Martial Arts Motherhood Challenge Chapter 6 – Just One Big Happy Family, a ranma fanfic

Chapter 6 - Just One Big Happy Family

Nabiki finished putting polish over the chip in her fingernail and blew on it to make it dry faster. She continued blowing on it as she got up from the vanity and walked across the bedroom to stand in front of the windows. Looking out over the skyline of Las Vegas she whispered in English, "I love this town. I'm really going to miss this view."

She gazed out past the Luxor pyramid and the Stratosphere Tower to the construction cranes silhouetted against the setting sun. Their new place would look eastward towards the rising sun rather than west towards 'home'. Maybe the time had come to stop looking to Japan as 'home'.

Things were beginning to change in her life again, only this time they were on a scale that threatened to crack her famous ice queen façade once and for all. She fingered Tatewaki's latest gift, the one she never expected to get from the big dope... much less accept.

"Beloved Nabiki! Come hither and observe the extraordinary events I have just witnessed!"

"Speaking of the big dope," what was he caterwauling in Japanese about now? She walked to the bedroom door and poked her head out. Tatewaki was still sitting in the center of the large leather sofa facing the video wall where he had been watching baseball all afternoon.

"Speak English sweetie, it suits you better," she called out to him.

"Does it?" He looked around and smiled at her. Two years at Harvard business school had given him a pleasant New England accent without a trace of the flowery prose he was prone to using in Japanese.

"Of course it does," Nabiki shot him her sweetest most supportive smile, "now say what you said before, but in English."

"Uh... Come in here, you're not going to believe what I just saw?"

"See, you're a regular William Shakespeare," she said walking up behind him. She draped herself over the back of the couch and planted a kiss behind his ear that could melt the polar ice caps, "Now, what have you got for me Kuno-baby?"

For half a second Tatewaki seriously thought she was asking for something else, but he recovered and pointed the remote at the wall screen, "Let me rewind the tape."

Nabiki pounded her forehead into his shoulder, "There is no tape. I keep telling you they don't make VCR's anymore."

"Well, whatever it is... here... err, no..."

Nabiki looked up in time to see two women being interviewed on a downtown street somewhere. The blonde was unknown to her, but the redhead...

"Give me that!" Nabiki vaulted the couch, relieving Tatewaki of the remote control in the process. She made a three point landing on the coffee table that would have made Soun proud. Stabbing the Reverse key several times made the image fly backwards, then she hit Play.

"In New York City today, a heavily armed man was subdued by two tourists on their way to lunch..."

"Na-chan," Tatewaki said tenderly, "I can't see the screen because your magnificent posterior is in my face."

"Sorry," she mumbled, backing off the coffee table and squatting between his legs without ever looking away from the screen, "I'll be damned! It is Ranma."

"So it was the Pigtailed Princess after all," he said, "I wasn't sure because of the name."

"She uses Ranko sometimes when she's overseas, but what in the world is she doing in New York?"

"They said something about a conference and a demonstration. What I don't understand is why Saotome wasn't there to protect her. You did tell me she was pregnant with his child, didn't you?"

Nabiki bent her head back to look up at Tatewaki in disappointment. She had tried everything short of electro-shock therapy and he still refused to believe the male and female Ranma's were one and the same person. He understood about Panda-san and P-chan, so it wasn't the magic he was hung up on. Maybe it was because he had once truly been in love with the pigtailed girl and just couldn't bring himself to think about having those feelings for another man.

"Well," she said, "whatever she's up to I've got to tell Akane about this. Lend me your phone."

"But you haven't seen the best part yet," he said pointing at the wall.

"What's that?" she asked looking back at the screen just in time to see Ranma bound off some guy's face and grab a short-barreled shotgun out of mid-air. "Oh... that. Maybe I should let Akane find out about this herself."

o o o

"Camera three, pull back on the redhead. I want to see what she's doing with her hands," the ESPN director was in panic mode. For some reason they were deviating from the script he had been given and it looked like the cute red haired girl from Japan was going to try and break a world's record. If she did, this footage could end up on tonight's late news so he needed to cover every angle with only three fixed cameras, "Camera one, frame up on just the redhead and the guy, looks like the blonde's just a spectator."

