Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma OneHalf: First steps ❯ Book Three, Chapter Four ( Chapter 23 )

Ranma Onehalf: First steps. Book Three.

Chapter 4.

"Ahhh....quiet." Ranma thought as sipped his tea.

It was one of those rare times when he had no classes or students to teach and the kids weren't home from school yet. Akane was also out shopping and there were no chores that needed done so Ranma was doing something that he rarely got to do: Absolutely nothing.

So Ranma had poured himself a cup of tea and was sitting at the table enjoying the silence. As he sat there Ranma watched as a koi came up to the surface of the pond and grabbed a bug that had been there.

Watching the ripples spread across the surface of the pond Ranma watched as they traveled outwards to the edge of the pond and then hit the rocks that made up the border of the pond, rebounding outwards and making patterns in the water.

When the ripples had finally faded away Ranma sighed and poured himself another cup of tea. Putting the pot back Ranma suddenly lifted his head up and listened. Focusing on the background noise of the city Ranma filtered out the ambient noise until he at last found the source of the noise that had caught his attention: Lia.

From the sound of it she was ranting about something in school and it didn't sound like she was going to be stopping any time soon.

"Well, it was nice while it lasted." Ranma thought as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I wonder what's gotten Lia riled up this time."

Sitting there Ranma patiently waited and sipped his tea as Lia and her sister approached, the volume increasing as they did so. When they finally got inside the house and entered the main room Ranma saw what had Lia so upset.

Instead of the normal plain blue jumper and blouse that was the Furinkan girls uniform that Lia had worn to school that morning she had on something that looked vaguely like the Furinkan uniform, only much cuter.

There were ruffles and bows every where with lots of lace trim. Completing the ensemble was white stockings and a ridiculously oversized bell at her throat.

"What happened to you?" Ranma asked.

Lias right ear twitched. "The damn Cosplay Club swiped my uniform when I was in gym class and replaced it with this _thing_." she growled.

"Oy." Ranma said.

"Now I'm going upstairs to change." Lia said as she stomped to the stairs. "When I get my hands on those twerps....Ooooooh!"

Ranma and Matoko watched as Lia stomped upstairs muttering about commiting bodily harm to the Cosplay club. After she was gone Ranma glanced at Matoko.

"She's a little cranky." he commented.

Matoko nodded. "Yes. She had to wear that all day."

"Pineapple Brain didn't hassle her?" Ranma asked.

"Principal Kuno put a 'catgirl' clause into the dress code and announced it over the PA system." Matoko answered. "Apparently the Cosplay club gave him a petition asking him to."

"That figures." Ranma said.

Matoko nodded again. "Lia was very upset about it-" she began.

"Matoko COME HELP ME GET THIS BLOODY THING OFF!!!!" Lia yelled from upstairs.

"Excuse me." Matoko said before heading upstairs.

Ranma sat and sipped his tea while listening Lias running commentary on the Cosplay club, Principal Kuno, and all the other buffoons at Furinkan. Lia was hitting full steam when Christian came in covered in dirt and with a few scrapes and bruises.

Ranma blinked in surprise as he looked at Christian. "What happened to you?" he asked.

Christian shrugged. "A couple of bullies tried to beat me up." he said. "They lost."

"How bad?" Ranma asked.

Christian grinned. "They ain't gonna be able to move for a week." he said.

"Good boy." Ranma said. "Now go get cleaned up. Your mother is going to have a fit about those clothes."

"Oh man." Christian groaned as he hung his head.

"And when you're done I want to take a look at those scrapes."Ranma called as Christian sulked off to the furo.

"Okay." Christian answered.

Matoko and Lia walked down the street in silence, her hand on Lias shoulder as she guided her sister. Matoko glanced at her sister, who had a vacant expression and was purring slightly. Sighing, Matoko shook her head as she looked back down the street.

"Looks like were going to have to file this under 'things Lia is not allowed to have ever'." Matoko thought. "Incredible skill and reflexes from a lifetimes training in the Anything Goes of Martial arts, all rendered null by one kilo of catnip."

As they walked along Matoko thought about this latest turn of events and how it had happened. One of the freshman classes had been doing a class project on plant husbandry and they had chosen catnip for their test subject.

