Ranma - The smallest of actions
The smallest of actions[R]
Niklas "Hawk" Jonsson
Summary: One small event drastically changes things for our young sex-changing Martial Artist. Ever since that event, things have been upside down in the Tendo residence and once things come to a head, Ranma decides to leave. But, he doesn't do so alone. Kasumi decides to come along with him! Just what caused this most dutiful of daughters to abandon her home and family to follow Ranma?
Disclaimer: Ranma ½, the characters and whatnot are not mine, though I certainly wish they were! Azumanga Daioh 'aint mine either! The story is mine though, all mine. This series deals with mature subject matters and violence. If this disturbs you, don't read. But if it does, then why the heck are you watching the show/reading the manga in the first place?
Oh, and listen up all you Akane:ites out there. You won't like my Akane. Trust me, you will NOT like her. You have now been warned, so don't say that I haven't warned you.
Feedback/Flames: Yes, please. Both of them are equally fun to read, although I must admit that I greatly prefer the first variety. :)
I can be found on ICQ as 21771860 or through e-mail as iamhawk@yahoo.com, more stories are available at my nifty lil' site at or by clicking on my handle up above if you're reading this on fanfiction.net.
"speech"
*emphasis/shouts/Kindred Domination/post-hypnotic triggers*
/thoughts/
*/telepathy/*
~translation~
+soundeffect/radio/telephone conversation/TV+
*** Previously, on 'The smallest of actions!' ***
Kasumi was surprised at the unexpected help, as Ranma was usually one of the first to clear out before she could bring herself to ask for help. Most of the time, she would find herself alone by the time she'd gathered enough courage to mention anything, and so, found herself forced to clean up on her own. She didn't mind, she told herself, truly didn't mind. But it was... Nice... To get some help and company, Ranma even stepped right up next to her and dried the dishes once she started washing them.
Her smile widened again as this happened, but neither Kasumi nor Ranma said anything regarding the matter. The two of them worked in companionable silence and this brief interlude resulted in Kasumi striding around the house with a larger smile then usual for the rest of the evening.
*** Roll credits ***
Chapter Two:
Day 5.
Ranma grumbled to himself as the clock awoke him from his slumber. Ordinarily, a clock wouldn't cut it when it came to awaken a Saotome from the depths of sleep. A fact which Ranma was very well aware of and thus, had taken the precaution of stuffing just mentioned clock down his boxers as he went to sleep. As the old-fashioned clock started clanging and vibrating, the family jewels were stirred in a most unwelcome way. This caused Ranma to bolt out of bed with a wild-eyed look and grumblings regarding impatient amazons and their wicked perverted ways, which were only slightly less disturbing then the wicked perverted ways of the freak Happosai.
As full wakefulness set in, Ranma recalled that the current situation was one of his own making. He shut the clock off and berated himself for what had seemed like such a good idea when he thought of it the evening before. But as he was now awake with enough Adrenaline coursing through his body to power an entire gym class, he figured that he might just as well go through with it.
With an absent kick directed at his sleeping fathers rear posterior, he left the room, while his father groused in his sleep about thankless offspring and the impertinence of today's youth. Ranma had heard it all before and thus, took no notice of it. Instead, he focused on remaining completely silent and muting his presence, integrating his battle aura with the Wa of the Tendo house to such a degree that he was now essentially part of the house itself.
He entered Kasumi's room and tip-toed up to her side without making a sound, smiling briefly at the cute muted snores the eldest Tendo sister emitted in her sleep, then turned off Kasumi's alarm. Not daring to risk remaining in there for another moment longer, he hastily made his way out, silently closing the door behind him.
Having decided to give Kasumi the morning off for once, he made his way downstairs and entered the kitchen. While he had been on the road with his father, the task of making breakfast had been his more often then not and he had worked at a sleazy diner on Hokkaido for a few weeks as he and his father had run out of money. While he'd been hired to wait tables, he had filled in more then once for the cook, a man who often overslept and then arrived when the first customers had already arrived, demanding their breakfast.
He didn't consider himself a fair cook by any stretch of the imagination and there would no doubt be complaints because breakfast wasn't up to the near-impossible standards set by Kasumi's cooking, but he hoped that at least one member of the household would appreciate the gesture.
He was still at work, when he heard somebody stir upstairs and a few moments later, heard Kasumi's muted voice exclaim her standard 'Oh my!' which indicated that she had awakened and happened to glance at her clock, realising that she'd overslept. Mere moments later, she darted into the kitchen, her robe flapping behind her as she'd just thrown it on before hurrying downstairs.
"Good morning, Kas..." Ranma started, only to blink in surprise and twirl back around to the bench he was working at, feeling a prickling in his nose due to what he'd just seen.
"Oh my!" Kasumi exclaimed again after looking down, blushing furiously and pulling the robe around herself, expertly tying it up. "Ranma, you're... Making breakfast?"
"Yeah... I figured you earned a break." Ranma muttered, trying to get his blushing cheeks under control and the image of the disgustingly cute Azumanga Daioh underwear Kasumi had been wearing out of his mind. "Don't you worry about a thing, Kasumi. I've got everything under control here. Treat yourself to a long soak in the bath, some extra sleep or something."
