The usual disclaimer: Ranma ½ is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.
While this is story is part of the "Kasumi's Fate" ("Bindings") Continuum, it's not necessary to have read any of the previous stories. You do need to know a few things though:
(1) Ranma and Akane are happily engaged now (although they are still waiting on the ring).
(2) Kasumi and Tofu are engaged and due to be married within two months.
(3) Tofu is a very powerful mage. He's also part Kitsune through his mother, Kin Ono. Kin is half-Kitsune. Tofu also works for a mysterious group called "The Council" and leads a team of spies/mercenaries on an unmentioned mission in Nerima. The Council (and their enemy, Henna) are not featured in this story though.
(4) The government of Japan believes (falsely) that Ranma's sire is Tofu's deceased brother (a very long story). Ranma has been formally adopted by Mrs. Ono and is now legally Tofu's brother. Tofu is effectively Ranma's guardian now. Ranma lives with Tofu at the Clinic, but the two spend most of their free time at the Tendo Dojo.
(5) Nodoka is (and still considered to be) Ranma's mother and her marriage to Genma has been annulled. Genma permanently resides in the Nerima zoo and is out-of-the-picture. Officially, Nodoka is recovering from an extended mental illness and the Tendos are her guardians. Again, this is what the Judicial System believes – the truth of the matter is she just likes staying with the Tendos and they like having her there. She and Soun treat each other as brother and sister and the Tendo daughters still treat her as their aunt.
(6) Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga are mages in-training (as well as Martial Artists). Ranma is a Wind Mage, Ryoga is an Earth Mage, and Akane is a Fire Mage (same as Tofu). They are also the Guardians of three World Elemental spirits who share "spiritual space" with them. None of the spirits have been named yet, although the Wind Spirit inside of Ranma has been introduced in previous stories and has proven to have a mischievous streak.
Other characters in the story (besides the Ranma ½ cast):
(1) Mrs. Chie Shimizu is Dr. Tofu's office manager. This middle-age woman is a good friend of Kasumi (as well as the rest of the extended family) and is one of the biggest gossips in Nerima.
(2) Shizuka Jouda is Kasumi's Tai Chi instructor. She's a tough and implacable warrior who loves children, especially the children of her deceased rival and best friend, Kimiko Tendo (even if the "children" are getting up there in years). She's been involved in Kasumi's life off-stage for nearly a decade now.
(3) Hideo Jouda is Shizuka's husband. He runs a florist shop in the same building as her dojo. He's a tall, good natured man, with endless patience – especially for his stubborn wife. He's also a very talented Earth mage as well (he's Ryoga's Arcane teacher).
(4) Dr. Isamu Ando is a doctor who works for Dr. Tofu. He's the doctor who takes over when Tofu is on the road. A bright man with a lot to learn about people – and an arrogant streak that just begs for a beating.
(5) Daran Hawk is an old friend of Tofu who possesses no supernatural abilities, but does possess a number of interesting magical and technical artifacts. While he looks (and dresses) like Indiana Jones with dark skin, he is a spy/researcher whose expertise is dealing with the supernatural. He currently serves the mysterious Council and Dr. Tofu is his Team Leader. He also does a good James Bond imitation.
(6) Ciren Blake is a tall blond athletic woman who is a master archer (her preferred weapon) as well as a marksman (the rifle is her second favorite weapon). She is also a talented Martial Artist (even by Nerima standards) and trained in swordsmanship. She doesn't have much of a sense of humor (due to a bitter childhood) although she has learned to return the give-and-take of her teammates and is patient with the young and inexperienced, despite her hot temper. She is a mechanic, a pilot, and a race car driver. She currently serves the mysterious Council and Dr. Tofu is her Team Leader. She is half-human (you have to figure out the other half).
(7) Police Sergeant Hiroaki Imia is the head of one of the local police stations. He was introduced in "To Serve and Protect in Nerima". He's a large man that some might characterize as over-weight. Pushing him into a fight though would be a mistake – he's one of Nerima's Martial Artists with all that entails.
(8) Police Inspector Shoichi Ojima is Imia's boss. He possesses the Sight which allows to him See true guilt or innocence (he loathed Genma after one glance). For the longest time, he couldn't turn the Sight off, which forced him to be a very driven man in the pursuit of Justice. Doctor Tofu helped him control his "gift" after the events in "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome." Now he's still a very driven man, but he can also get a good night's sleep. He's a very lean man of average height with a no nonsense attitude. While he believes in Justice, he's not above bending the rules.
