Martial Arts Motherhood Challenge Chapter 9 – Showdown at the Okasa Corral, a ranma fanfic

Chapter 9 - Showdown at the Okaasan Corral

Goro swiped the card unlocking the door and took a step inside. He anxiously looked around the room as he switched on the light and then flattened his bulky frame against the door. "This is the best room we gots ma'am. I swears it is! If ya don't like dis one, I gots nowhere else ta take ya."

Akane stepped past the big man and scanned the room with a discriminating eye. It was just your average businessman's hotel room, but it had a king-size bed and a mini-bar. She opened the bathroom using both hands, because they were bound together by a thick white plastic tie-wrap, then entered and inspected it with great care. It was clean and the tub did have massage jets.

She walked back out into the room and sat on the bed, which seemed firm enough. There was no wall screen in the room, but the old style digital TV was pretty big. Standing up again, she walked to the window and looked down at the street. Again using her bound hands, she pulled open the window and listened to the muffled sound of traffic on the street far below.

"Hey," Goro shouted, "don't open da window. Ya promised ya wouldn't escape if I brought ya to a nice place."

Akane turned and smiled, "Relax Goro-kun, even my husband and I wouldn't be foolish enough to leap out of a ninth floor window."

"Oh yeah," the big man said with a blush, "I fergot we was on the top floor. So wha'da ya think?"

"Well this is certainly better than spending three days in a room where the bathtub is shaped like a martini glass." Akane chuckled. The big man's first choice for a place to keep her had been a love hotel.

"Geeze ma'am, I'm sorry 'bout that. We don't take too many women hostage, ya know."

"That's quite all right," Akane said calmly. "Are you sure this'll be okay with your boss?"

"Aw, Nabe-dono don't care where we keeps hostages as longs they don't run off. Sides, my muther runs dis place so it won't even cost him nuttin."

Akane glanced back out the window, "Tell me Goro-kun, does this hotel have room service?"

"You mean like bringin' food to yer room?" The big man scratched his head, "Uh... I don't think so."

Akane smiled sweetly, "Then would you mind running across the street to that little Italian restaurant and getting me an order of linguine with pesto sauce, some garlic bread and a bottle of Chianti? I do have to eat you know."

"Oh, yeah sure ya do, but... uh... I was just gonna bring ya back some ramen."

"Really Goro-kun," Akane said pouring on the motherly guilt, "What would your mother say if she found out you were holding a woman against her will in this hotel and wasn't even willing to let her choose what could very well be her last meal?"

Goro glanced over his shoulder as if he expected to find his mother standing in the hallway. He swallowed hard and said, "I guess yer right. I'll get ya the Lamborghini with pesky sauce and that key-ante stuff. Ya just sit tight ma'am."

The big man backed out of the room and Akane heard the door bolt automatically as it closed. She uncrossed her wrists by raising her left arm high above her head and slipped her hands easily out of the restraint. Tossing the plastic ring onto the bed she turned back to the open window. If necessary it would be an easy jump to the roof of the six-story building across the street.

She turned from the window, crossed to the bed and stretched out on it. Three days in a comfortable hotel room with nothing to do but watch TV and maybe read a good book or two (if she could con Goro into buying it for her) was just the sort of getaway she needed. Now if only she could be sure Ranma wasn't planning to do something stupid.

She sat up and lifted the handset off the telephone on the nightstand, but not surprisingly there was no dial tone. After Goro returned with dinner she could jump out the window and find a telephone to call home, but the big man had proven to be so pliable that she just might be able to talk him into activating the phone for a while.

In either case she was worried about what her pregnant husband was up to. Could she talk Ranma out of changing back into a man? Once the redhead made up her mind, she could be as stubborn as any mule. Especially when it involved a martial arts challenge!

"Maybe I should call someone else just as stubborn first?" she mused while standing up and crossing to the mini-bar. She broke the seal on the little refrigerator and opened it up. "Yeah," she said reaching for a box of Pocky sticks, "I'll call daddy."

o o o

Ranma watched silently as Akari poured tea and tried to smile reassuringly, but it just didn't have the same effect as one of Kasumi's smiles. "Thanks Akari," she said despondently. Then she picked up the teacup and sat back on the couch with a sigh.