"But... Why?" Kasumi inquired, still staring in disbelief at the surprising kitchen skills of one Saotome Ranma, skills which she'd never previously even suspected that he might possess.
"I figured you'd earned a break." Ranma muttered, trying to keep his embarrassment under control. If his father saw or heard him now, he'd never hear the end of it.
Kasumi didn't know what to think, what to believe or what to say. She had secretly dreaded that Akane might one day come up with a similar notion, but never even in her wildest dreams had she imagined that Ranma might do something like this. She briefly wondered about the fact that Ranma was up this early and suddenly realised why her alarm clock radio hadn't awakened her as it always did. She hadn't forgotten to set that in the last eight or nine years or so and had been extremely surprised to awaken from her slumber only to find out that she'd overslept.
She blushed again, suddenly very grateful that Ranma still hadn't turned around, as she realised that he must have entered her room while she slept and turned her alarm off. She quietly looked at his back for a while, wondering just how long ago it had been since she last had a man in her room and came to the sad conclusion that other then her father and Ryoga who'd entered by mistake a couple of times, there hadn't been a man in her room since she was in school and had a group of her classmates over for a study session.
While she did felt tempted to mention how inappropriate it was for him to enter her room like that, she forced herself to remain silent on that topic and instead decided to take Ranma up on his generous offer.
"Thank you, Ranma." Kasumi said. "I think I'll take you up on your generous offer and take a bath." she added, wondering just how long it had been since she'd last had time for anything other then a hasty scrubbing in the morning before having to get downstairs to make breakfast for the family, concluding that there hadn't been any such opportunity since her mothers death.
"Take your time. Breakfast won't be ready yet for a while." Ranma informed her, still refusing to turn around, still sporting a certain redness on his cheeks from the unexpected view he'd gotten earlier. Kasumi smiled and headed for the bathroom, cleaning herself off with cold water and scrubbing herself down before she gratefully sank down in the hot water.
She leaned back and closed her eyes, enjoying the moment and wondering about the odd turn of events this day had taken. There had been one surprise after another. First, finding out that she'd overslept. Then inadvertedly allowing Ranma to see her in nothing but her underwear. As if that wasn't enough, she'd worn her Chiyo-chan underwear. Kasumi blushed yet again as that thought crossed her mind.
After that, realise that Ranma was making breakfast, displaying skills she'd never credited him with. Then reason out that he'd entered her room and shut her alarm off, while she slept. Him telling her that she'd earned a break from her regular routine.
That last one disturbed her, made her squirm in the warm water. While she had been aware that she'd been in a rut, and been in it for quite some time now, she hadn't realised just how bad it was until now when she was doing something vastly different from her normal schedule.
Wake up. Morning toilet. Short scrub, hasty wash. Prepare for making breakfast. Morning Tai Chi. Make breakfast. Make lunchboxes for school. Set the table. Serve breakfast. Eat breakfast. Clean the table. Wash the dishes. Send sisters and Ranma off to school. Do the laundry. Make, serve and drink tea. Go shopping. If time permits, squeeze in a visit to Doctor Tofu. Put away the groceries. Make, serve and eat lunch. Do the dishes. Clean one part of the house or dojo, which depending on what day of the week it was. Make, serve and drink tea. Brief moment to read or watch TV. Prepare, make, serve and eat dinner. Do the dishes. Help Akane with homework or discuss budget with Nabiki. Make, serve and drink tea. Evening Tai Chi. Read book, watch TV or repair torn clothes. Evening toilet. Set alarm. Sleep. Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.
The life of Tendo Kasumi, in a nutshell. The arrival of the Saotomes had relieved some of the boredom. But other then the fact that breakfast, lunch, dinner, laundry and general cleanup now took a little more time, she had less time for reading, had to increase the pace somewhat as she went shopping, couldn't visit Doctor Tofu quite as often as before, nothing much other then a few 'Observe general mayhem', 'See Ranma fight opponent of the week' and 'Clean up after argument between Akane and Ranma' had found it's way into her schedule.
If that wasn't a depressing thought, she didn't know what was. Despite all the excitement and mayhem that had followed in the Saotomes wake, her daily life had hardly changed at all. Ranma had been helping her out more and more in the last couple of days though, that was one change she'd noted. All alone like this, reflecting upon her life, the happy face she tended to show the world was nowhere in sight. While she knew that her father and her sisters really did appreciate what she did for the family and the sacrifices she'd made over the years, they certainly didn't act like it all that often.
She had been aware of all the work she'd done and the sacrifices she'd made, but this was the first time that one question had popped into her mind while considering them.
Was it really worth it?
She shook her head. Worth it or not, it was too late to do anything about it now. Her family depended on her and there just wasn't anyone among them who had it in them to replace her. She'd sacrificed her life, her future, to care for her family. A family which by now seemed to take her for granted.
Tendo Soun, her father, was still a nervous wreck, what little improvement there had been over the years since her mothers death was not nearly enough. She knew better then anyone just how close to the edge Tendo Soun still was, even after all this time. He'd made an effort to conceal it after the Saotomes arrived, but Kasumi still caught him crying in various corners of the house from time to time. Times during which she'd pull him into her arms and he'd soak her clothes with his tears, whimpering the name of his wife under his breath.
