On Sat, 12 Apr 1997, Hitomi Ichinohei wrote:

Only a few of more scenes.  ^_^

And under its own title at last!

	Kaneda would have preferred her arguing with him over carrying so
many cases at once to her demure acquiesces to his will.  If Ranko was

typo: acquiescence

going to be like this for the rest of their lives, it would be a living
hell for him.  He had to try and give her some backbone at least.  He
paused as he entered the house and shuddered, *What the HELL am I
thinking?!?  There's no _way_ I'm gonna marry this girl.  Anyone who gives
into something that easy will not be suited for traveling around for a few
years.*

He might be surprised by how much backbone is hidden there...

	One:  Ranko was above him gently wiping his brow and gently saying
his name. 
	Two:  His head was in Ranko's lap. 
	Three:  Having her here was going to be trouble.  For him. 

You got that straight, boy!

	Kaneda kept a smile frozen to his face at this.  *Sugary sweet,
polite, doesn't argue, cute, and extremely feminine.  This girl is
definitely going to be trouble.*

More than you can possibly imagine...

	"I noticed Ranko is very shy Aunt Saotome"  Kasumi said as she
poured the tea. 
	Nodoka smiled at Soun's oldest child, "I think it has a lot to do
with your brother, especially since she hasn't been around boys very
much." 

	And the fact she's just realized Kaneda wasn't her only choice...

	Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "How inexperienced is she with boys?" 
	Nodoka frowned a little, "Well, she doesn't know any except in
passing at the stores.  Is there some sort of problem that I should know
about?" 

	Like the fact that there's a raving loony hentai kendo practioner 
there? 

	Ranko's mother responded in the negative.  "I've been sending her
to a private academy so that she would be able to maximize her learning. 
She's spent more time studying than socializing." 
	Kasumi looked up at her new aunt, "Didn't she have many friends?" 
	Nodoka's smile seemed to widen slightly as she said, "Quite a few. 
She makes friends easily, just not with boys.  When she was six, Ranko
found out she was going to marry Kaneda-kun, and avoided almost every boy
that came her way since." 

	Ah, so we may have old friends showing up eventually... ("Gee, 
Ranko, you've sure filled out.  But didn't you use to be taller?")

	No one 

noticed, but Nodoka winced internally as she made that

statement.  While it wasn't exactly untrue since her daughter had tended
to avoid boys at every instance, Kaneda was not the reason for it.  It had
more to do with the honour the young girl had, and since she became a
teenager, her sexual preference.  Nodoka was hoping that it was because
her daughter had avoided almost every man that even seemed to enter her
life rather than something that was truly a part of her.  She did not want
to see Ranko hurt, but Nodoka knew ties of honour were far above personal
happiness. 

ahem...

	Soun smiled, and a few tears came to his eyes.  "To be so
dedicated to an ideal from such a young age.  You must be proud to have
such an honourable daughter." 
	There was genuine pleasure in Nodoka's voice as she replied in the
affirmative. 

Yep, honorable all right.

***

	Kaneda had shown Ranko around the entire house, and he was quickly
getting sick and tired of her quiet, demure, and absolutely dedicated
attitude towards him.  It was nerve wracking to have a woman that was so
dedicated to him and to marriage.  He got the feeling that she had been
taught that her entire life revolved around her marriage to him. 

	Bingo!

	Ridiculous! 
	Ranko's eyes suddenly gleamed, and her voice took on just the
slightest bit of excitement, as she grabbed his arm suddenly.  "What a
lovely dojo!  Let's go take a look at it.  You do know how to do the Art
don't you?" 
	Kaneda, for his part, was stunned.  Up until this point, she had
been the perfect Japanese woman; a quiet, monotone voice without much
emotion, not touching him unless he was injured in some way, always
keeping a proper attitude and letting him virtually dictate her every
move.  To have her suddenly touching him, and pulling him towards the dojo
was unexpected!  "Well...uh...I...I've been practicing the Art since I
could stand.  Why?" 

	Maybe she likes martial artists? :-)

	Ranko then noticed what she was doing, blushed, and looked back to
the house quickly.  Not noticing anyone, she leaned in close, cupped a
hand to his ear and whispered, "I want to spar against you, but I don't
want mother noticing.  Except for some training with a sword, she doesn't
think it's proper for a woman to practice the Art.." 
	Kaneda coughed suddenly as he led her automatically into the dojo. 
*She likes the Arts?  Well, she's probably like all the other girls who
practice it, not really dedicated to what it actually takes.*

	Ranko is in no way like all the other girls...

