Guest Ki: Chapter 11
Ki Note Speaker
"Ya gotta watch yer follow-through, tomboy," Ranma shouted. "Yer not a boxer, ya know! Follow-through scatters the force of the blow and slows ya down. Unless ya wanta gain distance, speed is better'n strength." He subsided and watched as Akane set up again.
Ranma sat on a rock as Akane practiced her newly acquired chestnut-fist without targets. "Ialwaysfelt that ki projections are an outward expression of yer inward spirit," he continued aloud his inward discussion with Barry over the nature of ki and its possible uses. "My Mouko Takabisha and Ryoga's Shishi Houkudan are expressions of that spirit and are stronger, the stronger our feelin's are that way."
'But, Ranma, when you do one of those moves, the actual amount of ki projected is small.' Barry was monitoring the inside of Ranma, watching how the young man, even while sitting still, was constantly checking his body's readiness for combat. 'I don't actually feel any loss of energy, though the recoil as your ki re-balances is pretty severe.'
"Man! I hate it when you do that!" Ranma complained, apparently to the air, but referring to the unique perspective Barry had about his ki.
Ryoga glanced at his friend and shook his head. He hated it when Ranma and Barry did this. It was like listening to one side of a phone call, and this was one conversation he'd like to be included in.
Earlier this month, Akane and Ranma had mended their fences yet again. To his own relief, Ryoga had also been forgiven. After finally relating how and why he had left the Tendo's, Ranma had pulled him aside, apologized and explained where Soun had gotten the idea to neuter P-chan.
After Ranma had picked himself out of the hole in the ground, he was treated to a scene he would never have believed. Akane had backed Ryoga up against a tree and threatened to finish the vet's job if Ryoga didn't control himself. After all, the last two years of misunderstandings had been his fault. He should be happy they were willing to let bygones be bygones. (Huff, huff, Honestly!) Of course, then she picked Ranma up by his shirtfront and informed him he'd better be more careful of his choice of words in the future.
Ranma, male again, felt guilty about the whole vet incident and was determined to make amends by teaching Ryoga some of the ki techniques they had devised. The problem was that the techniques were accomplished by methods having no possible description in the vocabularies any of them possessed. At Barry's suggestion, Ranma reached out and placed a hand on Ryoga's chest. For a weird moment, Ryoga felt as if Ranma were actually reaching in to him. He backed away, shuddering.
Barry finally got Ryoga to do his Bakusai Tenketsu while they stood behind him and monitored his ki directly. Ryoga complained several times that it was not, strictly speaking, a ki technique but Barry was adamant here. It took several tries for him to succeed, and creeped Ryoga out something terrible to feel that weird extension through the skin of his back, but finally he found the breaking point and destroyed a rock the size of a car. Then he heard a voice in his skull mutter.
'Interesting!'
That had ended that. Ryoga wanted the techniques, but without the necessity that had forced Ranma and Barry together, could not bring himself to accept the intrusion.
In another hour, they'd be hitting the sack. Tomorrow morning, they'd travel the twenty kilometers or so to where he'd catch a train back to Nerima. Who knew when he'd have a chance to pick their brains or try again?
"Uh, Ranma? Is there any way I can get into this conversation?" Ryoga asked.
"Barry says our main ki techniques aren't really ki-blasts!" Ranma snorted.
"What?"
"This is Barry taking over, Ryoga. I'm looking at the problem from the inside out," he said. "When Ranma does one of these ki things, I don't find that he's losing ki, so much as deliberately unbalancing his ki temporarily."
"Then where's the energy coming from?"
"That's what I say!" Ranma thrust a finger at his chest.
"I think the ki is acting on other sources of energy, probably electromagnetic and thermal, possibly gravitonic, and ki is merely the vehicle to collect and guide that energy where you want it to go. Your Bakusai Tenketsu for example is different only in that you are using your ki to unbalance the ki of the rock and once that's out of balance… boom!"
"Then why is it so hard, when you're doing so little, physically?"
"That's what I say!"
"Ummm… who?" Ryoga was confused.