Tendo Nabiki might seem more or less okay to the outside observer, but Kasumi wasn't fooled by her facade. Afraid to allow herself to depend on anyone, to really feel for anyone, Nabiki had cultivated the image of the emotionless mercenary most people saw her as. Not so Kasumi, she penetrated the disguise and saw the terrified girl behind it. She saw the little girl who still grieved her mother, who wanted real friends so badly that she cried into her pillow at night and who yearned for a boyfriend with all her heart, but couldn't bring herself to take the emotional risks involved to make it happen. Nabiki hid it well, but Kasumi knew.
Tendo Akane might have taken the death of their mother worst of all. She'd thrown herself into the Art with all her heart, forsaken nearly all other interests in her life. Her sweet disposition was now a thing of the past, though glimpses of it made itself visible from time to time. But more often then not, she allowed her emotions and feelings to run wild. Hot or cold, rest or full speed, happy or furious, love or hate. Akane was a girl of extremes, with no real middle ground. While Ranma and Ryoga had helped her somewhat in fighting her hatred of boys, she still had plenty of issues and a long way to go.
Of all of them, Akane was the one who worried Kasumi the most. Soun was no danger to anyone but himself, Nabiki a danger only to the wallet and bank accounts of others and herself, well, Kasumi couldn't imagine herself ever harming anyone. But Akane... Kasumi often found herself afraid of what Akane might do to someone. If Ranma hadn't been so durable and so quick on the recovery, Kasumi had no doubt that he'd be dead by Akane's hand by now.
"Huh? Kasumi?"
Kasumi lazily opened her eyes and her face assumed with lightening speed the trademark smiling face she always showed to her family, looking over at Akane who stood naked at the entrance with nothing but a towel held up in front of her sweat-soaked body. It appeared as if her morning jog was over and done with.
"Good morning, Akane." Kasumi greeted her youngest sister. "The 'occupied' sign *is* there for a reason. What if it had been Ranma you'd walked in on? That would hardly have been proper, now would it? Or Mr Saotome?" she inquired, adding the last three words after seeing that the notion of walking in on Ranma didn't seem to faze Akane in the slightest. But as the idea of walking into a room already occupied by a naked Genma took hold in her mind, Kasumi noted with satisfaction that Akane shuddered with revulsion. "But it's just as well that you came, I've been in here long enough. Come on in." she continued and got up, drying her torso off and stepping out of the tub to finish up.
After Akane had rinsed herself off with cold water, Kasumi got down on her knees and scrubbed her back, for which she got a groaned 'Thank you, Kasumi-nee' from her younger sister before Akane soaked herself with cold water again, before she slipped into the tub. Kasumi closed the sliding door behind her bathing sister, then quietly slipped into her clothes and emerged from the bath, revitalised and with no real idea of what she should do now. Ordinarily, she was busy with breakfast and would have no shortage of things to do, but now...
She hesitated for a while, trying to think of what to do, only to notice that she'd mindlessly drifted down to the kitchen before she knew it. She leaned against the doorway, silently observing Ranma putting the finishing touches to the breakfast. Her hands itched for something to do and she had to laugh mentally at herself, thought perhaps crying would have been more appropriate. She really had messed up her life, hadn't she? Housewife at twenty, not exactly what she had pictured herself doing at this time in her life as a dreaming little kid trying to picture her life in the future.
Veterinarian, painter, nurse, pilot, owning her own flower shop, doctor, world-famous pianist, running a tea house, studying abroad, lead singer in a band... She'd had so many dreams and now look. Housewife, without even being married. Married, pfah, she hadn't even been on her first date yet. She had kissed a boy once, but she'd only been five years old at the time, so it probably didn't count.
"Can I help you with anything, Ranma?" Kasumi asked, causing Ranma to jump a little as he'd been so focused on what he was doing that he'd zoned out his surroundings.
"Kasumi!" Ranma exclaimed, taking a deep breath and trying to cover up the fact that he'd been startled by her. "Heh. Well, I'm almost done. You could taste the Miso and make sure that Akane's lack of talents hasn't rubbed off on me, I suppose." he added and Kasumi was caught between the impulse to raise a disapproving eyebrow at his dig at Akanes cooking and the impulse to smile in satisfaction because she had been curious and eager to see what kind of a cook Ranma was and this way, she'd get to find out faster.
In the end, she settled for her usual smiling masque and strode over to fetch a little cup to taste from. She transferred a small amount of soup to the cup, blew softly on it to cool it down and raised it to her lips. She took a cautious sip, dreading the worst, but hoping for the best. In the end, she was pleasantly surprised.
"Very good, Ranma." she complimented him, hesitated for a while and then decided to be completely honest. He'd earned that. "Though... A little more spice wouldn't hurt." she added hesitantly, wondering how he would take it. She'd gotten cautious in offering her opinions since Akane had tripled her efforts in learning how to cook. Ranma didn't seem to mind though, walking over towards her and using the tiny cup that was already out to have a little taste of his own.
