This is my first attempt at FanFic in over 20 years, so be
nice. 
     I feel it important to share a few things with you before
subjecting your tender sensibilities to my literary attempts. 
First, I write these things for my own enjoyment.  If others get
something out of them, all the better (God! Don't you love these
ego trips.)   Secondly, my writings serve as a form of therapy. 
Everyone needs somewhere to hide from the real world, now and
then.  My FanFic world is my little hiding place.  Finally, and
most important, any new characters you might read here, I have
attempted to make them mesh with the existing Ranma cast as well
as possible.  [I hope Rumico doesn't mind my tampering but IMHO
with the introduction of Ryoga the entire series went straight to
sillyville.  So many characters were added (and kept around) that
by episode 64 you've got a cast the size of the Democratic
National Convention.]

     I hope this will prove to be the start of a series of
stories focusing on the least understood main character: Nabiki
Tendo.  After reading everything I could and watching many of the
original series and OAV tapes, I came to the conclusion that
underneath that hard exterior is a young woman with all the
emotions, fears, and dreams of a typical 17 year old screaming to
get out.  After reading some of the available Ranma FanFic, I can
see others have had this same notion.  This is my attempt to
excavate those emotions and move her life ahead a few years.  I
really think she can be a likable character.

     Almost all characters portrayed in this fanfic are copyright
or Rumiko Takahashi, etc, etc, etc.  (If you try to sue me, I'll
just time travel back to 1970, copyright the stuff myself and sue
you in 1996.)


                     Nabiki - New Horizons
              Part 1 - A Match Made On Wall Street
                        by G L Sandborn


     The first day at a new school is always stressful; more so
if that school is in a foreign country.  Jeff Lawrence faced the
daunting task of integrating himself into a Japanese high school
after spending his entire academic life attending embassy
schools.
     Born in London to an ambassadorial attach‚, Jeff moved to
Japan at age 12 when his father was transferred.  His mother
insisted he attend only embassy schools to get the best American
education possible.  Still, Jeff felt something was missing. 
Here he was, 17 years old, living in a foreign country but
attending American schools.  Not that he was all that American to
begin with.  After all, he only visited his home land a few
times, spoke with more of an English accent and used too many
British and Japanese slang words to be easily understood by his
own countrymen.  His Japanese was quite good; the embassy staff
saw to that.  While he admitted he probably would never master
kanji, his grasp of hiragana and, to a lesser degree, katakana
was quite admirable.  Certain he had sufficient background for
such a venture, he made plans to experience a regular public
school once before departing to college.
     In truth, Jeff had a stronger motivation for his desires (no
pun).  There were simply no girls his age in the foreign legation
community.  Actually, that wasn't entirely true.  There was one
16 year old girl over at the Russian embassy, but she scared the
hell out of him.  As far as the embassy schools were concerned,
he was keenly aware that the only female near his age was a
rather well stuffed 13 year old.  Not much to look forward to; at
least not if he wanted to stay out of jail.
     So there it was.  Like a typical teen-aged male, he wanted
to be around girls his own age and like a more mature person, he
wanted to experience fully the academic environment of his host
country.
     After much debate with his parents, highlighted by Jeff
applying the unassailable argument that it would be like being a
foreign exchange student while getting to come home every
evening, they reluctantly agreed.  At first, they held out for an
international high school.  But Jeff thought they were just
English speaking Japanese-style schools with a lot of other
foreigners enrolled.  No, if he was going to subject himself to a
Japanese school environment, it would be with a Japanese school
or nothing.  By the early hours of the morning, it was finally
settled that he would be allowed to attend the local high school
in nearby Nerima to finish his senior year.  Academically, he was
far ahead of the average student; he had been taking college
level courses for over a year.  Socially, he was in for a rude
awakening.

