When dinner was served a few hours later, Kasumi made a request of Akane
and Ranma.
"Akane, I expect you to be civil at the dinner table. Ranma, you too." Kasumi looked at the youngest children, and decided that she was going to have to treat them as such while the fathers were gone.
"But it's not my fault..." Ranma started to protest.
"I expect the two of you to leave your problems elsewhere when you sit down to eat" Kasumi said. Kasumi felt out of sorts, but she thought if her father had been more firm with Akane and Ranma, they probably would not fight as much. She was not comfortable in being this assertive, but she felt she had no choice as long as she was responsible for the family.
Kasumi watched Ranma settle into a comfortable position. As usual, his face was easy to read, a look of frustration crossed it. "Obviously," Kasumi thought, "Ranma really thinks he is innocent."
"Understood."
After hearing Ranma agree, Kasumi faced Akane to see if she would offer any resistance. Kasumi expected to see anger in Akane's expression, but she saw bewilderment instead. A slight nod by Akane was all the indication that Kasumi needed to know that Akane would behave.
When the four young adults completed dinner, Akane quietly asked if she could be excused to go to her room, and left. As they listened to Akane head up the stairs, Nabiki pulled out a magazine to read, Kasumi started to gather the plates, while Ranma sat in his seat.
"Ranma, could you please take the tray and platters into the kitchen?" asked Kasumi as she filled her hands with the plates.
Ranma looked at her, then at the table. He was dumbfounded that she asked him to clean the table. "What?" he thought, "This is a girl's job! No way I'm doing this! Why couldn't she ask Nabiki? She's doing nothing but read some stupid magazine."
Ranma sat at his seat, looking at the empty platters on the table. He felt sated, for Kasumi cooked her normal excellent meal. But there was the growing feeling that something wasn't quite right, and having Kasumi stare at him seemed to make that feeling of "wrongness" grow. Unable to determine exactly what it was that was nagging him, he tried to get Kasumi to stop looking at him, so he said, "Why can't Nabiki do it? She's not doing anything."
Nabiki looked at Ranma, "Oh, no. Don't you drag me into this. I have to go up and study." With that, Nabiki extracted herself from the floor, and went upstairs.
Since Nabiki had extracted herself from the situation, Ranma felt exposed. Kasumi kept looking at him, and for some reason, he knew that she would be able to outlast him no matter what he did. Still, this was a challenge, and he tried to resist giving in to doing such an unmanly function.
"Well" Kasumi asked Ranma with a stern face, "are you going to help me or not?"
Ranma had a choice, either use the same excuse as Nabiki, which would certainly upset Kasumi, or help her. It was an easy choice in the end, Kasumi's stare wore him down. Ranma stood up, and gathered the platters and placed them on the tray. By the time he had everything that was on the table and on the floor balanced in his hands, the nagging feeling was no longer bothering him. Trying to analyze what just happened, Ranma thought, "I just can't win against Kasumi. Never have." He started to smile, and when he tried not to, he found it harder not to smile, especially when he saw Kasumi smiling cheerfully at him. "And probably never will win" was his last thought as he headed into the kitchen.
While doing the dishes, Kasumi kept Ranma talking by asking him questions about his day at school, and the myriad challenges he faced. When they had finished, both of them were surprised to discover that they had been working for over a half-hour when they thought it was only ten or fifteen minutes.
Ranma left the kitchen in good spirits, having talked to someone that listened to what he said and did not nit-pick every little thing he said. Kasumi was glad that Ranma was trying to be accepted in school for who he was and that he was having some level of success.
Unfortunately, Kasumi was concerned that Ranma was having a hard time fitting in. While she understood that anyone living alone with Uncle Saotome would certainly have a few "problems" in life, she had to admit to herself that the magnitude of "problems" that Ranma faced were formidable. She stood in the kitchen and looked at the sink. Part of her mind was working on planning the meals the next day, while another part was trying to find a way reduce some of the stress Ranma was going through.
Deciding what she was going to make the next day, Kasumi started to pull out recipes from book just as Nabiki walked in search of a snack.
