Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma OneHalf: First steps ❯ Book Two, Chapter Seven ( Chapter 17 )

Ranma Onehalf: First steps. Book Two.

Chapter Seven.

Matoko hummed to herself as she walked home from school. It had been a fairly good day for her school wise, with having aced a particularly hard English test thanks to her ace in the hole*. And the resident hentai had left her alone as well.

"The nerve of him!"

They hadn't left Lia alone however.

"Asking me if I was a natural redhead!" she fumed.

"I don't see what the problem is Lia." Matoko said as she glanced at Lia. "You are a natural redhead." she pointed out.

Lias face twitched as she looked at Matoko. "He said he heard it from one of the girls in gym class!" she said.

Matoko blinked. "Oh. I see."

"And to top it off when I tried to jump kick him he wussed out and fainted before I could beat him up!" Lia added.

"Oh, what happened?" Matoko asked.

"He got a nosebleed and fainted." Lia growled.

Hearing this Matoko stifled a giggle upon hearing this. Lia glanced at her sister and gave her an odd look.

"What is it?" she asked.

Matoko stifled another set of giggles before collecting herself. "I know why he did that Lia." she said.

"Oh, and why is that?" Lia asked.

Matoko took a breath and composed her answer before responding. "Well, the reason is, when you tried to jump kick him, because you wear your skirt on the short side,-" she began.

"Matoko, could you spit it out please?" Lia asked, her patience at its limit. "I have a headache." she added as she rubbed her temples.

Recognizing the warning sign Matoko complied. "Lia, when you tried to jump kick him you gave him a free show of your panties." she said.

Lias reaction was not what Matoko was expecting. Instead of the explosion she was expecting Lias pupils shrank to dots and she developed a slight facial tic. Troubled by the silence Matoko glanced at her sister.

"Lia?" she asked.

"I'm gonna kill him." Lia whispered.

"Pardon?" Matoko asked.

"I'M GONNA KILL HIM! I'M GONNA HUNT HIM DOWN AND TURN HIM INTO SUSHI!!" she screamed in English as her aura flared.

Matoko stepped to the side and rubbed her ears. "I heard you." she said.

"Sorry." Lia said as she powered down her aura. "But the thought of that little perv getting off on seeing my underwear just makes me so mad..."

"I know." Matoko said as she stepped back. "I feel the same way." she added.

"Yeah." Lia answered. "Gaah, I shouldn't have yelled like that. Made my headache worse." she said as she rubbed her temples.

"Those hentai would give anybody a headache." Matoko said as she patted Lia on the shoulder.

"Yeah. Whats with them anyways?" Lia asked.

Matoko briefly wondered at her how her sister could be so clueless, but then remembered it wasn't being clueless but a one track mind. She was like Ranma, if it didn't involve martial arts she just didn't pay attention to it.

"Well, you are the only girl in school with a C-cup." she pointed out.

"Arrrgh." Lia said as she hung her head.

"Don't worry. It could be worse." she said as she gave Lia a hug.

"How could it be worse?" Lia asked as she looked up at Matoko.

Matoko smiled. "You could be taller than almost all the boys in school." she said as the gate to the Dojo came into view.

"How is that a problem?" Lia asked.

"Well, it does make it hard to talk to them." Matoko said.

"I don't what you see in boys." Lia said. "They're all hentai."

"What about Ranma and Christian?" she asked as they walked through they walked through the gate.

"They're different-AAAAACK!" was all that Lia got out before she got bowled over.

Lia looked down at her brother who was clamped onto her.

"Hey Christian." she said.

"Hi Lia, hi Matoko." he said, giving his sisters a full strength Saotome smile.

"Hi Christian." Matoko said as she ruffled her brothers hair. "Did you miss us?" she asked.

"Yeah." he answered, his smile changing to a grin.

Lia chuckled, her headache temporarily eased. "Me too." she said. "Hey bro, if you get off me I'll give you a piggy back ride." she added.