     It was a warm September morning, sunny and dry.  The type of
morning that could make even a reluctant student glad to be
walking to school.  With a sigh, Jeff Lawrence trudged alone down
the street past the drainage ditch.  Occasionally, a small group
of students would pass him, glancing his way only out of
curiosity.  None ever attempted to greet him.  Jeff never felt so
alone.  He was experiencing the ultimate paradox; isolation in a
country of 125 million people.
     It couldn't have been because of his attire; he was wearing
the correct school uniform, his mother had seen to that.  He
wasn't especially tall (barely six feet), or large (175 pounds
admirably proportioned on his frame), or even oddly colored (his
dark hair and deep tan made him visually similar).  Perhaps, it
was just that in such a homogenous society as Japan's outsiders
easily stood out.  Jeff was decidedly an outsider.
     Soon, the imposing facade of Furinkan High School emerged
from behind the many trees on the school grounds.  Built in the
late 50's, it represented the best of Japanese bureaucratic
architecture; imposing, functional, and totally out of place next
to all the neighborhood wood and stucco structures.  The main
tower held a clock that read 8:15.  Plenty of time.
     <Looks okay for a public school.>  He mused as he approached
the school's main gate.  <At least it's not run down like some
American inner city school.>
     Passing through the gate, he noticed a large number of male
students dressed in all manner of sporting gear gathered in small
groups in front of the building.
     <Must be some kind of sports day activity.>  He thought as
he approached the front doors.  <I've gotta remember to sign up
for something.  Maybe if I'm part of a school club or team, I can
gain some acceptance.>
     For the most part, the crowd tended to ignore Jeff's
presence.  Occasionally, a person would look his way and mutter
"gaijin".  
     There it was.  Gaijin, the most hated title in Japan.  Used
originally to describe any outsiders, it now came to mean anyone
from the outside who was undesirable.  Jeff swallowed hard.  This
was what his father warned him about and what his mother feared. 
This was what he mentally prepared weeks for.  Whatever happened,
he told himself, he would control his temper.  Nothing would
provoke him in becoming an "ugly American" in this school, he
vowed.  That didn't last long.
     Distracted by the sight of a large number of attractive
young coeds looking out of the upper floor windows, Jeff made his
first, and almost fatal, mistake.  He collided with an imposing
male student dressed in a sword-man's traditional gear complete
with super-loose trousers and a deadly looking bokkan.
     "Clumsy whelp!" The  swordsman shouted as he spun around to
face Jeff.  "By the grace of the heavens.  A filthy gaijin.  Oh,
what transgressions we must have committed for the gods to have
delivered to us such a despicable form of life such as this." 
Jeff held his tongue but watched carefully the way this fellow
waved his little wooden samurai sword around.  It looked every
bit as dangerous as it was.
     "What are you dressed for, you ugly monkey?  Halloween is
next month."  Jeff muttered in English, secretly hoping no one
understood the language well enough to translate the insult. 
Recovering himself, Jeff formally apologized for the incident and
inquired the location of the main office.  Jeff even threw in a
formal bow.
     All he got for his troubles was a round of laughter from the
assembled males.  Jeff scowled at the ground and pursed his lips.
This was going to be tougher than he thought.
     "He knows our customs and speaks our language.  I, Tatewaki
Kuno, undefeated captain of the school's Kendo Team, rising star
of the high school fencing world, think we should humor the
gaijin as a reward."  Kuno raised his bokkan and was immediately
answered by a crash of thunder and bolt of lightning.
     Jeff raised one eyebrow and scanned the skies discreetly.
<How does he do that?>
     From near the gate, someone yelled:  They're coming!" and
suddenly Jeff was no longer the center of attention.
     "The destination you seek is inside these doors and to your
right.  Now begone, I have other matters to attend to."  With
that Jeff felt sufficiently dismissed to start for the door
again.  Kuno's sword flat across his chest indicated otherwise. 
"But mark this well, gaijin, the vengeance of heaven is slow. 
Were it not for my preoccupation with a matter of great import on
this autumn morn, I would provide you with an education unlike
any other in the manners and respect due an upperclassman. 
Tatewaki Kuno will remember you."
     "You're too kind."  Jeff responded while repeating to
himself: <I will not react.  I will not react.  I will not
react.>  Opening the door, he looked back over his shoulder and
added: "Isn't it a little late in the day for pajamas, big guy?" 
With that, he slipped inside turning in time to catch Kuno's
glare through the glass.
     
     The rest of the morning went fairly routinely, except for
the commotion taking place out front of the school.  Jeff didn't
get too good a look at what was going on but concluded that there
must have been a dandy rumble between rival gangs to create such
a stir.  He filed away for future reference a warning to be
careful of high school gangs.
     Jeff found himself in the same class as his earlier nemesis,
Tatewaki Kuno, who spent the entire day glaring at him, and a
particularly fetching young lady named Nabiki Tendo.  Their eyes
met only once all day.  Actually, they didn't meet, Jeff smiled
and the lady looked right through him.  
     <Oh well, so much for homeroom romances.>  Jeff thought as
he returned to his  English' book.

