Waking up was never one of my strong points, but I was on my feet in an instant when I heard the unmistakable sound of an explosion coming from outside. Makoto was beside me, both of us staring at the door, and trying to make out the garbled voices we could hear, but not understand.

Finally, I pulled the door open slowly, remembering that I wasn't in Denver anymore. Moving down the street were two blurs, one red, and one yellow, and I sighed.

"Ranma and Ryouga. Hell of an alarm clock." I turned from the door, another explosion ringing through the morning air as I closed it behind me. After Cologne had left yesterday, Makoto, Nabiki and I'd talked about Nerima for a bit, warning Makoto about what could be, and learning the basic layout of the prefecture. Since Nabiki wasn't remembered, yet, She'd decided to stay with us until she was remembered at her home. Though she didn't say it, I was pretty sure she was upset about going to see a family she'd not seen in weeks, only to find they'd totally forgotten her.

I turned to look at her, resting on the floor obviously used to Nerima, and I sighed, before turning to Makoto.

"Morning," she said, beating me to it.

"Right back at ya," I quipped, grinning. "What do you want to do today?"

"Hmm... Go out, see the sights. Stuff like that," she said, looking thoughtful. I nodded, feeling similarly. Absently scratching my arm, I glanced at the clock, then the door.

"You want the shower first?" She grinned at me, and I quirked a brow. "Something up?"

"Why don't we shower together?" She said, glancing at the sleeping Nabiki before flashing a much more mischievous grin. I blinked, then glanced at the bathroom door.

"Ahh." I said, uncertainly. "You sure?" She frowned at me, and held up her hand, wiggling her wedding band with her thumb.

"Of course I'm sure. If you used your 'other' memories, you'd know we do this every once in a while." She was right, too. I'd not really thought about it, but she had me. I grinned at her.

"Okay, then. Lets."

A little while later, cleaned and grinning, we emerged from the apartment, deciding to let Nabiki sleep in as long as she'd like. Remembering where she'd stated some of the more prominent attractions in Nerima were, we set off for the business district, hoping to convert some of our Dollars to Yen. Noticing a construction crew filling a rather impressive hole in the street, I frowned slightly, thinking about the danger living here could be.

"Something on your mind?" Makoto asked, noticing my frown. I nodded, pointing.

"Ryouga's Baksai Tenketsu, if I had to guess. Probably the cause of that explosion we heard this morning."

"That Breaking Point Technique? Man, if it's that powerful, I wish I could learn it. It might have proved useful against some of our foes." I snorted at that.

"Hardly. It only works on inanimate objects, like rocks, and learning it... well. I like you the way you are, thankyouverymuch." Makoto shot me a funny look, and I shrugged.

"You're tied into a harness, and swung into an oncoming boulder until you learn to spot, and make use of the boulders breaking point."

She blanched, and I grinned slightly. "Yeah. Painful. My best analogy would be 'like getting shot until you learn to duck.'" Makoto grinned uneasily at that, before pointing.

"There's a bank," she said, before taking my hand in hers. Unfortunately, as we got closer, we realized it wasn't yet open for business. Turning away, we started off, only to spot a girl with short black hair heading our way. Akane Tendo looked about as threatening as any other schoolgirl, though I knew better than to get on her bad side. Squeezing Makoto's hand gently, I called out to her.

"Akane Tendo?" She stopped, and looked at me, a puzzled frown on her face.

"Do I. know you?" She asked, looking at the two of us, as if sizing us up. I relaxed as much as I could, and smiled a little.

"No, no, I don't think so. I just thought I recognized you, and thought I'd see if I was right. Nice to meet you." She looked at me, the frown faltering before she shrugged and looked at Makoto.

"Oh! Sorry. This is Makoto, my. Wife, and I am Kyle."

"Nice to meet you Kyle-san, Makoto-san." She bowed, and after seeing Makoto return the bow, I copied her as best I could, wishing my knowledge of the language had also included knowledge of the culture.

"Umm... You can just call me Kyle, if you want. I'm not much of a '-san' if you know what I mean." I chuckled nervously, hoping I wasn't insulting her by dismissing a cultural custom. Apparently, living with Ranma had loosened her views on customs, because she smiled lightly, and nodded.