"Me! Ranma, ya baka! Who else?"
"Barry, of course," chided Ranma's guest almost instantly. "Little is a relative term, Ryoga. If you had a background in field effects and electromagnetism..."
"Jeez! Barry, yer gonna mess up his head. Martial arts is doin', not thinkin'! You can screw yerself up by thinkin' too much."
"Certainly, if you're in a fight! Sparring with Ryoga taught me that much. But researching how your abilities work might allow..."
"It doesn't work, Barry," Ryoga interrupted. "My Shishi Houkudan in its ultimate form doesn't act like any electrical or magnetic energy that I've ever heard of." The three were silent as they considered that idea. Forgotten temporarily, the whip snapping sound of Akane's shadow-punches were ignored.
"Yeah! What about that, Barry?" Ranma sounded almost gleeful. "How do ya explain the perfect Shishi Houkudan?"
"I haven't seen it yet… Or have I?" Barry took over and questioned. "Was that what happened back in the woods, there, Ryoga? Right before Akane found out about P-chan?"
Ryoga shuddered. "I don't know… Maybe. Sometimes I let those things off without realizing it if I'm real depressed."
"Which is mosta the time," inserted Ranma, impoliticly.
"Shut up, Ranma," Ryoga growled.
"You do?" Barry took over again. "Isn't that dangerous?"
"Nah! When you build up that kind of depression, the backlash just washes through you."
"Unless ya get distracted," Ranma grinned. He made a kissing sound that literally had Ryoga's hair on end. He glared at the pigtailed martial artist, well aware of who spoke this comment.
"Ranma! You have some nerve reminding me how you beat me…"
"Stop instigating, Ranma," Barry growled as he wrenched control back, trying to stem the fight Ranma seemed to be heading for. Apparently, teaching Akane was wearing on Ranma's patience at the moment and he was looking for a way to blow off steam. Barry was attempting to get a point across to Ryoga. "I wasn't talking about danger to you, I was talking about bystanders…"
"Shut UP!"
The argument ceased at that unmistakable tone of authority. Akane decided to butt in. "How's a girl supposed to concentrate with all that noise going on?" She glanced back and forth between them, as they dropped their eyes guiltily. "Barry, isn't there some way you can communicate without trading back and forth with Ranma? I'd like to listen, too, and you seem to know a lot about science..." She went from exasperated to puppy-cute in the blink of an eye.
Ranma held up a hand and crossed his eyes. "Uhhh… He's checking on it, Akane." Ranma sat and twitched as Barry did something inside.
"What's it feel like, Ranma, having someone in your head all the time?" asked Ryoga suddenly. He wondered if he actually heard Barry directly yesterday.
"Like havin' a rash all over that ya can't scratch," Ranma replied absently. "And a little like havin' someone handcuffed to yer wrist. No privacy." Ranma flinched a little. "Right now, though, it's like havin' someone stomp around yer insides, like a building with shaky stairs and no elevator." Ryoga shuddered in sympathy. So it wasn't just him.
'Sorry, Ranma,' apologized his guest. 'I'd really rather there were some other way.'
"Barry, wadja think yer doin' in there?"
'We're about to find out...'
All three jumped as a musical note sang quietly through the air. Ranma looked wildly around, while Akane and Ryoga backed away.
"Ummm… Ranma?" Akane's startled look changed. She bit her lips like she was about to split in mirth. Ryoga began openly snickering.
"What!" whined the exasperated pigtailed teenager.
"You have to... Oh! (Snicker!) ...Go look in the water!" Akane broke down laughing.
Ranma sprang to his feet and hurried down to the water. He didn't get it at first. It looked like his face was framed by the moon overhead. He turned his head this way and that, then realized that the disc was not the moon.
"Awww, jeez!" Ranma with a beard and robes could have posed as an icon in certain churches with his beautiful, new glowing halo. He was less than impressed. "Barry, what is this dumb thing? I look like somethin' outa a Christmas play!" Vaguely he heard his words echo. "What was that? (that?...) I'm hearin' an echo! (echo!...)"
'Sorry, Ranma. I forgot a speaker is also a microphone. Just a minute.'