     "Is that the new student?" Sayuri whispered to her two
compatriots.  She and her friends watched as Jeff Lawrence
slipped quietly into the class room.  He selected a fairly
neutral desk away from the windows and flashed a friendly grin
their direction.
     "Hmmm. Not bad for a gaijin." Yuka remarked as she swept her
long hair clear of one ear.  "Think he's wealthy?"
     "Aren't all Americans?" chided Sayuri with a giggle.
     Nabiki, in her characteristic pose; seated at her desk, her
head supported on her hand, eyed the stranger critically through
half open eyes. "In any case, I think he deserves a checkout." 
<Who knows?  He might have enough money to be of interest.>

     Jeff quickly discovered that in Japan, if you weren't
Japanese, you didn't fit in; gaijin again.  Lunch was
particularly unpleasant.  No one would allow him to join them,
not even the girls.  Especially, the girls.  They would look at
him with blank expressions, then break into giggly conversation,
obviously, at his expense.  
     Jeff wound up balancing on a curb while he ate.  Still, he
was able to catch some of the school gossip by eavesdropping on
the various conversations that surrounded him.  The most common
theme was about how Kuno jumped out of a third floor window
yesterday chasing some character that got too close to his girl. 
Jeff made another mental note to find out who this chick was and
avoid her like the plague.  The last thing he needed was a stick
wielding wacko chasing him out of an upper floor window for
saying  hi' to the wrong girl.
     
     The rest of the day went quietly, or at least sufferably. 
Still, this was quite different than he imagined.  He had made no
friends or even acquaintances.  The teachers were cold and
remote; certainly nothing like the embassy teachers he was used
to.  Jeff was beginning to have second thoughts about this whole
Japanese public school thing when he made a major breakthrough. 
Another student, judging by his attire an equal  outsider',
actually said 'hi' to him.  What's more, they even enjoyed a
short conversation.  True, it centered around 'baka' Kuno, but
under the circumstances, any conversation was worth it's weight
in gold.  Much to Jeff's dismay, just after the two went their
separate ways, he discovered that he forgot to find out just who
he was talking to.  
     <Great.> Jeff chastised himself.  <First I almost get my
head wacked off by the local stick wielding head case and now I
can't identify the only person who was willing to talk to me. 
Not good, Jeffrey.  Not good.>  At least he didn't run into Kuno
a second time.  One encounter with Mr. Blue Thunder was enough
for the first day.

     Arriving home Jeff dropped his book bag on the hall chair
and slipped into the kitchen to see what was available, his lunch
having been abbreviated by the length of his search for a place
to sit.
     "How was school, dear"  His mother asked while reviewing the
guest list for some embassy function.
     "Well..... I didn't get killed, I understood most of what
was said, and I failed to connect with any of the girls in my
class.  All things considered, it was a wash."  Jeff snuck a few
cookies from the cookie jar to go with his glass of milk.
     "That's nice dear."  his mom droned.  She was so out of it
when it came to his activities.  Not that she was a bad mother or
anything.  It's just that she was constantly being asked to
assume more and more of the day-to-day operations of the embassy
to the point where she was running almost as hard as dad was
trying to keep up.
     "Where's dad?" Jeff asked, certain he wasn't going to like
the answer.
     "Somewhere down in Kure, dear.  Something to do with a
cultural exchange.  He'll be back by Friday."
     <Great.  Just when I want to talk to the old man, he skips
town.>  Jeff thought as he swallowed the last cookie.
     "I'm goin to practice now, mom.  I'll be back by 10"
     "Have fun dear."  Jeff wondered just how much she actually
heard.  With an audible sigh, Jeff went up to his room to change. 
He didn't want to be late to his kempo practice.  Sensi Tendo
would be particularly hard on him if he was late.  Not that he
ever let Jeff coast through practice anyway.
     The embassy security office had picked the Tendo school;
they did that only after carefully checking for the safety of the
dependents.  Kids hobbies were encouraged to give them a sense of
continuity, making their relocation easier.  Jeff was simply
another dependent with a hobby.
     Strange, how Jeff never made the connection between Nabiki
Tendo and the Tendo Martial Arts Dojo.  Especially, since she
lived on the grounds of the dojo itself.  Perhaps it was because
Tendo was a common clan name, like  Smith' in the U.S. and he
never actually saw any members of the family while at the dojo.   
   Jeff had been coming to the Tendo Dojo three times a week,
for almost 5 years and only encountered one other member of the
Tendo family, a little dark haired stick of dynamite called
Akane.  Jeff rubbed the spot on his chest when he remembered how
almost a year ago he asked the lovely young Akane to go out for a
soda or something after practice and she kicked him across the
room.  After that, she never worked out the same times as Jeff. 
Much to his relief.