Their goal had been to make a stronger breed of catnip from a wild source and had apparently succeeded. One of their test cats had escaped and Lia had caught it. She was returning it to the class when one of the students had tripped and accidently tossed one of the test batches into Lias face.

Lia and the cats reaction had been immediate: both were immediately put into high earth orbit. Half an hour later Matoko had to be called out of class with Izu to help get Lia down from the tree. That had been four hours ago and Lia showed no sign of coming down from her cat nip high.

"I wonder how long Lia is going to be this way." Matoko thought. "I know they said it was wasn't that strong, but it would be just our luck that it would be the strong stuff-"

"Hey Matoko."

Matoko jumped at the sound of Naotas voice. Looking up she saw Naota walking beside her sipping on a can of lemonade.

"Naota! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Matoko said with a scowl.

"I've been walking next to you for the past three blocks Matoko." Naota answered. "I hardly call that sneaking up on someone."

"Oh." Matoko said. "Sorry Naota. I had my mind else where."

Naota chuckled. "Matoko, having to deal with Lia on a catnip high would make anyone preoccupied." he said.

Matoko nodded. "True." she said.

"And speaking of her, how is Lia?" Naota asked.

Matoko looked at her sister and sighed. "She's still high, I'm afraid." she said.

"So I see." Naota said as he looked at Lia, who was batting at a insect that was buzzing around her. "When do you think it'll wear off?" he asked.

"Soon, I hope." Matoko answered. "I don't look forward to holding off the Cosplay club with her like this."

"Neither do I." Naota agreed. "Those costumes of theirs are annoying."

"Agreed." Matoko added as Lia lifted her head up and sniffed the air. "You smell something Lia?" she asked.

"Chris -chan!" Lia said. "And Mi -chan!"

Breaking free of Matokos grasp Lia tore off down the street after her brother and his friend. Naota blinked in surprise and looked at Matoko.

"Aren't you going to go after her?" he asked.

Matoko shrugged. "Naota, there is no possible way I could catch up to her, even if I was in peak physical condition." she said. "And besides, she won't be going very far." she added as a pair of yelps echoed down the street.

"I see." Naota said as Matoko quickened her pace.

Rounding the corner Matoko and Naota found a happily purring Lia sitting on the ground holding Christian and Mamimi in a tight hug.

"Hi Christian." Matoko said as she walked up. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine." Christian said as he tried to squirm free as Lia held him tighter. "Lia, let go!"

"Nyaow!" Lia said as she rubbed her face against Christian.

"AAAAAck! Lia, what's gotten into you?" Christian said as he flailed his arms and legs.

"About a kilo of high grade catnip." Matoko said.

"Oh." Christian said. "Now could you help me get her off of me"

"But this is fun Chris -chan!" Mamimi said.

"Not for me" Christian said. "And I'm a boy!"

"Nyaow!" Lia said, giving them both a hug.

Shaking her head at the ridiculousness of the situation Matoko sighed and stepped forward. Looking behind her Matoko glanced at Naota.

"Naota, quit laughing and give me a hand with Lia." she said.

Ranma stood the porch in front of the main room and sipped his tea.

"Anything wrong Ranma?" Akane asked as she walked in with a load of laundry.

"I'm just waiting for the herd to get home from school." Ranma said. "They normally would have been home by now."

Akane shrugged. "Eh, Lia probably wanted to do a Pocky run." she said. "Don't worry about it."

"I'm not worried." Ranma said. "I'm just being a father."

"And you're a very good one." Akane said as she left for the laundry room.

Ranma finished his tea as Akane started the laundry. As the laundry ran Ranma listened for the approach of Christian or the girls, so when he heard the sound of Christian and Mamimi having a verbal sparring match he relaxed.

Stepping off the porch Ranma walked around to the front of the house to meet them at the gate. As Ranma crossed in front of the house he heard Matoko shout.

"Lia! No!"

"What the- Lia??" Ranma asked as Lia hopped up onto the wall.

"Nyaow!" Lia said with a grin.

"Nyaow?" Ranma asked. "Kitten, are you okay?"

"Nyaow!" Lia answered.

Ranma blinked in surprise as Lia crouched down on the wall. "I'll take that as a no." he said.

"Hi Lia." Akane said as she stepped out to get the mail. "Whats up?"