"Why do you think she handed that guy a glass of water?" asked the assistant director.

"Grandstanding, she wants to show she can break the stack without making him drop it... Camera two, follow what she's doing with that scarf... the scarf's probably just window dressing, but she might surprise us."

On the bank of screens in front of him, three different views of Ranma draping the white silk scarf over the stack of concrete blocks played out. Then she put her hand palm down on top of the scarf.

"Now what's she doing... Camera two, pull back so I can see her face and the hand. Camera one, tighten up a little."

"Jack, this is camera one, I'm going wide. You've gotta see this."

The view from the camera at the back of the hall widened out to show the full stage and the huge logo on the backdrop. At first the director couldn't see anything unusual, but then the image of the backdrop began to distort as if something were swirling in front of it.

"What the hell is that?" asked the assistant director.

"Camera three, give me a close up on the redhead," anxiously the director asked, "Camera two, are you seeing that disturbance?"

"No, but I sure can hear it!"

"Camera one, stay on that thing and see if you can get a cleaner image. Camera two, zoom in on the young man." turning to his assistant the director asked, "Did I just see his breath fog? It's gotta be ninety degrees in there."

The distortion above the stage continued to grow and become more evident as the whole center section of the backdrop was obscured by it. Then a loud shrill banging noise erupted from the speakers and it simply vanished from the screen. "What the hell? Camera one, zoom in on the stack of blocks."

"They're intact, Jack," the assistant director said, "The redhead never moved."

"Well something just happened, that boy and the blonde look like they've just seen a ghost. Camera one, pan up to the redhead. Camera three, get me some audience reaction."

As they watched, Ranma took the glass and turned it upside down, dumping a large chunk of ice onto the stage. Then she held up Russell's hand."

"Looks like the redhead's whispering something to the boy, but the floor mike's not picking it up."

"Damn, I knew we should have miked all the principals. Camera one, pull back, but stay on the redhead. Camera two, pan down on the blocks. I've got a hunch about that scarf." His hunch paid off when Ranma whipped the scarf from the blocks to reveal a hole right down the center of the stack.

"When did this become a magic act? Camera two stay on those blocks, but pull back some. Camera three go wide on the whole stage."

Ranma stepped around Russell and headed for the front of the stage holding up the scarf for the audience to see. Then a line of students in white gi's marched out and began lifting blocks off the stack. As each one took a block they held it up to show the hole to the audience then lined up across the front of the stage behind Ranma.

"Camera one, go wide. Camera two, stay on the stack and prepare to go tight when they pick off the last one. Camera three, our boy seems to be wandering offstage, follow him."

When the last block was removed, camera two zoomed in on a pile of fine gray powder covering the stage. Debra reached down and scooped up a double handful of the powder and carried it to the opposite side of the stage from where Ranma was standing.

"Camera two, follow the blonde. Don't loose her damn it! Camera three, forget the boy, get on the redhead. Camera one tighten up just a little."

The last young man in line held out his block and Debra poured the gray powder through the hole. Then all of the students held their blocks out so that the audience could see their white gi through the hole. Ranma walked along the line passing the scarf through the holes as she went. When she reached the end she grabbed Debra's hand and walked her to center stage

"Okay everyone," the director said into his headset, "this looks like the wrap shot. Let's make it pretty."

An instructor walked out on stage and barked a command. In unison the students each set down the block they were holding and assumed a ready stance. Ranma and Debra took a single low bow at center stage as all twenty-two students leapt into the air at once, striking the same pose as the backdrop. The audience erupted in applause as everyone filed off the stage and the house lights came up.

"Now, let me see camera one in slow-mo from the point where that disturbance started until we heard the bang."

The assistant director typed furiously into his console and the main screen lit up with an image of the whole stage. It ran forward at regular speed for a few seconds with the swirling blur distinctly showing against the backdrop. Then the speed of the playback slowed to a crawl as the distortion seemed to peak.