     Nabiki called her usual sources of information and was most
disappointed in the results.  
     "What do you mean, you can't find anything on him?" Nabiki
shouted incredulously into the phone.  "That's impossible! 
Everyone has a financial trail."
     "My feet are not big!"  came Akane's voice from her room
down the hall.
     "Well, they're big for a girl."
     The sound of Ranma arguing with Akane barely distracted
Nabiki any more.  But the sounds of a growing fight in Akane's
room was not helping her disposition. 
     The voice at the other end of the line confirmed that they
were unable to find anything on Jeff Lawrence.  His father, yes,
but nothing on Jeff himself.
     Nabiki hung up the phone totally confused. <Impossible!> she
repeated to herself several times. <Why would there be no record
of Jeff Lawrence?  EVERY ONE has a record.>
     "Nabiki-chan, if you're done with the phone, could I borrow
it for a moment?" Akane asked as she stepped out of her room.
     "Yeah, sure.  Go ahead."
     "Thanks."  Akane took the phone from her sister and
disappeared back into her room.
     <He could be ultra rich.> Nabiki thought to her self.  The
idea gave her a warm, satisfied feeling.  Above all else, she
wanted to be rich.  Sure, she valued his looks and personality
too, but his net worth or potential worth were clearly the
deciding factor.  She had contacts in all the financial
institutions in Japan that could dig out a boy's net worth in a
matter of minutes or project his potential earnings in a few
more.  This was the first time she failed on all counts.  <Baka!>
she chided herself. <If he were that wealthy, there would be some
trace!  Wouldn't there?>  Nabiki carefully ran through her
sources in her mind and found no immediate gaps.  <This is going
to take more work.> she thought.
     Nabiki went down stairs to the sounds of someone being
beaten with a phone.

     As usual, Sensi Tendo worked Jeff to the breaking point. 
Uncanny, how the guy knew just how far he could push a student
before letting up.  This evening there was another man in the
dojo the same age as Sensi Tendo.  All evening long, he just sat
on his heels in the corner of the room watching Jeff's every
move.  Jeff didn't especially like being watched, it made him
nervous and this guy made him exceptionally nervous.  He had all
the air of a master of the arts, and looked the part too.  Big
and burly, with little wire rimmed glassed secured to his face
with, what looked like, rubber bands.  For three hours, he never
moved as Jeff went through drill after drill.  Not even the sound
of someone being thrown out of a second floor window at the
residence had the slightest affect on him.  
     At the end of the evening, Jeff made sure to acknowledge the
other man's presence by bowing politely before leaving.  To
Jeff's relief, the man responded from his kneeling position.
     "A moment Jeff-san,"  Tendo-sensi said looking at the other
man.  "I want to introduce you to an old friend of mine, Genma
Saotome."
     Jeff bowed respectfully and added: "The honor is mine,
sensi."
     For the first time he spoke.  "How do you know I am a
teacher of martial arts?"
     Jeff smiled slightly.  Personal observation had long been a
strong suit of his.  Often he could pick out the most important
person at an embassy affair or meeting by simply watching them. 
His father said it was valuable gift that would serve him will in
the diplomatic corps (not that he ever really wanted anything to
do with the diplomatic corps).  He could also detect weaknesses
in opponents whether on the athletic field or in a poker game and
often used it to his advantage.  He couldn't explain how he did
it, he just knew.
     "Your kai, sensi" Jeff answered quietly.  "You have an aura
of complete control of your environment.  Ichi masu, the first
law, ne?"
     Jeff instinctively quoted something he had learned from 
Sensi Sato in England.  He almost regretted having said it when
he noticed the looks Saotome and Tendo exchanged.  
     "You quote a venerable book, young one." Mr. Saotome said
with a hard look.
     Mr. Tendo chuckled lightly causing Mr. Saotome to shoot him
a questioning look. "Perhaps I should explain.  Lawrence-san was
trained in England by a venerable shinobi clan master, Massaki
Sato.  His form of fighting is from the ninjutsu school."  Mr
Tendo smiled broadly at Jeff. "But I have been teaching him
traditional kempo."
     "Perhaps you are inventing a new form of fighting." Mr
Saotome said nodding in agreement. "One that combines the
subtleties of ninjutsu with the power of kempo."
     "All it's ever given me is the ability to make a few
shillings playing darts in a pub." Jeff sniffed, becoming more
uncomfortable with every passing moment.
     The two nodded knowingly.  It would follow Jeff would be
skilled at throwing shuriken, darts or stars.
     
