Saotome Genma walked down the street.
But you couldn't tell.
The man walking down the street did not look the least bit like any Saotome Genma known to anyone in Japan or China.
The man walking down the street was of moderately tall height, and had developed quite the paunch around the middle. He was wearing a gray business suit with a white shirt, and had a gray fedora atop his head. He was wearing a pair of regular spectacles with earpieces, rather than a pair with ear-straps.
He was also itching terribly.
*Lousy monkey-suit.* Thought Genma, trying desperately to resist the urge to scratch at his spine.
*Can't argue with the benefit, though...* He continued.
Indeed, where Genma normally attracted stares like an electromagnet does iron shavings, noone paid him much mind.
The semi-rotund martial artist raised one hand to scratch at the stubble under his hat.
"Lousy hair...." He grumbled. "Why can't it just finish growing in already?"
Replacing his hat, he continued on his way to do something he hadn't had to do for quite some time.
Still, he admitted to himself, *It WAS good of the boy to give me that stuff. I just can't wait until he asks for the payback, though.*
Splash.
Elderly Mrs. Terada stared at the large panda wearing a very strained business suit and gray fedora as it adjusted its glasses and glared at her.
She decided to stop watering the walk for the time being. And have a drink. A good, stiff drink.
An annoyed, wet, and still-itching panda whuffed, and continued on its way.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Passenger Chapter 34: Intermediacy
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction by S. Starblade Dedicated to the number 5,271,009. And if you don't know what that refers to, don't worry.
Disclaimer: Yeah, they aren't mine. I don't own them, or any money. And I'm not making any off of this. So sueing me is a waste of time and wrong, too. Except the ones I DO own. And if you want to use those, just ask- I'll probably say 'yes'.
indicates English or sometimes sound effects. " " indicates spoken Japanese [ ] indicates Jusenkyoo-type cursed animal signs, which are usually in Japanese or Chinese { } indicates Chinese * * indicates thoughts, especially thought-conversation between Kodora and Ranma
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The day: Thursday.
The place: Nerima.
The reason: Because.
The cereal: Kix.
The password: Swordfish.
The WHAP OW!
Okay, okay....
Thursday, two days before the Martial Arts Pair Skating conflict. The Tendoo Dojo, midafternoon.
******
Three people occupied the dojo. Four counting the slightly bruised rabbit, but not many would know to count him.
The two in the middle of the dojo at the moment were the shortest of the three by a good foot and a half, and the middle-height.
The shortest was defined as a person rather loosely by some standards. She stood, herself, at only four feet five inches, maybe six. The thick, sharp quills that replaced her hair stuck up more than enough to give her the impression of being five feet tall, but the actual top of her head was only four and a half feet from what she was standing on. The quills, twice as long at the back as at the front, were pulled into a tight, if impressively thick ponytail that hung down behind her to her waist. Sticking out where most peoples' spines would end was a two-foot-long, brown-furred tail, much like a cats, right down to its tendency to lash when its owner was agitated. Her large, expressive eyes had irises of shifting red, flowing from a deep crimson to a pale pink with little warning. A small, pouty mouth was set in a line of focus, two fangtips protruding downwards from between her lips. The outfit she wore was more than too big for her, the sleeveless shirt looking more like an oversized t-shirt, and the pants only staying on by virtue of the ties at the waist and ankles. Despite this, she managed not to look swamped in the ensemble, balanced lightly on the balls of her slippered feet.
Standing opposite her, in a more traditional stance of readiness was another young girl of maybe sixteen. Long, navy-blue hair hung behind her in a loose, low ponytail, and her long sideburns hung in front of her shoulders. The girl's chocolate-brown eyes glimmered with tension and a bit of strain on control. She was considerably taller than her opponent, being all of five foot two. She wore a pale-yellow gi and a sky-blue headband. Her body was lean, but muscled, the baby-fat worn away from all of her but her face, lending her a bit of an innocent look. She wore no shoes, although no reason for this was readily apparent. She carefully altered her stance slightly, doing her best not to leave any openings.