"Nabiki, we need to talk about something," Kasumi said as she flipped through a well-worn cookbook.
Popping her head out of the cupboard, Nabiki looked at her older sister and with a sigh, said, "What is it?"
Kasumi knew that she was going to have to lead her sister down a narrow thought path, so she closed her book, asked, "You realize that since Akane isn't speaking to Ranma, he probably will not study, right?"
With a slight snide tone of voice, Nabiki said, "So? Not my problem." She muttered something about not finding any chips and then grabbed some crackers.
Kasumi wasn't happy with Nabiki's tone. Not only did Nabiki fail to understand the implications of Ranma failing in school, but also the general disrespectful tone of her response.
"Ahem. If Ranma fails, it will hurt the dojo's reputation. If the reputation hurts, there will be less money. We cannot afford that." As Kasumi stated her truths, she found that she was depressed. The family finances were not all that great to start with, and although the school's reputation is good, thanks in part to Ranma's stellar successes in fighting, there hasn't been either enough students or royalties to afford any luxuries. If Ranma really did start failing academically, it would probably eliminate any opportunity for Ranma to teach, and therefore doom the school to extinction.
"And so what do you want me to do? Take Ranma's tests?" Nabiki said, her voice betrayed her annoyance.
Unsure whether she was able to relay the importance to Nabiki, Kasumi continued, "Could you please help Ranma study? I know he complains a lot, and that he is not the best student, but he does do well if he's properly..." Kasumi stopped to think for a short moment. She didn't want to unnecessarily insult Ranma, but she did want to accurately describe him. Kasumi continued speaking, "... guided."
"You want me to baby sit Ranma? I don't think so. He's old enough to study himself."
"Obviously," Kasumi thought, "Nabiki misunderstands." Smiling at her sister, Kasumi tried a different approach, and said, "Think about how Uncle Saotome trains Ranma. He pushes Ranma to go all out. If Ranma makes a mistake, Ranma feels pain. This happens every day."
"And at some dark hour in the morning. I know they train all the time. And they do it loudly," Nabiki whined.
It was no secret to Kasumi that Nabiki really disliked being awoken when they "train" in the morning. She even complained that the only thing she gained by the early morning ruckus was that her school attendance record improved a little.
Kasumi began to smile brightly, apparently her sister is beginning to understand. "Yes. The key is consistency. They do it every day, at the same time, without fail. That is one reason why Ranma does so well."
Taking a bite, Nabiki's face fought not to smirk. With a mouth full of crackers, Nabiki asked, "So you want me to beat Ranma up everyday?"
"I want you to train Ranma how to study. You are a better student that I ever was. You have good study habits. You go to cram school, and you keep up. You know what Ranma is supposed to know. I've been out of school too long to help him." Deep down, Kasumi knew she could tutor Ranma, but she felt too far removed from classes to be of any use to him.
Kasumi watched Nabiki pause for a moment. There was a bit of fire in younger sister's eyes as her ego blazed from the stroking that she received. Then the fire went out.
"Sorry," Nabiki said. "I don't have time to teach and train macho boy how to study. I have too many things going on in my life, and I don't need the annoyance."
Kasumi suddenly remembered what she went through when she attended cram school, so she tried a different tack when she asked, "What's the difference between what you are studying in cram school and what you learned in the last couple of years?"
"Nothing. It's all review."
"And if you tutored Ranma or helped him study, would you be reviewing things you already know?" Kasumi began to feel an imminent success. Obviously her sister didn't see the trap that was being laid.
With resignation in her voice, Nabiki relented. "Okay. I'll help him study."
With a happy voice, Kasumi said, "Thank you, Nabiki. I know you will do a good job!"
In the back of her own mind, Kasumi was aware of the danger that Nabiki might add new stress to Ranma's life.
Sighing, accepted her fate, and she said, "Yes, Kasumi. The stupid jock and I will both study hard." With that, Nabiki turned and headed out the door.
