Greetings boys and girls...

Wow, it's been a long time since I was able to post anything, but 
I'm back with another series ready and waiting!

Copyright notice: I noticed that I don't own any of the characters! 
Most are borrowed...Some are stolen...All are used with deference 
to the original. Salud!

As always, C&C is always welcome. Flames will be filed in the 
round folder.

Enjoy!

***

The All-Americans
By
Joshua Trujillo

Part 1: Stealing Home

He wiped the sweat from his brow and stared hard down the left 
field line. The hole that opened up in the defense was just what his 
team needed, though it wasn't like he wasn't pounding them out of 
the park on a regular basis.

Ranma smiled. A homerun wasn't his style, really. Stealing bases. 
THAT was his style. It required cunning and skill and speed. All 
things that Ranma knew he had in abundance. Ranma steeled his 
gaze at the pitcher and quietly took strike two. No reason to let him 
feel bad about it, now is there?

Then it came. Hard and fast. Right down the middle of the plate. 
This guy thought that he could smoke one past Ranma. He was 
wrong. There was a deafening crack as Ranma watched the ball 
sail smoothly into left field. Ranma took off towards first base and 
rounded the corner before the ball got to the ground.

As Ranma was coming around second, the outfielder picked up the 
ball and began his throw. Ranma quickly calculated the strength of 
the thrower and the distance left for him to run and held up. Ranma 
scampered back to second base, earning a scowl from the third 
base coach.

Ranma smiled and blew him a kiss. That always honked Coach 
Yoshida off. It also honked him off when Ranma would show off, 
but Ranma did it anyway. None of the players on the other team 
had the arm strength necessary to throw Ranma out, and he knew 
it. Ranma honestly didn't know how these guys got to the finals in 
the first place.

Okay...Showtime...

Ranma eyed the pitcher and smiled. He moved off the bag a foot. 
Then two feet. The pitcher went into the stance and looked back at 
Ranma, as if daring him to run. Ranma smiled again. This was 
going to be fun. Ranma slowly walked back to the base and made 
it a point that he was flatfooted. He then swung his arm in a low 
circle and pointed directly at the pitcher.

The pitcher came out of his stance and could be seen sweating 
profusely. Everyone in the Desert League knew the signal that 
Ranma had done. He had just challenged the pitcher to a contest of 
speed and skill. The crowd grew silent around them and a pall 
began to set in. Ranma had told the pitcher that he was going to 
steal third base and was daring him to try and throw him out.

The pitcher wiped the sweat away and replaced his cap. He nodded 
slowly and carefully to Ranma. Ranma crouched into a ready 
position as the pitcher slid easily back into his stance, this time 
facing the wrong direction. The game was forgotten as the two 
wills faced off against one another.

C'mon, Ranma thought, Gimme an opening...That's all I need...

The pitcher sighed...and blinked. And Ranma was off. The pitcher 
didn't even have time to swear as he threw the ball. The third 
baseman caught the ball, but knew by the pressure at his foot an 
instant before that Ranma had made it. He brought his glove down 
anyway, but knew the signal as the umpire behind him called 
"Safe!".

Ranma stood and wiped the dust from his pants. Okay, so he 
underestimated the strength of the pitcher, big deal. He was still 
faster.

A cheer lit up from the crowd as he could almost hear the 
announcers screaming over the in the broadcast booth. Ranma had 
challenged and had beaten the number one pitcher in the entire 
Desert League, which was considered one of the finest in the 
country. Was there anything that could stop him?

Nah, Ranma thought, not likely...

***

Ranma opened the door and flipped on the light. He set the trophy 
down on the sofa and pulled off the light sweatshirt he had used 
against the chilly spring night. These semifinals were pretty early 
in the year and the High School World Series wasn't until late July. 
Too long to wait.

But that was not what was currently pissing him off. What was 
currently pissing him off was the fat blob that was seated in the 
next room in front of the television.

"Hey Dad?" Ranma asked, trying to keep the acid hatred out of his 
voice, "You okay? You comfortable? Didn't you FORGET 
something tonight?"

