Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Ranma OneHalf: First steps ❯ Book Four, Chapter 6 ( Chapter 38 )

Ranma Onehalf: First steps. Book Four.

Chapter Six.

"CHRISTIAN!!"

Lias scream echoed through the neighborhood and made Naota look up and smile.

"Well, I'm glad he's okay." Naota thought. "I guess the arrow incident didn't even faze him."

As he neared the Saotome household screams could be heard along crashes and bangs.

"I wonder what the little kitsune (1) did this time?" Naota wondered as he hopped the wall surrounding the Saotome house.

"GIVE ME THAT POCKY!"

Naota winced at Lias scream as he jumped down in the yard. He knew as well as everybody else that messing with Lias Pocky habit was close to suicide. Taking a careful look around for high -velocity Saotomes Naota approached the front door, remembering Christian never used the front door when escaping his sister.

Naota was almost to the front door and raising his arm to ring the doorbell when the front door banged open and a gray, black, and blue blur zipped past him.

"Naota, catch!" Christian said as he passed Naota.

Naotas hand snapped up and caught the object flung at him by Christian. Turning it over he saw it was a box of strawberry crème Pocky.

"Ohshi- OOOOOF!" was all Naota was able to say before he was bowled over by forty -three kilograms (2) of catgirl.

Naota was knocked back two meters (3) and ended up on his back with Lia sitting on him and purring happily.

"Hi Naota." Lia purred.

"Hi Lia." Naota said. "Pocky?"

"Don't mind if do." Lia said as she took the box from Naota. Flicking it open with a finger she looked down at Naota as he blew his bangs out of his eyes. "You're looking a little shaggy there Naota."

"Yeah. I keep reminding myself to get a haircut, but I keep forgetting." Naota said. Pointing to his ears he continued. "That and all the barbers I find don't want to put a pair of scissors anywhere near my ears."

"Why don't you try my stylist?" Lia asked as she stood up.

"Stylist?" Naota asked in a wary voice as he sat up.

Lia stifled a giggle at Naotas expression as he got to his feet.

"My Aunt Kasumi." she explained. "She's been cutting my hair since we moved here."

Naota blinked at Lias comment. "You cut your hair?" he asked, confused.

Lia smiled and flicked her bangs. "My bangs, silly."

"Oh." Naota said. "When could she do it?"

"Today." Lia said. "I was supposed to bring Christian over, but it looks like Matokos gonna have to do it."

"How will sister be able to do that?" Naota asked. "No offense, but compared to you or your brother, she's, well she's-"

"Weak?" Lia finished. "Yeah, I know that. She'll just use his biggest weakness against him."

"What's that?" Naota asked.

"His stomach." Lia answered. "He's a Saotome."

"I see." Naota said.

"You wanna go right now?" Lia asked. "To Kasumis I mean?"

Naota shrugged. "I have nothing important to do." he answered.

"Okay. Let's go." Lia said.

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"Dad, I'm heading over to Ono and Kasumis." Lia called into the dojo.

"You caught Christian?" Ranma asked.

"No, but Naota needs a hair cut and Kasumi knows how work with cats ears." Lia answered.

"Okay." Ranma said.

"Okay." Lia answered.

Ranma was in the dojo, leaning against the wall opposite the doors which were open to the yard. Next to him sat a pot of tea and a plate of Matokos infamous M&M chocolate chip cookies.

Idly he munched on a cookie as he sat, deep in thought. Over the past week and a half since the Saotome family had come home from their holiday at the beach he had been noticing some changes in Lia.

When she had been brought back to their hotel room by Naota his scent had been all over her. Ranma hadn't given it a second thought; she had been in close contact with him after injuring her foot and she had spent most of the day with him.

That was normal; she often had Naotas scent on her after sparring with him. It was normally gone once she had bathed and changed clothes. Naota had disappeared after that day, presumably heading back to Nerima so there had been no further contact with him.

They had stayed two more days before heading home and that's when the changes began occurring. Whenever he smelled his daughters scent he, very faintly at first began to pick up Naotas scent mixed in with Lias.

Ranma had thought he had been imagining it, thinking it was a result of the clothes Naota had been in contact with in Lias bag. But on the trip home he had smelled it and once they arrived as well, and it had gotten stronger.

Now there was a definite accent of Naota in Lias scent. And that wasn't the only thing that had Ranma worried.

The day after they had arrived home Lia had answered the door when Naota had shown up. Normally this wasn't so out of the ordinary, but this time Lia had been sitting in the living room and Naota was still coming up the walk.

