Ranma 1/2 Belongs to Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan
A Not so Simple Wish
Chapter 18
by Ebiris
Ranko sat alone in her apartment as she considered Ranma's latest request. On the face of
it, it was a good thing. He wanted to learn from her, which hopefully meant he'd stop
making demeaning comments about her ability, and would also give them a chance to
spend more time together. A win win scenario, right?
Wrong.
Ranko loved martial arts, and therefore she loved learning martial arts. She knew no
greater thrill than the ecstacy of combat and the joy of mastering a new technique.
Simple logic dictated that the same would hold true for Ranma. The problem was, that as
much as she enjoyed learning, she had never really had a good relationship with any of
her teachers. While she had visited a few dojos and studied under various masters on her
training trip, none of them had really left much of an impression on her. As far as she was
concerned there were only a few people who had really taught her anything useful, and
those few were not her favourite people, mainly due to the harsh training.
First, and most obviously, there was Genma. He had been training her for as long as she
could remember, and while she might grudgingly admit to loving the old man, it was
only because he was her pop. His training was nothing short of brutal, and turned a
loving father/son relationship into an adversarial relationship which barely
acknowledged that they could tolerate each other. She did not want Ranma thinking of
her the same way she thought of her father.
Then there was Cologne. The wily old Amazon had only taught her a few moves and
training exercise, but those were among the most devastating in her arsenal. And while
Ranko could respect the old ghoul, she sure as hell didn't like her. Cologne's methods
were actually quite similar to Genma's (a fact which would no doubt horrify the Amazon
matriarch) in that she challenged to student to do better by insulting them and by
occasionally giving hints of her full capabilities with the inference that the student would
one day be capable of that (yes, Genma had done that too, when Ranma was a child, but
in more recent years had run out of tricks to impress his child).
And just to round things off, Happosai, the grandmaster of Anything Goes himself.
Ranko actually had two versions of Happosai to compare. From her old life, the letch
had barely taught her a thing, and his training methods seemed to centre around forcing
the student to escape, or be beaten on by, a crowd of angry women - which would of
course improve either speed or endurance depending on what happened. In this reality
however, he had simply sparred with her and let her examine his martial arts scrolls and
pressure point charts. He didn't really act like a master, since he pretty much left her to
her own devices, with no real challenge to learn - of course, Ranko provided that by
herself.
Sighing huffily, blowing up her bangs in the process, Ranko tried to figure out how to
approach her training with Ranma, since none of the examples she had to work from
seemed conductive to romance.
"Okay." she said to herself, trying to work up some determination to come up with a
solution. "It's speed training. You've done loads of different speed training exercises,
what one would work best for teaching Ranma without making him hate you?"
First there was the Saotome Anything Goes food duelling. Stealing food from her pop
while defending her own plate had been a constant throughout her life and had indeed
given her the incredible speed which was the core of her style. The problem was that
Ranma had already mastered that, and besides which, it did little to endear yourself to the
person you are duelling with.
Moving on, the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken was perhaps the most obvious, being the
first new training she herself had encountered since coming to Nerima. However, the
name was a misnomer, since the speed had actually come from constantly duelling with
Cologne, with plucking the chestnuts from the fire being the end result. She had little
doubt that one *could* improve their speed from constantly attempting that feat, but it
would likely result in a lot of wasted time waiting for the hands to recover from burns.
Then there was Anything Goes advanced speed training, which involved the trainee
standing under a hornets nest while the sensei chucks rocks at it. Dodging those hornets
had done wonders for her all round speed, reflexes and spatial awareness. Ranko decided
that this method was currently the best, since Ranma would get mad at the hornets, not at
her... actually, if she was the one chucking the rocks he might not see it that way... "I'll
have to think about that..." she decided.
The Parlay du Foie Gras? That wouldn't work, since her training for that had hinged on
the change between male and female while wearing an iron corset.
That about covered all the advanced speed training methods she knew of, beyond simple
rapid punch drills. "Guess I'll haveta suggest a trainin' trip..." she mused, wondering how
difficult it would be to actually find some hornet's nests, since it was still early Spring.