     Actually, Jeff had much more.  Part of his ability to detect
emotions allowed him to sense danger and his mind was positively
screaming warnings now.  As Mr. Saotome's eyes once again fixed
on the young American, Jeff got the uncomfortable feeling that he
was about to be tested beyond anything previously experienced.
     Like a cat, Mr. Saotome sprung at the young student, a sharp
cry announcing the fingers of his right hand aimed for a most
vulnerable area, Jeff's throat.  Without thinking, Jeff dropped,
shifted his weight, and using his opponents momentum against him,
whipped the older man across the room as easily as if he were a
rag doll.  Mr. Saotome rolled upon landing and immediately
launched a flying kick at Jeff's head.  Jeff, assuming a typical
ninjutsu fighting pose, had expected such a follow up but not
this fast.  It had been so long that he had forgotten just how
fast things happen in a real fight.  This time, he waited too
long.  The first blow caused him to see stars.  The second sent
him spinning across the dojo, ending flat on his back near the
open door.
     <Well, *that* was stupid!> Jeff thought as his vision
cleared.  <Next time, just stick your face out and let him wack
it off on the first pass.  At least you won't get your hopes up.>
     Apparently, Mr. Saotome wasn't finished with Jeff.  
     "Whoh, Jesus!!" Jeff muttered as he rolled out of the way 
of a follow up attack, aimed at the spot where Jeff was laying.
As fights go, he was clearly on the defensive and running for his
life.  
     <How does he move so fast?> Jeff's mind was rapidly slipping
into disorganized panic.  It was then he remembered Mr. Sato's
words:  Fear and panic are a shadow warrior's greatest allies and
his worst enemies.  Control them and you will win.'  Two more
attacks and Jeff was able to escape to another corner of the
room.  But it was no refuge.  Without hesitation, Mr. Saotome
launched another flurry of attacks.  Again, Jeff almost waited
too long.  Then it happened.  
     Shinobi were renowned for their ability to displace time and
space for just an instant to give them the edge they needed in a
fight.  Jeff had never been able to even come close to such an
advanced technique.  Somehow, this time he got it right.  In the
blink of an eye, Jeff suddenly appeared a few feet to the left of
where he had been standing.  Mr Saotome, startled by the sudden
displacement of his opponent, missed badly.  Jeff just twisted
away and applied a vicious kick to the posterior of the, now out
of control, Saotome as he passed by.  The older man bounced
through the open door and over the balcony, landing with a
tremendous splash in the koi pond.
     "I believe that is enough for tonight, young warrior" 
Tendo-sensi quietly intoned.  "Mr. Saotome was suitably
impressed, I'm sure" and added with a smile "and so am I."
     Jeff, still gasping for breath, bowed deeply to his sensi,
thanked him and bid good night.  Silently, he gave a prayer of
thanks for coming away with his life.
     As he packed his things, he thought back to old Mr Sato in
England.  He remembered how the man could simply 'appear', as if
out of nowhere.  Maybe the old man really was a master of the
ancient arts.  Maybe he was telling the truth about the ancient
shinobi clans.  Maybe there was something to all the American
Ninja talk.  
     "Ninja's," Jeff spit out the word. "Another Hollywood
invention. Good grief." 
     Jeff's fondly recalled his sessions with Master Sato.  He
never knew why, exactly, that he wound up being taught by such a
strange little old man.  He knew the embassy had something to do
with it; only schools trusted by the embassy security office
could teach American dependents.  Whatever the case, Jeff was
totally unprepared for what he was to undergo.  Quickly, and
sometimes brutally, his childhood was stripped from him.  In five
years he was subjected to rigorous training sessions with Master
Sato, usually followed by long tales from ancient Japan.  Most
were interesting, some were boring, but all related a great deed
performed by an ancient shinobi master and contained some pearl
of wisdom.
     He especially remembered the last night in England when
Master Sato made him a member of his shinobi clan, not a shadow
warrior (he was clearly not ready for that), but a member of the
old man's noble family.  It was like being adopted.  Jeff still
wore the clan symbol on a chain around his neck, an honor he
never sought nor felt qualified to hold.  Nevertheless, it was
something he was determined never to disgrace.
     In spite of all this, Jeff still harbored reservations.  He
knew of all the Western stories about ninjas, how they were night
stalkers and assassins.  Hollywood never treated the shinobi
warriors with much respect, but then they never seemed to treat
anyone with much respect.
     "Not me." he repeated out loud. "I may be a lot of things,
but a midnight assassin is not one of them."  Pulling out a 4
inch long shuriken shaped like a common pencil from his bag, he
twirled it with his finger tips as he looked around the dojo.  He
especially liked the shuriken.  He used to practice for hours
throwing from different positions, inventing little games to
amuse himself, until his aim was deadly.  
     His eye caught on a white paper fan mounted on one of the
dojo's vertical beams about 20 feet away.  In the middle of the
fan was a simple red rising sun.  Jeff smiled slightly.  With
practiced skill, he dropped to one knee and flung his projectile
at the target.  Almost faster than the eye could follow, the
deadly metal object flew straight and true imbedding itself in
the exact center of the red dot.  <Still got it.> he thought to
himself with a satisfied grin. <I wonder if there are any pubs
around.>
     With a satisfied grunt, Jeff slung his bag over his shoulder
and sauntered towards the main gate.  He hadn't gone far when a
movement near the front of the Tendo residence caught his eye. 
It was dark and there were many shadows, but he could have sworn
he saw a large black and white animal crawl over the porch and
into the house.
     <Man, these people have some weird pets> he thought as he
exited the main gate.

