Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma OneHalf: First steps ❯ Book Three, Chapter Twelve ( Chapter 32 )

Ranma Onehalf: First steps. Book Three.

Chapter 12.

Ranma came into the main room with Naota right behind him. Akane looked up as they came in and blinked in surprise when she saw Naota.

"Naota? What are you doing here at this time of night?" she asked. "And whats with the make up?"

"It's not make up." Naota said quietly as he sat down.

As he sat down Akane saw the cats ears and then noticed his now sky -blue eyes.

"You picked up Lias curse." she said.

"I think so." Naota said as he pointed to his facial markings. "Some parts are different though."

"I see." Akane said. "Do you have a tail?"

Naota nodded as he pointed to his mid-section. "Wrapped around my waist."

"You look kind of shook up there Naota. You want some tea or something?" Ranma asked as he looked Naota over. "Plus it'll switch you back."

"I hope." Ranma added mentally. "He doesn't smell right, and those facial markings have me worried."

Naota nodded. "Tea wold be fine. Thank you." he said.

As Ranma went into the kitchen Akane looked at Naota.

"So, what happened?" she asked.

Naota swallowed before he answered.

"You'll think I'm crazy." he said.

Akane gave Naota a reassuring smile.

"Naota, in the Saotome family crazy is a fact of life." she said.

"Oh, well then, here goes." Naota said with a shrug. "Earlier today, in the afternoon I got a visit from a spirit." Akanes eyebrows arched up at that be she kept quiet so Naota kept talking. "It was a talking cat."

"It talked?" Akane asked as Ranma came in with Naotas tea.

Naota nodded. "I asked it what it was doing there and it answered." he said.

"What did it say?" Ranma asked as he put Naotas tea in front of him. "Here's your tea."

"Thank you. It said it was answering a wish I made on New Years." Naota said.

"Hm." Ranma said as he slid his tea over to Naota. "Here. Use my tea to change."

Naota dunked his fingers in the tea and to his and Ranmas disappointment nothing happened. Holding up his hand Naotas folded back and he frowned.

"Great. It's stuck." Naota said.

"I don't think it's a Jusyenko curse." Ranma said.

"So what is it then?" Naota asked.

"I don't know." Ranma said as he got up. "But I do know someone who might know. Ono."

"Well I hope someone does." Naota sighed. "Because I sure don't."

________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ _________________

Lia stepped out of the furo in a cloud of steam and sighed. She was dressed in the tang that she normally slept in and was looking forward to a snack before bed.

"Ahh...nothing like a dip in the furo." she said.

"I agree." Matoko said as Lia stopped and sniffed the air.

"What the?" Lia asked.

"I smell something." Lia said.

"What is it?" Matoko asked.

"I think it's Naota, but its different. There's another smell I remember too." Lia said as she turned and followed her nose.

"From where?" Matoko asked.

"I think it's from a field trip, to a temple." Lia said as she glanced over her shoulder at Matoko.

'We visited a lot of temples Lia." Matoko said as they entered the main room.

In the main room Akane was sitting at the table reading the newspaper. When they came in she looked up.

"Hi Lia. You done with your bath?" she asked.

"Yeah." Lia said as she looked around. "Is Naota here? I can smell him."

"Yes. He's in the dojo with your father and Uncle Ono." Akane answered.

"Thanks." Lia said as she turned back to the hall.

Akanes eyes bugged out as she realized Lia was heading to the dojo. Jumping to her feet she ran to the hall in an attempt to save the girls from an embarrassing situation.

"Lia! Wait! Don't go in there!" she cried as the door to the dojo slid open.

Naota was standing in the middle of the dojo while Ono examined him. He had at Onos request stripped down so he and Ranma could examine him. The first surprise had been Naotas facial markings.

They were also on his shoulders, chest, back, torso and his legs. The second surprise had been Naotas fingernails, which had changed into retractable claws. And were scalpel sharp, as Ono had discovered when he tested them with his thumb.

The third surprise had been when Ono began to check Naotas chi. He had no baseline to compare to but he knew something was wrong. Instead of the normal chi patterns that he expected, or the slightly different ones of a member of the Anything Goes School what Ono found was best described as....

Nonhuman.

"Naota, how are you feeling?" Ono asked.

"Fine. My hearings a lot better and I can smell a lot more." Naota said.

"Do you feel stronger?" Ono asked.

Naota shook his head.