(9) Tomo is a young, full-blooded Kitsune. The Kitsune Elders have assigned him to help Dr. Tofu who is his cousin (although one of many, so that is not so remarkable). Tomo appears to be the equivalent to a 12-year old human with the exception of the fox tail, ears, and fur. He is very much the typical Kitsune prankster, but has a fondness for the Tendos and Ranma (whether he'll admit it or not). His magic ability is above average for his age, which is why the Elders put him to work.
Other characters will be mentioned in passing, but they are not important to the story.
One other note: Don't confuse "Spirit Foxes" (Kitsune) with "Spirit Dogs" (Inugami) or "Spirit Wolves" (Makami). None of them like being compared to the other. Young foxes are "kits"; young dogs are "pups"; and young wolves are "cubs" (although "pups" is used in the USA for the last one too). Just so we are clear, Ranma is very knowledgeable about the distinction – his use of the terminology is not accidental, so please don't send me corrections about it.
Onwards...
Chapter 1: Just Another Morning
WHAM!
Ranma allowed one eye to open. All he could see was his blankets laying under him over a large flat surface. Just beyond where the blankets ended, he could see the wall rising up. Given that his blankets should have been over him and he did actually have a bed these days, obviously something was up. As he rolled onto his back, he noticed that his bed was currently on the ceiling a few meters above him. Apparently, so was his carpeted floor. The young man sighed. Yes, something was indeed up, and it appeared to be him.
Ranma lay thinking on the ceiling in his room at the Ono Clinic's attached residence. Today was one of those Saturdays where it was Doctor Ando's turn to run the clinic. This meant that Doctor Tofu Ono, the senior doctor at the clinic and Ranma's brother/uncle, had a little more time to himself this morning, especially since this dual-role individual was an early riser. Unfortunately, since the individual in question was part Kitsune, this was usually a bad thing – while "idle hands may be the devil's workshop" (an expression Ranma read in his English book), idle paws were infinitely worse.
Tofu was trying to train Ranma to respond to an alarm clock, but that wasn't going very well. On normal mornings, when they were both expected to be over at the Tendos' for an early breakfast, Tofu would set Ranma's alarm, but the young man would just turn the thing off in his sleep (sometimes rather violently – the current clock was made of titanium steel). Tofu would then have to issue a wake-up call. If the Doc was in a hurry, it would be a bucket of cold water. It was quick and to the point, but Tofu felt it lacked style, so he tried to arrange for more elaborate wake-up calls.
The high school all-female cheerleading squad had been a disaster. While they had woken Ranma up quickly, they also tried to trap him in his room and Ranma ended up diving out the window. When Akane found out, Ranma's fiancée had flown into a rage, but she lately had gotten into the habit of letting Ranma talk before she killed him. As a result, the blue-black haired firecracker had given Tofu a pulled kick to his stomach to catch him off-guard and a hard kick to his backside that launched him into the koi pond. While Tofu was an expert at martial arts and had known the young woman for much of her life, even he didn't account for how fast Akane could go critical – much to his chagrin. Ranma, on the other hand, had gotten off with a mild dope-slap and a warning that he'd had better not have enjoyed the attention (he hadn't). Tofu made a note not to involve females from here-on-in. The doctor also made a note about trying to curb Akane's temper further. Admittedly, she was toning things down – it had taken Tofu all of half a minute to shake it off (much longer to dry off though).
Whereas the stereo playing a symphony at full volume had been useless, the marching band playing under Ranma's room was much more effective. Mimicking Ryoga's "DIE RANMA!" yell didn't work although using Akane's voice did. For that matter, anything in Akane's voice (even "Good Morning") worked. However, actually having Akane wake him could backfire badly, especially on a weekend – they had missed one Saturday class because Ranma convinced her snuggling was a better use of their time. Kasumi had tried to scold the two for their truancy, but her heart hadn't been in it. It also didn't help that Ranma's mother, Nodoka, couldn't quite suppress her smile. Not even their teacher, Miss Hinako, had really punished them; instead, the woman-child had used the absence as an excuse to spend Sunday at the dojo. She had Ranma and Akane make up their work (with a little extra thrown in) and then spent the rest of the time playing video games with them. Ranma had needled Tofu by saying the doctor could save a lot of trouble by just having the alarm clock play a recording of Akane's voice. However, Ranma knew Tofu would consider that as "giving in" – it was the buzzer or nothing.