Ryouga strode into the room with a big grin on his face, "Well, the twins are in bed. Those guys really are a handful!" You could tell just by the look on his face that the big man couldn't wait to become a father. It suited him, he still had the boundless spirit of a wandering martial artist pent up inside. A child was going to be the perfect outlet for that energy.

Akari walked up to him and with a frown whispered, "Ranma's really upset over this. What do you think we should do?"

"What else, I'll beat the crud out of this Nabe character and get Akane back. Simple."

"No," Akari said punching him playfully in the stomach, "I mean right now. She looks depressed and she won't tell me when she ate last. The doctor keeps telling me how important nutrition is during pregnancy, so I'm worried."

Ryouga looked puzzled. In all the years since he'd first met Ranma he'd never once known his friend and rival to have a problem eating. "Well... we could have something delivered. Maybe she'd like a pizza?"

"No, I can cook something here. I'm just not sure she'll..."

"You know," Ranma said from the couch, "if you're going to talk about someone behind their back, at least have the decency to go out in the hallway where I can't hear you."

"Sorry pal," Ryouga said, "we don't do a lot of whispering out on the farm."

"And just so you'll stop worrying," Ranma added, "I ate dinner with the boys about an hour ago."

"Fair enough," Ryouga said while stifling Akari's attempt to ask just how much the redhead had eaten. He crossed over and squatted down beside the couch. "Tell me what you know about Nabe, just how good a fighter is he?"

"About all I can remember," Ranma said after draining her teacup, "is he was an arrogant little brat with absolutely no patience. He was kyu-level when he started here and maybe first-dan when he got fed up and left. He came here wanting me to specifically teach him something or other, but I haven't been able to recall just what."

Ryouga nodded, "And you said that was before the twins were born, so he's had a good seven or eight years to improve. Still, there's no way he could have reached our level by now."

"No," Ranma said with a troubled look, "but he must have something up his sleeve to even dream of challenging me. He may have picked up some technique that he thinks will make him invincible. Still, he's a cowardly little punk bringing a big gang with him like that."

"What were his men like? Any chance he's bought himself an invincible army?"

"No, they were just a bunch of thugs and street fighters. A few of them showed signs of training, but nothing advanced. One definitely knew both karate and aikido, but Akane totally faked him out. In fact Akane was destroying them until she let her guard down. I keep telling her not to..."

The words caught in Ranma's throat and she turned away from Ryouga in embarrassment.

"Akane'll be okay," Ryouga said reassuringly. "They wouldn't dare hurt her. Besides, I'll bet she's pretty good at handling herself when she's a hostage. Back in high school it seemed like she was being kidnapped every couple of weeks. She must have gotten plenty of practice."

"University too," Ranma said with exasperation, "at least a dozen times. Then after we got married and right up until she became pregnant with the boys, but this is the first time since then. I was convinced her bad luck ended when the twins came along."

The sound of the front door opening drifted through the house and then of small feet running down the hallway. Suddenly Hinako-chan burst into the room with a fifty-yen coin at the ready, "Step away Ryouga-kun! This is for your own good Ranma-kun, just relax and don't misbehave!"

Ranma leaned forward with some difficulty and set her teacup on the table. Turning around to face the overanxious little girl she started to say, "Hinako, what in the name of..."

Then Soun rushed into the room and had Ranma in his arms before the redhead could switch gears and tell him to stop. "This is for your own good Ranma, don't put up a fight," the big man said as he turned and raced towards the hallway.

"Careful honey," cried out the little girl, "I haven't drained her yet."

"Put me down!" Ranma screamed, "Dad, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

As Ranma and Soun disappeared down the hall with Ryouga hot on their heels, Akari walked up to the diminutive schoolteacher and asked, "Excuse me sensei, but just what are the two of you doing here?"

