Happy, happy, happy!!!!  The list is back!!!

I have been busy while waiting.  I've written two chapters of my fanfic
and now I'll get a buncha you to read it!!!!.  Yeah!  Thanks to RPM, Chi
and Katrina for reading them during the downtime.

Well here goes:

Sins of the Father
Chapter Six
Back in Nerima
or
Time for Dinner


The three teenagers sat lost in their thoughts for the last part of the
ride back to Nerima.  Suteko’s revelations about her mother had touched
a cord with her two companions.  Each now thought back on the times
spent with their own mothers.  Akane’s memories were a little fuzzy due
to the time since her mother had died.  She remembered many good things
and was secretly glad that she didn’t have to deal with the type of
personality change that Suteko was dealing with.  How a family could
treat a young girl the way they had was beyond her.  In her entire life,
she had always been a cherished child.  She may have been misunderstood
because of her focus on the martial arts, but she was always loved.  To
be ignored at a family gathering must have been very painful.  She could
now understand some of the pain she had seen in Suteko’s eyes when she
had asked about their families.  Akane looked at Ranma from under
lowered lashes.  She didn’t want him to catch her studying him.  He
always reacted badly.  Right now, his face looked thoughtful, something
Akane didn’t often see.  Hearing him reminisce about his mother showed
Akane a side of him she rarely saw.  She knew that he missed his mother
and she wondered just when was the last time he had seen her.

She understood that there was some reason that he and Mr. Saotome
couldn’t go back home, but she had yet to get that out of Ranma.  “Have
to work on that,” she thought.  Maybe having Suteko around would help.

		****************************************

Ranma sat and thought about his family.  Having a sister was just too
new a concept to truly seep into his thoughts.  After their talk about
her mother, Ranma’s thoughts turned to his own.  It had been too long
since he had even talked to his mom on the phone.  He hadn’t even
written her a letter.  It was one of the things that he held his father
responsible for.  “If Pop hadn’t made that oath to Mom about raising me
to be a Manly man, I wouldn’t be in the situation I’m in.”  Ranma longed
to call her up and tell her about his curse, Akane, and his life in
general.  Surely his mother could help him resolve his feelings about
the girls surrounding his life.  He knew that he should make a choice
but he didn’t know who he wanted and he didn’t wish to hurt anyone.  But
thanks to Pop’s little training mission in China, and a slip, made it
impossible.  The more he thought about his mother, the more he hoped
that Suteko would knock sense into his father in the morning.

“Just how good is this girl?”  Ranma took a quick look at his sister. 
She didn’t notice, staring out the window at the rain.  She was
certainly quick.  He thought back to the morning and had to admit that
Genma was a bit slow.  But then he remembered her reaction at the
airport when he had come up on her unnoticed.  His reflexes were fast
enough to dodge the staff but also she had seemed to control the strike
at the last moment.  It would be interesting to spar with her.  Maybe.

He sat in thought, debating internally until they were almost to their
destination.  “Well, why not?  The worst she can do is turn me down.” 
He turned to Suteko and opened his mouth to speak.  “Suteko?”

		***************************************

Deep in thoughts of the past, Suteko at first didn’t hear her name.  She
pulled herself back to the present.  With a weak smile she turned to
face Ranma.  “Hmm, what?”

“Suteko, I was thinking.  Have you had time to practice, yet?”

For a few minutes Suteko was confused.  Practice what?  Then she shook
her head.  Ranma must mean the art.  That was his focus in life, if what
she had learned today was true.  “Been traveling all afternoon,
remember?”

Ranma just smiled.  “Yep, I just thought that you might like to have
someone to spar with.  You know --practice.”

Suteko was confused.  Practice?  “Ranma, I don’t think we should.  At
least not until after tomorrow.”

Akane joined the conversation.  “I agree with you, Suteko.”  Ranma
looked quickly from his sister to his fiancée.  Akane continued.  “It
could be taken wrong.  If someone saw you two sparing they might think
you were giving her training in your father’s techniques.  In an honor
battle, that could cause problems.”

Ranma sighed.  “That’s true.”  He thought fiercely for a minute.   He
really wanted to see his sister in action.  “What if I didn’t spar with
you but just watched you workout?”

