Martial Arts Motherhood Challenge Chapter 10 – Strong Women, a ranma fanfic

Chapter 10 - Strong Women

Akane looked on in shock as the column of water quickly engulfed Ryouga. If Nabe had waited for the power to build and fuel itself off Ryouga's hot battle aura to a point where it had enough force to actually hurt someone, their friend would have had enough time to mount a defense. But the impatient moron had released the blast almost before it was fully formed. In his haste Nabe had unwittingly launched the only attack that could defeat his opponent.

She watched as first a yellow shirt and then a pair of brown pants was carried across the lawn by the water. When the stream finally stopped it was no surprise to see an enraged soaking wet piglet with a yellow bandana around its neck jumping up and down in a small puddle on the lawn.

Nabe stared in wonder at the sight. "Whoa!" he said "The old crone never said it would do anything like that. Hot damn!" The gangster strode across the lawn for a closer look at the little pig.

"Stay away from him!" Ranma shouted from the veranda. Akane saw the look of surprise and regret in her husband's eyes. She felt sorry for the redhead, but was also glad to see that she had been splashed with more than enough cold water to prove she had indeed been using the magic soap.

"Aw," crooned Nabe as he bent over in front of P-chan, "I wouldn't hurt da widdle piggy." He stuck his hand out to grab the animal and Ryouga sunk his fangs, such as they were, deep into the fleshy part of the man's thumb. Nabe screamed and shook the piglet loose. "You little son of a..." Nabe then kicked P-chan as hard as he could, sending him flying into one of the boulders beside the pond. He ricocheted off the rock and landed on the lawn next to the water, a lifeless lump of black fur.

Akari screamed and raced from the living room onto the veranda. Ranma whipped around and caught her with one arm, dragging her back towards the house. "Akari," Ranma said in a strangely monotone voice. "Just go back into the house. Stand behind the sofa and don't come out into the yard for any reason. I promise you, that man will never touch Ryouga again!"

As she backed away from the redhead, Akari looked into Ranma's eyes. Instantly she was eight years old again. Her father's prize hog, Katashi, had broken from his pen and wandered into the nearby forest. They searched until sunset, but could find no trace of him.

The next morning he returned covered in cuts and bite marks, but otherwise okay. A week later though he fell into a fever and within a few hours was foaming at the mouth and bashing head first into anything that moved.

Akari had watched her father meticulously loading his rifle and against his wishes followed him to Katashi's pen. She could not remember the sound of the gun going off, but she would never forget the cold savage look in her father's eyes the moment before he pulled the trigger.

She saw that look now in the bright blue eyes of the pregnant martial artist in front of her. She backed away from those cold eyes and ran to hide behind the couch. Ranma was going to put down a rabid beast and Akari did not want to witness that again.

On the lawn Hachiro and Kenji had come to and were dragging themselves to their feet. They took up wobbly positions on either side of Nabe as he turned to face the porch. "So little sister. Here we are again and still no sign of that arrogant good for nothing bro..."

"Shut up Chunko," Ranma shouted from the porch. Her voiced seemed to have dropped an octave and her gaze was contemptuous. "You stupid, lazy, impatient little twerp! I don't know where a worthless piece of trash like you could have learned that technique, but I have a pretty good idea. I can't tell if she just didn't teach you the whole thing or if you were too stupid to listen, but the Heavenly Dragon Blast didn't turn Ryouga into a pig. Only a fool like you would even think something like that, Chunko."

"Don't call me that!" Nabe shouted, "Where's your brother?"

Ranma laughed, "I haven't got a brother you idiot. Don't you get it? Ryouga turned into a pig because he's cursed. An ancient Chinese curse that transforms him whenever he's struck with cold water. But he's not the only one around here with a curse. Ranma Saotome has one just like it, but he doesn't change into a pig."

"Oh yeah," sneered the young gangster. "Let me guess, he changes into a chicken."

"No," Ranma said with an arrogant snort, "he turns into your worst nightmare... He turns into me! I'm Ranma Saotome you jackass and I've been here all along!"

Nabe looked like he had just been punched in the stomach. His head whipped from the girl on the porch to the little black ball of fur lying by the pond. "Y-you... you c-can't be R-ranma!"

"Ever seen the two of us in the same room together?" Ranma laughed, she'd always wanted to point that out to somebody.

"It can't be," Nabe looked confused. "I can't fight you!"

"What's wrong Chunko, afraid to face a pregnant woman?"

