Guest Ki: Chapter 26
Feng Shui
Journal: Ranma's Guest — Wednesday, 04 September, 1991 – Day 11
Akane has pushed for and is making incredible strides in ki-techniques. I think it may have something to do with the learning curve. You pushed her so hard at the lake, then the subsequent events have kept her keyed up, looking for some way to help you. She's still working on overdrive. The work you did with her, and the pointers I've given her have set her on the path to ki-vision like we have. If Cologne is correct, we're statistical impossibilities. If my guess is right, we're just the first persons with this gift to honestly try to promote it in others.
Before I go any farther, I have to let you know: We were sparringthe othernight and I was too tired. I almost killed Akane. I'm not talking about, 'Ha Ha! I could've killed her!' She got inside a punch and I got her in a headlock as she was getting ready to let me have it. I nearly killed her. I'm sorry. She ended up with a sore neck and finally believes what we'd been telling her, so maybe it was worth it.
Who the hell am I kidding? It won't happen again, though. She's insisted on learning and finding counters for every dangerous move in your arsenal we come across. She says she accepts the risks involved, and I hope she's right. She's certainly better qualified than I to make this decision.
To the ki-techniques: Akane can now see her own ki. Apparently, it is partly a matter of self-awareness and orientation. Ice cream (chocolate, by the way) was the key to her ki. A faint, unexpected taste of chocolate ice cream while she was meditating helped her orient what she was experiencing and begin to recognize what went where.
Barry shook his head considering what had happened next. Reluctantly, he recounted the next evening's series of events. He finished with:
Akari noticed the koi pond and made herself scarce. Ryoga nearly lit off a whopper of a Shishi Houkudan. Akane saw it with the ki-vision and came running. I spent three hours tracking Akari, and another hour calming her down and talking her out of stupid useless gestures. Katsunishiki may normally be affectionate, but when she's upset, he's dangerous. She's back at Ryoga's house for now, but I think she's going to go home after she helps repair the garden. She suffered a 'loss of face' I think you folks call it. I can understand the embarrassment, but this seems to go further. I hope Akane can explain this to me.
We will get you back.
Barry rushed through the morning, running on adrenaline. Soun had not yet noticed the circle of scorched floor or had decided he didn't want to know. He remembered his lunch this time and charged out to visit Nodoka before making sure Akari hadn't changed her mind about helping Ryoga get to school.
Genma lasted ten seconds at the front door and Barry spent fifteen minutes using a wire to hook panda fur out of the bathroom drains. He promised to spend some time the following day to talk to Nodoka and roared out of the house, spending five seconds in a rematch with Genma before taking to the rooftops. He met Ryoga and Akari on the way to school. Akari refused to meet his eyes. Katsunishiki was moody but finally, after a few minutes of steady scratching and sneaking him some tidbits, he became more relaxed. Akari, responding to her charge, also relaxed and brightened up slightly. Ryoga, who looked like he'd enjoy another depression blast, gave Barry a thankful glance.
Akane met them at the school gates. She pulled the suddenly downcast Akari aside and talked to her intensely and quietly, waving them on when the late bell rang. Ryoga and Barry continued on in, directing curious looks at several young men who seemed to be suffering from severe 'wedgies'. The sleeves of their shirts were tied together in front of them and the waistbands of their underwear were caught on their foreheads. Apparently, Shampoo had taken the concept of "painful and embarrassing" to heart. They hurried off to class, sliding into their seats with plenty of time to spare.
Barry glanced back at Shampoo who bore an entirely too-too innocent look on her face. Catching her eye, he gave her a thumbs-up and turned his focus front and center as light footsteps approached.
"Mr. Saotome, where is Miss Tendo?" Miss Hinako stood beside Ranma's desk and glared at him.
Barry sighed and tried to think of an excuse. Coming up dry, he tried the truth. "She stopped to talk to a friend of ours who is feeling very depressed today. Girl-girl talk, I guess." A loud thump interrupted his explanation. Tatewaki Kuno looked like a bug on a windshield against the plate glass of the third floor window. As he slid out of sight, Barry turned back to the ki-vampire more brightly. "Of course, it's possible that she was further delayed by a certain pervert we both know."
Hinako nodded with a faintly amused look on her face and moments later Akane made her entrance. She marched up to Miss Hinako, bowed in apology and began to stammer an excuse. She stopped, shocked, when Miss Hinako waved her silent and turned to the class. "Class, Miss Tendo was late. Based on what we saw a moment ago, do you feel she has sufficient cause to be late?"
