A/N: To find out about the Tendo's and Ono's Christmas holiday, read the story "Gifts". To find out about Ryoga's and Akari's holiday, read the story "Baptism".
Chapter 4: Kidnapped (Thursday: December 26, 2002)
Kasumi finished putting away the last of the party supplies that hadn't been consumed last night. It had gone well, but it was time to pack up and get ready for the next event. Folks were coming into town this weekend and she needed to get the house ready. She had moved on to unloading the dishwasher when Nodoka walked in and asked: "What are you doing?"
"Well, I don't want to wait for Akane to get home, and it's her turn to unload the washer. So I'm doing it now," Kasumi answered.
"You're getting married in six days," Nodoka stated flatly.
"I know," Kasumi fretted. "We managed to get through Christmas, but there's the wedding and New Year's to deal with now."
"I see," Nodoka answered. Then she stalked away.
"Did I say something wrong?" Kasumi wondered.
A little later, Kasumi heard tires screech to a halt outside the house. "Sounds like Ciren," she thought. She wandered to the door to check, but as soon as she opened it, someone shoved her outside.
"Get her out of here!" Nodoka commanded while yanking the apron off of Kasumi. Then she threw a coat at Kasumi.
Kasumi spun to look at Nodoka. "What?"
Someone seized her arm from behind. "Come along quietly," Ciren ordered.
Kasumi tried to dig in, but she suddenly felt light headed. Ciren picked her up using a fireman's carry. "Get her shoes," Ciren ordered. Nodoka nodded and ran back into the house. Ciren dumped Kasumi in the passenger seat, having already anticipated the necessity of needing the car door opened. Nodoka threw the shoes in the passenger side and slammed the door shut.
"What's happening?" Kasumi asked.
"You're being kidnapped," Ciren told her bluntly. "And if you try to escape, I'll drain you again." She put the car in drive and started away. She could see Nodoka waving and blowing kisses in the rearview mirror.
"What?... Why?" Kasumi asked plaintively. "Oh my…I can't leave. I've got too much to do."
"No you don't!" Ciren told her severely. "Nodoka's got the house. She'll take care of everything. You've been driving yourself to distraction, and it's going to stop now!"
"But I'm getting married in six days!"
"Exactly! You should be taking a good look at your life, not burying yourself in minutia. You're only going to get married once, and you're going to remember it."
"But there are things I still have to do for the wedding!"
"The only thing you have to do is pack - you can do that this weekend. The dresses are set, the hall is set, the food is set, the flowers are set, the ceremonies are set, and the cake is set. It's done! Now, the three of us have an appointment at the spa in 40 minutes. Put on your shoes."
"Three of us?" Kasumi asked.
"Your sensei is joining is at the spa," Ciren told her.
"I can't afford a spa treatment!"
"I can for all three of us. Then Shizuka is taking us to lunch," Ciren said sharply.
"But this is silly!" Kasumi protested. "I don't need this!"
"No one needs a spa treatment. They get it to pamper themselves. It's time you had some pampering!" Ciren told her.
"And how often do you get a spa treatment," Kasumi shot back.
"Once a month without exception," Ciren rebuked. "Your turn."
"But…"
"HUSH!" Ciren ordered.
Twenty minutes later, the Ferrari pulled into a very exclusive garage. Ciren flashed a passkey at the guard and drove in.
"Parking is nearly impossible in this part of town," Kasumi commented. "Where did you get that?"
"I once did a job for a client in this tower. He has a parking space, but doesn't use it. He lends it out to friends, and I managed to call it for today," Ciren replied.
"What did you do?"
"I rescued his son from some thugs. He was very grateful."
"Thugs?"
"Let's just call them that for convenience sake," Ciren said.
"I see…."
"Shoes on! Let's go!" Ciren commanded. Kasumi just sighed.
Three blocks later, they found Shizuka in front of a building with some very trendy looking photographs of models in the windows. "Is this the right place?" Shizuka asked. "I forgot to rob a bank on the way over."
"Already got it covered," Ciren reassured her. "Thanks for meeting us on short notice."
Shizuka shrugged. "The class schedule is light this week due to the holiday. All of my morning students canceled." Then she smirked and added: "Besides, I really didn't feel like disobeying Nodoka's direct order."
"She did sound intimidating, didn't she?" Ciren returned. She was also smirking. "Not bad for a civilian."