On the sidelines stood the tallest of the three girls- a young woman, really. At nineteen, she was of impressive height for a Japanese woman, being roughly five feet six inches. Her nut-brown hair was in a ponytail, tied at the base of her neck. Deep jade eyes watched her two sisters, one by blood, the other by adoption. The gi she wore was fresh and new- looking, as opposed to that worn by the taller of the two in ready stances, which had a bit of a frayed look around the edges. She stood in a relaxed position, a slight smile, as ever, playing across her mouth. The smile she wore looked like it could have spent four billion years sitting on a rock without ever stopping, practically a natural feature of her face. Her gi was a light gray, contrasting with the wooden wall behind her. She seemed to be waiting for something, although one would be hard pressed to tell what, exactly, for the aura of peacefulness she exuded seemed at once in tune and dissonant to the concept of martial arts conveyed by her outfit.
The rabbit crouched by her feet was, with the possible exception of the shortest of the three girls, the most unusual being present within the dojo. This was not because of the squared-stripe tiger bandanna it was wearing as a collar, nor because of the fact that it looked like it had recently been run through a washing machine and improperly dried. It was because this rabbit had fur of a nice green color, not deep, but more like that of new, growing pine needles, or perhaps a patch of pale clover.
The shortest girl bounced lightly from foot to foot, never touching down more than the ball and toes of either foot.
"Ready, Akane?"
Her opponent shifted, bringing her hands up into a more agressive stance.
"Ready when you are, Kodora-chan."
Kodora kept her hands up in a position like that of a boxer, but with loose fists.
"Three seconds."
And precisely three seconds later, not much hell erupted.
Sliding forwards, Kodora began lashing out with her hands as quickly as she could, arms blurring slightly from the speed. As soon as she came into range, Akane began parrying and blocking each individual attack as best she could, sometimes dealing with multiple blows with a single motion. Still, she was not as quick as her smaller sister, and some strikes got through at first.
Soon, however, a tempo was developed, and the second-youngest Tendoo began to block easier and faster.
Seeing this, the demi-human martial artist decided it was time to step this round of training up to par. Her blows slowed marginally as she began to form a pale blue-green aura around herself. The aura flowed slowly around her, seeming almost fluid. It gave way as she punched her fists out, incidentally softening Akane's parries and blocks.
Seeing this, Akane narrowed her eyes, and gathered her own aura, beginning to emit a fitful pale-blue aura that flickered red at times.
Suddenly, Kodora's aura seemed to subsume itself into her body as her eyes gleamed once.
"Seigensakudoken!" Shouted the youngest Tendoo, her fists suddenly blurring into a spray of punches. The blows were wild, and only moderately controlled, but fast enough to more than make up for this, particularly given that her opponent was only on about the same level as her.
As blow after blow rained down at her defense, Akane focused as hard as she could. Her father had showed her... now all she had to do was try and mimic it.... As her aura continued to flicker, brightening slightly, Akane reached for the memory of her father's actions. As her younger sister had pressed the attack, he had suddenly....
With a blur of motion, Akane literally slid out of the way of the attack, gliding motionlessly in a quarter-circle around Kodora.
"Sotsuji Houikae! (Sudden Direction Alteration)"
As Kodora lurched around, yanking herself to face Akane, the elder girl finished her attack, striking out.
There was a sudden silence.
Kodora stared at the palm scarcely an inch from her nose, frozen solid.
She blinked.
"Hm." She stated.
"Looks like you win."
Akane nodded in assent, then stood, feet together, and bowed to her sister.
Kodora bowed in return.
Then they leapt at each other in joy.
"YATTA! I did it! I did it!"
"Alright! Way to go, Oneechan!"
Kasumi just continued to smile, and the rabbit just sort of sat there, half- asleep. Which was excusable, considering it had spent the previous night digging itself out from under a rockslide.
That would have been just fine with Ryooga if he hadn't burrowed out just in time to catch a rainstorm.
As a result, he was practically asleep on all four paws by the time he finally reached the Tendoo-ke, hence his current state.
The two younger Tendoo sisters calmed their celebration in the middle of the dojo.
"Okay, so what was it you wanted to try, Kodora?"
Kodora folded her arms over her chest. "Well," She began, "I developed the Seigensakudoken because I know I'm a bit fast, and I wanted to use that for a martial arts move."
Her sister nodded. "And?"
"The thing is," Responded the young demoness, "My arms aren't really my strong point. I can't even break one brick with my hands. BUT, you do remember that I lifted Ryooga's backpack?"
Akane nodded, rubbing her shoulder in rememberence. "Hai. I tried to pick it up later, but I couldn't, even with both arms. That thing's heavy!"
