From ajwoo@ucdavis.edu Sun Sep 28 15:17:42 1997 Received: from dilbert.ucdavis.edu (dilbert.ucdavis.edu [128.120.8.189]) by tendo-dojo.ranma.net (8.6.11/0.0.0) with ESMTP id PAA27460 for ; Sun, 28 Sep 1997 15:17:41 -0400 Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by dilbert.ucdavis.edu (8.8.7/UCD3.11.14) with SMTP id MAA23024; Sun, 28 Sep 1997 12:17:39 -0700 (PDT) Date: Sun, 28 Sep 1997 12:17:39 -0700 (PDT) From: Anthony Woo X-Sender: ez073249@dilbert.ucdavis.edu To: wjr@mailexcite.com cc: fanfic@fanfic.com Subject: [ffml][fanfic][Ranma]Kasumi's Little Secret Prts 1-5 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Kasumi's Little Secret Part 1: Kasumi in the Dojo A Ranma 1/2 FanFiction Version 1.2 All characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. Please don't sue me ; ) It was a fairly normal Friday in Nerima. Ranma was taking the express route home courtesy of Akane's Hammerspace Airlines. he thought as he crashed into the Tendo's pond, Ranma-chan slogged out of the pond towards the house. Ranma-chan thought Ranma went back to the dojo and looked in. She hadn't been imagining things. Kasumi was there in her gi moving across the floor in what looked, at first glance, like a slow, complex, and graceful dance. Ranma thought as she watched in amazement. She recognized several of Kasumi movements as martial arts techniques, there were a couple of simple kicks and several complex joint locks. Ranma was simply shocked. He had never imagined _Kasumi_ engaging in martial arts. Ranma was curious too. She was unaware of any kata that was performed as slowly as Kasumi was moving. Most kata's were best done slow if you were just beginning to learn it but Kasumi's movements were graceful and certain. It was obvious that she was practicing a kata that she had trained in for a long time. Ranma asked herself. Presently Kasumi finished her kata, bowed to the dojo, and turned to leave. Only to find Ranma-chan standing in the door way. "Ranma-kun!" she exclaimed, "what are you doing home so early?" "Akane sent me on the express route home," Ranma responded dryly. "Oh my!" she said "Ranma-kun are you all right?" "Yeah, yeah," she said waving her hand dismisively, "I'll be fine. What was it that you were doing there a few minutes ago?" "You saw that?" she asked quietly. "Yeah, I did," she answered, "I recognized some of what you were doing, but I didn't recognize the style. And why were you doing so slow?" "That was a short tai-chi form," Kasumi answered, "it's supposed to be performed slowly." "Tai-chi?" Ranma asked, "isn't that an exercise that old people do in parks?" "While it may be less...active than Kempo, Tai-chi Chuan is still an effective style of martial art," Kasumi answered with a slightly defensive tone in her voice. "Yeah, right," Ranma smirked. "Would you like a demonstration Ranma?" Kasumi smiled coldly. Ranma thought. "All right," she said slowly and bowed as she entered the dojo. "All right Ranma," said Kasumi after they had bowed to one another, "take a stance and put out your hands." Ranma stood feet shoulder width apart, her right heel a couple of inches ahead of her left toe. Kasumi took a similar stance facing her and put her hands up to Ranma's. "All you have to do," continued Kasumi, "is push me off balance, while not moving your feet. Simple ne?" "Hai." "Hajime." Their conflict lasted all of ten seconds. Ranma's hands lashed out only to meet nothing but air as Kasumi deftly twisted her body out of the way and redirected Ranma's hands. Suddenly, as Ranma completed one of his strikes with his right hand Kasumi latched on to Ranma hand with her left while the other reached around to grasp the back of Ranma's neck. With a slight tug to her left Kasumi sent Ranma stumbling. "How'd you do that?" Ranma asked puzzled by her defeat. "Your momentum was coming toward me with that strike," Kasumi answered, "I simply redirected it and added a little bit of my own." "Let's try that again," Ranma challenged. Kasumi merely shrugged. They tried it again and again and again. Each time Ranma was the one who lost his balance. After her tenth encounter with the