Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma OneHalf: First steps ❯ Book Three, Chapter Five ( Chapter 24 )

Ranma Onehalf: First steps. Book Three.

Chapter Five.

Lia yawned as she sat at the computer. It was seven o'clock Saturday evening and Lia, along with Matoko, Naota, and Kenji had been working on their projects since they got home at one. Clicking 'file' Lia clicked 'print preview' and checked the printer settings.

Seeing that the settings were the way she wanted them Lia clicked 'print' and yawned again as the printer came to life. After checking to see there was enough paper Lia picked up the other three reports and got to her feet.

Stepping into the main room Lia found her sister sitting at the table putting her book-bag back together and Naota and Kenji sprawled out on the floor.

"Reports are done." Lia said as she dropped them on the table.

"Thank you." Matoko said as she took hers. "Lia, where's yours?" she asked.

"Printing." Lia said as she stretched. "What happened to those two?" she asked, nodding at Naota and Kenji.

"We collapsed from sheer exhaustion." Naota answered. "Finishing the report wore us out."

"Well, your reports are on the table." Lia said as she turned to the kitchen. "I'm gonna get me something to eat."

"Thank you." Naota groaned as he sat up.

Picking up the two reports Naota selected his and put the other one on Kenjis face to get his attention.

"Wake up Kenji. We're done." Naota said.

"Nnnhhh..." Kenji said as he stirred.

Kenji sat up and grabbed his book bag. Putting the report in a folder Kenji put back in his bag and rubbed his eyes before Naota helped him to his feet.

"Well, we'd love to stay, but we have other places to be." Naota said as he turned towards the door.

"Oh, we don't mind Naota." Matoko said with a small smile. "You and Kenji are no trouble."

At Matokos mention of his name Kenji gulped like a fish before fleeing, almost running over Naota in the process. Seeing that Kenji had dropped his book bag in his haste Naota picked it up and looked over his shoulder at Lia and Matoko.

"See you on Monday." he said.

"See you on Monday." Lia answered.

"Kenji! Wait up!" Naota hollered as he left the house in pursuit of his friend.

Lia and Matoko listened as the sound of Naota chasing Kenji faded into the distance. Yawning again Lia turned her head and swivelled an ear to check up on the printer.

"Printers done." Lia said as she got up. "I'll be right back."

"Okay." Matoko said as she watched Lia leave the room.

As she watched Lia leave Matoko thought about their project and how well it had gone with Lia and Naota on speaking terms with each other. Her and Kenji on the other hand...

Her and Kenji had barely said hello to each other. If she had said anything more than that Kenji would lapse into a stuttering fit that would lead to him hyperventilating and gasping like a fish out of water.

Matoko had been forced to rely on writing notes for Kenji detailing her half of the project while Kenji had simply left her a copy of his drafts and notes. It was not the best way for two people partnered together for a school project to communicate.

And while reading his notes Matoko had gotten an insight into Kenjis mind, on the way he thought. Also, because he photocopied his notes rather than transcribe them onto computer and print them out she had also discovered he had a creative side.

His notes were covered with doodles and little cartoons ranging from sketches of Naota and Lia to weird, off the wall gadgets. And in one batch of photocopies had been a full sketch of them sitting at the table doing their homework.

It was in pencil, in a photorealistic style that was completely different from his doodles and cartoons. The sketch was in the first person, from his point of view since he was copiously absent from the picture.

Lia, Naota, and her were in the picture at the table and Christian was curled up behind them in a patch of sun taking a nap. From the layout of the picture Matoko could tell Kenji had been sitting at the side of the table that faced the kitchen, since the background was a shot of the backyard.

The amazing part of it was the sheer amount of detail in the sketch, ranging from a repaired hole in one of the screens to the lines in the wood of the porch planking. Though there was one thing out of place in the whole sketch:

Why was Wing Zero standing in the extreme background?

That sketch alone made Matoko want to get to know Kenji better, but she knew that there was no way that was going to happen with Kenji panicking if she so much as smiled at him. And her own shyness didn't help either.

Looking up Matoko realized that Lia had gotten herself a snack and returned to the table.

"That's it." Matoko thought. "I can ask Lia."

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

"Shoot." Lia answered as picked up her tea.

"Could you help me to get Kenji to ask me out on a date?" Matoko asked.