"Yes!"
"Take your seat, Akane."
Akane started at the enthusiasm of the response even from Shampoo and Kodachi. She bowed, looked embarrassed and took her seat. Melville's account took it from there.
Lunchtime came and Akari made another appearance to bring Ryoga a meal. Before she could leave, however, Mrs. Morisato intercepted her. Her smile and manner was disarming to both human and beast. She soon had Akari involved in an earnest conversation, which Ryoga joined occasionally. At times, Akari seemed quite upset, but the new 'nice-nice teacher' always seemed to defuse the problem in the discussion. Suddenly, she hugged the older woman and broke into tears.
Barry again wondered where Principle Kuno had found the discretion, common sense and inspiration to hire this woman. Considering the Pineapple Fruitcake's normal state of mind, he must have been crazy! Barry, meanwhile, was overseeing the girls and their perpetual quest to impress Ranma's stomach.
His bento came from Kasumi today and was obviously safe. Shampoo, based on his ki-vision, seemed to have behaved for a change, as well. Kodachi... Though he couldn't sense anything wrong, she may have worked out a way to combine substances that wouldn't be detectable, unless they were all mixed together. He really didn't want to look too closely at her motives when she was giving the appearance, at least, of good behavior. He decided to try dilution as a solution to the problem.
"How about a picnic?" he suggested. The others looked at him. "If we each share some of what we've got, we'll have a feast. Interested?"
Kodachi looked wistful. "Did Kasumi prepare the food this time?"
"Yes," grated Akane. She did not take the obvious slight about her cooking with good grace.
Kodachi laughed at her glower, though not her horrible grating cackle. "Tendo, it's amazing that the two of you are sisters. Kasumi's food is divine!" She nodded to Ranma graciously. "Truce. I accept. Kasumi is a veritable goddess of the kitchen."
"Okay by Shampoo! Just glad nice-sister not in restaurant business."
"I'm going to see if Ukyo would like ta pitch in too, okay?"
Having gone so far as to concede to the picnic concept to begin with, they were not antagonistic to the other girl's inclusion. It was possible that her recent distance from Ranma also helped and they no longer perceived her as a rival.
"Hey, Ucchan."
"Hey, Ranchan. They tryin' to poison you again?"
"Nah! Behaving themselves for a change. I've pretty much checked everything out and decided to declare a picnic. Want in?"
"Might be a nice change. Don't mind if I do." She flipped a 'yaki and considered. "You sure I'm not gonna get poisoned?"
"I think I can guarantee it." He tapped his forehead and smiled.
Finally, the weekend came. The ornamental garden and koi pond at the Tendo residence was about to receive a complete makeover. The work began early Saturday and as dawn lit the yard, a voice called out of the shadows, "We're he-ere!"
Soon teenagers were clustered about the former koi pond, debating the opening moves they would make. Akane wanted a bigger pond, maybe with an ornamental bridge. Ryoga wanted a smaller pond or one with strategically placed rocks to create a more pleasing appearance. Akari remained silent. Katsunishiki had been left at the Unryu farm to avoid any problems with Soun.
Barry ignored them for now. He had several photographs taken over the years, of the garden and it's plantings. He was drawing now, and occasionally walking over and measuring the placement of the heavier rocks and structures. Trained as an artist and an engineer, he was principally concerned with determining if the garden could be restored to its original condition.
Sheets of paper littered the table, held down by cups of tea and plates of half-eaten food. Kasumi examined some of the drawings with an interest that made Barry very nervous, but he could think of no reason to prevent her from doing so. At this point, they were really waiting for the appearance of Soun Tendo. He would have the final say about whatever they did. Soun was praying at the house shrine, understandable considering the reverence with which he viewed this garden.
Barry finally had what he felt was a satisfactory set of drawings, when he felt the presence of the Tendo patriarch. He came out onto the veranda with the air of a general preparing for war. Silently Barry handed him the drawings and watched Soun look them over without a hint of suspicion about how Ranma acquired the skill to create them.
"Huh! This will make a good beginning." Barry thought privately that his Shogun act was ridiculous. Soun sat down, accepting a cup of tea from Kasumi with a nod. "Yes. Attention everyone!"
The others subsided and turned to face him.
"I believe we should start by leveling and smoothing the grounds," he said confidently. "Once that is done, we can determine how best to adjust the pattern of the rocks. The pond will be last, as it will need to reflect the surroundings in a peaceful and contemplative manner."