"We got a call from Akane-chan," Hinako said excitedly, "She told us that Ranma-kun was being bad and refused to take her bath. I can't stand bad girls who refuse to do as they're told."

"But," Akari said trying to keep in mind that the petulant little girl in front of her was actually older than she was, "Ranma took her bath with the twins about half an hour ago. She used the waterproof soap too. That's why Ryouga and I are here, he's going to fight Akane's kidnapper. Not Ranma."

"Oh," Hinako said with a flustered look, "That's okay then. Hey, you wanna play hide and seek?"

A few minutes later an angry, but still dry Ranma stormed back into the living room followed by a pair of drenched, contrite looking men.

"You could've at least asked first, dad." Ranma spat out.

"It's usually better to act first and ask questions later when dealing with you, son." In spite of being soaked, Soun was making things worse by bawling his eyes out.

Akari looked skeptically at her dripping husband and asked, "Why are you all wet?"

"Let's just say you missed a chance to snuggle the piglet," Ryouga said while wiping his face with a towel he'd brought from the bathroom, "and just leave it at that."

Ranma plopped down on the couch and crossed her arms insolently, "I can't believe she had a chance to use the phone and called you instead of me!"

Hinako crawled up on the sofa next to her son-in-law and patted the redhead's shoulder, "Akane-chan was worried about you Ranma-kun. You do have a bad reputation when it comes to fighting. She just wanted us to make sure you didn't do something that might hurt little Ranko-chan."

"She should trust me more than that," Ranma said glumly, but in truth she was more upset with herself for having even considered it than with Akane. "Did she sound all right? Did those bastards hurt her?"

"She's fine," Soun said wiping away his tears with the dishtowel Akari brought him from the kitchen. "They're holding her in a hotel somewhere near the harbor, but she wouldn't tell us exactly where. She said it might make things worse if we tried to rescue her."

"She's probably right," Ryouga said, "it sounds like this guy Nabe won't be satisfied until someone's beaten him to a pulp."

"Maybe not even then," Ranma said gravely. "Ryouga, I probably shouldn't even ask you this, but you may have to do more than just beat him up. I don't want this guy ever coming back to threaten my family again, especially after the baby comes."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room that was only broken a few minutes later by the ringing of the telephone. Before anyone else could react, Ranma had vaulted the couch, raced to the dinning room and had the phone in her hand. "Akane? Are you all right? Why didn't you call me? Huh... Yeah, I love you too..."

As Ranma settled into a corner of the dinning room with the phone, the others gravitated back to the living room. Soun joined Hinako on the couch as Ryouga and Akari headed towards the veranda. The fang-toothed martial artist wrapped his arms around his petite wife to shelter her from the chilly autumn night air.

"Ryou," Akari whispered, "about what Ranma was saying..."

"Don't worry," Ryouga said, "it probably won't come to that."

"If it does, just consider what Ranma would do if it was someone coming after you, me and our baby."

"I already have Ri-chan," Ryouga squeezed her tightly to his chest as they gazed out at the moonlit water of the koi pond, "He'd kill the bastard."

o o o

The next morning Nodoka & Akari knelt near the shrine in her son's dojo watching the drama unfold on the practice floor. Genma, Soun and the Hibiki boy stood facing the defiant figure of Ranma's cursed form, her twenty-five week old baby greatly evident in the leotard she was wearing.

Nodoka had disliked Ryouya from the moment she first heard him threaten her son's life. He had stood as best man for Ranma's wedding over her objections. The fact that he lived on a farm far from Tokyo only made her feel more at ease. Yet, the way he jumped to her son's defense in this crisis had earned him some points in Nodoka's book of manly acts.

She turned her attention to the argument going on out on the practice floor. Ranma's cursed girl had called them all here this morning to try and convince the elder masters of the Art to help her regain her balance. Nodoka cared little for what the little redhead wanted and she had told Genma that the baby was not to be harmed under any circumstance.

"Doing katas just doesn't help, pop," Ranma rebuked her father for the umpteenth time, "if I'm ever going to get back in shape, I've got to do some real sparing."