"PFFFFFFt!" was Lias response as she did a spit -take with her tea. Coughing and wheezing Lia looked at Matoko. "What?" she wheezed.

"I want to go out on a date with Kenji." Matoko answered.

"You're serious." Lia said as her coughing fit passed.

Matoko nodded. "Yes."

"When did you get an interest in boys?" Lia asked.

"I've always been interested in boys Lia." Matoko said. "I never said anything before because you were an Anti -Pervert."

"Oh." Lia said. "Sorry."

Matoko smiled gently at her sister. "It's okay Lia." she said. "You have every reason with the boys around here."

"True." Lia said with a nod. "So why Kenji? And why ask me?"

Matoko looked down at her hands and blushed slightly. "Well, it was when I was reading his notes that I got a look into his mind..."

"Huh?" Lia asked with a blank stare.

Matoko chewed on her lip while she thought of a way to explain it to Lia.

"Ah, let me put it this way Lia." Matoko said. "Kenji, when he wrote his notes, he put his thoughts directly on the paper."

Lia nodded slowly. "Okay, I think I get it." she said. "When you read his notes..."

"I got a look inside his mind." Matoko finished.

Lia smiled and gave her sister an amused look. "Only you Matoko." she said. "Only you would want to go out with a guy based on what's inside his mind."

Matoko nodded. "That is true." she said. "And to answer your second question, the reason why I asked you is because you have more experience with boys than I do." she added.

"AAACK!" was Lias response as she face vaulted. Picking herself up Lia looked at her sister. "Matoko, are you nuts?" she asked.

Matoko shook her head. "No."

"Okay." Lia said as she straitened up. "Matoko, the only experience I have with boys is with a boy who I'm engaged to and is a highly trained assassin."

Matoko shrugged. "Well, it's still more than I have she said." she said as Lia face vaulted again.

"Lia, take it outside." Ranma called from the other end of the house. "I don't want you breaking the floorboards again."

"Sorry Dad." Lia answered as she picked her self up. "It wont happen again.'

"So, do you have any ideas?" Matoko asked Lia.

"Not a one." Lia answered.

"I might have one." Akane said from the kitchen where she had been doing the dishes. "Talk to Kasumi."

"Aunt Kasumi?" Lia and Matoko chorused.

"Why her?" Lia asked.

"That's easy Lia." Akane said as she poked her head out of the kitchen. "She has experience in dealing with terminally shy men. Ask her about Uncle Ono before they were married."

"Okay." Lia said.

"We can stop by while were doing the shopping tomorrow." Matoko said.

Akane nodded. "But if you want to talk about how to deal with thick skulled bakas, talk to me. I have a lot of experience in that area." she said.

"I heard that." Ranma called from outside. "Tomboy."

"Baka." Akane shot back.

"Tomboy." Ranma said from behind Akane as he dropped the Umi -Sen -Ken.

"Showoff." Akane said as she turned around to face him.

"You love me, admit it." Ranma said as he presented Akane with a bouquet of roses.

"Of course I do." Akane said as she took the roses. "Thanks." she said, giving Ranma a peck on the cheek.

Lia watched as her mother went into the kitchen to put the roses in some water.

"What's the occasion?" Lia asked.

Ranma shrugged. "No occasion. Just wanted to surprise your mother." he said.

"Oh." Lia said. "Must be a married thing."

"It is." Ranma said as he patted Lia on the head. " You'll understand eventually."

"If you say so." Lia answered.

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Naota wandered down the street looking in store windows and generally doing nothing constructive, one of his favorite pastimes. He was looking in the window of an electronics store when he heard Lia shout.

"Hey Naota, heads up!"

Naota looked up to see an apple hurtling at his head. Reflexes taking over Naota snapped his arm up and snatched the apple out of thin air.

"Hello Lia." Naota said.

"Hi Naota. What's up?" Lia asked as she and Matoko approached him.

Naota shrugged. "Nothing much." he said before biting into the apple.

"You doing anything?" Lia asked.

Naota shook his head. "No." he answered. "You?" he asked.

Lia hefted the shopping bags she held in each hand. "We're shopping for the house." she said.

"So I see." Naota said. "Matoko, I can carry your bags for you if you want." he said as he looked at Matoko.