She thought about that.  Would there be a problem with that?  Other than
the fact that she didn’t have a place to workout.  “Ranma, I’m sure
there would be no problem but I’m not sure it will be possible.  I don’t
have a place to workout.  I doubt Ukyo would appreciate me using her
spare room to practice staff work in and I don’t know the area at all.”

Akane thought of suggesting she use the dojo but that wouldn’t be good
either.  Then she thought of the field that was halfway between the dojo
and Ukyo’s place.  It was close to where the bus would be dropping them
off.  She mentioned it and Ranma grabbed at the idea.  That was
perfect.  Suteko looked a little doubtful but she did need a workout. 
She was stiff from all the sitting and wanted to stretch out.  She made
sure to get directions from Akane before the bus reached it’s
destination.

As they got off the bus Suteko was glad to see that the rain had
stopped.  She didn’t need to get wet and deal with the transformation
being wet caused.  There were puddles of course but traffic seemed light
at the time so she turned to bid her brother and Akane good-bye.  As the
bus pulled away they said their good-byes and set up a time to meet
later.  As luck would have it a car sped by, hitting the puddle square
and sending a sheet of water arcing over the three teenagers.  As the
water settled on the ground, Akane laughed.  Suteko and Ranma had the
exact same expression on their now opposite faces.  Suteko was right,
she did look like Ranma.  Just like Ranma with yellow hair, like an
American version of her fiancé.

Ranma looked at his sister and she looked back at him.  The disgust that
he knew was on his face, was mirrored on hers.  “I hate this!”  They
mumbled in unison.  Akane smirked but she quickly went to a nearby tea
shop and returned with enough hot water to transform the siblings back
to their natural forms.

			*************************************

Suteko reached Ucchan’s without further mishap and went inside.  The
dinner rush was just starting, so Ukyo just gestured behind her and
Suteko eased behind the counter and up the stairs.  The rooms at the top
of the stairs were small but neatly furnished.  One of the rooms was
obviously Ukyo’s bedroom.  She could see a photo of Ranma on the bedside
table.  She shut the door and went on to the spare room.  It was
half-filled with boxes.  Stores for the restaurant below.  There was a
futon under the window with a small table next to it.  Suteko sat down
on the futon and went through her pack.  She pulled out her bath kit and
a clean set of jeans and a t-shirt.  She hoped Ukyo wouldn’t mind her
using the bath this early in the evening.  She really needed one.

She tried the door across from Ukyo’s bedroom and found a typical
Japanese bath.  Spending time in Asia had gotten her used to the
difference in the bathing customs.  In America, you usually just took a
hot shower and you were done.  Taking a cold shower was definitely not
her favorite change, but soaking in a large hot bath was one of her true
pleasures.  When she returned to America, she planned on taking some of
her inheritance from Uncle Tanto and putting in a large tub for soaking
in her private bathroom.  After  half an hour, she climbed back down the
stairs dressed and sat at the counter.  When Ukyo had a minute, she came
over to speak with Suteko.  “Got everything?”

“Yep.”

“You hungry?”

Suteko smiled.  “Another one of your specials would hit the spot.”  Ukyo
nodded and poured out the batter.  Suteko decided to tell Ukyo about her
afternoon.   “I ran into Ranma and Akane this afternoon.”

Ukyo stopped what she was doing for a moment.  “And...?”

“We had a good talk on the bus ride.  He seems to be a good kid.”

Ukyo let out the breath she didn’t realize she was holding.  That could
have been real awkward.  Ranma had been with his father a long time.  If
he had decided that Suteko was a threat, he could have caused problems. 
No matter how good this girl was, Ukyo doubted that she was as good as
Ran-chan.  Though, she was an unknown.  No one truly knew her fighting
style.  Ukyo liked her but, in a fight she, would still root for Ranma. 
“So, whatch’a talk about?”  Ukyo asked as she turned back to the cooking
batter in front of her.  She quickly flipped in pancake over and waited
a amount before sliding it onto a plate and placing it in front of
Suteko.