Checking the clock, she decided to start getting ready, since she had been invited to
dinner at the Saotomes, along with Kasumi, to celebrate Ranma's victory over Ryouga.
***
Ranma grinned as he finished recounting the tale of how he had defeated Ryouga, feeling
his self worth puff up immeasureably at the starry eyed look of adoration his mother was
giving him. It made a pleasant change from the vaguely disapproving fretting she did
after his recent beatings from Happosai.
"Oh, I knew I did the right thing letting your father train you, my son! You truly are a
man among men!" The Saotome Matriarch gushed exuberantly.
Genma puffed up himself at the vindication of his decision to take the boy away so he
wouldn't be coddled. while Kasumi smiled with a touch of sadness, feeling the honest
love and warmth from Nodoka and remembering her own departed mother.
Ranko, on the other hand, looked as if she might burst into tears, and hurriedly excused
herself to go to the bathroom.
"What's up with her?" Ranma wondered out loud after the redhead had departed.
"Forget about her boy!" Genma said gruffly, giving Ranma a slap on the back. "Your
real fiancee is right here!" He indicated Kasumi with a sweep of his hand.
"Dearest!" Nodoka said reprovingly at Genma's lack of tact, before giving Ranma a
gentle look. "I think Ranko-chan misses her own parents, son. She tends to get emotional
at familial scenes."
"Ranko is an orphan?" Kasumi asked in a horrifed whisper, not having expected that of
the girl she was supposed to call a rival. She supposed she should have realised
something like that since Ranko's parents were neither seen nor mentioned at all when
this whole multiple fiancee thing blew up.
Nodoka nodded sadly. "Yes, I understand it was fairly recent, the poor dear doesn't like
to talk about it. And neither should we be talking about it when she gets back." She
finished with a tone indicating the subject was to be dropped. She cleared her throat
before speaking again in a more business-like tone. "Anyway, Genma, I notice that while
I have gotten to know Kasumi-chan, and found her to be a lovely young lady - though of
course, I still like Ranko-chan and leave the choice entirely up to Ranma - I notice that
you and Ranko-chan have done nothing to get to know one another."
"I don't see why I should." Genma huffed petulantly. "The boy will marry Kasumi here
to unite the schools. That girl is irrelevant."
"I don't see why I haveta get married at all." Ranma said in a tone which mirrored his
father's exactly, but he was ignored by all except from a sympathetic glance from
Kasumi.
"Now, dearest, Ranko-chan could well end up your daughter-in-law, and it wouldn't be
seemly to have a rift in the family. I suggest that you and she go out and have dinner or
something some time to really get to know one another. I'm sure if you gave the girl a
chance you'd get along wonderfully with her, just as I have with Kasumi-chan." Nodoka
replied casually, although the way she said the word 'suggest' implied it was an order and
not a suggestion.
Genma was about to respond when he spotted the girl in question walk back into the
room and seat herself back at her place beside Ranma, opposite Kasumi on his other side.
"I hope I didn't miss anything." She said cooly. Her posture was stiff and she seemed to
be taking great care to control her movements.
Ranma felt an involuntary shiver run through him as the girl sat down next to him, and
wondered why he suddenly felt so cold. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he noticed
Ranko was focused intently on the meal, but only seemed to be picking at her food while
avoiding eye contact with anyone.
Ranma almost sighed, but kept it down since his mother would no doubt remonstrate him
for being rude. He didn't have a clue what to do about the two girls he was engaged to.
He liked them both, but he was way too young to consider getting married even if he
could decide which one would make the better choice.
He had gotten to know Kasumi quite well over the past few days, since she would come
to his house and walk him to school and they would talk about various things. While on
the surface she acted like a traditional Japanese housewife (Ranma thought it a crime the
way the Tendous took her for granted) she did possess a very clever sense of humour -
perhaps even a bit too clever, since often she would say something in the morning and
Ranma wouldn't figure out the hidden meaning until halfway through the day. She was
also very attentive to what he had to say, and didn't look down on him for his lack of
education as many people did, which was a definite plus.