"Very good, Father," Kasumi complimented him. "You remembered mother's methods most accurately." Soun winced and face-faulted, only regaining his air of authority with difficulty. "Would you like a cake?" she added.
"Ummm," he eyed the cakes and gave in, "Yes, please." The others quickly returned to their wrangling.
Barry sighed. They were all well intentioned, but now that authority had left the building, so to speak, he feared nothing would be accomplished. He was willing to set things right. It was unfair for Soun to endure the loss of his garden. But he was unwilling to lose to useless brangling the time and resources needed to restore Ranma and himself. A glance at Akane warned him that she was reaching her limits as well. They needed some authority that could unite them all and guide them toward their goal. Ranma might have done it, with numerous false starts. He had doubts that he could, but it looked as though he was going to have to try.
He had just opened his mouth to bellow for attention, when a soft voice called out from the gate. "Hello?" The tones caught everyone's attention. Heads turned. A face peeked in at the gate.
"Mrs. Morisato?" Barry inquired instead.
"May we come in?" she asked, her bright smile lighting up the compound.
Soun, surprised and perhaps entranced by the face, nodded numbly. Barry doubted he would have been so permissive had he known who else was coming.
A short, fit man and a dark-haired girl about Akane's age followed Mrs. Morisato but, to Soun's horror, Miss Hinako was also there, bringing up the rear. She waved merrily to him as he sagged, his morning instantly shot to hell.
"I was speaking with Akari the other day," Mrs. Morisato was saying, "and thought I could offer some help. Besides, Miya wanted me to meet the family of her star pupil." She smiled at Akane, who did a 'who, me?' with some credibility.
Kasumi smiled and stepped forward bowing politely to Mrs. Morisato in particular. Barry felt very strange as these two women met. For a moment, Kasumi and the teacher seemed more like sisters than Kasumi and Akane. Subtly there was a shift, something he couldn't quite put his finger on, then Kasumi stepped back, clearly deferring to her guest. Mrs. Morisato smiled gently and introduced the short man as her husband, Keiichi. Barry looked with interest at the man who had earned this woman's respect and love, and re-evaluated him upward. He might be physically unimposing, but it had to be a special man to win Mrs. Morisato. Meanwhile, the dark-haired girl stepped over to Akane and introduced herself.
"Ohayogozaimasu! I'm Sakurida, Baradandya's sister."
"Baradandya?" Akane was taken aback. Sakurida as a name was not too odd but who was... "Oh! You mean Mrs. Morisato?"
"We're not too peculiar, are we?" Sakurida asked mournfully. "I mean we are gaijin, but..."
"Oh, no, that's not important at all!" Akane protested. "I just never heard your sister's given name before." She took the other girl's hands in her own and smiled. "Please, be welcome."
Barry walked over. He didn't mind the visit, but they'd never get this pond done at this rate, and he didn't think the koi would do well in the hipbath for another week. He smiled and nodded greeting to Sakurida and raised an eyebrow towards Akane. "Are we gonna do this, or what?"
"Ranma, don't be rude!" Akane snapped.
"Hey, I'm just pointin' out the time factor, tomboy," he said bluntly. Akane shook her head angrily and then nodded, her sense of propriety and hospitality at war with the need to get this out of the way and find Ranma.
Sakurida grinned and put her two bits in. "We are really here to help!"
"Huh?" They gawked at the girl.
"Bara spoke with Akari yesterday and learned of the problem." She grinned mischievously. "She's good about things like that." She jerked a finger at herself. "As for me? I'm just about the best engineering student that's ever come out of Nekomi Tech."
Barry gave her a thorough look-over that brought an irritated blush to her cheeks, turned and looked at Ms. Hinako and Mr. and Mrs. Morisato. "Ain't none of ya look like yer dressed or suited for manual labor," he observed. "And we've got too many cooks in the kitchen as it is."
"Are you saying we should butt out?" Sakurida said bluntly.
Barry shook his head. "Nah. I appreciate the offer of help and I really like yer sister. Yer blessed to have someone so special, so close to ya." Sakurida smiled suddenly, completely reversing the sullen, angry expression in a heartbeat. "It's just that we have so much we have to get done and things keep gettin' in the way. We have to get the koi pond and garden done today. The work Akane and I need to do, as well as the homework we have to make up, is too important." He watched Sakurida's eyes and decided that in her own way she had qualities similar to her sister. "Oh! And I am absolutely not looking for another fiancée. I got too many as it is." The expression on the girl's face turned quizzical, not understanding his point. "I gather yer sister hasn't said anything about me?"
