Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma OneHalf: First steps ❯ Book Three, Chapter Nine ( Chapter 29 )

Ranma Onehalf: First steps. Book Three.

Chapter Nine.

Kenji was bored. Not that it was anything new, but this was a different kind of boredom. He was on a class field trip and the teacher, determined to have him pay attention this time had banned his sketchbook.

And being with out at least the most basic of drawing materials to Kenji was like he was naked. Fortunately he had a backup plan in place.

"Sensei said I couldn't take my sketchbook but he didn't say anything about me daydreaming." he thought as he looked out the window.

Watching the patterns of sunlight on the waves Kenji listened to the background noise of the rest of the class and soon zoned out into his own little world. His daydream was short lived however, as an elbow to the ribs jolted Kenji back to reality.

"Huh? Wha? I was paying attention !" he said as he jerked upright in his seat.

"Settle down Kenji. Miyaji -sensei is having a cow over Izus manga." Naota said.

"So why did you nudge me?" Kenji asked.

"You seen Lia or Matoko?" Naota asked.

Blinking Kenji looked around the passenger compartment of the ferryboat and realized that neither girl was there.

"Come to think of it, no I haven't." Kenji said. "I think they're still on the island Naota."

"Crap." Naota swore. "And I was hoping this was gonna be quiet trip."

Back on the island Lia and her sister were running back to the dock, dodging pedestrians as they ran. Rounding the corner they both skidded to a stop and stared at the empty dock.

"Aw man, we missed the ferry !" Lia said as she and Matoko ran out onto the dock. Looking out over the water she saw the ferry in the distance, heading back to the mainland. "When's the next one?"

"The next ferry is an hour from now." Matoko said, glancing at the schedule. "And because we're not with our class we're going to have to pay out way."

"Crud." Lia said as she stamped her foot in frustration.

"Looks like we're in for a wait." Matoko said as she sat down on a bench.

Lia merely grunted in reply as she scowled at the ferry in the distance. As she watched it dwindle into the distance an idea struck her. Turning around she walked over to her sister.

"I don't think we're totally screwed yet Matoko." Lia said.

"What are you talking about- oh no." Matoko said as she looked up and saw the grin on her sisters face.

"Oh yes" Lia said as she picked up her sister and put her into a fireman's carry.

Turning she ran strait for the edge of the dock.

"Lia, no, wait, it'll easier if we wait for the next ferry !" Matoko said as Lia charged the safety rope. Reaching the safety rope Lia jumped it and sailed out over the water. "LI-AAAAAAAA !"

Matoko screamed as they went over.

Matoko continued screaming as they hurtled towards the surface of the water. Landing on the surface with a light splash Lia dropped into a crouch and then took off running across the surface of the water.

On the ferry Naota heard a commotion coming from the back of the passenger section and looked out the window. What he saw well and truly surprised him, even after a lifetime in the Hagakure School.

"Mary, Mother of God...." he said in a awed voice. "Lia was right."

"Huh?" Kenji asked as he looked up. Seeing his friends expression he turned and looked. "Oh Buddha..."

They both watched as Lia ran across the water to the ferry and jumped onboard. Pulling away from the window Naota looked at Kenji, his mouth agape.

"Please tell me I was dreaming Kenji." Naota said.

"You weren't dreaming Naota." Kenji said.

"Shit." Naota said as he sat back in his seat. "I have to got get her to teach me that."

On the aft deck of the ferry Lia set Matoko on her feet and stood up. Straitening her uniform she turned to her sister and grinned.

"See? Nothing to worry about." she said.

"SAOTOME !!!!"

"Or not." Matoko said as Ms. Miyaji stormed up to them with her bullhorn.

______________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________

"Ranma, look, is that Lia and Matoko?" Akane asked.

Ranma looked up and blinked as a clip played across the TV. On the clip two blurry figures were running across the water to a ferryboat while the audio was of the camera operator and bystanders talking excitedly.

