Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma OneHalf: First steps ❯ Book Three, Chapter Eleven ( Chapter 31 )

Ranma Onehalf: First steps. Book Three.

Chapter 11.

"I'm back." Lia called as she stepped out of the mud room. "I got the groceries you wanted Dad."

"Thank you." Ranma called as Lia walked down the hall. "Could you put them away please? Your mom and I have our hands full."

"What happened?" Lia asked as she stepped into the main room.

Ranma looked up from the table where Matoko sat hyperventilating.

"Matokos publisher called. They're raising her and Kenjis payments to ¥85,000 (1)." he said.

"Alright Matoko." Lia grinned at her sister as headed to the kitchen. "You rule."

"You forgot to mention the other thing Ranma." Akane said as she rubbed Matokos back. "Take slow breaths Matoko." she told her.

"What other thing?" Ranma asked.

"They wanted to talk about an animation deal." Akane answered.

Matokos eyes bugged out as she heard what her mother had said and choked in surprise. Her mouth moved up and down as she tried to speak and breathe at the same time. Finally she just gave up and fainted.

"Thats why I didn't mention it." Ranma said as Matoko toppled backwards. "Because this would happen."

"Whoops." Akane said as she looked at Matoko lying on the floor.

Ranma sighed as he looked at his daughter.

"I'll get the smelling salts." he said as he stood up.

"Has anyone told Kenji yet?" Lia asked from the kitchen.

"I don't think so." Akane answered. Blinking she looked up in the direction of the kitchen and scowled. "Lia! Don't you dare!"

"Nuts." Lia muttered as she put the kitchen phone back on its cradle.

Sighing Lia went back to the cupboards and resumed putting cans away on the shelf.

"I cant have any fun." she muttered to herself.

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Naota was loafing on his bed reading a manga when he heard the phone ring.

"I'll get it." his grandfather called.

Naota continued reading his manga as his grandfather got up to answer the phone. As he read Naotas training kicked in and he listened to his grandfather on the phone.

"Moshi moshi." he said. "Oh hello. Oh no, not at all. As my future daughter in law you're welcome to call-"

"Oh shit." Naotas eyes went wide as he realized who was on the other end.

Naota dropped his manga and burst out of his room, charging for the kitchen area. Leaping over the kitchen table he dodged around his father and jumped kicked his grandfather into the wall.

"At anytime-OOOF!!"

Lia blinked in surprise as Mr. Sano was cut off in mid-sentence.

"Mr Sano? Mr Sano, are you there?" Lia asked as the phone was put up to someone's ear.

'Lia? It's me Naota."

"Naota? What happened to your grandfather?" Lia asked.

Naota looked at his grandfather, who was embedded face first in the door of the refrigerator.

"He had to go to the fridge. Whats up?" he asked.

"You want to have some fun with Kenji tonight?" Lia asked.

"What kind of fun?" Naota asked as he caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye.

Seeing his father sneaking up on him Naota shot him a dirty look and made a throat cutting gesture. Getting the message his father turned around and became very interested in the soccer match that was on TV.

"The kind of fun you can only have with a buddy." Lia said.

Naota smiled as he realized what Lia was referring to.

"Okay. I'm game." he said. "So what are we going to be doing?"

"I can't tell you over the phone." Lia answered. "Just bring him."

"Got it. We'll be there in thirty minutes." Naota said as he checked his watch.

"I'll be waiting." Lia said before she hung up.

Hanging up the phone Naota headed to the front door.

"Dad, I'm going out." Naota said.

"Stay out of trouble." his father said from the living room.

"I always avoid trouble." Naota answered as he slipped his shoes on. "It's you two who get me into trouble."

"Quiet you." his father replied.

"And you're gonna have peel Grandpa off the fridge." Naota said as he pulled on the oversized hooded Giants (2) sweatshirt which served as his coat.

"Not again..." his father groaned as Naota went out the door.

Kenji was happily sketching away at his desk when he felt a sudden chill pass over him.

"That felt like a omen." he thought as he put down his pencil.

Kenji turned around as there was a knock at his bedroom door.

"Come in."