"Not really." Sakurida frowned and glanced toward where her sister and brother-in-law talked to Kasumi. Miss Hinako had seated herself near Soun and looked as if he were a particularly sweet lollipop. Soun edged away while attempting to look as if he were merely getting more comfortable. "Is there something we should know?"
Barry sighed. "Might as well get it over with."
He walked into the house and came out with the teakettle and a pitcher of water. Whistling shrilly, he gained everyone's attention. He absently noted Kasumi's frown of concern as well as Ryoga's resigned look. In a surprising show of solidarity, the lost-boy joined him beside the activators of their Jusenkyo curses.
"I just wanna make sure everyone is up to speed on the situation here," he began. "Ryoga and I are cursed to change forms when splashed with cold water. Since we're dealin' with plants and a pond, I figure it's gotta happen sometime. I turn into a girl and Ryoga turns into a pig like Akane's P-chan." He picked up the pitcher of water and poured it over his head. The transformation was rapid.
When Ryoga reached for the water, Barry tossed the rest in the grass and grinned at him. "I don't see why you have to put on a show, Ryoga. If I'm not proof enough..."
"That was so cool!" Barry jerked, as Sakurida was suddenly nose-to-nose with her. "Jusenkyo, right? I've never seen one before. You're both affected? You know, the Jusenkyo phenomena is not precisely a curse."
"Saki," Mr. Morisato laughed and placed a hand on her shoulder, "they're not science experiments."
"Awww, Kei!" She looked mournful again.
"Come on, take a look at these drawings Ranma made before we came." The girl nodded regretfully and wandered over to her sister. Akane followed, as did Barry, after transforming back to male again.
"The way I see it, the main boulders haven't moved at all," he said to Akane's back. "All we have to do is get them repositioned by measurement to recreate the consistent..."
"Consistency isn't everything," Akane interjected automatically. "Predictability..."
"Has its place, Akane," Mrs. Morisato finished for her. "Predictability is not perhaps the best word under the circumstances. But the methodical, proven method allows you the ability to break away when a better path or method becomes apparent."
"Don't fix it if it ain't broke, and look before you leap?" Barry interpreted.
"Something like that." the teacher agreed.
"But something new could be so much better!" complained Akane. Sakurida was nodding enthusiastically. It wasn't entirely clear whom she was agreeing with. She wasn't looking at Akane, Barry or her sister, but was pouring over the drawings on the table, making minute notations.
"Akane!" Soun injected with a worried frown on his face. Miss Hinako had, during the discussion, managed to close the gap between them. "Your mother arranged the setting of many of those stones."
"Mr. Tendo?" Mr. Morisato injected. "I'm sure they'll do all right. I mean, your daughters carry their mother as a part of them, don't they?"
Soun looked at him for a long silent moment, then burst into tears. "My poor garden!"
"Dad!" Akane was incensed.
Barry looked at Mr. Morisato and Ryoga and shrugged. He walked over to where Sakurida was pouring over a drawing and took hold of an edge. He froze when she growled at him. "I'm using this!"
"Well, I drew it to begin with! I'm just getting some of the measurements I jotted." He looked more closely at the symbology she was adding. "What is that?"
She looked defensive. "It's just standard blueprint..."
"Excuse me, but the hell it is!" Barry twitched the drawing out of her hand as she gasped. He looked it over, critically observing her changes and looking up at the garden. He didn't see the glower and the rising shoulders. He didn't notice the faint glow that began to play at the ends of her hair. "Huh! I don't understand the terminology at all, but it feels right." He turned back to the angry girl and pointed to position changes on three boulders, in particular a rotational change on a rock that probably weighed two or three tons. "Nice drafting hand. Why the changes though? It looks very good, but ya really should check with Soun before ya go and switch things around. It's his garden after all."
The glow disappeared. She blinked, even as the 'discussion' between Akane and Soun was escalating. "This notation has gotta be you personal shorthand, huh?" Barry went on. "That is so cool!I can almost put a name toemotions and thedegrees of light and shadow yet you express it in a simple squiggle! Really elegant." He grinned suddenly and leaped over to Soun. "Hey, Father Tendo, take a look at this."
Sakurida stood there gaping, a blush spreading across her cheeks. Her sister slid up beside her and touched her shoulder. "Sister, he really doesn't need another fiancée."