Occasionally, Tofu used out-and-out magic, which brought Ranma to today's stunt. Ranma ran over the Arcane lessons his Sensei (i.e. Tofu) had been teaching him to reason out how to get right-side up again. "This has to be an area effect spell," the shape-changer thought. "He cannot enchant me to defy gravity indefinitely – the actual energy required would be too great. If I leave the room, I should revert."
Ranma stood up and walked across the ceiling to the door of his room. Despite his upside-down stance, reaching the door handle was easy enough, but the door was locked (despite the fact it didn't have a lock). "Figures," he thought. "That would be too easy. I suppose I could bust down the door (or the wall for that matter), but he'd make me pay for the repairs. The challenge is to get out without breaking anything, including my bank account. That leaves the window."
The young man walked across to the sole window in his room. He kicked the blankets out of the way – enchanting them had been a nice touch – and then contemplated the pull-down shade. He reached up and gave the shade a tug so it rolled up (or down in Ranma's case). He removed the shade and watched it drop up to the floor. When he looked out the second story window, he saw his adversary sitting at a patio table in the yard reading the paper with his back to the window, drinking a cup of coffee. Ranma bent down and unlocked the window, and then slid the upper (lower) window down (up). He stuck his head out the window only to have a moment of strong vertigo. The spell definitely ended at the boundary of the room. As soon as he leaped out the window, up and down would sort themselves out immediately. Ranma brought his head back into the room, but not before he yelled out: "You only think you're funny!" Tofu seemed to be laughing silently at the remark.
Ranma walked away from the open window across the ceiling. Then he turned and ran at the window diving out and towards the sky. As he cleared the window and felt gravity re-assert itself fully, his foot lashed out and hit the upper frame, giving himself enough leverage to spin. When his body was partially facing the ground, he let loose a ball of chi – just enough to cause a little pain (although the Doc was probably shielding). To Ranma's complete surprise, the ball smashed into Tofu and the table, causing both to vanish altogether. "Ah crap!" Ranma yelled silently. "It's an illusion!" Ranma hit the ground hard where the table had been.
Ranma sprang to his feet as someone approached and tossed a bo staff to him. "You know, Grasshopper," Tofu said with a smirk. "Sooner or later, it's going to occur to your subconscious that responding to the buzzer is easier."
"But not nearly as interesting, Puppy!" Ranma shot back as he snatched the staff out of the air and attacked (after verifying that the staff was a not a trick).
Now began the second challenge of the morning – wiping that smirk off of Tofu's face. The two men immediately began sparring viciously. Obviously, Ranma must have slept past 8AM, or Tofu would never have started the battle (both men tried to be considerate of the neighbors – the neighboring houses were much closer to the clinic than those next to the dojo). This was an Anything Goes battle, with one restriction – don't alarm the neighbors. While they were exchanging physical blows, Ranma and Tofu were also exchanging invisible arcane blows as well. Unfortunately, while Ranma was better than Tofu at a straight martial arts battle, the Doc was much better at magic. Despite Ranma's rapid learning, the young man was still the apprentice.
Eventually, Tofu's watch rang and they both stopped and ran through a few katas together to cool down. Ranma had to admit to himself that he was relatively worse for the wear – something that annoyed him greatly. It was nothing a shower couldn't fix, and Tofu wasn't unscathed, but this session went to Tofu (not that Ranma would ever admit that out loud). As they rose, Ranma nodded to his uncle/brother and then ran to get his stuff.
Ranma was still annoyed when the two men walked to the dojo. Both of them planned on getting cleaned up there this morning. Tofu looked at Ranma and asked: "Have we learned a little humility yet?"
"Dream on, dog breath," Ranma shot back in a hushed voice so not to give away secrets. "I will get you yet."
"I ended my apprenticeship over a hundred and twenty-five years ago. I've been learning ever since. You have a ways to go, Apprentice," Tofu grinned back at him.
"We'll see. I'm a much faster learner," Ranma smirked.
Tofu chuckled. "Can we shelve this for another day?"
"Deal," Ranma said. After a few moments, he added grudgingly: "Sensei."