"Hey Kenji." Naota said as he stuck his head in. "Get your coat."

"Why?" Kenji asked.

"I got something I want to show you." Naota said.

"Somehow I doubt that." Kenji thought.

"Okay." Kenji said as he got up. "I'll get my coat."

_________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ________________

Matoko was reading a manga, taking a break from writing when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Christian yelled as he bounded down the stairs.

"No I got it!" Lia yelled as her door banged open.

"Too late!" Christian yelled. "Hey Lia, it's your boyfriend!"

"CHRISTIAN!!!"

Matoko heard two yelps of surprise as Christian made his exit out the front door. Getting up she walked to her bedroom window and opened her curtains. Unlocking her window she waited for a few moments before there was a knock at her window.

Sliding open the window she stepped out of the way as Christian slipped inside.

"Thanks Matoko." he said.

"Your welcome." Matoko said as she shut the window and drew her curtains.

"By the way, Kenji is down there with Naota." Christian said as he headed to the door. "I think they want to talk to you too."

"Oh, thank you." Matoko said. "Talk to me?! They want to talk to me too?!"

"Yeah. Whats wrong with that?" Christian asked.

"I can't see them looking like this!!" Matoko said, pointing to her clothes.

Christian looked at Matokos clothes, which consisted of baggy sweats and a sweatshirt with a quilted bathrobe.

"You look okay to me." Christian said.

"Christian, I don't have any make up or a bra on!" Matoko said.

"Why? Are they important?" Christian asked.

"You'll know when your older." Matoko said as she shooed Christian out the door. "Go tell them I'll be down in a minute."

"What? Are you crazy? Lias down there." Christian said. "And she's mad."

"Then run real fast." Matoko said as she shut the door. "Now go!"

"Okay, okay. Sheesh. Sisters." Christian muttered as he headed to the stairs.

Matoko was pulling her sweatshirt back on when she heard Lia stomp by her room.

"Lia! Put me down! I don't wanna wear a dress! HELLLP! KIDNAPPER!"

Chuckling at her siblings antics Matoko picked up a hand mirror and made sure her hair looked reasonable before stepping out of her room. Glancing down the hall where what sounded like a cross between a barroom brawl and a pair of alley cats fighting Matoko headed downstairs.

Walking into the main room Matoko was surprised to see Naota and Kenji both dressed like her, with Kenji in a Gundam t -shirt ridiculously oversized cargo pants and Naota in a Giants sweatshirt with baggy jeans.

"I apologize for my appearance." Matoko said. "I would have changed if I had known you were coming over."

"Don't mention it. We're no better dressed." Naota said, indicating he and his friends garb. "Lia said that you have something to tell us about you and Kenjis manga."

"Tell me what?" Kenji asked.

"Oh! Today I got a letter from Arisaka Publishing." Matoko said. "Our payments are going up to

¥85,000 starting next month."

"Eighty -five thousand yen?" A stunned Kenji asked. "Arisaka is paying us Eighty -five thousand?"

Matoko nodded as Kenji and Naotas jaws hit the floor. Naota was the first to recover, giving his friend a slap on the back.

"Kenji, you rock!" Naota said. "Now your parents cant nag you to apply yourself anymore."

"And thats not all. They want to explore an animation deal." Matoko added.

Kenjis reaction was better than Matokos. His eyes grew to the size of dinner plates and then rolled back in his head before toppling backwards in a dead faint.

Lia came back down stairs with a struggling Christian under one arm and saw the passed out Kenji lying on the floor and Naota and Matoko hovering him. Putting Christian down Lia kept hold of her collar to keep her form escaping.

"What happened?" Lia asked.

"Not much. His eyes got real big and then he fainted." Naota said as he looked up. "Whoa, what did you do to your brother?"

"Training." Lia said. Giving Christian a shake Lia continued. "This is so Chris -chan can better adjust to her -"

"Hey! Only Mamimi can call me that!" Christian protested. "And I'm a boy!"

"To her female form." Lia continued.

"Oh. I see." Naota said. "And that's why she's in pink overalls."

"And looking so cute." Matoko added.

"This sucks." Christian muttered to herself.