The dark-haired girl shook herself and sighed. Smiling she turned and wrinkled her nose. "I know. It's just nice to be treated like an intelligent person for a change. Even if he is rude." She looked at Barry's back and pursed her lips. "I wonder what oneechan would think of..."
Baradandya Morisato giggled but looked pained. "Let's hope she's too busy to want to put her finger in this pie."
Barry and Akane stood together with Soun, examining the altered drawings. Both excitedly pointed to marks here and there on the diagrams. Soun suddenly pointed to one mark and raised his voice in acrimony. "Why is that stone marked out? It's a wonderful stone. I carried it here myself."
"It doesn't belong," Sakurida broke in. "It feels like it should be somewhere else."
Soun jerked and peered at her uneasily. All of the teenagers picked up on his guilty expression. There was a moment of reflection.
"Father, you didn't…" Kasumi's voice was reproachful.
Soun hung his head. "It was back when Genma and I were traveling with the Master," he groaned. "He... I..." Soun groaned in frustration.
"We will talk about this later," Kasumi said almost frostily.
"Perhaps you could return the stone," suggested Baradandya. "I'm sure, that with such a special stone and such unusual circumstances, you could return it to its proper place."
Soun walked over to the stone and hefted it. It was a darker stone than the others and weighed about forty kilograms. "I suppose I could put it in a pack and go on a training journey. I haven't done that in a while." Then his face fell. "It's been so long since I cooked for myself..."
"Certainly, I can go with you, father," Kasumi said. "After all, Akane is getting much better with her cooking, so perhaps we should see how she handles a few days of bridal training."
Akane choked and looked skittishly at Barry. He was obviously clueless. Silently she cursed to herself. 'Of course, we'd be left alone when it really isn't us!' The thought brought a blush to her cheeks. If Ranma had been here, there might have been all sorts of opportunities...
Kasumi and Soun only caught the blush and took it for anticipation rather than the regretful longing that it was. Kasumi sighed pensively. They had to grow up sometime and Ranma was showing a bit more responsibility. She didn't approve of sex before marriage, but acknowledged it sometimes happened. Perhaps she would warn Ranma discretely before she left.
It would be nice to get out of the house for a while. It would be a vacation, provided Soun didn't get angry crowds chasing them in Happosai's example. She nodded approvingly as Soun placed the rock on the porch and returned to where Ranma and Akane debated the positioning of boulders with Sakurida. The discussion was more animated and much more polite.
Ryoga's strength was very necessary for repositioning the largest boulder. The plan was to leave it in place but give it a half-turn clockwise. As expected, it did not get done without complications. As the two men stood and strained while standing on the crusty bottom of the old pond, a dark stain spread across the parched-looking impression.
The pond had been drained, yes. It was not moisture-free, however. As Ryoga's hundred kilos and Ranma's eighty-two kilos bore down on a heavy, limber pole, that moisture pooled and puddled unnoticed about their feet. Cold water soaked through their shoes. Suddenly, the pole was being bent not by two young men, but by the forty-eight kilos of girl-type Ranma. A little black pig scrabbled as it fell into the now billowing clothes. The pole snapped straight.
"Ahhh!" Barry was launched. It wasn't far, but was unexpected. "Look out, Akari!"
"What?" Akari froze, startled. "Oof!"
Ryoga, scrabbling out of the giant divot, saw Barry straddling Akari, apparently pinning her to the ground. That Barry was in girl-type didn't matter. Ryoga lunged and bit.
"Are ya all ri-iiiee!" Barry finished with a high-pitched scream. "Dammit, Ryoga!" The latter dropped off and let loose with a series of vitriolic squeals and trotter shaking that needed little translation.
"Ranma wasn't getting fresh, Ryoga," Akari broke in weakly. "I was simply in the way."
"If we didn't have this other project, pork rind, I'd run tests on ya ta see if the curse didn't affect yer brain. Where do ya get the idea I'm gonna molest Akari? Jeez!" Barry reached down to pick him up, just missing a snap of toothy little jaws. Barry drew back and commented sarcastically, "Oh? Ya wanna get changed and dressed out here in fronta everyone?"
Ryoga-pig visibly blushed and shook his head. Akane retrieved Ryoga's clothes from the pond and handed them to Barry, and the two departed for the bathroom where Ryoga could change, both ways, in peace. The newcomers stared after them in shock.
"That was interesting," commented Mr. Morisato.
Sakurida slipped over to Akane. "You don't think I could talk him into letting me investigate how the curse works on him, do you?"