floor Ranma admitted defeat. "OK," she admitted, "Tai-Chi is a martial art. But I didn't see you using any of those techniques you were performing in that kata." "That's because I didn't," Kasumi said, "it's like the Anything Goes style. The forms help train your body and help to focus your mind on the philosophies of the art." Ranma pondered that for a moment, then smiled as she understood. "Would you teach me Kasumi-san?" "You want me to teach you?" Kasumi asked, mildly surprised. "Yeah," she said, "I mean, the Anything Goes school teaches that anythin' goes, right? So if Tai-chi works, I might as well learn it right?" "All right Ranma-kun," Kasumi sighed, "on one condition." "What is it?" Ranma asked. "Don't tell _anyone_ that I know martial arts, _especially_ my family." "Uh, yeah, sure," Ranma answered. "So you're gonna train me?" "Hai, Ranma-kun," she answered, "but right now I've got to change, bathe, and get dinner started." With a bow Kasumi left the dojo to her tasks. Ranma-chan also left the dojo, smiling to herself. she thought, Ranma was so lost in her thoughts that she ran into Akane on her way to the kitchen for some hot water. "Ranma no baka!" Akane exclaimed, "watch where you're going!" "Why don't you kawaikunee tomboy!" "Who are you calling a tomboy you sex-changing hentai" *** Kasumi sighed as she eased herself into the bath tub. She'd had a good workout today, and it wasn't often that she had someone to practice Push-Hands with. she thought with a sigh. He was strong and fast, but he had no patience. As Ranma and Akane's fight made itself heard in the bathroom Kasumi sighed again. she thought, Kasumi relaxed in the tub with a smile. It was going to be an interesting experience. Kasumi's Little Secret Part 2: Day 1 A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic Version 2.1 Insert standard fanfic disclaimer here The sun was in the process of rising when Ranma's alarm went off. Ranma's eyes cracked open as he peered out the window. Instinctively he reached out to pound the alarm into silence as he realized that the sun had not yet risen. he asked himself as his fist began it's decent. As Ranma's hand touched the clock he remembered why he had set his alarm to go off early... "The things I put up with for martial arts trainin'," Ranma grumbled as he made his way into the bathroom. *** Akane's eyes slowly cracked open as she heard a loud crashing from the bathroom. She was about to get up to investigate when she hear a familiar female voice swearing loudly. Akane glanced at the alarm clock in her room. It read 5:45. "Ranma no baka," she groaned as she flopped onto her back, and tried to get back to sleep. *** "Explain to me again why I'm standin' here Kasumi?" Ranma, now in his male form, asked. "Because it's part of your training Ranma-kun," Kasumi said. Ranma was wearing his usual balck pants and red silk shirt; while Kasumi was wearing her white karate-gi. The two of them were standing on the fence surrounding the Tendo residence, balancing on one leg. Ranma was constantly fidgiting, shifting from one stance to another. Kasumi simply stood there, her foot tucked neatly behind her knee and her hands pressed together as if praying. "But I don't need any balance training," Ranma protested. "I'm not training your balance, Ranma," Kasumi said. "Then what are you doing?" he asked. "Patience Ranma," Kasumi smiled, "think of it as an exercise for your mind. When you figure out what I'm training I won't need to train it anymore." "But..." "Please stop asking questions Ranma-kun," Kasumi interrupted, "just watch the sunrise." Kasumi smiled as she remembered when someone had said those exact same words to her. The first rays of the sun peeked above the horizon, pushing back the darkness of the rapidly fading night. Kasumi stood, enchanted by the wonderful sight. The light of the sun turned the sky from midnight blue to a warm pink and it seemed to glow with life. Slowly the pink faded into a bright blue as the birds cried out their welcome to the new day, their songs telling of the freedom of flight in that wonderous blue canvas. The sun itself was an ascending