Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma OneHalf: First steps ❯ Book Three, Chapter Three ( Chapter 22 )

Ranma Onehalf: First steps. Book Three.

Chapter Three.

Matoko glanced at Lia as they passed by Onos clinic on their way home.

"Are you okay Lia?" she asked.

"Huh?" Lia said, looking up.

"I said are you okay?" Matoko asked again. "You've been quiet all day."

"I'm fine." Lia answered. "I just got a lot on my mind."

"Is there anything I can help with?" Matoko asked.

Lia shrugged and shook her head. "No, I got it." she said. "Thank you though."

"Okay." Matoko said as they approached a book store. "Hey, the new issues are out." she said as she looked into the window.

"And they got my favorite type of Pocky." Lia said as she looked inside. "Lets go inside."

"Lets." Matoko said.

Ten minutes later they stepped out of the shop, shopping bags in hand. Matoko had picked up the anthology she wanted and Lia had several thousand yen worth of Pocky. Heading home they found their parents sparring in the yard.

"Hi Mom, hi Dad." Lia said as they stepped through the gate.

"Hi girls." Akane said as she ducked a roundhouse kick from Ranma. "How was school?"

"The usual." Lia said as she headed to the house.

"Not much happened, really." Matoko added. "She only Naota once today."

"Oh." Akane said as she parried a burst of Chestnut fist punches from Ranma.

"I see you two have been shopping." Ranma said as he cranked the speed up a notch. "What did you buy?"

"Manga." Matoko said, lifting her bag.

"Pocky." Lia added as she stepped inside the house.

Leaving their parents to their sparring Lia and Matoko went inside the house. Lia went upstairs to change into something more comfortable while Matoko went and got a snack.

Coming back into the main room Matoko saw a very drowsy looking Christian sitting at the table.

"Hi Christian." Matoko said. "How was your day?"

"It was okay." Christian said with a yawn.

"It's that time of day, isn't it?" Matoko asked as she looked at the clock.

"Yeah." Christian yawned.

"Well, I have some new manga I was going to read." Matoko said as she walked to the porch. "You can use my lap as a pillow." she said as she sat down.

"Thanks Matoko." Christian said as he walked over to his sister.

Sitting down next to her Christian laid his head on her lap and curled up as Matoko began to scratch behind his ears. Purring he was soon fast asleep.

"The Neko -ken is not without its good points." Matoko thought as she listened to her brother purr.

Now in her white tang and black pants Lia padded back downstairs to the main room where Matoko was.

"I'm gonna be on the roof ." Lia said.

"Shh..." Matoko said, pointing to her lap.

"Oh. You're on pillow duty." Lia said quietly as she padded past.

Matoko nodded as she glanced at Lia. "Enjoy your Pocky." she said.

"I plan to." Lia said with a smile.

Once on the roof Lia padded to her favorite spot and sat down cross -legged. Pulling out a box Lia ran her index finger along the top. Flicking the top away Lia shook out a pack and opened it. Pulling out a stick she licked her lips and smiled.

"Mmm.... strawberry creme." Lia said before she bit down.

Munching on the stick Lia began to purr as the taste of strawberry filled her mouth. Her ears stood up strait and a tingle ran up her tail. Finishing the stick Lia pulled out another one and bit down on it.

As she enjoyed her Pocky Lia began to think about how her day had been. There had been the usual fights and discussions. And bucket duty too. Though Naota had gone out of his way to avoid provoking her.

" At least Naota kept his promise." Lia thought as she finished her Pocky stick.

At the thought of Naota and his promise Lias memory flashed back to the night before. Of seeing Naota stumbling backwards clad only in a towel, his muscles rippling as he flailed in surprise. Of her realizing how perfect his body was and her noticing the towel was coming loose...

Lias tail kinked as she shook her head and broke off from that train of thought. Pulling out three sticks she quickly scarfed them down.

" What is my problem?" Lia thought as she finished the rest of the pack of Pocky. "I've been thinking about that scene all day."

Crumpling the empty pack Lia pulled out the other one and opened it. Pulling out a stick she was uncomfortably aware of other parts of her body responding to what she had remembered.

"Why am I interested in _him_?" Lia thought. "What is so attractive about him?"

The image of Naota clad only in his towel popped into Lias mind again. She remembered his broad chest and narrow waist, of how muscular and toned he was but not overly so. Lia also remembered how his body had also spoke of the extensive martial arts training he'd undergone as a ninja.

And as Lia thought about Naota her thoughts turned to his face and just how soft and gentle his face was, and how with his hair tousled from the bath how it gave him a boyish cast....

"Arrrgh! I'm doing it again!!!!" Lia thought as she shook her head. "Why am I doing this?!"