Akane looked at her suspiciously. "Are you sure you're not trying to be another fiancée?" Sakurida looked as innocent as she could. "Trust me, he really can't afford another one. Health reasons."
Sakurida looked into Akane's eyes and gulped. "Promise, cross my heart?" Akane relaxed. Sakurida seemed sincere.
"You'd have to ask him. He's pretty sensitive about it, though it's not as bad as it used to be." Even as she spoke, she became pensive again. She really wished Ranma were here for Sakurida to ask. Still, Barry would probably be able to field her questions if he had to. She looked up to see him returning, toweling his hair.
"Ryoga'll be a while. He has to wring his clothes out." He wandered over to the edge of the pool and looked down at the damp puddle. "Hey, Kasumi, d' we have galoshes or rubber boots for this?"
"I'll check, Ranma." She hurried off.
Mr. Morisato stripped off his shirt and wandered over, swinging his arms to loosen muscles. Barry nodded thoughtfully. He was in much better shape than Barry expected. He might be an asset after all. "Maybe with a longer lever arm the two of us could shift it, Ranma."
Barry shrugged. "I wish I could oblige, Mr. Morisato. 'Give me a long enough lever and a point to rest it on and I could move the world' and all. I have a point, but a longer lever would have to be way thicker because of the flexibility."
"Good point," came the reply. "Call me Keiichi, by the way. Otherwise, I feel like I should look around for my father." He grinned cheerfully. "Maybe we can rig a block and tackle?"
"Wouldn't the rope slip off ?" Barryasked. "The rock is conical, how would you secure it?"
"Make some wedges. After the rope's tight, pound them in around the sides." Keiichi slid his hands together at right angles. "Maybe tighten the rope further with an iron bar."
"Set it up like a come-along?" Barry nodded thoughtfully. "The torsion might weaken the rope. Let's try it with the wedges. We can get extreme later. I think we have a block and tackle in the tool shed. I don't know what its lift ratio is."
They turned to the others and stopped. Kasumi had returned with several sets of boots. Ryoga had returned with her, wearing reasonably dry clothes. Mrs. Morisato, Kasumi, Akane, Ryoga and Akari were staring at them as if they were speaking a foreign language. Sakurida looked thoughtful. Barry shook his head and wandered over to the tool shed to hunt for the block and tackle.
Ryoga sat down and looked over the selection of boots Kasumi had provided. Keiichi sat down beside him and sought for a pair of his own.
"You getting in on the fun, too, Mr. Morisato?"
"Call me Keiichi, please. Yeah, might as well. If we have a water problem, I'll take care of it." He found a pair of boots and pulled them on. "I may not be a martial artist, but I hope I'm good for something."
"I'm sure you'll do fine, Mr. Mor… Keiichi," Ryoga corrected himself. "We're martial artists. What do you do to keep you busy?"
"I work as an engine designer for…" he named a well-known automotive manufacturer, "They call me an Experimental Propulsion Design Consultant. Go figure." He laughed and gazed over at his wife, whose answering smile was brilliant. "I also tutor a few college students in engineering."
"Wow." Ryoga blinked and held up his hand as if protecting it from the glare. "I think I'm blinded." He smiled back at the little man who chuckled and rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed manner. "I'd say you're a lucky man."
"You have no idea, Ryoga."
"Hey, I found it!" Barry trotted back over, a set of heavy wooden blocks swinging by a thumb-thick rope. "I guess we can get started now."
The work progressed apace. The block and tackle worked, with Keiichi, Akane and Akari heaving on the rope and Ryoga and Barry, protected by boots, wedging the boulder around. The smaller boulders quickly followed under the supervision of Sakurida and Soun. After the last stone was turned and positioned, Kasumi and Baradandya called them to lunch.
Afterward, Keiichi, Akane, Akari and a quickly 'girl-ed' Barry worked to reshape the pond. Sakurida danced around the edges, making suggestions and taking notes. It wasn't long before the pond was satisfactory, and the grading and replanting was begun. By dinnertime, they were finished and the carefully raked earth around the pond was seeded and covered with straw to protect it. With luck, the grass would 'take' well enough to last the winter months ahead.
Akane poked her head into the kitchen. Both Kasumi and Mrs. Morisato were preparing dinner. She saw something that struck her with a sense of déjà vu. The two swayed and danced about the confines of the room to an unheard rhythm and tune. Akane remembered such a dance from her past, when Kasumi and their mother worked to prepare a meal for the family. She turned and almost bumped into Sakurida who leaned over past her and shook her head.