disk of pure light. Kasumi could only watch it for a short time before she had to turn away. Kasumi blinked back the tears in her eyes, hoping that Ranma would just think that it was the sun. "All right Ranma," Kasumi said, "you can get down now. Let's go into the dojo." *** Ranma spent the next hour learning the first few techniques of the most basic Tai-chi form that Kasumi knew. Ranma thought afterwards, Most of the time was spent watching Kasumi perform the kata and asking questions about the techniques. Some of them had seemed purely ornamental but Kasumi had demonstrated how each technique could be used in both attack and/or defense. After Ranma had watched the entire kata, Kasumi started teaching teaching him the beginnings of the form. They stopped only when they heard Genma calling for Ranma. Ranma's eyes had widened in surprise as he said, "Oh boy! I completely lost track of time! Sorry, Kasumi, I gotta go!" Kasumi had smiled as he raced out the door. she sighed, Kasumi thought, "Oh my," she said aloud, "I'm late! I've got to change, get washed up, and make breakfast!" With that she shot out of the dojo and into the house. Kasumi's Little Secret Part 3: Goin' Slow A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic Version 1.0 Insert standard fic disclaimer here Ranma groaned as he crawled out of bed. An entire two weeks of watching the sunrise and he still hadn't gotten the hang of waking up that early. he thought with a moan as he dragged himself to the bathroom to wash before his morning training session. *** Akane groaned and rolled over onto her stomach as she heard Ranma clattering in the bathroom again. she thought as she tried to muffle the sounds by covering her head with her pillow. It didn't work. she thought as another round of swearing rose from the bathroom. *** "Leg strength," Ranma said as he and Kasumi stood on the fence watching the sun rise. "What was that Ranma?" Kasumi asked without taking her eyes off of the rapidly brightening horizon. "You're trainin' is buildin' up my leg strength," he said. Kasumi turned to look at him, her eyes glittering with amusement. "Do you really think you need to build your leg strength Ranma?" she asked. "Well, no," he admitted. "Neither do I," she said turning back to watch the sunrise. This had become a dayly ritual for the two of them as they stood up on the fence. Ranma would come up with a reason why they were standing on the fence watching the sunrise and Kasumi would tell him that he was wrong. Ranma's answers ranged from the simple to the bizzare. Today was one of his more mundane answers; once he suggested that she was trying to improve his posture, Kasumi almost fell off the fence laughing that morning. Often Ranma would get so caught up in his pondering of the problem that he would stop fidgiting and stand still for the entire exercise. He was so caught up in his contemplations that he never noticed Kasumi glancing at him and smiling. "So what _are_ you trainin' by standin' up here?" Ranma asked. "Patence Ranma," she said with a smile, "when you figure it out you won't have to train it anymore." Ranma simply sighed and returned to watching the sunrise. *** "Alright Ranma," Kasumi said as the two of them entered the dojo after watching the sunrise, "let's see what you remember of the form." "You want me to tell you what I'm supposed to do?" he asked. "No," Kasumi responed, "I want you to follow me as I do it." "Alright," he said. he thought, "Ready?" she asked looking at Ranma. "Yup," he replied. "Then let's begin," she said. Kasumi watched Ranma out of the corner of her eye as they moved through the form. This particular form came naturally to her, it was the first one that Sifu Huang had taught her and when she practiced it she'd remember his rough voice and his gentle motions. Kasumi could do this one in her sleep, perfectly; so she had some attention to spare to observe Ranma's technique. It was...unimpressive. she thought, Ranma's entire body was tense and his motions were jerky. It was as if he was trying hard to restrain himself. For someone who knew the kata intimately it was painful to