Chapter 1
She found herself staring down at an unconscious Kasumi tucked in safely in the large fluffy bed Akane knew she shared with Dr. Tofu. She had checked her sister for a pulse, and within minutes was certain that the older woman was very much alive. Just tired, a confident voice spoke up inside her. Tired and shocked. Not to be blamed, Akane thought unwaveringly. Certainly it wasn't an everyday occurrence that one awoke to find one's father cold and stiff in his bed, was it?
She padded down the stairs quietly, intending to bring her sister some smelling salts and perhaps some food and drink. Judging by the state of the kitchen, her sister had not started on breakfast yet. Akane frowned. While her present culinary skills were nothing to boast about, at least she could be sure that she wouldn't burn the house down while trying to boil a kettle of water for making tea or something like that.
Well, before that... The dark-haired woman paused as she passed by the telephone. Pondering calmly, she took a step towards it. Checking the number against the list of numbers stuck firmly on the wall above the telephone, she ran her finger down the list and paused on a particular number. Nodding slightly, she hadn't noticed she had begun to hum a soft tune as she dialed the number briskly and waited for it to ring.
One ring. Two rings. Three rings. Four ri—
"Hello, Tendou Nabiki speaking." The voice was smooth and controlled to the untrained ear, but Akane could easily pick out the underlying tone of annoyance in the woman's even voice. She smirked. Evidently she had interrupted one of Nabiki's business meetings and Nabiki, as she had expected, was fastidious when it came to matters involving money and business.
"Nabs. This is Akane." She paused; somewhat surprised that she could sound so calm and relaxed. Cheerful, even.
"I just got to the Doujou. I was thinking of spending Christmas here." Nabiki made a non-committal sound and Akane continued firmly. "Unfortunately, Kasumi's out cold, and it seems that Daddy's dead." Her voice shook suddenly, and her grip on the phone tightened just slightly, but her composure was remarkably intact as she awaited Nabiki's reply.
There was a lengthy, heavy pause on the other end of the line.
"I'll get back to you on that," was Nabiki's curt reply before there was a click and the line went dead.
Akane replaced the phone. Expected. Anytime within the next 24 hours Nabiki would be back home.
She made her way into the kitchen, taking care to grab a few wet towels at the same time before she walked up the stairs. Her footsteps were unnaturally heavy, and if it wasn't her imagination, she could hear them reverberating in the house, louder than she could ever envisage.
It wasn't until Akane walked past her father's room that she stopped and gently pushed the door open, peering in carefully. She took in the sight of her father lying silently on the bed. His once-black hair was streaked with gray and white, and he almost looked like he was asleep.
He's not dead; a tiny disbelieving voice spoke up inside her. He's just asleep. Kasumi's stressed. She must have been mistaken. How can Daddy be dead? That's absurd. That's ridiculous. He was perfectly healthy. Is, she corrected herself mentally. He hasn't died yet. As if wanting to prove this, the youngest Tendou daughter stepped forward quietly, raising one pale hand to brush her father's forehead lightly.
It was cold. Too cold. And that instant, she knew it was true. Tendou Soun had passed on and was no longer around.
She felt a sense of déjà vu as she compared it to the disbelief she had felt all those years ago, when her mother had abruptly died. It's not true! Her mind had insisted firmly. No way!
But it was true. Without thinking, she lifted the pale sheet covering her father's body and lightly covered her father with it, then choosing to step out of the room inaudibly.
Yet the moment she shut the door gently behind her with a sound click, something tore inside her. Leaning her forehead against the wall, Tendou Akane began to cry.
-
On the other side of Japan, Nabiki smiled civilly at her client. "I beg your pardon, Mr. Nakamura, but it seems our meeting has to be rescheduled. It seems that a matter of utmost importance requires my attention at once." Her cold eyes seem to gain a steely glint as she rose, staring down at the pudgy man currently cowering in the seat opposite her. "Not to worry, of course," she breathed politely, leaning forward. "Pleasantries aside, I will be kind for once and keep interest rates steady for the time being." She laughed, and the man shivered, all his pudgy rolls of fat quivering with him.
"You will arrange the details of our next meeting with my secretary, I trust?" Without waiting for a reply, she picked up her briefcase and strode away, blatantly choosing to ignore the man who hastily scrambled to his feet to bid her a hurried goodbye.