"It's almost eerie." She shook her head again and smiled at Akane. "It must be great to have Kasumi for your sister." She pulled her aside and whispered to her conspiratorially. "You're real lucky to have such a fiancée, too!"
Akane sighed pensively. "I guess..."
The other girl tilted her head. "What's wrong, Akane? Does this have something to do with the multiple fiancée thing I've heard about?"
"Not really, though that's bad enough. I can't talk about it."
"Is it because you don't know me well enough?" Sakurida had a tight, but not hostile, look on her face that Akane had trouble interpreting.
"Sakurida, I haven't even talked to my own sisters about it." She sighed. "I think… I hope Ranma loves me. I believe that Ranma let the engagements go on till now, so that he could find some honorable solution..."
"Excuse me! But how honorable is it to get involved with more than one girl to begin with?"
Akane almost laughed at her. Sakurida's tone could have been her own as recently as a few months ago. She gave a quick and honest synopsis of the past two years, portraying her own actions with a bluntness that caught her by surprise. Sakurida nodded from time to time as she listened, occasionally prompting for more detail. Kasumi called them to dinner as she finished.
Soun was in heaven, Miss Hinako not withstanding. Kasumi's meals were good by anyone's standards, but with the Morisato woman assisting, they had reached new levels of excellence. His garden was miraculously restored, and he had hopes of reintroducing his koi to the pond on Sunday. The fact that he had somehow to get that one rock back up Mt. Fuji was a minor detail. Besides, Kasumi had said she would go along. To tell the truth he had been feeling vaguely guilty about that stone for years.
He made polite conversation with Miss Hinako, unintentionally further endearing himself in her eyes. Beyond Hinako, Mrs. Morisato's sister leaned across the table and made polite, sparkling conversation with Ranma and Akane. Across from Soun, the Morisatos spent as much time gazing into each other's eyes as they did proposing or answering conversation directed at them. Soun didn't care and, in fact, was greatly encouraged by this. His eyes flickered occasionally to Ranma who watched the two with an amused, almost benevolent expression and occasionally teased them about their awareness of one another. Akane looked pensive, but then she often did. And come Monday, Ranma and Akane would be alone in the house for most of the week.
He chuckled. All sorts of possibilities could arise. He frowned. He better find some way to keep Genma away or he might spoil everything. Perhaps he could convince him to come along. He had helped steal the thing after all.
After dinner, their guests prepared to leave. Barry's eyebrows rose when he saw the heavy motorcycle and sidecar parked out front. Keiichi Morisato grinned and strapped on his helmet. Sakurida followed suit. They suddenly realized that Baradandya was not outside yet.
"I'll get her for you, Kei," Barry said and flashed into the house. He checked the kitchen thinking she might just do an extra lick to polish things up. Kasumi would have. Then felt something outside the main room, toward the garden. He couldn't quite hear anything, but the only way he could describe it was singing. He stepped through the shoji.
Baradandya Morisato stepped lightly and surely about the garden, her bare feet as light as feathers on the raked earth. As he watched, the song came more clearly, yet still untranslatable. She moved in a pattern that brought her back before the door as she pirouetted. She winked at Barry and smiled as she finished and then faced the garden and bowed solemnly. Pivoting smoothly, she smiled and tilted her head to one side. "Some problems need help that only a fresh viewpoint and new skills can provide. I think it will be a beautiful garden, don't you?" Then she flowed past him, into the house to retrieve her shoes, before moving on to the gate. After a shocked second, he followed. 'What did she mean by that remark?'
"Hey, um... Mrs. Morisato. Uh..." She turned as she accepted her helmet from her husband.
"Yes?"
"Uh, how... how did you all fit on the motorcycle?" he finished lamely.
"Oh, I walked, Ranma," Miss Hinako chirped, cutting in. "I wouldn't mind being escorted home by a tall, strong martial artist, though," she added, looking meaningfully at Soun, who paled and licked suddenly dry lips.
Barry looked at Soun and at Hinako's increasingly hurt gaze and dodged in. "Miss Hinako, if ya don't mind, I'll walk ya home. I need some more work on my English, so maybe you can help?" He could tell that they were both relieved by the intervention.
"Thank you, Ranma. If you don't mind, Akane?" Akane shook her head and Hinako took his arm.
Keiichi pumped the starter and the motorcycle's engine purred into deep-throated life. They waved and the vehicle swung smoothly out into the street and accelerated away.
"Mrs. Morisato is a lucky woman, don't you think?" Hinako asked quietly as Barry escorted her away. Barry shrugged.