"Okay." Christian said as he hopped off Lia.

Getting to her knees Lia helped her brother onto her back and stood up.

"You ready?" she asked Christian. Getting a nod from him she started forward. "Here we go!" she said.

Matoko smiled to herself as she picked up Lias book bag and followed them inside. This was obviously what Lia had needed with the day she'd had.

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The next morning Matoko awoke to the alarms blare. Silencing it with a half- awake slap she sat up in bed and yawned. She sat there for a few moments and listened to the birds singing outside. As her mind cleared she realized that she had been woken up by the alarm, and not her sister.

Shrugging off the odd feeling Matoko got up and put on her bathrobe before going downstairs to find Christian already downstairs at the table happily demolishing breakfast but Lia was nowhere in sight.

Again the odd feeling returned as Ranma came in from the kitchen with a refill for Christian.

"Ah, good you're up." he said as he put the plate down on the table. "Could you go wake your sister please?" he asked.

"Okay." Matoko said with a nod before heading upstairs.

Heading up to Lias room Matoko carefully walked past the master bedroom as to not wake Akane. She carefully opened Lias door and stepped inside. Approaching the lump under the blankets Matoko crouched down next to the Futon.

"Lia, wake up sleepy head." she said as she gently shook her sister.

"Nnnhhh...." Was Lias response as she curled into a ball. "Not so loud Matoko, I got a headache." she added.

"Still?" Matoko wondered. "You still have your headache Lia? Are you alright?" Matoko asked.

"AAAAAH! MY EYES!"Lia yelled as she covered her face in her hands.

"Yeeek!" Matoko said as she fell back on her rear. "You're sick." Matoko stated as she put her hand on Lias forehead.

"No I'm not. The sun was in my eyes." Lia countered as Matoko checked her temperature.

"Yes, you are. You're very feverish and the sun isn't even up yet." Matoko told her as she withdrew her hand.

"No I'm not." Lia said stubbornly as she pulled the covers back over her head.

"Don't even try that with me Lia." Matoko said, putting her hands on her hips. "I distinctly recall you breaking your leg and insisting it was sprain." she continued.

"When did I ever do that?" Lia asked from under the covers.

"Last year. I carried you to the clinic, remember?" Matoko reminded her.

'D'oh!" Lia said from under the covers.

"Now stay put." Matoko said as she stood up. "I'm going to tell Ranma that you won't be able to go to school today." she said as Lia groaned.

Heading downstairs Matoko stepped into the kitchen as Ranma turned on the faucet and got hit in the face with a leak.

"Arrrgh... why do I always get to find the leaky faucets?" Ranma grumbled. "Oh, hello Matoko." she said when she heard Matoko giggle.

"Hello Ranma." Matoko answered. "Lia won't be able to go to school today. She's sick." she added.

Ranma gave her an odd look. "Lias sick?" she asked as she dried her face with a towel.

Matoko nodded. "Yes, she has a headache, high fever, and she is very sensitive to light." she said.

Ranma frowned. "She is sick." she said. "I'll call Ono and have him take a look at her." she added.

"Okay." Matoko said.

"Now go sit down and I'll bring you some breakfast." Ranma said as she began to dish out food.

Later that afternoon when Matoko was in school Ono dropped by the dojo before classes started. Answered the door Ranma led Ono inside.

"You said that you needed me to take a look at Lia when you called this morning." Ono said as he removed his shoes in the mud room.

Ranma nodded. "Yeah. She's come down with something." she said.

"What are the symptoms?" he asked.

"Headache, high fever, and she's extremely sensitive to light." Ranma said as they walked into the house.

"How sensitive to light is she?" Ono asked.

"Very. She said the predawn light was too bright." Ranma answered.

"That's odd." Ono said as he adjusted his glasses.

"Yeah." agreed Ranma.