"Running on water? That's Lia all right." Ranma said. "She and Matoko must have missed the ferry."

Akane chuckled and shook her head. "Only in this family would a school trip get you on national TV."

"Only us." Ranma said.

Two hours later Lia and Matoko returned home dead tired and with their ears ringing from the chewing -out they received Ms. Miyaji. Halfway home they ran into Christian and Mamimi. As they walked home the two younger children bounced around them.

Reaching the Saotome house Christian and Mamimi bounded inside to drop off their school stuff and then bounded right back outside and over the wall. Plodding inside Lia and Matoko changed into their house slippers and went inside.

Reaching the main room they found four places set on the table and a pot of tea along with a tray of snacks. Sitting at the table were Ranma and Akane, sipping tea.

"Hi girls." Ranma said. "You two look like you had a rough day."

"We did. We missed the ferry and Ms. Miyaji gave us the third degree." Lia said.

"We saw it on TV." Akane said.

"Arrrgh...." Lia groaned. "Now I'm never gonna hear the end of it."

As Lia and Matoko took their places at the table Ranma glanced behind them.

"Hey, where are Naota and Kenji?" he asked.

"I suggested that they take a different route over here to avoid attention." Matoko answered. "After the events today I thought it prudent."

"Good idea." Ranma said. "When are they coming over?"

"I told them to wait a few minutes." Matoko answered.

"Oh." Ranma said.

Pouring herself and Lia a cup of tea they sat and chatted for a few minutes until there was a rap at the door. Getting up Ranma answered the door and let in Naota and Kenji. Coming into the living they sat down at the table.

"You really have the school talking Lia." Naota said.

"Tell me about it." Lia grumbled.

"Next time you oughta do that invisibility trick you do." Naota suggested. "What's it called?"

"The Umi -Sen -Ken." Lia said as she sat up. "I'm still working on my chi -infusion technique, so combining the two is out of the question."

"Can't you combine them already?" Naota asked. "I mean, you already know how both work."

"Can't. Too dangerous." Lia answered.

"How is it dangerous?" Naota asked.

"If you mix chi techniques before you're ready it can screw up your chi flows." Ranma interjected.

Seeing Naotas blank look Lia rolled her eyes and looked at her father. "Dad, Naota doesn't know about chi."

"Oh. Well, let me put it this way." Ranma said. "Think of chi as the energy your soul runs on Naota."

"Okay." Naota said.

"That energy extends in a network all through your body." Ranma continued. "With the right training you can redirect parts of that network and amplify them as well."

"Okay. So thats how you do the invisibility trick and can shred things with your fingertips." Naota said with a nod.

"Exactly." Ranma answered. "And if you mess up those chi flows..."

"You could hurt yourself." Naota said. "Now I get it."

As Naota poured himself a cup of tea Matoko nudged Kenji in the ribs.

"You said you have something to show me." Matoko said.

"Oh, yeah." Kenji said. "I have some sketches I want to show you."

Opening his book bag Kenji pulled his sketch book out. Opening it he flipped through several pages before finding the ones he was looking for.

"Here." Kenji said as he handed the sketchbook to Matoko. "I did some sketches of you in your armor."

"Oh." Matoko said as she took the sketchbook. "Oh my!"

Everyone looked up at Matokos exclamation.

"What is it Matoko?" Ranma asked.

"These sketches are really good !" she said. "Take a look."

Putting the sketchbook on the table Matoko slid it to the center of the table so everyone could look. Kenji panicked but Naota put a hand on his shoulder.

"Settle down Kenji." Naota said. "They are just admiring your work."

"Oh." Kenji said as he sat back down.

"She's right Kenji." Ranma said. "You are good."

"They are almost life like." Akane commented.

"T-thank you." Kenji answered.

Chewing her lip Matoko looked at the sketches and thought about an idea that had popped into her mind. Deciding to throw caution to the wind Matoko tapped Kenji on the shoulder.