Akane watched as Nabe's battle aura began to change from the cool body of ice to red-hot. She looked at Ranma, but her aura was so suppressed it was impossible to read. Then in an instant she knew what her husband was planning to do.

"Stop calling me that name!" screamed Nabe.

"What's wrong Chunko?" Ranma taunted from the veranda, "Afraid a sumo pig might come along and eat you up?"

"Shut up! I don't care if you are knocked up. If you don't shut up I'll..."

"You'll do what? Use the Hiryu Shouten Ha again?" Ranma laughed. "Don't embarrass yourself Chunko. You haven't got a clue how it really works, but I'll give you a little demonstration if you like. How about it Chunko?"

Nabe turned to the two hit men who were now pretty much back to normal, "Make that little redheaded bitch shut up!"

Akane saw Ranma move the moment Nabe turned his back. Akane moved too, she pulled forward against Goro's grip and the big man reacted by drawing the small woman tightly to his chest. Held firmly now, she used him as support to pull her knees to her chest. Then channeling all her energy into her legs, she smashed her heels down onto the big man's knees.

She felt his kneecaps tear loose and slide down exposing his leg bones for her to use as a springboard. As he screamed in agony and let go of her, she launched herself across the lawn. Smashing into the ground hard, she rolled towards the pond. When she got to where P-chan lay unconscious, she curled herself around the piglet and thrust her bound hands into the pond water. Then she began channeling off heat as fast as she could.

On the veranda Ranma had taken two steps to the edge and launched herself high into the air over the yard. Suddenly the three men standing on the lawn felt all warmth disappear from the air around them. Spider webs of ice raced across the surface of the pond as it froze with a loud crack.

When she cleared the top of the garden wall, Ranma began drawing heat from any source she could. Windowpanes in the surrounding houses frosted over in an instant. The electric transformer on the pole across the street screamed in metallic anguish as a centimeter thick shell of frost formed around it. A delivery boy's scooter suddenly sputtered to a halt, the fuel line frozen solid.

Then in the frigid air two hundred meters above the house the sound of a passing jet was lost to the growing roar as massive forces began to churn. Nabe looked up in shock and horror as a writhing funnel appeared in the sky and raced towards him. It smashed into the ground between the three men and ripped a giant hole in the lawn. The grass and dirt gave the swirling tornado form as the freight train sound of it drowned out their panicked cries.

As Ranma approached the apex of her leap she shifted her wrists and the funnel engulfed Kenji before he knew what hit him. Another shift and Hachiro was sucked up as well, his screams lost to the swirling winds. Nabe tried to run, but a flick of Ranma's wrist sent the gapping maw of the tornado after him and he quickly disappeared into the maelstrom as well.

Ranma lifted her hands skyward and the funnel jumped into the air towards her. She pulled at the swirling flow of hot and cold ki the way a child pulls on a slingshot and at the last moment before her upward momentum died she released it. The shaft of churning wind inverted itself sending its contents, including three large tattered lumps, hurtling over Tokyo on their way to the bay.

Akane rolled over and gazed up at the clearing sky just in time to see Ranma begin her descent. She was setting herself up for a diving approach at the pond when suddenly she grabbed her belly and tumbled out of control. Akane leapt to her feet and tried desperately to free her hands from the plastic restraint, but it had melted and deformed from the heat she cast off into the pond.

Ranma recovered in time to realize she was in trouble. There was no way she could make the pond now so she checked her tumble and began to fall face up towards the ruined lawn. If she landed on her shoulders, the baby should be protected from most of the shock. Ranma would probably break her neck, but the baby might survive.

Then suddenly she was swallowed up in a soft blanket of black and white hair. She rebounded off the squashy mountain of fur and was caught in mid-air by two massive black paws. Genma groaned as he rolled to one side and set his daughter gently down on the lawn where she curled into a little ball and lay still.

Akane freed herself at last and raced to her husband's side. At the same time Akari and Nodoka exploded from the living room. As Akari scooped up Ryouga from beside the pond and Nodoka fell to her knees hugging the giant panda, Akane gently touched Ranma's shoulder.

The redhead was shaking from head to foot. It seemed as though her whole body was wracked with sobs. Akane pulled on her arm, anxious to know if Ranma and the baby were all right. Ripping the plastic tape from her mouth she cried out, "Ranma! Are you okay? What happened?"