"Would you rather be in what Grandma bought you?" Lia asked Christian.

"No."

"So don't complain." Lia said as she released Christian. "Now scram. And remember, no changing forms until bedtime."

Grumbling Christian left for her room as Ranma came in with a load of fresh laundry. Stopping he looked at the passed out Kenji in puzzlement.

'What happened?" he asked.

"We told him about what he and Matokos producer is doing." Lia explained.

"Ah." ranma said as he headed to the stairs. "Smelling salts are in the medicine cabinet."

"Thanks Dad." Lia said as she headed to the bathroom.

______________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________

Naota yawned as he walked out onto the steps of the chapel of St. Bacchus. Stopping, he looked out at the throngs of Nerima residents out celebrating New Years and sighed. Most were dressed in regular clothes and warm coats, but there was the odd kimono here and there.

Blinking Naota shook his head and began to walk down the steps to the street. Reaching the bottom Naota decided that he needed to take a walk to mull over what Father Fukida had said in his sermon.

Turning to his left Naota began to walk down the street, but stopped when he heard Lia behind him.

"Naota! Wait up!"

Turning around Naota saw Lia walking up behind him with the rest of her family. She was dressed in embroidered silk Chinese clothing, as were Ranma and Christian. Matoko and Akane however were dressed in brightly patterned kimonos with Mamimi dressed in her usual traveling clothes.

"Hi Lia." Naota greeted as she walked up. "What's up?"

"We're going to the temple. Wanna come along?" Lia asked.

"Sure." Naota said with a shrug.

As they started walking Naota gave Lias outfit a once over.

"Ah, Lia, a question." he asked.

"Shoot." Lia said.

"Why aren't you wearing a kimono?" Naota asked.

"Because I can't stand wearing one." Lia said. "That and this is warmer."

"I see." Naota said.

They walked in silence for a bit before Lia turned and looked at Naota.

"You're Catholic." she said.

"Yeah." Naota answered. "My family has always been Catholic. We were some of the first converts when the Dutch arrived."

"Oh." Lia said. "How did your family escape getting persecuted?"

Naota chuckled as he looked up at the sky.

"Would you want to mess with a family of ninjas?" Naota answered.

"Well that makes sense." Lia said as they turned a corner. "Though I never thought of you as a Christian."

"Well, you can't judge a book by its cover." Naota said with a shrug.

"That's for sure."

At the temple Naota hung back as the Saotomes went through the usual New Years activities.

He was standing back watching them when he felt something bump into him. Turning around he saw a girl sitting on the ground looking surprised.

"Hello." Naota said as he held out his hand.

"Hello." The girl said.

"You're the friend of Lias little brother, aren't you?" Naota asked. "Mamimi, isn't it?"

"Yes." Mamimi answered.

"Why aren't you with the Saotomes?" Naota asked. "You're usually shadowing Christian."

Mamimi looked down at the ground and blushed. "I got lost in the crowd."

"Ah. I see." Naota said with a nod.

Looking around Naota saw Christian wandering around the crowd looking for Mamimi.

"Christian, over here." Naota called.

Christian, hearing his name turned and saw Naota and Mamimi waving at him. Walking over he waved back.

"There you are Mamimi." Christian said as he walked up. "Did you get lost in the crowd again?"

"Yes." Mamimi answered with a nod. "I lost my grip on your sleeve."

"Oh well." Christian said. Looking up at Naota he cocked her head. "Why aren't you with us Naota? Why are you hanging back?"

Naotas mouth quirked into a smile as he squatted down to be on Christians level.

"Because I'm Catholic." Naota explained.

"Oh." Christian said. "So you're not trying to hide from her?"

"No." Naota answered.

"Okay." Christian said with a shrug.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder Naota turned to look at Mamimi.

"Yes Mamimi?" he asked.

"Are you allowed to make a wish?" Mamimi asked.

"Yes." Naota answered.

"Well then why don't you make one?" Mamimi asked, as she pointed to a small kiosk where ema(3) were being offered.

"Oh. Thank you." Naota said as he stood up. "Have you guys done one?"

"No." Christian and Mamimi chorused.