"Not that I've noticed." Naota answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Your chi is very strong, thats why." Ono said as he stood up and adjusted his glasses. "I'd have to check, but I'd say that your chi is at least at Lias level."

"Oh." Naota said as he flexed his fingers.

Hearing the door to the dojo slide open the three men turned to see Lia and Matoko standing in the doorway. Naota opened his mouth to say something as the girls eyes went to the size of dinner plates.

Realizing what they looking at Naota made a move to cover himself but it was too late. Both girls erupted into nosebleeds and passed out in a dead faint. Naota watched as if in a trance as Lia toppled backwards.

"No bra and their whi-EYES FRONT!" Naota thought as he snapped his eyes up to look at a spot on the wall.

"Onos in there giving Naota a checkup - oh my." Akane said as she came up to the door and saw the two girls passed out. Looking up she saw Naota and arced her eyebrows. "Wow."

"Do you mind?" Naota asked as he began to blush from head to toe.

"Relax Naota. It's not like I haven't seen a naked man before." Akane said as she grabbed Lia and Matokos arms. "And you have nothing to worry about. I'm a married woman. Though if I wasn't..."

Naota went beet red as Ranma hurried over and shut the door. Turning he bowed to Naota and bowed in apology.

"Sorry about that." he said. "I didn't expect anything like that would happen."

'It's okay." Naota said. "Can I put my clothes back on?" he asked Ono.

"I haven't finished examining your chi, but if you want to stop I understand." Ono replied.

Naota sighed and put his hands at his sides.

"I've come this far. Might as well get it over with." he said.

"If you say so." Ono said as he went back to his task at hand.

__________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ _______________

When they were done Naota put his clothes back on and he along Ranma and Ono went back to the main room to discuss Onos findings.

"So whats the news?" Naota asked as they stepped into the hall.

"I think it had better wait until you're sitting down." Ono said.

"That doesn't sound good." Naota thought as he entered the main room.

He was surprised to see Lia and her sister sitting at the table drinking some milk. They both looked up at his entrance. Lia immediately looked away while Matoko went beet red before jumping up and running out of the room.

Naota and Lia stood in an uncomfortable silence for a few moments before he sat down. Ranma looked at the two teenagers as they tried not to look at each other and couldn't help but smile as it brought back memories from the past.

"Well, isn't this awkward." Ranma said as he sat down.

"Thats putting it mildly." Naota said. Desperate to change the subject he looked at Ono. "Okay Doctor, I'm sitting down now. Whats the news?"

"Are you sure you want to hear it here? We can go somewhere private-" Ono began.

"It's fine doc." Naota said. "I just want to know."

Ono Nodded and sat down. Collecting his thoughts he prepared to deliver the news.

"This is the part of the job I hate." Ono thought as he looked up at Naota.

"Well, to be blunt Naota, I don't think you're human anymore." he said.

Naota blinked and twitched his right ear as he looked at Ono.

"You're kidding, right?" he asked.

Lia looked up at Naota and cleared her throat.

"Naota, he's not joking." she said. "You don't smell like a human."

"Then what do I smell like?" Naota asked.

Lia poked the tips of her fingers together as she thought of what to say.

"Well.... You have the usual scents I associate with you, like Old Spice and wasabi sauce, but your base scent is totally different." she said. "It's something I have smelled before though."

"That doesn't tell me what I am Lia." Naota answered.

"Well, I can hazard a guess Naota." Ono said from his position.

"So tell me."

"My knowledge is somewhat limited, bear in mind." Ono began as he looked Naota in the eye. "But I think you're a demon now."

Naota was silent as he absorbed that information. His only reaction was a slight facial tic and a twitch of his ear. Then without a word he bolted out of the room and into the hall.

"Naota!" Lia yelled as she tried to grab him.

Hearing the front door slam Lia punched the floor and pushed herself up onto her knees. Standing up she turned to the hall.

"Crap! I'm going after him!" she said.

"Lia, he's long gone by now." Ranma said.

"I got his scent. I can track him." Lia said as she ran into the hall.

Ranma opened his mouth to say more but thought better of it. He heard Lias footsteps pound up the stairs to her room. Five minutes later Lia came back down, having only put on a bra and pants.

Outside Lia paused to acquire naotas scent and then took off, following his scent trail.

_________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ________________

"What did I do?" Naota asked as he looked up into the black nighttime sky. "What terrible thing did I do to be forsaken by you? What terrible sin have I committed to be deserving of such a fate?"