Ranma rolled over and everyone heard the laughter coming from her. "She kicked me! Ranko-chan finally kicked me! Damn, it was a good one too. Feel this Akane, she's using my belly button for a punching bag right now."

Akane grinned at her mate in relief. Only Ranma Saotome could unleash such a devastating attack, be snatched from the grasp of certain death and then laugh about the baby kicking her, all within the span of one minute! She reflected on the time she had just spent away from this outrageous world of Ranma's. It had been a nice vacation, but she was really glad to be home.

o o o

Shampoo worked her way silently through the underbrush towards the crest of the hill. Waiting for her there, crouched behind a bush was P'ur Mu, one of Shampoo's most talented group leaders. Perm was nineteen, muscular and had curly brown hair down to her shoulders.

Sensing her leader's presence, Perm waved her hand to suggest Shampoo crouch down as well. She did and crept up beside the girl. Peering through the bush, she spotted two vehicles in the small valley below. In a low cautious voice she whispered, "So they're the ones?"

Perm nodded, "Yes ma'am. PLA regulars, five men, no warriors, the leader is wearing a second lieutenant's star. They entered the valley about four hours ago and drove twenty klicks up the decoy road. Then they returned here and for the last hour have been trying to figure out how to work the GPS."

Shampoo nodded. Perm had just returned from an eighteen-month stint in the People's Liberation Army, where she'd learned more technical jargon than Shampoo ever hoped to hear. "Let me guess, they haven't looked at the manual yet?"

"It's been sitting on the hood of the staff car unopened the whole time," grinned the younger woman.

"Okay," Shampoo said decisively, "Take your team and subdue the solders. Capture the leader and return him to me here."

"It would be easier to just kill them Warrior Leader," Perm said expressionlessly.

Shampoo sighed. If Perm had one fault, it was that she was too aggressive. "No, we don't yet know why they're here. Before we decide what to do with them, let's interrogate the leader. For all we know they're just lost."

To her credit Perm didn't protest Shampoo's decision, but instead disappeared silently into the surrounding underbrush. A few minutes later the three men with rifles standing behind the truck, slumped forward in the arms of the three young Amazon's. Shampoo watched as her warriors silently snuck up on the two men arguing over the hood of the sand colored land cruiser.

Perm quickly subdued the remaining soldier while the other two disarmed and restrained the man in the officer's uniform. Shampoo was pleased with the speed and efficiency of the team. She thought such talents might just be wasted out here patrolling the perimeter.

A few minutes later the three warriors slipped into the clearing with the PLA lieutenant suspended between Shin I'pu on one arm and Kulee I'pu on the other. Snip and Clip deposited him in front of Shampoo and backed off. Looking around wildly at the Amazons he stammered, "W-who are you? Y-you can't do this! I'm an officer of the People's Liber..."

"I know who you are fool!" Shampoo shouted into his face, "What I want to know is why you're here. What brings you into these mountains?"

He looked shocked and aroused all at the same time. Shampoo looked down at the bulge in his pants and he leered at her, "I'd say from the looks of it, I'm here to have some fun..."

Shampoo's backhanded slap snapped the man's neck around painfully. Pointing at his crotch she stared him in the eye and said, "Enjoy that while you can, this might be the last time it ever stands at attention."

The blood drained from the lieutenant's face and the bulge quickly disappeared. A look of determination came over his face as he spat blood from his mouth and said, "I'm not telling you anything. I have my orders."

"You don't seem to understand your situation," Shampoo said in a cold voice, "You're in the middle of nowhere and your men are all tied up. You are going to answer my questions or none of you will ever leave here."

"Threaten me all you want lady. Torture me if you think you can," he said defiantly, "but I'm not talking."

"Perm, please demonstrate for this man just what we think we can do."

The young warrior walked over to a small boulder about half a meter across. Placing her hand on its side, she concentrated her chi and muttered, "Bakusai Tenketsu." Suddenly the rock slid several meters away and disintegrated into dust.

"Now," Shampoo said to the wide eyed soldier, "can you even begin to imagine what would happen if I placed my hand right here..." Shampoo grabbed the lieutenant's crotch, "and uttered those same words?"

Sweat poured off the man as he began to succumb to Shampoo's battle aura. She hadn't fought that old lecher Happosai all those times without learning something from him.

Behind the lieutenant, Snip and Clip snickered. They knew as well as Shampoo that the Bakusai Tenketsu was useless against people, but the young man misinterpreted their laughter as anxiousness to see his manhood reduced to rubble.

