Chapter 3. The Element of Surprise

I relaxed slightly in my car seat, keeping an eye on Jain through my side view mirror. The young boy- now my responsibility - sat in the backseat, his eyes watching the busy streets outside. Beside me, Ranma drove the Mercedes with calm assurance, his attention on the road.

I closed my eyes. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to juggle Ranma and my assignment, not to mention my personal quest of finding Tofu.

"We'll go back to your place, get your stuff together. I'll worry about gettin' Jain and me added to your travel itinerary," Ranma said. I glanced at him. He looked so different, yet the same. His frame had lengthened, his powerful shoulders broadened, though his waist was still slim. I could see a hint of biceps even in the two-tone black silk Tang jacket he was wearing.

"Stop taking charge, Ranma," I demanded.

He glanced at me, smirked. "Is there anything there you'd change?"

I met his rain-colored gaze. "Not necessarily. Just remember, this is MY assignment, and you're just tagging along!"

He frowned. "Taggin' along? Hey, I'm trying to keep your ass safe here!"

"I don't need...!" I glanced around at Jain, who was listening in keenly. "We can have this conversation later, Ranma. Let's just get to the airport."

"I'm hungry, Tendo-san," Jain announced.

"What do you want to eat?" I asked, smiling at him.

"McDonald's," he said.

I rolled my eyes. "How long have you been in this country?" I asked. He counted briefly.

"Two weeks," he said.

My mouth opened to ask him another question, and I forcibly shut it. It was none of my business, I told myself. Ranma, however, had no such qualms.

"You must miss home, huh, Jain?" he asked. The boy nodded. "Where did you live before?"

"Osaka," Jain replied, looking sad.

"Who brought you to America, Jain?" Ranma asked.

Jain's eyes widened in memory. He looked away. "A bad man." He wouldn't say any more, and I shushed Ranma. The less we knew about Jain, the better. He was just a 'package', I told myself.

Back at my apartment complex, I quickly checked my mail while Ranma held the elevator door open. Bills, of course, and...

I stared wordlessly at the large, shiny black, square envelope in my cold fingers. The postage marked it as being sent from Japan. I didn't recognize the return address. Quickly, I bundled it with the rest of the mail, and joined Ranma and Jain in the elevator, avoiding their curious looks.

In my apartment, I seated Jain at the kitchen table with a Big Mac, fries and a giant shake, left Ranma with the phone, and went into the bedroom. I forced myself to go through my bills briefly before turning my attention to the envelope. The paper was of excellent quality.

Finally, I tore it open. An elegant black and silver card in some sort of expensive Asian brocade fell out. On its delicate vellum overlay were the words...

The Tendo family and the Kuno family would like to invite you...

My eyes read the words but my brain simply wouldn't absorb the meaning. Open mouthed, I read the words over and over again, as though trying to force myself to understand. Slowly, comprehension filtered in.

"What's wrong?" The sharp, terse voice broke into my thoughts.

I looked up, still wordless. Ranma gently pulled the bedroom door shut behind him, then approached me.

"Here," I said, thrusting the invitation into his hands. I made for the bathroom, trying to get as far away from the piece of paper as possible. Ranma, reading the invitation, caught my wrist almost casually with his free hand.

"Gonna run away again?' he murmured. "Hold on." His grip wasn't harsh, but it was unbreakable. I tugged hard, to no effect.

He finished reading, then looked up, shock bright in his eyes.

"Nabiki? And Kuno?"

I glanced away, still unable to believe it. Nabiki was marrying Kunou, that monster? There was an unpleasant ache in my throat.

"It says they're getting married in a month," Ranma continued. He frowned. "Isn't that kinda late notice for a wedding?"

"Can you let go of my arm now?" I gritted out. "We have a plane to catch."

Ranma watched me, as though waiting for something else, then released my wrist. I forced myself not to rub it. I wanted to show him no sign of weakness whatsoever.

"We'll have to discuss this at some point, you know," Ranma warned. "You've got to stop hiding from your family at some point, Akane."