Kodora smiled slightly. "Part of that is leverage, Akane- I had an easier time, because it was closer to my center of balance than it would have been if I lifted it with my arms."
Kasumi blinked. "Ara, that's right, you put it on before standing up, rather than picking it up...."
Kodora took her turn to nod. "Right. The other reason I was able to lift it at all is that I have much stronger legs than I do arms."
Kasumi nodded. "Hai- I could tell."
The rabbit got into the groove too, by nodding..... off.
Fortunately, rabbits don't snore, so it didn't interrupt the conversation.
"So," Continued Kodora, "That pretty much shows that my legs are my strong point. So I was hoping to develop a version of the Seigensakudoken that could work with kicks rather than punches."
Akane smiled. "I see. So, what did you need help on?"
"Well," the smaller martial artist offered, "I don't seem to be able to figure out a good way to train for it.... I asked Nabiki if she could come up with something, but I'd really rather not pay two thousand yen."
Akane chuckled and rolled her eyes. "That Oneechan of mine....."
Kasumi shook her head. "That's really not proper of her..."
"It's her perogative." Dismissed Kodora, shrugging. "Besides, I like coming up with these things on my own. But, I seem to be fresh out of new ideas for now."
Akane looked thoughtful. "Hm... Well, I don't think I can help you there.... I'll see if I can come up with something."
Kodora smiled at her sister. "That's all I ask. Don't trouble yourself too much about it."
Akane nodded. "So, you're going to practice with Kasumi now?"
"Iie." Negated Kodora. "Ranma is."
"Okay. I'll just go clean up- I'll be in my room if you need me."
Kodora turned to Kasumi as Akane left the room. "Ranma says he'll be right back."
Kasumi nodded.
As her youngest sister left the dojo, the young woman looked down at their houseguest. Seeing that he was fast asleep, she smiled a bit and sighed. "What ever will we do with you, Ryooga-san?"
******
Ku Lon sat at the register in one of her good, plain robes, one that wasn't too showy so as not to distract customers from the books (and let her sneak up on people). Sin Ku, in her usual sea-blue robes, was up in the archive area, finishing the last touches on organization. Xian Pu was arranging the last vase of flowers on the last table in the browsing area.
Glancing around, Ku Lon grinned. It was a good morning to open the store. It was sunny, there were just enough clouds in the sky to keep it from being too bright, and it was a Friday.
She had been surprised at first to find a district in Japan running on an American-style school schedule, but it only required minor adjustments to her plans.
Xian Pu adjusted the nametag on the left breast of her almost-but-not-quite- excessively-cute outfit and prepared her smile, slightly adjusting one of the buns her hair was set in. {Are we almost ready, Great-Grandma? I can't wait to get started.....}
Ku Lon chuckled raspily. "Always eager, aren't you, child? And please, we ARE in Japan-"
Xian Pu gave a put-upon sigh. "Xian Pu know. Speak Japanese. Hibachan KNOW Xian Pu not good with language, though."
The Amazon Matriarch smiled indulgingly. "All the more reason to practice as much as possible, child. Now, we open in fifteen minutes. Double-check that you didn't miss anything."
Xian Pu smiled again. "Yes, Hibachan."
Ku Lon settled back behind the register amongst the ledgers, smiling to herself as she held her cane across her lap. It was a comfort to finally be able to be amongst her books for a while without being around the other Amazons. She loved her people, but so many of them were either stuffy or in a horrible rush to mesh with the outer world. Noone seemed to realize that a more careful integration of new thinking and old traditions was in order.
But maybe, here, with her great-granddaughter and her good friend, she could start something a little better for the Amazons.
And if she was lucky, she mused, watching Xian Pu busy herself checking the tables and chairs one last time, her great-granddaughter would find herself a nice young man to marry.
******
Somewhere in Nerima, someone sneezed.
**************************************************************************** *************
Ooooo, ominous.
Sorry about the delay- My computer killed itself, and then I went broke, and then... well, it's a long story.
Suffice to say, I'm back, with a new computer, and I won't be going away or giving up anytime soon.
So keep reading, keep watching, and remember these helpful tips:
Never pet a burning dog. Don't spit into the wind. Wear a helmet when you ride a bike. Don't drink rootbeer on an empty stomach.
And never, EVER...
forget to dream.
"Excuse me, sir, have you seen my wombat?"