"If you say so."

"Thanks." I said, relieved.

"Umm. is there anything I can do for you? I'm kind of out shopping for my older sister, and..." she looked at the basket in her hand, and the list resting on the bread inside. I shook my head slowly, hiding my surprise behind a goofy grin.

"Nope, nope. Nice meeting you, Akane." I said, then frowned, realizing I'd spoken in English. I repeated myself in Japanese, realizing to my chagrin that I'd have to concentrate if I was to keep from slipping back to my natural language.

Akane, on the other hand, looked at me as if I'd grown a third eye. "You can speak English?"

"Umm.. yeah. Most Americans can." I said with a smile, so she wouldn't take offense at the sarcasm.

"Can. Could you." she started, shifting from foot to foot somewhat nervously. However, whatever she was about to say was interrupted as a boy with irksomely familiar features literally dropped in on us.

"Akane! Kasumi said you'd be here. Who's this?" Ranma said, glancing at us with a somewhat-interested expression.

"Ranma, don't be rude! This is Kyle, and his wife, Makoto." Ranma nodded, then looked at me for a moment, before holding out his hand. I grinned, and took it, shaking briefly.

"Heh. Me and Pops traveled a lot before coming here, so I figured you'd like that better than bowing." Ranma said, nonchalantly.

"Cool." I said in English, before continuing in Japanese, "After hearing so much about you, It's nice to finally meet you, face to face." Ranma frowned a bit at that, and glanced at Akane, who would smile at me one second, then turn to frown at Ranma.

"Depending on who told you what, make sure what you've heard about me is true." He said. I nodded, grinning a little before turning to Akane.

"What was it you wanted to ask me, Akane?" Said girl seemed a little surprised by my sudden switch of conversation partners, and took a moment to respond.

"Oh! I was wondering. well. I. err. Ranma! Ranma needs help with his English, and I thought you might be able to help him." I blinked at that, looking at Ranma, who's wide-eyed stare was actually comical in nature.

"Umm. I suppose I could. but only if Ranma wants the help."

"What? More School? Forg-" whatever else he meant to say was cut off as an elbow buried itself in his gut.

"Of course he does! And I'll be there to help!" Akane said cheerfully.

"Ranma?" I asked, my brow quirked.

".Sure. whatever." he said, apparently trying to gain back the wind Akane'd knocked out of him.

"Well. I suppose I could do it. I'll stop by the. err. Tendo Dojo, later, to set up a schedule or something." Akane nodded, and Makoto and I turned to go, saying goodbye to the betrothed couple. Hearing Ranma mutter something, and Akane respond heatedly, I sped up, hoping to avoid getting caught up in the escalating argument.

"That," Makoto said, after we'd walked a block, "was interesting." I nodded, moving closer to Makoto and putting my arm around her. She did the same, and we walked onward, seeing Nerima up close and personally, as opposed to seeing it from a comfortable chair.

An hour and a half later Makoto and I found ourselves outside Uchan's Okonomiyaki, and some of our currency exchanged to the local variety. My stomach growled, and I turned to Makoto.

"Shall we?"

"We shall."

Grinning dumbly at her for a moment, I took her hand, and we entered, the smell of. something cooking noticeable even in the morning.

"Good morning!" Ukyo said, and I nodded, before looking at Makoto. Prior to this fiasco, Ukyo had been one of my favorite anime girls, and, while I was now married to Makoto, the memories I had from my 'real' life still remembered how much I'd enjoyed Ukyo-centric fics. While Ukyo and Makoto both looked somewhat similarly at a glance, I realized they didn't look as alike as I'd often thought in the past, and grinned at the pointless realization. Ukyo was cute, I supposed, but after being married to Makoto, there really wasn't much of a contest.

"What can I get for you two today?" Ukyo said, smiling at us as we sat down at the bar.

"Hmm.." I said, glancing over the list of toppings. "Well. Japanese Pizza, as everyone says." I muttered in English. Shrugging, I pointed, "I suppose I'll have sausage."