Kasumi called out as soon as Nabiki stepped out of the kitchen, "Nabiki, Ranma has a language quiz tomorrow. I expect him to pass."
The middle sister had one thought, "Damn."
At her door, Nabiki stopped and looked at her room, and thought, "Why do I have to do this? I don't want to. I don't even like Ranma. Grrrr. Kasumi." Nabiki turned around and knocked on Ranma's door.
"Ranma, would you like to study with me?" Nabiki hoped that if he said "no", she would not have to help him.
Opening the door, Ranma answers, "Nope."
Just as Nabiki thought she had a victory, she hears Kasumi climbing the stairs, and thought, "Damn! She must have heard everything. Again."
It was when Kasumi had reached the top of the stairs when she said, "Ranma, I know you have a written language quiz tomorrow. You need to study for it."
Inside, Nabiki was grimacing. The last thing she wanted was Kasumi getting on her case. When Kasumi started down stairs she started to relax a moment, but almost panicked when she saw that Ranma's face had just opened up in surprise. "Oh, crap!" she thought, "this doofus can't remember his own test schedule. Just how did you make it this far without being expelled? Sheesh!"
Suddenly Nabiki realized an opportunity just opened up for her, and offered her services to Ranma, "I'll help you for a thousand yen."
"Wait a moment." Ranma went back to his bed roll to find the money.
"Here's yer money," Ranma said as he shoved several coins at Nabiki.
Nabiki looked at the coins. It wasn't that she didn't want the money, it was that she was deep in thought trying to determine how much she charge Ranma if the period of silence lasted for more than a few days. She reached for the coins, turned around, and instructed her new student, "Come on, let's get started."
Two hours later, they finished studying. Ranma left for his room feeling as if he just went through a long wind-bag session with his father, while Nabiki collapsed on her bed, wondering how to get even with Kasumi for saddling her with such a task.
Nabiki wasn't surprised that Ranma had not studied for the quiz, but was surprised at how fast he was able to learn what she thought was the minimum to pass the quiz in just two hours. She noted Ranma responded to constructive criticism very well, and that when carefully complimented, Ranma actually worked harder. The biggest shock, though, was finding out Ranma could be a good person to study with. Still, it was hard work to set the proper example for Ranma and study hard.
More than once she had caught him watching her, learning how she studied. His scrutiny was intense, she felt frightened that he could concentrate the way he did, for the minutest details of what she did must have been analyzed and catalogued. When she noticed that he started mimicking her pacing, she realized that she had to be careful.
***
Kasumi had just entered Akane's room, and was wondering if the walls needed a new coat of paint.
With concern for her baby sister, Kasumi asked, "How are you feeling?"
Akane, lying on the bed with a magazine over her face, didn't move a muscle as she replied "Okay."
"Not saying much, huh?" Kasumi said as she sat next to Akane's feet on the bed. Trying to get Akane to open up when she was angry wasn't hard to do, but it did take patience. She continued with her probing, "Is school okay?"
"Yes," Akane said, her voice sounding tired and angry to Kasumi.
Kasumi looked around the room, seeking other clues of how the youngest sibling was faring. Not finding anything out of the ordinary, such as new large holes in the wall, Kasumi asked another question, "You know Ranma is worried about you."
Akane peered over her magazine, looked at her sister with a suspicious eye, and with a milder tone than with the single syllables uttered before, she said, "I know. He guarded the door at lunch today."
Kasumi gently rubbed Akane's feet and asked, "Why would he do that?"
Akane's face started to relax, and with calmly said, "He came in and wanted to talk during lunch. I said I wanted to be left alone. I didn't ask him to do anything."
Kasumi got up, and walked over to her sister, then whispered into her ear, "I think he likes you."
Akane blushed, leaving no doubt in Kasumi's mind that she likes him to.
Kasumi smiled at Akane, and teasingly said, "Oh, look at this! You like him, don't you!"
Akane's response was to blush some more.
"So," Kasumi asked, "why don't you talk to him?"
The excess blood drained from Akane's face, as she answered, "I'm not ready yet. I'm not sure he is either."