She had also did that several other times over the next week, but what had unnerved him was the accent of Lia in Naotas scent, and how when they were doing two -on -one sparring with him there were moments where they moved in perfect coordination.

"Something is going on between those two." he thought. "Something more than a spark."

"There you are."

Akanes voice interrupted Ranmas musings. Looking up he saw her come into the dojo.

"Oh, hi Akane." he said as Akane spotted Matokos cookies.

"Ooh, cookies." Akane said as she came over to Ranma.

Ranma was silent as Akane took a couple of the cookies on the plate. As she turned to leave he looked up at her.

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

"Only if I can have more cookies." Akane said as she turned back to Ranma.

"Deal." Ranma said. "You may want to sit down. This could take a while."

"Okay." Akane said as she sat down in front of Ranma.

Sliding the plate over in front of the Ranma took a cookie of his own and collected his thoughts before speaking.

"My question is about Lia." he began. "Lia and Naota."

"What about them?" Akane asked.

"Have you noticed anything different with them?" Ranma asked.

Akane thought for a few moments before responding.

"Yeah." she said with a nod. "Though you'll probably think I'm crazy."

"Try me." Ranma said.

"Okay..." Akane said. "When Lia was chasing after Christian for her Pocky she did a Panda Glomp on him."

"Uh, didn't Christian toss the box to Naota?" Ranma asked.

"Lia changed course before Christian tossed the box." Akane said. "And she was purring when she landed on him."

Ranma nodded and picked up another cookie.

"Anything else?" he asked.

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but Naota seems, I don't know, happier when he's with Lia." Akane said as she picked up a cookie. "He loses that dark look in his eyes whenever he's around her. And his chi has gotten better too."

"It has?" Ranma asked. "Well, I'm not as chi sensitive as you or Lia. And that would explain it..."

"Explain what?" Akane asked.

"Oh, I noticed Lia seemed to know when Naota was coming to the door before anyone else did." Ranma explained. "She must've 'tuned' herself to his signature."

Akane nodded. "That might be possible." she said.

"Though I would like to know how they picked up each others scent." Ranma muttered.

"Probably by being in each others company so much." Akane said. "Combined with your natural paranoia as a father."

"Yeah." Ranma answered with a nod. "But I'm still going to keep an eye on them. Lia and Naota both have their heads on straight, but they're still teenagers."

"Good idea." Akane said. "We don't want them getting in over their heads."

Ranma nodded in agreement as he stood up. Stepping past Akane he began to walk towards the center of the dojo.

"That's it!" Akane said as she snapped her fingers. "That's what I came in here for!"

"What?" Ranma asked as he turned around to face Akane. Seeing the look in her eye Ranma put his hands up. "Uh, Akane, the kids- AAAACK!" ___________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________

Kasumi hummed to herself as she consulted her recipe book and planned that night's dinner. Hearing the doorbell ring she looked up.

"I got it!" Genda hollered as he got up from where he was watching TV.

"Thank you." Kasumi said. "That's probably Lia and Christian."

"Okay." Genda said as he flipped the lock open.

Opening the door Genda was surprised to see it wasn't Lia and her brother, but Lia and Naota.

"Hi Lia." Genda said. "Where's Christian?"

"Matokos getting him." Lia answered. "And what are you doing here? I thought you were at collage."

Genda shrugged. "My dorm got destroyed by a giant robot, so I'm commuting from here." he said. "Haven't you been watching the news?"

"I don't watch TV, remember?" Lia answered. "And I thought you were going to Tokyo University. A giant robot sounds like something we'd have here."

Genda snorted as he stepped aside to let them in.

"Close enough. It was because of some nut ball assistant prof in the archeology department." he said. "One of his friends dropped in for a quick visit."

"Oi." Lia said.

"So how's being the newest demon in Nerima coming?" Genda asked Naota.

"It's taking some getting used to." Naota answered.

"I'll bet." Genda said as Lia headed to the kitchen.

"Hey Kasumi." Lia called as she entered the kitchen.

"Yes Lia?" Kasumi asked as she looked up from her recipe files.

"Can you fit two hair cuts in today?" Lia asked.

"Certainly." Kasumi said. "But you have already had a trim."

"I know." Lia said. "It's Naota. He's getting a little shaggy."

"Oh." Kasumi said. "Let me take a look."

Marking her place Kasumi closed her book and got up. Walking into the living room she saw Naota sitting with Genda watching the sports highlights on the evening news.

Giving his head a once over Kasumi arced her eyebrows.

"He's going to need more than a trim." she said. "I hope you don't have anywhere to go Naota."

"I got all day." Naota said.

"Good." Kasumi said as she walked over to Naota and bent over to get a better look. "Because it looks like you need a full wash and haircut."

