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. ***