Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma OneHalf: First steps ❯ Book Two, Chapter Four ( Chapter 14 )

Ranma One Half: First steps. Book Two

Chapter Four.

Akane poured herself another cup of tea and hoped it would settle her stomach. Sipping her tea Akane glanced at Ranma.

"Ranma, have I told you I take back all the remarks I made?" she asked.

"Only every day since your morning sickness started." Ranma answered as he sipped his tea.

"Just making sure." Akane said as she put down her tea. "Thought I must say there is one good thing about being pregnant." she said.

Ranma looked up at Akane. "And that is?" he asked.

"I can safely wear a dress again." she said with a smile.

Ranma chuckled as he eyed Akanes sweater/dress attire. "So I see." he said. "And I like your tummy too." he added.

"You and everybody else." Akane said as she patted her stomach. "I swear, Kasumi and your mother are competing to see who can outdo each other." she added.

"Tell me about it." Ranma said.

A sudden knock at the door got their attention. "I'll get it." Akane said as she rose.

Opening the door Akane was surprised to find an American soldier standing in front of her.

Taking a breath he spoke. "Good afternoon. I'm Corporal Bill Evans. Is this the Saotome Dojo?" he asked in slow, deliberate, and very careful Japanese.

Surprised at the fact he spoke Japanese Akane responded like she regularly would. "Ah, yes it is. Can I help you?" she asked. Seeing the expression on the soldiers face Akane switched to English. "Yes, this is the Saotome Dojo. How may I help you?" she asked.

"I heard you are accepting students." he asked.

Akane nodded. "Yes, we are accepting students. Would you like to come in." she answered.

"Thank you." he said with a slight bow.

As she stepped aside for the Corporal Akane was impressed by his manners.

"He has such good manners, and he speaks Japanese very well too." she thought.

As Corporal Evans knelt to unlace his boots in the mud room Akane watched him.

"Corporal Evans, may I ask you what led you to our Dojo?" she asked.

"I'm a liaison with the JSDF and I was referred here by my counterpart." he said, looking up at Akane. "Here's his card." Evans continued, taking a business card from his shirt pocket and handing it to Akane.

"Gos referred you?" Akane asked.

"Yeah. He said you were in high school together." Evans answered.

"I wondered what happened to him." Akane said as she put the card away in a pocket.

Having removed his boots Evans removed his beret* and tucked it into the shoulder straps of his BDU's**.

"This way please." Akane said.

As they walked down the hall to the main room Akane looked over her shoulder at Evans. "By the way, I'm Akane Saotome." she said.

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Saotome." Evans replied.

"Ranma, we have a prospective student." Akane said as they entered.

"Eh?" Ranma said as he looked up. "Oh. Hello there." he said as saw Evans, switching to English.

"Hello Mr. Saotome." Evans said as he sat down. "I'm Corporal Bill Evans" he said with a bow.

"Ranma Saotome." Ranma said, extending his hand. "And call me Ranma." he said as he and Evans shook.

"Okay. Call me Evans. Everybody else does." Evans replied.

Ranma poured himself some tea before continuing. "Before we begin, can we get you anything? Coffee, tea?" he offered.

"I'm fine, thank you." Evans said politely.

"So, to begin, you want join our Dojo." Ranma stated. At Evans nod he continued. "May I ask what you wish to learn?" he asked.

Evans sighed and looked at the table before he answered. "I want to learn all I can about martial arts." he said simply, looking up at Ranma. "And I was told this was the best place to do it." he said.

"Are you sure?" Ranma asked, thinking of the myriad of styles and techniques he had learned and developed.

Evans nodded. "Yes, I'm sure." he answered.

Ranma had been reading Evans body language during the conversation and saw he was telling the truth. Seeing that Evans wouldn't abuse what he taught Ranma decided he would take him on as a student. A glance at Akane got a nod of approval from her and Ranma turned back to Evans.

"Okay. You can join." Ranma said.

"How much is it?" Evans asked.

"In Us Dollars, fifty every two weeks." Akane said.

"You take cash?" Evans asked.

