Sunday morning came fairly quickly for Leif Zahn. When he woke up, he looked at his watch to find SUN-8:37. He got up, a little stiff, mostly in his neck and arms, and put on a loose blue shirt, his favorite black leather jacket, khaki slacks, and proceeded to walk downstairs. Only Kasumi, Ranma, and a boy whom Leif had never seen before were there.
Leif eyed the new boy, who was wearing a blue school uniform with what looked like a bandolier on it. Leif took a closer look, and found him to have a long brown coffee-color ponytail. When he looked at his face, he saw that it was soft and rounded, eyelashes slightly too long, and saw that this person's upper chest was slightly too large. "A girl in what appears to be a boy's uniform. Interesting."
Ranma stopped his conversation with the person and welcomed him. "Hey Leif, what's up?" "Not much," he replied, "Just getting some breakfast." The girl snuggled up to Ranma. "So Ran-chan, this guy is the new student?" These actions confirmed Leif's hypothesis. He replied with a standard "Yup." Leif sat down next to Kasumi at the table, and was kindly handed a cup of oolong tea, which he blew on, cooling it. "Leif, this is Ukyo, one of Ranma's friends." He sipped the tea then quickly set it down, as it had burned his tongue. "Pleased to meet you, miss Ukyo." "Sharp, and astute, I see, captain obvious. You're gonna' be going to Furinkan aren't 'ya?" "Yep. Transferring during the year isn't what I call smart, but oh well." He turned his glance to Ranma, while Kasumi headed back towards the kitchen. "I'm in your grade, I assume?" "Last time I checked." Leif sipped his tea, and after checking the temperature, started to actually drink it. "Ukyo, pardon me for asking, but I would thought the girls' uniform for Furinkan would have been with a skirt, instead." She nonchalantly cocked an eyebrow. "Sugar, this ain't the uniform for Furinkan. This is the boys' uniform from my previous school." "Oh. Why do you have the… male variant?" "It was a boys' school, and I don't really like women's clothing. Too darn uncomfortable." Leif set down his cup and saucer and began talking. "I could vouch for that. I hate loafers. Hurt my feet. I'd prefer a pair of tennis shoes any day." Leif finished off his tea as he held out the rimless cup, inspecting the inside bottom rim for any of the liquid. Satisfied, he set the cup down and headed off to the kitchen.
Kasumi was in there, mixing batter for something. Leif peered over the sink, and through the window and saw the dreary, almost black overcast sky. It was sprinkling, and increasing gradually in intensity. "I thought, that for breakfast, you might like something that you would familiar with, Leif." He turned his glance from the window to Kasumi, spatula in hand, mixing the batter, with her turned toward him. She had a genuine, warm smile that made him relax slightly. "Is that what the batter is for?" "Yes." She replied. "It's pancake batter." She ducked down and brought out a large iron griddle, and started warming it. Leif turned around and started to walk back towards the table. Nabiki was coming down the stairs, slightly clumsily and not yet fully awake. Still in her pajamas, her hair was askew, with a few rats' nests in it. She stopped at the bottom to stretch out her arms and yawn. She then sauntered towards the downstairs bathroom, a brush in her right hand. She didn't even notice him.
Leif, who was at the bottom of the stairs watching, then went up them. The brown lacquered wood paneling gave slightly as he stepped on it, and he proceeded to the far room where he slept. He flicked on the light with a diminutive click, and opened the blind, finding the rain hitting at a slight angle so that it met the glass and ran off. The overcast sky just hung in the air—nonmoving, silent, and stealthy. He stared at it for a while, and then went to rummage through his bags.
He took the dark blue suitcases filled with clothes, and easily filled the small bureau that was across the room, and unzipped his framed pack. He frowned as he took out one of his magazines that had arrived at his house in Washington shortly before he left. The magazine was a monthly travel guide that he had yet to read past the cover. The top-right corner had been bent, and he tried repeatedly to straighten it out, but to no avail. He sat down on the bed, and thumbed the front index.
Travel
Adventure Monthly Volume IV Issue V
Legends of the Orient 4
Traveling the Great Circle
National Parks 12
Saskatchewan's Magnificent
Lakes 21
The Swiss Alps by Railway 29
Hiking Japan's Evergreen
Forests 37
Departments 45
The first article's title looked interesting, so he went to the next page. It was on the right side, across from the letters to the editor on the previous page. He skimmed them over, seeing the typical type of letters that the magazine had. A thanks for an article on Venice, a request for something on the Greek Isles… Nothing on that page caught his eye, so he proceeded to what sparked his interest in the first place. The page had the standard two-column format, although it had an interesting background, a painting in the style of Japanese tapestries. "More fairy tales than anything." He decided. The first part was on some hydra-like legendary dragon; the second on some werewolf thing in Beijing, but the final section caught his eyes. "Enchantments and Legends of the North Himalayan Mountains. Hmm…" A slight smile crept across his face.