"Kenji, could you do a finished picture?" Matoko asked.

Kenji blinked in surprise as everyone looked at Matoko.

"S-sure." he said. "But I'd need reference photos of you in your armor."

"Okay." Matoko said as she stood up. "Lia, would you give me a hand with the armor?"

"Sure." Lia said as she got to her feet.

While the two girls went upstairs Ranma and Akane flipped through Kenjis sketchbook.

"So, how are you going to do the painting?" Ranma asked.

A momentary panic gripped Kenji as he tried to think of an answer. Not knowing what else to say he said the first thing that came to mind.

"A-acrylic. I'll be using acrylic on paper." he answered.

"Oh." Ranma said.

Akane picked up her teacup and discovered it was empty. As she refilled it she looked up at Kenji, who was sitting and fidgeting nervously.

"I like how you did the backdrops for the play Kenji." she said.

"Thank you." Kenji said with a quick nod. "I'm surprised they came out so well."

"You are?" Akane asked. "How come?"

Kenji swallowed nervously before answering. "B-because the people who were helping me paint them were u-untrained amateurs." he said. "F-Fortunately I took that into consideration when I drew my layouts."

"Oh." Akane said with a nod. "I wondered how you made them look so good."

"E-even so they did an excellent job." Kenji said.

"I'll say." Ranma added as he looked up from the sketchbook. "You designed the stage props as well, correct?"

"Yes." Kenji answered. "The Carpentry Club built them though."

"Okay." Ranma answered as he went back to looking at the sketchbook.

"Kenji, do you plan on going somewhere with your drawing?" Akane asked.

"Yes." Kenji answered. "I hope to become a professional manga artist after I graduate."

"Good." Akane said. "Because if you let your talent go to waste it'd be a real shame."

"Don't worry, Mrs. Saotome, I won't let him." Naota said.

"That's good." Akane said. "And call me Akane. Ranmas mother is Mrs. Saotome."

"Yes Mrs- ma'am." Naota began before correcting himself.

"Thats better."

By the time Matoko had changed into her armor and had came back downstairs her parents had finished flipping through Kenjis sketchbook and he had demonstrated his drawing ability by sketching them.

"I'm changed." Matoko said as she entered the main room. "Where do you want to take the photos?"

Kenji looked around at the main room and then at the porch.

"The porch." Kenji said. "It has the best light."

"I'll get the camera." Lia said.

While Lia retrieved the camera from the computer room Kenji showed Matoko where he wanted her to stand on the porch.

"Here you go." Lia said as she handed the camera to Kenji. "You want printouts or do you want them on disk?"

"Disk, please." Kenji answered. "That way I can adjust the pictures to fit."

Taking the camera Kenji familiarized himself with the controls and turned off the flash before starting to take photos. Walking around Matoko he took shots of her from all angles.

"There." Kenji said as he handed the camera back to Lia. "That should be enough to work with."

"How long will it take you to do it?" Matoko asked as she took her helmet off.

"I estimate a month at minimum." Kenji said with a shrug. "I've never done anything like this before."

"Oh." Matoko said with a nod. "Well however long it takes, we'd love to see it."

"Thank you." Kenji said as Lia came back in the room with a CD-ROM.

"Your disk." Lia said as she handed it to Kenji.

"You didn't have to put it on a CD." Kenji said. "They would have fit on a floppy."

"Yeah, well, the mess on the desk ate the box of floppies and I didn't want to spend ten minutes digging for them." Lia said with a shrug.

"Gee Kenji, ring any bells?" Naota said, elbowing his friend in the ribs.

"Oh be quiet. At least you can see the floor in my room." Kenji shot back. "Your room has layers of mess."

"Ha. Ha." Kenji shot back.

__________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ _______________

Three hours later Kenji and Naota left the Saotome house and headed to their apartment block and their respective homes. Leaving Naota at his door Kenji headed to his apartment. Putting his key into the door Kenji stepped in and slipped off his shoes.