"Wash?" Naota asked as he looked up at Kasumi. "Hair is easier to cut when it's freshly washed." she explained as she tugged at a lock.

"Oh." Naota said.

Turning to Lia Kasumi smiled.

"Would you please help me set up?" she asked.

"Okay." Lia said with a shrug.

In the kitchen Lia and Kasumi cleared the table and moved it out of the way so Kasumi could work. As she hunted for the scissors Kasumi looked at her niece.

"Lia, could I ask you for a favor?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure. What is it?" Lia answered.

"Would you please wash Naotas hair?" Kasumi asked.

Lia stopped cold.

"Eh?" she asked her eyes wide. "Why?"

"Well…" Kasumi began. Sighing she crossed over to Lia and spoke in her ear. "Well, the reason why is, well, I'd be scrubbing around his ears and I know from you that they're very sensitive…. And I think it would be inappropriate for me to be doing that."

Lia gaped at her aunt for a few seconds before responding.

"But- but- but why me Kasumi?" Lia whispered.

"Well, you are his fiancée Lia." Kasumi answered. "And you have had close contact with him before. Just think of it as scrubbing Christian, only much larger."

Lia deadpanned at her aunt. "Thanks Kasumi. That's a real help." She said.

"You're welcome." Kasumi answered back.

Stepping over to a closet Kasumi pulled a folding chair from it and put it next to the sink. Walking back into the living room she tapped Naota on the shoulder.

"Naota, its time." she said.

'Okay." Naota answered with a nod.

Getting up he followed Kasumi into the kitchen where she pointed to the sink.

"You'll need to sit there." she said. "And take of your sweatshirt or it'll get wet."

Naota nodded and pulled off his sweatshirt, revealing a green House Arrest (4) t-shirt. Tugging at the collar he turned to Kasumi.

"Would it be okay if I took my shirt off? It's a concert shirt and I don't want it to get ruined." He asked.

Lia in her postion by the stove stiffened. Kasumi glanced at her before responding.

"Are you sure? Considering what it does to Lia-" she began.

"I'll be fine." Lia said. "Naota and I have been working on it. If I keep calm now it dosents affect me like it first did."

"Okay." Kasumi said. "But if either of you feel uncomfortable, let me know."

Naota and Lia nodded and Naota pulled his shirt off. Lia remained calm and collected, not bursting into a nosebleed. Her aunt however suddenly felt very warm when she saw Naotas bare chest.

"Oh my." she thought. "No wonder Lia got nosebleeds. That kind of physique would give any girl her age one."

Calming herself Kasumi went back to setting up for the haircut while Lia took an apron off its hook and walked out of the kitchen. She returned two minutes later with out her shirt and the apron in its place. Naota tried not to gawk at Lias exposed skin as she walked up to him.

"Uh, Lia, why did-" he began.

"Why did I take my shirt off?" Lia finished. "Same reason you did. I didn't want it getting wet. The aprons so I don't get the rest of me wet."

"Oh." Naota said as he leaned back.

As he did a flash of green caught his eye and he quickly averted his gaze. Lia saw him do that and smirked despite herself.

"Don't worry Naota. It's just a sports bra. You won't see anything." she said. "Besides, my swimsuit showed more."

"Oh." Naota said as he looked back up at her face. "Though I do have an odd question."

"Shoot." Lia said as she turned the water on.

"Do you wear a sports bra all time?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm pretty active and I can tell you from experience you don't want them moving around." Lia answered as she finished adjusting the water. "Okay, lean back now and fold your ears back."

Naota did as he was told and soon his hair was being washed. Lying there with Lia leaning over him he took in her scent, smelling the cucumber based soap she used combined with her usual scent. Mixed in with that was the scent of the shampoo she was using.

Combined with the feel of the warm water running over his scalp and the feel of her hands Naota couldn't help but purr. Looking down at him Lia chuckled.

"You sound like you're enjoying yourself." she said.

"Mmm-hmm…" Naota rumbled.

"Well, don't get too comfortable, cause we're done." Lia said as she shut the water off. Running a comb through his hair Lia got rid of the excess water before handing him a towel. "Here. Dry off."

Taking the towel Naota stood up and began to towel his hair dry. When he was done his hair was frizzy and standing up on end. Turning to Lia he gave her a goofy grin. She took one look at his appearance and snorted.

"You look like you put your tail in a light socket." Lia said as she wiped down the sink with a paper towel.

'I do, don't I?" Naota said as he walked over to Kasumi.

Sitting down he put the towel on his lap as Kasumi covered him in a beach towel and tied it around his neck. Picking up a comb she began to run it through his hair.