But you couldn't tell.
The man walking down the street did not look the least bit like any Saotome Genma known to anyone in Japan or China.
The man walking down the street was of moderately tall height, and had developed quite the paunch around the middle. He was wearing a gray business suit with a white shirt, and had a gray fedora atop his head. He was wearing a pair of regular spectacles with earpieces, rather than a pair with ear-straps.
He was also itching terribly.
*Lousy monkey-suit.* Thought Genma, trying desperately to resist the urge to scratch at his spine.
*Can't argue with the benefit, though...* He continued.
Indeed, where Genma normally attracted stares like an electromagnet does iron shavings, noone paid him much mind.
The semi-rotund martial artist raised one hand to scratch at the stubble under his hat.
"Lousy hair...." He grumbled. "Why can't it just finish growing in already?"
Replacing his hat, he continued on his way to do something he hadn't had to do for quite some time.
Still, he admitted to himself, *It WAS good of the boy to give me that stuff. I just can't wait until he asks for the payback, though.*
Splash.
Elderly Mrs. Terada stared at the large panda wearing a very strained business suit and gray fedora as it adjusted its glasses and glared at her.
She decided to stop watering the walk for the time being. And have a drink. A good, stiff drink.
An annoyed, wet, and still-itching panda whuffed, and continued on its way.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Passenger Chapter 34: Intermediacy
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction by S. Starblade Dedicated to the number 5,271,009. And if you don't know what that refers to, don't worry.
Disclaimer: Yeah, they aren't mine. I don't own them, or any money. And I'm not making any off of this. So sueing me is a waste of time and wrong, too. Except the ones I DO own. And if you want to use those, just ask- I'll probably say 'yes'.
indicates English or sometimes sound effects. " " indicates spoken Japanese [ ] indicates Jusenkyoo-type cursed animal signs, which are usually in Japanese or Chinese { } indicates Chinese * * indicates thoughts, especially thought-conversation between Kodora and Ranma
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The day: Thursday.
The place: Nerima.
The reason: Because.
The cereal: Kix.
The password: Swordfish.
The WHAP OW!
Okay, okay....
Thursday, two days before the Martial Arts Pair Skating conflict. The Tendoo Dojo, midafternoon.
******
Three people occupied the dojo. Four counting the slightly bruised rabbit, but not many would know to count him.
The two in the middle of the dojo at the moment were the shortest of the three by a good foot and a half, and the middle-height.
The shortest was defined as a person rather loosely by some standards. She stood, herself, at only four feet five inches, maybe six. The thick, sharp quills that replaced her hair stuck up more than enough to give her the impression of being five feet tall, but the actual top of her head was only four and a half feet from what she was standing on. The quills, twice as long at the back as at the front, were pulled into a tight, if impressively thick ponytail that hung down behind her to her waist. Sticking out where most peoples' spines would end was a two-foot-long, brown-furred tail, much like a cats, right down to its tendency to lash when its owner was agitated. Her large, expressive eyes had irises of shifting red, flowing from a deep crimson to a pale pink with little warning. A small, pouty mouth was set in a line of focus, two fangtips protruding downwards from between her lips. The outfit she wore was more than too big for her, the sleeveless shirt looking more like an oversized t-shirt, and the pants only staying on by virtue of the ties at the waist and ankles. Despite this, she managed not to look swamped in the ensemble, balanced lightly on the balls of her slippered feet.
Standing opposite her, in a more traditional stance of readiness was another young girl of maybe sixteen. Long, navy-blue hair hung behind her in a loose, low ponytail, and her long sideburns hung in front of her shoulders. The girl's chocolate-brown eyes glimmered with tension and a bit of strain on control. She was considerably taller than her opponent, being all of five foot two. She wore a pale-yellow gi and a sky-blue headband. Her body was lean, but muscled, the baby-fat worn away from all of her but her face, lending her a bit of an innocent look. She wore no shoes, although no reason for this was readily apparent. She carefully altered her stance slightly, doing her best not to leave any openings.