"M-my orders are to find out who's been harassing refugees in this area. I was given the coordinates of a village near here, b-but something's wrong with the GPS. It says there's a road where there isn't one. Please, I have a wife. We haven't had our one child yet..."

Shampoo unceremoniously released him and he fell back into the strong waiting arms of Snip and Clip. Then she turned to Perm and switched from speaking Mandarin to the local Qinghai provincial dialect, "There, you see. If we'd killed them right away we'd have had a hundred more looking for them a week from now."

"What should we do?"

Shampoo reached into her satchel and pulled out a couple of bottles. Handing them to Perm she said, "Use the Hissatsu Shiatsuken to wipe out the memory of all the soldiers. Make sure they remember nothing of the last two days. Then put them in the truck and drive it to the base of the mountain."

"What about him?" Perm said indicating the lieutenant who was still on his knees shaking.

Shampoo took out another bottle, "I'll take care of him. We need to be very selective about what he remembers. Do you know how to program that GPS of theirs?"

"Of course, it's standard issue."

"Good, then set a new course that leads them straight through the Jusenkyo training grounds. Send word to the Guide that now would be a good time for him to go visit his family."

Perm grinned, "I can also set the GPS to send out a distress beacon in twenty-four hours. It'll lead the PLA straight to whatever's left of them and away from our village."

"Excellent!" Shampoo was truly impressed with the young warrior. "Let's get this wrapped up so we can all make it home for dinner."

Perm and her team slipped silently out of the clearing leaving the frightened officer alone with Shampoo. She grinned at him and said in Mandarin, "Don't worry. We're letting you all go." He didn't look convinced so she asked him seductively, "Tell me, have you ever had your hair washed by a pretty girl?"

o o o

Within an hour after the battle with Nabe, things at the Saotome house had settled down to something close to normal. Akari was in the bath with her sore, but very much alive, little piglet. The giant panda, who was pretending to be in more pain than he really was, was stretched out on the sofa with his head cradled in Nodoka's lap. Meanwhile Ranma sat on the floor in front of them, talking to her mother and occasionally reacting to the now increasingly commonplace kicks from Ranko-chan.

"So when did you guys show up?" Ranma asked.

"Right around noon," Nodoka said while massaging the panda's ears. "I know we promised to stay away, but your father's been anxious all morning and when I suggested we might come over just to make sure you ate a good lunch... well, we were worried about you. That's all."

"I know mom. I sure am glad you showed up when you did."

"Actually we were waiting out in the dojo for quite a while. You said that's where you wanted the challenge to take place, so we waited and waited and then we heard that awful noise. I didn't know what it could be, but your father went running as soon as he heard it."

"So how come you're a panda, pop?"

The panda grunted and held up a sign that read, "Water bucket," then he flipped it over, "on the kitchen floor."

"Oh yeah," Ranma said turning a little red, "The boys and I were making pancakes this morning and they spilled batter all over the floor. Guess I forgot to put away the mop and bucket. Sorry pop."

"That's okay," the sign read next.

Akari walked into the room with a not so lively looking Ryouga on her arm. "Hi everybody," he said with a wince of pain, "sorry to worry you all."

"Does it hurt much?" Ranma asked.

"It was worse as a pig. Guess I've got a couple of busted ribs. Nothing to worry about, I'll be back to normal in a week."

"Nothing to worry about?" Akari said indignantly, "You told me you'd go to the hospital and have them x-rayed."

"Now Ri-chan, I've had busted ribs before and was just fine after a couple of days."

"That was before you married me, buster. Ranma, do you think Akane would mind driving us to the hospital?"

"I'll drive you," Ranma said as she hopped to her feet. A smile spread across her face when she realized how much easier that was now that she had her balance back. "Akane's out front making sure the ambulance crew takes care of that big guy. She feels bad about breaking his knees. I guess he took pretty good care of her the last couple of days."

"Are you sure it's okay for you to drive dear?" Nodoka asked. "You took quite a tumble."

"Sure, I'm fine and Ranko-chan's finally finished doing the Dragon kata in my stomach. I guess we'll be back in a couple of hours."

"And just where do you think you're going?" Akane said as she walked into the room.

"Oh, I'm taking Ryouga and Akari to the hospital. His ribs are all busted up."

"It's not that bad, everybody," Ryouga said embarrassed. "It can wait... really!"

"No it can't!" shot back Akari.