Tofu knew that when Ranma uttered the word 'Sensei', the battle was over for the day. Ranma would never call anyone "master", but he did acknowledge a handful of people as "Elder/Teacher" (even Happosai – if the old man was behaving himself). Ranma also didn't chafe at the word "apprentice" – he knew he had a ways to go in the magic department. "Grasshopper" sent Ranma through the roof though for some reason and was the quickest way to provoke the young man (or woman).
"Still, Ranma isn't joking about that 'fast learner' comment," Tofu reflected silently. "By the time I was Ranma's age, I had eight years of practice, and I wasn't as knowledgeable as he is now. This is despite the fact that Ranma has only had six months of instruction and that the shape-changer is sheltering a major Power – something that would normally block any sort of magic." The part-Kitsune grinned to himself then. "I better get the lessons into him while I can. Same with Akane – another fast learner."
Out loud, Tofu said "I never got a chance to ask you yesterday – how did the math test go?"
"An easy 'B'," Ranma answered. "Maybe an 'A'."
Tofu nodded. There was no point leaning too hard on the lad. Ranma had enough on his plate. A 'B' average would get him into the colleges Miss Hinako was pushing, so long as Ranma did well on the entrance exam. Tofu knew the lad was very bright, so it probably wouldn't be an issue.
As they neared the dojo, Tofu was about to ask about some of the other courses when Ranma suddenly spun and crouched down somewhat. He braced himself as a blue-black haired missile caught him about the chest. Ranma absorbed the impact with a grunt and a smile. "Good morning, Tomboy," the pig-tailed man teased.
Tofu hid his surprise – the doctor never felt anything since he wasn't the target of the 'attack.' He looked at the smiling short-haired young lady; Akane had a tendency to smile more these days (and 'Yes', she was cute when she smiled). Akane was in her jogging clothes. Obviously, she had slept in this morning as well, figuring that Ranma and Tofu would hold one of their infrequent morning sparring sessions. "Good morning, dummy," she returned with good humor. Both the teenagers straighten up and gave each other a kiss.
"Good morning, Miss Tendo," Tofu said after he figured the kiss had gone on long enough. Tofu wasn't in that much of a hurry, but he didn't want to be waiting all day for the teenagers to remember they were in the middle of the street.
"Good morning, Doctor," Akane replied after the couple broke their kiss. "I see everyone slept in this morning."
"Seemed like the thing to do," Tofu said with a shrug. "Did your father ever go to bed?"
"Auntie said he was still up this morning being irritable when she got up," Akane answered. "Kasumi made a point of singing loudly enough to keep him at a distance. Nabiki downed two cups of coffee and then joined her. Are you sure this is good for him?"
"Cigarettes are horrible things. They are addictive as hell; that's one of the reasons he is suffering so badly," Tofu stated. "They are also wrecking his lungs. He's not at the point of no return yet, but he's getting close – he's not healing as fast as he use to."
Akane just shrugged her shoulders and said: "Well, I believe you, but I'm not sure he does." The three of then resumed their walk toward the dojo. Akane and Ranma each had their arms about the other's waist. Akane continued: "He just accepted your challenge to get you to stop tampering with his cigarettes."
Tofu wanted his family (and his extended family) to be as healthy as possible. Akane and Ranma were easy – the teenagers were athletes in the purest sense of the word and treated their bodies accordingly: no drugs (except the occasional cola), no alcohol. Their worst indiscretion involved ice cream which they had maybe once or twice a week and the occasional sweet that they burned off easily. Kasumi treated good nutrition as a virtue and made sure she (and the family) ate healthy. Nodoka was a little too fond of sweet desserts, but knew it and strove for moderation. She had also started Tai Chi lessons with Kasumi, Akari, and about half a dozen other women at Tofu's careful prompting.
Nabiki was addicted to caffeine and was adamantly refusing to change. The drug was too easy to obtain and Tofu couldn't watch her every minute. Any effort he made was easily defeated. If he started making headway, she struck back with pranks or untimely interrupting his "alone time" with Kasumi. The best Tofu could get was a truce – she agreed to no cigarettes or any other drugs (including alcohol) and agreed to hit the college gym twice a week (all of which she was already doing). He had to agree to back off, which he did. However, he thought she was secretly pleased that he considered her worth worrying about. All-in-all, Tofu had to admit that Nabiki took care of her health.