Makoto ordered a special, and Ukyo nodded, before her hands became a blur over the grill. I watched, a little surprised even though I knew what to expect, as the two Okonomiyaki took shape. A moment later, a grinning chef placed two steaming plates before Makoto and I, and I looked at my food.

"You know. I wish Dominos were this fast. I'd still be on hold if I were calling in a delivery."

Makoto chuckled, before biting into her. Here eyes widened, and she turned to Ukyo, who'd walked around to join us at the bar. Swallowing hastily, "It's good!" she exclaimed, before quickly working on the rest.

I stared at mine, before tentatively taking a bite. Ukyo watched me with interest, and I smiled at her lightly before I started to chew. Blinking, I swallowed the bite, finally, before turning to Makoto.

"This... doesn't taste anything like Pizza." I said, frowning. Ukyo looked at me quizzically, before asking if I didn't like it.

"Like it? Hell, it's great! But it's nothing like the pizza it's compared to." I took another bite, finishing it quickly.

"I suppose the sauce could vaguely compare to a Totino's.. kind of like a white horse looks like a zebra if you squint and tilt your head to the side."

Ukyo seems unsure about what to say to that, and Makoto snorted before taking another bite.

"No offense, Ukyo. Honestly, it's really good. Before this, the only redeeming food I thought Japan had to offer was Sushi."

Ukyo grinned at that, then frowned in thought. Finally, "You're an American, then?"

"You've got it. What gave it away, my accent?"

"Actually, you speak Japanese like it's your first language. But you can't be Japanese and have only had sushi." I nodded at this, then cocked my head to the side.

"Why do you ask?" I inquired, taking another bite.

"We have a test coming up in English, and I'd prefer to be a little better at it than I am, currently," she said, matter-of-factly. I nodded, before looking around.

"Where's Konatsu?" I asked, not spotting the boy-girl ninja thing. Ukyo looked at me somewhat suspiciously, before commenting. "You're informed, for someone new to the area."

"You have no idea. I only ask because if you could have him watch the store, we're heading over to the Tendo Dojo to discuss tutoring with Ranma and Akane."

"Ran-chan actually asked for a tutor?" Ukyo said, surprised.

"Umm. no," I said, knowing how ludicrous Ranma asking for a tutor sounded.

"Then why.?"

"Akane asked... but she must have felt uncomfortable, because she kind of dumped it on Ranma, who was standing nearby. Still, if I go through with this, I'm sure I can get him interested."

"Oh?" Makoto asked, her plate all but licked clean.

"Yeah... just think of all those CDs." I said, watching her eyes widen in understanding. Ukyo frowned at that, looking at us oddly.

"You think Ran-chan will learn English with music?" She asked, skeptically.

"Trust me. you'll see. Coming?" I stood, chewing the last bite, and handing Ukyo a bill. She stared at it with a frown, and I realized I'd trued to use a Twenty. "Oops!" Reaching into my pocket, I grabbed a couple bills with large numbers on them, and handed them to her. "Keep the change." I said, smiling.

"Ahh. right. Konatsu's at the store, but when he gets back, I'll stop on by." I nodded and waved, heading out the door and towards the Dojo, hoping I'd be able to find it.

"Awful familiar with these people." Makoto commented. I cringed slightly, before trying to play it off.

"You've no idea how long I've wanted to mess around in the affairs of these people." Makoto looked at me, then tried again, "Awfully familiar with Ukyo." Busted. I sighed, and stopped, looking at her with my most roguish grin. I knew it had no effect on her, but using it made me feel better.

"Before you came into my life, Ukyo was one of my favorite. umm. favorites. Yeah. I guess the 'me' that lived like that is kind of excited to actually meet her. My 'married' memories, however... and my other ones, now that they're getting used to it, loves you, though. You have nothing to fear there. Besides, She's got eyes for Ranma, and Ranma only. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't have a chance."

Makoto looked at me, totally serious. "You promise?"

"All of it." I said, holding up my hand. She grinned then, before turning to walk towards where we hoped the Dojo was.

"Next time we get the apartment to ourselves, you're going to prove that to me," she said, her back turned. I nodded nervously, before breaking into a rather goofy grin and walking to catch up to her.