"Why do you need to get back into shape?" Genma griped. He found himself in the bizarre position of trying to talk his son out of a workout, but nobody else seemed to acknowledge how dangerous this was. "Hibiki-kun has already agreed to deal with this idiot who took Akane and you know Tendo and I will back him up. Why do you even need to be there?"

"Because he challenged me! I promised he would face me! I'm honor bound to be there even if I'm not fighting, but I'll just be putting Ryouga at risk if I can't even get out of the way of a badly thrown punch. Please pop, all I'm asking for is some defensive sparring. I promise you won't hurt the baby."

Nodoka raised an eyebrow at that. It was always disquieting to here Ranma's words come out in that lilting soprano voice. She wondered how much her manly young son had to struggle against the female cruse in order to be heard.

Genma suddenly looked imploringly to her for guidance, but Nodoka merely bowed her head in silence. Her husband already knew how she felt. The protection of their granddaughter was the only issue here today.

"Ranma," Genma said plaintively, "there's no way to insure Ranko-chan's safety and you can't expect us to spar effectively if we're forced to pull punches."

Ranma gave her father an imploring look, "Pop, I've never known you to pull punches with a student, but I've also never known you to hit one in a sore spot either. If we work up to it slowly and I get my balance back you can throw lightening bolts at me and they'll never touch Ranko-chan."

Genma bent over and placed his hands on his knees, trying not to look the little redhead in the eye. He's weakening, Nodoka thought. She knew he had one soft spot when it came to the Art and Ranma was playing right to it.

"Please pop, you're the best teacher of the Art I've ever known. You took a six-year-old boy who hates to get up in the morning and turned him into the greatest martial artist in the world. Are you telling me you can't teach one pregnant woman how to dodge a punch?"

"Okay," Genma said straightening up, "Enough! We'll try it, but just you and me. One on one and we stop the first time I even come close to the baby. You hear me boy? If that little girl so much as wakes up because of this..."

Ranma grinned triumphantly, "She won't, pop. I promise."

Genma backed up a couple of steps and dropped into a boxing stance. Ranma relaxed and bent her knees, but even Nodoka could tell that her stance was too wide. Genma looked as if he were about to break stance and correct her when Ranma smirked and crossed her wrists in front of her, "Come on old man, show me how you throw a punch."

Genma advanced and then danced to the right. He threw a couple of jabs at Ranma's head, which she easily dodged. He danced to the left and threw a right hook that whizzed through the empty space where a head full of red hair had been a moment before.

With a smirk Ranma said, "Geeze pop, I though I was the one who needed the workout."

The older man snickered, "Don't get cocky boy!" Then he threw two quick jabs and another hook. Before Ranma had time to make another snide remark Genma dropped low and aimed a hard right jab at the girl's left thigh. He intended to give her a big enough bruise to prove his point and end this dangerous game, but at the last second Ranma shifted her weight and dropped down in front of his punch. Instead of her thigh he was now aimed squarely at her swollen abdomen.

Nodoka leapt to her feet as Akari screamed. Both Ryouga and Soun lunged at Genma, but they were hopelessly too late. Nodoka squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see her child take the blow.

When she dared to open them again, Genma was on his knees in front of Ranma. His trembling fist hung frozen in mid-air a mere centimeter from Ranma's belly. Sweat drenched his whole body and the veins in his arm stood out like a relief map.

Crouched in front of him, unruffled and unmoved, Ranma smiled sweetly. She took hold of his fist with both of her hands and massaged it gently. Genma opened his eyes and stared slack jawed at her. His mouth moved, but no words came out.

"Why?" she said for him, "Because you wouldn't have tried it yourself. You can control your punches better than anyone I know. I knew you wouldn't hit me and now so do you." Gently she lifted his still clenched fist to her cheek and brushed it against his rough knuckles. "I trust you, pop." Then she moved his hand to her abdomen, where she pried open his fingers and laid them gently over Ranko-chan. "I trust you with both our lives."