His father looked up at him and considered for a moment, then 
slowly shook his head.

"No, popcorn...The remote...I watched 'X-Files'..." Genma said 
absently.

"HOW ABOUT MY GAME YOU JACKASS?!?"

"Game? What-" then Genma remembered, "Oh, well look son. Did 
you win?"

"Of course we won."

"Then my being there would have been pointless. Don't get so 
worked up over nothing."

"Nothing?" Ranma asked, almost breathlessly.

He felt lightheaded and used the doorframe for balance. How could 
he trivialize his own son's life like that? How? Ranma felt 
nauseous.

And he made a decision. One that he should have made years ago. 
He had always thought that maybe, given enough of a chance, his 
father would turn around. No, not his father anymore. A pain 
lanced through Ranma's abdomen, as if to remind him, Ranma 
didn't have a father. Ranma held his right side. The pain subsided 
and he looked up again with vision blurred by tears.

Ranma turned and ran upstairs. He quickly swiped the tears that 
threatened to break forth and walked out of his closet with his 
luggage. A trunk, a briefcase, two suitcases and his backpack. As 
he began to fill them, the anger built in him faster and faster. A 
father was all he wanted. Someone to comfort him in the losses 
and celebrate with him in the wins. A friend, a compatriot...A...A 
DAD, for God's sake!

But now that was gone. No, he corrected himself, it was gone 
LONG before this. He hadn't truly shown Ranma a father 
since...IT happened. A long time ago. Ranma stopped his packing 
and wiped at his eyes again.

A long time ago, he had a father. Used to take him on walks in the 
forests when they lived near them. To farms to see the cows. The 
whole world was out there, and Ranma wanted to see them all. 
And Genma seemed contented to join him. Then something 
happened. Even before IT. Ranma couldn't explain it. He admitted 
to himself that he was never any good with emotions anyway. He 
wiped his eyes again and resumed packing.

"Ranma? What are you doing?" a quiet voice asked from the hall 
outside.

"I'm packing," Ranma said without turning.

"And just where do you think you're going to go? Hmmm?"

Ranma stopped packing at this point. Where was he going to go? 
Did it matter?

...

Not really...He continued packing. Then, he had an idea. He 
turned to the old man who was standing, arms akimbo, under the 
harsh hall light.

"Where's mom's address?" Ranma asked.

When Ranma didn't get an answer, he pushed past his former 
father and into the upstairs office area. He almost snickered. 
Office. It was more like a place where you could throw old papers 
and forget about them. Old papers...old memories.

Ranma pulled one box down and started drifting through it. 
Nothing. He pulled another box apart. Still nothing. Another.

"Ranma," Genma began behind him, "We've gone over this a 
hundred times. Your mother didn't want you, that's why I took you. 
Don't you think she would have-"

"What the fuck...?"

Genma looked over the shoulder of the young man and saw what 
he had found. Ranma Saotome. The envelope read Ranma 
Saotome. Ranma turned it over in his hands. The postmark dated it 
to last Christmas, when they were still in Denver. He didn't 
remember receiving any mail last year. He pulled the card out of 
the already opened envelope and looked it over. It was a Christmas 
card.

Ranma opened it and read what was inside. A mother's love for her 
child. A wish that he would write back and her address and phone 
number. Ranma bit back bitter tears again and rifled through the 
box some more. He pulled out another card. And another. And 
here's a letter. And a card dated for his eleventh birthday. And one 
for his third.

Ranma stood and went back into his bedroom for his backpack. 
Returning, he quickly stuffed the card and letters inside. The 
pounding in his head subsided and he could vaguely hear Genma 
shouting something. What was it? He didn't know. Something 
about responsibility and not possibly knowing. Ranma didn't care 
anymore. He'd had enough.

He stumbled back into his room and gathered what was left of his 
now defunct life into whichever space he could find and pulled 
them all downstairs. Ranma went out and stacked most of it into 
the trunk. His jacket and backpack were all that was left. And one 
other thing.

Ranma ran back up into his room and pulled out the top drawer of 
his dresser. Underneath was a sealed envelope. He ripped away the 
tape and threw the drawer down. Ranma whisked downstairs and 
picked up his jacket. Where...?