"What did she say?" Kasumi asked.
Shizuka laughed. "She said, you lost your mind and wanted us to help you find it," she answered.
"That's nonsense!" Kasumi asserted. "I'm perfectly fine!"
"Admittedly, Tofu thinks you're perfect," Ciren said as she linked her arm with Kasumi.
"He also thinks you're very fine," Shizuka added taking the other side. "But you've been dodging some heavy thinking. You're not taking that weight on your honeymoon. That should be a joyous time, not a time for heavy discussions. Let's go!"
"But…" was as far as Kasumi got before they yanked her into motion and up the steps of the spa.
Ciren led the way to the front desk where she was immediately recognized by the woman there. "Miss Blake! Right on time as usual!" the receptionist called out.
"Thank you for fitting us in, Mana," Ciren told her.
"Oh, the holiday season is usually a little light - it was easy. What are we doing today?" the receptionist asked her.
"Miss Tendo is a bride-to-be who needs to relax. Her wedding is all set, but she can't stop worrying," Ciren said bluntly.
"Got it. Three relaxation sessions coming up," Mana answered.
"But this is silly!" Kasumi protested.
Mana looked at her directly. "You were cleaning the house this morning, weren't you."
"Of course I was, but…" the bride started.
"But there's lots of help, isn't there?" Mana prompted.
"Well, yes…but…"
"You have an elder sister who's quite competent in maintaining a house?" the (possible) receptionist asked.
"She's sort of my aunt, but…" Kasumi tried again.
"And she recently arrived to help out?" Mana prompted again.
"Well, sort of…she has actually been there a while…" Kasumi answered.
Mana cut her off. "Yes, yes, I see," the woman responded. "Typical anxious bride. Definite relaxation therapy needed. Come with me, please." The woman turned and led them through a pass-coded door.
"But…" Kasumi's comments was lost as her captors dragged her after Mana.
"I like this place," Shizuka commented. "Very no-nonsense."
Mana smiled and replied: "We aim to please, ma'am."
Fifteen minutes later, after a quick shower and wrapping themselves in towels, the two warriors dragged their captive into a room equipped with three masseuse tables, sweet scented air, warm towels, and three very formable looking female masseuses. The women were dressed in outfits resembling nursing scrubs and each had what seemed to be a medical cart holding all the tools of their trade including acupuncture needles.
Kasumi brightened. "Oh my, you do acupuncture too? That's wonderful! What set of meridians do you use?" she asked.
The middle therapist came forward smoothly and said: "We often don't do acupuncture on the first treatment. It depends on the patient." She took Kasumi's arm and had her sit up on the table as they were talking. "Actually, we use all twelve standard meridians, starting with the Taiyin Lung Channel of the Hand which runs from here to here," she continued while tracing the channel on Kasumi. The therapist proceeded to run through the twelve standard meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians. While she was doing this, she was also getting Kasumi to lower her defenses and lie down on the table without the young woman even being aware of what was happening. The masseuse then began working on shiatsu points associated with the meridians she was discussing with her patient.
Meanwhile, Shizuka and Ciren laid down on their own tables and gave themselves over to their therapists. The two women smirked as Kasumi suddenly stopped her stream of questions and sighed: "Oh my…"
"There it is," the first masseuse commented with satisfaction. "Hush now, Ma'am. Let me do my job…" Kasumi was silent for the rest of the session.
Later on, after showering off the remains of the body wraps, Ciren, Shizuka, and Kasumi were wrapping up their visit with a soak in a private hot tub.
"And?" Ciren prompted as she sat resting her head on the edge of the tub with her eyes closed.
"All right, this feels wonderful," Kasumi admitted. Ciren gave a self-satisfied smile and said nothing else.
The three women soaked for about five minutes when Shizuka spoke up: "So, are you going to talk about it?"
Kasumi opened her eyes and asked: "Talk about what?"
"Nice try," Shizuka answered. "Love, I've known you for half your life now." Kasumi's eyes opened wide in surprise at the term of endearment and looked at Shizuka. The older woman's eyes were very soft. "I've watched over you for a long time. I know you almost as well as Tofu. I know why you broke down at Takeda's."
"Lots of brides get wedding jitters," Kasumi defended herself.
"You've handled way too many crazy situations to let a wedding - even your own - get to you," Shizuka said firmly.