On the sidelines stood the tallest of the three girls- a young woman, really. At nineteen, she was of impressive height for a Japanese woman, being roughly five feet six inches. Her nut-brown hair was in a ponytail, tied at the base of her neck. Deep jade eyes watched her two sisters, one by blood, the other by adoption. The gi she wore was fresh and new- looking, as opposed to that worn by the taller of the two in ready stances, which had a bit of a frayed look around the edges. She stood in a relaxed position, a slight smile, as ever, playing across her mouth. The smile she wore looked like it could have spent four billion years sitting on a rock without ever stopping, practically a natural feature of her face. Her gi was a light gray, contrasting with the wooden wall behind her. She seemed to be waiting for something, although one would be hard pressed to tell what, exactly, for the aura of peacefulness she exuded seemed at once in tune and dissonant to the concept of martial arts conveyed by her outfit.
The rabbit crouched by her feet was, with the possible exception of the shortest of the three girls, the most unusual being present within the dojo. This was not because of the squared-stripe tiger bandanna it was wearing as a collar, nor because of the fact that it looked like it had recently been run through a washing machine and improperly dried. It was because this rabbit had fur of a nice green color, not deep, but more like that of new, growing pine needles, or perhaps a patch of pale clover.
The shortest girl bounced lightly from foot to foot, never touching down more than the ball and toes of either foot.
"Ready, Akane?"
Her opponent shifted, bringing her hands up into a more agressive stance.
"Ready when you are, Kodora-chan."
Kodora kept her hands up in a position like that of a boxer, but with loose fists.
"Three seconds."
And precisely three seconds later, not much hell erupted.
Sliding forwards, Kodora began lashing out with her hands as quickly as she could, arms blurring slightly from the speed. As soon as she came into range, Akane began parrying and blocking each individual attack as best she could, sometimes dealing with multiple blows with a single motion. Still, she was not as quick as her smaller sister, and some strikes got through at first.
Soon, however, a tempo was developed, and the second-youngest Tendoo began to block easier and faster.
Seeing this, the demi-human martial artist decided it was time to step this round of training up to par. Her blows slowed marginally as she began to form a pale blue-green aura around herself. The aura flowed slowly around her, seeming almost fluid. It gave way as she punched her fists out, incidentally softening Akane's parries and blocks.
Seeing this, Akane narrowed her eyes, and gathered her own aura, beginning to emit a fitful pale-blue aura that flickered red at times.
Suddenly, Kodora's aura seemed to subsume itself into her body as her eyes gleamed once.
"Seigensakudoken!" Shouted the youngest Tendoo, her fists suddenly blurring into a spray of punches. The blows were wild, and only moderately controlled, but fast enough to more than make up for this, particularly given that her opponent was only on about the same level as her.
As blow after blow rained down at her defense, Akane focused as hard as she could. Her father had showed her... now all she had to do was try and mimic it.... As her aura continued to flicker, brightening slightly, Akane reached for the memory of her father's actions. As her younger sister had pressed the attack, he had suddenly....
With a blur of motion, Akane literally slid out of the way of the attack, gliding motionlessly in a quarter-circle around Kodora.
"Sotsuji Houikae! (Sudden Direction Alteration)"
As Kodora lurched around, yanking herself to face Akane, the elder girl finished her attack, striking out.
There was a sudden silence.
Kodora stared at the palm scarcely an inch from her nose, frozen solid.
She blinked.
"Hm." She stated.
"Looks like you win."
Akane nodded in assent, then stood, feet together, and bowed to her sister.
Kodora bowed in return.
Then they leapt at each other in joy.
"YATTA! I did it! I did it!"
"Alright! Way to go, Oneechan!"
Kasumi just continued to smile, and the rabbit just sort of sat there, half- asleep. Which was excusable, considering it had spent the previous night digging itself out from under a rockslide.
That would have been just fine with Ryooga if he hadn't burrowed out just in time to catch a rainstorm.
As a result, he was practically asleep on all four paws by the time he finally reached the Tendoo-ke, hence his current state.
The two younger Tendoo sisters calmed their celebration in the middle of the dojo.
"Okay, so what was it you wanted to try, Kodora?"
Kodora folded her arms over her chest. "Well," She began, "I developed the Seigensakudoken because I know I'm a bit fast, and I wanted to use that for a martial arts move."
Her sister nodded. "And?"
"The thing is," Responded the young demoness, "My arms aren't really my strong point. I can't even break one brick with my hands. BUT, you do remember that I lifted Ryooga's backpack?"
Akane nodded, rubbing her shoulder in rememberence. "Hai. I tried to pick it up later, but I couldn't, even with both arms. That thing's heavy!"