My laughter had a bitter edge to it. "And where's YOUR father, Ranma?" I taunted him. "When was the last time you saw HIM? Hm? And your mother? Is she still keeping house for you in Osaka, awaiting the return of her manly son?"

Ranma growled in frustration, stalked out and slammed the door shut behind him. I clenched my fists, then drew a deep breath. Ugh! What was wrong with me? Most sisters reacted with happiness when their sisters were getting married. Why was MY family so dysfunctional? Or was it just me?

I quickly packed a suitcase, throwing in fresh underwear, t-shirts, jeans and skirts. I had a gun, but decided not to take it with me. I could always get another in Japan. I had hook-ups. Briefly, I debated the idea of ditching Ranma again, but decided it was just too much trouble.

Jain had added an entirely new element to my assignment. I wondered how safely I could transport him to Japan. Well at least I had a direct flight to Tokyo. In a day or two, after stuffing the kid with airplane food and letting him watch Bingo on the flight a few times, I could safely deliver him to the temple on my way to my hotel.

Outside my bedroom, I could hear Ranma making additional reservations everywhere. I looked at my cell phone, debating. Finally, I picked it up and pressed the buttons.

Ring ring...

"Moshi moshi," a voice answered. Dad- I recognized the voice instantly.

I hung up. I just couldn't face his tears at the moment. Maybe I was being cowardly, but I wanted to get to Japan and get my bearings before I went home.

Striding out the door, I saw that Ranma had hung up the phone. "It's done," he said quietly. "Everything's arranged."

I watched him for any sign of anger, but he gave no sign of it. As far as I could tell, we might just as well not have talked at all."Let's go," I said.

All the way to the airport, I pondered the new complications in my life. I certainly had never transported a living being anywhere before. Packages, yes, many times. All were invaluable, to their owners. But Jain was a child. I couldn't let harm come to him anyway.

And now I had to attend a wedding- one where I hated the groom, and the bride was my own flesh and blood.

Once we'd gotten Ranma and Jain tickets to join my itinerary, we boarded the direct flight to Tokyo. Ranma and I seated Jain between us, for safety's sake. I have to say, it did a lot for my peace of mind, too. Putting as much space between me and Ranma as possible was only for the best.

Jain examined the controls in front of him curiously. I watched him with some curiosity myself. He seemed so young. Where were his parents? What was he doing with Kelly Noriega in the first place? Her world was all business, and Jain was...well, his hair wasn't shaved, so he wasn't a monk-in-training yet. So was he going to become a temple acolyte?

And why on earth did he have a map tattooed on his shoulder blades? And WHERE did the map lead?

A pretty airhostess brought the dinner cart up. Ranma, Jain and I were served Spanish mackerel with some kind of jelly compote and boiled vegetables. Ranma and I hadn't eaten for a while, and Jain acted as though he hadn't just inhaled a burger a couple of hours ago. We all ate silently.

"Is he your boyfriend, Tendo-san?"

"What?" I shot up in my seat, nearly knocking my dinner tray off the tiny fold-out table.

Jain pointed at Ranma, who was grinning with amusement, watching me squirm. Oh man, did he have to look so bewitching when he smiled? I remembered him smiling that way at me in China, while he ran his hand down my side...I mentally shook myself, trying to dispel the images.

"He's my bodyguard, Jain," I said, sidestepping the question. Ranma's narrow glance told me he'd caught the evasion. "Ranma's here to take care of us."

Not that I needed taking care of, but it was a simplistic answer, and I didn't want to scare Jain too much into thinking we needed protection.

"I need the bathroom," my charge said, wiggling in his seat.

I sighed. "Okay, I'll walk you to the back." I led Jain to the back of the plane where the toilets were located. He let himself into a vacant one and I watched as the sign changed to 'occupied'.

It gave me a moment to look around at the other passengers. Many were Japanese, though there were Americans and British, among others, who looked to be tourists. Most of them were still finishing dinner, and some had nodded off. A few were watching programs on their respective screens, and still others were talking in quiet tones to their companions.

"Excuse me," a man said. I'd been lost in my thoughts again and hadn't noticed him come up behind me.