Getting no answers from the divine Naota sighed and put his head on his knees. He was sitting with back to a pile of prefabricated concrete panels, hidden in the shadows cast by the streetlights.

He sat there for some time as he tried to keep from bawling like a baby when he heard the sound of footsteps on bare earth. Lifting his head Naota saw Lia standing in the light looking at him.

"There you are." Lia said. "I was worried."

"What do you want Lia?" Naota asked in a near monotone.

"To help." Lia said.

For some reason her response made Naotas normally tightly controlled temper flare and he jumped to his feet.

"Help? What kind of 'help' can you give me Lia?" he asked as he advanced out of the shadows. "Can you make it so I can wear a crucifix again, or be able to enter a church and receive Communion?"

Lia gave Naota a puzzled look as she responded. "No, and what are you talking about?" she said.

Naota kept walking until he was within arms reach of Lia. Stopping he looked her in the eye.

"You know how I discovered what had happened to me?" he asked as Lia shook her head. "My crucifix burned me Lia." he said.

"It burned you?" Lia asked, confused. "Why?"

"Because it's the symbol of Christ. And I'm a demon." Naota told her. "I tried going to St. Baccus' for help, but I couldn't even set foot onto the church grounds."

"Oh." was Lias only reply.

"I've been denied my faith Lia. For some reason God has forsaken me." Naota said. "So I'll ask you again: What can you do to help me?"

Lias emerald green eyes bored into Naotas sky -blue ones, giving him a look into her very soul.

"Naota, there is nothing I can do to change the will of the Buddha or God, nor will I ever be able to." she said. "The only thing I can do is help you the best I can as a friend."

Naota looked into her eyes and realized Lia was going to help him through his crisis whether he liked it or not. Knowing when to concede a fight he nodded his consent.

"Okay. So what do you want to do?" Naota asked.

Lia immediately stepped back a pace and dropped into a fighting stance.

"Since we cant reverse what happened to you, I suggest you try to adapt to it." she said. "Lets fight."

Naota held up his hands and stepped backwards a pace, out of attack range.

"Lia, I think the last thing we should do is fight- OOOOF!" he said before Lia planted a mid-level kick in his gut.

"By the way, I got the bugs sorted out of my chi -infusing technique." Lia said casually. "It's called the sk8er technique."

Naota shook his head as he got up. Lias kick had sent him back eight meters, almost into the steel skeleton of the building which was being constructed there. Leaving his palms open Naota took up the crane stance.

"Okay Lia. Bring it." he said.

Lia grinned and flexed forwards, putting her weight onto the balls of her feet. She immediately rocketed forwards towards Naota that an ordinary eye couldn't track. Naota for his part was struck by how slow Lia seemed to move.

He dodged left as Lia came at him with a palm strike and then jumped as she tried to take him out with a leg sweeper. Lia slid to his left as she jabbed at him with her fists.

As he blocked her punches Naota saw an opening and took it, jabbing forwards with a punch that Lia barely avoided. Unfortunately Naota had over -estimated his strength and over shot Lia. His fist connected with a steel beam and the building skeleton rang like a bell as the beam gave in to Naotas punch.

Lia and Naota froze as the framework shook and in the darkened interior the sound of debris falling could be heard. Feeling a slight pain on her cheek Lia reached up and found she had been cut by Naotas thumb claw as his fist had went by her head.

"See what I mean Naota?" she said, holding up her bloodstained fingers. "You're as fast as my dad now. I barely dodged that."

Naota withdrew his fist and worked his fingers, surprised that nothing was broken.

"I was wondering why you had slowed down..." he said.

"I knew you were on the same level power wise as Dad." Lia said. "I could feel it right off."

"Doctor Ono said I was at least at your level." Naota said as he looked at his hands.

Lia shrugged. "Uncle Ono is always conservative when he does a power reading, cause there's so much room for error." she said.

"Oh." Naota said with a nod. "You wanna go again?"

Lia grinned and resumed her fighting stance.

"Your on." she said. "And don't think I'll go easy on you just cause your still adjusting."

"Suit yourself." Naota answered.

______________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________

The street was empty of traffic as it usually was at two o'clock in the morning.

"yyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAH-ow."

The sounds of Naota crashing into a Dumpster echoed up and down the street and set the dogs in the area to barking. Sitting up he saw Lia standing in front of the dumpster looking amused.

"Had enough?" she asked.

Pulling a banana peel off of his face Naota nodded and dropped the peel into the trash.