"Would you please?" Matoko said as she held out her bags. "I'm not as strong as you or Lia."

"Certainly." Naota said as he took Matokos bags.

Lia looked at Naota and cocked an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to, Naota?" she asked. "Coming along with two women out shopping?"

Naota chuckled as he looked at the bags. "Compared to spending the day with my father and grandfather it's a thousand -fold better." he said.

Lia blinked as she looked at Naota. "They're that bad?" she asked.

Naota nodded. "Yeah, they are that bad." he confirmed. "I love them both, but there is only so much I can take."

"Ah." Lia said as they started walking.

As they walked along Lia and Matoko were in front and Naota was in the rear. Being taller than Lia Naota had a good view of the top of her head and particular her ears. Naota watched as they twitched and swivelled to take in the sounds around them.

Curiosity getting the better of him Naota spoke up.

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

Lia looked over her shoulder at Naota. "Shoot." she said.

"Why are you always in cursed form?" Naota asked.

Lia chuckled. "Two reasons. One, if I go out in un-cursed form sooner or later I'll get splashed. Two, my curse isn't like my parents or Christians, I have to have provisions for a tail." she said, twitching said appendage. "I can't just wear larger sized clothes."

"I see." Naota said. "That makes sense."

As the approached a crossroads Matoko stopped and put her hand on Lias shoulder.

"Lia we were going to talk to Kasumi, remember?" she said.

"Oh yeah, that's right." Lia said.

Turning to the right they began to head down the street to the Tofus.

"So why the detour?" Naota asked.

Lia glanced back at Naota again. "We're going to talk to her about getting a boy to take you out on a date." she said.

Naota blinked in surprise. "Dating?" he asked.

"Don't worry. Your not the boy." Lia said.

"Oh? So who's the lucky guy?" Naota asked.

Lia shrugged. "Kenji. Matoko wants to date him."

"Lia!" Matoko exclaimed.

Lia looked at Matoko. "What? He's Kenjis friend. If anyone would be able to help, it'd be him." Lia said.

Naota nodded. "She's right." he said.

Matoko and Lia glanced back at him.

"You'll help?" Lia asked.

Naota nodded again. "Yeah." he said. "Kenji needs something more than a few friends and his art."

"It's settled then." Lia said. "Naota'll help us."

"You don't mind, do you?" Matoko asked.

"No, not at all." Naota said. "Like I said, Kenji needs to get out more. He spends all day working at his drafting table, working on becoming a professional manga artist."

Matoko perked up when she heard the term 'manga artist'.

"Kenji wants to be a manga artist?" she thought. "Maybe I could show him some of my-no, one step at a time Matoko."

"And here we are." Lia said as they reached an unassuming two -story house with a small walled -in yard. "The Tofus."

Because her hands were free Matoko reached out and rang the buzzer on the intercom next to the gate. They waited several seconds until Izu answered.

"Hello?" Izu asked over the intercom.

"Izu? It's Matoko. May we come in?" she asked.

"Sure." Izu answered.

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Inside the Tofu house Lia and Naota sat with Genda and Izu and watched TV while Kasumi and Matoko sat down at the table with a pot of tea.

"So, Matoko, you wanted to talk to me?" Kasumi asked.

Matoko nodded. "Yes." she said. "About a boy."

Kasumi nodded and sipped her tea. "And what about this boy?" she asked.

"I want to date him." Matoko said as she looked at her tea.

Kasumi wrapped her fingers around her teacup and looked at matoko.

"And you want him to notice you,?" she asked.

Matoko shook her head. "No, it's not that." she said.

Kasumi tilted her head and looked at Matoko. "You're too afraid to approach him?" she asked.

Matoko blushed and looked away or a moment. Kasumi smiled as she saw Matokos reaction.

"Is that it?" she asked.

"Partly." Matoko admitted.

"Oh? And what's the other part?" Kasumi asked.

Matoko chewed on her lip for several seconds before responding.

"The boy I'm interested in is really shy." she said.

Kasumi nodded gently and sipped her tea while Matoko took several gulps of hers. After a couple of minutes had passed Matoko had calmed down enough to continue.

"Lia and I were talking about it yesterday and Akane overheard us and said that we should talk to you." Matoko said.

"I see." Kasumi said. "So you want advice on how to catch a terminally shy boy?"