"Well that actually works out pretty good," said Akane, "because Ranma has an appointment at the clinic in about an hour and that's right down the street from the hospital."

"I do?" said a bewildered Ranma.

"Yes silly," Akane said with a laugh. "Today's your regular weekly visit and after the fall you took, there's no way you're getting out of it. Give me a minute to go upstairs and change into something I haven't been wearing for three days and we'll all get going."

"I'll start up the van," Ranma said. "Mom, would you mind hanging around until the boys get home from school?"

"Of course we will dear, but Ranma," Nodoka's voice became motherly, "you're not going out wearing that are you?"

Ranma looked down at the sweat pants and shirt she was wearing. They had a few dirt and grass stains, but were otherwise presentable. "Yeah, I guess so."

Nodoka looked troubled, "Oh, you really should change into something nicer before you go to the doctor. You look like such a tomboy in that outfit."

Ryouga glanced at Akari and snickered, "Tomboy?"

"Why don't you put on that nice outfit we bought last week?"

"You mean the one with the big chrysanthemums on it?" Ranma didn't sound too excited about the prospect.

"Yes sweetheart, it looks lovely on you."

"But mom," the famous martial artist whined like a schoolgirl, "it's a kimono!"

Genma held up a sign that read, "Face it boy," then he flipped it over, "you're her daughter now!"

o o o

Debra Suzuki pulled her Lexus off Interstate 17 and headed into the low hills outside Phoenix. They had moved out into the new suburbs northwest of the city just two years before. Her husband Kozuma had suggested the move after opening a new dojo in the area and having it quickly become their most successful branch. It meant Debra now had an almost hour long drive to the office downtown, but the improvement in the kids' education and the general quality of their lives more than made up for it.

She drove past the mall and the display on her dashboard began beeping frantically. Cautiously she scanned the display as a long list of sales began scrolling by. Shoes at Nordstrom's, towels at JC Penney, bags at the Gap, the list rolled by with each one marked by its own little beep. Nothing interesting caught her eye so she continued on.

She looked at the fuel gauge, but decided she didn't need to stop for hydrogen today. However she did want to pick up something for dessert, so she pulled into the small shopping plaza where their favorite bakery was. A few minutes latter she was back on the road and nearing her own neighborhood.

Not for the first time Debra felt a strange sense of deja vu as her car moved silently down the street towards her house. The latest fad in residential architecture was a revival of the 1950's suburban style. And as she passed one long ranch home after another, she couldn't shake the feeling she was watching the opening of some old TV rerun. Humming the theme from 'Leave it to Beaver', she pulled into her driveway.

Her home was no exception. Aside from the satellite dish on the roof and her daughter's pink Segway scooter balancing itself on the porch, there wasn't much to make you think the Cleaver's didn't live here. She pulled the Lexus into the garage and for the hundredth time reached for an ignition key that didn't exist. Sighing at her own childishness she grabbed her purse and the bag of apple turnovers she had picked up at the bakery then headed into the house.

She took off her shoes in the foyer, a habit from Japan that they still followed even though there was no real genkan, and headed towards the kitchen. As she passed the living room a familiar soprano voice cried out in Japanese from the surround sound speakers attached to the wall screen. "Hurry Ranma, before he gets away."

She stuck her head into the room just in time to see a life sized male Ranma appear on the wall screen and shout, "I won't let the old lecher get away this time!" Sitting on the floor in front of screen was her son Ken and his best friend Mark from across the street. Both had game controllers in their laps and the coffee table was littered with candy wrappers and empty soda bottles.

"What in the world are you two watching?" she asked in English. "Is that a game?"

The word 'PAUSE' appeared in big green letters across the wall as Ken turned around. "Hi mom! Yeah, it's a new one dad brought home."

"But isn't that Mr. Saotome, my boss?" Debra said, pointing at the screen.

"Yeah, and his sister Ranko's in it too!" added Mark, taking off his headphones.

"Were you able to understand any of that, Mark?" Debra asked the young Latino boy. "Is the whole thing in Japanese?"

"No mom," Ken said as if he were correcting his little sister. "Each player can choose the language they want to hear. Dad just asked me to put the Japanese track on the speakers so he could listen in the kitchen."

"It's in Spanish on my headset Mrs. Suzuki;" Mark said with a grin, "but I think I'll switch back to English. Mexican ninjas are just too weird."

