants."

"Auntie Arisu, did Grandma yell at you when you were as old as I am?"

Arisu and Oniko were cuddled up next to each other on Arisu's bed.

Arisu chuckled. "More times than I can count."

"Did you do naughty things when you were four?"

"I guess I did my fair share of naughty things," Arisu said after a moment of reflection, "but usually your Papa would do something and Grandma would blame me for it."

"That doesn't seem very fair," Oniko responded.

"It wasn't," Arisu said, "but usually I found ways to get even. But that's the way it is sometimes between brothers and sisters."

Oniko rubbed her cheek against Arisu's breast then said, "Auntie Arisu, I like cuddling up with you like this."

"I like when we cuddle like this too," Arisu replied.

"I love you Auntie Arisu."

Arisu kissed Oniko on the forehead and replied, "And I love you too."