"Sure." Akane said as she took a receipt book out of her pocket.

Evans took out his wallet and peeled off two bills. As he handed them Akane Ranma spoke up.

"Before you join however, there is something we have to show you." Ranma said.

"Oh? What is it?" Evans asked.

Wordlessly Ranma picked up the glass of water and splashed himself. Evans gaped as put down the glass.

"My curse." Ranma said. "I turn into a woman whenever I get splashed with cold water." she explained.

"And I turn into a man whenever I get splashed." Akane added. "But I'm currently 'locked' because I'm pregnant." she continued.

Evans blinked and shook his head. "Whoa. Gos wasn't kidding about you two." he said.

"You still want to join?" Ranma asked.

Evans nodded. "Yeah." he said.

Akane wrote Evans out a receipt and handed it to him.

"You want to stay for class so we can introduce you?" Ranma asked.

Evans shrugged. "I have all day." he said.

"Okay then." Ranma said. "By the way, I forgot to ask, what do you know of martial arts?" she asked.

"Well, there's what I was taught in basic, and I wrestled in high school and I also box but I don't think those count." Evans replied.

"Oh, they count. Just because they weren't developed in Asia doesn't mean that they aren't martial arts." Ranma said. "If you want to, we can go into the dojo and you can show me what you know." she offered.

"Sure." Evans said as he got up.

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Ranma and Evans faced off in the dojo. Ranma was in the basic stance of Anything Goes, feet apart and hands hanging loose by his side. Evans was bouncing on the balls of his feet in a boxing stance with his hands made into fists and his head down, protected by his arms.

"Are you ready?" Akane asked.

Ranma and Evans nodded from their stances. "Okay then," she said, raising her arm "go." she said as she dropped it.

Ranma went first with a flurry of punches that Evans blocked and then countered with a right jab. Which turned out to be a feint as Ranma blocked it Evans jabbed in twice with a left to the kidneys.

That startled Ranma, which allowed Evans to jab a right at Ranmas face. Ranma dodged to the left and dropped into a low roundhouse kick, which knocked Evans off of his feet. Hitting the mat with an 'oof' Evans rolled to the side away from Ranma and got to his feet.

The two men faced off against each other again. They stood there for several moments, each watching the other for an attack. Warily they circled each other looking for an opening. Ranma jumped forwards with an attack that Evans sidestepped and then responded with a few quick jabs that Ranma blocked.

Akane watched fascinated as they danced around each other in a flurry of punches and kicks.

"I think Evans was understating what he knew about fighting." Akane thought as she watched. "He's about my level when I met Ranma." she observed.

A scent in the air tickled Akanes nose. Sniffing the air she realized that it was a distinctly male scent.

"Huh, I never noticed that before." Akane thought. "I guess I must be becoming sensitive to smells." she added.

All of a sudden her stomach came loose from its moorings. Jumping to her feet she ran for the bathroom.

"Oh crap..." she thought as she ran.

Evans and Ranma paused to watch her go.

"She okay?" Evans asked.

Ranma shrugged. "She's four months pregnant. Her stomachs a little sensitive." he said.

Evans nodded. "Okay." he said.

Bowing to Evans Ranma signaled the sparring match was over. Walking over to the edge of the mat Ranma picked up a towel and tossed one to Evans. Taking the towel Evans walked over to Ranma.

"So, what do you think?" Evans asked as he dried himself off.

"You're pretty good." Ranma said. "You're about the same level Akane was when I met her, which is pretty good." he added.

Draping the towel around his shoulders Ranma looked at Evans in the eye.

"I personally think you have a good base from which to learn." Ranma began. "How far you want to go is up to you." he continued.

Evans nodded. "Like I said before, I want to learn all that I can." he said. "By the way, when are classes?" he asked.

"Every afternoon starting at three. Come in as often as you like, and if need be we can adapt to your schedule." Ranma answered.

"Thank you." Evans said.

Patting Evans on the shoulder he pointed to the door. "Come on, I got some lemonade in the fridge. That'll help cool us off while we discuss your fighting style." Ranma said.