"So, is the game any good?" she asked. Debra had heard rumors within the company that such a game was in the works, but having it come out so soon was a complete surprise.

"It's pretty cool, but it'll be awesome once there are more people on-line to play with," Ken said.

"Mind if I watch you guys play for awhile? Believe it or not I've never seen this before."

"Really Mrs. Suzuki?" Mark asked, "I thought you and Ranko were friends."

"Well, we're sort of friends, but this game was probably designed by some firm in Hong Kong or India. Ranko probably hasn't seen it herself yet." This was probably true. Since the conference in New York, Ranma had kept such a low profile that even Jeff had been worried about her.

As the boys turned back to their game, Ken explained what was happening, "We're chasing this weird little guy named Happy who stole some kind of chart we need to remove damage he gave us in the last level."

"Moxibustion's what it was called," chimed in Mark.

"Yeah, that was it," Ken agreed, "Anyway we need to get this chart so we can get rid of that and we probably need to use the new technique we picked up on the last level."

"But we can't do that," Mark said, "until we catch the little guy."

Debra had no idea what they were talking about, but she watched for a while anyway. The game seemed exciting enough and the boys were obviously hooked on it. The graphics were top notch and the interactivity was remarkable. She was a little shocked when Mark made the female Ranma flash her breasts at the little old man to make him stop dead in his tracks, but the reaction on the character's face was hilarious and she found herself laughing anyway.

By the time Ken was setting up for the final technique, a spiraling union of hot and cold ki that reminded her eerily of the technique Ranma had used in New York, there were three more opponents besides the old man. When Ken's character shouted "Hiryu Shoten Ha" and a giant tornado formed to suck them all up she thought it was over, but the boys groaned and paused the game again.

"Where's the chart?" Ken asked his friend.

"It got sucked into the tornado," Mark said looking perplexed.

"How'd that happen? Why didn't you grab it?"

"You think I'm supposed to jump into the twister after it?"

"Well you can't just let it go! Now we don't have it and Ranma's still too weak..."

She left the boys to argue it out and moved into the kitchen where she found Kozuma and her daughter Naomi making dinner. Her husband was chopping vegetables while her five-year old was mixing a bowl of chocolate pudding with a big wooden spoon. She set the bag of turnovers, which obviously would have to wait until breakfast, on the counter and kissed her husband on the cheek.

"Hi hon," he said while continuing to chop a carrot with frightening speed, "dinner's going to be a little late. Things were pretty hectic at the dojo today, but Naomi's been helping me." He smiled at their daughter, even though Debra knew the little girl had probably been more hindrance than help.

"I'm makin' puddin' mama!" Naomi said proudly.

"It looks yummy sweetheart. Don't rush dinner Kozuma, I'm not hungry yet anyway," Debra said this while snatching a few slices of carrot off the cutting board. "Where did that game Ken's playing come from?"

"It's choco puddin' mama!" Debra bent over and dipped her finger in the bowl her daughter was stirring and with a wink stuck it in her mouth

"Oh that?" Kozuma said, "It just showed up in the mail at the dojo today. No warning, no cover letter, nothing. It's just a demo with only a few levels and I had to use parental lock on a couple of those. It's a little racy at times."

"Yeah, I noticed." Debra started helping her daughter spoon the lumpy pudding into cups. "I'll call Jeff about it tomorrow, but I'm guessing even he's in the dark."

"The package it came in was really strange," Kosuma said as he attacked a head of broccoli. "The return address was in Hong Kong, but it was postmarked Las Vegas."

"I'm really out of the loop on all these new projects," Debra said with a little exasperation, "With Ranma away from the helm, it's hard to tell who's running the company anymore."

Debra helped Naomi carry a tray full of pudding filled cups to the refrigerator. "T'anks mama! Can I go play now?"

"Of course you can sweetie," Debra kissed the little girl on the forehead and watched her race from kitchen. "Pudding? Was that her idea or yours?"

"We had something else interesting show up at the dojo today," Kosuma said ignoring the sticky question. "A new student walked in who'd seen you on that ESPN special the other night. Couldn't wait to get started so we sparred and boy did I get a workout!"

"Someone with experience, huh?"

"I'll say! Fast, agile, knows three disciplines already, isn't afraid of aerial moves, very impressive. Has to be the best student I've ever seen, reminds me a lot of Saotome-sensei. Even kind of looks like her."

"Her? This new student's a woman?" Debra looked surprised. Her husband wasn't exactly a chauvinist, but he rarely heaped such praise on a female student.