Kasumi backed away a little bit, feeling a little better. "You should let him know you are all right."
"I will. Don't worry, I will."
"Soon, okay?" Kasumi wanted the two of them talking soon, she wasn't sure if she could handle things if someone started to rebel.
Akane nodded.
As Kasumi started to leave, she glanced at what Akane was reading. It was one of Nabiki's fashion magazines.
"That's a first." Kasumi noted.
***
The next morning, Ranma was ready for school, and at Kasumi's insistence, waiting for Nabiki to get ready. Akane had left early for school while he was cleaning up after his morning workout, he now had to walk to school with Nabiki. After waiting a few minutes, Nabiki came down the stairs just as Kasumi exited the kitchen with their lunches. As Kasumi handed the lunches to them, Nabiki stopped at the door for a moment.
"Kasumi, you know something? It looks like the porch needs some work. Did they fight out there?"
Nabiki knew Kasumi's answer was going to be, and then looked at Ranma and baited him, "Ranma, do you think you could help Kasumi after school today?"
Kasumi replied with mild surprise in her voice, "That's okay Nabiki, I don't need Ranma's help."
Ranma didn't disappoint Nabiki when he said in an apathetic voice, "Uh, okay. I don't have anything else going on."
"Ah! Worked just as planned! Now she'll have to deal with him for a few hours," Nabiki mused to herself. She knew that Kasumi would not deny any additional help if it was offered, and there was no way, she thought, that Ranma would allow the house and dojo look like a disaster zone.
***
After school, Ranma remembered his obligation to help Kasumi, and found her cleaning the shoe boxes when he walked in. Instead of announcing himself, he simply said "Uh!" to Kasumi.
"Why, hello Ranma!" Kasumi was cheerful, for she had completed her chores for the day and was looking forward to working with Ranma. For a change, she would be able to talk to someone while working.
"Hiya, Kasumi. I suppose ya want me to get ready?" Ranma remembered how he felt the previous day when Kasumi embarrassed him just by looking at him. Not wanting to repeat the experience, he to went his room to change into what he wore the day before.
As he bounded down the stairs, he heard Kasumi say, "I've prepared a small snack for you in the kitchen, next to the sink. When you are ready, we'll start sweeping the porch."
Looking around, he saw brooms, dust pans, and various carpentry tools.
"How can she be so organized? Does she leave nothing to chance?" Ranma wondered. In his travels with his father, Ranma had met some efficient housewives, but none seem to match the effectiveness or the grace Kasumi displayed every day. Stepping into the kitchen, Ranma saw a plate of sliced fruit and a napkin for him. He wolfed the food down, barely remembering to wipe his face and hands with the napkin before heading into the living room where he saw Kasumi inspecting the broom for pebbles or other hard objects.
"Thanks for snack, Kasumi. Now where do I start?" Ranma wanted to get this over with so he could start his afternoon training, but he knew that he was going to have to do this job Kasumi's way, and the way Kasumi did things left no room for improvising or error.
Pointing to the bent doorframe and the ruined patio, Kasumi started giving directions on what to do. While Ranma fixed broken boards and reseated the doors, Kasumi cleaned up after him, all the while they made small talk about little events at school and at home. By the time they had finished, it was time for Kasumi to start dinner.
"Thank you Ranma-kun. Your help was invaluable." Kasumi was thankful; Ranma easily replaced and repaired the patio, and followed her instructions exactly. Not once did he complain, although she knew that he would rather been training. Best of all, from her perspective, Ranma did try to keep up with her desire for conversation, even if the occasional subject matter was not of interest.
"No problem, Kasumi. This was a good workout in itself."
Ranma wasn't lying, Kasumi observed. Rather than using all the tools at his disposal, he used his hands and brute strength. Some of the boards were hard to remove without tools, and he tried driving the nails into the replacement boards by hand. When he was finished, she saw redness on his hands and arms from his efforts.
Both of them left the porch with the satisfaction that the job was done. Kasumi went to the kitchen to start dinner, Ranma to his room, to change for a run and practice.
