Ch 7
In Her Element
Dissappointed. That was one word that aptly described
Akane's mood. She and Ranma were walking home from school and he
hadn't said a word to her since they'd left last period. He
hadn't even looked at her. He just stared straight ahead as he
walked on the fence. He was probably thinking about that strange
talk he'd had with his mother that morning. She'd hoped that
after their words in the dojo the day before that he'd hold her
hand again, or at least walk beside her instead of above her.
He'd gone all vacant and distracted again. _Why isn't he paying
any attention to me?_ The dissappointment was joined by a hint
of irritation.
She squelched the feeling, knowing that it would put her
dangerously close to anger. She'd promised herself that she
*wouldn't* get angry. Anger was an old and dear freind, and not
easy to give up, but yesterday in the dojo she had realized (with
Nabiki's help) that her anger was just a mask that protected her
from other feelings that she'd been afraid to own. That little
bit of psychological slight of hand had kept her from happiness
more than anything else in her life. She wasn't going to get
angry now and destroy the progress that she and Ranma had made
the day before just because he seemed a little distant.
She wasn't going to let things go on the way they were
either.
"Ranma."
No response.
"Ranma?"
"Hmm?" he still wasn't looking at her.
"RANMA!"
Surprised, he turned to look at her, missed a step, emitted
a loud "Whaa!", waved his arms wildly for a moment, and ended up
hanging sideways from the fence like a rock lizard his face
pressed against the mesh. He looked at her sheepishly, righted
himself and said "What is it Akane?"
When she managed to stop laughing, she held her hand up to
him shyly, looked into his eyes and said "Please come down from
there." Then she smiled.
Ranma blinked. That silly grin was trying to get out again.
_Boy!_ he thought. _I have a lot more sympathy for Doctor Tofu
now._
As much as he wanted to enjoy the moment, he knew that he
still had to be alert. It was better if no one saw any kind of
display of affection between them for a while. He tried to
resist, but couldn't stand the thought of making that smile
disappear. He looked around knowing that if the people he was
worried about were watching he'd never see them in a million
years. He jumped down and took her hand.
Yep. It still felt pretty wonderful.
***
"What do you mean you should move out?!?"
Ranma frowned. It was one thing to know in your heart that
something was right, but it was quite another to explain your
reasons to someone else.
Especially someone for whom logic was a way of life. He was
pretty sure that Nabiki wouldn't accept 'I just have this
feeling...' and let it go at that.
He sighed. If it came to a debate he'd lose for sure. He
toyed with the idea of folding his arms and just being stuborn
about it, but knew that without Nabiki's help, this whole
operation would be much harder if not impossible. "I think that
we should live with my parents until we finish high school. I
just feel like it's the right thing to do."
"How can you say that? It's always hard to change schools.
Especially in the middle of the year. Think of what it'll do to
your grades."
"Whadda you mean? How could gettin' away from Kuno and all
the other crazies at Furinkan be bad for our grades?"
Nabiki folded her arms litterally and dug in her heels
figuratively. "You may have a point there. I mean, why would
you want to be around all those crazies like Surya and Yuka."
He scowled. Nabiki had just named her sister's only close
friends. He *did* feel bad about taking her away from them. He
wasn't going to give up yet, though. "Not to mention Gosenkugi,
Miss Hinako, Principle Luau Head..."
"Me."
Ranma opened his mouth to continue, then stopped dead. Was
it his imagination or had Nabiki's voice cracked a little through
her sarcasm. He looked at her, but saw nothing on her face other
than her professional calm. Still...
He looked down. "All bridal duties and other traditional
crap aside Nabiki." Looking back up, he tried to put on his best
meek face. "I talked to my mother before school and she agrees
with me. She made it a condition of her cooperation even. I
could probably talk her around if I have to but..."
"But what, Ranma?"
"I don't really want to. I'll miss you and Kasumi and even
your dad, but... I really wanna... um... spend some time with
my... mom... for a while. I... think I should."
Nahiki was silent for a few moments, her face impossible to
read. Then all at once her animated fast talking mover and
shaker persona returned.
"Alright, it's time that you had that talk with your father.
I've written a list of all the things he needs to know. It's
important that you stress these three points with him..."
_I'll never understand women._ Ranma thought just before
focusing intently on Nabiki's latest plan.
***
"Of course you can trust me, son. Have I ever let you down
before?"