"Well, lets go then. I'll get us all one." Naota said.

Grabbing tightly onto Christians sleeve Mamimi and him followed Naota to the kiosk. Reaching into his pocket Naota pulled out some yen and paid for three of the wooden plates. Handing them to the two children Naota boosted them up so they could write their wishes.

After writing their wishes out Naota wrote his wish and then they walked over to the pegboard where the plates were hung and he hung all three plates up.

"What did you wish for Chris -chan?" Mamimi asked.

"To be a better martial artist than Dad or Lia." Christian said. "What about you Mi -chan?" \

Mamimi glanced up at the sky before responding.

"I wished for what all Hibikis wish for. Good weather and the wind always at our backs." she said.

"Thats an odd wish." Christian said.

"Well, for a family that is always lost it makes perfect sense." Mamimi countered. "We have a lousy sense of direction."

"Then why not wish for a better one?" Naota asked.

"We tried it. It didn't work." Mamimi answered. 'What about you Naota? What did you wish for?"

"To be a better friend." Naota answered.

"Why did you wish that?" Christian asked.

"I have my reasons." Naota said as he looked at Lia and the rest of the Saotomes walking up to them.

"There you two are." Lia said. "We thought you two had wandered off."

"No. Mamimi got separated from the group and Christian went looking for her." Naota said. "She bumped into me and he saw us."

"Oh." Lia said. "Well thank you."

"You're welcome." Naota answered.

"We're about to write our ema." Ranma said. "You want to do one?"

"Thank you, but the three of us already did ours." Naota answered.

"Oh. Well, in that case we'll do ours and head home." Lia said. "You want to come?"

"Uhh..." Naota began, not sure on how to respond. "If its okay..."

"We don't mind." Ranma said. "My mother and Kasumi have been cooking all day and it'd be a crime to not share their cooking."

"If you have plans we understand Naota." Akane added, seeing Naotas hesitant expression.

Naota shook his head and held up his hand.

"No, no. I don't have any plans. My Dad and Grandpa are sleeping off last night and Kenjis trapped at his grandparents for the day." he said. "It's just that I haven't gone to bed yet."

"I didn't know you were a party animal." Lia said in surprise.

"Me? Party? Hardly." Naota said with a chuckle. "Me, Kenji, and the rest of our fellow freaks rang in the new year with an all night Quake session."

"That I can believe." Lia said.

Naota grinned sheepishly and shrugged.

"When Kenji and I left at six there were at least five guys passed out cold on the floor and I think four still playing. I stayed up so I could catch the first Mass at St. Baccus." Naota said. "But if I'm afraid if I came over I'd fall asleep."

Akane chuckled and shook her head. "Oh, we wouldn't mind Naota." she said as she pointed to Ranma. "Ranma and the rest of them take catnaps all the time. One more body sprawled out won't bother us any."

"Oh." Naota said, surprised.

"That was not what I expected." he thought. "Oh well."

"Okay." Naota said. "I'll come."

_________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ________________

Low talking and the murmur of the television downstairs were the first things Naota heard when he came to. The other thing was the fact his bed was different than what he was use to. He was beginning to piece together what had happened when an exhalation of breath made his training kick in.

Throwing the covers off Naota rolled to his feet and into a low combat stance, ready for an attack.

"I see you're awake."

From the doorway Ranma looked at Naota looking completely unperturbed. His higher brain functions coming online Naota realized what he was doing and relaxed. Standing up he bowed to Ranma.

"Sorry." he said.

"Don't be.' Ranma said. "You're a ninja. It's only your training. I would have did the same."

"Oh." Naota said. "What time is it?"

"Last time I checked it was a quarter past eleven." Ranma said. "I called your father, so he knows whats going on."

"Thank you." Naota said as he stepped off the futon. Yawning he headed for the door. "I think I'll head home now."

"You can stay the night." Ranma offered. "It is awfully late, and you sound like you could still need the sleep."

"I don't want to impose." Naota said as Ranma made room for him.

"Oh, we don't mind." Ranma said as Naota walked past him.

Ranmas hand blurred out and tapped several pressure points on Naotas neck and spine. As he tumbled backwards Ranma caught the boy and dragged him back inside the guestroom.