Taking his eyes off of Lia Ranma glanced over at Akane. "Akane, go call Ono. There's something wrong with Lia." he said.

"What do you mean?" Akane asked. " Whats wrong with her?"

"Nyaow!" Lia said as she used Ranmas momentary distraction to pounce on him.

"AAAAACK!" Ranma was all that he got out before Lia grabbed him.

Akane blinked as Lia landed on her father in cloud of dust. Lying on his back Ranma looked up into Lias face and found her looking back at him.

"Hi Kitten." he said. "Back from school?" he asked.

"Nyaow!" Lia answered.

Watching from the porch Akane rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Okay, now Lias gone Neko." Akane said. " Like father, like daughter."

As Akane headed inside to call Ono matoko and the others came in through the gate.

"Hi Ranma." she said.

"Hi Matoko." Ranma said as he waved to her. "Could someone tell me whats wrong with Lia?" he asked.

"She got hit with a kilo of high grade catnip." Naota said.

"Catnip?" Ranma asked. "That's it?"

Matoko nodded. "That's it."

"Well that's a relief." Ranma said as he ruffled Lias hair. "I thought there was something wrong with you Kitten." he added as she began to purr.

"CHRISTIAN WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR CLOTHES?!!!" Akane screamed from inside the house. "I JUST MADE THEM!"

"Busted." Mamimi said.

"Nyaow?" Lia asked.

"Bullies again?" Ranma asked.

Mamimi nodded. "Yeah. This time it was every one in school."she said. "I had to back him up."

"He was okay with it?" Ranma asked. "He didn't mind having a girl help?"

Mamimi shrugged. "Not at all." she said. "Christian doesn't believe that girls are weaker than boys."

"I hope so." Ranma said as he pushed Lia off of him and sat up. "Akane and I have been teaching him that from the get go."

"CHRISTIAN GET BACK HERE!!!" Akane screamed as Christian tore out of the main room into the yard, Akane hot on his tail.

"No way!" Christian responded.

"DON'T YOU DARE RUN AWAY FROM ME CHRISTIAN SAOTOME!" Akane yelled as she put on speed. "WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE YOUNG MAN!!!"

"You gotta catch me first!" Christian said as he hopped the wall.

"THAT'S IT!" Akane yelled as she summoned her mallet.

"Bleahhh!" Christian replied as he stuck his tongue out at Akane.

Hopping to a nearby roof Christian lit out across Nerima with his mother in hot pursuit. Ranma and the others watched them go.

"Well, that brought back memories." Ranma said as he stood up. "Anybody hungry?" he asked.

"Nyaow!" Lia said.

Akane returned an hour and a half later with Christian under one arm. Both were in cursed form, wet, and muddy.

"You caught him I see." Ranma said as Akane stomped in.

"Only after I chased him all over town." Akane said, glaring at Christian. "And throughly destroying his new school clothes." he added.

"Hmpf!" Christian said.

"Is the furo open?" Akane asked.

Ranma nodded. "Yeah." he said.

"Good. We're going to get cleaned up." Akane said. "And Christian and I are going to have a little talk." he growled as he stomped off.

Ranma watched as Akane and Christian went off to the furo and shook his head.

"Man, and I thought Lia was handful when she was young." he thought. "Boy was I wrong."

Ranma didn't know it, but he was going to learn just how right he was a week and a half later.

Christian gingerly walked down the street in cursed form, favoring her right side. She felt like she had been put through a cement mixer. Her nose was bleeding, her lip was split, her ribs on her right side hurt when she breathed, she was covered in cuts and bruises, and her left eye was beginning to swell shut.

But those were the least of her problems though.

"Moms gonna kill me for ruining these new clothes." Christian thought.

Reaching her street Christian went past it to the next street over. Turning onto that street Christian walked down to the back wall of the Saotome house. Pausing Christian listened for activity before jumping onto the top of the wall.

Jumping down from the wall Christian winced as her ribs flared with pain. Taking several deep breaths Christian crouched down to let it pass. After it passed she stood up and considered the house.

"Okay, now all I gotta do is get inside and get back into my regular form without getting caught." she thought as she padded forward.

"Hold it right there Christian." Ranma said from behind her.,

"Drat." Christian thought as she froze. "Forgot he could do that."