"I give." he said.

Lia watched as Naota climbed out of the Dumpster and stood shakily on his feet.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah." Naota said with a nod. "Impact just messed me up a little."

"Tell me about it." Lia said as she massaged her shoulder. "You kick like a mule. I'm gonna be sore tomorrow."

"Same here." Naota said as he began to walk down the alley. "Lets go home."

Lia fell into step with Naota as they exited the alley. Looking around she scratched her head.

"Naota, you know where we are?" Lia asked.

Naota shook his head. "Not a clue." he said. "Not a clue."

"Well, lets start walking. We should start seeing street signs." Lia said.

"Which way?" Naota asked.

"Left."

Naota shrugged. "Okay." he said as they started walking.

They walked in silence for a few blocks before Lia said anything. Looking up at Naota her face quirked into a small smile.

"You know, there's something we forgot." she said.

"What?" Naota asked.

"How are we going to explain what happened at school?" Lia said.

Naota smacked his forehead with the heel of his hand.

"Arrrgh......" he groaned. "I forgot about that. And I have to get my clothes modified too."

"Why? You have a tail?" Lia asked.

"Yes." Naota said as he lifted his shirt and let his tail unwind a little.

"It's black." Lia said as she looked at it.

"Uh huh." Naota said. "By the way, who modifies your clothes? You never seem to have trouble with your tail."

"My mom." Lia said with a shrug. "She'll do it if you want to."

"Okay." Naota said.

"But still, how are we going to explain this?" Lia asked, pointing to Naotas ears. "Somehow I doubt it'll go unnoticed."

Naota said as he stuck his hand inside his pockets. "Well...." he began.

"Well what?" Lia asked.

"Well, I don't know about you, but if anyone asks I'm going to tell them it's none of their business." Naota answered. "It's what I've always done."

"Oh. I never thought of saying that." Lia said as she looked down at the ground. "I think I'll try it."

"Or you could just do your usual, hitting them." Naota suggested.

"That has always gotten me bucket duty." Lia said. "Frankly I've been thinking about putting my desk in the hall."

They were silent for a few more blocks until Lia stopped and held out her hand.

"Hold it." she said. "That's the back of Uncle Onos house. I know where we are."

"About time. I don't have a clue as to where we are." Naota said.

Lia turned and gave Naota a grin.

"Hey Naota, you wanna learn how to roof hop?" she asked.

'What's that?" Naota asked.

"It's how we take shortcuts in my family." Lia said. "Follow me."

He watched as Lia hopped up onto a residential wall and jogged over to a house. Shrugging his shoulders Naota followed Lias example and jumped up on the wall and ran over to her. Lia then jumped top the roof of the house and motioned for Naota to follow.

Once on the roof Lia nudged Naota and pointed to a group of microwave towers that were in the distance.

"You see those towers?" Lia asked.

"Yeah." Naota said with a nod.

"Those are your reference point." Lia said as she pointed to a large block of a building. "And thats your apartment building. My house is directly between your building and the towers."

"Where's the school?" Naota asked.

"It's a straight shot due east from my house." Lia said, pointing in the proper direction.

"Okay. Thanks." Naota said with a nod. "I got it now."

"Good. Now lets go." Lia said as she took off.

___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ______________

The instant they landed in the yard the main rooms doors slid open and Lias parents stepped out.

"Where the hell have you two been?" Ranma demanded.

"I was knocking some sense into Naota." Lia said, giving him an elbow.

"Well that's good." Ranma said. "Because his father and grandfather are flipping out because he hasn't called them."

"Oopsie." Lia said as Naota grimaced.

"Well, I'm gonna call them and let them know your okay." Ranma said. "In the meantime, both of you- inside."

"Uh, I was gonna go home..." Naota began.

"Now." Ranma said in his 'sensei voice'.

"You'd better do what he says Naota." Lia said as she grabbed his arm. "You've been pounded on enough today."

Naota saw Ranmas face and meekly complied. He watched the two teenagers as they stepped inside and then shut the door.

"Sit." he said, pointing to the table.

They both sat down as Ranma headed to the kitchen.

"I'm going to call your father Naota." he said. "And when I'm done, you, me, Lia, and Akane are going to have a serious talk."

Walking into the kitchen Ranma took the phone off of the receiver and dialed the number to the Sano apartment.

Kamon Sano jerked awoke when the phone rang. He had been dozing next to the phone, waiting for information about his son.

"Moshi moshi." he said.