The question startled Ranma. He knew that he wouldn't have
to work very hard to think of some examples of when his father
had, in fact, let him down. He had to fight years of
conditioning not to bring any of them up at the moment. It
helped that Nabiki had sat him down and given him very specific
instructions about how this conversation needed to go. Not to
mention the script she'd written and helped him to memorize.
He tried to look confident and trusting as he met his
father's eyes. "I knew I could count on you, father. I never
doubted it for a moment." _Aw man! I'm a lousy actor._ His
talk with his mother earlier had been much easier. Of course,
that might have been because he'd told her the whole truth. He
really wasn't very good at hiding things. _He'll never buy this
trusting son crap._
The old man's eyes filled with tears. Such a manly son he
had raised, just as he'd promised. Such family loyalty, such
devotion to the future of the school. It made a father proud.
"Just leave it all to me." his eyes misted over slightly.
"You've made the right decision, my boy."
***
"Do we have enough tempura flakes, Sugar? I'm going to the
store to pick up some shrimp anyway."
"There plenty. You no worry. I make too too delicious pork
buns."
"You do that. Do you have the tranquilizer gun?"
"Is here."
"Are you sure those darts are big enough? He's one big fat
animal?"
"You go to shopping now, Spatula Girl. Everything fine
here."
***
"My measurements? What for?"
Nabiki unrolled the tape measure that she'd borrowed from
Kasumi. She held up Akane's right arm and measured it's length.
"It's a surprise my dear, dear sister. Your birthday's coming
up, so don't ask too many questions."
Akane blinked. Nabiki usually just gave her money for her
birthday. Either that or she gift wrapped one of the outfits she
had borrowed and returned it. She'd never actually *bought*
clothes for her before. She claimed that she was too hard to
shop for. She smiled. So Nabiki was finally going to give her a
real present. That was nice of her. She held up both arms so
that Nabiki could measure her around the chest and waist.
"That tickles." Akane said, giggling softly. As her sister
worked, her mind reviewed the events of the past few days. "What
do you suppose Ranma was talking to his mother about last night?
They both looked so serious."
"I really have no idea." said Nabiki blandly. She pressed
the end of the tape into the small of her sister's back while
running the length up to the base of her neck. This earned
another giggle and a squirm from Akane.
"I just wonder what could be so important. I asked him
about it, but he wouldn't tell me."
If Akane's continued ignorance hadn't been important to her
own plans, Nabiki would have given her a few tips on how to get
information out of her true love. As it was, she continued to
pretend indifference. There'd be time for such lessons after the
wedding.
"You don't suppose they'll all be going back to their own
home, do you?" Akane asked, suddenly serious.
Turning her around and measuring her for the head piece,
Nabiki tried to look stern. The worried expression on Akane's
face, however, caused a small twinge of pain in that part of her
heart that she'd worked so hard to gain control over. As much as
she tried to deny it, she hated to see her family unhappy. Her
expression softened. "I don't know Akane." She took her little
sister's hand and squeezed it gently. "But would that be so bad?
Shouldn't Ranma's mother have a turn to have her family with her
for a while? You've had Ranma for a year now, and you'll have
him for the rest of your lives. Can't Auntie Saotome have him
for a little while?"
Ashamed, Akane looked down. "Of course she can. It's just
that..." the tell-tale signs of tears on the way covered Akane's
face.
Nabiki looked around to make sure that no one was watching.
Satisfied that they were alone, she pulled her sister into a
light hug. "I know Akane. I know." She knew that the
possibility of losing her present closeness with Ranma was really
hurting Akane. Possibly even more than the prospect of losing
her own closeness to Akane was hurting her now. Ranma had been
right, though. His place was with his mother, at least for the
next few years, and Akane's place was with him. _I'll miss you
little sister._ she thought, and wished that she could shed the
tears in her heart the way her sister was doing.
***
It was a quiet morning approaching nine o'clock. Next to
the koi pond, a fat, content panda played with an old tire. No
one knew where the tire came from, or why it only seemed to
appear when the panda was relaxing on the porch, but that was the
least of the mysteries the pond and the well kept yard it
occupied had seen.
A bright golden koi broke the surface of the water in a
graceful leap, seemed to hang still in the air for a long moment,
then fell back into the rippling pond. The sun was bright, the
grass was green, and a figure crouched hidden in the tree
branches above the wall.
Watching carefully for a signal, the figure waited. Across
the yard, a strange whooshing sound was heard.