Genma stood there with his backpack.

"Now maybe you'll listen to me," he said, holding the backpack 
like some kind of trophy, "Okay. I understand you're mad, but let 
me explain. You've never been one to rush off into things Ranma, I 
don't think this is the time to start. First off, your mother is in a 
whole 'nother state. Different part of the country. Do you think 
your little car would make it that far? I don't think it would. I've 
taught you everything. You're a fine young man now, and you can 
stand on your own. This is the lessons I taught you, and you 
learned them well."

Ranma grabbed the backpack out of his hands.

"Yeah, Old Man, I learned them well. I learned that television 
shows were more important to you than I was. That my 
accomplishments meant nothing in the face of cable. It was 
different the first dozen times this had happened, but this draws the 
line. That all the awards and accolades that I've had while you've 
been throwing me around the country mean absolutely nothing to 
you. NOTHING!"

Ranma sat down hard in the old rust colored chair by the door as 
the tears came to him. He couldn't stop them now. He really didn't 
care.

"Look at yourself boy," Genma sneered, getting that derisive air 
that Ranma despised, "You're crying like a baby now. And what 
for? To make me feel sorry for you? Well, it won't-"

Genma was cut short as Ranma punched him in the gut. Genma 
doubled over from the unexpected blow.

"Ranma..." He gasped.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!" Ranma 
screamed as he turned Genma around.

Using the anger and the momentum, Ranma threw him against the 
far wall. Genma shattered the drywall and hung there before 
passing into unconsciousness. Ranma wiped the remaining tears 
and picked up his backpack.

***

"So what are you going to do?"

Ranma looked up at his girlfriend. Rei regarded him passively and 
adjusted her glasses reflexively. She brushed an errant strand of 
albino silver hair from her forehead. Ranma had never thought it 
odd that he was dating the one girl in school that everyone thought 
him the least likely to date. Rei was small, quiet and albino. She 
was also stable. When he wanted to see her, she was there. When 
she wanted to see him, he was there. It worked out quite well, but 
now...

"I wanted to use your phone to call my mother. I have to go live 
with her now," Ranma said, quietly.

Rei stopped smiling and a cloud passed across her face. She closed 
her eyes and nodded. Ranma picked up the phone and dialed the 
number on the card. After a number of rings, a tired voice on the 
other end picked up.

"Hello?"

"Uh...Hello. Is this Nodoka Saotome?" Ranma asked, he thought 
rather lamely.

"Yes. Who is this?"

"This is...This is Ranma. Your son."

***

Ranma hung up the phone and went back into the family room, 
where Rei had taken up position on the couch. He went to her and 
knelt at her feet. She was crying. It shook Ranma to see this 
because, to his knowledge, she didn't have feelings. Ranma went 
over the things he wanted to say, but they all sounded so lame.

He began to speak, but was cut short when Rei put a finger to his 
lips. She stood him up and walked him to the front door.

Going outside on the stone walkway, the moonlight stood out and 
showered Rei in its incandescent glory, making her glow faintly.

"Ranma," she said, almost to low for him to hear, "I love you."

She reached to her boyfriend and kissed him fully and passionately 
on the lips. She broke the kiss and looked at him, tears streaming 
down her cheeks. She turned and walked back up the stone 
walkway to her door.

"Goodbye," she said as she opened the door and went inside.

Ranma breathed out again and hung his head low. He turned and 
walked back to his car.

***

The road. So lonely in it's isolation. Many times before had he 
been on this road, but all of those had led to a new home. No, he 
corrected himself, a new house. He hadn't had a home since...

Well, maybe now that would be different. Mother was almost 
overjoyed that he wanted to live with her now. As he understood it, 
she was some kind of investment banker, or something, and had an 
office right at the house. It couldn't be any worse than what he was 
leaving behind.

But then, that included Rei.

***



Joshua "Gargoyle" Trujillo
"Stone Cold Protector of the Righteous"
"Owner of The Anime Bar and Grille - The Best Ribs in the Multiverse"

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