"So, what's going on, 'Saint' Ranma?" asked a snickering Ryoga, leaning close. "I always thought you had a holier-than-thou attitude. I guess this... Urk!" Ranma back-fisted him.
"Bar-ry! (-ry!) Is this gonna take long? (long?...)" The tone stopped and the night was silent again. "Barry?" The echo was gone as well.
"Wahow wiiih hiiihh?" The sound wowed and warbled like someone imperfectly using a bass slide whistle. It was also loud!
"Waugh!" Ranma screamed holding his ears. Ryoga and Akane winced and covered their ears.
'Sorry, again,' Barry said from inside. 'But I think I'm getting it.'
The next tone was gentler and the glow of Ranma's 'halo' was almost invisible. The tone ran the scale, as near as they could tell, of the audible range. Then different qualities were tested and clear vowel sounds were projected in a deep tone. After repeating, consonants were attempted. These were less than satisfactory. Most attempts at plosives came out like drumbeats and closed sounds like 'n' and 'm' could resonate alarmingly.
"Is Barry doing that using ki?" asked Akane, who had switched from hilarity to something approaching awe.
"Dw!-onnn-t! wwWwworRrreee, Ah-K!ah-Nnnneee!" The deep but largely toneless voice did not come from Ranma's lips.
"That's... amazing!" gulped Ryoga. "I think he said, 'Don't worry, Akane!' in English!"
"Just great," muttered an annoyed Ranma. "If he can do it in Japanese, it might be worthwhile!" He turned to the others. "I don't still look like some stupid stained-glass window, do I?" They shook their heads and he sighed relieved. "Barry, can you do it in Japanese?"
'I'm trying to do it in Japanese!' "Ahmmm t!rrRRLYY-Iing! t!duhoo ih-t! nnnnn zzjjjah-pah-neezzzz!" Then the tones stopped again.
"Barry?" Ranma asked, wondering what was coming next.
"Ggggh-o-mnnnnnnn nahse! Nnnnnah-nnnnnee… gah 'oshshshsheeee DUH-ez kah!"
Then light fluffy music with an energetic beat filled the night air. Akane brightened and started snapping her fingers. Whatever the two were doing, at least it was entertaining. After a moment, she let herself go to the beat of a popular song, shimmying and dancing in enjoyment at the change from training.
Ryoga had the good sense to look appalled.
"Is it like this all the time?" he asked Ranma, who settled down with one hand supporting his head.
"This? This is nothin'!" Ranma grumped. "You have no-o-o idea, P-chan."
Nabiki opened the mail that morning and found a formal and stylish invitation for a free meal at the Nekohanten. She frowned slightly at the notice, as it was obviously not a general commercial offer, and debated the wisdom of accepting. Mr. Saotome told her that Mousse hadn't been around in a while for the secret training they had arranged and the lack of information was restricting her options in dealing with the Chinese.
Oh well, the line-up was surely beginning. When Ranma got back there'd probably be another 'Let's Attack Ranma' parade with all of the usual suspects lining up outside.
Both Kuno and his sister were back from somewhere. The Blue Thunder's frantic call to her the other day concerning Ranma's and Akane's whereabouts was not calmed by the information that Akane had gone to visit a cousin's home. Kodachi apparently resided somewhere in Akane's room for two days, waiting to ambush her, before hunger drove her downstairs to ask Kasumi for food. Kasumi claimed the impromptu meal and conversation with the Black Rose had been quite enlightening and that Kodachi, sans Ranma, was fairly pleasant to talk to, if a trifle over-aware of her station.
Happosai had been a real pain lately. Before the old pervert had bugged out, earlier, he was acting as if he was literally pining away for the missing martial artists, alternately lying around moaning at the injustice of it all or out on the town raising hell. Nabiki was very glad to have P-chan II around.
During their absense, and forlack of a better target, Happosai had tried ambushing Nabiki, only to have sharp little teeth fasten in his backside. That, and the fact that Nabiki didn't scream and thrash when he glomped her, had driven Happi to other, more satisfying targets. Kasumi, who to the uninformed might be an obvious choice, was of course taboo. She prepared the food in the house and provided all the comforts. Her serenity disarmed the Master, as well, making him uncomfortable in his lust.