Ranko... well, were Ranma of a more literary bent he might describe her as a puzzle
wrapped in an enigma, but being who he was, he'd settle for 'weird'. She certainly wasn't
weird in a bad way, in fact Ranma found himself almost enthralled by the rapid twists
and turns of her personality. One minute she could be so self assured and confident that it
was hard not to see some of himself in her behaviour, then she'd turn into an almost ditzy
and overemotional little girl. Then there was now, she was showing yet another side of
her multifaceted personality, a side he barely remembered witnessing when he had first
been reunited with his mother. Seeing her so melancholoy, so... vulnerable... Ranma
wanted nothing more than to protect her from the world, to make her smile again. But he
really didn't know what to do...
Not being able to find a clear winner based on their personalities, Ranma considered their
appearances. Not that he was so shallow as to make a decision on that, but it was still
something to think about.
Kasumi carried herself with a demure elegance which he had seen in precious few
women in his life. Her features were that of a classical Japanese beauty, though she was a
little taller than average, she was very well built, with smooth skin and supple curves.
While not a very active person, Kasumi obviously still managed to keep herself in
excellent shape, with not an ounce of fat except in the right places. Certainly any man
would be lucky to have a woman like her by his side.
Ranko was perhaps the exact opposite of Kasumi, while still being beautiful in her own
way. The redhead's looks were both exotic and vibrant, certainly looking out of place
amongst the typically dark haired Japanese (though he idly noted that his mother's hair
had a hint of red in it as well, though it was significantly darker than Ranko's fire engine
red). While Kasumi was tall, Ranko was very short, being over a head smaller than the
other girl. Her figure was trim and lithe, no doubt from her extensive training in the
martial arts, with only her breasts looking out of place, seeming too large for her figure.
Though she was still young enough to have another growth spurt, so that would probably
be negated in a year or two.
Finishing his little thought exercise, and still being no closer to any kind of decision,
Ranma returned his attention to conversation around the dinner table just in time to hear
Nodoka make her suggestion to Ranko that she should get to know her prospective father
in law, which finally seemed to rouse the girl from her depression.
"I have to spend time with him?!" Ranko exclaimed, pointing at Genma with her
chopsticks.
"This is no picnic for me, girl." Genma huffed grumpily, seeming rather put out at her
negative reaction to the prospect.
"Yes." Nodoka said, remaining consciously oblivious to their ire. "It only makes sense,
since you could become family, that you get to know one another."
Neither Ranko nor Genma were able to come up with any really convincing reason to get
out of it, so they settled for sulking for the rest of the meal, causing everyone else at the
table to note just how oddly similar their mannerisms were.
***
It was with no small amount of trepidation that Kasumi entered the Tendou household
after leaving the Saotomes. While she could optimistically hope that Nabiki had
managed to order takeout, the harsh reality was that Akane had most likely taken it upon
herself to cook in Kasumi's absence. Much as she loved her little sister and knew that
practice was the only way to improve, it really did take a huge effort of will to keep from
slapping the girl silly every time she desecrated the kitchen with her filth. Especially
since Akane had a tendancy to lose her temper after cooking and then just leave the mess
for someone else to clean up. It really was depressing when your family saw you as little
more than a live in maid...
"Tadaima." She called out before entering the foyer and being greeted by a grinning
Nabiki.
"Hi, sis." Nabiki said cheerfully with a 'cat who just got the canary' smile on her lips.
"How was dinner with your fiance and his other fiancee?"
"It was nice." Kasumi said pleasantly. "Auntie Saotome is a great cook. I take it from
your attitude that you were able to keep Akane out of the kitchen while I was gone?"
"Ah... not exactly..." Nabiki faltered slightly before resuming her happy expression. "But
for once that's a good thing, since her food was able to weaken the little bastard enough
for me to get rid of him!"
Kasumi frowned. "Nabiki, that's not very nice."
"He's not very nice!" Nabiki shot back.
"He hasn't done anything bad to me. Maybe you did something to upset him and that's
why he acts out towards you." Kasumi suggested.
Nabiki threw up her hands in exasparation. "Sis, I barely said three words to him before
he stole my bra. It wasn't anything I did, he's just pure evil!"
"Those three words wouldn't have been 'Give me money', would they?" Kasumi asked
dryly.