"Sorry kid, but someone your age shouldn't be out at this time of night." Ranma said as he laid Naota out on the futon.

When Naota came to again the first thing he was aware of was birds chirping and the sun coming through the windows. Feeling the warmth of the sun and the light boring through his eyelids Naotas face twitched as he held up a hand against the glare.

Sitting up with a groan Naota looked around and realized he wasn't at home.

"What the- why am I still here?" Naota thought. Feeling the back of his neck Naota scowled. 'What did he do me?"

A knock at the door brought him back to reality.

"Naota, are you up?" Akane asked from the other side of the door.

"I'm up." Naota answered. "You can come in."

Sliding open the door Akane poked her head in.

"There's breakfast downstairs if you're hungry." Akane said. Though I'd hurry if I were you. Lia and Christian are down there and it may not last."

"Oh, thank you." Naota said as he threw back the covers and stood up. Stepping off the futon he began to walk to the door. "By the way, what did Ranma do to me?"

Akane chuckled as she stepped into the hall.

"Oh, he hit some of your pressure points. Ranma said your were being stubborn and he wasn't in the mood to argue." she said. "That and your father asked us to let you stay."

"Well, next time ask please. I'm not that stubborn." Naota said.

"We'll keep that in mind." Akane said as Naota headed to the stairs.

Downstairs Naota found Lia and Christian inhaling breakfast while Mamimi ate at a more sedate rate. Seeing Naota Lia paused in her eating and waved at him as he sat down.

'Morning Naota." Lia said. "I'll dish you up. What do you want first? Rice or miso soup?"

"Miso soup please." Naota said as Lia picked up a bowl.

Lia ladled the soup into the soup into the bowl and handed it to Naota. Picking up his chopsticks Naota started in on his soup.

"This is good." he said as he tasted the soup.

"It should be. Matoko made it." Lia said.

"Where'd she learn how to cook?" Naota asked.

"Oh, Dad and Kasumi taught her, along with Grandma." Lia said as she picked up her teacup.

"No wonder it's so good." Naota said.

As Naota poured himself a cup of tea he noticed Christian was glancing at Lia, and Lia was glancing at Christian. Finishing his bowl of rice he set it down and put his chopsticks on top of it. Christian said nothing as he waited for Mamimi to finish her bowl.

After she finished her bowl both she and Christian stood up and took their dishes into the kitchen. Naota watched as Lia kept her eyes on her brother and his friend clear their dishes and leave the room.

Lia continued to watch them as they walked back through the main room into the hallway to the mud room. Only after she heard the sound of the door to the mud room closing did Lia turn back to her breakfast.

Naota smiled as he finished his miso soup. Seeing that he was empty Lia held out her hand for his bowl.

"You want a refill or do you want rice?" Lia asked.

"More soup please." Naota said as he handed his bowl back to Lia.

'What's so funny?" Lia asked as she took Naotas bowl.

"You." Naota said as Lia began to refill his bowl. "You remind me of Takachi."

"Who's Takachi?" Lia asked as she handed Naota back his bowl.

"Thank you. Takachi is Kenjis older brother." Naota explained as he took his bowl back. "We used to torment him when were younger and he used to keep an eye on us like you did."

"Oh. Where is he now?" Lia asked.

"College. He's only a couple years older than Kenji." Naota answered.

Lia nodded and dished herself fourths of rice while Naota ate his soup.

"So, what are you doing today?" Lia asked.

Naota shrugged. "Nothing much. I'm gonna go home and clean up, then probably hide in my room and play guitar." he said.

"You play the guitar?" Lia asked in a surprised voice.

Naota nodded. "Yeah." he said.

"You never told me that you played the guitar." Lia said.

"You never asked." Naota pointed out.

"True." Lia nodded. "How long have you been playing?"

"A few years. I found my moms guitar in the closet and I just started fooling around with it." Naota answered. "I've also been taking lessons at the St. Baccus Youth Center."

"You mom played? I didn't know that." Lia said.

"Yeah." Naota said with a nod. "So what do you do for fun?"

"Me? I track the chi flows of the house." Lia said.