“Mostly about family.  Learning a little about each other.”  She took a
large bite and held up a thumb in the universal sign for approval. 
After she swallowed she added, “Plus, I got his side on the fiancée
thing.”  She looked at Ukyo with a sly smile.

“Oh, really?”  Ukyo was curious.  Ukyo, like the other girls, never
really stopped to ask  Ranma what he thought of the whole situation. 
They each knew instinctively that they had the story right, even when
they didn’t.  Out of curiosity, Ukyo asked Suteko to tell her what she
learned.

“Much of what you told me with extra information thrown in by Akane.  A
very interesting story it was.”  Ukyo thought of asking more but could
tell by Suteko’s face that she wasn’t going to say anymore.

Ukyo decided to give up and asked something else.  “What’s your plan for
tonight?”  

“Ranma told me of a place nearby where I could practice.  Been too busy
lately and I could really use the workout.”

“When you going?”

“Thought I’d clean some of your dishes and then go out around eight. 
Should still have about an hour of light.”

“You don’t have to...”

“That’s okay, Ukyo.  I always pay my way and you look like you could use
some help here.”  As she said that, the rush started again.  Ukyo turned
away to deal with the customers.  Suteko picked up her plate and went
behind the counter and entered the kitchen.  She grabbed up an apron and
started in on the dishes.


		************************************

An hour and a half later she put the final dish she had washed on the
shelf and took off the apron.  She walked out of the kitchen and saw
that Ukyo was cleaning off the grill.  She noticed that the place was
empty and the sign had been changed to closed on the door.  “Closing for
the evening?” she asked, a little surprised.

Ukyo nodded.  “I thought I’d join you.  I haven’t had a chance to
practice in a while, either.  Thought you might like some company.”

Suteko smiled.  “Sure, the more the merrier.”

“What?”

“Ranma and Akane are supposed to meet me at this open field by the bus
stop.”

“I know the place.”

“Good.”  Suteko eased around the counter.  “Why don’t you finish up here
and meet me later?”  Ukyo nodded and kept up her work.

		**************************************

Suteko walked briskly, glad to be moving and a little glad to be alone. 
It was nice to have company, but she was used to being alone.  When Ukyo
volunteered to come along Suteko wasn’t sure how to respond.  First
Ranma and Akane and then Ukyo.  In one day, she went from being totally
alone to an abundance of attention.  It wouldn’t do in her warm up.  She
always spent a few minutes mediating before beginning her exercises and
new people would just throw off her attention.

She quickly reached the field and was pleased to see it was empty.  At
home, a field this size would have had a ton of kids with bats and balls
out playing a pick up game.  She walked across to a lone tree near the
back fence and sat down in a lotus.  Easing into a light trance, she let
the images of the day slide across her mind and out.  Within moments,
she was grounded and centered.  She stood up slowly and flowed into the
first kata of her warm up.  Though not traditionally taught at her home
dojo, her Uncle Tanto had decided that Suteko should learn Tai Chi
Chuang from an old friend of his, Master Wing.  The gentle flowing
motions of the art had at first seemed strange to her, but after years
of study, she found that they were the best warm up she could have.  The
art was a defensive one, different from the attack staff work she had
trained in.  Uncle Tanto had realized that she had been training
exclusively in a weapon system and had no skills for unarmed combat. 
Now, she could defend herself but she was a far cry from being able to
master unarmed combat.  If he had lived, this past year would have been
used to train her in the unarmed style he had developed.  She was lucky
that she had learned the defensive work she had.  Mother had been
furious when she learned that Suteko was splitting her attention between
the family’s art and that of a man from China.  Her mother had become
very predijuced after her father had died.  That meeting Suteko told
Ranma of had changed her mother in many ways.  All bad.  The thoughts of
her mother was pulling her out of her focus, so she forced herself to
let them drop.

With a clear mind, she finished her warm up and then started over again,
this time bringing the speed up a notch.  Her speed was a bit slow, in
her way of thinking.  She should have reacted faster when Ranma had
walked up at the airport.  She didn’t realize that her speed was the
same as she had always had.  Her brother was just that much faster than
she was.