They watched the barely visible force as it began to coalesce and contract into a tiny luminescent ball. It hovered for half a second and then shot towards Russell's head. At the last moment it diverted its path sweeping around Ranma's shoulders, lifting her pigtails slightly as it passed and then raced down her arm, disappearing through her hand into the stack of blocks. A moment later a puff of dust could be seen coming from the bottom of the stack.

"I want an interview with that woman," declared the director, "and I don't care whose ass you kick to get it!"

o o o

Shampoo peddled up the mountain trail with practiced ease. The morning air was just beginning to take on the smells of a summer day and soon the heat would settle in as well. Her rounds of the outposts had taken longer than usual and she was running late. She knew she already missed breakfast with the children, but if she didn't hurry Mousse would be cleaning up the kitchen and heading off to his job at the construction site.

As her bicycle crested the hill, she pulled to a stop in the shade of the camouflaged satellite dish that was the Joketsuku tribe's main link with the outside world. As tribal warrior leader, it was her responsibility to keep her village safe and increasingly that meant hiding its existence from the rest of humanity. The deal she made with the Indian military for the dish and its companion jamming station at the other end of the valley had cost her dearly, but the devices allowed her daughters to learn about the world and at the same time protected them from the prying eyes of the Chinese government.

Taking a swig from her water bottle, she regarded the little village spread out below her. Not much had changed here since her childhood. Smoke from cooking fires still rose from most of the houses and the village's main source of electric power remained a noisy diesel generator that belched blue smoke and gave off a heat signature that could easily be seen from any spy satellite.

That would change soon when Mousse and the rest of the men completed the forty-kilometer underground cable that would connect them to the power grid. The toy factory that was being built at the other end would not only supply the hidden power link, but also provide needed jobs for the villagers and divert attention away from this valley.

She looked longingly at the water bottle, what she wouldn't give to be able to pour the remaining cool water over her hot neck. But it would be a long walk back to the village for a cat, so she carefully stoppered the bottle and put it away. Pointing the bicycle down the trail she gave the peddles a few good pumps then stuck her feet out to the side and let go of the handle bars. Coasting along at breakneck speed she screamed out in pure joy.

Brushing the dust off her blouse, Shampoo stepped into the main living room of her little hut. It wasn't spacious by western standards, but it was one of the larger houses in the village. Sitting cross-legged in front of the TV was her husband Mousse with her youngest daughter Lo Xuan in his lap. Sitting beside his father was her only son Gel. She glanced at the wall clock. It was already 9:18 and her oldest daughter Rin Su was nowhere in sight.

"You're late," Mousse said without turning from the TV, "Rinse already left for school. I put your breakfast in the warmer, but I had to pour out the goat's milk before it went rancid. I can't wait until we get a real refrigerator and a microwave!"

"Well the faster you guys blast through the last kilometer of rock," Shampoo taunted, "the sooner that can happen."

"I don't suppose any of the women would be willing to help out?" Mousse finally turned to look at her with a big sarcastic grin. He was so handsome without those awful thick glasses he used to wear. The laser surgery to correct his vision may have been the single most significant thing to happen to the Amazons during their years in Japan.

"No they would not," she said haughtily as she crossed the room to stand over her husband, "we're much too busy trying to keep you men out of trouble. Besides, most of the women are too strong in their chi for such precise work. A blast from one of the warriors would probably bring the mountain down on top of you all."

She bent down and gave Mousse a quick hug around the neck and then looked at the face of little Lotion asleep in his lap, "Did she eat well this morning?"

"Oh yes, like a little horse. Whatever was bothering her stomach seems to have passed."

"How about you Gel?" Shampoo reached over and tousled her son's long black hair, "Did you eat all of your breakfast this morning?"

"Uh huh." Said the little boy without taking his eyes off the TV set.

Shampoo blinked. Her daughter might get away with that sort of rudeness, but not her son, "Gel, look at me when I'm talking to you. Answer me properly."

The little boy looked up with shock written across his face, "Um... Y-yes mama. I ate all of my breakfast."