The panda sat up straight, looked around, then fell over in
a drugged stupor. For an instant before he lost consciousness,
he thought he saw someone coming towards him with a kettle.
***
Nabiki came straight home from school. She had a lot to do
and would need plenty of time.
Ukyou hadn't attended classes.
Nabiki could only think of one reason why a good, dedicated,
healthy student like Ukyou would miss an entire day of classes.
It meant that the stakes had just gone up considerably.
Things were about to get a lot more complicated. There were
several more factors that she'd need to consider. She needed
more information.
"Pop?" Ranma called somewhere downstairs.
She hadn't seen Mr. Saotome when she'd come in. He was
probably outside by the pond. She heard Ranma go outside,
possibly having the same thought.
They were expecting Mousse any moment now. They needed some
idea what Shampoo was doing, and what kind of interference they
could expect from her great grandmother.
As she reviewed all the players and their possible roles,
she heard Ranma running up the stairs. He came into her room
breathless, a frightened look on his face, and held out his hand.
She looked at the object he held. It was a large, empty
tranquilizer dart.
Nabiki was shocked. Could it be that she'd underestimated
her opponent? It seemed that this project would be even more of
a challenge than she'd anticipated. Things would move very
quickly now.
Even as she thought about all the necessary (and possibly
costly) changes she'd have to make to her plans, she found that
she was smiling. This was going to be even more fun than she'd
thought.
"It's a dart."
"I can see that it's a dart." Ranma had been trying for
'dry', but it came out much closer to 'hysterical'. "Someone has
kidnapped my old man! Someone who means business."
"Oh come on Ranma. Don't panic. I'm sure he's not in any
*real* danger. Honestly. Stuff like this happens *all* the time
around here anyway. You'd think that you'd be used to it by
now."
***
Ch 8
You Can Count On Me
The click-hiss-click of an old gas grill being prepped were
the only sounds to breach the imposing silence that surrounded
the quivering massive human form of Genma Saotome. Gagged,
blindfolded and tied to a chair, he awaited his fate. Even as he
struggled against his bonds and tried to control his fear, those
sounds conjured up feelings of security reminiscent of a tasty
meal and a full belly. Despite his untenable position, and his
history of stepping on all the wrong toes and creating animosity
with all the wrong people, he couldn't think too poorly of his
captors if they could keep such an old grill (Early 1950's if he
didn't miss his guess.) in such fine working condition. It
sounded as if it were running at near peak efficiency.
And then the sounds changed. The clicking stopped and the
hissing settled into a soft, even whisper. He heard something
start to sizzle, as if gently and lovingly placed on the grill,
and then the smell reached his nostrils. His mouth began to
water as the teasingly familiar and achingly close aroma of
expertly prepared okinomiyaki batter cooking filled his senses.
The sizzle intensified. Another okinomyaki, then another, then
another were slowly poured onto the grill.
Ah how that scent reminded him of the old days, the days
when he and Ranma had wandered Japan training in the art. Those
had been wonderful times. Times when they had lived off the land
and off the kindness of strangers. Strangers like Mr. Kuonji and
his little girl Ukyou... oh yes. Ukyou.
A vague sensation of guilt settled into his chest. It was
accompanied by a sudden insight into the possible cause of his
current situation. He'd thought that batter smelled familiar.
The poor girl was overreacting. She was taking things way
to far. The whole thing had been a joke. Just another con.
Nothing personal. She really ought to just get over it and stop
kidnaping innocent pandas from their homes just before important
Kasumi-cooked meals. It just wasn't nice. He'd have a talk with
her about it, maybe promise her another chance at Ranma or a
date, and the whole thing would be forgotten. He hoped.
Then he remembered the fierce look on her face during the
great wedding disaster (A disaster to which she had added
considerably) and he trembled. Knowing Ukyou's resourcefulness,
and her attachment to his son, it wasn't likely that he'd get off
easily this time. It was, however, very likely that she knew
about or at least suspected what was going on between Ranma and
Akane. It wasn't likely that she would just sit quietly by and
let it happen.
He was in trouble.
Even as the rational and tactical part of his mind was
gathering information and drawing conclusions, a much more
primitive (and much more powerful in his case) part of his mind
was thinking something very different. _Lunch._ it insisted.
_Smells good. Hungry._
He tried very hard to focus on the problem at hand. How was
he going to convince Ukyou that nothing was going on? How was he
going to get her to release him? Were those tempura shrimp that
she was cooking? _Focus!_ he told himself sternly. _A martial
artist must rise above the desires of the body. He must...
resist the ... temptations of... Do I smell spring rolls?_
To his mild embarrassment, he realized that he was drooling.