     When Jeff got home, he found his mother waiting up for him
along with a man Jeff recognized as an embassy legal counsel. 
Dropping his bag on the hall chair, he walked warily into the
living room.
     "Jeff, dear," his mother said quietly. "This is Mr.
Wollenberg from the embassy."  She indicated the distinguished
looking man standing next to her.
     "Something wrong?" Jeff asked trying to appear calm and
unconcerned.
     "Nothing's wrong, young man." The lawyer replied. "In fact,
you might be pleased with my visit.  Won't you sit down?"
     The lawyer occupied a large chair across from the sofa where
Jeff and his mother nervously sat, waiting.  He dug through his
brief case for a few moments before producing a large file of
papers, many with official looking seals.  Adjusting his glasses
he looked at the Lawrences and smiled.  Jeff never liked it when
a lawyer smiled.  This one made him more nervous than Mr.
Saotome.
     "I have here the final will and testament of Ronald and Ruth
Lawrence." He said looking through the pages for something.
     "Your grandparents, dear." Jeff's mom added, a hand on her
son's arm.  "They died ten years ago when you were very little."
     "Dad's parents, right?" Jeff asked.  He didn't really
remember much about them other than they were nice to him when
they visited and always brought him nice presents.
     Mrs. Lawrence nodded and smiled.
     "I won't bore you with all the legal mumbo-jumbo," the
lawyer began.  "In accordance with the provisions of the will,
Mr. Jeffrey Lawrence will assume control of all the assets,
investments, and holdings of the estate of Ronald and Ruth
Lawrence on his 18th birthday; some 8 months hence."
     Jeff sat stunned.  Jeff frantically searched for a reason
why *he* would receive such a windfall and not his father.  "Why
me?" he asked.
     "I can answer that." his mom replied.  "Your father's
parents never understood his refusal to join them in the family
business." she paused with a soft sigh. "They always had hopes
that you would.  I guess they saw it as an obligation."  She
smiled at him again.
     "Everything you have been through since you were 5 years old
has been at their direction.  The schooling you received, the
trips you took,..."
     "Even Sensi Sato?"
     "Especially Sensi Sato.  You were the repayment of a very
great debt Mr. Sato's family owed your grandfather."
     Jeff listened carefully as his mother told him the story of
how his grandfather had befriended Mr. Sato's village just after
the war, providing them with food, medicine and help rebuilding
and planting the next rice crop.  He was especially interested in
how his grandfather kept Mr. Sato, a former Japanese Army
officer, out of jail.  Jeff genuinely liked Mr. Sato and found it
hard to accept that his government would try to prosecute someone
who was just doing his duty in a war.  Naturally, all this
carried a heavy price in Japanese obligated reciprocality.  His
grandfather knew of Mr. Sato's shinobi clan position and named
only the teaching of one of his offspring the way of the shadow
warrior as repayment. As Jeff's father, an only child himself,
had no interest in such things, Jeff became the logical choice. 
Mr. Sato even came all the way to England to fulfill his
obligation and went one step further, making Jeff a member of his
own clan; an honor unheard of for a  gaijin'. 
     For a few minutes, only the ticking of a hallway grandfather
clock broke the silence.
     "How much are we talking, here?" Jeff finally asked.
     The lawyer flipped through a few other pages before
answering.  "Oh...It's hard to say exactly.  Certainly in the
hundreds of millions of dollars.  I can get a more exact
accounting for you if you wish?"
     <Hundreds of millions?> Jeff thought.  "Mom, this could all
become...difficult for me.  If word of this were to get out..."
he paused searching for the right words.
     "I know, honey." she said resting her hand on his. "We tried
to talk you out of this Japanese high school thing of yours.  We
know you only did it to meet girls your own age.  Perhaps, its
not too late to enroll in a nice international high school.  At
least there you'll meet nice young girls who aren't Japanese or
who are Japanese and have traveled abroad enough that they have
adopted Western values."
     "I hate to quit just yet." Jeff said looking at the floor. 
"I mean, today I actually made a friend (I think)."
     "Well, we'll let it go until semester.  If you aren't making
any progress by then, we'll transfer you to St. Mary's or
American International or something."
     "As for word of all this getting out," the lawyer said. "Not
to worry, young man.  Everything is currently listed by proxy;
sort of a blind trust.  Until you turn 18, the only way anyone
could find out would be to see the will itself."  He smiled. 
"And I have ways of preventing that."
     Jeff didn't remember much of the rest of the meeting.  He
was lost in his own thoughts.  <What if I *should* meet a girl? 
What if she finds out about my inheritance?  I wouldn't want to
marry anyone under those conditions.  How would I know if she was
marrying me because she loved me or was just trying to get hold
of the money?  Maybe, I'll just give up the idea of meeting Miss
Right for now and wait for college.>
     Jeff didn't sleep well that night, his mind was working
overtime.  He had to be careful from now on.  The lawyer would do
his job and the inheritance would be safely shielded from prying
eyes but Jeff would have to be on his toes.  One slip and the
word would get out.  He has to continue looking like a poor son
of a embassy staff member.  Otherwise, he could kiss goodbye any
chance of finding a girl who loved him for himself.