	Kaneda suddenly had a coughing fit at the sight of a cute girl
standing there in a very pretty dress acting like it was normal for her to
challenge a man.  The way she stood there, it was obvious that she wasn't
actually trained in the Arts, at least not properly, and that she would
probably get hurt if they did anything too strenuous.  "Ahh...I really
shouldn't fight you when you're wearing such a nice dress.  Besides, a man
shouldn't fight a woman unless his life is in danger." 

	Yup, recognize this attitude...

	Ranko pouted, "Please?  Just a short practice match?  I promise I
won't hurt you." 
	Kaneda almost choked on his laughter.  Ranko?  Hurting him?  She
wasn't even in a proper stance!  "OK, one quick practice match.  What
style do you study?" 

"Study" turns out to be the operative word..

	Ranko flushed, "Um...any I guess.  I sort of read all of it in
books." 
	Kaneda was now having a very hard time holding in his laughter,
and forcibly cleared his face.  "Right.  Let's see what you can do.  You
may attack first." 
	At that statement, Ranko grinned and came at him quickly, striking
out with a simple punch.  As he dodged, he noted that although it was
quick, it was significantly under powered.  He frowned, however, noting
that the style was similar to his own, but with an unusual variation to
it.  If she picked up that from only reading a book, then it was possible
that she actually had the potential to become a good martial artist. 

yup.

	Frowning a bit, and concentrating more, he decided to try to push
her as close to her limits as possible, forgoing the immediate win he had
been thinking of.  IF she had potential, then perhaps he could use that to
give her a little bit of a backbone.  Besides, she did say she wanted to
practice.  He struck back with a combination quarter speed punches which
she managed to avoid.  He was struck by how Ranko's movements were both
graceful and unusual. 
	Ranko was actually enjoying herself.  This was the first time
since her father had died that she had actually practiced hand to hand
combat against someone else instead of just shadow practicing when she
thought no one was watching her.  It was fun to have an opponent to try
out what she had let herself learn by reading books over the years.  She
tried a quick side quick which missed, and then tried to punch him in the
stomach. 

Of course, getting hit back may come as a bit of a shock...
	*She's great!* Kaneda thought to himself as he fought back, not

really putting his whole effort into it and guiding her into various
actions and reactions.  Her moves were all basic, stuff he learned when he
was a child, but with a few variations that didn't look a thing like
martial arts.  It almost looked like she was dancing rather than fighting. 
	That's when she came in with a quick kick, which he leapt above. 
Unfortunately, that wasn't the completion of the move since she continued
spinning and managed to kick him in his chest with her other foot.  While
it didn't have any power to it, or at least not power to him, the move was
totally outside anything in the Art as far as he knew. 
	He was gratified for some reason, and let the battle continue for
another twenty minutes before he ended it by catching her arm and gently
taking her to the floor.  As he lifted her up, he asked, "What was that
kick that you used earlier?  The one with which you managed to hit me
with?" 

Curious?  Good...

	Ranko had the grace to blush.  "Um...Actually that wasn't martial
arts...It was...Well...I sort of took that from a combination of
gymnastics and figure skating."

So with a little practice, both the Kodachi and Golden Pair fights are in 
the bag...
 > 	Remember what his father told him about variations earlier that

morning, he started to laugh openly until he noticed the disappointed
expression on Ranko's face.  "Sorry.  I wasn't laughing at you, but
myself.  The great and wonderful Tendo Kaneda hit with a skating move!" 
	Ranko started to giggle at that.  "Well, before he died, father
was trying to teach me about the Art, and I remember quite a bit of it.  I
really enjoy doing it, but mother doesn't like me doing it since it isn't
'lady like.' I really wish I knew more, but I didn't want to disobey
mother." 
	Kaneda's eyes narrowed a bit, "You really mean that, don't you?" 
	Ranko's eyes flamed a bit, but it didn't show in her voice.  "Of
course I do." 

hm...

	Kaneda shook his head at how very behaved and controlled Ranko
was, "I didn't mean anything by that.  What I meant to say is that since
you are supposed to be...staying here, it would be better if you learn the
Art.  I'll start teaching you and if anyone say's anything against it,
I'll tell them it is only proper that you learn.  We'll do some more
later." 
	Ranko's eyes lit up at that, "Really?" 
	At his nod, she leapt up slightly, a large smile on her face and
impulsively kissed his cheek.  While he remained in shock at that, she
said, "Thank-you Kaneda- kun!  I'm going to go inside now and change!" 
	Kaneda stayed like that for about a minute after she left before
he put his hand to his face and slowly sank to his knees, now completely
baffled at the young lady he was supposed to marry. 

More bafflement coming up! :-)


SKJAM!