As he put them in their proper place he noticed that only his mothers shoes were there.

"Hm. Dad must be working late tonight he thought. "Again."

Padding inside Kenji stopped at the end of the hall and peeked around the corner to look at the kitchen. His mother was at her usual place watching dinner and talking on the phone. Using the distraction he slipped past her and headed to his room.

Quietly closing the door he turned on the light and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Safe." he thought. "Maybe if I'm lucky I'll be able to end the day without a 'why don't you apply yourself?' lecture."

Sitting down at his desk Kenji turned on his desk lamp and booted up his computer. As the hard drive spooled up he idly toyed with some of the piles of paper piled on his desk.

"Why should I 'apply myself' anyways?" he thought. "So I can graduate and become a salaryman like Dad and work myself to death?"

When his computer finished booting Kenji opened his CD tray and put the disk he had been given in and closed the tray. As drive spooled up and read the disk Kenji glanced at the bunk bed which was against the far wall and the upper bunk, which was piled high with his brothers stuff.

"I wish they'd realize that I'm not book smart like Takachi(1)." Kenji thought with a snort. "The only thing I got going for me is my art. I suck at school."

Turning back to the computer Kenji saw a message on screen alerting him to the fact there were different types of files on the disk. Opening the window Kenji was surprised to see several Word documents on the disk along with the photos.

Seeing one labeled 'Kenji please read this first' Kenji clicked on it and waited for Word to open. After it opened Kenji began to read.

Kenji;

Because you have shown me so much of your artwork I feel it is only fair that I show you some of my writings. I apologize for the roundabout way I gave you these but I didn't want to give you this disk in front of my family.

I know how uncomfortable you are in social situations so I thought this would be the best way.

Hope you enjoy my writings.

Matoko.

P.S.: my e-mail and IM address' are included below.

Kenji smiled slightly as he closed the window.

"Thank you Matoko." he said.

__________________________________________________________________ ____________

Two days later Matoko was online checking her e-mail when she saw an e-mail from a new address. Clicking on it she opened it and was surprised to see that it was from Kenji. Scrolling down she read the text of the message.

Matoko,

Thank you for showing me some of your writings. You are a really good writer Matoko. I really liked the manga script you included. I did some sketches of some of the characters and I hope you like them.

They are in the attachments below.

Kenji.

Opening the attachments Matoko was once again amazed at Kenjis drawing ability. As she sat there looking at them a bolt of inspiration hit her out of the blue. Quickly she typed a reply and sent it to Kenji.

_________________________________________________________________ _____________

Kenji was sitting at his drafting board putting the final touches on the on the layouts of the pictures when his computer screamed. Wincing he reminded himself not to let Naota near his computer as he grabbed the mouse and moved it to get it out of screen saver mode.

Clicking on his instant messenger he brought it up and was surprised to see that it was Matoko rather than Naota contacting him.

Samurai-chan: Kenji, if I were to do a full script would you do the artwork for a manga? We can submit it to All-Star(2)."

Kenji thought for a few minutes before posting his reply.

____________________________________________________________________ __________

Kamahamaha!

Matoko looked up from her manga as the computer announced a reply on the instant messenger. Marking her place she looked at the IM window.

Nerimatallboy: I'd love to. E-mail me the scripts when you finish them.

Matoko smiled and sent a silent 'thank you' to any kami that were listening.

_____________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ _______________________

Matoko nodded her head in time to the radio as she sat typing at the computer. Pausing she took a sip of her tea and pondered how to describe the next situation.

"Hmmm..."

A knock at the door knocked Matoko back to reality. Looking up she saw Ranma standing at the door.

"Matoko, Akane and I are going down to the school to talk to your teacher about the ferry." she said. "Could you watch Christian and Mamimi while we're gone?"

"Lias not available?" Matoko asked.

"She's tanning." Ranma answered, pointing to the roof.

"I see." Matoko said as she got up. "Where are they?"