Besides, apart from underwear theft and the occasional passing grope, Happosai seemed to prefer girls who had a chance of fighting back. Kodachi and Shampoo both complained. A pretty girl named Atsuko from the far side of Nerima brought an unconscious Happosai back to the dojo after reading the address on a tag in his clothing. According to her, they had been playing and the old man had gotten tired. She left with an amazing turn of speed on her bicycle shortly thereafter. The Master was very cranky and uninformative when he finally woke after that incident. Atsuko had returned several times in the past week looking for her new playmate. Happosai made himself very scarce when she was around.
Nabiki also knew that Taro was somewhere around. A flying minotaur is hard to miss, even when it flies at night. On top of that, no one had seen Ukyo Kuonji beyond the northeast edge of Tokyo. The okonomiyaki chef had tangled with Tsubasa there and put him in the hospital. She wouldn't have known that, except the annoying little cross-dresser had come sneaking around the dojo, certain that Ranma had something to do with her disappearance. Unfortunately, a table with a cast on a leg was a little too obvious, even for her father, and Tsubasa was ejected, although with some difficulty. Ranma's parents were over and Nodoka made the mistake of speculating whether both Akane and Ukyo might have gone off with Ranma for a romantic threesome (wince) at an undisclosed location. After all, her son seemed to like them both and had family honor at stake in both cases.
Fortunately, Nabiki got to Konatsu before Tsubasa did with that one. The cross-dressing ninja had shown up nearly breathless, tearful and in (Gasp!) men's clothing the day after he received her phone call. Konatsu was her main information source in the search for Ukyo but had been unable to trace her beyond the edge of the city. While waiting for news, he re-opened Ucchan's to keep it solvent and insure Ukyo had somewhere to return.
In the midst of her musings, downstairs, there was a knock at the door. Nabiki heard, but ignored it. She had enough to worry about right now. She needed to find some extra cash and nobody was around to cause trouble that she could capitalize on. Well, there was Kuno, but she had no new pictures to sell even if she wanted to start that again. Then Kasumi's voice drifted up the steps.
"Nabiki! Nabiki, could you please come here?" her older sister called. "You have a visitor."
It was Sasuke in a three-piece suit carrying a suitcase.
"Heh-heh! Nabiki-san, as a representative of the Kuno family…"
"Where is Kuno-baby?" Nabiki asked carelessly. "I haven't seen him for a while."
"Master Kuno is currently continuing his sabbatical from Nerima."
"Didn't he just call the other day, Nabiki?" asked Kasumi with a look of concern. "He seemed quite upset."
"You bet, oneechan," she turned back to Sasuke. "What gives?"
"Oh, it was simply the reaction to meeting the Kuonji girl up north. Something she said…"
"Kuno found Ukyo?" barked Nabiki. "Where exactly was this, Sasuke?"
"Just a little place up in the mountains; as a matter of fact, not far from Tendo in Miagi." The little man smiled faintly in recalling. "I remember it because I commented that he was leaving one Tendo behind to only to repose near another."
Nabiki looked at him darkly, while Kasumi raised a hand to her cover her mouth. Sasuke coughed embarrassed, and looked as if he'd like to sink through the floor. "I didn't say it was a tasteful comment. Heh-heh!"
"I want names, addresses and phone numbers, Sasuke," Nabiki said in a chill tone. Sasuke shivered, then looked thoughtful.
"Nabiki-san, it was about Ukyo that I stopped by. I understand a reward is in the offing? A matter of ten thousand yen for finding the incomparable chef of okonomiyaki?"
"Really, Sasuke," Nabiki griped, as her eyes narrowed. "You work for the wealthiest family in Nerima. Why are you concerned about whatever measly amount we poor peons might have to offer?"
"Indeed, I work for the wealthiest family who tends, in their wisdom, to squeeze the hole out of every yen." He smiled ingratiatingly. "One always can use a little pocket change."