"Mr. Sano? It's Ranma Saotome." Ranma said over the line.

"Have you found Naota?" he asked.

"He and Lia showed back up about five minutes ago. They're sitting at the table right now." Ranma said.

Kamon sighed with relief and leaned back. Looking up at the clock he realized what time it was.

"Is he alright?" he asked.

"He's a little banged up, but Lia said she was knocking some sense into him." Ranma said.

"But otherwise he's okay, right?" Kamon asked.

"Yes." Ranma answered. "He's fine."

"Good." Kamon said. "Can he stay at your place for the rest of the night? It's kind of late. Or early, depending on your point of view."

"You don't want to pick him up?" asked Ranma.

"Right now, I'm just glad he's unhurt." Kamon said. "I can kill him when he comes home."

"Okay. Can I give him a chewing out?" Ranma asked.

"By all means. He takes after his mother, so he's extremely stubborn." Kamon said. "Maybe this time something will get through."

"Okay then." Ranma said. "Talk to you later."

"Talk to you later." Kamon said before he hung up.

After he hung up Kamon dialed another number. He put the phone to his ear and waited for a pick up.

"Moshi moshi."

"Dad? I found Naota. He's at the Saotome place." Kamon said. "He's staying over there for the night and I'll talk to him when he gets home tomorrow, okay?"

Kamon listened to his father and nodded once more.

"Okay then. See you when you get home." he said before hanging up.

At the Saotome house Ranma sat down at the table and gave Naota and Lia a tired glare.

"So what did my father say?" Naota asked.

Ranma sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"He said you can stay here for the night." he said. "And I know I said I'd have a talk with you two after I was done and here it is: Don't ever do something like that again."

The two teenagers blinked in surprise at Ranmas statement.

"That's it?" Lia asked.

"Yes." Ranma said. "It's two -thirty in the morning and I'm bloody tired. Now go to bed."

"Yes sir." Naota said and stood up.

"Goodnight Dad." Lia said as she stood.

"Goodnight." Ranma said as the two headed to the stairs. "And show Naota where the futons are in the guest room."

"Okay." Lia said.

Ranma sat and listened to the silence of the house for a few moments before he stood up to go to bed himself.

"Now my potential son in law is a demon and a ninja." Ranma thought as he began to turn off the lights. "Never a dull moment in the Saotome family."

Having shut off the lights Ranma wearily mounted the stairs. Halfway up he paused and snapped his fingers.

"And that reminds me. I never beat the stuffing out of the panda for hiding that bottle of spring water." he thought.

Elsewhere in Nerima a panda rolled over in bed as a chill passed over it in its sleep.

"I can do it tomorrow." Ranma decided as he went up the stairs. "And talk to Naota

______________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________

The next morning came clear and bright over the Saotome house. Akane had woken up first, followed by Matoko who started breakfast. Akane was in the kitchen sipping her morning tea while Matoko mixed vegetables into the miso soup.

As the caffeine from the tea worked it's way into her system a memory that was floating around in her brain came to the fore. Akane waited until Matoko had put the vegetables in and stepped away from the stove.

"Ah, Matoko, I just remembered something." Akane said as she looked over her mug.

'What is it Akane?" Matoko asked.

"Naota stayed over last night." Akane said.

Matoko froze and turned beet red. Eyes wide she turned to look at Akane.

"What?" she squeaked.

"He stayed over." Akane repeated.

"But I saw him ...naked." Matoko said, the last word in a whisper. "I can't face him!"

Akane nodded. "So did Lia." she said. "And Lia seems to be perfectly fine with that. In fact after Naota ran off last night she went after him and beat some sense into him."

"But Akane-!" Matoko began as Akane held up her hand.

"I know, you saw him naked. Was it on purpose?" Akane said.

"N-no..." Matoko stammered.

"Then you have nothing to worry about." Akane said. "It was an accident. You have every right to embarrassed. I know Naota was."

"Oh." Matoko said as she turned back to the soup and stirred it. After stirring a few times she turned back to Akane. "How come your not worked up about it?" she asked.

Wordlessly Akane reached over and flipped on the cold water tap. Putting her hand under it he looked at Akane.

"Well, my curse helped." he said as he turned the water off. After dunking her fingers in her tea Akane continued. "And Ranma helped too. In fact, I discovered his curse when I walked in on him in the furo."

Matoko blinked as she heard what Akane had said. "You did?" she asked.