Fools they all were. Nabiki narrowed her eyes. Well, all the better for business.
She pulled the sleek black cell phone out of her pocket and dialed a number rapidly. Ignoring the curses flung at her the moment the call got through, she allowed a humorless smile as she slid into the plush leather seat of her equally sleek navy convertible.
"Good morning to you too," the young woman spoke dryly. "Remember the favor you owed me?"
The curses died down. Nabiki smiled, her hand coming to grip the steering wheel tightly. "Good," she said finally. "I need it now. Go down to Nerima, Tendou Doujou. My..." Daddy died. "My father died."
The voice on the other end turned quiet, and somewhat sympathetic. Nabiki shot a cold sharp glare at her steering wheel. "I don't need your blasted pity!" she snapped frostily, effectively cutting the speaker off. "I need someone responsible to keep things under control! My older sister's out cold, and the younger one could be in hysterics for all I know!"
I see, said the person on the other line.
"So are you going or not?" she forced out, massaging her temples. This was not a good day.
I'll be there, said the person, with a tone of finality.
"Good." Nabiki nodded and ended the call. Tossing her phone into the passenger seat, she started the engine and drove out of the car park.
Now, about that plane ticket...
-
Akane was cold.
She had spent the past two hours staring vacantly out the window and down at the koi pond. The wind was blowing right in her face, but she didn't seem to notice. Or care.
The pond was where Daddy released the fish caught at the carnival when I was seven.
She raised a hand to tuck her hair firmly behind her ears. Downstairs she heard the faint humming of a vacuum machine as Kasumi worked diligently to clean up the house. The young woman frowned. Even in her weakest moments, Kasumi had turned to housework for a sense of familiarity and comfort. She looked at the clock. Nearly six-thirty now. Any moment now, Kasumi would come up the stairs to announce that dinner was ready and that she had prepared a bath for her.
There was a soft knock on the door. "Akane? Dinner is ready. Ono will be home soon. You must be tired, so I prepared a hot bath for you," Kasumi called through the door.
"Coming, onee-chan," she replied, wondering how Kasumi could be so cheerful.
But she wasn't cheerful. This Akane knew. She was a nervous wreck falling apart at the seams, seeking comfort in a façade she held regularly. She had seen Kasumi this morning, pale and frightened. Not soon after her sister had been revived, it had taken a mere matter of seconds before she attacked her household chores with an intensity that scared even Akane.
Kasumi was scared. Kasumi was scared and grieving.
Years ago, when Mama died, Akane recollected, Kasumi gave up her entire childhood to be a mother, a caregiver. She sought joy and a sense of accomplishment in taking care of everyone in the family. But now, now that Daddy's dead, Nabiki and her were all grown up already.
Who was left for her to take care of?
She always thought Dr. Tofu and Kasumi was a match made in heaven. Both were wonderfully kind, had a knack for healing and comforting people, and more observant than they ever let on. Dr. Tofu saw things that she would have never dreamt of, and Kasumi carefully observed everyone in the household and silently took them under care to mend and heal them in any way she could.
But now she feared this ability of Kasumi's, for in order for her to be so observant and not let on what she knew, she had always sought shelter in the caricature of a the loving maternal, if not somewhat vacuous, oldest sister, and right now, she doubted this was giving the release Kasumi so needed.
At least, she, Akane, could cry and sob helplessly for all she wanted and no one would mind.
Oh, Kasumi onee-chan...
She really, really missed her father. Not just the strong man whom her mother had fallen in love with, and who had died with the death of her mother, but also the comical, if not somewhat cowardly, man who tried so hard to make her happy but always did it the wrong way.
Like not wanting her to continue with her martial arts training.
Like engaging her to him.
Like wanting her to go through the marriage.
She told herself cry, she promised herself not to cry over someone as insignificant as him. And she had stopped crying over him too. That was over six years ago since he had left Nerima without even looking back and she had too left, a young heartbroken girl searching desperately for something that she had no name for.
But she had missed him, and very much so.
Ranma.
The name rose unbidden in her mind and for the second time that day she felt her eyes tear up. This time she swiped the wetness away angrily. Geez, what on earth was wrong with her? Must be the stress... crying so much in one day.
Why did you have to be such a jerk, Ranma? Why did you have to go?