Nabiki chuckled nervously at her sister. "Eh heh... those weren't my exact words..."
Kasumi sighed. "Whatever. So where's father and Akane, and how exactly did you get
rid of Happosai-jisan?"
"Daddy went to bed, he's not feeling to well for obvious reasons, and Akane's in the dojo
breaking bricks and muttering to herself about how no one appreciates her. As to how I
got rid of the freak, heh, I have to admit it's one of my finer moments. While all those
martial artists like daddy, Akane and Ranma failed to do anything, a little bit of Nabiki
Tendou brainpower was able to save the day!" The short haired brunette exclaimed
proudly. "I stuck him in a box filled with daddy's underwear and mailed it to
Antarctica!" She beamed at Kasumi, no doubt expecting to be soundly praised for her
brilliance.
Kasumi blinked. "How could you afford postage to Antarctica?"
"Aha! I'm glad you spotted that Kasumi. Proves I'm not the only one with brains in the
family." Nabiki snapped her fingers as she spoke. "I didn't put enough stamps on it, but
for the return address, I used Ranko's apartment, so even if it doesn't get all the way to
Antarctica, he'll still be out of our hair."
"How very clever of you, Nabiki." Kasumi smiled beatifically at her little sister, pleased
that Nabiki seemed so chipper for once.
"Heh." Nabiki smugly inspected her nails. "You have to get up pretty early in the
morning to get past Nabiki Tendou."
"Nabiki, I'm your sister and I know what you're like in the morning." Kasumi remarked
flatly. "I could sell you to a Thai brothel and you probably wouldn't notice until after
lunch."
Nabiki jolted slightly and looked at Kasumi with a slightly aghast expression. "Y-you
wouldn't do that to me though, right?"
Kasumi shook her head and sighed before embracing the other girl in a hug. "Nabiki,
you're my little sister and I love you. Of course I wouldn't do that to you." Then she
looked over Nabiki's shoulder and saw the disaster that her kitchen had become It would
probably take her at least a couple of hours to clean, and more likely than not she'd have
to buy a few new pots and pans. "Now, Akane on the other hand..."
***
A Not so Simple Wish
Chapter 18
by Ebiris
Ranko sat alone in her apartment as she considered Ranma's latest request. On the face of
it, it was a good thing. He wanted to learn from her, which hopefully meant he'd stop
making demeaning comments about her ability, and would also give them a chance to
spend more time together. A win win scenario, right?
Wrong.
Ranko loved martial arts, and therefore she loved learning martial arts. She knew no
greater thrill than the ecstacy of combat and the joy of mastering a new technique.
Simple logic dictated that the same would hold true for Ranma. The problem was, that as
much as she enjoyed learning, she had never really had a good relationship with any of
her teachers. While she had visited a few dojos and studied under various masters on her
training trip, none of them had really left much of an impression on her. As far as she was
concerned there were only a few people who had really taught her anything useful, and
those few were not her favourite people, mainly due to the harsh training.
First, and most obviously, there was Genma. He had been training her for as long as she
could remember, and while she might grudgingly admit to loving the old man, it was
only because he was her pop. His training was nothing short of brutal, and turned a
loving father/son relationship into an adversarial relationship which barely
acknowledged that they could tolerate each other. She did not want Ranma thinking of
her the same way she thought of her father.
Then there was Cologne. The wily old Amazon had only taught her a few moves and
training exercise, but those were among the most devastating in her arsenal. And while
Ranko could respect the old ghoul, she sure as hell didn't like her. Cologne's methods
were actually quite similar to Genma's (a fact which would no doubt horrify the Amazon
matriarch) in that she challenged to student to do better by insulting them and by
occasionally giving hints of her full capabilities with the inference that the student would
one day be capable of that (yes, Genma had done that too, when Ranma was a child, but
in more recent years had run out of tricks to impress his child).
And just to round things off, Happosai, the grandmaster of Anything Goes himself.
Ranko actually had two versions of Happosai to compare. From her old life, the letch
had barely taught her a thing, and his training methods seemed to centre around forcing
the student to escape, or be beaten on by, a crowd of angry women - which would of
course improve either speed or endurance depending on what happened. In this reality
however, he had simply sparred with her and let her examine his martial arts scrolls and
pressure point charts. He didn't really act like a master, since he pretty much left her to
her own devices, with no real challenge to learn - of course, Ranko provided that by
herself.