Someone else realized it too, and he heard a soft, evil feminine
laugh. Funny, it didn't sound like Ukyou. He swallowed.
And then Ukyou did speak. "Now." she said, and the
blindfold was removed from Genma's eyes. Before him in all her
arrogance and beauty stood Ukyou Kuonji, goddess of spatulas and
all things okinomiyaki. Her face was regal and haughty, but
somehow pleasant, her look was almost feline as she regarded him
coolly. He shivered. This was not going to be pleasant.
He couldn't meet her eyes for long. He turned his head,
straining to see the figure behind him, the one who had removed
his blindfold. He saw, then looked away quickly again, even more
intimidated than before. Shampoo. Shampoo and Ukyou working
together.
This was not good.
This was most decidedly not good.
Was that deluxe ramen with fish cakes she was holding up?
Ukyou spoke. "You've caused me a lot of problems, old man."
Still gagged, Mr. Saotome tried to make his eyes wide and
innocent. He was about as convincing at this technique as the
man he had learned it from.
"Oh, don't give me that look. You're about as convincing at
it as the old freak. Shampoo, remove the gag."
His mouth free, he spoke.
"Ukyou, what are you doing. You know you won't get away
with this."
"Won't I?"
She took a step closer, then held out her hands. Shampoo
was at her side in an instant handing her a bowl and a pair of
chopsticks. Steam rose from the bowl into sweet smelling white
plumes, then disappeared tauntingly into the air. Ukyou looked
down hungrily. She dipped her right index finger into it, then
pulled it out quickly. "Ouch." she said delicately. "Too hot."
In a slow, almost sensual movement, she held up her hand, and let
one single drop run down her finger and into her mouth. "Mmm."
she said softly, almost a moan. Genma watched fascinated as
Ukyou reminded him of just how feminine she could be when she
wanted to. She began to lick her finger delicately, her eyes
rolling up in ecstacy. "So good." she whispered. She took the
chopsticks that Shampoo had handed her, and played with the ramen
in the bowl. They lifted it gracefully into the air, then let it
slide slowly back down into the broth. She lifted another clump
and it slid noodle by noodle back into the bowl. "We'll let
it... cool down... just a little."
She oozed forward and held the bowl beneath the bald man's
nose. He began to sweat. It had been almost two hours since his
mid morning snack. His stomach growled loudly.
Ukyou smiled, took a step back, looked around for someplace
to set the bowl, then stepped forward again. "I'll just put this
here." She set it gently on his lap, stood up straight, then
inhaled deeply, her eyes closing as she experienced the heavenly
aroma again. The same aroma that was making it harder and harder
for Genma to focus with every passing moment. She turned and
walked to the grill, once again devoting her attention to her
best loved dish. She expertly turned each okinomiyaki, then
carefully dribbled sauce over them.
The look of concentration on her face was no less beautiful
to a food connoisseur like Genma Saotome for the fact that he had
seen it many times before. The look of a chef who knew and loved
her work. Ukyou had been a rambunctious, incorrigible child, and
had grown into a beautiful and somewhat playful woman, but that
look on her face, the one she wore when she cooked okinomiyaki
had always filled him with awe. All playfulness in her
disappeared. She was the master of all she saw. She understood
the true importance of food. No one cooked like Ukyou.
"Now." she said sternly, all business, not looking up from
her work. "You are going to tell us everything that we want to
know. You are going to tell us what's going on between Ranma and
Akane, you are going to tell us what kinds of plans they are
making, and you are going to tell us who else is involved and to
what extent." She slid the food swiftly onto plates with an
expert flick of her wrist, then another until each rested on a
small table a few short feet from her prisoner. Shampoo set to
work filling all the empty spaces on the table with other foods.
Rolls, shrimp, ramen and other delicacies appeared as if by magic
as Genma watched, mesmerized by the sights and smells. Ukyou's
voice remained steady, rhythmically explaining his purpose here
as she continued her work, pouring more batter onto the grill,
filling the small back room of the restaurant with it's odor once
again. "You are going to tell us the truth and you are going to
do so in great detail. You are going to answer all of our
questions, or you are going to..." she looked up finally, and her
eyes crinkled in a smile that didn't show on her lips. She took
a step towards him again, teasing and swaying. "...watch while
we eat all this delicious food..." she stepped up to the table,
picked up one end as Shampoo picked up the other, and began to
move it towards him. "...by ourselves."