"In the dojo sparring." Ranma said as she stepped aside. "Christians ribs are almost healed and I don't want him cracking them again."

"I understand." Matoko said.

In the dojo Akane sat kneeling at the edge of the practice area as she watched Christian and Mamimi spar. Carefully she watched their moves, analyzing their movements and was surprised by what she saw.

"Now I know Mamimi and Christian are at the same level." she thought. "But I didn't know they were that high."

Hearing the door slide open Akane glanced over and saw Matoko stepping into the dojo.

"They're all yours Matoko." Akane said as she stood up. "Have fun."

"I'll try to." Matoko answered. "Enjoy talking to Miyaji -sensei."

"Yeah, right." Akane said in a deadpan tone. "That woman has a screw loose."

"That's not what Lia said."

Akane stopped and looked back at Matoko. "Oh? What did Lia say about her teacher?" Akane asked.

Matoko glanced at Christian and Mamimi and blushed slightly. "Ah, it cant be said in the presence of young ears."

"Drat-YAAAAH!" Mamimi said as Christian used her momentary distraction and did a low kick, knocking her off her feet.

Akane glanced at the pair and shook her head. "That sounds like Lia." she said. "And now I'll be going. We should be back around six."

"I'll have dinner going by then." Matoko said as she sat down.

"Thank you." Akane said as she stepped out.

Getting into a comfortable position Matoko began to peruse her notes while she sipped her tea and kept an ear on Christian and Mamimi. Starting where she had left off Matoko let her imagination have free reign and began to construct the next part of the story.

Matoko became so engrossed with her day dream that she was surprised when she took a sip from her cup and discovered that it was empty. Blinking Matoko shook her head and put down her notes.

Getting up she went to the kitchen to get a refill and replayed the daydream in her mind. Refilling her cup Matoko decided to use the events she had thought up and went to the computer room to get a notepad and pen.

As she stepped out of the computer room Matoko realized she had forgotten her tea in the kitchen and headed back to retrieve it. She was halfway to the kitchen when she heard a pair of loud thumps from dojo.

Stopping she turned around looked back at the dojo.

"That didn't sound good." she thought.

Turning around she ran back to the dojo and slid open the door. Inside she found Mamimi and Christian lying on the dojo floor stunned.

"What happened?" Matoko asked as she stepped inside. "Are either of you hurt?"

Christian started to chuckle and winced in pain. Grabbing his side where his ribs were cracked he glanced over at his sister.

"W-w-we were holding back on each other...." he said, grinning despite the pain.

Matoko blinked and looked at her brother and his friend. Shaking her head she walked to the outer door and slid it open. Stepping outside she looked up at the roof.

"Lia, could you come down please and give me hand?" she asked.

"Sure." Lia said as her head poked over the edge of the roof. "What's up?"

Matoko sighed and looked into the dojo. "Christian and Mamimi." she said.

"Oh boy." Lia said. "How bad is it?"

"They're going to need Dr. Tofu, I think."

"I'll be right down."

_________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ________________

Ranma massaged her ears as she and Akane walked home.

"Ouch. I can see why Lia doesn't like Ms. Miyaji." Ranma said. "As much as she screams?"

"No kidding." Akane agreed. "How did someone like that end up Furinkan anyways? You'd think she'd be impressed by a demonstration of martial arts abilities."

"I don't know Akane." Ranma said as they turned onto their street.

They walked down the street to their gate and walked in.

"We're home." Akane called as they entered the mud room.

"What's for dinner?" Ranma asked.

"Oden." Matoko called back.

Ranmas stomach rumbled in anticipation at the thought of Matokos cooking. Mouth watering she and Akane headed to the main room and stopped cold.

"What happened?" Ranma asked.

Ono looked up at Ranma and gave her a slight smile.

"Christian and Mamimi apparently decided to quit holding back on each other while Matoko was getting herself some tea." he said. "I think they found it quite educational."