Shampoo smiled, "Good boy, you want to grow strong like your sister."

"Yes mama, I want to be just like Rinse! I want to go to school and become a warrior just like mama!"

Shampoo frowned and looked at Mousse. She knew that would never happen, but she hated to dash the little boy's hopes so early in life. Mousse gave her a concerned look and then sighed, "I'll have a talk with him."

"Thanks honey," She said and gave him a peck on the cheek. Turning to the TV for the first time she asked, "What are you two watching that's so engrossing?"

"Just the sports news from America. Chou Lin was pitching for the Mariners yesterday and they won. The announcer mentioned something about a martial arts exhibition in New York, so I thought I'd leave it on until I had to go. Gel really likes to watch the American commercials."

Standing up and shifting the baby to his hip, Mousse headed for the kitchen saying, "I'll get your breakfast. Why don't you sit with Gel and I'll bring it in to you. You look tired already."

"Yeah," she said sitting down beside her son, "There are more refugees pouring in from Tibet every day. It's getting harder and harder to divert them from the valley without actually hurting anyone." She put her arm around Gel and he snuggled up beside her.

On the TV, a car was sitting in a field of cartoon flowers while animated rabbits and deer sniffed at it. "The Pontiac Freebird. Fuel cell performance, at a hybrid price." The scene switched to a news desk and a crawl of sports scores appeared at the bottom of the screen.

"The two women who heroically foiled an armed robbery in New York City this morning appeared at a charity exhibition of martial arts this evening. Now we have an exclusive ESPN News interview with the founder of Anything Goes Martial Arts, Ranko Saotome and her interpreter, and crime fighting partner, Debra Suzuki."

Ranma appeared on the screen standing beside a blonde American woman. Both were dressed in slinky evening gowns and Ranma even looked like she was wearing makeup.

"Anything Goes is kempo, ancient Art of..."

"Mousse! Get back in here quick. Ranma is on American TV!"

Mousse appeared and handed Shampoo a bowl of rice topped with strips of braised yak meat, "What's Saotome doing on TV?"

"Something about that exhibition," Shampoo said, taking the bowl and a pair of chopsticks from her husband, "She really shouldn't be doing stuff like that, even if she's only just a few weeks along."

"Maybe she just showed them some chi techniques? She can do those safely until quite late."

"She'd better not show anything we taught her," Shampoo said between bites.

"...technique called 'Hiryuu Shouten Ha' or 'Heavenly Dragon Blast'. Use hot ki of opponent and cold ki to form..."

Shampoo's chopsticks clattered to the floor where Gel picked them up, "Mama, you dropped your sticks. Why are you shaking mama?"

"How could she be that stupid?" Shampoo said through clinched teeth.

"Saotome always did have a big mouth," Mousse said, "but I never would have thought he'd let slip something like that. He agreed never to teach those techniques. Cologne is going to hit the roof if she finds out about this."

"If great-grandmother finds out about this, she won't just hit the roof. She'll have the damned fool killed!"

o o o

Jeff walked into the conference room and looked around. It had changed once again, this time it was filled with circular tables at which most of the conference attendees were sitting having breakfast and discussing the amazing happenings of the day before. He saw Debra and Kelley waving to him from a table across the room and headed their way.

Also sitting at that table were some of the people who had pitched in and worked the hardest to make the exhibition last night a success, including Ben and Brian. The one person missing was Ranma. Debra waved him to an empty seat between her and Kelley, "Good morning sleepy head," she said, "were you planning to sleep until your flight leaves?"

"No, I've been on the phone with Ian all morning. Footage from last night has been getting a lot of airplay over there and we were brainstorming how to best take advantage of all this sudden publicity."

"What did you two geniuses come up with?" Debra asked.

"Nothing much yet," Jeff said while sitting down and unfolding a napkin into his lap, "We can't exactly promise to teach people how to throw lightening bolts since Ranko won't tell us how it's done. Speaking of which, where is the Queen Mother?"

"Restroom," Kelley said quietly.

"Don't tell me she's crying again?"