Nodoka's mind was reeling. How could Ranma have done such an irrational thing? How could she put so much trust into that fool of a father after all he had done to her as a child? As she watched the tender exchange between father and daughter with some envy, she felt herself wanting to rush over and either slap the girl senseless or hug her and never let go.

Ranma stood up with Genma's help. She looked around at the three men and her smile lit up the big room. It was as if her skin was aglow and with total confidence she said, "Okay guys, let's get started. You call the shots, pop."

o o o

Three hours later, Nodoka stood on the practice floor with the others holding a katana in her hands. In spite of her obsession with collecting the traditional Japanese swords, she actually knew very little about using them. Swordsmanship was not something a girl of her generation was allowed to learn. However, for this exercise it wasn't necessary for her to actually do anything with the blade other than try and hold onto it. The three men were also armed with a katana and they all stood in a circle around Ranma.

At the center of the circle Ranma quietly prepared herself with a breathing exercise. She had been going non-stop for this entire time and the progress she'd made amazed Nodoka. She had always taken her son's abilities for granted, but watching this girl progress from simple defensive moves up through greater and more complex ones in so short a time demonstrated what an amazingly talented person her child really was.

Ranma had demonstrated something else to Nodoka today. Throughout the ordeal, the girl had exhibited the same drive and determination she always associated with her son. The redhead was even capable of being just as cocky. But she had also shown a tenderness and compassion that was wholly consistent with her gender and the delicate condition she was in. Nodoka probably would never admit it to anyone, but she was becoming very proud of the girl.

Ranma closed her eyes and signaled she was ready. Silently the others began circling the redhead, katanas at the ready. Nothing happened for several seconds, but then suddenly Nodoka found herself standing where Ranma had been with her hands empty. Her wrists stung a little, but the men seemed to have faired much worse. They were all sprawled across the floor trying to shake off the pain.

Ranma stood to one side next to a tripod formed by three of the katanas. The forth she balanced on the tip of her finger as she stood on one leg and massaged her tummy with the other hand. "I think that pretty much covers disarming multiple attackers with real swords, don't you dad?"

Soun groaned from his position on the floor, "I only suggested we try it with real swords because those thugs aren't likely to show up with bokens."

Ryouga sat up, still rubbing his sore wrist. "Maybe we should take a break. We've been at this for hours now."

"Nonsense," Genma said, dragging himself to his feet, "we still need to work on pole weapons and hurled objects."

Ranma seemed to droop a little as she placed the katana she'd been balancing with the others. "Pop's right. We've only got today and tomorrow to get ready for this and I want Ryouga to get in some practice time too-oo-oo..."

Nodoka watched the color drain from Ranma's face, then her knees went rubbery and she keeled over. Whoever said you couldn't move quickly in a kimono has never seen a desperate mother lunging to catch her falling child. Before any of the men even knew she was in trouble, Ranma lay comfortably in Nodoka's lap.

"Hibiki-kun," Nodoka ordered, "she needs water. Get some from the kitchen and don't spill any on yourself!" Ryouga jumped up and raced for the house.

"What's wrong with her?" Genma asked with a stricken look.

"What's wrong is you idiots have been driving her too hard for the last three hours. She's a woman, not a robot." Nodoka swept the hair from Ranma's forehead and rested her own against it. "She's a little feverish, but not enough to be worried about yet."

Ranma groaned as her eyes fluttered open, "Mom?"

"Yes sweetheart, I've got you. When was the last time you ate a meal?"

Ranma blinked in surprise, "Uh... breakfast I guess. I ate something when I fed the boys."

"What did you eat?" Nodoka demanded.

"Well... a banana."

"All you've eaten today is a single banana?" Nodoka became livid when the girl nodded, "Do you actually think you and your baby can survive on a single banana?"

"I'm sorry, mo..." Ranma checked herself this time, knowing how much her mother disliked being called 'mom' by her girl half.

Nodoka turned to Akari, "Hibiki-chan, would you run to the kitchen and get a glass of milk. Mix in half a cup of rice from the cooker and a little sugar. That should hold her over until we can get some real food into her." Akari jumped up and rushed from the dojo.