Why did you have to be such an idiot, Daddy? Why did you have to die?
Why did you have to be such a weakling, Akane? Why are you crying?
She shut the windows then and stepped out the room to make her way to the hot bath Kasumi had prepared for her.
She called the undertakers right after Kasumi had woken, asking them to take her father's body away for preparation for the funeral. She had listed Nabiki's particulars, knowing her sister would take care of the financial matters. She always did. And she had asked the undertakers to give her father the best, and perhaps, taking pity on her quiet trembling voice and pale face, they had agreed.
She felt so lonely and vulnerable right after they left with her father's body.
But perhaps the biggest shock came right after she left the hot bath, her wet hair wrapped up in the pale yellow towels she had always favored. Walking down the stairs, she had been just in time to see her brother-in-law return home, who had then greeted her in surprise. On the other hand, Kasumi took one step out of the kitchen and promptly made a beeline for her husband, all but throwing herself at him.
"Kasumi...?" Ono had asked, surprised. "Did something happen?"
And that was when Akane realized that Kasumi hadn't told Tofu about Soun's death, which explained why he hadn't rushed home immediately from work the moment he was supposed to hear about the news. Yet Kasumi didn't speak, merely turning her face into Tofu's shoulder, as she seemed to shrink in size, until merely becoming a small frail child.
Akane turned away, making her way up the stairs as she gave them the privacy they deserved.
When she came down again after fifteen minutes, everything seemed normal. Kasumi was happily laying out the dishes and Tofu was reading the papers. Yet... Akane hesitated. "Tofu-sensei?"
She had never really broken that habit of calling him that.
The doctor smiled kindly at her. "Yes, Akane-chan?" he answered.
"Do... do you know that Daddy died?"
There was a loud crash as Kasumi dropped a plate. Porcelain lay strewed everywhere and Akane cursed mentally. "Oh my," was all her sister said, in that quiet mild voice that she was so used to hearing. She dropped to her knees and began to gather up the porcelain pieces.
Akane's eyes narrowed. Was it just her, or did Kasumi's voice quiver slightly?
"What?" Tofu exclaimed.
Akane sighed as she dropped by Kasumi's side and gently lifted her sister up. "It's okay, Kasumi onee-chan, I'll clear it up for you," she mumbled soothingly, even as she noted how Kasumi was literallyshaking. She was also unnaturally warm to the touch. Akane frowned.
"Tofu-sensei? I think Kasumi's burning up." She watched as her brother-in-law started and worriedly got to his feet. "I think you might want to check on her. If you need to know," her voice broke off and she swallowed before she could continue. "Daddy's at the undertakers."
She watched, this time clenching her fists tightly on her skirt as Tofu carefully slipped an arm around Kasumi and led her up the stairs. And this time, she could really feel her eyes burning.
Kasumi was normally so strong. Not the Nabiki-strong-as-metal-and-cold-as-ice type of strong, but more of a silent resilience. And here she was, a near wreck. And Nabiki was... as far as she knew, Nabiki could still be stuck on the other side of Japan. Plane tickets couldn't be bought so quickly.
As Akane began to methodically sweep up the broken plate, she couldn't help but want to just curl up and sleep. She felt so... tired.
The last time when Mama died, it took us years to heal.
How long will it take this time?
The doorbell rang. Akane glanced up. Who on earth could it be? Surely Nabiki couldn't be here, in Nerima, already? Straightening, she made her way to the front door, dropping the remains of the plate into the dustbin as she walked past.
"Hi, can I help..."
Akane's voice died right in her throat. This wasn't happening, this couldn't be happening...
"Yo," Saotome Ranma said simply, his hands stuck firmly in his pockets.
She made no reply, merely staring at him dumbly.
Ranma quirked an eyebrow. "So, you gonna let me in?" Not really waiting for a reply, he brushed past the shocked woman breezily, making his way to the living room. "Mm, something smells good," the young man called out. "Kasumi's cooking?"
There was no reply from Akane, who slowly shut the door and turned around to face Ranma.
Suddenly, the sight of Ranma just standing there in the living room, all calm and relaxed and looking around irked her. Irked her very badly.
"Ranma..." she could barely recognize her own voice as one so dark and angered. Apparently Ranma seemed shocked too, because he turned to face her, face blank.