"Thank you." Evans said as they walked to the door.

Evans proved to be an excellent student, readily absorbing the lessons Ranma and Akane taught him and proving to have remarkable intuition. He quickly began to adapt the things he learned into his boxing style while taking what he already knew and better using it.

And he was a big hit with Lia and Matoko as well. Lia because she could talk to him in regular American English and Matoko because standing next to him she didn't look as out of place with her Caucasian heritage.

One evening after a full day of classes the Saotome family was sitting down to dinner. Ranma and Akane sat at one end of the table and the girls sat at the other end. Ranma was eating at his usual pace while Akane was eating at a much more sedate pace.

The girls were discussing the goings on at school while Ranma was deep in thought. Finishing his rice Ranma put down his chopsticks and reached for some fish.

"Akane, I have a question." he said as he dished up some rice.

"Yes, what is it?" Akane asked.

"I was thinking Evans is a excellent candidate to learn the full Anything Goes school." Ranma said as he picked up his chopsticks "I think he has the right mental discipline to be able to do it." he continued.

"I-" Akane paused as the baby kicked "- agree Ranma. I think we should." she said.

Sipping her tea Akane continued. "And besides, if the school is to survive it needs to be more than just a family school." she said.

Ranma nodded. "True. And Evans is a good choice." he said.

"Yeah." Akane agreed. "Could you pass me the fish?" she asked.

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Lia hummed happily as she and Matoko walked home from school. It was a Saturday, so it had been a half day and she and her friend were looking forward to one of their 'study sessions', which were really just an extended gabfest and sleep over.

They were in a enthusiastic discussion on chi and how it interacts with the environment when they reached the house. As they entered the gate the two girls fell silent as they realized something was wrong because the house was quiet.

"We're home!" Lia called as they stepped into the mud room.

"Lia?" Kasumis voice floated out from the living room.

Lia and Matoko exchanged uneasy looks.

"Aunt Kasumi?' Lia asked. "What's going on? Where's Mom and Dad?" she asked.

"At the hospital." Kasumi said as she came out from the living room. "Your mothers gone into labor." she added.

"Huh?" Lia asked, not understanding.

Matoko gave the smaller girl a hug. "It means that she's having the baby." she explained.

Lias mouth dropped open as she tried to comprehend the fact she was going to be a big sister. Working her jaw up and down she tried to speak but no words came out. Kasumi smiled as she was reminded of Onos reaction when she went into labor with their first child.

Putting on her shoes she looked at Matoko. "Matoko -chan, I think I'm going to need your help getting Lia to the hospital." she said.

Matoko blinked in surprise. "Are you sure..." she began.

Kasumi smiled and nodded. "Yes I'm sure. Ranma you were family and that it was okay for you to come along." she said. "And besides, I think Lia needs you there as support." she added.

"Oh..." Matoko said as she saw Lia was still in shock.

Taking off her backpack Matoko hung it on the coat hook with her name, along with her school hat. After doing the same with Lias backpack and hat she picked up the smaller girl piggy back and followed Kasumi to the hospital.

By the time they arrived at the hospital Lia had recovered enough to walk on her own. Holding Matokos hand in a death grip Lia followed behind her as Kasumi led through a warren of white sterile walls to the waiting room where Ono was.

Guiding the girls over to him Kasumi sat down next to him as the girls took their seats.

"How is it going?" she asked.

"It's going well, all things considered." Ono said as he looked up from his medical journal. "The last time I talked to the attending physician he said Akane and the baby were healthy, so there shouldn't be any complications." he continued.

Kasumi nodded. "How long?" she asked.

Ono shrugged. "It could be hours, it could be days. You how it is with child birth." he said.

Kasumi nodded and smiled as she recalled the births of her two sons. A sudden scream followed by naval grade cursing made them both look up. Ono quirked an eyebrow.

"And judging by the time between contractions, it will be a while yet." he said.

Lia heard her mother scream and curled up into a ball, hugging her legs to her chest. Her parents had told her what it was going to be like but hearing her mother scream was unsettling. Worry gnawed at her gut as Matoko put a hand on her arm.