Matoko nodded and looked down at her now empty teacup. Smiling Kasumi refilled it for her.

"Well, you certainly came to the right person Matoko." she said. "I have a lot of experience with such men."

Matoko looked up at her aunt. "So, what do you recommend?" she asked.

"Well, you could try what I did to break the ice." Kasumi said.

"What's that?" Matoko asked.

"Go up to him and give him a nice, french kiss." Kasumi said, smiling at the memory.

Matoko turned beet red and shook her head. "No! I cant do that! It'd give him a heart attack!" she said.

"Well, at least he'd die happy-ow!" Izu piped from the area around the television before Genda smacked him.

"Quiet Izu." Genda said.

"What was that for?" Izu asked rubbing his sore scalp.

"For talking about something you know nothing about." Genda said. "You don't even have a girlfriend."

"Well, it's not my fault that all the girls run away from me 'cause I'm cousin to the Lesbian Man -hater of Furinkan." he said, before immediately recognizing his error. "Oh crap."

"Who said that?" Lia hissed, grabbing the front of Naotas shirt. "Tell me or else!"

Kasumi glanced over at the televison area, where Izu was rapidly naming names and where Naota was taking them down. Seeing that everything was normal she turned back to Matoko.

"Well, my advice to you Matoko is to try to work with him and get to know him before you try anything." she said. "You first have to get him to come out of his shell."

"Thank you Kasumi." Matoko said with a nod.

"You're welcome." Kasumi answered.

By the time Matoko and Kasumi were done with their tea Lia had finished getting her names and was planning her revenge. After collecting their bags the trio headed for the Saotome home, Lia planning extreme pain for those who had slandered her.

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The next morning at school Lia discovered just how popular she was. It was after the Hentai Horde had tried to attack her, having just finished their bathroom duty and having not learned anything from the experience.

Because they were running late Lia had simply invoked the Umi -Sen -Ken and had simply walked past them into the school with Matoko. Lia however did bar the front doors close to ensure the Horde would miss the bell and get themselves into mor trouble.

It was when they were walking to class that Matoko made the discovery.

"Lia, look at this." Matoko said, pointing to the bulletin board.

"What is it?" Lia asked.

"We've been drafted into the school fund-raising play by the Drama club." Matoko said.

"What?" Lia asked. "Where?"

"That flyer there." Matoko said, tapping it with her finger.

Glancing at the flyer read it and her tail stood on end and fuzzed out.

"What! We got the lead parts!" Lia hissed.

Matoko nodded. "Apparently. Though I am curious as to why they chose me also." she said. "As well as Naota."

Lia cracked her knuckles. "Well, the flyer says that there is a meeting after school today." she said. "I can beat the answer out of them then."

"Most curious..." Matoko said as they turned to go to class.

Lia looked down the hall and saw a group of girls standing and talking in the hallway. Recognizing one of them Lia nudged Matoko.

"We got gym today, right?" Lia asked.

Matoko nodded. "Yes." she said.

"Good." Lia said with a grin. "I'm gonna show Yuki Konosawa and her friends why you shouldn't spread rumors about me then."

Matoko could only nod as they passed by the girls.

It was after gym class when they were getting out of the showers that Yuki and her friends discovered that both their school uniforms and their gym outfits had been turned into ribbons.

"Saotome!"

Lia looked up from putting her sneakers on to see an enraged Yuki Konosawa standing next to her, clad only in a towel.

"What is it Konosawa?" Lia asked.

"Why did you shred our clothes?" Konosawa demanded.

"Why did you spread rumors about me?" Lia asked as she and Matoko stood up.

Shaking and sputtering with rage Konosawa watched as the Saotome sisters turned to leave. Glancing back at Konosawa Lia grinned.

"You had better watch your towel Konosawa, or someone might think you're coming on to me."

With a screech Yuki lunged at Lia, only get a kick in the stomach. Falling back on her butt Yuki tried to keep from puking her guts up as Lia turned around to face her.

"Don't do that again." Lia said. "Cause next time I ain't gonna hold back."

With that, Lia turned on her heel and strode out of the locker room with Matoko.

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Lia and Matoko quietly arrived home from school that afternoon, their visit to the Drama club having not gone according to plan. Ranma was out in the yard practicing when he spotted them coming through the gate.