Sighing huffily, blowing up her bangs in the process, Ranko tried to figure out how to
approach her training with Ranma, since none of the examples she had to work from
seemed conductive to romance.
"Okay." she said to herself, trying to work up some determination to come up with a
solution. "It's speed training. You've done loads of different speed training exercises,
what one would work best for teaching Ranma without making him hate you?"
First there was the Saotome Anything Goes food duelling. Stealing food from her pop
while defending her own plate had been a constant throughout her life and had indeed
given her the incredible speed which was the core of her style. The problem was that
Ranma had already mastered that, and besides which, it did little to endear yourself to the
person you are duelling with.
Moving on, the Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken was perhaps the most obvious, being the
first new training she herself had encountered since coming to Nerima. However, the
name was a misnomer, since the speed had actually come from constantly duelling with
Cologne, with plucking the chestnuts from the fire being the end result. She had little
doubt that one *could* improve their speed from constantly attempting that feat, but it
would likely result in a lot of wasted time waiting for the hands to recover from burns.
Then there was Anything Goes advanced speed training, which involved the trainee
standing under a hornets nest while the sensei chucks rocks at it. Dodging those hornets
had done wonders for her all round speed, reflexes and spatial awareness. Ranko decided
that this method was currently the best, since Ranma would get mad at the hornets, not at
her... actually, if she was the one chucking the rocks he might not see it that way... "I'll
have to think about that..." she decided.
The Parlay du Foie Gras? That wouldn't work, since her training for that had hinged on
the change between male and female while wearing an iron corset.
That about covered all the advanced speed training methods she knew of, beyond simple
rapid punch drills. "Guess I'll haveta suggest a trainin' trip..." she mused, wondering how
difficult it would be to actually find some hornet's nests, since it was still early Spring.
Checking the clock, she decided to start getting ready, since she had been invited to
dinner at the Saotomes, along with Kasumi, to celebrate Ranma's victory over Ryouga.
***
Ranma grinned as he finished recounting the tale of how he had defeated Ryouga, feeling
his self worth puff up immeasureably at the starry eyed look of adoration his mother was
giving him. It made a pleasant change from the vaguely disapproving fretting she did
after his recent beatings from Happosai.
"Oh, I knew I did the right thing letting your father train you, my son! You truly are a
man among men!" The Saotome Matriarch gushed exuberantly.
Genma puffed up himself at the vindication of his decision to take the boy away so he
wouldn't be coddled. while Kasumi smiled with a touch of sadness, feeling the honest
love and warmth from Nodoka and remembering her own departed mother.
Ranko, on the other hand, looked as if she might burst into tears, and hurriedly excused
herself to go to the bathroom.
"What's up with her?" Ranma wondered out loud after the redhead had departed.
"Forget about her boy!" Genma said gruffly, giving Ranma a slap on the back. "Your
real fiancee is right here!" He indicated Kasumi with a sweep of his hand.
"Dearest!" Nodoka said reprovingly at Genma's lack of tact, before giving Ranma a
gentle look. "I think Ranko-chan misses her own parents, son. She tends to get emotional
at familial scenes."
"Ranko is an orphan?" Kasumi asked in a horrifed whisper, not having expected that of
the girl she was supposed to call a rival. She supposed she should have realised
something like that since Ranko's parents were neither seen nor mentioned at all when
this whole multiple fiancee thing blew up.
Nodoka nodded sadly. "Yes, I understand it was fairly recent, the poor dear doesn't like
to talk about it. And neither should we be talking about it when she gets back." She
finished with a tone indicating the subject was to be dropped. She cleared her throat
before speaking again in a more business-like tone. "Anyway, Genma, I notice that while
I have gotten to know Kasumi-chan, and found her to be a lovely young lady - though of
course, I still like Ranko-chan and leave the choice entirely up to Ranma - I notice that
you and Ranko-chan have done nothing to get to know one another."