"I think I had not was any time and take a look at her." Ono said as he headed to the stairs.

"Good idea." Ranma said as she followed him up the stairs. "Just be quiet. Her headache." Ranma said, tapping her temple for emphasis.

"Okay." Ono said with a nod. "And I assume I will working in the dark this time?" he asked.

Getting a nod from Ranma they made their way down the hall on cats feet to Lias room. Ono stood in the hall as Ranma silently opened the door and padded inside, only her breathing audible. Reaching the futon she kneeled down and gently tapped Lia.

From the door he watched as Ranma murmured something to Lia, then beckoned him inside. As he padded into Lias room Ono couldn't help but feel like he sounded like a drunk elephant compared to Ranma.

"I've got have him teach me that technique..." he thought as he kneeled down next to Lia.

Gently setting down his bag Ono let his eyes adjust to the light in the room before he continued. Opening his bag he noticed how Lia winced at the soft pops of the latches opening.

"Hmm...very sensitive to noise. Odd." Ono thought as he took out the tools of his trade. "Now, Lia, I'm going to have to use a flashlight sometimes, okay?" he whispered.

Gingerly Lia nodded an okay. Sticking it under her tongue Ono then took out a blood pressure cuff. As he opened the velcro on the cuff Lia grimaced in pain and grabbed a handful of bedding in each hand.

Working quickly he wrapped the cuff around her arm and pumped it up. Lia looked away and closed her eyes as Ono turned on a flashlight as he took her blood pressure and pulse. After he was done with that he took the thermometer and read it.

His activities had confirmed what Ranma had already told him: Lia had a high fever and was sensitive to light and sound. He had also discovered irregularities as well. Lias blood pressure and pulse were up, way up, almost one and a half times normal.

Knowing even with her chi training that this was out of the ordinary Ono decided to do some more advanced tests. Putting his tools away Ono cleared a space and began to examine Lias chi. What he found astounded him.

Instead of the normal paths and patterns he normally found with her everything was completely different. And her chi was shifting and varying so much that he couldn't even begin to form a baseline to reference from.

After he finished his examination Ono motioned for Ranma to follow him and they headed downstairs. Sitting down at the table Ranma poured them both some tea and looked at Ono.

"Well?" she asked.

Ono sipped his tea before replying. "Well Ranma, I don't know." he answered.

"What do mean you don't know?" she asked ,eyes narrowing.

"What I mean Ranma is that I don't know whats wrong with Lia." he said. " Her chi flows have gone haywire. All the paths and patterns are completely different and they keep shifting. It's almost as if they are trying to reorganize themselves." he said, looking Ranma in the eye.

"Reorganizing themselves? What would cause that?" Ranma asked, her pupils closing to vertical slits and a feral undertone to her voice.

Hearing the tone in her voice primeval instincts buried in the back of Onos mind woke up and told him it was time to find a nice tree to hide in. Ignoring them Ono took in Ranmas feline gaze as a thought tickled the back of his mind.

"You see something Ono?" Ranma asked, leaning closer.

As Ranma leaned closer he noticed her canines and a bell went off in his head.

"Ono, you idiot." he said, smacking himself in the head.

"What?" Ranma asked.

"I need to check your chi Ranma." Ono said. "I have a hunch." he added as he got up.

"Okay." Ranma said in an unsure tone as she stood up. "About what?" Ranma asked.

"About what's happing to Lia." Ono answered.

Ono did a quick check of Ranmas chi and then went back upstairs and ran another check of Lias chi. Coming back down Ono sat down at the table and poured himself a fresh cup of tea. Sipping his Ono cleared his throat before speaking.

"Well, my hunch was correct Ranma." Ono began. "It's the Neko -ken. Lias under going a transformation like yours." he continued.

Ranma blinked in surprise. "You mean she's gonna end up with cats eyes like me?" she asked pointing to her eyes.