"That I can believe." Naota said before he finished his soup.

"It's true." Lia said. "I can teach you if you want."

'Thank you." Naota said. "Whats involved in that?"

"Well first, you have to be aware of your own chi before you sense a buildings chi." Lia said. "So I'll have to teach you how to build your chi using my technique."

"Oh, okay." Naota said as Ranma came in from the kitchen.

"Excuse me, but that wont work Lia." Ranma said.

'Why not?" Lia asked as she looked at her father.

"Because your technique is for someone who has been trained in chi manipulation since birth." Ranma said. "Naota'll have to use the technique your mother and I use."

"What kind of technique?" Naota asked.

"A very simple but very effective one." Ranma said as he walked over to Naota. "Let me show you."

Crouching down Ranma tapped Naota on the back. "First, you sit up straight." he said. Adjusting Naotas shoulders he continued."And shoulders normal, you're not in class being yelled at by your teacher, so you don't need to square them."

"Okay..." Naota said as he committed the new position to memory.

"And when you breathe, breathe from here." Ranma said, tapping Naota just below his ribcage. "And keep in that position at all times and breathe like that and you'll be able to build your chi."

"So that's it?" Naota asked.

"That's it." Ranma said. "Just keep at it and you'll build your chi."

"How long does it take?" Naota asked as he corrected his position.

Ranma shrugged. "It varies for each person. Akane took a day before she was able to generate chi and Evans took three years." he said.

"Okay." Naota said with a nod. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Ranma answered as he turned back to the kitchen. "Have fun you two. And Lia, don't stay out too late."

"Okay Dad." Lia answered.

______________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________

That evening at dinner Naotas grandfather noticed his new body language and commented.

"What's with the new position?" he asked.

"It's a chi building technique Lias father taught me." Naota answered.

"You believe that?" Naotas father asked.

Naota gave his father a deadpan look.

'Dad, are you senile or something? Don't you remember me telling you about her blasting me into the canal, or when she shredded the Hentai Hordes clothes with her fingertips, or on TV when she ran to the ferry?" he asked.

"I thought those were just exaggerations and media hype." he said.

"Oh brother..." Naota said. "Anyways, that reminds me. Starting tomorrow I'm going to be coming home late."

"Why?" his father asked.

"Because I'm going to be sparring with Lia." Naota said. "Her father asked me to so she'll get 'battle sense'(4)"

"That's nice." Naotas grandfather said as he poured himself some beer. "And I'm glad you and your fiancee are spending time together-'

"She's a friend."Naota corrected. "Despite the contract."

Recognizing he'd pressed one too many of Naotas buttons his grandfather changed the subject.

"Well, anyways, I heard on the news today that Kobayashi renewed his contract with the Giants." he said.

"Good." Naotas father said.

As the table talk turned to baseball Naota finished his dinner and excused himself. Clearing his dishes he put them in the sink and then hid in his room. A few minutes later the sounds of guitar chords could be heard coming from the room.

Naotas father glanced at Naotas door and chuckled. "You have to admit, he does take after Haruko(5)." he said.

"That's true." Naotas grandfather agreed.

________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ _________________

After school the next day Naota headed over to the Saotome house with Lia for their sparring session. Naota changed into sweats and a t-shirt while Lia simply changed into her usual cotton Chinese clothes.

They faced off in the dojo while Ranma watched from the edge of the practice area.

"Are you ready?" Ranma asked. Getting nods from the both of them he clapped his hands. "Begin."

Naota immediately went into the crane stance while Lia went into her regular stance, which was standing with her legs slightly apart and bent at the knees. Her hands were held up at eye level, palms out and her fingers loosely curved into hooks.

Her tail was out level with her waist, slowly waving side to side with like a snake. Naota began to slowly circle to her right as he searched for an opening. Each step Naota made was slow and centered while Lia moved with a casual liquid grace as they circled each other.

Naota was the first to attack, coming in with a low attack in a feint before coming up in a high kick at Lias torso. Her response caught him by surprise however, instead of either blocking or ducking his kick Lia used a fan block to redirect the kick across her torso to the inside.