Genma's sweating increased noticeably. The two girls came
closer, and set the table in front of him.
"Now." Shampoo purred, speaking for the first time. "Why
husband and Akane act so strange?"
He clenched his teeth, the sights and smells doing things to
him. Such torture was immoral, unethical, and down right not
nice. He'd always thought of Ukyou as such a sweet girl too.
"I'm not... telling you anything." he managed to hiss. "Do you
really think I'd betray my son just for some m-measely f...
fff... food."
Ukyou tsked. She leaned over the table coyly and picked up
a pair of chopsticks a good two feet away. She pushed the food
directly in front of her out of the way, and sat daintily on the
table. With a slow, deliberate motion, she stuck one stick into
an okinomiyaki directly in front of Mr. Saotome and then drew it
towards her making a single cut in the soft disk. Another
quickly followed and she grasped the small wedge gently between
the two sticks. Pulling it slowly towards her (letting it pass
just below his flaring nostrils) she opened her mouth, holding
the food above it for a long moment. Genma watched, mesmerized.
He began to tremble. It moved slowly just a fraction of an inch
towards her reaching tongue. Genma stared.
Then Ukyou paused. The food came away from her mouth, and
she looked him directly in the face. "Are you sure you don't
want any?" She held it towards him.
His face was begining to show signs of strain. He clenched
his teeth a little tighter and shook his head back and forth
violently. He wouldn't tell. He wouldn't.
That okonomiyaki smelled so good.
_No!_ he told himself sternly. _I won't betray my son. I
won't._
Ukyou leaned in a little closer and frowned delicately. "Oh
dear." She shook her head a little. "It's starting to get cold.
We can't have that. Can we Mr. Saotome?" She opened her mouth
again and quickly put the morsel inside.
"Aaaa..." a sound of pure misery came from the prisoner's
throat. He looked frantically at Ukyou who chewed slowly,
deliberately, her eyes closing, her head tipping back in the
sheer joy of good food prepared just right.
He strained again against his bonds, nearly upsetting the
bowl of ramen that still sat in his lap. Shampoo deftly rescued
it and held it just below his nose.
She shook her head. "You almost spill spatula girl's
ramen." she said half sexy and half accusing. "That very bad
manners. You no eat until you learn manners."
Ukyou swallowed and then sighed contentedly. "Mmm." she
mmmed. "Just perfect."
Nearing tears now, Genma whimpered softly. This was just
too much for him.
Shaking her head in mock sympathy, Ukyou looked Genma in the
face again. "Really, Mr. Saotome. You're making this much too
difficult. All we want is a little information. Just some
answers about what Ranma is up to. Is that really so much to
ask?" She began to slice off another piece of okinomiyaki, her
eyes shifting to her work. "We'll start slow. Just tell me yes
or no. Yes or no. That's not so terrible, is it."
She finished the second cut and held up the new piece. She
shifted her weight and leaned her whole body towards Genma again.
The chopsticks held his full attention as they swayed back and
forth, back and forth before him. He began to sway with it,
trying his hardest to keep his mouth tightly closed.
Shampoo watched in awe as Ukyou worked her magic. Maybe
there was something to this gentle persuasion stuff after all.
She felt growing respect for the other girl as her own mouth
began to water. Ukyou understood people and how to get what she
wanted from them.
Slowing the gentle sway gradually, Ukyou pressed her attack.
"I'll give you this perfect piece of okinomiyaki if you'll just
give me one little yes or no. That's fair, isn't it Mr. Saotome.
It's so easy. All I want to know is whether or not Ranma has
told you which of us he likes the best. Has he told you? Yes or
no. One little yes or no, and you'll be one bite closer to a
full stomach."
Sweat pouring down his face, Genma held his breath. He
could see the okinomiyaki, could smell it, could almost taste it.
His body shook. His tongue swelled. His flabby usually unused
discipline cried out under the strain. He felt his resolve crack
like the breaking of a dam.
"Yes!" he whimpered. "Yes he told me. He told me. Now
please, please have mercy!"
Ukyou smiled coldly. She held the food steady in front of
him as his mouth surounded it and swallowed in one swift motion
almost taking the chopsticks with it. "That's right. That
wasn't so bad, was it?"
She took a fried coconut shrimp and held it up. "Now," she
trilled. "On to question two."