Akane Tendo woke up to a "Bwe, bwe?" She blinked her eyes, the phosphenes slowly fading away to see her little black pig on top of the covers. "Urrawww!" She yawned, stretched, then looked at the cute porcine on her bed. She smiled. "Good morning, P-chan." She scratched him behind the ears, then got up and swung her feet off the edge of the bed, moving the covers. The piglet, confident that his first important task of the day was complete, hopped off the bed, walked over the door, and pried it open from a small crack to a pig-sized space using his snout. "Breakfast!" She heard her oldest sister call, as the aroma of something cooking lazily drifted its way up the stairs and into her room. "I'm coming!" she replied. She slipped her feet into her house slippers and got up, heading downstairs.
Leif was disappointed by the article. Its title was more interesting than its actual contents, which in his opinion were both a bad choice, and unbearably and ludicrously bland. "Yeti…that's very unlike them, too." He closed the magazine just in time to hear the call to breakfast. He sat the magazine on the bed, and got up. He checked the other upstairs rooms, finding no one still there. He walked down the hallway, and carefully walked down the stairs. Looking down, he now noticed how short they were, obviously made for people with smaller feet. He turned to his right as he walked down the stairs, noticing a huge panda walking into the door to the laundry room. "How very odd. I wonder if that's Ranma's fath—." That distraction proved fatal. On the third step from the bottom, his right foot slipped from underneath him, his sock losing traction, while his left foot snapped left with a loud cracking sound, falling down the stairs with an enormous crash. "Eggg," he muttered.
"Zahn, you're a bigger klutz than Akane." Leif painfully pivoted his face up to see Nabiki Tendo with a half-annoyed, half-amused look on her face. He weakly whimpered "Sorry. Should have taken off my socks." It was a good thing he had worn his favorite jacket, or else the rug burn would have multiplied the damage. He tried to turn to roll over, but his left side surged with a rush of pain. He inhaled through his teeth, and gave a painful "Ah-hhh." He sighed. "I can't get up, at least, without hurting myself further."
Leif saw Akane appear behind her sister. "I would watch who you call a klutz." Kasumi, walked in, drying a dish with a white cloth, when she saw him. She gasped, and rushed back into the kitchen. Nabiki rolled her eyes, and smirked. "I wasn't talking about you, Akane." "I know, just don't try to use me for comparison when I'm within earshot." Nabiki replied with a witty "Sorry, just habit." "Kasumi rushed back in the room with a gauze bandage, an ice pack, and a first aid kid. "Leif, are you all right? Can you get up?" A little more confident, he wailed "No." Akane then asked him, "How on Earth did you do that?" She looked at him and cocked her head. "And why is your left foot twisted that far? Shouldn't that hurt?" "Nope. My left foot is totally numb." The younger continued. "How can your foot rotate that far counter-clockwise?" He swallowed, then replied, "I think that's because it's dislocated." The middle Tendo chuckled. "At least you're in good spirits. You don't whine like Ranma. Come on Akane, you grab Mr. Graceful under his arms, I'll get his waist." "Fine." They hoisted him up, and rotated him so that he was on his back, and leaned him against the bottom of the stairwell, next to the door to the laundry room door. Kasumi brought in a cushion for him to set his left foot on, and he relaxed. "Do you need anything?" "Not really." She smiled that warm smile, and that made him creak a smile. She then walked up the stairs behind him. Leif grinned. "Man. I'm a dork. First full day I'm here, and I can't go two and a half hours without grievous self-injury."
"Hello?" Leif heard a male voice coming from the front door. He looked up to see a young man with a wiry build, maybe mid-twenties, wearing small, round-brimmed glasses and traditional clothing. "Ah, so you're the new kid, eh? Welcome to Nerima." "Thanks." He replied, trying to hide a tinge of sarcasm. The man held out his hand. "I'm the local chiropractor, Doctor Tofu Ono. And may I say, that's a nasty fall you must have had." He chuckled lightheartedly. Dr. Tofu took the sock off the foot, revealing a slight cherry hue around the anklebone. He then grew more serious, but still soft in voice. "Hmm…doesn't look broken, but…" He ran his fingers over the joint. "Dislocated! Amazing." He paused. "You know, Leif, you're really lucky. It should have at least fractured. Can you feel anything?" He ran his thumb over the Achilles tendon. He grimaced. "I'll take that as a yes. Now hold still." "Ahh!" Leif yelped. He looked down, and saw he could move his toes again, and his foot was aligned. "Now, you just need to keep it like that for about another twenty minutes, and should be back in business, kiddo." He grinned. Leif looked at him, and matched it with a grin of his own.