As his leg went past the front of Lia she brought her left arm up to grab his ankle while smacking the back of his knee with her right hand, causing his leg to fold up. Lia then twisted her body to the left and used his momentum to pull him off balance.

This all happened in the space of two heartbeats before Naota could react. Lia continued through the motion, intending to twist Naotas leg in an attempt to pin him. Naotas training however, prevented that because he twisted as he fell so he landed on his back.

When Lia stepped back to finish the pin Naota jerked his leg back, bringing his knee to his chest. That knocked Lia off balance as Naota whipped his left across the backs of Lias knees, knocking her onto her back.

As Lia fell backwards Naota immediately torqued himself onto his knees and jabbing out with his fist.

Lia blinked in surprise as she realized Naotas fist was a bare centimeter form her throat.

"H- how?" Lia asked in a surprised voice.

"Experience." Ranma said from his position.

As Naota stood up Lia got to her feet and shook her head.

"So that's what you were talking about." she said.

"Exactly." Ranma said. "Naota has actually used his skills in real fights before, not just sparring sessions."

"Oh." Lia said. "But I was holding back on Naota."

"Thank you." Naota said. "I love people who do that."

"Why?" Lia asked as she turned to look at Naota.

"Because I don't." Naota said. "In a street fight I don't hold back. I use any every means at my disposal to win a fight, from low blows to weapons."

"But that's not fair." Lia said.

"Lia, there is no such thing as a fair fight in the real world." Ranma said as he got up. Walking over to them he continued. "And that's what I'm trying to teach you, to not hold back. If someone like Naota, with no chi enhancements or other special techniques can beat you in a sparring session, imagine what would have happened in a real fight?"

Lia rolled her eyes as she listened to her father.

'Dad, I think I know how to handle myself in a fight." she said in a slightly annoyed tone.

Realizing he was dealing with classic Saotome stubbornness he looked at Naota.

"Naota, show Lia that protection you carry around." he said.

"What are you talking about? Naota wouldn't carry any -eep!" Lia began as Naota pulled his knife out of thin air.

"You see what I'm talking about?" Ranma asked her as Lia stared at the knife. "By holding back you leave yourself open."

Lia nodded absently as she looked at the knife.

"Alright, lets try it again, and this time Lia, no holding back, okay?" Ranma said as he walked back to where he was sitting.

Putting his knife away Naota faced off with Lia again, and this time when Ranma clapped his hands the fight went very differently. When Naota attacked Lia she simply blurred out of the way and planted a kick to Naotas gut, dropping him. After that Lia got the idea and she won the next three rounds before Naota found an opening and evened the score.

By the time Naota went home that night he was bruised and beaten, but ready to come back the next day and do it again. And so it became a pattern: He'd come home with Lia, often with Kenji in tow and spar for an hour or before they broke to do their homework.

By the time summer came Naota was beginning to show a definite improvement in his fighting style while Lia started to fight like Naota did: Quickly and with little showing off.

When school let out for summer break Naota looked forward to a couple of weeks with no school. The only downside was Kenji being grounded for the duration because of his grades, leaving Naotas days free.

He would have hung out with his other friends, but they were either at camp ("Math camp? You've got to be kidding me.") or grounded like Kenji ("But I wasn't the one who cherry bombed the school toilets").

Naota would have hung out with Lia but she was helping Ranma with teaching classes so he was shot down there. With nothing else to do Naota stayed in his room and loafed on his bed.

He had gotten up to get something to drink when he found a cat sitting in the middle of the living room on the coffee table. Naota missed the cat at first but when he turned around he spotted it sitting there like it owned the place.

"Hey, what are you doing in here?" Naota asked the cat as he put down his drink. Stepping out from the kitchen area naota began to walk towards the cat. "This ain't your house."

Picking up the cat he walked to the door and placed it outside.

"Now go to your own apartment ya furball." he said as he shut the door. "Stupid cat."

Retrieving his drink Naota went back into his room and picked up where he left off, which was lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling. Sipping his drink, Naota put it on his night stand as he looked up at patterns of light made by the curtains as they moved by the breeze through the open window.