			***************************************

Ranma and Akane reached home just as Kasumi was laying the food on the
table.  They moved quickly to their places, making sure to get some food
before Genma ate it all.  There was just the sound of voracious eating
for a few minutes as the family devoured the delicious food.  Nabiki was
the first to speak up and ask Ranma about their afternoon.

“So Ranma, what’s this about you spending the afternoon with that girl?”

Ranma swallowed quickly and responded.  “She found us and wanted to
talk.”  He wasn’t sure what Nabiki was up to but he didn’t think there
was any way she could make money off this.

“Well boy, what you learn?  What are her plans?”

Ranma reached over and bopped his father on the head.  “I ain’t going to
tell you that, old man.  Wouldn’t be fair!”

“He’s right there, Tendo.  The girl challenged you.”  Akane’s father
started to pontificate.  The others just ignored him.

“But Ranma, my boy.  The most important concept a martial artist should
learn is to be prepared.  How can I be prepared if I don’t know anything
about my opponent.”

Ranma ignored him to steal the last pickle off his plate.  Genma didn’t
notice at first but when he did he roared and leapt up to attack Ranma. 
Ranma bounced back and they were off.  Genma chased him around the back
yard until one of them ended up in the pond.  It was Genma, this time. 
Ranma laughed and bounced up to the wall.  “Well, good-bye, old man.  I
got to meet Suteko now!”

Genma held up a sign that said, “Come back here, Ranma!”

Ranma just bounced off.  Akane jumped up to follow but she felt Nabiki’s
hand on her arm.  “Time to spill, little sister.”

Akane looked at her older sister.  “What do you mean, Nabiki?”

Nabiki pulled Akane away from the table and into the livingroom. 
“What’d you and Ranma learn about this sister of his?  Is she going to
be a problem?  We don’t need another character coming in here at all
hours, tearing down our walls.”

Akane sighed.  She had planned on following Ranma but it looked like she
wouldn’t get to.  “We mostly talked about family, Nabiki.  She wanted to
know about our mothers and stuff like that.  I don’t think she’ll be
much of a problem.  She really just wants to finish up her business with
Genma and go home.”

Nabiki lifted a brow, “Really, little sister.  Do you believe that?”

“She seemed to be very nice.  Just tired of traveling.”

Nabiki looked thoughtful for a moment.  It seemed strange to have
someone come here who wasn’t after Ranma or Akane.  “Well,....” she
continue to ponder and talk to Akane for the rest of the evening.  There
had to be some way of making a little money out of the situation.

		****************************
Ranma ran lightly along the fence toward the field he had told Suteko
about.  His father’s need to have inside information really ticked him
off.  Even if Ranma knew what Suteko had planned for Pop, he wouldn’t
tell him.  Suteko had impressed him with her honorable outlook on life,
her sense of humor and, as he thought about it, her ability to stop an
argument.  She had stopped the usual bickering between himself and Akane
at least three times he could think of.  “Could use her around more
often.  Save wear and tear on my skull.”

He slowed down as he neared the field.  He could just see Suteko’s head
and shoulders as she moved slowly through some exercises.  He quietly
hopped off the fence and leaned against it.  She was doing Katas at slow
speed and as he watched she sped them up.  Her speed was good but
nothing like his.  Her form was stiff at first but quickly relaxed and
flowed.  He hadn’t trained in Tai Chi but he recognized it when he saw
it.  He wondered just how far she had trained in it.

After a few minutes, she brought her hands together and took a deep
breath.  Ranma drew in his to greet her but before he could she smiled
and said, “Evening, brother.”  She opened her eyes.  “I heard you
arrive.”  She looked around.  “Akane decide to stay home?”

“Yeah, looks like Nabiki wanted to talk to her.”

“Nabiki?”

“Her next oldest sister.”

“Oh.”  She reached and pulled out her staff.  Twirling it she moved a
few steps away from Ranma before starting her katas.  “How many sisters
does she have?”

Ranma watched as Suteko spun the large staff around like it was a small
baton.  “She has two.  Nabiki, the middle sister and Kasumi.”

Suteko closed her eyes for a minute.  “Kasumi would be the girl I talked
to this morning.  Pretty, with long brown hair tied with a bow?”