"So Naota…" she beganWhat kind of haircut do you want?"

Naota thought for a moment before responding.

'I don't know." he said. "All I know is that I want it shorter."

Kasumi nodded as she stepped around to the front of Naota.

"Alright." she said. "Lia, do you have any ideas?"

"What ever you do, keep the bangs." Lia answered from the bathroom where she was changing her shirt. "I think they're cute."

Naota colored slightly at this and Kasumis mouth quirked into a smile as she finished combing out his hair. Picking up a pair of scissors Kasumi stepped around to the back of Naota and grabbed a lock of hair.

"Is that okay with you?" Kasumi asked.

"Fine by me." Naota answered.

"Well then, let's get started." Kasumi said as she started to snip.

__________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________

Genda looked up when Lia sat down next to him.

"Hi Lia." He said.

"Hi Genda." Lia answered.

Glancing out the corner of his eye at his cousin Genda snickered as he realized something and struggled to contain his laughter. Finally Lia turned and looked at him.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"I just realized you've been wearing the same style of clothes since you cam to Japan." Genda answered.

"So? What's wrong with that?" Lia asked.

"Nothing. I just realized that is all." Genda replied.

They watched TV for a few minutes before Genda spoke again.

"Though I have to admit, I was surprised by the arrival my American cousin." he said. "It took me forever to work out why you had red hair and your parents had black hair."

"When did you figure it out?" Lia asked.

"When Mom and Dad gave me the 'Talk'." Genda answered. "Talk about knocking one for a loop. I mean, technically my aunt Akane is your father and my uncle Ranma is your mother."

"I know, it backwards." Lia said. "That's why my Dad doesn't drink. Can't hold his liquor."

"And yet he is Genma Saotomes son." Genda said.

"I think he gets it from Grandma Nodoka." Lia answered.

Knitting his brows slightly Genda looked at his cousin.

"By the way, how is she taking you being engaged to a ninja?" he asked.

Lia shrugged. "About as well as you'd expect." she said. "Grandma went ballistic."

Genma nodded. "That sounds about right for her."

"I can only imagine what she'll do when she learns that Naota is a demon." Lia said with a sigh.

Genda blinked and looked at his cousin in surprise.

"No ones told her?" he asked.

"Nope." Lia answered.

"Why?" Genda asked.

"Because I dodge enough ofuda and demon wards enough as it is." Naota answered from the kitchen.

Genda blinked in surprise when he heard Naotas voice.

'You've got good hearing." He answered.

"I can hear heartbeats if I want to." Naota answered.

"Oi." Genda answered.

Lia smirked as she looked at her cousin.

"Got ya, didn't he?" she asked as Genda nodded. "Don't worry, he does that to everybody.'

"Well, that makes me feel better." Genda sighed.

Picking up the remote Genda turned up the volume as the news ended and the afternoon programming began. He and Lia were halfway through the first program when Kasumi stepped into the living room.

"Lia, Naotas done with his haircut." she said.

'Oh, okay." Lia said as she stood up. "Let's take a look."

Stepping into the kitchen Lia stopped cold when she saw Naota, who to put it simply had been completely changed (5). Gone was the shaggy mop of hair that had given him a brooding look.

Kasumi had kept his bangs as Lia had asked, but had thinned them considerably and shortened the rest of his hair as well. With the mass of hair gone Naota now had a boyish look and his ears, once only really visible at an angle now stood out prominently atop his head.

"Well, what do you think?" Kasumi asked.

When Kasumi spoke Naota looked at Lia and his ears fanned forward. Lia saw this and she couldn't but do what she did next.

"EEE! He's so cute!" Lia squealed as she launched herself at Naota for a Saotome Catboy Glomp.

"Huh- AAAAACK!" was all that Naota was able to say before Lia glomped him.

'Hey mom, mark the time and date." Genda called from the living room. "Lia the Anti -Pervert just called a boy cute."

Kasumi looked at the two, with Lia sitting on Naotas lap and playing with his ears and chuckled.

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"We're home!" Lia called as she and Naota stepped into the house.

"Welcome back." Ranma answered from the main room.

Walking into the house they headed to the main room where Ranma and Akane were sitting at the table. Ranma was finishing off a snack while Akane flipped through an issue of Ms.

"Hi mom." Lia said as she and Naota entered.

"Hi Lia." Akane said as she looked up. Spotting Naota she raised an eyebrow. "What's with the hood?" she asked.

"Oh." Naota said. "We saw some of our classmates walking over here and we didn't want them to see my new hair cut."

"Well, can we see?" Akane asked.