He had been laying there for a few minutes debating on whether or not to grab his guitar when he felt a weight get up his bed. Raising up with a start he looked and the cat from earlier was now on his bed.

"How did you get in here?" he asked the cat.

"I came in through the window. How else?"

The cat looked at Naota, who had plastered himself against the wall in the blink of an eye.

"Y-y-y-you talked!" Naota said, his eyes the size of dinner plates.

The cat sat on its haunches and gave Naota an amused look.

"You live in Nerima and this surprises you?" it asked.

"W-w-what do you want?" Naota asked as he began to edge away from the cat to the corner.

"Nothing." the cat answered.

"T-t-then why are you here?" Naota asked as he reached the corner.

"To grant your wish." the cat said as it began to groom.

"What wish?" Naota asked as he began to slide his hand into the crack between his mattress and the headboard.

"From New Years. The one you made with Mamimi Hibiki and Christian Saotome." the cat said.

"Oh. That wish." Naota said as his hand touched cool metal.

"Yes. That wish." the cat said with an annoyed tone. "Now, if you don't mind I'd like to get this over with. I have better places to be than this refuse pile you call a room."

Naota grinned as his hand found the grip of his weapon. "I hate to break it to you, but I'm Catholic. So whatever you're up to wont work, demon." Naota said as he pulled his crucifix from his shirt.

The cat merely look insulted at being compared to a demon but otherwise didn't react to naotas statement.

"That's not a problem, I assure you." the cat said, flipping his tail in irritation.

"Well then maybe this will." Naota said as he pulled a H&K SOCOM (6) from the hidden holster in between the headboard and the mattress.

"If you want to play it that way..." the cat said before jumping off the bed before Naota could fire.

Naota was unable to get a bead on the cat as it ran out of the room. Swearing under his breath Naota charged into the living room only to find the cat gone.

"The hell?" Naota asked himself as he looked around the room.

After giving the living room a once over Naota decided to chalk it up to hanging around his father and grandfather too much and decided to take a nap. Going back into his room Naota replaced the pistol into the holster and removed his shirt.

Flopping down onto his bed Naota closed his eyes and was soon fast asleep. A few minutes later the latch on the door to his room moved down and the door opened. The cat padded in and looked at the sleeping boy.

"Call me a demon, will you?" the cat thought. "I'll make you eat your words, boy."

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Ranma opened the front section of the paper as Akane poured herself a fresh cup of tea. The dinner dishes were done and the girls were in the furo taking their bath. Christian and Mamimi had already been sent to bed an hour before so Ranma was taking this chance to read the days paper and catch up what had happened.

So when someone began frantically ringing the doorbell he was irked to put it mildly. Putting down the paper he glared in the direction of the mud room.

"Now what?" he asked as he got up.

As Ranma headed to the mud room the person at the door kept ringing the door bell furiously.

"Hold your horses! I'm coming!" Ranma hollered.

Reaching the front door he was surprised to find Naota standing there in his Giants sweatshirt with hood up, obscuring him in shadow.

"Naota? What are you doing here at this time of night?" Ranma asked. "And isn't it a bit warm for sweatshirts?"

"Mr. Saotome, I got a problem." Naota said.

"What kind of problem?" Ranma asked.

"Let me show you." Naota said as he reached up and pulled his hood back.

Ranma blinked in surprise as saw Naotas face. Instead of the face of a normal Japanese boy there was a.....

Cat boy.

Ranma wasn't too concerned about the ears, or the fact that Naotas eyes were now sky blue instead of black. What had him concerned were the red markings on Naotas face. Stepping aside Ranma made room for Naota to enter.

"You'd better get inside so we can get a look at you." Ranma said.

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(1) about $773.00 US.

(2) The Tokyo Giants, not the San Francisco Giants.

(3) Ema are wooden plates that wishes are written on and hung up on a special peg board in the hopes that they will come true.

(4) battle sense is Ranmas term for knowing how to apply the techniques one knows in a fight. He wants Lia to get some experience in other words.

(5) Haruko is Naotas mother, who died when he was very young.

(6) He's a ninja. To him a pistol is just another tool of the trade, not that he ever wants to use it.