Taking several deep breaths Lia cleared her mind and got her body back under control. After several minutes and a couple of boxes of Pocky later Lia finally felt calm enough to revisit the issue.

"Since there seem's to be no way I can stop thinking about _that_..." Lia thought carefully "And whenever I try to _not_ think about it I end up doing it anyways....."

Lia took several more breaths and ate some more Pocky before continuing her train of thought.

"I think I should try doing nothing." she finished.

Taking another breath Lia took out another stick of Pocky and considered her latest move.

"It's not going to be easy." she thought. "But in the meantime, until I find a solution I can keep an eye on _him_ and make sure he's keeping his promise."

" but he has kept his promise. " said a voice in the back of Lias brain.

Lia blinked as she considered what the voice said.

" So what? He's a hentai." she replied.

" why is that?" the voice asked.

"He peeped on me in the girls locker room! And he got himself engaged to me and transferred to my class!" Lia told it. "And don't forget the horde attacking me."

" the engagement and transfer to your class are the result of his grandfather and father." the voice told her " and the attack is resulting from your grandfather and his father." it added.

" What about the peeping?" Lia challenge. "And afterwards, on the way home from school?"

" he's a ninja." the voice explained. " he could have been there for any reason. and you _did_ follow him into the duct to attack him, so he had every reason to hide."

"So why am I having this conversation?" Lia asked.

" because deep down you know that you haven't been giving him a fair chance Lia. if he really was a hentai he wouldn't have been acting the way he was." the voice told her.

Lia sat there for a few moments in mental silence as what the voice said rang in her mind. Finally she sighed and bit down on her last stick of Pocky.

"All right. You win." she thought. "I'll give him a fair chance."

" thank you." the voice answered.

Picking up her trash Lia stuffed it into the bag from the store and stood up. As she looked out over the city scape of Nerima her mouth quirked into a smile.

"Though the last thing I wanted was to replace my sexual tension with a moral dilemma." Lia thought.

" you'll manage." the voice said.

"Shaddup." Lia told it as she walked to the edge of the roof.

That evening in the bath Lia scrubbed herself and thought about her 'conversation' earlier in the day. Chewing on her lip Lia put down her scrubber and looked up at Matoko.

"Matoko, can I ask you a question?" Lia asked.

"Yes Lia?" Matoko asked as she tucked a stray strand of hair into her bathing cap.

"In your honest opinion...." Lia began. "What is your opinion of my treatment of Naota?" she asked.

Matoko put down her scrubber and sighed. Frowning she thought about her response for a few moments.

"Well...you might not like my opinion Lia." Matoko said.

Lia smiled slightly and patted Matoko on the shoulder. "Matoko, I've always trusted you tell me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear." she said gently.

"Thank you Lia." Matoko said with a nod. "In my opinion, I think you've been extremely harsh with him."

Lia nodded. "I thought so." she said. "He was right."

"Who was?" Matoko asked.

"My conscience." Lia answered.

Matoko blinked in surprised as she looked at her sister. "Your refer to your conscience as a male?" she asked.

"Ah, yeah." Lia said with a nervous chuckle.

"Why?" Matoko asked.

"Promise you wont think it's weird..." Lia said.

Matoko gave Lia a deadpan look. "Lia, our parents and little brother change genders with water and you turn into a catgirl." she said. "Nothing you can say can beat that."

Lia smiled and scratched her head. "Well, when I imagine my conscience I imagine its Thor talking to me." she said.

Matoko was silent for several seconds before she spoke. "Well, Lia, it is a little _odd_, but not weird, not by any stretch of the imagination." she said.

Lia smiled and picked up her scrubber. "Thanks Matoko." she said.

"Your welcome." Matoko said.

"So what do you think I should do?" Lia asked.

"Apologize?" Matoko suggested.

"There's a start." Lia said with a nod. "Though now I gotta figure out how to do that with out getting the whole district involved."

"We're working on our projects tomorrow." Matoko said as she began to rinse herself off. "You can tell him then."

"D'oh!" Lia said. "Thanks Matoko. That Pocky must've messed up my brain."

"Well, that's what sisters are for Lia." Matoko said.

"True." Lia said. "Though could you answer me another question though?"

"What is it?" Matoko asked.

"If you think I was too hard on Naota why did you hit him with your book bag during that first fight?" Lia asked.

"That's easy Lia." Matoko said. "He _was_ peeping through the air grate at us."

"Oh." Lia said.

"I may not have much to look at, but I still have my dignity." Matoko sniffed.

"That's exactly how I feel Matoko." Lia said.

The next day after school Lia and Matoko met up with Naota, and after a brief search Kenji and headed over to the Saotome house to work on their projects. Unfortunately there were classes ongoing at the time and Lia didn't have any chances to get her and Naota alone together.