Nabiki and Kasumi sweat-dropped.
"I could just call over to Kuno-baby…" started Nabiki.
"True, but if he thought of it at all, he would refer you to me."
"Let's sit down and discuss this, shall we?" offered the shorthaired girl with the beginning of a true smile. "Kasumi, could we have some tea?"
"Shall I call Konatsu, Nabiki? He'll be glad to hear any news of Ukyo."
"Of course, Kasumi," Nabiki replied, turning back to business. 'I sure hope Ranma appreciates what I've done for him,' she thought. Then, to Sasuke, "I hope you realize the reward is contingent on actually finding her? Just relating where she's been doesn't count."
Sasuke pursed his lips and began to worry.
Ranma marched easily out of the trees and onto the road that led into town. She had turned girl getting everyone across the lake and they were saving the hot water in case Ryoga went 'pig' again for some reason. There was no sense in lugging his share of the supplies. Bubblegum music played from somewhere around her head, thanks to an attempt by Barry at direct communication using ki techniques which somehow tuned in broadcast radio stations.
Ranma was less than thrilled, but her fiancée skipped and bobbed to the music, despite the distance they'd traveled. They were less than half an hour from the train station, thank kami, and possibly some civilized victuals. Hustle Ryoga onto a train, then… After a month or so, she was more than ready for some ice cream, provided of course, that she could work around a distinct lack of cash.
"Hey, Akane, how much money ya got on ya?"
"About five-thousand yen. Why?" Akane stopped shimmying as her red-haired fiancé stopped suddenly with a pained look on her face.
"How are we gonna pay for Ryoga's train fare?" She and Akane exchanged glances and the latter frowned warningly. She wouldn't put up with Ranma's usual scams.
'I can't believe we didn't think of this,' commented Barry. 'Hey, I know! Why not get together with Ryoga and stage a martial arts exhibition? Or see if there's a tournament or something?'
"Huh?"
'You know, take on all comers…'
"Ya need seed money ta set something like that up, Barry, an' five' ain't enough," Ranma replied, rubbing the side of her nose. "An' ya gotta be careful. Sports events like that attract the Yakuza. If ya mess up one a their deals, it can get real dangerous for you and yer whole family. I don't go lookin' for trouble. Yakuza are trouble."
'You've done it before, I take it?'
"You worry too much, Ranma," Ryoga offered confidently. "Besides, I'll find something to earn the fare."
"You? Find? You can't find yer way outa a paper bag, Ryoga. An' the tomboy's too busy beboppin'…" (BAM!) Akane punted Ranma through a billboard. As Ranma found her way back to the group, a new tune came up on the radio frequency they were monitoring, causing her to grimace. "Awww… not this one!"
"Yes, Ranma," demanded Akane, taking her by the arm.
"Be nice to Akane, Ranma," growled Ryoga.
"But it's so… sappy!" whined Ranma. They glared and inside Barry chuckled.
'You're out-voted, Ranma.'
"Just great."
They moved into town, passing several houses and apartments, then shops and several small restaurants. The smells from these establishments had the trio traveling back and forth across the street, walking close by first one then another for the delightful aromas.
Finally, Ryoga had enough.
"I don't know about anyone else, but I'm hungry!" He walked into one of the shops and up to the counter. He flashed a smile, which quickly became forced as the older lady called her teenage daughter out of the back to deal with him.
"Good morning, can I help you?"
"Good morning! Heh! Ha-ha-ha! I'm… I mean…"
Ranma sighed. It was so-o-o predictable.
The girl smiled at the tall young man before her. He was really cute with those fangs and those wild green eyes. She glanced over his shoulder at the two girls and her eyebrows rose. Her expression grew slightly chilly. This nice young man was traveling with two gorgeous girls? She glared daggers at them. And where was that music coming from?
Ranma caught the dagger look and sighed again, and Barry finally shut off the music. Smiling winningly, she introduced herself and Akane.