"Yup! She just moved to Phoenix from up north. She's been studying martial arts since she was a kid. Moves like a ballet dancer and kicks like a mule"

"Does this wonder woman have a name?"

"Lana," he said as he dumped all the vegetables into a large nabe pot full of boiling broth. "Lana Santoni"

o o o

Ranma shuffled down the hallway from the examination room to the ultrasound suite. "This sucks," she muttered, "I no sooner get my balance back and start walking normally again when my mother makes me wear this stupid kimono!" Still grumbling she opened the door and slipped into the dimly lit room

The technician's eyes grew wide and a big grin spread across his face, "Mrs. Saotome, don't you look traditional today. Let me guess, after this you're going to an omiai to find a new husband that'll come with you on these visits?"

"Very funny," Ranma groused as she stepped behind a screen and changed into a robe, "This was my mother's idea and a really bad one at that."

"Ooh, we're a little prickly today. Where's the other Mrs. Saotome?"

"Not here with me, obviously!" In fact Akane had dropped Ranma off at the clinic before taking Ryouga and Akari to the hospital. She was supposed to come right back, but something must have delayed her because that was over an hour ago. "It's just me this time, so let's get this over with. Okay?"

"Whatever you say, we only need to look at a couple of key growth areas and check her position. Five minutes on the table and you'll be outta here."

The technician offered to help Ranma, but she hopped up on the exam table by herself. He shrugged and began smearing the gel on her abdomen. Then he sat down and started the exam.

Ranma had her arms crossed and seemed totally uninterested in the sonogram. The technician thought that unusual, but he had been dealing with pregnant women long enough to know when to leave one alone and just do his job. He scanned the baby's head, took a bone density reading off the right arm, checked the position of the umbilical cord and then moved to confirm the position of the hips.

"We're almost done Mrs. Saotome. I just need to check and see if your little girl..." The technician shook his head and stared at the screen. He readjusted the position of the probe and then amplified the settings.

Ranma noticed the sudden silence and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

The technician recovered and said jovially, "No, nothing's wrong. Just having a little trouble with the equipment. Um... I guess we're done. You can get dressed now." He quickly saved the session and cleared the screen before Ranma could get up. He handed her a towel, pulled her memory card from the computer and headed for the door.

"You're in a big hurry," Ranma said, "I know I'm in a bad mood, but I'm not going to bite you."

The technician grinned, "That might actually be fun. No, I'm going to take these scans right down to the doctor so you can get out of here." Then he slipped quickly out the door.

"So... can I go home now?" Ranma asked the empty room.

The technician hurried down the hallway to the doctor's office. He barged in without knocking, something that would normally earn him a severe scolding.

"Hideaki, what the hell?" the startled doctor said from behind his big desk.

"I'm sorry doctor, but I thought you should look at this right away." he said as he handed over the memory card.

"What's this?" the doctor asked as he stuck the card into the port on the front of his computer.

"It's Mrs. Saotome," the technician said nervously. "Everything seems fine. The baby's a little out of position, but nothing to be worried about yet. It's the last image I wanted you to look at."

The doctor double-clicked the last saved file and the screen filled with the fuzzy black and white image. "What the... Are you sure this is Mrs. Saotome? You didn't get the files mixed up did you?"

"No sir, that's what I just saw live."

"Did Mrs Saotome see this?"

"No sir, she was distracted and, before you ask, I didn't point it out to her either."

"Good," the doctor said rubbing his chin. He examined the image on the screen carefully. "Is there a chance something's wrong with the machine?"

"I'll run a diagnostic on it later, but that's way too clear to be an echo or an artifact. What are you going to tell her?"

"Nothing, for the time being," the doctor said standing up. "I'll get her back in here for an amniocentesis next week. Those two have had their hearts set on a healthy little girl from the beginning. I want rock solid DNA evidence before I tell them they're actually having a little boy."

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) klick - military jargon for a kilometer

(2) GPS - Global Positioning System is a group of satellites that can be used to determine your location anywhere on Earth.

(3) People's Liberation Army (PLA) - the national army of Communist China.

(4) Segway - a self-balancing transportation device invented in 2001.

(5) omiai - an arranged meeting between prospective couples interested in marriage.

(6) amniocentesis - a procedure where a sample of fluid is extracted from the womb for analysis, this fluid usually contains enough cells from the baby for a DNA test to be performed.