Debra shook her head, "No, it's morning sickness. The poor thing's body finally adjusted to local time just when she's ready to fly home."

Not really wanting to follow that line of questioning any further, Jeff turned to the men at the table. "Ben, how'd we end up doing for the UNICEF people?"

"Great!" the Long Islander said excitedly, "We didn't get much from people on the way in, but they stuffed the boxes on the way out."

"How about the shirts and such?"

"It was a sell out," Ben said beaming, "I sold the very last poster to the director from ESPN. We made more than enough to repay the dojos that sent us stock and cover their transportation costs as well."

"Great job Ben! If you ever want to change jobs and become the manager of out first outlet store, just let me know." Jeff said chuckling.

"No thanks," Ben said with a smile, "teaching the Art is a lot more fun than selling it."

"Brian," Jeff said turning to the southerner, "I've been meaning to corner you and thank you for the great job you did putting together the show last night. Everything went great and I know it was mostly because of you."

"No problem, Jeff," Brian said while scratching the back of his head, "I just made sure everything was where it belonged. Really, it was the kids that made it all happen."

"Thanks to you all," Jeff said looking around the table, "those kids had an experience they'll never forget."

"Especially Mr. Vogel," Kelley whispered.

"Uh, yeah," Jeff said with a sardonic grin, "I don't think Russell will ever forget this weekend,"

A waiter arrived and began setting trays filled with little bowls in front of everyone. Jeff looked at his, which contained a bowl of rice, a cup of brown soup with green onions floating in it, a small bowl of bright yellow slices of some kind of vegetable, another with an uncooked egg and a plate with a smoked fish on it. "I didn't order yet. What is all this anyway?"

Debra giggled, "Ranko mentioned to the Mr. Suzuhara of the Little Tokyo association that she hadn't had a decent Japanese breakfast since she got here. So he sent over enough for everyone from his restaurant."

Jeff poked at what appeared to be pieces of dark green paper with his chopsticks, "What's this stuff?"

"That's toasted seaweed," Debra said with a wicked grin, "First you break the raw egg into the rice, pour in some soy sauce and then you eat it with the seaweed."

"You have got to be kidding!" Jeff said while several of the men around the table nodded in agreement. He looked over at his assistant Kelley who was already expertly scooping up the goopy mixture with her chopsticks.

"Not at all," Debra said standing up, "I'm going to go see what's happened to Ranko. She'll want to eat this before the miso soup gets cold."

She walked away chuckling to herself, it really was a very nice meal and she hoped they all would at least give it a try before begging the waiter to bring them pancakes. She headed out into the hallway and found Russell standing just outside the door.

"Russell, what are you doing out here? They're already serving breakfast inside."

"Good morning Mrs. Sukuki," Russell said uncertainly, "Um... is Saotome-sensei in there?"

"Not right now, I was just going to look for her. You're not afraid to be in the same room with her after last night are you?"

"Well..." Russell shuffled his feet and looked away down the hallway towards the elevators, "I really wasn't sure if I was welcome anymore."

Debra tilted her head and looked appraisingly at the young man. This was not the arrogant youth who came to the conference fresh off a major victory with visions of grandeur. He had certainly been put in his place, but apparently he hadn't figured out the obvious yet, "Russell, do you know where all the instructors received their training in the Art?"

"Huh?" he looked puzzled, "No ma'am. I assumed you all went to Japan and learned it from Ranma Saotome-sensei."

"That's half right. We did learn it from Ranma, but at month long seminars held here in the States and elsewhere around the world. The only one who's ever even seen Ranma's home dojo is Jeff and he was never asked to study there. You're the first non-Japanese person that it's ever been suggested might be allowed to. Do you understand that?"

"I... I had no idea," Russell looked overwhelmed.

"You have a decision to make, you can continue to compete and we'll continue to promote you as our top student. Or you can prepare yourself for Ranko's test. I think last night we all had just a tiny glimpse of what she knows. If it were me, I'd jump at a chance to learn more."

"Thank you Suzuki-sensei," Russell said bowing his head respectfully, "Can I ask you one more question?"