"Akane, I expect you to be civil at the dinner table. Ranma, you too." Kasumi looked at the youngest children, and decided that she was going to have to treat them as such while the fathers were gone.
"But it's not my fault..." Ranma started to protest.
"I expect the two of you to leave your problems elsewhere when you sit down to eat" Kasumi said. Kasumi felt out of sorts, but she thought if her father had been more firm with Akane and Ranma, they probably would not fight as much. She was not comfortable in being this assertive, but she felt she had no choice as long as she was responsible for the family.
Kasumi watched Ranma settle into a comfortable position. As usual, his face was easy to read, a look of frustration crossed it. "Obviously," Kasumi thought, "Ranma really thinks he is innocent."
"Understood."
After hearing Ranma agree, Kasumi faced Akane to see if she would offer any resistance. Kasumi expected to see anger in Akane's expression, but she saw bewilderment instead. A slight nod by Akane was all the indication that Kasumi needed to know that Akane would behave.
When the four young adults completed dinner, Akane quietly asked if she could be excused to go to her room, and left. As they listened to Akane head up the stairs, Nabiki pulled out a magazine to read, Kasumi started to gather the plates, while Ranma sat in his seat.
"Ranma, could you please take the tray and platters into the kitchen?" asked Kasumi as she filled her hands with the plates.
Ranma looked at her, then at the table. He was dumbfounded that she asked him to clean the table. "What?" he thought, "This is a girl's job! No way I'm doing this! Why couldn't she ask Nabiki? She's doing nothing but read some stupid magazine."
Ranma sat at his seat, looking at the empty platters on the table. He felt sated, for Kasumi cooked her normal excellent meal. But there was the growing feeling that something wasn't quite right, and having Kasumi stare at him seemed to make that feeling of "wrongness" grow. Unable to determine exactly what it was that was nagging him, he tried to get Kasumi to stop looking at him, so he said, "Why can't Nabiki do it? She's not doing anything."
Nabiki looked at Ranma, "Oh, no. Don't you drag me into this. I have to go up and study." With that, Nabiki extracted herself from the floor, and went upstairs.
Since Nabiki had extracted herself from the situation, Ranma felt exposed. Kasumi kept looking at him, and for some reason, he knew that she would be able to outlast him no matter what he did. Still, this was a challenge, and he tried to resist giving in to doing such an unmanly function.
"Well" Kasumi asked Ranma with a stern face, "are you going to help me or not?"
Ranma had a choice, either use the same excuse as Nabiki, which would certainly upset Kasumi, or help her. It was an easy choice in the end, Kasumi's stare wore him down. Ranma stood up, and gathered the platters and placed them on the tray. By the time he had everything that was on the table and on the floor balanced in his hands, the nagging feeling was no longer bothering him. Trying to analyze what just happened, Ranma thought, "I just can't win against Kasumi. Never have." He started to smile, and when he tried not to, he found it harder not to smile, especially when he saw Kasumi smiling cheerfully at him. "And probably never will win" was his last thought as he headed into the kitchen.
While doing the dishes, Kasumi kept Ranma talking by asking him questions about his day at school, and the myriad challenges he faced. When they had finished, both of them were surprised to discover that they had been working for over a half-hour when they thought it was only ten or fifteen minutes.
Ranma left the kitchen in good spirits, having talked to someone that listened to what he said and did not nit-pick every little thing he said. Kasumi was glad that Ranma was trying to be accepted in school for who he was and that he was having some level of success.
Unfortunately, Kasumi was concerned that Ranma was having a hard time fitting in. While she understood that anyone living alone with Uncle Saotome would certainly have a few "problems" in life, she had to admit to herself that the magnitude of "problems" that Ranma faced were formidable. She stood in the kitchen and looked at the sink. Part of her mind was working on planning the meals the next day, while another part was trying to find a way reduce some of the stress Ranma was going through.
Deciding what she was going to make the next day, Kasumi started to pull out recipes from book just as Nabiki walked in search of a snack.