“That’s her.  She’s really nice and a great cook.”  Suteko stepped to
the side and brought the staff sweeping down toward Ranma’s feet.  He
prepared to jump but didn’t when he saw that it would miss him by a
couple of inches.  Suteko spun about, working the staff up and over her
shoulders, then down to the ground.  It was like watching a dance.  She
would spin and tumble, leap and vault.  It looked easy, but Ranma
realized that the movements were a series of parries and attacks.  She
was one with her weapon.  Too bad they couldn’t spar.  It looked like it
would be invigorating to try and dodge the thrusts and sweeps.  After a
few minutes she brought the staff to a halt and smiled.  She had
loosened up finally and felt really good.

It was time to talk seriously to her brother.  “Ranma?”

“Hmmm?”

“Do you have any problem with me fighting your father?”

“Nope.”  He smiled.  “It’ll be good to have someone else beat on him a
little.”

“And if I win?”  She was uncertain here.  Ranma seemed really relaxed
but he had lived with Genma his whole life.  She didn’t want to be
challenged by her new found brother when she beat him.

Ranma looked serious for a moment and then smiled.  “No problem there. 
You aren’t goin to kill him, right?”

“I would never do that!”

“No problem then.”  Ranma smiled.  “But that isn’t all, is it?”

“No,” she looked close at his face.  “I have to give out his punishment
when I finish.  It won’t hurt him physically but...”

“But?”

“He’s going to have to admit his crime in front of those he cares about
and take responsibility.”

“How?  Admit that he’s your father, something like that?”

Suteko looked down.  “I’m not sure.  Mother wouldn’t tell me.”

“Your mother plans on being there, tomorrow?”

Suteko walked over to the tree she had started at and sat down.  She
patted the ground next to her.  Ranma came over and sat down.  “Mother
is here in Japan, right now.  She told me she would be at the Tendo Dojo
tomorrow at dawn.”

Ranma just nodded.  When Suteko didn’t add anything else he looked
closely at her.  “What’s the matter?”

“I think she’s going to bring great-grandfather with her and that could
mean trouble.”

“How?”

“I’m not sure and that’s what got me worried.  Grandfather has plans
that don’t take into account what others want or need.  Uncle Tanto
always told me to stay out of his plans, they weren’t always honorable. 
I’m afraid he’ll want to do something more to your father.”

“Why should he care about Pop, more than to get him to admit he’s your
father?”

Suteko played with her staff nervously.  It was obvious that Ranma
didn’t know. “Ranma, you’re related to great-grandfather Ito, too. 
Through your mother.”

“Oh.”  Ranma looked a bit stunned.  Through his mother.  “That’s right,
Pop said something about your mom being related to mine, cousins or
something.”

“That’s right and Grandfather will want you for the clan, being as you
are one of the best martial artist of our generation.”

Ranma puffed up a little at the praise but the words she said sunk in. 
The man would want him for the clan but he was already heir to the
Anything Goes School.  “He wouldn’t want me for an heir, would he?”  The
look on his face was a bit sick.  He was tired of being pulled to be the
heir for different schools.

“I don’t know.  You were born into a legal marriage, so it could be but
I don’t trust Grandfather.  He doesn’t  ever do what you expect. 
Besides, if I remember correctly, your mother’s father was disowned by
great-grandfather over something, like Uncle Tanto.  Grandfather was
very picky about his heirs back then and disinherited half the family
for one reason or another.  I just don’t know.”

“Well, don’t worry about it.  We’ll take care of it tomorrow.”  Ranma
sounded very confident to Suteko and she sighed.  It was good to see
someone who was that confident.

			*******************************

Ukyo finished up her cleaning and left the restaurant, locking the door
behind her.  She didn’t want to be too far behind Suteko.  It would be
interesting to see the girl in action.  She knew little of the way the
girl fought and Ukyo wanted to make sure she had a chance of defeating
Genma.  That old fool needed to be taken down a peg or two.