Debra raised an eyebrow at being called sensei, "Certainly, what is it?"

"How long did it take you to learn Japanese?"

o o o

Everyone at the table sat in awestruck silence as the diminutive redhead consumed her third helping of breakfast. It seemed incredible that chopsticks could move so fast and still convey food from bowl to mouth, but the food must be going somewhere. Jeff had witnessed what Akane once called the Saotome Secret Feeding Form before, but this was his first time watching the female Ranma attack a meal in this way.

Ranma stopped just long enough to remark, "Really wish they have natto."

"Natto?" Jeff asked with some trepidation.

"Fermented soybeans," Debra said wrinkling her nose, "it's... an acquired taste."

"Good breakfast food," Ranma said, "very traditional."

"Doesn't exactly sound like corn flakes and milk," Jeff said before shoveling another bite of strawberry waffles into his own mouth.

Al David and Henry Mueller walked up to the table. The two men from Washington State were among the original franchise owners and still two of the best students of the Art itself.

"We're off to the airport, Jeff," Al said.

"We're on the same flight back to Seattle," added Henry.

Jeff wiped his hands on his napkin and stood up to shake their hands, "Thanks for all your help this weekend guys. Have a safe trip home."

"This has been hands down the most interesting annual meeting yet," Al said, "I can't wait to see what you'll do to top it next year."

"Oh, I've got some great plans for next year," Jeff said while pumping Al's hand, "for starters we're going to announce on national TV that Ranko's baby will attempt to set a new world record for breaking gingerbread men..." Jeff heard the sound of chopsticks hitting the table and broke down laughing. So did Al, Henry and everyone else at the table except for Ranma and Debra.

"If that'd fill up Madison Square Garden for us," Henry said between belly laughs, "I'd bake the cookies myself!"

Debra shot the men a look that could freeze lava, "Why don't you just call it the Three Men and a Baby Martial Arts challenge and we'll see which one of you bachelors can change the most diapers."

Ranma burst out laughing and every head in the room turned her way. It was the first time during the whole weekend anyone could remember hearing the redhead laugh.

After all the hilarity died down, Al and Henry stepped in front of Ranma and gave her a martial arts salute. She stood and returned it, then shook their hands and wished them a safe flight home.

"This feels more like the end of a family reunion," Jeff whispered to Debra, "It's only been three days, but it seems like we've all been together a lifetime."

"I feel that too," Debra whispered back, "and Ranma has become the matriarch of the family..."

"Don't tell her that!" Jeff grinned, "I suppose you're the aunt who always remembers to bring the potato salad."

"And you're the wiseass uncle who always brings fireworks," Debra said before sticking her tongue out at her boss.

Jeff suddenly frowned, "Uh oh, don't look now, but here comes the black sheep of the family," he pointed across the room where the man from Houston was just standing up and heading their way.

Ranma finished her goodbyes and turned around just in time to see the big Texan shoot his hand out at Jeff.

"Ted, you're leaving us already?" Jeff said while grabbing the big man's hand.

"I'm off to the airport, but before I go I wanted to give you this personally," with his other hand Ted reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an envelope, "These are the signed contracts and checks... plus that other thing we talked about last night. You'll let me know about that right away, won't ya?"

"Just as soon as I can have the lawyers take a look at it," Jeff took the envelope and tossed it on the table like a hot potato.

Turning to Debra and Ranma, the big man pretended to tip a non-existent cowboy hat, "You little ladies have a real nice day now and when you've had that pup of yours Ms. Saotome, you be sure to bring the lil' buckaroo to Houston. I'll personally see to it that you all feel so welcome you'll never want to go home to Japan."

He never offered his hand to either woman before turning towards the door and sauntering out of the room. Ranma followed him out with her eyes, then while still staring at the door she said, "Jeffu, what other thing that man talk about?"

"He wants us to sign an agreement giving him first refusal on all new franchises in Texas and Okalahoma in return for a larger percentage of the first three dojos in Houston."

"Franchise contract need Saotome signature for legal?"

"They sure do boss," Jeff said.