"Are you alright Christian?" Akane asked.

"I'm fine." Christian answered. "I think I cracked my ribs again though."

"You broke them, actually." Ono corrected.

"WHAT!?" Akane and Ranma chorused.

"YOU BROKE THEM?" Akane yelled.

"DIDN'T YOU LEARN ANYTHING THE FIRST TIME?!" Ranma yelled.

"This is different." Christian defended.

"How?" Ranma asked. "How is this different?"

"This was an accident."

Ranma and Akane gaped at Christian as he gave them a Saotome 'I'm so cute I can't be guilty' look. Akane rolled her eyes and looked up while Ranma just laughed.

Shaking his head Ranma looked at Christian and Mamimi. "You're impossible, you know that Christian?"

"Yeah."

"And how about you Mamimi? Are you alright?" Ranma asked as he looked at Christians friend.

"I broke my leg, but I'll be okay." Mamimi said, pointing to her left leg.

"Is there anyone at your home besides you?" Ranma asked. "Have your parents or grandparents came by?"

"No. But I'll okay." Mamimi said. "Thanks for asking."

Ranma glanced at Akane and he gave her a barely perceptible nod. Looking back at Mamimi Ranma cleared his throat.

"Your welcome Mamimi, but the only place your going to be staying is right here." he said. "You Hibikis may be tough as nails but I'll be damned if I let an eight -year-old survive on her own with a broken leg. And that's final."

Mamimi blinked and bowed as best she could. "Yes Mr. Saotome." she said.

"Call me Ranma. The panda is Mr. Saotome." Ranma said as she scratched the back of her head.

"Dinners almost ready." Matoko called from the kitchen.

"We'll set the table." Ranma answered.

"Thank you." Matoko answered.

"You want to stay for dinner Ono?" Ranma asked.

Ono shook his head and bowed slightly. "No, but thank you anyways. Genda wants to talk about what college he's going to tonight after dinner." he said.

"Okay." Ranma said. "See you later."

"Likewise."

As Ranma and Akane went to set the table Ono saw himself out, leaving Christian and Mamimi sitting at the table. Glancing out the corner of his eye Christian saw Mamimi looking at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Now I know who you take after." Mamimi said with a grin.

"Huh?" Christian asked, totally confused. "Take after who?"

"Your father silly." Mamimi said with a smile.

Christian grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "I get that a lot."

"I can tell."

_________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ________________

Matoko continued to work on her scripts and began to e-mail them to Kenji as she finished them. Kenji read them and let his subconscious chew on them while he finished the picture of Matoko. Finally he finished it and after a week to let the paint 'cure' he framed it and brought it over to the Saotome household.

Walking up to the front door of the Saotome house hold Kenji swallowed nervously and gripped the cloth wrapped picture tighter.

"You okay?" Naota asked.

"Yeah." Kenji said with jerk of his head. "Just nervous. It's not like I'm displaying this to the whole school or anything."

"Well, that's one way to look at it." Naota said.

Reaching the front door Naota reached out and rang the bell, and both he and Kenji were both surprised when the door immediately opened.

"Hi guys. Come on in." Lia said as she stepped aside.

"T-thank you." Kenji said as he stepped past.

"Your welcome." Lia said as she closed the door. "Go on in. Everyone's in the main room."

Kenji nodded and headed into the house while Naota and Lia followed. In the main room the whole Saotome household was seated at the table and there was a space set up for the easel that Naota carried.

Setting it up Naota stepped back to allow Kenji to set up the picture. Undoing the knot at the back of the picture Kenji set it on the easel and stepped aside to allow an unobstructed view.

"I-if you -you're ready." he said.

"We are." Ranma said.

Swallowing Kenji took the cover and pulled it back over the easel, revealing the picture. It was of Matoko in her armor with her helmet off, kneeling on the porch. She held her sword in her left hand and a fan in her right hand.

She had a slight smile and her eyes were twinkling with mischief, like she knew a funny story.