She sprinted lightly down the still damp streets to the field where
Suteko said she was to meet Ranma.  Seeing Ran-chan was always a treat
for the chef.  Even if Akane was nearby she always felt good near him. 
She slowed as she rounded the corner near the field.  She didn’t see
Suteko at first but spotted Ranma and Suteko sitting under a tree in the
back of the field.  They seemed to be talking quietly so she slowed and
walked over to them.

The two looked up when they heard her light step.  “Hey, Ucchan.  How’s
it going?”  Ranma smiled up at his friend.

Ukyo’s heart skipped a beat at the smile and she smiled back.  “Great. 
What you two talking about?”

Suteko looked up quickly and put a hand on Ranma’s arm.  He looked down
at her and she shook her head.  He nodded.  “Just stuff, Ucchan.”  The
two stood up.

“Well, have you already finished Suteko?”  Ukyo was amazed.  The
resemblance was more pronounced when the two were together.  No one
could think them other than siblings when they stood together.

“I’ve done my warm up and some of the exercises, why?”

“Oh, I missed it!  I wanted to see what you could do.”

Suteko smiled.  “Really.  Well, if you’re up to it, we could spar.”

Ukyo looked over at Ranma.  He just shrugged.  It would be interesting
to see a staff up against the battle spatula.  “Why not.  She’s pretty
good.”

“Okay, why not?”

The two separated and  got ready.  Suteko stood easily with her feet
apart, twirling her staff.  Ukyo pulled her spatula from her back and
got into her ready stance.  She waited a moment for Suteko to attack but
when she didn’t, she charged.  Suteko sidestepped and brought the staff
down in a cutting motion.  Ukyo avoided the first swing easily but
didn’t see the return swing from behind.  She felt the staff tap her
behind the knees and flipped backward.  This was going to be
interesting.

Ranma stood off to the side and watched the two girls spar.  He knew
just what Ukyo could do but not what Suteko could.  They seemed pretty
well matched at first, but Suteko didn’t seem to be serious in the
attacks she made.  More like she was testing Ucchan’s reflexes.  After a
few minutes, she changed from the relaxed, easy thrusts and parries to
the fancier stuff he had seen her do during her warm up.  Ukyo was
pressed to stay ahead of the staff and not let it touch her.

Suteko smiled.  This was fun.  She wasn’t sure how to respond when she
saw Ukyo’s odd choice of weapon.  A giant kitchen utensil was a new one
for her.  The chef certainly knew how to use it though.  She had to
stretch to stay ahead of the swings of the bladed weapon.  She hopped up
and over Ukyo’s latest swing and shortening her grip on the staff she
swung from her waist.   The blow was parried with just a little more
force than truly necessary.  Suteko took a quick look at Ukyo’s face. 
Was that look of determination turning into something else?  She hoped
not.  Sparring was one thing, a true fight was another.  She continued
the thrusts and parries for a few minutes more and then stepped back,
bringing her staff to the ground with a thud.  “Well, that was fun. 
Thank you for the exercise, Ukyo.”

Ukyo stepped back and blinked.   Though this was just a sparring match,
she had been pushed to her limits.  The girl before her was good.  She
wasn’t even breathing hard.  She was almost as good as her Ran-chan! 
“You’re welcome, sugar.”  Ukyo took a swipe at the sweat following down
her face.  “I’ve never fought someone using your style of staff work
before.  Where’d you learn it?”

“Great Uncle Tanto was a master in the Fukushuu family specialty and he
trained me from the time I was very little.”  Suteko’s eyes got sad for
a moment as she spoke her mentor’s name but it quickly passed.  She
covered her mouth as a yawn caught up with her.  “Sorry, guess I’m more
tired than I thought.”  She looked down at the watch on her wrist.  It
was just after nine PM.  “We should probably head over to your place
now, Ukyo.  Got to get some rest before tomorrow.”

“That’s true.  You must have been traveling all day.”

Ranma nodded.  “You did show up at the Dojo before dawn this morning.”

Suteko shrugged.  “I’m used to getting up early  but I had pushed
through last night so I could make it to challenge Genma at dawn today. 
Didn’t sleep last night.”

“That explains it.”  Ukyo put her battle spatula back into it’s sheath.

Suteko smiled and nodded.  After a moments thought she stepped up to
Ranma and gave him a quick hug.  “See you tomorrow, little brother.”