"Nabiki, we need to talk about something," Kasumi said as she flipped through a well-worn cookbook.
Popping her head out of the cupboard, Nabiki looked at her older sister and with a sigh, said, "What is it?"
Kasumi knew that she was going to have to lead her sister down a narrow thought path, so she closed her book, asked, "You realize that since Akane isn't speaking to Ranma, he probably will not study, right?"
With a slight snide tone of voice, Nabiki said, "So? Not my problem." She muttered something about not finding any chips and then grabbed some crackers.
Kasumi wasn't happy with Nabiki's tone. Not only did Nabiki fail to understand the implications of Ranma failing in school, but also the general disrespectful tone of her response.
"Ahem. If Ranma fails, it will hurt the dojo's reputation. If the reputation hurts, there will be less money. We cannot afford that." As Kasumi stated her truths, she found that she was depressed. The family finances were not all that great to start with, and although the school's reputation is good, thanks in part to Ranma's stellar successes in fighting, there hasn't been either enough students or royalties to afford any luxuries. If Ranma really did start failing academically, it would probably eliminate any opportunity for Ranma to teach, and therefore doom the school to extinction.
"And so what do you want me to do? Take Ranma's tests?" Nabiki said, her voice betrayed her annoyance.
Unsure whether she was able to relay the importance to Nabiki, Kasumi continued, "Could you please help Ranma study? I know he complains a lot, and that he is not the best student, but he does do well if he's properly..." Kasumi stopped to think for a short moment. She didn't want to unnecessarily insult Ranma, but she did want to accurately describe him. Kasumi continued speaking, "... guided."
"You want me to baby sit Ranma? I don't think so. He's old enough to study himself."
"Obviously," Kasumi thought, "Nabiki misunderstands." Smiling at her sister, Kasumi tried a different approach, and said, "Think about how Uncle Saotome trains Ranma. He pushes Ranma to go all out. If Ranma makes a mistake, Ranma feels pain. This happens every day."
"And at some dark hour in the morning. I know they train all the time. And they do it loudly," Nabiki whined.
It was no secret to Kasumi that Nabiki really disliked being awoken when they "train" in the morning. She even complained that the only thing she gained by the early morning ruckus was that her school attendance record improved a little.
Kasumi began to smile brightly, apparently her sister is beginning to understand. "Yes. The key is consistency. They do it every day, at the same time, without fail. That is one reason why Ranma does so well."
Taking a bite, Nabiki's face fought not to smirk. With a mouth full of crackers, Nabiki asked, "So you want me to beat Ranma up everyday?"
"I want you to train Ranma how to study. You are a better student that I ever was. You have good study habits. You go to cram school, and you keep up. You know what Ranma is supposed to know. I've been out of school too long to help him." Deep down, Kasumi knew she could tutor Ranma, but she felt too far removed from classes to be of any use to him.
Kasumi watched Nabiki pause for a moment. There was a bit of fire in younger sister's eyes as her ego blazed from the stroking that she received. Then the fire went out.
"Sorry," Nabiki said. "I don't have time to teach and train macho boy how to study. I have too many things going on in my life, and I don't need the annoyance."
Kasumi suddenly remembered what she went through when she attended cram school, so she tried a different tack when she asked, "What's the difference between what you are studying in cram school and what you learned in the last couple of years?"
"Nothing. It's all review."
"And if you tutored Ranma or helped him study, would you be reviewing things you already know?" Kasumi began to feel an imminent success. Obviously her sister didn't see the trap that was being laid.
With resignation in her voice, Nabiki relented. "Okay. I'll help him study."
With a happy voice, Kasumi said, "Thank you, Nabiki. I know you will do a good job!"
In the back of her own mind, Kasumi was aware of the danger that Nabiki might add new stress to Ranma's life.
Sighing, accepted her fate, and she said, "Yes, Kasumi. The stupid jock and I will both study hard." With that, Nabiki turned and headed out the door.
Kasumi called out as soon as Nabiki stepped out of the kitchen, "Nabiki, Ranma has a language quiz tomorrow. I expect him to pass."