watch. "Matte," Kasumi said after a another moment. Immediately Ranma stopped and turned to look at her. "What is it Kasumi?" he asked confused. "Ranma-kun have you been practicing outside our training sessions?" she asked. "Of course I've been practicin'," he said, "I'm not going to slack off trainin'!" "That's what I was afraid of," Kasumi sighed. "All right," she said after a moment, "show me how you've been practicing." Ranma took a step back and began the form. Ten minutes later he was done. Kasumi just looked at him in disbelief. The kata was almost unrecognizable. Yes, he had performed each of the techniques she had taught him almost perfectly. But each technique was separate and distinct, there was little fluidity as he moved from one technique to the next. she thought, "Ranma," she said, "that was very good. Now, do it about three times slower." "Huh?" "You heard me," she said, "you did it too fast." "Aren't I supposed to do it fast?" he asked. "No Ranma, this isn't Kempo. This is Tai-chi. I'm not looking for speed and strength. I'm looking for fluidity and grace." "Huh?" "Ranma, what happens when you punch a rock?" "It breaks," he said, confusion evident on his face, "but what-" "Now what happens when you punch water?" Kasumi interrupted. "Not much, I get a little wet but that's it," he said, still confused, "but what-" "Tai-chi is a soft martial art," she said, "that means it's like water, it flows smoothly." "What does that mean?" Ranma asked, still rather confused. Kasumi thought frantically, "Ranma I want you to think about this: 'What hurt do you cause by punching the water? How much damage can you do by kicking the wind?'" "The answer is none but-" he trailed off as Kasumi interrupted him. "Ranma do you remember what it was like doing Push-hands that first day?" "Yeah, it was like..." he trailed off as his eyes widened. "Attacking thin air," he said with wonder. "Exactly," Kasumi said with a smile, "now do the form again, slowly." Ranma began again, but it was a repition of when they were practicing the kata together. His movements were jerky and his body was tense. "Ranma," Kasumi said. Ranma's head snapped to look at her. "Nani?" he said nervously. "Relax," she said gently, "you're too tense. Take a breath a relax a little." Obediently Ranma inhaled, filling his lungs with air, then he exhaled slowly. "Hajime," Kasumi said softly. And Ranma began. His movements were hesitant and jerky at first but as he continued Kasumi saw her student relax and the techniques came with more fluidity. His body began flowing with the form, moving with grace and precision. When he had finished Ranma looked at Kasumi. "Wow," was all he said. Kasumi simply smiled at him before he rushed off to his training session with his father. Kasumi thought, With that thought Kasumi smiled. she thought as she glanced at her watch. she thought as she dashed into the house, Kasumi breathed a sigh of relief as she closed the door of the empty bathroom. Glossary: Hajime: Begin Sifu: Teacher. Used for instructors of Chinese martial arts (e.g. Kung Fu, Tai-chi) rather than sensei which is used for Japanese martial arts (e.g. Karate, Jujitsu, Aikido) Kasumi's Little Secret Part 4: Learning to Push-Hands A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction Version 1.1 Insert standard fic disclaimer here. <...> thoughts "Tadaima!" Akane cried as she paused by the door to remove her shoes. "Hello Akane-chan," Kasumi said, "how was school?" "It was fine Oneechan," Akane paused for a moment to sniff the air. "What's cooking Oneechan?" she asked. "Oh," Kasumi replied, "I thought we might have an early dinner tonight, and maybe the family could go out to see a movie tonight." "On a school night Oneechan?" "I'm sure if you get your homework done before dinner it will be all right," Kasumi smiled. "That's a great idea Oneechan!" Akane exclaimed, "I guess I'd better get to work!" With that Akane ran up the stairs to her room to work. Kasumi thought, *** "Dinner was very good tonight, Kasumi," Genma said. "Yes," Soun agreed, "it was absolutely delicious." "Domo arigato Saotome-san, Otousan," Kasumi said