Akane nodded and smiled at the memory. "I did. I was naked as a jaybird too." she said.

"How did you react?" Matoko asked.

Akane grinned. "I tried to kill him."

'Oh." Matoko said.

A rumble of little feet made Akane look up. "Your brothers awake." she said. "I had better go fill him in on what happened last night and tell him to be on his best behavior."

" What did happen, by the way?" Matoko asked. "Naota had all those tattoos, and I saw a tail before I passed out."

Akane paused in the doorway and looked back at her daughter.

"He got turned into a demon. A kami answered his wish and Naota apparently made it mad." she said.

"Eep." Matoko said as she went back to the soup.

"You said it." Akane said as she stepped out.

When Naota awoke it was almost noon. Shrugging his t -shirt on he stumbled downstairs to find Lia and Akane sitting at the table having a cup of tea.

"Good morning." Akane said.

"Good morning." Naota said. "Where's Matoko?" he asked.

Lia shrugged. "After what happened yesterday she decided she needs to have space, so she cleared out to go to the library." she said. "And why aren't you banged up like I am?"

Naota looked down at his forearms and realized he wasn't bruised and aching like he expected.

"Huh. I guess demons heal quick." he said.

"Lucky you." Lia grumbled. "I feel like I got kicked through a brick wall."

"You did get kicked trough a brick wall." Naota said as he sat down. "I'm the one who kicked you."

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

"I'd love some." Naota said.

"Speaking of kicking, Ranma want's to talk to you Naota." Akane said. "He's in the dojo."

"Thank you Akane." Naota said as he stood back up.

Naota slid the door to the dojo open and found Ranma standing in the middle of the practice area, alone.

"Akane said you wanted to see me?" Naota asked as he stepped inside.

"Yeah." Ranma said. "I talked to Lia about your little sparring match you had last night."

"Uh -oh." Naota thought as he slid the door closed.

"She says you are now at my level in power and speed." Ranma said.

Naota chuckled and shrugged. "So she says. I haven't seen you fight, so I only have her word on that." he said.

"She has an excellent judge of potential." Ranma said. "And she has sparring with me for years, so she would know."

"Okay." Naota said. "I have the feeling you're working up to something."

Ranma smiled and bowed to Naota. "Never try subtlety on a ninja." he said with a chuckle. "I'm going to cut to the chase Naota. I'm offering to train you for your own good."

Naota cocked his head and looked at Ranma. "You're offering to train me, a ninja, in your school." he said. "Why?"

"You're as powerful as I am Naota, and you know how to manipulate chi." Ranma said. "And no doubt you'll be able to develop techniques that fit with the Hagakure School. And that frankly scares the hell out of me Naota."

Naota nodded his head slightly. "Because I'm a trained assassin." he said. "And you are afraid of what I can do."

"Yes." Ranma answered.

"Well don't worry. I haven't killed anyone yet Ranma and I'm not in any hurry to be dammed to hell." Naota said. "And there is no way in hell that I'll allow the Hagakure school to have advanced chi techniques."

'Really." Ranma said.

"Really." Naota answered. "I'm the last Sano to be trained in the school."

"So does your clan know yet?" Ranma asked. "Or have you not told them this fact?"

Naota chuckled nervously. "I haven't told them yet, per se, but I'm working on it." he said. "The Hagakure school doesn't have a severance package. Unless you count being beheaded in your sleep."

'I see." Ranma said. "How long do you have?"

"About a year and a half, until I'm eighteen. Then I have to go on missions." Naota said. "No exceptions."

"Rough." Ranma said. "Though whatever you do, keep Lia out of it."

Naota sighed and looked Ranma in the eye, his expression dead serious.

"I cant promise you that Ranma." he said. "Thanks to my grandfather and your father she's already involved. The instant Genma Saotome signed that contract every member of your family became marked. I'm sorry."

Ranma gritted his teeth and nodded. "I know you are Naota. But I'm asking you to keep her out of it the best you can." he said.

"For my friends I'd defy heaven itself." Naota said. "Is that acceptable?"

Ranma looked into Naotas eyes for long moments, taking his measure. Finally he nodded.

"Yes, it is acceptable." he said. "But if you fail you'll wish you were facing the wrath of heaven, understand?"

Naota bowed deeply, from the waist.

"Yes sensei." he said.

"Good. Now go get breakfast." Ranma said as he headed to the door.

"I have a panda to talk to." he thought.

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End Book Three.

To be continued in Book Four.