     The next day at school, Jeff missed the commotion out front
again.  He was quietly reading in the hall, twirling a pencil in
his fingers; one minute surrounded by hundreds of milling
students and the next he was totally alone as everyone had
gathered at the windows to watch the front lawn activities.  By
the time Jeff pushed his way through the crowd at a window, all
he saw were a bunch of beat up students in various athletic garb
being assisted by their fellow students.  <Hit and run gang
attack? >
     He listened to the conversations but couldn't make heads or
tails of them.
     "They were just mowed down." one girl said.
     "You'd think they'd have learned by now." another replied.
     "Those guys are going about this the wrong way." offered one
fellow.
     "More coordination, that's the ticket." his companion
answered.
     None of this made any sense to Jeff and he was left further
in the dark than before.
     Noon found Jeff facing the usual problem of where to sit for
lunch.  The boys shooed him away from their tables and the girls
went through their usual giggling act.  At the farthest table, a
lone figure sat alone hunkered over.  He looked familiar.  <The
guy is wearing the same clothes as yesterday!> Jeff happily
thought as he wound his way through the crowd.
     
     "Hey, stranger.  Mind if I joined you?"  Jeff asked with a
smile.
     The stranger lifted his eyes slowly.  "Why not?"  he
responded shifting his position slightly.
     Jeff sat down and began eating quietly.  "By the way, I
forgot to introduce myself yesterday, my name is Jeff Lawrence."  
Jeff extended his hand across the table to his new friend.
     The stranger, eyeing Jeff's tray, avoided the handshake but
gave his name.  "Ranma Saotome"
     "Saotome?"  Jeff said shyly withdrawing his had.  "Are you
related to Genma Saotome, by any chance?"
     "Ahhh, yeah.  How do you know my dad?"  came the almost
embarrassed response.
     "I met him at the Tendo Dojo last night.  He was watching me
work out with Sensi Tendo."  A small smile crossed Ranma's face.
     "How long have you been studying with Sensi Tendo?"  From
the looks it was getting, he was more interested in Jeff's tray
than in Jeff.
     "A little over five years.  Before that I studied under a
Master Sato in England.  Strange little man.  His teaching
techniques were totally different than those of Sensi Tendo."
     "Sensi Tendo is a fine teacher.  You will learn much from
him."  Ranma went back to idly tracing lines on the table, all
the while sneaking glances at Jeff's tray of food.
     "Your father was most interesting teacher as well.  He put
me through an exercise after my three hour workout that stressed
my skills to the max."
     "Yeah, he a way of doing that." he sighed. "How'd it turn
out?"
     "He wound up in the koi pond"  Jeff added biting into a
small rice ball.
     Ranma snickered slightly, linked his hands behind his head,
leaned back and muttered: "So *that's* what happened.  I thought
he'd been drinking again."