"Your little sister's wedding featured live rounds of explosives," Ciren commented, still keeping her eyes closed.
Shizuka nodded and continued: "You've loved Tofu since you were sixteen. Don't try to deny it; I knew it before you realized it yourself. And it has only gotten stronger, so you're not afraid of getting married. I don't think you're afraid of being a Martial Artist - you've grown up with them. You're definitely not afraid of having a family - you've already got the itch."
Ciren heard the soft longing echoing in Shizuka's words and knew it resonated within Kasumi, so the Siren kept quiet - Shizuka truly did know what was wrong and was better equipped to handle it.
"See? Nothing's wrong," Kasumi said.
"'Wrong' is not the right word," Shizuka said. "Nothing's wrong; everyone goes through this. But you've hit that magic point in life."
"Which is?" Kasumi challenged.
"You've realized you're not a god, and you're going to have to make some hard choices," Shizuka said definitively. Kasumi sighed and laid her head back against the edge like Ciren, who gave a small, sad smile and nodded her head. "Wife, Mother, Homemaker, Martial Artist, Healer, Seer, Medical Doctor," Shizuka listed off. "At least we can write-off Mercenary - you're not cut out for it. But you're not immortal, and your husband isn't either anymore. The list is too long."
Kasumi let herself slip under the warm swirling water for a few moments, broke the surface again, and started to get out. Ciren leaned forward and stopped her. With a shake of her head she said: "No. It's out now. We're not going to force the issue anymore…" Shizuka nodded her head in agreement. "But running back to bury yourself in housework won't help. Sit back and just meditate for five minutes. We'll need to get out then anyway. Let's get your nails done, and then we'll go to lunch."
Shizuka threw another soft (almost pleading) look at Kasumi which nearly broke Kasumi's heart. Kasumi sighed again, and nodded her head. Then she lay back in the water.
As they were walking to lunch, Kasumi asked: "Shizuka, did you approve of Father? I don't remember you around the house when Mom was alive."
Shizuka gave a sad smile. "At first I didn't," she admitted. "Your Mom was my training partner and she was my best friend. She was leaving me for your Dad. I resented him greatly. But your mom loved him dearly, and eventually I came to terms with that. I was her Maid-of-Honor at the wedding and was civil to Soun at the wedding. He knew I wasn't crazy about him, but he could be charming when he wanted to be - he still can. Since I was civil and he tried hard to be more than polite, we eventually warmed up to each other. It also helped that he adored your mother. I was the third person to hold you when you were born - besides the medical staff that is. I was a frequent visitor to the house until about a year after Akane was born. Then I left the Tokyo area for a bit."
Ciren perked up as Kasumi asked "Why?"
"For a stupid reason," Shizuka said. "I met a man and fell in love - or at least thought I did."
"You've never mentioned this before," Kasumi stated as Shizuka led them into the restaurant.
"No, I haven't," Shizuka said in a teasing voice just before she turned to talk to the hostess, blocking any further conversation. Ciren grinned at the frustrated look that flashed across Kasumi face.
Looking through the menu and ordering lunch prevented Kasumi from following up for a little while. She tried to figure a polite way to bring the conversation back to Shizuka, but the two other women were obviously withholding the treat. After their food came, Kasumi gave in to her uncharacteristic impatience and said: "All right, I want details." The two older women pretended to look puzzled. Kasumi looked directly at Shizuka and added: "Ever since you told me about Mom's high school days, I've wondered why you vanished and then showed up two years after Mom died. I thought maybe there was bad blood between you two over Father, but that's not the case. When you stopped by the house this past October for my birthday, Father was startled to see you, but not unhappy - and you were kind to him."
"Maybe I could be persuaded to tell you something sooo personal…IF," Shizuka smirked.
"If what?" Kasumi challenged.
"You're done with housework until after your honeymoon," Shizuka said firmly.
"And you stop hiding from yourself and decide your priorities," Ciren stated. "This way you can have a productive conversation with your husband before the wedding and not be brooding during your honeymoon. That should be a wonderful time for both of you, not a time to hash out life." Shizuka nodded her head in agreement.
Kasumi sighed: "Fine, I'll do what Nodoka tells me." Then she rallied and demanded: "Who was he?"
A/N: Kasumi has a suspicion. Let's see who else does - there was a clue in "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome - Ignition".