bowing to each in turn. "So Neechan," Nabiki said, "are you going to tell us why you made dinner so early tonight?" "I thought the family might want to go out to a movie tonight," Kasumi smiled. "That sounds like a great idea!" Soun laughed. "What should we see?" Genma asked. "That new Jackie Chan movie is showin' tonight," Ranma said, "why don't we go see that?" "I think I'll stay home for this one," Nabiki said dryly, "Jackie Chan isn't exactly my style." "Oh come on Neechan!" Akane exclaimed, "it'll be fun! How often do we get to go out like this." "Well..." "I'll even pay for your ticket!" "It's a deal!" "Now that that's settled," Ranma said, "let's get goin'!" "Ranma-kun," Kasumi said, "you did finish your homework, ne?" "Iie, Kasumi," he sighed, bowing his head, "I guess I should stay home and finish it, ne?" "Hai, Ranma-kun, you should," Kasumi said, "I need to do some more work around here anyway so I'll be staying with you." Nabiki thought, "Ranma no baka," Akane said, sluging him in the arm, "didn't I tell you to get your homework done?" Nabiki thought, narrowing her eyes at Ranma, "How was I supposed to know?!" "Enough fighting you two," Kasumi smiled, "you'd better get going if you're going to make it to the movie, it starts in half an hour and it takes fifteen minutes to get there, so you'd better hurry!" Nabiki thought, "C'mon Neechan!" Akane cried, "let's get going! I don't want t' miss the movie!" Nabiki thought as Akane dragged her out the door, *** "Whew," Ranma said, "I thought they'd never leave!" "Me too," Kasumi smiled, "Why don't you go on ahead to the dojo and work on your form while I go change." "Sure Kasumi," he said, "what are we doing tonight anyway?" "I'm going to start teaching you Push-Hands," Kasumi said, walking towards the bathroom. *** "So why're you teachin' this t' me now, instead of durin' our mornin' sessions?" Ranma asked after Kasumi bowed into the dojo, dressed in her karate-gi. "It takes a little bit more time to grasp Push-Hands than we have during our morning sessions." "Oh," Ranma said, "then we'd better get started, huh." Kasumi began by asking Ranma to take a modified cat stance and extend his arms, left palm down, right palm up. As she continued, Ranma began having doubts about what he was doing. "Kasumi," he said, "why am I doing this? I'm just leaning back and forward while I wave my arms around. What's the point?" Kasumi smiled and moved to face him. She mirrored his stance and extended her arms so that they met his. At her touch he stopped moving. "Keep the count," she said and began preforming the same Push-Hand form he was, two steps behind. At first Ranma didn't understand what was going on, and he lost the count. Kasumi only smiled at his clumsiness and patiently started over. After the first couple attempts, something clicked in Ranma's mind. Push-Hands was a little like beginner level sparring where two students traded the same techniques back and forth. This wasn't beginner level sparring, however, Ranma marveled at the subtle interplay between his body and Kasumi's. Each movement that he made was matched by an answering movement from Kasumi. After a while, Kasumi called a halt to the exercise. "What did you think?" she asked. "It was interestin'," he replied, "but I still don't see the point. What's the martial application for this?" "Push-Hands is the next step in your training," she said, "once you've mastered Push-Hands you're ready to move on to sparring." "There's more to it than that, isn't there," Ranma said. "Well, yes," Kasumi admitted, "sparring in Tai-chi is different from sparring in other martial arts. It doesn't involve the complex attack and defense routines like other martial arts. It's primarily a matter of reading your opponent's Chi." "Chi?" "It is called Ki here in Japan." "I know what it is," Ranma said, "I _did_ spend some time travelling in China, remember. I was wondering how you can read your opponent's Ki at all?" "You already have a rudimentery ability to read other people's Chi," she said, "you can sense when someone is about to attack you, ne?" "Hai, but..." "When you do that, you're senseing