Oh gods, how she'd missed him, a little voice spoke up painfully, but Akane squashed that voice ruthlessly.
"Ranma..." She tried breathing, tried counting to ten, but nothing would calm her. This was too much in a day, too much for her to handle... "What the hell are you doing here?" she forced out, voice rising dangerously with every syllable. By the end of the sentence she was yelling angrily.
He, on the other hand, seemed unperturbed. "Checking up on you guys," he replied finally.
Wrong thing to say. Akane erupted.
"After six long years of no contact, you think you can just waltz in and 'check up' on us? Well, too bad for you, Saotome, we don't need you to! So get out! Get out of my house!" she cried out furiously, eyes blazing. She was in no mood to deal with him, no mood to deal with anything in fact. All she wanted was to go to bed and sleep...
Ranma didn't flinch, even though his stare on Akane intensified. "I can't," he said shortly. "I'm under orders to keep things under control here."
"What?!" Akane yelled, temper rising higher than ever. "Which stupid idiot told you to do that?"
Ranma gave a humorless grin. "You'll find out soon enough."
And that was when she decided she had enough. "I don't care, Saotome! Get the hell out of my house! I... I never want to see you again! I thought we made this clear six years ago!" Grabbing the nearest thing she could, which happened to be the television remote control, she flung it heatedly at him, as though by the sheer will he would magically disappear and leave her alone. Yet all Ranma did was dodge the blasted thing easily.
"No."
Her anger was boiling, rising, turning everything else into a haze, until it reached a limit where she thought she would erupt from the pressure, but just as she opened her mouth to scream at him, the anger abruptly died down, leaving her colder, more vulnerable and more deflated than she had ever felt. He watched as her shoulders tensed, and then unexpectedly droop.
"I've had it, Ranma." Her voice was dreadfully soft and tired, and instead of calming him, he felt himself tense. "I'm tired. I don't care what you do anymore. Stay if you want, but if you hurt anyone in my family, I will give you hell. Kasumi's a nervous wreck and Tofu-sensei doesn't know anything. Me? I don't need this." She lifted her head to look searchingly at him and this time Ranma did flinch inwardly at the look in her eyes. The anger, the hurt, the... turmoil?
"Oh fuck off, Saotome," Akane whispered frigidly, before turning to walk up the stairs.
"Akane," he spoke and before she could blink he had grabbed her wrist and held her back. "Akane, come on... don't be like this."
He was so close... Akane looked on blankly, before her eyes softened. Damn him, he always did have that effect on her. "Too bad, Ranma," she murmured quietly. "Should have thought about that before you left, eh?" Without waiting for a reply, the dark-haired woman pried his grip off her wrist and walked up the stairs.
Once she reached her room, Akane shut the door and bolted it tightly. Struggling with her tangled feelings, she slid to the ground and began to sob. This time, she couldn't stop.
-
Ranma dialed Nabiki's number on his cell phone. After a few times, she picked up, sounding rather tired.
"Yo, Nabiki."
"What?'
"I'm at your house now." Ranma adjusted the phone and leant against the wall.
"Peachy," the woman muttered. "So what's going on?"
"From what I hear, Kasumi's a nervous wreck and Akane's severely stressed." He looked out towards the koi pond and noted the grass had grown longer.
Nabiki sighed. "Expected. I supposed Akane's not too happy?"
"Happy?" Ranma snorted, looking up at Akane's bedroom window. "She's downright pissed and told me to fuck off."
There was a slight pause, before Nabiki's voice became slightly kinder. "Don't take it too hard, Saotome. She's just stressed. If I'm right, Kasumi told her that Daddy's dead and probably fainted on her."
"Ouch." Ranma's eyes widened. "Not that I care about what she says anyway..."
Nabiki chuckled. "Anything you say. Keep a close eye on them. If you hurt anyone in my family, I will give you hell, understand?"
He snorted. "You and Akane say the same things."
"Whatever. Runs in the family, maybe." he heard her say. "She missed you by the way."
Now it was his turn. "Whatever," he scoffed, even though something leapt up inside him. "She's still the angry misunderstanding tomboy she was."
Nabiki's tone was both light and warning when she answered. "If you think so. Akane's grown, I might add. Everyone has."
"Mm." He made a non-committal noise and ended the call.
-
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