The Saotomes 'oohed' and 'ah'ed' and applauded as they saw the photos.

"It's beautiful." Akane said.

"Beautiful? Mom, it's gorgeous!" Lia said, pointing at the painting. "What do you think Matoko?"

"I like it." Matoko said with a slight nod. "You outdid yourself Kenji. Thank you."

"Y-you're welcome Matoko." Kenji said as he blushed and looked at the floor.

"Where do you want to hang it?" Ranma asked Matoko.

Matoko looked at Kenji and then looked around the room, settling on the wall opposite from the door to the hallway.

"There." Matoko said, pointing to the spot.

__________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ _______________

A few hours later after Kenji and Naota had gone home Matoko found a e-mail waiting for her in her inbox.

From: Nerimatallboy

Matoko,

Now that I finished the painting I can start working on those pages for you. I have a pretty good idea of what to do so it wont take me long to get them done.

Kenji.

Matoko smiled and clicked the 'compose' button.

To: Nerimatallboy

From: Samurai-chan

Kenji,

Go for it. With your art skill and my writing they wont know what hit them.

Matoko.

Clicking the 'send' button Matoko sent her reply.

____________________________________________________________________ __________

A month later Kenji had finished the first issue and scanned it on disk. Making several copies he and Matoko sent them to several publishers. They waited for weeks for a reply and one day they got one.

The whole Saotome -Tofu gang had come home from school and were looking forward to the upcoming holiday break. Coming into the main room they found a couple of platters of snacks and drinks set out for them.

"Thanks Dad." Lia said as she and her friends sat down.

"You're welcome. I figured that you guys'd be coming over after school and as cold as it is out side you'd want to warm up." Ranma said as he came into the room. "By the way, something came for you in the mail Matoko."

"Oh?" Matoko said, perking up at the mention of her name. "Who is it from?"

"Arisaka Publishing." Ranma said as he pulled an envelope from his pocket.

Taking the envelope Matoko looked at it with curiosity. Leaning over Lia glanced at the envelope.

"Maybe they heard about how much manga you read and want give you a preferred customer discount." Lia offered.

"Perhaps..." Matoko said, glancing at Kenji. Sliding her fingernail under the flap of the envelope matoko tore it open and pulled out a letter.

To Matoko Saotome,

We have received you and Mr. Kenji Mashidas submission, and after reviewing it have decided to accept it. It will be published in the January issue of All-Star. Enclosed is a check for ¥55,000(2)

We at Arisaka Publishing look forward to your next submission.

"KENJI THEY ACCEPTED IT!"

Matokos shriek startled everyone at the table as she jumped to her feet and punched the air.

"They did?" Kenji asked, too surprised to stutter.

"They did. They paying us ¥55,000 yen!" Matoko answered.

"Who is?" Ranma asked.

Matoko blinked as she realized that everyone was watching her. Smiling sheepishly she held up the letter.

"Ah, Arisaka Publishing is. Kenji and I kinda collaborated on a manga together." she said.

"Oh." Ranma said. "Congratulations you two."

"I can't believe you did that!" Lia said in a shocked tone.

"Well, you're not the only one who surprise people Lia." Matoko countered as she sat back down.

"Why didn't you tell me though?" Lia asked.

"I am." Kenji said quietly.

"Oh, okay." Lia said with a shrug.

Glancing over at his friend Naota nudged Kenji in the ribs.

"Decided to not wait till after college, eh Kenji?" Naota asked.

"Well, I have to make an entrance sometime." Kenji said.

"Well I hope you both succeed." Ranma said. "You're both very talented and will be able to go far."

"Thank you sir." Kenji said.

"Thank you Ranma." Matoko answered.

"You're welcome." Ranma answered. "Now dig in. You'll need it to be creative."

"Cheers!" the group chorused.

______________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________

1. Kenjis older brother.

2. The manga anthology that Matoko and Kenji follow.

3. About $500.00 US.