"Can't argue with you there, Kasumi." Ranma agreed, adding a pinch of Kasumi's own special blend. "Think that'll do it?" he asked her in a way that made her feel that he really cared about her opinion. She nodded and the smile got a little wider, as did the one on Ranma's own lips as he looked up at her. "Thank you." he offered.
"No, Ranma. Thank you. It was very sweet of you to do this for me." Kasumi responded.
"Think nothing of it, Kasumi. If anyone deserves a little pampering around here, it's you. Now scoot, seat yourself at the table." he ordered her, but with a friendly smile on his lips.
"Roger." Kasumi responded, adding a mock salute before she blinked in surprise at her own behaviour as she headed for the table.
"And don't even think of coming in here after breakfast either. I made a mess, I'll clean it up and do the dishes." Ranma added over his shoulder, causing her to stop dead in her tracks. Had she been more like Nabiki, she would have started to suspect that he wanted something from her. But even despite the fact that she wasn't more like Nabiki, she still found herself wondering about what might be behind this very un-Ranma-like behaviour the young houseguest was displaying.
Did he want money? No, he would have gone to Nabiki or possibly Akane for that. But, try as she might, Kasumi couldn't come up with anything else he might be trying to swindle out of her with this uncharacteristic behaviour. She resumed her walk and hesitantly seated herself at the table, looking over at the rice cooker. She reached out and leaned over to check the progress.
"Ah. Ah. Ah." Ranma cautioned from inside the kitchen and Kasumi guiltily pulled back, needlessly smoothing out non-existent wrinkles on her clothes. She was soon joined by a bleary-eyed Nabiki who slumped down at the table, still in her jammies and with her hair in disarray. Soun and Genma arrived shortly after that and finally, Akane arrived and seated herself. All of them sat there in silence for half a minute, then everybody blinked and looked at the clock. Kasumi looked over it as well, Ranma was twenty seconds late compared to when breakfast would usually be served.
Only then did the others take note of the fact that Kasumi wasn't in the kitchen, but seated there at the table with them. Surprised glances were directed at her.
"Kasumi! But who's..." Akane started, only to fall silent as Ranma emerged from the kitchen, expertly carrying everything at once.
"Oh my!" Kasumi exclaimed, briefly fretting over the security of the containers, before she recalled seeing Ranma at work during the time he'd been working as a 'waitress' at the Cat Cafe during that whole mess with the Phoenix Pill. She gave off a mental sigh of relief as she realised that she'd seen him handle more then that before and it did indeed seem as if everything was under control as Ranma placed everything on the table, then started dishing out rice to everyone.
"Ranma?" Akane asked, staring at the boy in question as if he'd been replaced with a pod person.
"Ranma-baby, you made breakfast?" Nabiki exclaimed.
"What's the meaning of this, boy?!" Genma demanded.
"I woke up early this morning and when I got to the kitchen, Kasumi had yet to start breakfast. I figured she deserved a break and decided to do it for her, allowing her a little time for herself." Ranma replied confidently and without hesitation. Obviously he'd taken some time during breakfast to think out a reply which couldn't possibly be misunderstood by Akane, though it certainly appeared as if she attempted to do so, before she admitted defeat.
"Well, she'll certainly be getting a break once we're all in the hospital with food poisoning." Akane snorted, attacking his cooking in lieu of complaining about his reasoning, which she really couldn't fault without making it sound as if Kasumi didn't deserve a break. Ranma bristled at the comment and Kasumi could see how he swallowed down the 'Oh, you didn't say you were going to cook for us, tomboy?' retort he so desperately wanted to voice.
"Well, it can't be worse then your cooking, lil' sister." Nabiki groused, still not completely awake. The middle Tendo sister really wasn't much of a morning person. Akane wasn't either, but she forced herself out jogging to clear the fogs of her mind so that she was at least awake when she returned, though her mood usually wasn't much better then Nabiki's. "Though it probably isn't far off." she added in a low grumble.
"Akane, Nabiki. That wasn't nice of you, either one. I for one will gladly try Ranma's cooking." Kasumi calmly interjected, accepting a bowl of rice from Ranma.
"Thanks for the support, Kasumi." Ranma thanked her, then dug in with a hastily offered 'Ittadakimasu' and a hearty appetite. The others soon followed suit, as did Kasumi herself, confirming her suspicions regarding Ranma's cooking. It wasn't bad, not by any stretch of the imagination. It was just... Simple.
When Kasumi herself cooked, she pulled out all the stops and made an effort, walked that extra mile, put all her soul into it and it showed in the result. Ranma did not, and that showed as well. Kasumi didn't mind though, not at all and happily accepted seconds, as did most of the others. Mr Saotome and Ranma himself even had thirds and fourths. Neither one gulped down the fifth they usually had, though. But it appeared as if Ranma had thought that might happen, and not made as much as Kasumi usually did.
When everybody was finished and Ranma had gotten a round of more-or-less surprised thanks, Kasumi reached out as if to pick up her plate and begin cleaning the table, but never got that far before she was stopped.
"Uh, uh, uh. The kitchen is off limits to you for now. Now, scoot." Ranma admonished her and hounded her out into the living room, before he set out to clean up and do the dishes. Once finished, he snatched up three lunch boxes, handed one to Akane and one to Nabiki, then all three of them took off for school.