"I don't see why I should." Genma huffed petulantly. "The boy will marry Kasumi here
to unite the schools. That girl is irrelevant."
"I don't see why I haveta get married at all." Ranma said in a tone which mirrored his
father's exactly, but he was ignored by all except from a sympathetic glance from
Kasumi.
"Now, dearest, Ranko-chan could well end up your daughter-in-law, and it wouldn't be
seemly to have a rift in the family. I suggest that you and she go out and have dinner or
something some time to really get to know one another. I'm sure if you gave the girl a
chance you'd get along wonderfully with her, just as I have with Kasumi-chan." Nodoka
replied casually, although the way she said the word 'suggest' implied it was an order and
not a suggestion.
Genma was about to respond when he spotted the girl in question walk back into the
room and seat herself back at her place beside Ranma, opposite Kasumi on his other side.
"I hope I didn't miss anything." She said cooly. Her posture was stiff and she seemed to
be taking great care to control her movements.
Ranma felt an involuntary shiver run through him as the girl sat down next to him, and
wondered why he suddenly felt so cold. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he noticed
Ranko was focused intently on the meal, but only seemed to be picking at her food while
avoiding eye contact with anyone.
Ranma almost sighed, but kept it down since his mother would no doubt remonstrate him
for being rude. He didn't have a clue what to do about the two girls he was engaged to.
He liked them both, but he was way too young to consider getting married even if he
could decide which one would make the better choice.
He had gotten to know Kasumi quite well over the past few days, since she would come
to his house and walk him to school and they would talk about various things. While on
the surface she acted like a traditional Japanese housewife (Ranma thought it a crime the
way the Tendous took her for granted) she did possess a very clever sense of humour -
perhaps even a bit too clever, since often she would say something in the morning and
Ranma wouldn't figure out the hidden meaning until halfway through the day. She was
also very attentive to what he had to say, and didn't look down on him for his lack of
education as many people did, which was a definite plus.
Ranko... well, were Ranma of a more literary bent he might describe her as a puzzle
wrapped in an enigma, but being who he was, he'd settle for 'weird'. She certainly wasn't
weird in a bad way, in fact Ranma found himself almost enthralled by the rapid twists
and turns of her personality. One minute she could be so self assured and confident that it
was hard not to see some of himself in her behaviour, then she'd turn into an almost ditzy
and overemotional little girl. Then there was now, she was showing yet another side of
her multifaceted personality, a side he barely remembered witnessing when he had first
been reunited with his mother. Seeing her so melancholoy, so... vulnerable... Ranma
wanted nothing more than to protect her from the world, to make her smile again. But he
really didn't know what to do...
Not being able to find a clear winner based on their personalities, Ranma considered their
appearances. Not that he was so shallow as to make a decision on that, but it was still
something to think about.
Kasumi carried herself with a demure elegance which he had seen in precious few
women in his life. Her features were that of a classical Japanese beauty, though she was a
little taller than average, she was very well built, with smooth skin and supple curves.
While not a very active person, Kasumi obviously still managed to keep herself in
excellent shape, with not an ounce of fat except in the right places. Certainly any man
would be lucky to have a woman like her by his side.
Ranko was perhaps the exact opposite of Kasumi, while still being beautiful in her own
way. The redhead's looks were both exotic and vibrant, certainly looking out of place
amongst the typically dark haired Japanese (though he idly noted that his mother's hair
had a hint of red in it as well, though it was significantly darker than Ranko's fire engine
red). While Kasumi was tall, Ranko was very short, being over a head smaller than the
other girl. Her figure was trim and lithe, no doubt from her extensive training in the
martial arts, with only her breasts looking out of place, seeming too large for her figure.
Though she was still young enough to have another growth spurt, so that would probably
be negated in a year or two.
Finishing his little thought exercise, and still being no closer to any kind of decision,
Ranma returned his attention to conversation around the dinner table just in time to hear
Nodoka make her suggestion to Ranko that she should get to know her prospective father
in law, which finally seemed to rouse the girl from her depression.
"I have to spend time with him?!" Ranko exclaimed, pointing at Genma with her
chopsticks.