"Don't worry Lia." Matoko said a voice soft enough so that only Lia could hear. "Your mother is a strong woman, she'll be fine." she added.

Lia nodded and looked at her friend. "I know Matoko. But I'm still gonna worry though." she said.

"I know." Matoko said as she reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out a black case. "That's why I brought this. It'll help keep you occupied." she said with a slight smile.

"Huh? What is it?" Lia asked, puzzled.

Matoko opened the case and set it between them, revealing a checkerboard and black and white magnetic checkers. Picking up a checker of each color Matoko held them out to Lia.

"The one game you can't resist: Checkers." Matoko said. "Choose your color." she added.

Lia gave Matoko a warm smile as she picked the white one. "Thanks." she said as they began to set up the board.

Matoko returned the smile with a slight nod. " It's what are friends for." she said.

Several hours later and games of checkers later Ranma entered the waiting room and walked over to Kasumi and Ono. They looked up at his approach.

"Well?" Ono asked as Ranma came up.

Ranma grinned. "Well, I'm the proud father of a healthy eight pound baby boy." he said.

"And how's Akane?" Kasumi asked.

"Loopy from all the painkillers, but alright." Ranma answered. "Had a bit of trouble with those too." he added.

"Trouble? What kind of trouble?" Ono asked as he and Kasumi perked up.

Ranma shrugged. "Eh, the doc told her 'to be a woman' and she had to, ah, convince him." he said.

"Convince him? How?" Ono asked.

"Fried him with a chi blast. He's in the burn unit getting patched up." Ranma answered with a mischievous glint in his eye.

The three of them shared chuckle over the hapless doctor before Ranma took a breath and sighed. Stepping over to Lia he gently shook her awake.

"Hey Kitten, wake up." Ranma said as he woke her.

"Nnnhhh... Daddy?" Lia asked as she opened her eyes. "What is it?" she asked as she sat up.

"It's time for you to meet your baby brother." Ranma said as he picked up his daughter.

As Ranma walked away with Lia Kasumi scooted over to Matoko and eased her down until her head was laying on her lap.

Ranma carried his half asleep daughter into room where Akane and the baby were. Akane looked up as they entered and gave them a goofy smile.

"I see the drugs are still working."Ranma said as he walked over to Akane.

"Yep."Akane answered.

Gently Ranma eased Lia down onto the bed next to Akane. Akane leaned over to Lia and turned so Lia had a good view of her brother.

"Lia, meet your new brother." Akane said softly. "You still want to name him?" she asked.

Lia nodded as she furrowed her brows in thought. After racking her brain for several moments trying to remember the Japanese name she and Matoko had come up with months earlier the name a kid she knew in Iowa popped into her head.

"Christian." Lia said. "I choose Christian."

"Are you sure?" Ranma asked her.

Lia nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure." she said, squaring her shoulders and daring anyone to challenge her.

Ranma and Akane looked at each other and shrugged. If they had one child with a Western name, why not two? Chuckling Ranma ruffled Lias hair.

"Now Lia..." Ranma said, squatting down so he was eye to eye with Lia. "Because Christian is your little brother you have a duty as a big sister to look out for him, okay?" he said.

"Okay daddy. I'll be a good big sister." she said. "Does that include Matoko too?" she asked.

Ranma chuckled as he stood up. "Well, she is an honorary Saotome, so yeah it does." he said.

"Okay." Lia said with a smile and a nod.

"Well, I had better go take care of the paperwork now." Ranma said as he stretched.

"Have fun dear." Akane said as Ranma walked to the door.

"Saotome Christian. Oh boy." Ranma said to himself as he stepped into the hall. "Look out world, there's another Saotome in town." he said with a grin.

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End.

*on a personal note, I have to add my two cents here. I personally believe the regular Army should not have been given the black beret at all. It has been a Ranger emblem for the longest time and by simply giving it to the rest of the Army treads on all the Rangers stand for.

** Battle Dress Uniform. The latest military term for fatigues.