Lia was getting ready for bed after dinner when there was a 'thump' on her outside wall. Pulling on her sleep shirt Lia opened the drapes and was surprised to see an arrow embedded in the window frame.

"The hell?" Lia murmured under her breath as she opened her window. "Who's shooting arrows into window?"

"Lia, you need something?" Matoko asked.

"Huh?" Lia asked, turning around to find Matoko poking her head into the door.

"Do you need something?" Matoko repeated.

"No." Lia said with a shake of her head.

"Then what was that knock on the wall for?" Matoko asked.

"Someone put an arrow into my window frame." Lia said as she reached behind her and pulled the arrow out.

"Who would do that?" Matoko asked as Lia looked at the arrow.

"Don't know, but they left a note." Lia said, tapping the arrow.

"Who is it from?" Matoko asked as she came into Lias room.

"Let's find out." Lia said as she pulled the string holding the paper to the arrow.

Removing the paper Lia unrolled it and read the note written on it.

"Huh." Lia said.

"What?" Matoko asked.

"It's from Naota." Lia said. "He's outside."

"Why is he out there?" Matoko asked.

"Cause I asked him to, that's why." Lia said.

"You're going to apologize to him?" Matoko asked.

"Yep." Lia said as she turned to the window. "Funny way to send a message though." she said, hefting the arrow.

"Well, Naota _is_ a ninja Lia." Matoko pointed out as Lia hopped up to the windowsill.

"That's true." Lia said. "I'll be right back." she said before jumping out.

Landing silently Lia winced as she got painfully reminded that she wasn't wearing a bra. Gritting her teeth Lia gingerly padded over to the part of the wall that faced the dojo, which was out of the view of the main part of the house.

Hopping the wall Lia was easily able to pick up Naotas scent in the air with her Neko -ken enhanced senses. Looking around she was able to see him with her cats night vision, hiding in the shadow of the wall.

"Naota?" Lia whispered.

"I'm here." Naota whispered back. "Your note said you wanted to talk."

"Yeah." Lia whispered as she dropped down in front of Naota. " I want to apologize."

"For what?" Naota asked.

"The way I've treated you, you baka." Lia said.

Naotas response was silence.

"Naota?" Lia asked.

"You're apologizing?" Naota whispered. "Why?"

"My conscience reminded me." Lia answered. "So I'm taking everything back I ever did to you."

"Everything?" Naota asked in a surprised whisper as Lia nodded. "Even the locker room incident?"

Gritting her teeth Lia nodded. "Yes. Even that." she whispered. "Though I want to know why you were in the vent in the first place."

"That's easy." Naota said. "One the Computer club geeks had a mini cam in the vent. He'd been taping you and the other girls in the locker room and selling disks of the recordings."

Lias right ear twitched and her tail began to fuzz out. "What?" she whispered.

"I was removing it when you spotted me." Naota continued. "I had planned on doing it when the locker room was empty, but I got lost in the ducts."

"Did you...?" Lia asked.

Naota shook his head. "No. I was back in the duct reaching forwards with my hands. I couldn't see anything." he said.

"Okay." Lia said. "What afterwards, when I was walking home?" Lia asked.

"I wanted to figure out how you spotted me." Naota said. "My grandfather has trouble spotting me and you made me right away." Naota said.

"Oh." Lia said. "So now what?" she asked.

"How about we start over?" Naota asked.

"Good idea." Lia said. "Saotome Lia." she said, extending her hand.

Smiling under his mask at Lias decidedly Western gesture Naota grabbed her hand and shook it.

"Sano Naota." he said.

Standing up Lia looked down at Naota. "By the way, what's the name of that geek? I want to have a talk with him." she said.

"Suzuki Otada." Naota said. "You can usually find him in the computer lab."

"Thanks." Lia said. "By the way, we're gonna have to keep this quiet unless you the whole school on us." she added.

"Agreed. Ninjas are allergic to attention." Naota said with a nod. "I assume you can do the same old same old at school tomorrow?" he asked.

"Uh -huh." Lia answered with a nod. "You?"

"I'm a ninja." Naota said.

"Right. See you tomorrow." Lia said as she hopped back onto the wall.

"See you tomorrow." Naota said as he melted back into the shadows.

Hopping back up to her window Lia was surprised to find Matoko still there. She watched as Lia climbed back inside and closed the window behind her.

"Well?" she asked as Lia closed the drapes.

"Well, I apologized to him and he accepted." Lia said.

"There was no trouble?" Matoko asked.

"Only when I landed." Lia answered. "Forgot I didn't have a bra on."

"Ouch." Matoko said with a sympathetic wince.

"No kidding." Lia said. "And if anyone doesn't mind, I'm going to bed."

"Me too." Matoko said as she stepped out. "Good night Lia."

"Good night Matoko." Lia answered.