"Ranma-chan, your fathers are going out to get you something to eat, what would you like?"

"We are?" Genma and Soun said in unison, but a nasty glare from Nodoka put an end to their objections.

Ranma looked stunned, but she managed to stammer out, "Uh... takoyaki would be nice and maybe some mint chocolate chip ice cream."

"Got that?" Nodoka demanded of her husband.

"Yeah, fried octopus dumplings and some ice cream for dessert."

"No," Ranma said weakly, "not for dessert. All mixed together."

Soun and Genma exchanged disgusted looks. "All mixed together?"

"You heard what my little girl said," Nodoka shouted at them, "now go to the convenience store and get it!"

As the two men hurried out the door leaving them alone, Ranma stared up at her mother in disbelief. "Mom?"

"Yes sweetheart, what is it?"

"You... you just called me your... your little girl."

Nodoka smiled down at her, "Yes... I guess I did, didn't I? I've been thinking about it and it seems silly of me to treat you like someone separate from my son, when you're so obviously the same person. But you're not my son right now, are you? You're my daughter and I'm very proud of you. Of course when you're my son again I expect you to act accordingly."

Tears began to fill the corners of Ranma's eyes as she tried to speak without crying, "Mom... I... I will. I promise."

"You know, you really shouldn't act quite so arrogant when you look like this. It's not becoming for a young woman to be so boastful. Of course I blame your father for not teaching you proper etiquette after he caused all this. I suppose you don't know the first thing about the tea ceremony or flower arrangement either?"

"No mom, not really." Tears streamed down Ranma's cheeks even as her face ached from the huge smile splitting it in two. Her mother was talking to her girl half like a real person for the first time since she pretended to be Ranko Tendo and an eleven-year rift between them was finally beginning to mend.

o o o

Akane reached into the pile of Mahjong tiles and picked one out. Looking at it she smiled, placed it with the rest of her hand and laid the whole thing down at once.

Goro groaned, "Aw crap! Not again."

The tiny woman across the table from Akane backhanded the big man across the face, "Mind your mouth Goro-chan!"

The forth person at the table, a little weasel of a man named Shichiro, laughed and was rewarded with a backhanded slap of his own.

"You be quiet and count up the points, it's your deal."

"I'm sorry mama," Goro said apologetically while rubbing the red spot on his cheek. "but ya guys keep on winnin' and it's gettin' expensive."

Akane met Goro's mother Takara on her second day of captivity when the woman's curiosity was piqued by all the exotic food her son kept taking up to room 904. She and Akane hit it off right away and the extra company had certainly made the time go by more easily. It was already the third day and as soon as Nabe showed up she would be going home.

She alone knew what awaited them back at the dojo. Takara had turned on the telephone for her after taking several incoming calls from Ranma. So she knew Ryouga was going to fight Nabe and that Ranma had worked hard to regain her defensive skills so that she could be there as well.

Akane had been delighted to hear about Nodoka's long overdue acceptance of Ranma's girl half, but it had already caused her husband quite a bit of undue stress. Nodoka was now constantly giving her daughter advice on how to act more like a proper Japanese lady and had already dragged the redhead off for a shopping trip to buy more maternity clothes.

Shichiro hunched over a pad of paper and scribbled away furiously with a stubby little pencil, "Uh... that's 800 points, so... let's see, that's..."

"...Another 2400 yen from you two." Akane said with a wink at Takara. "Looks like we'll get that trip to the onsen sooner than we though, eh Sato-san?"

"I think you're right Saotome-san." Goro's mother winked back.

Takara had been trying to get her son to send her on a weekend trip to the hot springs in Hakone for ages and enlisted Akane to help her hustle him into finally paying for it. Akane didn't know how the middle-aged ex-prostitute was stacking the tiles in their favor and wasn't about to ask. The woman was tough as nails and scarier than her son and Nabe-kun put together.