"You like that man, Jeffu?"

"I sure don't boss!"

Ranma turned around, a cold look in her eyes, "Return check. Say, no thank you. Tell him 'little lady' and 'buckaroo' say no."

Jeff grinned from ear to ear, "My pleasure boss."

Debra frowned, "Damn, I wish Texas was in my district. I'd love to stuff those contracts down that guy's throat."

"Texas not southwest?" asked Ranma looking puzzled, "Have cactus, yes?"

Debra grinned, "You're forgetting how big that part of the country is, Texas is in the southwest and the mid-west, but mostly the mid-west."

While they discussed the finer points of US geography, Kelley appeared at the doorway and walked towards them. She stopped in front of Ranma and bowed ever so slightly, "Saotome-sama, your limo is here and I took the liberty of having your bags sent down."

Ranma looked at Jeff's assistant and tilted her head to one side, something in the way she had said that sounded familiar, "Keri-san, how long you work for Jeffu?"

"Two years," Kelley answered.

"And how long have you been studying Japanese without him knowing it?" Ranma asked in casual Japanese.

"Two years, Chairman Saotome," she answered back in formal keigo speech.

"Just how much of the language do you understand?"

Kelley smiled and glanced at Debra whose brows were ached in wonder, "Enough to know that Vice President Suzuki need not call you sensei when foreigners are not present."

Ranma chuckled, "How long were you planning to keep this a secret from Jeffu?"

"Just until President Atkins needed me."

"You are indeed a wonder, Keri-san," Ranma turned to Jeff who was gazing wide-eyed at his assistant, "Jeffu, maybe pay Keri-san more money. Not loose valuable asset, okay?"

"Yeah..." Jeff said shaking his head in wonder and exchanging a wry smile with Kelley, "I'll be sure to do that."

"Keri-san, do me a big favor and teach this dummy some Japanese. I may be stuck in Japan for quite a while and you might have to bring Muhammad to the mountain."

"I'll do my best Chairman Saotome," Kelley said with a happy smile.

"Well," Ranma said looking around at everyone, "guess this time to go." She extended her hand to Jeff, "Good job like every time, Jeffu. Not know what do without you."

Jeff took her hand and shook it warmly, "You take good care of yourself. Let me know if there's anything I can do and be sure to send lots of pictures of the newest Saotome."

"Will do," Ranma turned to Kelley and bowed, "Take care of him, Keri-san."

"I always do Saotome-sama," the girl said returning the bow.

Turning to Debra, Ranma switched to Japanese again, "Debra-san, I didn't come here expecting to make a new friend, but I'm very happy that I did. Thank you for all you've done this weekend and please stay in touch." Wearing a big smile she stuck her hand out to the blonde.

Debra looked at the offered hand and shook her head, then in English she said, "Sorry to disappoint you boss, but I'm going to get all American on you." Reaching out with both arms she enveloped Ranma in a big hug.

Ranma smiled and tentatively returned the embrace, "Is okay, sometime Japanese hug too."

Debra whispered to her in Japanese, "Remember that your balance will change as your abdomen gets bigger, you'll endanger the baby and yourself if you try any moves after you begin to show. Let the part of your brain that changes into a woman tell you the right things to do and don't hesitate to ask other women for advice, it's just something we do."

Debra backed off and smiled reassuringly, "Have a safe trip home and let us know you arrived safely." When Ranma nodded, Debra reached under the table and pulled out a large brown bag and handed it to the redhead, "One more thing, Mr. Suzuhara said to give you these for the road."

Ranma opened the bag and looked inside, it was filled with fish shaped pastries, "Taiyaki!"

Ten minutes later outside the hotel, the doorman helped Ranma into the limo. She settled in and put the bag of sweets on the seat beside her. Looking up into the rearview mirror she recognized the big black man who had been her driver on Friday.

"I thought it was you again," he said smiling from the front seat, "more chili-dogs?"

"Not this time," Ranma replied with a smile.

"I saw you kickin' butt on TV last night," he said as he pulled the limo out into traffic, "How'd you do that trick with the concrete blocks?"