Kasumi went about the rest of the day with her smile a little bit wider then usual.
The End! ( For now... )
Niklas "Hawk" Jonsson
Disclaimer: Ranma ½, the characters and whatnot are not mine, though I certainly wish they were! Azumanga Daioh 'aint mine either! The story is mine though, all mine. This series deals with mature subject matters and violence. If this disturbs you, don't read. But if it does, then why the heck are you watching the show/reading the manga in the first place?
Oh, and listen up all you Akane:ites out there. You won't like my Akane. Trust me, you will NOT like her. You have now been warned, so don't say that I haven't warned you.
Feedback/Flames: Yes, please. Both of them are equally fun to read, although I must admit that I greatly prefer the first variety. :)
I can be found on ICQ as 21771860 or through e-mail as iamhawk@yahoo.com, more stories are available at my nifty lil' site at or by clicking on my handle up above if you're reading this on fanfiction.net.
"speech"
*emphasis/shouts/Kindred Domination/post-hypnotic triggers*
/thoughts/
*/telepathy/*
~translation~
+soundeffect/radio/telephone conversation/TV+
Kasumi was surprised at the unexpected help, as Ranma was usually one of the first to clear out before she could bring herself to ask for help. Most of the time, she would find herself alone by the time she'd gathered enough courage to mention anything, and so, found herself forced to clean up on her own. She didn't mind, she told herself, truly didn't mind. But it was... Nice... To get some help and company, Ranma even stepped right up next to her and dried the dishes once she started washing them.
Her smile widened again as this happened, but neither Kasumi nor Ranma said anything regarding the matter. The two of them worked in companionable silence and this brief interlude resulted in Kasumi striding around the house with a larger smile then usual for the rest of the evening.
Day 5.
Ranma grumbled to himself as the clock awoke him from his slumber. Ordinarily, a clock wouldn't cut it when it came to awaken a Saotome from the depths of sleep. A fact which Ranma was very well aware of and thus, had taken the precaution of stuffing just mentioned clock down his boxers as he went to sleep. As the old-fashioned clock started clanging and vibrating, the family jewels were stirred in a most unwelcome way. This caused Ranma to bolt out of bed with a wild-eyed look and grumblings regarding impatient amazons and their wicked perverted ways, which were only slightly less disturbing then the wicked perverted ways of the freak Happosai.
As full wakefulness set in, Ranma recalled that the current situation was one of his own making. He shut the clock off and berated himself for what had seemed like such a good idea when he thought of it the evening before. But as he was now awake with enough Adrenaline coursing through his body to power an entire gym class, he figured that he might just as well go through with it.
With an absent kick directed at his sleeping fathers rear posterior, he left the room, while his father groused in his sleep about thankless offspring and the impertinence of today's youth. Ranma had heard it all before and thus, took no notice of it. Instead, he focused on remaining completely silent and muting his presence, integrating his battle aura with the Wa of the Tendo house to such a degree that he was now essentially part of the house itself.
He entered Kasumi's room and tip-toed up to her side without making a sound, smiling briefly at the cute muted snores the eldest Tendo sister emitted in her sleep, then turned off Kasumi's alarm. Not daring to risk remaining in there for another moment longer, he hastily made his way out, silently closing the door behind him.
Having decided to give Kasumi the morning off for once, he made his way downstairs and entered the kitchen. While he had been on the road with his father, the task of making breakfast had been his more often then not and he had worked at a sleazy diner on Hokkaido for a few weeks as he and his father had run out of money. While he'd been hired to wait tables, he had filled in more then once for the cook, a man who often overslept and then arrived when the first customers had already arrived, demanding their breakfast.
He didn't consider himself a fair cook by any stretch of the imagination and there would no doubt be complaints because breakfast wasn't up to the near-impossible standards set by Kasumi's cooking, but he hoped that at least one member of the household would appreciate the gesture.
He was still at work, when he heard somebody stir upstairs and a few moments later, heard Kasumi's muted voice exclaim her standard 'Oh my!' which indicated that she had awakened and happened to glance at her clock, realising that she'd overslept. Mere moments later, she darted into the kitchen, her robe flapping behind her as she'd just thrown it on before hurrying downstairs.
"Good morning, Kas..." Ranma started, only to blink in surprise and twirl back around to the bench he was working at, feeling a prickling in his nose due to what he'd just seen.
"Oh my!" Kasumi exclaimed again after looking down, blushing furiously and pulling the robe around herself, expertly tying it up. "Ranma, you're... Making breakfast?"
"Yeah... I figured you earned a break." Ranma muttered, trying to get his blushing cheeks under control and the image of the disgustingly cute Azumanga Daioh underwear Kasumi had been wearing out of his mind. "Don't you worry about a thing, Kasumi. I've got everything under control here. Treat yourself to a long soak in the bath, some extra sleep or something."
"But... Why?" Kasumi inquired, still staring in disbelief at the surprising kitchen skills of one Saotome Ranma, skills which she'd never previously even suspected that he might possess.