"I suppose it's the viewpoint. I would have said Kei's a lucky guy." Barry reflected. "Miss Hinako, how in hell did Principal Kuno find the sanity to hire her?"
"You mean as opposed to me?" She asked tightly.
"I know why he hired you," Barry retorted. "It worked for a while, too." They sighed in unison, acknowledging past errors. They walked a few blocks in silence. Barry decided to pop in a question he didn't think she'd normally answer. "Did Happosai really have to teach you your ki trick when you were a little kid?"
She nodded absently. "I would have died. It saved my life, but I have to recharge periodically or the condition returns. I sometimes wonder why I bother." She sniffled, the emotionality of her little-girl phase affecting her.
"Whoa! Stop right there!" Barry said sternly. "If you're gonna go on like that, let's go find Mrs. Morisato and have her talk some sense inta ya." He snorted, deliberately not looking at her. ""A good English teacher you are,"" Barry said in that language, deliberately mangling it. ""Better than you think,"" he added more colloquially. "It could be worse. Take Ryoga for example. Anytime he hits cold water or vice versa, he's a walking barbecue banquet. Same with Mousse, Shampoo's friend from China, he turns into a duck."
She snorted and walked on forcing him to follow. "I aged normally till I was ten and then seemed to freeze. For a while, people thought I was only late developing. The doctors didn't know about Happosai, and wouldn't have understood anyway. I only had to drain ki about six or seven times a year, and I learned to do that at night to family members asleep in their beds."
'Ouch!' thought Barry. The vampire tag was a little too apt. He was sure, as well, things being what they were, that Hinako knew what they called her behind her back.
"Then in high school, some boys got nasty and I used the Happo-go-en-satsu on them. For twenty minutes, no one could figure out where the pretty girl came from, or why those boys were so weak." She sighed. "I had always been the wall-flower, the weird little girl from Room 203. I had never thought of myself as anything else. I found I liked the attention, needed it. I began to use the ki-drain more often, to go on dates." She laughed bitterly. "I was a fifteen-minute Cinderella, always vanishing before they found out my secret identity. Imagine if your Jusenkyo curse required you to find hot water every twenty minutes. When my parents finally found out what was going on, they disowned me."
"That wasn't fair!"
"Life isn't fair, Mr. Saotome, and lies will break any relationship," she said, tossing her hair back. "I was lying to them." She shook her finger under his nose. "Remember that about Akane...
"Fortunately, I had qualified for scholarships and managed to make money on the side, modeling children's clothing."
"How did you make it through college?" he asked puzzled.
"I went in disguise," she answered cryptically. When he looked disbelieving she added, "I passed myself off as a midget, Ranma. A little padding and makeup does wonders on occasion. Turn here." They went down a narrow side street. Barry boggled then snapped his jaw shut.
"Yeah... uh... I guess that would work." He watched her, her bouncy cheerfulness strangely missing. "You've had a hard life, Miss Hinako, but look at it this way. Yer comin' up in the world."
"How do you imagine that?"
"Ya got Mrs. Morisato as a colleague and, I think, a friend. Akane an' I both like ya; we're not peers, I know, but it's somethin'..."
"I wish Soun liked me."
Barry nodded. "I don't think he dislikes ya, Miss Hinako, but understand, Father Tendo and his dead wife had a relationship not too different from the Morisato's. He loves her still and it's been… What? — Seven, maybe eight, years? I don't know if that wound will ever heal."
"And it doesn't help that he sees anything physical between us as child molestation. Yes, Soun is a good man." She sighed. "I wish I could be normal..."
"What about that tsubo thing? I mean it's pretty embarrassin' but in a month or so your powers would be locked away..."
"And I'd be dead six months after that." She smiled at his shocked look. "I didn't think Happi would mention that eventuality." Her focus snapped to one side. Barry turned and looked, half expecting some enemy. Ki-vision had already snapped to the alert but found nothing. The only possible cover was the vending machines. Oh...
"You need a recharge?" he asked. She nod-nodded and fished into her purse. "My treat, tonight," he insisted. "Watcha want?"
"That's very nice of you, Mr. Saotome! You wouldn't be trying to butter me up for school would you?" she added eyes wide and guileless.
"Arrgh!" Barry exclaimed clutching his chest and staggering. "I'm found out!"
"A caffeine-free soda, please." She said, ignoring his mock dismay. "Oh, and that candy bar, there! ...And the jelly roll..."