"Turn around." Ranma said as he stepped out the Umi -Sen -Ken.

Ranma blinked in surprise as Christian turned around to face him. Walking up to her Ranma crouched down and began to look her over.

"What happened." Ranma asked.

"Fight." Christian said in a quiet voice.

"So I see." Ranma said. "Is that why you're an hour and a half late coming home from school?"

"Yeah." Christian answered.

"Okay. Lets go get you patched up." Ranma said as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine." Christian said as she shook off Ranmas hand.

"Christian, you look like you got run over by a tank." Ranma told her as he stood up.

"I said I'm fine -ow!" Christian said as she grabbed her side.

"Right." Ranma said as he ran his hand through his hair.

Christian clutched at her side as she sank to her knees. "I am." she wheezed.

"Then why are you doubled over in pain?" Ranma asked.

"..." was Christians reply.

Sighing Ranma sank down to his knees and rubbed Christians back.

"Christian, you don't need to do the macho routine with me just because you lost a fight." he said.

"How...?" Christian wheezed.

Ranma smiled slightly. "Christian, you've got too much of me in you." he said. "When you win a fight, you don't sneak in over the back wall. You come in through the front gate all smiles and laughs, now matter how tore up you are."

"Busted." Christian wheezed.

"Yep." Ranma said. "Now how about we go to Onos and get those ribs looked at."

"Do we have to?" Christian wheezed.

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, we have to." he said. "And besides, if your all bandaged up your mother wont kill you for ruining another set of school clothes." he added.

"Oh." Christian wheezed as she got back on her feet. "Okay."

Akane looked up as she heard the front gate open and footsteps on the walk.

"Ranma? Is that you?" she called.

"Yeah." Ranma answered.

"Is Christian with you?" she asked as she got up.

"Yeah." Ranma answered.

Stepping into the hall Akane waited for them to come out of the mud room.

"Where were you?" Akane asked as she leaned against the wall.

"Out." Ranma answered. "We were visiting Ono."

"Why?" Akane asked.

"You'll see." Ranma said as he opened the door and Christian stepped inside, still in her girl form.

Akane gasped as Christian stepped out from the mud room.

"What happened?" she asked as she kneeled down to look at Christian.

"Christian got into a fight." Ranma said as he stepped in and closed the door behind him. "We had to have Ono patch her up."

"How bad are you hurt Christian?" Akane asked as she checked Christian. "Is anything broken?"

"No." Christian said.

"Nothings broken Akane." Ranma said, making a throat -cutting gesture with his hand.

"Okay." Akane said as she glanced up at Ranma. "Why don't you go wash up? Matoko made dinner tonight."

"Okay." Christian said as she slipped past Akane.

"And remember what Ono told you! Only use cold water!" Ranma called as Christian went into the house.

"Cold water?" Akane asked as she stood up. "What's that all about?" she asked.

Ranma sighed and looked at Akane. "Her injuries." he said. "Besides the cuts and bruises, along with the black eye Christian has three cracked ribs. Onos worried that if Christian gets hit with hot water her ribs will break and hit something vital. "

"Cracked ribs? What kind of a fight did he get into Ranma? A gladiator match?" Akane asked.

"Close." Ranma answered. "From what she said the bullies at school framed Mamimi for detention and then when Christian was alone they splashed her and ganged up on her."

"Cute." Akane said.

"Very." Ranma said. "Apparently this crap has been going on for a while now."

"What?" Akane asked. "Why didn't she say anything?"

"All appearances aside Akane, Christian _is_ a boy." Ranma said.

"And what has that got to do with it?" Akane asked.

"I'll explain after dinner Akane." Ranma told her as he started to walk towards the main room. "Right now Matokos cooking* is too distracting."

"Alright. But I want to hear your explanation _after_ dinner." Akane said as she followed him.

After dinner when everything had been cleared away and the children were upstairs doing their homework Ranma sat down on the porch with Akane to finish their conversation from earlier. Taking a sip of his tea Ranma looked at Akane.

"So..." he began.

"So, you were saying something about Christian being a boy as the reason why he didn't say anything." Akane said.

"Right." Ranma said. "As I was saying, Christian is a boy. And eight year old boys idolize their fathers."