"Shall we play another round?" Akane asked brightly, "When's your boss supposed to show up, Goro-kun?"

Goro checked his watch, "He ough'ta be here any time, but I guess it wouldn't hurt ta start 'nother round. How 'bout it Shichiro?"

"I sure wouldn't mind winning back some of my losses," the little man whined. "I'm startin' to feel like the duck here."

They mixed up the tiles in the center of the table and were just starting to stack them when Nabe threw open the door and charged into the room.

"Goro, what the hell are you doing all the way up here? I was expecting you to be in the lobby..." Nabe looked around the room in amazement. Over the last three days it had taken on more of the appearance of a home than a cheap businessman's hotel. There were nicely arranged flowers on the dresser and Takara had brought up satin sheets and a crochet comforter for the bed. "Is this your idea of a joke? Saotome's our hostage, not a visiting aunt!"

"Um... well., ya see boss dis was ma's idea..." Goro looked like a middle-schooler who had just been caught smoking in the boy's room.

"Oh," Nabe said noticing Takara for the first time, "Hello Sato-san."

"Nice to see you again too, Nabe-sama. I hope your father's well. I don't hear from him as often as I used to."

"Neither do I," Nabe closed his eyes and shook his head, hoping that reality would return when he opened them again. "Goro, just tie her up and bring her down to the car."

"You still have a chance to stop this before anyone gets hurt Nabe-kun," Akane said as the Goro tightened a plastic tie-wrap around her wrists.

Nabe turned at the door and said with a wicked grin, "Now why would I do that?"

o o o

Ranma paced nervously back and forth across the dojo floor as Ryouga sat calmly to one side watching her. Every once in a while, Ranma would slide open the door to the courtyard and peek outside, but so far there had been no sign of Nabe or Akane.

"Ranma, try and relax," Ryouga said calmly. "You're going to wear a groove in the floor. When's this guy supposed to show up anyway?"

"I don't know. Akane said something about noon, but it's not like they were telling her all their plans."

"Well it's almost twelve now," Ryouga said looking at his cell phone. "If they don't show soon I'll tell Akari to start making lunch. Otherwise I'll catch hell from your mother again."

"You know," Ranma said in a worried tone, "I don't think it was a good idea bringing Akari along. What if they go after her?"

"Those guys will never get past the dojo and Akari knows better than to leave the house."

Ryouga no sooner finished saying this when Akari popped her head in the door and said, "Uh, there's a couple of men standing in the garden and one of them has Akane. Should I bring them out here?"

"Who the hell are you?" Nabe said when Ryouga appeared on the veranda.

Ranma hung back in the living room with Akari and watched through the sliding doors. Nabe stood in the middle of the yard near the koi pond, while off to one side Akane stood with her hands bound and a piece of plastic tape across her mouth. Behind her stood the same big thug that had taken her captive three days before, restraining her with a hand on each shoulder.

"Ranma wasn't kidding," Ryouga said with a chuckle, "you are stupid. You're supposed to challenge a dojo in the dojo like a man, not by sneaking into the backyard."

"I kind of like this little garden," Nabe said with a grin, "Ranma never once invited me back here while I was a student, so I invited myself. You never answered my question."

"I suppose I owe you that much before I throw you out of here, my name's Ryouga and today I'm the bouncer."

"Very amusing," Nabe said without smiling, "Tell me funny man, just where is Ranma? Hiding in that cheap little dojo of his? He and I have an appointment today, so go fetch him before I get bored and start having fun with his wife."

Ryouga glanced at Akane and smiled. Turning back to Nabe he said, "I'm the only one you're going to have any fun with today rich boy. Ranma can't be bothered with dropouts like you. So just let Akane go and then we can move to the dojo for some real fun."

A petulant look came over Nabe's face as he trust his hands in his pockets and twirled around on his heel. Stamping his foot on the ground he shouted, "I just knew it! That spineless wimp stood me up again! And to add insult to injury he sends a hick like you to face me. Look pal, you may be strong enough to lift the hay wagon when it's full, but you are a hundred years to early to go up against me."