that person's Chi," Kasumi interrupted, "proper training in Push-Hands will teach you to read other people's Chi to a point where you know what they're going to do next." "You're joking right?" "No, Ranma-kun," she said, "I'm absolutely serious, how do you think I was able to avoid all of your attacks that day you walked in on me?" "I've b'n wonderin' how you did that!" "Well," she laughed, "now you know. We'd better get moving, that movie is probably over by now." *** Kasumi shut the bathroom door and put out the sign just as she heard the front door open. she thought, sighing with relief. She stood there for a moment before walking towards the bath stripping unconcernedly. Occupied as she was by the bath Kasumi failed to notice the bathroom door open quietly. Nabiki thought, She was about to close the door when a pile of white cloth caught her attention. Silently slipping inside Nabiki inspected the suspicious material. she thought, holding the piece of fabric up, Glossary: Oneechan: Older sister Neechan: Older sister; less formal than oneechan Domo arigato: Thank you very much Otousan: Father Iie: No Hai: Yes Kasumi's Little Secret Part 5: Visits and Revelations I A Ranma 1/2 FanFiction Version 1.0 Insert standard fic disclaimer here <...> thoughts "You're gonna have t' do better'n that Oyaji!" Ranma laughed, deftly dodging his father's flying side kick. Genma landed and immediately snapped out a spinning foot sweep. Ranma just smirked as he hopped over the attack and launched a flying snap kick. Genma leaned back to avoid his son's foot but moved forward in time to catch Ranma's other foot in the face. Stumbling back Genmma tripped and landed in the Tendos' koi pond. Kasumi smiled as she watched her student and his father spar in the yard. Though she watched the two of them spar almost every day, she never tired of seeing their displays of speed and grace. Of course there were times that she wanted to go out there and teach them a thing or two--like right now. Genma had leapt from the pond and attacked Ranma with a low thrust kick. Kasumi winced as Ranma scrambled to dodge and counter attack. "Ranma no baka," Kasumi muttered, rolling her eyes, "I thought I taught you better than that. You _should_ have used a Brush Knee to block that kick and followed it with a modified O Soto Gari." Kasumi's exasperation lasted only a moment before she realized what she was doing. Glancing around to make sure no one saw her, Kasumi smoothed her features and turned to put breakfast on the table. Coming down the stairs, Nabiki blinked as she watched the brief play of emotions flash across her sisters face. Anyone else would have missed them, but Nabiki was a trained observer--and she knew her sister. she muttered mentally. Nabiki had seen that combination of annoyance and exasperation on Ranma, Akane, and just about every other martial artist she'd seen whenever someone screwed up a technique. Nabiki thought, Unbidden, the image of a karate-gi on the changing room floor rose in her mind. *** "Breakfast was delicious, as always, Kasumi-chan," Soun smiled. "Yes Kasumi," Genma agreed, pushing his chair back from the table, "it was very good." "Domo arigato Otousan, Saotome-san," Kasumi nodded, smiling. She stood to collect the dishes from the table when the telephone rang in the other room. "Ill get it Otousan," Kasumi said as Soun began to stand up. As the others relaxed and picked at the remains of breakfast, they heard Kasumis voice float in from the other room. "Moshi moshi?" she said, a pause, "this is she oh, Kaneda-kun!" Kasumi cried, "genki desu ka?" "Kaneda?" Akane asked, glancing at Nabiki. Her sister just shrugged, as if to say: "why are you asking me?" "Honto?" Kasumi gasped, "sugoi!" Ranma winced in sympathy when he heard several snaps and pops as Akane and Nabiki jerked their heads towards the other room. Grimacing, Nabiki reached behind her neck to massage her aching musclesbut her attention never left the other room. "Hai!" they heard Kasumi cry, "ja ne!" A moment later Kasumi stepped back into the family room and began collecting the dishes to take them back to the