"Hi! I'm Ranma Saotome and this is Akane Tendo of the Tendo dojo in Nerima," Ranma bubbled, looking as harmless as possible. "And he's Ryoga Hibiki. We're martial artists on a training trip, and we decided to stop in town ta see if we could pick up some work and a hot meal. Is there anything around?"
The girl looked at the three doubtfully before Ryoga's nervousness caught her attention again. She noticed that when she smiled, he looked at her or at the ground, but not at the other girls. Shy then, not taken. Good!
"There is Himamashi's up the street," she finally offered. "It's a sports bar, but I know they're getting ready for some big party tonight and might need some help." As the others turned to go, she leaned over and whispered to Ryoga, "Are you staying in town long?"
Ryoga, blushing at the attention, backed away with a stuttering denial and apology. He hurried away as if something were burning.
"Hey, Akane! Look at Ryoga's face." (Snicker)
Behind them a pretty girl sighed and wondered what she'd said wrong.
At Himamashi's, they were further directed to seek out Otaro Himamashi, the owner of the bar. Himamashi was a retired sumo wrestler who retained much of his massive authority, standing only a finger's width under two-meters tall at a full one hundred fifty kilograms in weight. The man actually looked bigger than the description, his bald head gleaming in the sun and his black eyes twinkling with suppressed mirth.
"Hi. We were told you might have some work for us?" Ranma swaggered up and acted as spokesperson for the three. The big man looked approvingly at Ryoga and sighed lustily at Ranma and Akane, bringing blushes immediately to both girls' cheeks.
"You there." He pointed at Ryoga. "If you're as half as strong as you look, I can use you. Your friends, well…" He ran his eyes back over the two girls and chuckled longingly. "If I was still a randy young man, I'd fight you for them. Ahhh! Those were the days! Why I could…"
Ranma poked him in his large stomach.
"Ryoga's not the only martial artist here, ya know. Akane and I can pull our weight better 'n any guy ya got. I can read blueprints, too." 'Courtesy of Barry,' she thought. She crossed her arms and glared at him, daring him to argue.
He laughed instead and pointed out some lumber and tools nearby.
"I'm building a stage for a competition we're having here tonight. I have wood for steps up to the stage," he said. "The stage will be sixty centimeters tall. Build me some steps about a meter wide."
Ranma smiled brightly, eliciting another sighing chuckle from the big man and knelt beside the lumber. Internally, she was consulting with Barry who had built lots of stairs from scratch. This was really going to be a test of several of the new techniques Barry and Ranma worked out, including one adapted from the Nekoken.
Barry quickly calculated the best riser height and tread depth for the three steps, and from that determined the angle of the stringers. Using ki to lead the draw-saw, she cut through in less time than it would take a power saw. Then she laid the stringer against the floor and measured the height to double-check the calculations. Satisfied, she laid the stringer down and used it as a template to duplicate the other two. She built the box, which would support the stairs if left as a separate unit, and attached the stringers, driving the nails in with strokes of her thumb.
"Open steps?" Ranma inquired of the old sumo, whose eyes were popping a bit. He nodded. She carefully marked and grooved the underside of the treads to act as an additional strengthening design and began fitting the pieces together. She asked for and received wood glue; then, setting the tread firmly against the first stringer, nailed it down, again driving the nails in with her thumb. In five minutes, the stairs were finished and Himamashi was laughing again.
"You'll pull your weight? By kami, you'll pull my weight!" He turned to Akane who looked nervous and a little defensive under his gaze.
"She's my student," said Ranma, inserting herself smoothly into the potential storm. "She's not quite as good as me in the carpentry line, but she's strong, tough and smart. Ya won't lose anything by havin' her help."
Himamashi stared for a second, and shook himself, an effort that set a lot of flesh shaking. "You are her sensei? School-chums, maybe…"
"I'm that good," Ranma said flatly.
The big man towered over the tiny redhead, face for the moment expressionless. "I'm sure you are! Let's settle on your wages then."
A few moments of haggling later, everything was settled and Ranma was looking at blueprints for the project. The drawing indicated a shallow pool, roughly four meters across and half a meter deep, set in the center of the main floor of the stage. The drawings indicated a plastic liner and water-resistant pads covering the edges and floor of the stage itself. Around the outside of the liner was a second, inner liner with heating elements imbedded in it. The construction was simple but strong. Ranma looked up at Himamashi.