"Not trick," Ranma said reaching into the bag for one of the taiyaki and handing it over the seat to the driver, "power every man have inside."

The driver sniffed at the fish shaped pie and took a bite, "Hey thanks. I'd say that power's also inside one little woman I know."

"You very surprised find out what inside this little woman," Ranma said with a grin as she began wolfing down the taiyaki.

o o o

Akane watched the red Narita Express train pull into Ikebukuro Station. The doors opened and a sea of arriving passengers flooded the platform. She scanned the crowd for the top of one particular head. It used to be much easier to spot Ranma's female half in a crowd back when most Japanese had black hair, but now she was lost in an ocean of multi-colored tresses.

When the perky redhead finally emerged from the crowd dragging her suitcase, Akane waved and called out to her. Ranma stopped in her tracks and was quickly swallowed up by the masses again. Akane fought her way against the tide of people until she practically tripped over her husband, "There you are. How was your flight?"

Ranma looked up at her with those amazingly blue eyes and said, "You came to pick me up?"

"I was going to meet you at the airport," Akane said reaching for Ranma's suitcase, "but I didn't think you'd appreciate the three hour drive home. I found a great parking spot! It's only about a block away. What's wrong Ranma?"

Ranma was just standing there staring at her. She looked even more miserable than she usually did after a transpacific flight. "You came to pick me up," she said again.

Akane smiled, "You didn't think I was going to make you walk the five kilometers home did you?"

The crowd began to dissipate and Ranma looked around as if searching for something, "I need a bathroom," she said, "right now."

Akane was becoming concerned. This wasn't like Ranma at all, "Okay, there are washrooms just inside the terminal." As she began walking towards the stairs she asked, "Are you feeling sick?"

"No," Ranma replied tersely and quickened her pace.

They hurried down the stairs and headed for the nearest restroom. Akane stopped just outside the entrance, "I'll wait for you here, okay?"

"No, come in with me..." Ranma had a pleading almost mournful look on her face, "Please, Akane."

Akane hastily followed the redhead into the restroom where Ranma headed straight for the large handicap stall and dragged Akane in after her. They stood facing one another in the confined space for an awkward moment.

"Ranma, are you sick?" Akane asked again, she was really worried now, "Is there something wrong with the baby? What is it Ranma?"

"Hold me..." Ranma whispered as she leaned face first into Akane's chest, "Just hold me and don't let go for a while, okay?"

Akane sighed with relief and wrapped her arms around the little redhead, "Of course I will sweetheart," she pressed her cheek into the top of Ranma's head, "You silly thing! If you wanted a hug so badly we could have done this up on the platform."

"No we couldn't," Ranma said with just a hint of a sob.

"Why couldn't we?" Akane asked, "We're married aren't we?"

"We're also both girls!"

"Oh..." Akane said as her cheeks turned a bright red.

x x x

All characters in this story are a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead is purely coincidental.

This work is copyright (c) 2006 by Juliet Carnell, it is not public domain and all rights are reserved. This work is not for publication. This work may not be reproduced, distributed or sold in any format or media. This work may not be included in any collection without the express written permission of the author. The reader may make one printed or electronic copy of this work for personal use.

Author's Notes:

(1) gi - the traditional outfit worn by martial artists for practice, they are most often white or black.

(2) chi - the Chinese word for ki, it refers to the oriental concept that energy produced by the living body can be manipulated through training and discipline.

(3) miso soup - a soup made from fish or vegetable stock and miso, a fermented soy bean paste. It most often contains spring onions and tofu.

(4) natto - fermented soy beans, it has a sticky slimy texture and smells like strong cheese.

(5) keigo - formal way of speaking Japanese using all the honorific elements of the language, it is most often used by store clerks to customers and employees to their bosses.

(6) taiyaki - a fish shaped waffle like pie filled with sweet bean paste or custard.

(7) Narita Express - expensive, but fast, train from Narita Airport to downtown Tokyo and points west.

(8) Ikebukuro Station - closest mainline Japan Railways station to Nerima.