     "I hope he's all right."  Jeff added with genuine concern in
his voice.
     "Don't worry about him.  I've dunked him hundreds of times. 
He seems to enjoy it."  Ranma chuckled.
     "Odd thing though"  Jeff added, picking out the bits of pork
from his entre.  "The Tendo's certainly have some strange pets."
     "What makes you say that?"
     "I thought I saw a large panda climb into the house as I was
leaving."
     Ranma just grinned broadly.  "He sure is."
     "Huh?"
     "Never mind."
     Jeff offered him some of his lunch, saying that he always
took more than he could eat (an American weakness, he suggested). 
Ranma quickly finished the noodles and chugged the can of soda
before Jeff could pick up his chop sticks again.  All things
considered, it was turning out to be the kind of day Jeff had
envisioned when he first enrolled at Furinkan High School.  He
might go hungry but felt confident he had broken through the
'gaijin' barrier.
     Jeff almost blew it with the next line of conversation.
     "By the way, I heard a rumor about you being engaged to some
girl."
     Ranma's face clearly showed despair.  "It's not my fault. 
My father arranged my engagement to that...that...uncute,
unfeminine, baka tomboy!"
     "Bummer."  Was all Jeff could add.
     "What's worse, every morning before school, she fights half
the male student body and that fool Kuno for the honor of a
date."
     "I've only been in Japan for a few years, but is that, like, 
normal?  For an engaged girl, I mean."
     "Only for her."
     "And this happens every morning?"
     "EVERY morning!"
     <So *that's* what's been going on every morning.>  "Don't
you help her?  You're her fianc‚."
     "Hah!  If I try, she goes after me as well.  And *I* don't
even want to date her!"
     "Well, you're engaged to her.  That kind of goes with the
territory.  Maybe she just gets excited."
     "She's crazy, baka, always looking for ways to hurt me."
     "Sounds like true love to me."
     "Not you to."  Ranma slammed his elbow on the table and
plopped a cheek onto his fist.
     "Well, at least you can get away from her after school."
     "No way.  We're living with her family."
     <Tilt.> Jeff thought, trying to imagine being engaged to a
girl and living in her house.  Such a situation was rife with
possibilities.
     "I hate it." Ranma moaned, slamming his forehead hard enough
on the table to attract the attention of nearby tables.
     Jeff watched, along with a couple dozen other students, as
Ranma banged his forehead hard enough to cause the table to
crack.
     "Ahhh, big test today." Jeff said with a sheepish grin to
those staring at Ranma repeatedly banging his head on the table.
     Most just gave knowing smiles before returning to their own
lunches.
     "So she beats up dozens of guys every morning, right out
front." Jeff said trying to change the subject; if only to save
the table.
     "I told you..."  Ranma said, interrupting his head banging.
     *This* I gotta see."
     "Tomorrow morning.  8:15.  Just don't get too close."