"What is this thing anyway, a kiddy pool?"
"Actually, it's a fighting arena for a special form of combat."
"Really?" Ranma was interested despite the earlier protestations about such events. "What kind?"
"Ramen Noodle Wrestling. Interested in trying?"
Internally, Barry gave a quick synopsis of what this sport might be and what it was really for. She opened and shut her mouth a couple of times, blushing furiously before growling, "I ain't no pervert!"
Construction was plagued by Ranma's muttering to her unseen guest, who protested vehemently that he never had actually seen it himself, really only heard about it. He was assuming that it was perhaps like mud wrestling, which also he had never seen… Barry was flawlessly executing a classic Ranma maneuver — open mouth, insert both feet.
The work took two hours. Akane and Ryoga carried in the wood and Akane teamed with Ranma to cut and fasten everything together. It would have taken less time, except Himamashi had a TV crew in, filming advertising footage and several news stories. Meanwhile, Ryoga was drafted to carry kegs of beer and arrange tables around the stage. Himamashi joined them when it was time to lower the liner into place.
As they finished, the tallest gaijin woman any of them had ever seen walked into the bar and started examining their work with a critical eye. It wasn't merely her height that was intimidating, although she was nearly as tall as Himamashi, but the heavily defined muscles exposed by a well-filled halter and cut-off jeans. Her blond hair was waist length and her eyes were even bluer than Ranma's. Despite the muscles, no one would mistake her for anything but a woman …and a martial artist.
"How's it going, Otaro-san," she said in fairly good Japanese. "Looks like you'll be ready to open on time."
"Shouldn't be a problem, Jani-san," he chuckled. "I came across two skilled workers and, would you believe it, they are both excellent martial artists, as well!" He turned and indicated the two girls. "Janet Kolberg, this is Akane Tendo and Ranma Saotome of Nerima. There is a young man with them as well. He must be outside at the moment. Jani-san is the star of our wrestling match."
"So, you're martial artists?" Her voice drawled the words out, even as she gave the two girls a second look. "Are you competing tonight?"
"Nah," Ranma answered shortly. "Just puttin' stuff together. Don't go in for the perverted stuff." She reached out and adjusted the liner. She didn't need Barry's advice to know that creases were weak spots that could cause unwanted leaks. She missed the dark look Jani-san shot her.
"What style?"
"Quite a few different styles, actually," answered Akane, who was less involved than Ranma in finishing the pool. "Mainly kempo, but our school is the Mutsabetsu Kakuto Ryu and…"
"'Unrestricted Grappling'," the woman broke in. Her face twisted slightly in barbed mirth. "I bet the boys love that!"
Ranma's head snapped up, interrupting Barry's assessment of the construction. Akane froze at the comment and scowled. Himamashi rolled his eyes as sparks began to fly.
"What do you mean by that?"
'Ranma, we're not here to fight.'
'Tell her that,' Ranma shot back.
Ryoga chose that moment to walk in carrying four of the enormously heavy carbon-dioxide tanks for the bar. Lost in his own thoughts, he walked between the angry almost-combatants, following arrows they had chalked on the floor. Ranma and Akane were oblivious to his demonstration of strength. Jani-san and Himamashi gawked at him. The old sumo wrestler would have hesitated to move that load, but the boy obviously thought nothing of it. He set them down gently, without apparent effort, and turned to his employer.
"Is there anything else, Himamashi-san?" he asked.
"Ryoga-san?"
"Jan-Janet?" Ryoga stared at the tall woman and swallowed convulsively. "Janet Kolberg?"
"Maybe I wasn't far off the mark, when I said P-chan was being unfaithful." Akane said in an aside to Ranma. They snickered together in speculation of how, and to what degree, Ryoga had run afoul of this woman.
"My goodness!" Hips swaying, Janet strolled over to Ryoga. "And just how is my long lost husband, hmmm?"
"Husband!"