"Sure." Naota answered.

Flipping down his hood both Akane and Ranmas eyes widened as they saw his new look. Akane whistled as she gave Naota a once over.

"You had better be glad I'm a married woman Naota." she said. "Because otherwise…. Damn but you're cute."

"Isn't he?" Lia asked as she hugged his arm. "I like how his ears stand out now instead of hiding."

"I agree." Akane said with a nod.

Ranma took a look at the now blushing Naota and decided to come to his rescue.

"Hey Naota, you up for some sparring?" he asked.

Naota blinked and looked at Ranma for a moment before responding.

'Ah, yeah, actually." he said.

"Okay." Ranma said as he stood up. Looking at his wife and daughter he jerked a thumb down the hall. "We're going to be in the dojo."

"Okay." Akane said with a nod. "Lia and I are going to be doing some mother- daughter bonding."

"Have fun.' Ranma said as he headed to the hall.

Before detaching herself from Naota Lia looked up at him questioningly.

"Before you go, can I?" she asked.

"Sure." Naota said as he leaned forwards slightly.

Reaching up Lia grabbed his ears and gave them a gentle tweaking before letting go. Sitting down she sighed contentedly as Naota went off to go change. As she watched him go Akanes mouth quirked into a smile.

"You like his ears, don't you?" she asked.

"Uh -huh." Lia answered with a nod.

"I'm the same way with your father's hair." Akane added.

After changing into a pair of sweats Naota went to the dojo. Sliding the door open he stepped in and his nose was immediately assaulted by a distinct and cloying bouquet of scents. Holding his nose he looked around at the dojo.

"Sensei, what is that smell?" he asked.

Sniffing the air Ranma realized what Naota smelled and went a little red around the edges.

"Ah, that ah, well…. "Ranma began as he looked for a way to explain it. Not finding a delicate way to put it he decided to go with the truth. "We did what married couples do."

"Ah." Naota said a note of understanding in his voice.

"How about we open up the doors and sit on the porch while it airs out?" Ranma asked.

"Good idea." Naota said.

After opening the doors to the dojo and the hall for cross ventilation Ranma and Naota sat on the porch with a picture of Matokos lemonade.

'Sorry about that." Ranma said before sipping his lemonade. "I didn't mean to put you in an embarrassing situation."

"It's okay." Naota answered. "It's something I'm getting used to."

'Oh." Ranma said.

Naota chuckled as he looked at his glass. "Though I do admit it has led to some interesting discoveries." he said. "Like the head of the 'perfect' clique chases the dragon (6)"

"What?" Ranma asked in a quiet voice.

Naota tapped the side of his nose.

"I've been to Hong Kong and Taiwan enough to know that smell." he said. "And you can't wash it off to escape my nose."

"There are drugs at Furinkan?" Ranma asked.

Naota shook his head. "No. If there had been I would have dealt with it." Naota said. "And my father and grandfather would have taken out the supply line."

'Good." Ranma said. "The stuff's poison."

"I agree." Naota said. "And that's why I'm going to try to keep her away from it and other dangers as much as possible."

Ranma nodded in agreement as he sat his glass down. "Though keep in mind that Lia isn't totally helpless Naota." He said.

"So why did you agree with me to….. You know." Naota asked in a surprised voice.

"Because while she is a very capable martial artist and a very intelligent person, Lia would be in over her head if she was involved." Ranma answered. "She just isn't ready."

"Oh." Naota said with a nod. "So how will I explain it to her?" he asked.

Ranma sighed and looked at the boards in front of him. "Well, Lia takes after Akane in a lot of ways." he began. "So more than likely her first response will be a mallet."

"Urk!" Naota said as his eyes bugged out. He'd seen Lia summon a mallet before to deal with hentai at school.

"However there are two defenses against mallets: One is running away, which isn't an option with Lia because she will catch up to you." Ranma began.

"And the second?" Naota asked.

"And the second is the Crouch of the Wild Tiger." answered Ranma.

Naota blinked and scratched his head. "Isn't that the one where your father kowtowed to your mother and said 'I'm sorry' real fast over and over again?" he asked.

Ranma nodded. "Uh -huh." he said.

"Ohhh- kay." Naota said as he leaned back.

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(1) A Japanese fox spirit. Known as a trickster, like coyotes are in Native American folklore or like elves in European folklore.

(2) 95 pounds

(3) Six and a half feet.

(4) That's an actual band by the way. A coworker of mine is part of them.

(5) For a look go to JTCorner dot com and look under fanart. Or go to Mediaminer dot org and check there.

(6)That's a term used to describe smoking opium.