Kodora smiled slightly. "Part of that is leverage, Akane- I had an easier time, because it was closer to my center of balance than it would have been if I lifted it with my arms."
Kasumi blinked. "Ara, that's right, you put it on before standing up, rather than picking it up...."
Kodora took her turn to nod. "Right. The other reason I was able to lift it at all is that I have much stronger legs than I do arms."
Kasumi nodded. "Hai- I could tell."
The rabbit got into the groove too, by nodding..... off.
Fortunately, rabbits don't snore, so it didn't interrupt the conversation.
"So," Continued Kodora, "That pretty much shows that my legs are my strong point. So I was hoping to develop a version of the Seigensakudoken that could work with kicks rather than punches."
Akane smiled. "I see. So, what did you need help on?"
"Well," the smaller martial artist offered, "I don't seem to be able to figure out a good way to train for it.... I asked Nabiki if she could come up with something, but I'd really rather not pay two thousand yen."
Akane chuckled and rolled her eyes. "That Oneechan of mine....."
Kasumi shook her head. "That's really not proper of her..."
"It's her perogative." Dismissed Kodora, shrugging. "Besides, I like coming up with these things on my own. But, I seem to be fresh out of new ideas for now."
Akane looked thoughtful. "Hm... Well, I don't think I can help you there.... I'll see if I can come up with something."
Kodora smiled at her sister. "That's all I ask. Don't trouble yourself too much about it."
Akane nodded. "So, you're going to practice with Kasumi now?"
"Iie." Negated Kodora. "Ranma is."
"Okay. I'll just go clean up- I'll be in my room if you need me."
Kodora turned to Kasumi as Akane left the room. "Ranma says he'll be right back."
Kasumi nodded.
As her youngest sister left the dojo, the young woman looked down at their houseguest. Seeing that he was fast asleep, she smiled a bit and sighed. "What ever will we do with you, Ryooga-san?"
******
Ku Lon sat at the register in one of her good, plain robes, one that wasn't too showy so as not to distract customers from the books (and let her sneak up on people). Sin Ku, in her usual sea-blue robes, was up in the archive area, finishing the last touches on organization. Xian Pu was arranging the last vase of flowers on the last table in the browsing area.
Glancing around, Ku Lon grinned. It was a good morning to open the store. It was sunny, there were just enough clouds in the sky to keep it from being too bright, and it was a Friday.
She had been surprised at first to find a district in Japan running on an American-style school schedule, but it only required minor adjustments to her plans.
Xian Pu adjusted the nametag on the left breast of her almost-but-not-quite- excessively-cute outfit and prepared her smile, slightly adjusting one of the buns her hair was set in. {Are we almost ready, Great-Grandma? I can't wait to get started.....}
Ku Lon chuckled raspily. "Always eager, aren't you, child? And please, we ARE in Japan-"
Xian Pu gave a put-upon sigh. "Xian Pu know. Speak Japanese. Hibachan KNOW Xian Pu not good with language, though."
The Amazon Matriarch smiled indulgingly. "All the more reason to practice as much as possible, child. Now, we open in fifteen minutes. Double-check that you didn't miss anything."
Xian Pu smiled again. "Yes, Hibachan."
Ku Lon settled back behind the register amongst the ledgers, smiling to herself as she held her cane across her lap. It was a comfort to finally be able to be amongst her books for a while without being around the other Amazons. She loved her people, but so many of them were either stuffy or in a horrible rush to mesh with the outer world. Noone seemed to realize that a more careful integration of new thinking and old traditions was in order.
But maybe, here, with her great-granddaughter and her good friend, she could start something a little better for the Amazons.
And if she was lucky, she mused, watching Xian Pu busy herself checking the tables and chairs one last time, her great-granddaughter would find herself a nice young man to marry.
******
Somewhere in Nerima, someone sneezed.
**************************************************************************** *************
Ooooo, ominous.
Sorry about the delay- My computer killed itself, and then I went broke, and then... well, it's a long story.
Suffice to say, I'm back, with a new computer, and I won't be going away or giving up anytime soon.
So keep reading, keep watching, and remember these helpful tips:
Never pet a burning dog. Don't spit into the wind. Wear a helmet when you ride a bike. Don't drink rootbeer on an empty stomach.
And never, EVER...
forget to dream.
"Excuse me, sir, have you seen my wombat?"