kitchen. "Oneechan," Akane asked, helping to gather the dishes, "who's Kaneda?" "He's just an old friend," Kasumi smiled without pausing in her task. Nabiki, who had decided to help clear the table as well, stopped and looked at her older sister. Kasumi simply looked back, a vacuous smile on her face. "Did you want something Nabiki-chan?" she asked sweetly, her face the picture of innocence. "Yes," Nabiki said, returning to the task of collecting dishes, "but it can wait until later." she thought. *** Nabiki lounged on the floor watching TV, waiting for some friends to arrive. They had planned to visit the new ice cream place that had opened a few days ago. Nabiki thought, glancing at her watch, Soun and Genma were out on the porch playing Shogi. Nabiki thought, irritatedly, Akane was out with her friends today. Nabiki thought with a mental snarl. Ranma was out in the yard practicing some obscure martial arts technique. Nabiki thought with some amusement, Nabiki's older sister had finished the dishes some time ago, and Nabiki was fairly sure that today wasn't laundry day. Nabiki smirked to herself, as Kasumi stepped on to the porch. "Otousan," Kasumi said, "I'm going to visit the market, would you like anything?" "No thank you Kasumi-chan," Soun replied, his attention focused on the board before him. "Saotome-san?" "That's all right Kasumi," Genma said. "Ranma-kun," Kasumi called sweetly. "Yeah Kasumi?" the young martial artist said, jumping onto the porch. For a moment Nabiki frowned, Ranma _never_ let _anyone_ interrupt his martial arts training. "Have you finished your homework for the weekend Ranma-kun?" Kasumi asked. "Yeah," Ranma shrugged. Nabiki blinked. she thought, "I was wondering if you wanted to go to the market with me?" "Sure Kasumi," Ranma said, "just let me get changed out of my gi." Was it her imagination or did she detect a note of eagerness in his voice. Nabiki thought, Caught up in her thoughts Nabiki almost missed the sound of the front door closingsignaling the exit of her sister and their houseguest. Acting on the spur of the moment Nabiki hopped off the couch and slipped out the door in pursuit. *** "So, Kasumi," Ranma said as they strolled down the street, "where're we goin'?" "You remember the phone call I received just after breakfast?" "Yeah," Ranma shrugged, "some guy named Kaneda called, ne?" "Correct Ranma-kun," Kasumi smiled, "he's planning to teach martial arts classes here in Nerima and he's having a small get together to celebrate." "Ah," Ranma said, poorly disguised suspicion in his voice, "and who exactly is this Kaneda guy anyway?" "Why Ranma-kun," Kasumi laughed, "the way you're acting, one would almost think you're jealous!" "Hey, don't get th' wrong idea or nothin'," Ranma said, "your my iinazuke's older sister! I've got t' watch out for family right?" "Welcome to the family Ranma-kun," Kasumi grinned, impulsively pulling Ranma into a tight embrace. *** Nabiki trailed a couple of blocks behind her sister and their house guest, cursing Ranma's ability to sense people following him too closely. She watched the two of them talking animatedly as they walked toward their unknown destination. Once again Nabiki cursed the fact that she couldn't get close enough to hear them. Then Nabiki saw something that made her freeze in her tracksKasumi was hugging Ranma! Nabiki closed her eyes, shook her head to clear it and opened them again. she thought, Glossary: O Soto Gari: Major Inner Hook Sweep; a judo/jujitsu throw also found in aikido, aikijutsu, and hapkido. Domo arigato: thank you very much Otousan: father Moshi moshi: hello; used to speak to someone on the telephone genki desu ka: how are you? Honto: really? Sugoi: outstanding, terrific, great, wonderful Hai: yes Ja ne: see ya Oneechan: older sister; familiar Authors note: This is the final repost of KLS Parts 1-4; after this I'm sending it off to the RAAC. The "Visits and Revelations" sub series will span both KLS and RLS and will explain why Kasumi's been keeping secrets from her family. Sorry it's taken so long to get Part 5 done; I just started school again so my free time is rapidly disapearing.