"I figured you'd earned a break." Ranma muttered, trying to keep his embarrassment under control. If his father saw or heard him now, he'd never hear the end of it.
Kasumi didn't know what to think, what to believe or what to say. She had secretly dreaded that Akane might one day come up with a similar notion, but never even in her wildest dreams had she imagined that Ranma might do something like this. She briefly wondered about the fact that Ranma was up this early and suddenly realised why her alarm clock radio hadn't awakened her as it always did. She hadn't forgotten to set that in the last eight or nine years or so and had been extremely surprised to awaken from her slumber only to find out that she'd overslept.
She blushed again, suddenly very grateful that Ranma still hadn't turned around, as she realised that he must have entered her room while she slept and turned her alarm off. She quietly looked at his back for a while, wondering just how long ago it had been since she last had a man in her room and came to the sad conclusion that other then her father and Ryoga who'd entered by mistake a couple of times, there hadn't been a man in her room since she was in school and had a group of her classmates over for a study session.
While she did felt tempted to mention how inappropriate it was for him to enter her room like that, she forced herself to remain silent on that topic and instead decided to take Ranma up on his generous offer.
"Thank you, Ranma." Kasumi said. "I think I'll take you up on your generous offer and take a bath." she added, wondering just how long it had been since she'd last had time for anything other then a hasty scrubbing in the morning before having to get downstairs to make breakfast for the family, concluding that there hadn't been any such opportunity since her mothers death.
"Take your time. Breakfast won't be ready yet for a while." Ranma informed her, still refusing to turn around, still sporting a certain redness on his cheeks from the unexpected view he'd gotten earlier. Kasumi smiled and headed for the bathroom, cleaning herself off with cold water and scrubbing herself down before she gratefully sank down in the hot water.
She leaned back and closed her eyes, enjoying the moment and wondering about the odd turn of events this day had taken. There had been one surprise after another. First, finding out that she'd overslept. Then inadvertedly allowing Ranma to see her in nothing but her underwear. As if that wasn't enough, she'd worn her Chiyo-chan underwear. Kasumi blushed yet again as that thought crossed her mind.
After that, realise that Ranma was making breakfast, displaying skills she'd never credited him with. Then reason out that he'd entered her room and shut her alarm off, while she slept. Him telling her that she'd earned a break from her regular routine.
That last one disturbed her, made her squirm in the warm water. While she had been aware that she'd been in a rut, and been in it for quite some time now, she hadn't realised just how bad it was until now when she was doing something vastly different from her normal schedule.
Wake up. Morning toilet. Short scrub, hasty wash. Prepare for making breakfast. Morning Tai Chi. Make breakfast. Make lunchboxes for school. Set the table. Serve breakfast. Eat breakfast. Clean the table. Wash the dishes. Send sisters and Ranma off to school. Do the laundry. Make, serve and drink tea. Go shopping. If time permits, squeeze in a visit to Doctor Tofu. Put away the groceries. Make, serve and eat lunch. Do the dishes. Clean one part of the house or dojo, which depending on what day of the week it was. Make, serve and drink tea. Brief moment to read or watch TV. Prepare, make, serve and eat dinner. Do the dishes. Help Akane with homework or discuss budget with Nabiki. Make, serve and drink tea. Evening Tai Chi. Read book, watch TV or repair torn clothes. Evening toilet. Set alarm. Sleep. Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Repeat.
The life of Tendo Kasumi, in a nutshell. The arrival of the Saotomes had relieved some of the boredom. But other then the fact that breakfast, lunch, dinner, laundry and general cleanup now took a little more time, she had less time for reading, had to increase the pace somewhat as she went shopping, couldn't visit Doctor Tofu quite as often as before, nothing much other then a few 'Observe general mayhem', 'See Ranma fight opponent of the week' and 'Clean up after argument between Akane and Ranma' had found it's way into her schedule.
If that wasn't a depressing thought, she didn't know what was. Despite all the excitement and mayhem that had followed in the Saotomes wake, her daily life had hardly changed at all. Ranma had been helping her out more and more in the last couple of days though, that was one change she'd noted. All alone like this, reflecting upon her life, the happy face she tended to show the world was nowhere in sight. While she knew that her father and her sisters really did appreciate what she did for the family and the sacrifices she'd made over the years, they certainly didn't act like it all that often.
She had been aware of all the work she'd done and the sacrifices she'd made, but this was the first time that one question had popped into her mind while considering them.
Was it really worth it?
She shook her head. Worth it or not, it was too late to do anything about it now. Her family depended on her and there just wasn't anyone among them who had it in them to replace her. She'd sacrificed her life, her future, to care for her family. A family which by now seemed to take her for granted.
Tendo Soun, her father, was still a nervous wreck, what little improvement there had been over the years since her mothers death was not nearly enough. She knew better then anyone just how close to the edge Tendo Soun still was, even after all this time. He'd made an effort to conceal it after the Saotomes arrived, but Kasumi still caught him crying in various corners of the house from time to time. Times during which she'd pull him into her arms and he'd soak her clothes with his tears, whimpering the name of his wife under his breath.