"Really," Ryouga snickered, "why don't we head to the dojo and just see about that."

"Why not right here country boy? I told you, I kinda like this little garden." Both Ryouga and Ranma noticed the way Nabe's eyes darted around the yard when he said this. Ryouga quickly scanned the bushes and trees, but Ranma focused on the way Nabe kept glancing at the pond.

"It doesn't matter to me where you get the crap beat out of you, but you might tell those two goons hiding in the bushes to come out in the open. If I can't see them I can't guarantee I won't throw your sorry carcass into one them."

Nabe grinned, "Not bad for a rice picker. Okay, have it your way. Hachiro! Kenji! Come out here and plant this hayseed for me."

Ranma watched with growing distress as two men emerged from the bushes at the perimeter of the garden. These were not the unskilled thugs Nabe had brought the time before. These men moved with professional adroitness and a calm sobriety that marked them as dangerous adversaries. She was relieved to see Ryouga shift his stance to a more guarded one.

"Aw, I wish you'd told me you were bringing a pair of wrestling pigs." Ryouga scoffed, "I'd have brought a couple of my own. Do you have papers for these porkers?"

The hit men ignored Ryouga's insults as they took up offensive positions in the middle of the yard. Their fighting stances were relaxed and disciplined, showing no obvious openings.

Not that Ryouga needed an opening, he made openings, and with a nonchalant shrug he charged into the yard and engaged them. He began by simply running right into Hachiro and bowling him over with shear force. The man wasn't down for long, but by the time he was on his feet again Ryouga was slamming him with roundhouse kick that carried the force of a sledgehammer.

As Hachiro rolled away from the blow, Kenji attacked with a series of quick jabs. Those that Ryouga didn't block landed ineffectively on his rock hard chest. The stunned hit man jumped back and stared wide eyed as Ryouga sent a flurry of razor sharp bandannas flying his way. He managed to deflect them all, but at the cost of reducing his sleeves to tattered shreds.

Meanwhile Ryouga turned to face Hachiro who launched into a flying kick. With a grin of pure enjoyment, Ryouga grabbed the flying man's foot and swung him forcibly around, releasing him straight at Kenji. The two men slammed into each other head-to-head and collapsed into a heap.

"Thanks for the warm up guys," Ryouga said with friendly wave to the fallen men. He turned towards Nabe with a grin and said, "Now, how about you and me rich boy?"

Even Ranma was surprised by the speed and ferocity of Ryouga's attack. That should have sent Nabe a clear message that he was far too outclassed, but for some reason the hotshot seemed completely unimpressed. With a wicked grin the young gangster took up his own fighting stance. It was a pretty good one and showed Ranma's teaching influence, but something about the way the young man held his hands sent her battle senses soaring.

"No way..." she cried, rushing to the veranda for a closer look. But what she saw in Nabe's stance and the fog of breath that formed in front of Ryouga's face only confirmed her worst fears. "Ryouga, chill out your aura!" she screamed just as the surface of the koi pond erupted in a waterspout three meters high.

Almost as soon as it formed Ranma heard Nabe shout "Hiryu Shouten Ha!" and the column of water leapt from the surface of the pond smashing into Ryouga like a giant fist. As he disappeared into the wall of ice-cold water Ranma heard her friend cry out in rage, but as the roar of the cyclone began to fade all she could hear was Nabe's cackling laughter.

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) okaa-san - the Japanese term one uses when address their own mother.

(2) kyu & dan - denotes the skill level of a martial artist. Japanese martial arts rarely use colored belts to demote skill level and anyone below a western black-belt is generally referred to as kyu-level. Above black-belt are various levels called dan, such as first-dan, second-dan, etc.

(3) boken - a wooden practice sword the same size and shape as a katana.

(4) takoyaki - fried dumplings made from octopus, batter and seasonings. It is usually sold by street vendors in Japan, but can also be found at many convenience stores.

(5) Mahjong - a Chinese game played with tiles. The Japanese version is a gambling game for four people and is sometimes played with partners.