I turned, and my mouth almost fell open. He was Japanese, and gorgeous. As tall as Ranma, with wide, wide shoulders, and a gorgeously toned body encased in a long Chinese silk red and black jacket and pants. His bangs were long and spiky in front, but his hair was razored away above his ears on both sides. His face was one with high cheekbones and sculpted lips. His golden, glowing eyes were fixed on me. He bowed politely.

"Please excuse me," he said again.

Embarrassed, I realized I was blocking his way to the bathroom.

"So sorry!" I gasped, and jumped aside.

He smiled. "It's quite all right. It's not often that my way is blocked by one so lovely."

"Haha," I laughed weakly. Was he kidding? Had to be. Or he was just being polite? And why was his smile sending my hormones into overdrive and sending my IQ plunging downwards?

Get a hold of yourself, Akane! I shook myself mentally.

"Are you waiting in line?" He asked.

"Oh, no!" I shook my head. "My...nephew's in there. I'm just waiting out here for him."

"Yes, it's convenient to have a non-stop flight, isn't it? Though that makes the flight quite tiring and frequent rest stops necessary." He studied me. "You're Japanese- Going home?"

My smile faded. "Um, yes, sort of. Just...visiting relatives."

He laughed. "You look guilty! Haven't been back in a while, I think?"

My good mood left me as I recalled the wedding invitation in my suitcase. "Yes, something like that. Well, don't let me stop you. Please, go ahead."

"Thank you." He inclined his head. As he pushed past me into an empty stall, I had time to glimpse a long, thick braid falling nearly to his knees, before the door clicked shut behind him.

I held a hand to my heart. Wow. Those eyes! Was there any chance I could get his phone number? Oh wait- Ranma. I sighed. Never mind. For a minute there, he'd taken me back to memory lane with his questions, but it was just small talk, from one stranger to another. And what a hunk!

As Jain came out and we walked back to our seats, I began to hum Madonna's 'beautiful stranger' under my breath.

The plan landed safely in Tokyo. Ranma, Jain and I went through customs quickly. Ranma had just the one duffel bag. He still traveled light, it seemed. I kept an eye out for the handsome stranger with the spiky bangs, but no luck. Probably he was somewhere in the back, or he'd left already. I put him out of my mind as we walked out into the sunshine.

We hired a car again, and Ranma did a full check inside and outside with an electronic gadget.

Then we headed off to the Temple of the Blue Heron. All along the ride, I wondered- Was my assignment really going to be so simple? The temple was just a few blocks away. I just had to deliver Jain here and my assignment ended. My entire body was on alert for any kind of attack.

But nothing happened.

Ranma drove the car up to a wrought iron pair of gates. From there, a steep set of stairs led up to the temple itself. A young monk in yellow robes was sweeping the front of the entrance. He looked up when he saw the car coming.

We got out and Jain ran forward.

"Brother Nhuy!" he cried happily. He hastily bowed before the priest, who smiled and bowed back. "Welcom back, little brother," he said on soft tones.

"You have brought Jain safely back to us," he said, looking at Ranma and me. "You can consider your duty fulfilled."

The magic words. My job was done.

We bowed. Jain turned to smile at us.

"Thank you for bringing me this far," he said, and bowed to us.

"You'll be okay, Jain?' I asked again, still unable to believe how easy my job had been. It just felt too easy, somehow.

"Yes, this is my home," he said, his smile showing his small teeth. His two front teeth were missing, I noticed suddenly. Obviously he'd started outgrowing his milk teeth. The sight was somehow endearing. I smiled back, and on impulse handed him a card as I hugged him quickly.

"If you ever need me for anything," I said. It was unlikely he would call. Like he said, the temple was his home, and I'd only known him for two days, but what the hell.

It looked like I was going to be in Japan for longer than I planned, anyway.

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A/N: Phew! My muse is acting odd this summer. Can't focus on what I WANT to write. I WANT to bring out another chapter of Possession and Tokens and even Blood Moon. Aaaargh! (tearing hair)