Ono shrugged. "Possibly. However I can't make a definite promises because she doesn't have a curse like yours." he pointed out.

"So what can you tell me?" Ranma asked.

Ono sighed and looked at his teacup. "Ranma, the best I can guess is there will be some behavior changes and some physical changes as well." he said. "What those will be and how big I simply don't know. Cases like Lias are extremely rare and so there is not much for me to go on."

"So what do we do?" Ranma asked.

Ono sipped his tea before he replied. "Let it run its course. That's about all we can do Ranma." he told her.

"Great." Ranma sighed. "Now all I gotta do is tell Akane."

Ono chuckled. "Don't worry Ranma. Akane has much better control of her temper than when she was younger. You'll be fine." he said.

"Thank the gods for that." agreed Ranma.

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Ono was right about Akane. She did take the news rather well, only giving Ranma a swat to the head and a 'baka' before sitting down at the table. Ranma and Akane then worked out a plan with Matoko, Christian, and Kasumi on how they were going to help Lia.

The plan they worked out was this: Akane and Kasumi would have the mornings, Matoko and Ranma the afternoons, and Christian would have the whole day. That way they could ensure that there was someone at the dojo 24/7.

Ranma contacted the school and let them know that Lia was going to be out of school for a while, and arranged for Matoko to pick up Lias homework so she and Lia could go over it together.

At Lias request Genda and Izu and tried to cover Matokos back as best they could, which was difficult due to their being in separate classes. Matoko also stepped up to the plate, avoiding bullies and such but not through violence.

Instead she used techniques she'd picked up from Lia, ranging from the Umi -Sen -Ken to misdirection tactics. All this she told Lia, along with school gossip over their homework. Lia appreciated Matoko telling her the goings on at school, and was glad she was able to at least attempt to keep up with their studies.

Lia also discovered having a little brother wasn't so bad. Christian kept her company when Matoko was at school and got her things when she needed them. He also helped guide her to the bathroom and to the furo.

Matoko awoke like she usually did to the alarm and silenced it with a slap of her hand. Lying in bed she remembered it was Sunday and so she could sleep in, so she rolled over and dozed off.

About an hour and a half after she went back to sleep she felt a hand gently rock her back to the waking world.

"Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead." Lia murmured to Matoko.

"Nnnh...Morning Lia." Matoko murmured. "Lia!?" she said as she snapped awake.

Rolling over Matoko opened her eyes and found herself looking into the smiling face of her sister.

"Lia, you're not sick any more-eeep!" she said as she looked into Lias eyes.

And saw the two vertical slits of her irises. Lias smile turned into a maniac grin when she saw Matokos expression.

"Yep, all better." Lia said.

"You've got-"Matoko began.

"Cats eyes?" Lia finished. "Yeah I know. Just like Dads too." she added.

"Do they know?" Matoko asked.

Lia shook her head. "No. I was just about to go tell them." she said with a twinkle in her eye.

"Tell us what?" Ranma asked from the doorway.

"That I'm feeling better." Lia said as she turned to face him.

"Well, that's good..."Ranma began as he looked at her. "Hold on."

Crossing the room got a closer look at Lia. Bending down he tilted her head up and examined her eyes.

"Huh. Smile." he said. "You got the teeth too." he added as Lia grinned.

"Yeah, I know. I bit my tongue." Lia said.

"It'll take some getting used to." Ranma told her. "It took me a while to get used to them."

Lia nodded. "I can imagine." she said.

A sudden impish thought struck Ranma and he grinned impishly.

"Hey Lia," he said "why don't you go and show your mother?"

"Okay." Lia said.

As Lia walked out the door Matoko covered her ears. She had seen Ranmas grin and knew from past experience it meant he was up to something. Ranma covered his ears as well and a few moments later there was a shriek followed by a thump.

"Daad, Mom fainted." Lia called from the master bedroom.

"Coming." Ranma said as he headed to the door.

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End.

*Lia (of course).