Leif then saw Kasumi walk back in and smile. "Oh, Doctor Tofu! You relocated Leif's foot! Thank you!" Leif watched Tofu's face confusedly as the man went into a strange stupor. He turned around, dropping Leif's foot onto the floor paneling, landing on the wood paneling with a loud crack. "Err.." Dr. Tofu turned around, and placed his right arm behind his head, almost in shame. "Why…Kasumi! What a coincidence to find you here of all places! I um…finished his foot." He got up, and started slowly walking. He continued, still with that crazed voice. "…and I must be going now. Got lots of work left to do today!" He then proceeded in a straight line—directly into the wall. Kasumi chuckled. Dr. Tofu laughed at himself, then, with more bumbling, managed to somehow miss the painting and metal etching on the wall. Kasumi giggled and walked back into the kitchen. And to Leif's surprise, Dr. Tofu's stupor faded almost as quickly as it began. Once he snapped back to reality, he asked Leif a question. "Would you have any idea why it didn't break or fracture? Do you take gymnastics, or did you injure the area previously?" Leif thought for a moment, and then replied. "Now that I think about it…I did sprain my foot really badly back several months ago. It never healed quite right either." Tofu considered this. "Well, there seems to be no permanent damage, Leif, but you may have a little bit of a limp for a couple of weeks." Leif smiled, cocking an eyebrow. "I think I can handle that." "Good!"
Tofu helped Leif to his feet, and although it felt awkward, he found that he could use his left one without physical discomfort. He tried pacing back and forth. "Wow…this is great, Dr. Ono." "Tofu—just Doctor Tofu." Leif smiled as he heard footsteps and turned around to see Genma, still in that bandana, carrying a bowl of potato chips. The elder Saotome shifted his glasses and pompously gave a short oration. "Boy, Doctor Tofu is an expert at the art of acupuncture and is a superb chiropractor. I know this, as my son often visits him, normally after insulting Akane a bit too far." He munched on a chip, as Dr. Tofu modestly downplayed Genma's description. Genma then proceeded past them into the living room, with his precious snack item. Dr. Tofu then checked his watch. "My next appointment is in 15 minutes, so I'll head back to my office." He reached into his pocket, and handed Leif a card. He looked at the business card, flipping it over. "That's my card. My office is about three blocks from here, so if you need to talk to me again, either look me up in the White Pages, or ask Ranma." "Thanks." "No problem. 'Til we meet again, Mr. Zahn." He opened the front door and left. Leif looked over the card. He put it in the right pocket of his leather jacket, and zipped it.
"Pass the syrup, will you, Leif?" Nabiki Tendo's foxy eyes betrayed her otherwise patient look. "Sure." He pushed up his jacket sleeve, and picked up the clear pitcher, being careful not to touch the bead of syrup dripping down it, and handed it to her. Soun cocked an eyebrow, and his dark moustache twitched. "Feeling better, are you?" "Um… yes sir." "Ahh, that's good to hear." He then went back to eating, stuffing his forked slice into his mouth. Akane swallowed her bite of food, then turned to Leif. "You're starting school tomorrow, aren't you?" "Yeah, why?" "Well, then you'll need to shop for a uniform today, then." "Oh, okay." "We can head downtown after breakfast, if you like." "Are they hard to find, or something like that?" "No, you just need someone who knows what Furinkan requires: What colors, what style of shirt… That sort of thing." Ranma looked over, annoyed. "And what makes you think I don't know that?" Akane's voice rose further. "Well, for one, you never wear the school uniform. I don't know how you get away with it, but you do!" Ranma just rolled his eyes. "Fine. Whatever." Leif munched his pancakes.
Kasumi picked up the plates and walked back into the kitchen that she almost inhabited. "Ready to go, boy?" Ranma looked up from the TV set. "Ready to go where, pop?" Genma sneered a little bit. "Where do you think, son? A true martial artist must be ready for all situations, all trials. How do you expect yourself to be ready, if you haven't practiced in a week and a half? I had guessed the rain would have given you ample opportunity." Genma crawled over to Ranma and poked him in the chest. "You aren't going soft, are you? Or has that Chinese girl's wicked ways caused your sloth?" Ranma's face bent. "I doubt it, dad. I haven't seen anything of her in three weeks. But, if you're sooo worried about practicing, I'll do some." "Good." The Saotomes got up, the younger a little hesitant, and headed towards the dojo that was connected with the house. Leif, feeling extremely awkward, had found the perfect excuse to escape. "Well, I guess I should brush my teeth, to get out the syrup." Leif silently got up. Nabiki watched him for a moment, then went back to her most-important and ever-present abacus.