The middle sister had one thought, "Damn."
At her door, Nabiki stopped and looked at her room, and thought, "Why do I have to do this? I don't want to. I don't even like Ranma. Grrrr. Kasumi." Nabiki turned around and knocked on Ranma's door.
"Ranma, would you like to study with me?" Nabiki hoped that if he said "no", she would not have to help him.
Opening the door, Ranma answers, "Nope."
Just as Nabiki thought she had a victory, she hears Kasumi climbing the stairs, and thought, "Damn! She must have heard everything. Again."
It was when Kasumi had reached the top of the stairs when she said, "Ranma, I know you have a written language quiz tomorrow. You need to study for it."
Inside, Nabiki was grimacing. The last thing she wanted was Kasumi getting on her case. When Kasumi started down stairs she started to relax a moment, but almost panicked when she saw that Ranma's face had just opened up in surprise. "Oh, crap!" she thought, "this doofus can't remember his own test schedule. Just how did you make it this far without being expelled? Sheesh!"
Suddenly Nabiki realized an opportunity just opened up for her, and offered her services to Ranma, "I'll help you for a thousand yen."
"Wait a moment." Ranma went back to his bed roll to find the money.
"Here's yer money," Ranma said as he shoved several coins at Nabiki.
Nabiki looked at the coins. It wasn't that she didn't want the money, it was that she was deep in thought trying to determine how much she charge Ranma if the period of silence lasted for more than a few days. She reached for the coins, turned around, and instructed her new student, "Come on, let's get started."
Two hours later, they finished studying. Ranma left for his room feeling as if he just went through a long wind-bag session with his father, while Nabiki collapsed on her bed, wondering how to get even with Kasumi for saddling her with such a task.
Nabiki wasn't surprised that Ranma had not studied for the quiz, but was surprised at how fast he was able to learn what she thought was the minimum to pass the quiz in just two hours. She noted Ranma responded to constructive criticism very well, and that when carefully complimented, Ranma actually worked harder. The biggest shock, though, was finding out Ranma could be a good person to study with. Still, it was hard work to set the proper example for Ranma and study hard.
More than once she had caught him watching her, learning how she studied. His scrutiny was intense, she felt frightened that he could concentrate the way he did, for the minutest details of what she did must have been analyzed and catalogued. When she noticed that he started mimicking her pacing, she realized that she had to be careful.
***
Kasumi had just entered Akane's room, and was wondering if the walls needed a new coat of paint.
With concern for her baby sister, Kasumi asked, "How are you feeling?"
Akane, lying on the bed with a magazine over her face, didn't move a muscle as she replied "Okay."
"Not saying much, huh?" Kasumi said as she sat next to Akane's feet on the bed. Trying to get Akane to open up when she was angry wasn't hard to do, but it did take patience. She continued with her probing, "Is school okay?"
"Yes," Akane said, her voice sounding tired and angry to Kasumi.
Kasumi looked around the room, seeking other clues of how the youngest sibling was faring. Not finding anything out of the ordinary, such as new large holes in the wall, Kasumi asked another question, "You know Ranma is worried about you."
Akane peered over her magazine, looked at her sister with a suspicious eye, and with a milder tone than with the single syllables uttered before, she said, "I know. He guarded the door at lunch today."
Kasumi gently rubbed Akane's feet and asked, "Why would he do that?"
Akane's face started to relax, and with calmly said, "He came in and wanted to talk during lunch. I said I wanted to be left alone. I didn't ask him to do anything."
Kasumi got up, and walked over to her sister, then whispered into her ear, "I think he likes you."
Akane blushed, leaving no doubt in Kasumi's mind that she likes him to.
Kasumi smiled at Akane, and teasingly said, "Oh, look at this! You like him, don't you!"
Akane's response was to blush some more.
"So," Kasumi asked, "why don't you talk to him?"
The excess blood drained from Akane's face, as she answered, "I'm not ready yet. I'm not sure he is either."