"Go on." Akane said.

"And that's the reason Akane." Ranma said. "In his mind, Christian has to live up to me."

Akane blinked in surprise and thought for a few minutes. Finally she spoke.

"Where would Christian get that idea, Ranma?" she asked. "We've never raised him to be that way."

Ranma shrugged. "Well, not intentionally." he said.

"Not intentionally?" Akane asked.

"Well, when this first started, I told him he was a good boy after he beat up a couple of bullies." Ranma said.

"So? Lia beats up bullies all the time." Akane said.

Ranma nodded. "True. But, if she was in trouble in school she'd tell us Akane." he said. "Christian never told us."

"Hmmm." Akane said as she sipped her tea again. "I wonder why." she asked.

Ranma chuckled mirthlessly. "I think I know." he said.

"So spill it." Akane said.

Ranma looked at the koi pond for a long moment before responding.

"It's all those stories about me as a kid that she's listened to." Ranma said. "That's the reason."

"Are you sure?" Akane asked.

"She told me herself Akane." Ranma said.

Akane sighed and looked at the koi pond with Ranma. "So, what do we do?" she asked.

Ranma looked into his cup of tea, untouched since the conversation began and spoke.

"Well, I talked to Kasumi while Ono was patching up Christian." he began. "I asked her for some advice, cause well, she has more experience with boys than we do." he said.

Akane nodded. "Go on." she said.

"And she suggested that I have a little father/son bonding with Christian and explain a few things with him." Ranma said.

"Hm." Akane said. "You got any ideas?" she asked.

Ranma shrugged. "Well, she suggested that I do something that we both like." Ranma said. "But Christians injuries kind of limit that, so I was thinking she and I go out have some ice cream."

Akane glanced at Ranma. "Okay." she said.

Ranma was waiting for Christian after school the next day. Christian spotted him coming out the front door and made for him as fast as she could.

"Hi Christian." Ranma said as she came up to him.

"Hi Dad." Christian said. "Whats up?"

"I was wondering if you were in the mood for some ice cream." Ranma said as he looked at Christian.

"Sure." Christian said. "Can Mamimi come too?" he asked.

"If she wants to." Ranma said.

"She will." Christian said.

"Okay." Ranma said. "By the way, where is she?"

"Where is- oh no, not _again_!" Christian said as she turned around to look behind her.

Mamimi carefully walked out of the school, watching her landmarks as she navigated her way out of school.

"Mamimi! Over here!"

Mamimi looked up as she heard Christians voice. Seeing him and Ranma waving at her Mamimi focused on them and walked carefully in a strait line towards them. Stopping in front of the two she bowed.

"Sorry. I got lost." she said.

"I thought you knew your way around school." Christian said.

"I do." Mamimi answered. "The crowds messed me up, that's all."

"Oh." Christian said. "You wanna come for ice cream?"

"Sure." Mamimi said with a nod.

Clamping down onto Christians shoulder Mamimi let her do the navigating as they walked to the ice cream shop. As they walked along Ranma glanced back at Mamimi and saw what she was doing.

"Mamimi, can I ask you a question?" Ranma asked.

"Sure." she answered.

"Why are you holding onto Christian?" he asked. "I thought you had a better sense of direction than your father."

Mamimi shrugged. "I do. If I know the area I'm okay. If I don't I get lost." she answered.

"Oh." Ranma said. "That makes sense."

"I'm just glad that I got some of my directional sense from my mother." Mamimi said.

"Who is your mother, by the way?" Ranma asked.

Mamimi gave Ranma an odd look. "Mom." she said.

"I mean, what's her name?" Ranma clarified.

Mamimi blinked. "Oh. Her names Ukyo." she said. "I got a picture if you want to see."

Ranma blinked. "May I?" he asked.

"Sure." Mamimi said as she stopped.

Slinging off her backpack Mamimi reached into a side pocket and pulled out what looked like a leather wallet. Opening it she flipped through it until she found the picture she was looking for.

"Here." Mamimi said as she handed it to Ranma.

Taking the wallet, Ranma looked at the picture. It showed Ryoga, Ukyo, and Mamimi standing in front of the Misawa Air Force Base sign. Looking closer Ranma was surprised to see Ukyo was smiling and looking happy and carefree while Ryoga had lost the dark intensity that Ranma remembered from their youth.