Leif was certainly more careful going up the stairs, and wasn't wearing socks, which helped immensely. His gait was a bit more wary, as he carefully watched the stairs. He dug through his bag, finding his toothbrush, comb, and toothpaste. He grinned, and then proceeded down to the laundry room. When he got there, he shifted all his items to his left hand, and knocked loudly on the door to the room. "Hello?" No response. He opened the door to find no one there. He walked over to the bathroom door and repeated this. The same occurred, and he walked on in. He turned the right handle, running his white toothbrush through it. He quickly brushed his teeth, then once again ran the toothbrush through the water. He set it aside, and got his black handled comb. He combed through his fiery orange hair, cringing slightly whenever he hit a rat's nest. He had to look in the mirror several times because of the peculiar way the light reflected off his hair. Satisfied, he checked his shirt's collar, and walked out, then remembered he forgot his toothpaste, turned around, walked back in, grabbed it, and then left.
"So, are you ready to go?" Akane cocked her head at the wild-haired youth. She had changed into a simple, blue dress. "Yeah, I think so. How much is this going to cost?" He checked his wallet. Akane replied, "Well, ninety-five hundred yen should more than enough pay for a single set." "I think I can handle that." Leif checked his watch. "It's half past noon as it is." "Then, let's go, silly." She walked to the front door, slid it open, and still in her half-marching gait, paraded down the front steps and toward the gate. Leif followed after blinking a few times.
As it turned out, the department store they went to was only eight blocks away. Leif had never really noticed it, as the Tokyo suburb was so clouded with homes, alleys, and trees that it obscured the downtown regions, especially since it was only one floor. The electronic "ping" sound chimed when Leif opened the door. "May I help you, sir?" Leif looked at the woman sitting behind the counter. She was around thirty, shiny black hair, with octagonal thin-rimmed glasses that were quite thin. "She looks like a librarian." "May I help you?" "Ahh…" Leif's brain dropped out of daydream mode and back into realspace. "Er…Yes, I mean, yeah! I'm an exchange student, and I need a uniform for Furinkan High." She eyed him. "Uniforms are over behind my shoulder, to the left." Leif let out a large sigh. Today had not been going well. He had already had a major grievous injury, and just made a fool of himself in front of the thirty or so people shopping there. "Great. I'm doing good today."
He walked over to the section of racks, with Akane following. "Akane, what color do I need?" She thought for a moment. "Let's see…for boys it's…'Royal Navy', I think. You know, that really dark blue?" "Yeah, I got 'ya." He searched through the racks, and managed to find some excellent slacks in that color, that after trying them on fit perfectly. "Are you sure you like those? Look at the price." Leif picked up the tag and turned white. "Eeep! They're eight thousand, by themselves! Leif quickly changed out of them, dusted them off, and nonchalantly (almost whistling) hooked them back on the rack with the rest of that brand's area.
He had trouble finding any other pants in his size range, other than some others in the first brand (unfortunately, in the same price range as well.) he had found. Everything thing else was way too short. "I guess no one here is over five foot five." Finally, Akane found something. "Hey Leif, is this the right size?" She held out a pair of navy pants that look much longer than any he had seen. "Let me check…Yeah, hey this is the right size!" She handed it to him, and he tried on. It fit just as well as the first, with the price being much less painful. "And for the shirt?" Akane responded. "Same color, long sleeves, with a collar that's white lined on the inside part." "Hmm… like this one?" She eyed the shrink-rapped navy shirt he held up. "Yeah. I'll need to measure your neck first, though." She got out a small rope-like measuring tape out of her right pocket and put it around his neck. "Wow." "What?" "Well, for someone as tall as you are, you've got a really skinny neck. That shirt you have is okay on the standard size and sleeve length, but the neck is three sizes too large." "Harrumph. Just what I need. Looks like another wild goose chase…"
"That'll be nine thousand, two hundred yen please." He handed the librarian… err… saleswoman the money. Leif prided himself in having exact change. He had picked two pairs of pants, consequently, the only two in that length, two of the shirts, and a nice belt. He already had qualifying shoes in one of his suitcases. He picked up the bag for the purchase and walked alongside Akane on the way home. "Anything I should know about? Weird rules, class psychopaths, anything of that nature?" Akane sighed, giving an explanation she dreaded. "Funny you should mention it. There is this one guy. The captain of the Kendo club and fencing team, who believes himself to be a samurai." "Great." "He's quite skilled, to top it off. And, he'll hate you." "What? How do you know this in advance? Does have a vendetta on foreigners?" She shook her head. "He's obsessed with me, even though I'm engaged to Ranma. This guy believes Ranma is some black magician, or something. That, and if he knows you live in the same household with the guy he hates, and the girl he wants—." Leif interrupted. "I get your point. So, what's this guy's name?" "Tatewaki Kuno."