Over the next few days Lia and Naota continued act 'normal', i.e. with Naota continuing to blunder into provoking Lias wrath and her continuing to hit him. Tough the only people who knew that Lia was pulling punches were her , Naota, and Matoko.

Using the project as a cover Naota continued to visit the Saotome household, dragging the hapless Kenji along as well.

One Saturday walking home they were surprised to see Christian and a girl fighting about a block away from Onos clinic.

"Who's that?" Lia asked.

"I don't know Lia." Matoko said as she looked at the girl. "I've never seen her before."

"Well, lets ask her who she is and why she's fighting my brother." Lia said, striding forward.

"Let me help." Naota said as he jogged after Lia.

"Okay." Lia said. "You get the girl, I'll get my brother."

"Deal." Naota answered.

Charging forward Lia and Naota charged into the fight and grabbed the kids out of midair. Or to put it more accurately Lia grabbed Christian while Naota grabbed the girl and got kicked in the gut.

"Hey!" Christian said as Lia skidded to a stop. "Whats the big idea?"

"Why were you fighting with that girl?" Lia asked.

"We weren't fighting, Lia. She's my friend!" Christian said as she tried to squirm free.

"What were you doing then?" Lia asked. "And how about introducing us while your at it."

"We were sparring." Christian explained.

"And I'm Mamimi." the girl said. 'Who are you?" she asked.

Lia blinked at the girls directness but shrugged it off. "I'm Lia. I'm Christians big sister." she began. "That boy who's on the ground is Naota, and that tall girl over there is his other sister Matoko."

"Oh. Chris -chans told me all about you." Mamimi said as glanced in Matokos direction.

"That's odd. He never told us about you." Lia said as she looked at Christian. "And _Chris chan?_"

Christian groaned and looked down at the ground. "Please don't call me that." he said. "It's bad enough that I get called that at school."

"Well, it fits." Lia said as she put him down. "I mean, you are a girl at the moment and your name is Christian." she added, giving his hair a tug.

"Don't remind me." Christian muttered.

"Well, I think it's cute." Mamimi said.

"What is?" Matoko asked as she walked up.

"Christians nick name at school." Lia said. "He's called Chris -chan."

"That _is_ cute." Matoko said.

"I'm not cute!" Christian snapped.

"Yes you are." Lia retorted.

"Hmpf!" Christian snorted.

Chuckling Lia looked at Mamimi. "So your Christians friend, huh?" Lia asked.

"Yeah." Mamimi answered. "We're in the same class together."

"That's nice." Lia replied. "You want to come with us?" she asked.

"To your house?" Mamimi asked. "Your parents won't mind?"

Lia and Christian both shrugged.

"No. We're always bringing classmates home." Lia said.

"Yeah. It's true." Christian said.

"Okay." Mamimi said. "But first I gotta get my pack." she said.

Akane hummed to herself as she loaded the dishwasher. As she did she heard the sounds of Lia and the others returning home from school. She perked up when she heard a new voice mixed in amongst the others.

"I wonder who that is?" she thought.

Closing the dishwasher Akane stepped out of the kitchen into the main room. There she found Christian and a girl she had never seen before. Clearing her throat Akane spoke.

"Hello everybody." she said. "And who's this?" she asked, looking at the girl.

"This is Mamimi." Christian answered. "Mamimi, meet my mom."

"Hello Mrs. Saotome." Mamimi said as she bowed.

"Call me Akane." Akane said as she returned the bow. "You must be a new friend of Christians."

"Yep." Mamimi answered with a nod.

"Whats your last name?" Akane asked.

"Hibiki." Mamimi answered.

Akane saw red for a moment before her training reasserted itself and she clamped down on it. Gritting her teeth Akane smiled and nodded.

"She's only a child Akane. She's only a child." Akane told herself.

"Oh, thank you." she said. "Excuse me." she said before leaving the room.

Walking down the hall Akane headed to the dojo and stepped inside. There she found Ranma practicing his kicks.

"Ranma." Akane called.

"Yeah, Akane?" Ranma asked as he paused in his kicking. "Whats up?"

Taking a deep breath Akane spoke. "Your son has just made friends with Ryogas daughter." she said, pointing behind her.

Ranma blinked in surprise. "Your kidding." he said.

"She said her last name was Hibiki." Akane said. "Go see for yourself."

"Your okay with her being friends with Christian?" Ranma asked as he headed to the door.

"I don't have problem with _her_ Ranma." Akane said as she began to stretch her muscles. "Just her father. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to be working out anger."

"I'll let you know when she's gone." Ranma said he stepped out.

"Thank you." Akane said as she began to stack bricks.

Walking down the hall Ranma shook his head as he heard the sound of breaking bricks behind him.

"You never do anything by halves, do you Christian?" Ranma thought. "Just like your dad."

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End.