Tendo Nabiki might seem more or less okay to the outside observer, but Kasumi wasn't fooled by her facade. Afraid to allow herself to depend on anyone, to really feel for anyone, Nabiki had cultivated the image of the emotionless mercenary most people saw her as. Not so Kasumi, she penetrated the disguise and saw the terrified girl behind it. She saw the little girl who still grieved her mother, who wanted real friends so badly that she cried into her pillow at night and who yearned for a boyfriend with all her heart, but couldn't bring herself to take the emotional risks involved to make it happen. Nabiki hid it well, but Kasumi knew.
Tendo Akane might have taken the death of their mother worst of all. She'd thrown herself into the Art with all her heart, forsaken nearly all other interests in her life. Her sweet disposition was now a thing of the past, though glimpses of it made itself visible from time to time. But more often then not, she allowed her emotions and feelings to run wild. Hot or cold, rest or full speed, happy or furious, love or hate. Akane was a girl of extremes, with no real middle ground. While Ranma and Ryoga had helped her somewhat in fighting her hatred of boys, she still had plenty of issues and a long way to go.
Of all of them, Akane was the one who worried Kasumi the most. Soun was no danger to anyone but himself, Nabiki a danger only to the wallet and bank accounts of others and herself, well, Kasumi couldn't imagine herself ever harming anyone. But Akane... Kasumi often found herself afraid of what Akane might do to someone. If Ranma hadn't been so durable and so quick on the recovery, Kasumi had no doubt that he'd be dead by Akane's hand by now.
"Huh? Kasumi?"
Kasumi lazily opened her eyes and her face assumed with lightening speed the trademark smiling face she always showed to her family, looking over at Akane who stood naked at the entrance with nothing but a towel held up in front of her sweat-soaked body. It appeared as if her morning jog was over and done with.
"Good morning, Akane." Kasumi greeted her youngest sister. "The 'occupied' sign *is* there for a reason. What if it had been Ranma you'd walked in on? That would hardly have been proper, now would it? Or Mr Saotome?" she inquired, adding the last three words after seeing that the notion of walking in on Ranma didn't seem to faze Akane in the slightest. But as the idea of walking into a room already occupied by a naked Genma took hold in her mind, Kasumi noted with satisfaction that Akane shuddered with revulsion. "But it's just as well that you came, I've been in here long enough. Come on in." she continued and got up, drying her torso off and stepping out of the tub to finish up.
After Akane had rinsed herself off with cold water, Kasumi got down on her knees and scrubbed her back, for which she got a groaned 'Thank you, Kasumi-nee' from her younger sister before Akane soaked herself with cold water again, before she slipped into the tub. Kasumi closed the sliding door behind her bathing sister, then quietly slipped into her clothes and emerged from the bath, revitalised and with no real idea of what she should do now. Ordinarily, she was busy with breakfast and would have no shortage of things to do, but now...
She hesitated for a while, trying to think of what to do, only to notice that she'd mindlessly drifted down to the kitchen before she knew it. She leaned against the doorway, silently observing Ranma putting the finishing touches to the breakfast. Her hands itched for something to do and she had to laugh mentally at herself, thought perhaps crying would have been more appropriate. She really had messed up her life, hadn't she? Housewife at twenty, not exactly what she had pictured herself doing at this time in her life as a dreaming little kid trying to picture her life in the future.
Veterinarian, painter, nurse, pilot, owning her own flower shop, doctor, world-famous pianist, running a tea house, studying abroad, lead singer in a band... She'd had so many dreams and now look. Housewife, without even being married. Married, pfah, she hadn't even been on her first date yet. She had kissed a boy once, but she'd only been five years old at the time, so it probably didn't count.
"Can I help you with anything, Ranma?" Kasumi asked, causing Ranma to jump a little as he'd been so focused on what he was doing that he'd zoned out his surroundings.
"Kasumi!" Ranma exclaimed, taking a deep breath and trying to cover up the fact that he'd been startled by her. "Heh. Well, I'm almost done. You could taste the Miso and make sure that Akane's lack of talents hasn't rubbed off on me, I suppose." he added and Kasumi was caught between the impulse to raise a disapproving eyebrow at his dig at Akanes cooking and the impulse to smile in satisfaction because she had been curious and eager to see what kind of a cook Ranma was and this way, she'd get to find out faster.
In the end, she settled for her usual smiling masque and strode over to fetch a little cup to taste from. She transferred a small amount of soup to the cup, blew softly on it to cool it down and raised it to her lips. She took a cautious sip, dreading the worst, but hoping for the best. In the end, she was pleasantly surprised.
"Very good, Ranma." she complimented him, hesitated for a while and then decided to be completely honest. He'd earned that. "Though... A little more spice wouldn't hurt." she added hesitantly, wondering how he would take it. She'd gotten cautious in offering her opinions since Akane had tripled her efforts in learning how to cook. Ranma didn't seem to mind though, walking over towards her and using the tiny cup that was already out to have a little taste of his own.
"Can't argue with you there, Kasumi." Ranma agreed, adding a pinch of Kasumi's own special blend. "Think that'll do it?" he asked her in a way that made her feel that he really cared about her opinion. She nodded and the smile got a little wider, as did the one on Ranma's own lips as he looked up at her. "Thank you." he offered.