"Hi girls." Ranma called.

"Hi Ranma." Matoko answered, while Lia just waved and went inside.

Frowning at the unusual behavior in Lia Ranma went over to Matoko.

"Matoko, wait up." he called.

Matoko paused and turned around as Ranma came up to her.

"Yes, Ranma?" she asked.

"Whats with Lia? She coming down with something?" Ranma asked.

Matoko shook her head. "No, she's not coming down with something." she said. "She's just embarrassed."

"By what?" a surprised Ranma asked.

Matoko glanced at the second story before responding. "We got drafted into doing the lead parts in the school fund-raising play." she answered. "And when we tried to remove our names from the roster they outmaneuvered us."

"Go on." Ranma said.

Matoko fiddled with the handle of her book bag and looked at the ground. "They showed us that ticket sales were up thirty percent over last year just because we were in the play, and if we backed out they'd lose the money, which would hurt the school." she said. "So we have to do it."

Ranma winced. "Defeated and you didn't even land a single punch. Ouch."

Matoko nodded in agreement. "She is very upset about that." she said. "As is Naota."

Ranma blinked. "Naota is? Why?" he asked.

"He got drafted into the play too." Matoko said. "And now he and Lia have to work extra hard at keeping up their charade."

"They haven't told anyone at school they've made up, have they?" Ranma asked.

Matoko shook her head. "No." she said.

"I don't blame them." Ranma said. "That place is a looney bin."

Matoko shrugged. "That's not what Lia calls it, but it's a good description." she said.

Ranma chuckled as Matoko turned to go inside. "That sounds like something Lia would say." he said.

"And speaking of Lia, I have to go cheer her up." Matoko said.

"Have fun." Ranma said as Matoko went inside.

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That evening after dinner and homework Lia was in her room getting changed. As she pulled her sports bra off Lias mind went back to the events of the day.

"Just my luck I get drafted into a crummy play that I cant back out of." she thought as she began to button up her sleep shirt. "And the fact that we have to help out is ridiculous."

Finishing buttoning her shirt Lia picked up her clothes and threw them in the hamper. Taking a manga from her shelf Lia settled down onto her futon for light reading before bedtime. It was a paperback collection of her uncle Tatewakis series Neko!. The series was long finished but it was one of her favorites for two reasons : One, it was by her uncle Tatewaki, and two, it had as one of its main characters was a cat -demon that she related to for obvious reasons.

As she opened to her bookmark Lia couldn't help but smile at the irony that her favorite manga was the basis for the play that she had been drafted into.

"Only I would get drafted into a play based on a manga based on a manga written by Uncle Tatewaki." she thought.

As she began to read Lia looked at the art work and thought about the chances that her uncles work would be chosen.

"Too bad they didn't draft Kenji into the play." Lia thought. "He'd get a kick out of doing the backgrounds for the play. Matoko said that he liked this manga, and as a good an artist as he is, he'd love to have the chance."

Lia blinked and let the manga slip from he fingers.

"Wataminute." she thought as an idea gelled in her mind. "That's it. That's how we can get Kenji and Matoko to work together."

Marking her place Lia got up and padded down to Matokos room. Knocking lightly on the door Lia stuck her head in.

"Hey Matoko, I got an idea." Lia said.

"Oh?" Matoko asked from her position on her futon. "About what?"

"You and Kenji." Lia said. "I was thinking we could draft him into the play and that way you two could work together."

"Oh." Matoko said. "But what could he do?"

Lia smiled. "He could be a set designer of course." she said. "As good as he is, it's be a snap for him."

"Oh." Matoko said. "But how are you going to get him to join?" she asked.

Lia shrugged. "Eh, I'll think of something." she said. "Night'."

"Goodnight." Matoko said as Lia shut the door.

Matoko waited for Lias footsteps to enter into her room before she threw back the covers and checked her place in the book she had hidden under the covers. Marking her place Matoko got up and walked over to her bedroom window.

Opening the window to let in some cool air Matoko fanned herself by billowing her night gown.

"That was close." she thought as cool night air came in through the open window. "I've got to remember to keep my bloody door locked."

Glancing backwards Matoko looked at the book laying on the futon.

"That, and be more careful when I read Kasumis old romance novels" she added.

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End.