Kasumi backed away a little bit, feeling a little better. "You should let him know you are all right."
"I will. Don't worry, I will."
"Soon, okay?" Kasumi wanted the two of them talking soon, she wasn't sure if she could handle things if someone started to rebel.
Akane nodded.
As Kasumi started to leave, she glanced at what Akane was reading. It was one of Nabiki's fashion magazines.
"That's a first." Kasumi noted.
***
The next morning, Ranma was ready for school, and at Kasumi's insistence, waiting for Nabiki to get ready. Akane had left early for school while he was cleaning up after his morning workout, he now had to walk to school with Nabiki. After waiting a few minutes, Nabiki came down the stairs just as Kasumi exited the kitchen with their lunches. As Kasumi handed the lunches to them, Nabiki stopped at the door for a moment.
"Kasumi, you know something? It looks like the porch needs some work. Did they fight out there?"
Nabiki knew Kasumi's answer was going to be, and then looked at Ranma and baited him, "Ranma, do you think you could help Kasumi after school today?"
Kasumi replied with mild surprise in her voice, "That's okay Nabiki, I don't need Ranma's help."
Ranma didn't disappoint Nabiki when he said in an apathetic voice, "Uh, okay. I don't have anything else going on."
"Ah! Worked just as planned! Now she'll have to deal with him for a few hours," Nabiki mused to herself. She knew that Kasumi would not deny any additional help if it was offered, and there was no way, she thought, that Ranma would allow the house and dojo look like a disaster zone.
***
After school, Ranma remembered his obligation to help Kasumi, and found her cleaning the shoe boxes when he walked in. Instead of announcing himself, he simply said "Uh!" to Kasumi.
"Why, hello Ranma!" Kasumi was cheerful, for she had completed her chores for the day and was looking forward to working with Ranma. For a change, she would be able to talk to someone while working.
"Hiya, Kasumi. I suppose ya want me to get ready?" Ranma remembered how he felt the previous day when Kasumi embarrassed him just by looking at him. Not wanting to repeat the experience, he to went his room to change into what he wore the day before.
As he bounded down the stairs, he heard Kasumi say, "I've prepared a small snack for you in the kitchen, next to the sink. When you are ready, we'll start sweeping the porch."
Looking around, he saw brooms, dust pans, and various carpentry tools.
"How can she be so organized? Does she leave nothing to chance?" Ranma wondered. In his travels with his father, Ranma had met some efficient housewives, but none seem to match the effectiveness or the grace Kasumi displayed every day. Stepping into the kitchen, Ranma saw a plate of sliced fruit and a napkin for him. He wolfed the food down, barely remembering to wipe his face and hands with the napkin before heading into the living room where he saw Kasumi inspecting the broom for pebbles or other hard objects.
"Thanks for snack, Kasumi. Now where do I start?" Ranma wanted to get this over with so he could start his afternoon training, but he knew that he was going to have to do this job Kasumi's way, and the way Kasumi did things left no room for improvising or error.
Pointing to the bent doorframe and the ruined patio, Kasumi started giving directions on what to do. While Ranma fixed broken boards and reseated the doors, Kasumi cleaned up after him, all the while they made small talk about little events at school and at home. By the time they had finished, it was time for Kasumi to start dinner.
"Thank you Ranma-kun. Your help was invaluable." Kasumi was thankful; Ranma easily replaced and repaired the patio, and followed her instructions exactly. Not once did he complain, although she knew that he would rather been training. Best of all, from her perspective, Ranma did try to keep up with her desire for conversation, even if the occasional subject matter was not of interest.
"No problem, Kasumi. This was a good workout in itself."
Ranma wasn't lying, Kasumi observed. Rather than using all the tools at his disposal, he used his hands and brute strength. Some of the boards were hard to remove without tools, and he tried driving the nails into the replacement boards by hand. When he was finished, she saw redness on his hands and arms from his efforts.
Both of them left the porch with the satisfaction that the job was done. Kasumi went to the kitchen to start dinner, Ranma to his room, to change for a run and practice.