And that wasn't the only thing that had changed.

"Mamimi, does your mother still cook okayami?" Ranma asked.

"Yeah." Mamimi answered "How did you know that?"

"Oh, your parents and I go back a ways." Ranma said as he folded the wallet back up and handed it to Mamimi.

"Really?" Mamimi said. "They never said anything about you."

Ranma chuckled. "It's..._complicated._" he said.

"Huh?" Mamimi asked.

"It's an adult thing." Christian interjected. "It's one of those things we'll figure out when we're 'older'."

"Oh, okay." Mamimi said as she shouldered her backpack.

Ranma smiled at the eight year olds view of the world as they started walking. As they walked Ranma glanced at Christian as she walked beside him.

"So, how the ribs doing?" Ranma asked.

"They're okay." Christian said as she fought the impulse to shrug.

"They still hurt?" Ranma asked.

"Only when I bump em' ." Christian answered. "That's why I asked Mamimi to carry my stuff."

"Oh, thank you Mamimi." Ranma said.

"You're welcome." she answered.

"And how about the bullies?" Ranma asked. "Did they bother you?"

Christian gently shook her head. "No. Mamimi covered me today." she said.

Mamimi nodded. "Yeah. I gave them payback for setting me up and putting me in detention." she said.

"You didn't hurt them, did you?" Ranma asked.

"Nothing permanent." Christian added. "Just enough to make them think twice."

"Good." Ranma said. "I'm going to have a talk with their parents tomorrow and put an end to this."

"Dad, we got it covered." Christian said.

"I know Christian." Ranma said. "I'm just making sure it doesn't get any bigger, or before you or Mamimi are forced to quit holding back on them."

Mamimi blinked in surprise as Christian nodded.

"How did you know?" she asked.

Ranma gave her a smile. "Naota told me about that kick you gave him, Mamimi." he said. "Only a Hibiki can that hard."

"I thought I pulled that punch." Mamimi said. "I'll have to apologize to him now."

"It was an accident Mi -chan. You don't have to apologize." Christian said.

'Mi -chan?" Ranma asked.

Christian glanced at Ranma. "We made a deal. If she's gonna call me Chris -chan, I'm gonna call her Mi -chan." she said.

"All's fair, huh?" Ranma asked.

"Yep!" Christian and Mamimi chorused.

As they turned the corner the ice cream shop Ranma was leading them to came into view.

"And here we are." Ranma said as he opened the door. "Don't worry about price."

Akane looked up as she heard the door to the mud room open and footfalls in the hallway.

"We're home." Ranma called. "Where are ya?"

"I'm in here." Akane answered.

"Mamimis gonna be staying over tonight." Ranma said as he came in carrying Mamimi, Christian right behind him.

"Oh?" Akane asked as she looked at Mamimi, who looked a little green. "Why?" she asked.

Ranma glanced at Mamimi. "She tried to beat Christian in a ice -cream eating contest." he said.

Akane winced as Mamimi nodded carefully. Getting up she patted a cushion next to her.

"Put her here." Akane said. "I'll go make her some peppermint tea."

Ranma carefully put Mamimi down on the cushion and Christian carefully began to ease herself down but stopped when Ranma put his hand on her shoulder.

"Can I talk to you for a minute, Christian?" Ranma asked. "In the dojo."

"Yeah." Christian answered.

Leaving Mamimi alone in the main room, Christian followed Ranma into the dojo. Closing the door Ranma turned around and squatted down so he was on Christians level.

"So what do you want talk about?" she asked.

"The fights." Ranma answered.

"What about them?" Christian asked.

"The next time you're in a situation like that I want you to tell us, okay?" Ranma asked. "I'm asking you this as your father and your sensei."

Christian was silent for several moments as she considered her fathers request. Finally she reached her decision and looked Ranma in the eye.

"Okay Dad. Because you're my sensei I will." she said.

"Thank you." Ranma said. "Now how about we get back to the front? I don't know about you, I think Mamimi could use some company."

"Okay." Christian said as she turned towards the door.

__________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ _______________

End.

*Matoko is the only one of the Saotome sisters who can cook, Lia having inherited Akanes cooking abilities.