Ranma started when Suteko wrapped her arms around him but he relaxed and
hugged her back.  “See you tomorrow, Suteko.”  He replied.  “Oh, one
more thing, Sis,” he added, holding her at arms length.

She looked up with a twinkle in her eyes.  “What?”

“Stop calling me ‘little brother’, OK?”

Suteko chuckled and nodded.  “Sure thing, Ranma.”  She stepped back and
turned away.  Ukyo said a quick good-bye and they both waved as they
walked away from Ranma.  It was a pleasant walk, taken in silence.  Both
girls were thinking of Ranma and the following morning.

As they stopped at Ukyo’s door, Ukyo turned to Suteko and asked her a
question.  “Suteko, would you mind if I came with you in the morning?”

Suteko paused before answering.  “Ukyo, I wouldn’t mind but my mother
probably would.  It might be better if you went to the Dojo alone and
met me there.”  Ukyo nodded.  “I’ll hold up the fight until you get
there, if you’re there later than me that is.”  the two girls entered
the restuarant and then the apartment upstairs.

Later in the bath Ukyo and Suteko soaked in quiet.  Suteko nearly
slipped under when Ukyo woke her and sent the girl off to bed.  “Thanks,
Ukyo.  See you in the morning.”  She mumbled and went off to the spare
room.

Ukyo stayed in the tub thinking.  Just how did she want the fight to go
tomorrow.  Genma did deserve to be beaten.  After all he lied and
cheated whenever possible.  But he was Ran-chan’s father, so he deserved
a little respect.  Ukyo thought back to all the times she had seen Genma
and Ranma sparring.  It seemed that the old man had some ability.  He
would toss Ranma into the carp pond behind the Tendo house each morning,
almost with no trouble.  Could the girl resting in the room across the
hall take the larger and older man?  That was a real question.  Ukyo
could feel the bruises that Suteko had left on her skin with the big
staff she used.  The girl was quick, not as quick as Ranma and very
agile.  Who knew?  Ukyo got out of the bath and dried off.  If Genma
beat Suteko, Ukyo would be surprised but it could happen.  Both of them
had a good reason to win.  Genma, so he wouldn’t have to admit his
failings and Suteko, so she could finally finish her quest.  It was late
and Ukyo didn’t feel like putting any serious thought into the coming
morning’s battle.

			*******************

Suteko settled down on the futon and pulled her sleeping bag over her
shoulder.  It had been a full day and she was glad that she had spent
much of it in the company of her brother.  What a thing!  After being
alone for seventeen years, she now had a little brother.  Admittedly one
who was only six months younger, but still someone else in her
generation.  She hoped to be able to spend time with him but knew that
her mother wouldn’t approve.  She just hoped that her mother and
Great-grandfather Ito had no plans for Ranma.  He was a good kid and
deserved to live his life away from the politics a great family held. 
As she drifted off, she started to dream about running the family dojo
with Ranma and his wife.  She couldn’t quite see the face of the wife
but she had short dark hair.

			******************

The same boardroom as earlier in the day.  The dying rays of the sun
streaking through the windows and throwing the man sitting in the great
chair at the head of the table into shadow.  “So Genma has a son.  How
very interesting.”

The man facing the shadow continued his report.  “Yes, it seems this
young man, Ranma, is the best of the new generation of fighters.  He
would be an asset to the clan.”

“I agree, Grandfather.”  Atsuko looked over, with a arched brow.  “He
should be brought into the family proper.  I’m sure Nokoda would love
having her son added to the family’s ranks.”

“Atsuko, are you sure of that?”  Ito asked, dryly.  She just looked down
at her manicured nails.  A deep, evil laugh echoed through the room. 
“You are a treasure, my daughter.  In the morning we will ‘collect’ the
debt owed to you and the family.”

“Thank you, grandfather.”

Ito motioned to the retainer and Atsuko to leave.  They left, bowing
their way out of the room.  As the door closed Ito spoke once more. 
“Yes, the debt will be paid and the family will become great once
again.”

**********************************

-- 

Lisa
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check out my web page at www.geocities.com/athens/2968
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