"No, Ranma. Thank you. It was very sweet of you to do this for me." Kasumi responded.
"Think nothing of it, Kasumi. If anyone deserves a little pampering around here, it's you. Now scoot, seat yourself at the table." he ordered her, but with a friendly smile on his lips.
"Roger." Kasumi responded, adding a mock salute before she blinked in surprise at her own behaviour as she headed for the table.
"And don't even think of coming in here after breakfast either. I made a mess, I'll clean it up and do the dishes." Ranma added over his shoulder, causing her to stop dead in her tracks. Had she been more like Nabiki, she would have started to suspect that he wanted something from her. But even despite the fact that she wasn't more like Nabiki, she still found herself wondering about what might be behind this very un-Ranma-like behaviour the young houseguest was displaying.
Did he want money? No, he would have gone to Nabiki or possibly Akane for that. But, try as she might, Kasumi couldn't come up with anything else he might be trying to swindle out of her with this uncharacteristic behaviour. She resumed her walk and hesitantly seated herself at the table, looking over at the rice cooker. She reached out and leaned over to check the progress.
"Ah. Ah. Ah." Ranma cautioned from inside the kitchen and Kasumi guiltily pulled back, needlessly smoothing out non-existent wrinkles on her clothes. She was soon joined by a bleary-eyed Nabiki who slumped down at the table, still in her jammies and with her hair in disarray. Soun and Genma arrived shortly after that and finally, Akane arrived and seated herself. All of them sat there in silence for half a minute, then everybody blinked and looked at the clock. Kasumi looked over it as well, Ranma was twenty seconds late compared to when breakfast would usually be served.
Only then did the others take note of the fact that Kasumi wasn't in the kitchen, but seated there at the table with them. Surprised glances were directed at her.
"Kasumi! But who's..." Akane started, only to fall silent as Ranma emerged from the kitchen, expertly carrying everything at once.
"Oh my!" Kasumi exclaimed, briefly fretting over the security of the containers, before she recalled seeing Ranma at work during the time he'd been working as a 'waitress' at the Cat Cafe during that whole mess with the Phoenix Pill. She gave off a mental sigh of relief as she realised that she'd seen him handle more then that before and it did indeed seem as if everything was under control as Ranma placed everything on the table, then started dishing out rice to everyone.
"Ranma?" Akane asked, staring at the boy in question as if he'd been replaced with a pod person.
"Ranma-baby, you made breakfast?" Nabiki exclaimed.
"What's the meaning of this, boy?!" Genma demanded.
"I woke up early this morning and when I got to the kitchen, Kasumi had yet to start breakfast. I figured she deserved a break and decided to do it for her, allowing her a little time for herself." Ranma replied confidently and without hesitation. Obviously he'd taken some time during breakfast to think out a reply which couldn't possibly be misunderstood by Akane, though it certainly appeared as if she attempted to do so, before she admitted defeat.
"Well, she'll certainly be getting a break once we're all in the hospital with food poisoning." Akane snorted, attacking his cooking in lieu of complaining about his reasoning, which she really couldn't fault without making it sound as if Kasumi didn't deserve a break. Ranma bristled at the comment and Kasumi could see how he swallowed down the 'Oh, you didn't say you were going to cook for us, tomboy?' retort he so desperately wanted to voice.
"Well, it can't be worse then your cooking, lil' sister." Nabiki groused, still not completely awake. The middle Tendo sister really wasn't much of a morning person. Akane wasn't either, but she forced herself out jogging to clear the fogs of her mind so that she was at least awake when she returned, though her mood usually wasn't much better then Nabiki's. "Though it probably isn't far off." she added in a low grumble.
"Akane, Nabiki. That wasn't nice of you, either one. I for one will gladly try Ranma's cooking." Kasumi calmly interjected, accepting a bowl of rice from Ranma.
"Thanks for the support, Kasumi." Ranma thanked her, then dug in with a hastily offered 'Ittadakimasu' and a hearty appetite. The others soon followed suit, as did Kasumi herself, confirming her suspicions regarding Ranma's cooking. It wasn't bad, not by any stretch of the imagination. It was just... Simple.
When Kasumi herself cooked, she pulled out all the stops and made an effort, walked that extra mile, put all her soul into it and it showed in the result. Ranma did not, and that showed as well. Kasumi didn't mind though, not at all and happily accepted seconds, as did most of the others. Mr Saotome and Ranma himself even had thirds and fourths. Neither one gulped down the fifth they usually had, though. But it appeared as if Ranma had thought that might happen, and not made as much as Kasumi usually did.
When everybody was finished and Ranma had gotten a round of more-or-less surprised thanks, Kasumi reached out as if to pick up her plate and begin cleaning the table, but never got that far before she was stopped.
"Uh, uh, uh. The kitchen is off limits to you for now. Now, scoot." Ranma admonished her and hounded her out into the living room, before he set out to clean up and do the dishes. Once finished, he snatched up three lunch boxes, handed one to Akane and one to Nabiki, then all three of them took off for school.
Kasumi went about the rest of the day with her smile a little bit wider then usual.
The End! ( For now... )