Soun was Tofu's major concern. The man was fairly lazy. Despite all of his daughters badgering him, he exercised only when Happosai terrorized him (which Tofu made sure happened once a week – the doctor bribed Happosai with pornographic magazines). Soun was too fond of the drink and rich food, often eating out then going home for dinner. The cigarettes were doing the worst damage though and Tofu was taking extraordinary means to tamper with them. Unfortunately, Soun noticed and demanded that he stop, telling the doctor that the anti-smoking campaigns were nonsense. The Tendo patriarch should never have given Tofu an avenue of attack though – Tofu immediately issued a challenge: If all the campaigns were nonsense, Soun should prove it by stopping for two weeks. If Soun succeeded, Tofu would provide cigarettes for one year and give up badgering the Tendo elder, but if Soun could not do it, he'd have to admit that Tofu was right. Tofu also warned Soun that he could not cheat – there would be repercussion if he did. Soun accepted.
Within three days, Soun broke out with a mysterious rash that turned his skin bright blue. The rash only vanished when Soun admitted that Tofu was right.
Now Kasumi entered the fray and told Soun to stop. Hence their current predicament: Soun was going out of his mind without his little "friends." He could not stay still, his head hurt a lot, he became snappish, and he could not sleep. He was also striking back by interrupting Kasumi and Tofu whenever he could and guarding his daughters' virtue by insisting that Ranma and Tofu go home every evening before Soun went to sleep (or attempted to sleep anyway). He was also checking up on his daughters to make sure they had no "unauthorized company" at night.
Given Soun's past actions regarding caring for his daughters, these hypocritical actions sent everyone up in flames – including Nodoka. Not long ago, Ryoga had confessed to Nodoka about his curse and what he had done with it. The part-time pig had then taken his beating well enough – even though Nodoka had used his umbrella. Afterwards, Nodoka had been ready to rip Soun apart for failing to toss Ryoga out so long ago until Kasumi told her that Soun was not aware who knew – he thought only Kasumi and Tofu knew. Kasumi also told the elder woman that everyone was hoping Soun would confess to Akane and beg for absolution. Nodoka had left the house for a walk to cool down, but she eventually forgave Ryoga (Akane had after all, and Ryoga had grown up) and waited for Soun to own up to things.
Even so, Nodoka felt Soun was out-of-bounds considering other aspects of Soun's behavior. Kasumi was due to get married within two months and the eldest daughter was 22 years old – now Soun was saying something? He had been trying to throw Ranma into Akane's bed for the past two years. Now that he had succeeded (even if the two were sleeping chastely and Ranma was in his female form), he was suddenly switching course? But, she was a traditional Japanese woman and this was Soun's house (more or less), and these were Soun's daughters – technically, she was only a renter. Still, Soun could feel the icicles in her eyes anytime Nodoka looked at him.
As a result, Nodoka was now serving as a spotter for the elder couple, letting them know when Soun was tied up at a meeting or at a dinner. She wanted to do the same for Ranma and Akane, but they were at school and couldn't slip out for an "interlude" in the middle of the day. Besides which, the younger couple was not as "advanced" as the elder couple and Nodoka felt a little out-of-place serving as her son's lookout, even if they were more or less engaged (Ranma was actively saving up for a ring – and getting closer). Still, she was relieved to know that some of the training sessions the two engaged in after school involved a very different kind of "sparring". Nodoka had then paid for locks on the dojo doors after she interrupted them once, which the young couple appreciated.
The trio turned into the dojo property to find a morose Soun sitting in the yard. "Good morning, Daddy!" Akane said brightly. "It's a little chilly to be sitting outside, isn't it?"
"I'm not sick," Soun said moodily. "The cold will not hurt me."
"Didn't say it would, Daddy," Akane said in an overly perky voice. Soun just shuddered at the cheery sound.
"Good morning, gentlemen," Soun said with a sour expression, especially at Tofu.
"Good morning, Father," they said together with a slight bow, causing the expression to get worse.
The three entered the house and shouted: "We are here!" Behind them, Soun moaned.
Nodoka, Kasumi, and Nabiki shouted out from the family room. Kasumi and Nodoka had laid out a traditional breakfast. "Come eat first, you can get cleaned up later," Kasumi told them.
"How long has he been like that?" Tofu asked sitting down.
"Since I got up," Nodoka said. "The shakes have stopped though. Those cigarettes are nasty things, aren't they?"
"Yes, they are, especially for Soun. His lungs are a mess, which is why he is out of breath so much. Once he gets past the initial two weeks, things will get easier physically, but he will still crave cigarettes for a while," Tofu answered.