"This is no picnic for me, girl." Genma huffed grumpily, seeming rather put out at her
negative reaction to the prospect.
"Yes." Nodoka said, remaining consciously oblivious to their ire. "It only makes sense,
since you could become family, that you get to know one another."
Neither Ranko nor Genma were able to come up with any really convincing reason to get
out of it, so they settled for sulking for the rest of the meal, causing everyone else at the
table to note just how oddly similar their mannerisms were.
***
It was with no small amount of trepidation that Kasumi entered the Tendou household
after leaving the Saotomes. While she could optimistically hope that Nabiki had
managed to order takeout, the harsh reality was that Akane had most likely taken it upon
herself to cook in Kasumi's absence. Much as she loved her little sister and knew that
practice was the only way to improve, it really did take a huge effort of will to keep from
slapping the girl silly every time she desecrated the kitchen with her filth. Especially
since Akane had a tendancy to lose her temper after cooking and then just leave the mess
for someone else to clean up. It really was depressing when your family saw you as little
more than a live in maid...
"Tadaima." She called out before entering the foyer and being greeted by a grinning
Nabiki.
"Hi, sis." Nabiki said cheerfully with a 'cat who just got the canary' smile on her lips.
"How was dinner with your fiance and his other fiancee?"
"It was nice." Kasumi said pleasantly. "Auntie Saotome is a great cook. I take it from
your attitude that you were able to keep Akane out of the kitchen while I was gone?"
"Ah... not exactly..." Nabiki faltered slightly before resuming her happy expression. "But
for once that's a good thing, since her food was able to weaken the little bastard enough
for me to get rid of him!"
Kasumi frowned. "Nabiki, that's not very nice."
"He's not very nice!" Nabiki shot back.
"He hasn't done anything bad to me. Maybe you did something to upset him and that's
why he acts out towards you." Kasumi suggested.
Nabiki threw up her hands in exasparation. "Sis, I barely said three words to him before
he stole my bra. It wasn't anything I did, he's just pure evil!"
"Those three words wouldn't have been 'Give me money', would they?" Kasumi asked
dryly.
Nabiki chuckled nervously at her sister. "Eh heh... those weren't my exact words..."
Kasumi sighed. "Whatever. So where's father and Akane, and how exactly did you get
rid of Happosai-jisan?"
"Daddy went to bed, he's not feeling to well for obvious reasons, and Akane's in the dojo
breaking bricks and muttering to herself about how no one appreciates her. As to how I
got rid of the freak, heh, I have to admit it's one of my finer moments. While all those
martial artists like daddy, Akane and Ranma failed to do anything, a little bit of Nabiki
Tendou brainpower was able to save the day!" The short haired brunette exclaimed
proudly. "I stuck him in a box filled with daddy's underwear and mailed it to
Antarctica!" She beamed at Kasumi, no doubt expecting to be soundly praised for her
brilliance.
Kasumi blinked. "How could you afford postage to Antarctica?"
"Aha! I'm glad you spotted that Kasumi. Proves I'm not the only one with brains in the
family." Nabiki snapped her fingers as she spoke. "I didn't put enough stamps on it, but
for the return address, I used Ranko's apartment, so even if it doesn't get all the way to
Antarctica, he'll still be out of our hair."
"How very clever of you, Nabiki." Kasumi smiled beatifically at her little sister, pleased
that Nabiki seemed so chipper for once.
"Heh." Nabiki smugly inspected her nails. "You have to get up pretty early in the
morning to get past Nabiki Tendou."
"Nabiki, I'm your sister and I know what you're like in the morning." Kasumi remarked
flatly. "I could sell you to a Thai brothel and you probably wouldn't notice until after
lunch."
Nabiki jolted slightly and looked at Kasumi with a slightly aghast expression. "Y-you
wouldn't do that to me though, right?"
Kasumi shook her head and sighed before embracing the other girl in a hug. "Nabiki,
you're my little sister and I love you. Of course I wouldn't do that to you." Then she
looked over Nabiki's shoulder and saw the disaster that her kitchen had become It would
probably take her at least a couple of hours to clean, and more likely than not she'd have
to buy a few new pots and pans. "Now, Akane on the other hand..."
***