"Isn't there some sort of medicine to help ease the withdrawal?" the mom asked.
"Yes, there are patches and tablets I could give him," Tofu said. "But he doesn't want them. He's still trying to prove that all the press about cigarettes is nonsense, despite having lost the bet. I'm worried that once he's through the withdrawal, he'll start denying it ever happened."
"That's all right, Tofu," Nabiki said. "I needed a project for the Health class I'm required to take. I'm taping Daddy as we speak. If he starts that, we can have him watch the film I'm putting together."
"Nabiki!" Kasumi scolded. "I don't think you should profit from Father's misery!"
"It's for class," Nabiki said calmly. "I needed a project. The other idea I had was studying the mating habits of young Japanese adults, but I needed more test subjects." The two couples looked at her coldly. Nodoka held her head. Nabiki continued brightly: "I did have any number of males offering to help with the research though." Nodoka reached out and lightly dope-slapped the young lady, which Nabiki only took as a sign of affection.
After breakfast, Nabiki grabbed the bathroom while Akane and Ranma went out back to spar. Nodoka began running dishes to the kitchen. Kasumi got up and stood behind her fiancé. Then she bent down and tugged his pony-tail until his head tilted back and he was looking up at her. "This will not end well," she stated firmly.
"What won't?" Tofu said with an innocent face.
"You didn't eat that much this morning, which meant you were teasing Ranma. You were feeding off of his aggravation again," she stated.
"That was just a by-product," Tofu said. "He was throwing off the energy; I just gathered it up. It doesn't hurt him."
"That's not my concern – I know you love him as your brother. But Ranma does not back down and he doesn't give up," she said steadily.
"He needs to learn some humility," Tofu stated.
"This is not the way to do it," she responded.
"I've been teaching young men like him for a long time. Sooner of later, it seeps into their heads that they cannot go it alone and they need the help of a team. I made Taro see that," he answered.
"Ranma is not Taro. I would argue that he's already learned that lesson from Maomolin and Ryoga. (1) And Akane has been more successful at teaching him that he's human. Your challenge is just that – a personal challenge; and he will not stop until he wins," she pushed.
"I say he has a long way to go until that happens," Tofu said firmly.
"And I say he's not the only one who needs to learn humility," she said just as firmly. "Ranma changes and adapts very quickly. You may find yourself out-flanked when you least expect it." She let go his hair and started to grab more dishes.
"Not happening," Tofu said while shaking his head.
The serene smile returned to Kasumi face. "We will see – he only needs to win once against you to satisfy his ego. You need to be perfect every time."
Kasumi saw a concerned look appear on Tofu's face and decided that she had gotten through his thick skull. Her fiancé may be over 150 years old, but he had spent a lot of time walking among non-humans. In some ways, he was as young as he looked when it came to dealing with his own kind. Of course, she had to admit that those ways allowed them to have a good relationship – it put them on a more equal footing despite his extra experience. She walked into the kitchen to see Kin, Tofu's mother, talking with Nodoka. "Did you manage to get through to him, dear?" the old woman asked.
"Maybe," Kasumi responded. "We'll see. In some ways, he's as young and stubborn as Ranma – or Akane."
Kin laughed and said: "I'm afraid that's the Kitsune in him. As a species, it takes a long time for us to grow up."
There was a "pop" sound and Tomo appeared. The young red-headed Kitsune boy sat on a counter in jeans and a T-shirt with an open jeans jacket. "Personally, I'm not in a hurry to grow-up," he said. Nodoka handed him a cookie without a word and he nodded his thanks.
The three woman chatted for a few minutes before Nodoka addressed Tomo: "Tomo? Do you know where Sasuke is?"
"Yes, ma'am," the Kitsune replied. "He's in the tall tree closest to the house outside Akane's room. He's watching Akane and Ranma spar."
"Fine. Please take this breakfast sandwich to him and tell him I forbid him to spend tonight on the roof again. It is too cold. He can sleep in the family room and report back tomorrow. Honestly though, I'm not sure what he thinks is going to happen to us. It's been quiet for over a month now," Nodoka said.
Tomo took the sandwich and winced: "Never speak of your luck, Ms. Saotome. You never know what might be around the corner…"
A/N: Footnotes:
(1) A reference to the story "Brothers".
A/N: Next up: Shampoo's Last Attempt
