Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2 and am doing this for the fun of it.
Oh and flames will be tossed into Akane's cooking. Then when they're alive, they will be force fed her cooking to die a slow, painful death.
Author's Notes: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, but I had some problem. I know that I will get the next chapter out sooner.
Only You...
By TsunamiSaotome
"Ranma! Ranma! Please wake up! Ranma!" Kasumi whispered, "Ranma! This is improper! Please wake up! Ranma!"
Kasumi had been trying to wake Ranma for the previous few minutes. She would have spoken louder, but she didn't want to wake the third occupant of the room. It wasn't that she feared anger resulting from an early wake up call. No, Kasumi was trying to save herself and Ranma from the embarrassing remarks of one, Nodoka Inoue. The morning had started out normally enough; with Kasumi, forgetting what had happened the day before, getting up to start her normal routine. She was expecting to get out of bed and use the furo, but since this was no longer Kasumi's bedroom, things didn't turn out as planned. She woke up okay, but being groggy from having been up so late the night before, she didn't really notice that her legs hadn't gone over the edge of a bed before reaching the floor. When she stood up and took a step, her feet got tangled in her sleeping bag and she started to fall, which startled her to full wakefulness in an instant. She closed her eyes and raised her hands in front of her to try and absorb the expected impact.
Kasumi had successfully broken her fall, the martial arts training of her youth not completely forgotten, and took a moment to calm herself. 'That didn't hurt as much as I though it would.' was the eldest Tendo's first thought. She closed her eyes in an effort to rid herself of the adrenaline that flooded her body. Her eyes remained closed while she tried to calm herself, even as the adrenaline rush flooding her body urged her to move. Kasumi was about to lift herself up, and nearly started to panic as something grabbed her. Upon opening her eyes, she found herself centimeters from Ranma's face. 'Oh My!' was her overriding thought as she stared at Ranma's slumbering features.
Ranma lay dreaming. One might believe because of Ranma's martial arts training, Ranma knew Kasumi was up, but since Kasumi was categorized as both a non-combatant and a non-threat, Ranma continued blissfully sleeping. When Kasumi had started to fall, Ranma's subconscious recognized that said non-threat might be hurt and immediately took action to prevent damage, with the final result being Ranma turning onto his back and using his body to cushion Kasumi's fall, all without disturbing his slumber. When Kasumi was no longer in danger, Ranma's mind relaxed and his natural instincts took over. Ranma wrapped his arms around his long-lost teddy, rolled to his side, while sliding her a bit lower and resting his chin on top of her head.
Thus, Kasumi found herself in a bit of a predicament. Not only was she still recovering from the remains of her adrenalin rush, Kasumi also found herself...Kasumi found herself flushed and excited from being held so intimately by Ranma, and she was still feeling the heat from when Ranma inadvertently ground their bodies together during the process of shifting her into "teddy-bear" position. Kasumi was partially worried about Nodoka's reaction, as she didn't want to give Ranma's mother any more material to torment herself and Ranma with. The rest of her was happy, content, and almost ready to ignore the rest of the world; to fall asleep in Ranma's arms. After a brief internal battle, Kasumi's worries, with the aid of that little nagging voice saying "this is improper", finally won out. She started whispering to Ranma as loud as she dared, still not wanting to risk waking Nodoka.
Ranma, being the heavy sleeper he was, remained oblivious as she tried to struggle and whisper to him. He merely continued to hold her, and slept on.
Kasumi, on the other hand, nearly let out a moan, her body betraying her thanks to all of the sensations generated by the level of physical contact. She stopped moving because it was becoming more and more difficult to think straight and remember why she wanted to get out of Ranma's embrace. But remember she did, and for a few more minutes Kasumi continued urgently whispering to Ranma, while at the same time trying not to become more aroused.
"-Gasp- I knew you two would need the bigger sleeping bag!" came an excited but quiet voice.
Kasumi wanted to cry, or at least whimper. This is exactly what she wanted to avoid. She was afraid to look up, knowing, almost fearing, what she'd find, the suffering both she and Ranma were guaranteed to endure. Gathering her courage, she tilted her head up, finding the very thing that she knew would be there. There Nodoka stood, towering over herself and Ranma, a slightly glazed look in her eyes and a wide smile that seemed to fill her face. Kasumi was becoming irritated, not only had her body betrayed her and become aroused, but her mind had become a jumbled mess of conflicting emotions. She decided, then and there, to vent her frustration on the target of her greatest frustration: her maybe future mother-in-law. The only problem was, since she was currently confined by Ranma's hold, all she could do was tilt her head towards Nodoka and glare.
Nodoka, noticing she was being glared at, came to the conclusion that Kasumi was telling her to leave and let them sleep in together. Nodoka nodded to Kasumi's unspoken, and grossly misinterpreted, request.
Kasumi watched as Nodoka's smile grew a bit wider as she nodded her assent, and left. As soon as Nodoka left, Kasumi was absolutely confused by Nodoka's actions. That little bit of confusion almost caused Kasumi to forget she was practically molded to Ranma's body. Kasumi mentally groaned/moaned.
'To heck with it! Nodoka saw us, I might as well enjoy it as much as I can.' was Kasumi's last thought as she made herself comfortable in Ranma's arms. Now feeling only reassurance and safety, Kasumi quickly fell back to sleep.
"AHHHHH! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
That was the first thing Kasumi heard upon waking, but not the first thing she felt. An instant before Ranma's incoherent shout and string of apologies, Kasumi's head had hit the floor when her nice, firm, pillow decided to teleport to the other side of the room. Kasumi sat up and blinked a couple of times, looked at Ranma then blinked some more. When she realized Ranma was bracing himself to be hit, she frowned. 'What did Ranma do to get hit so many times that this has become an automatic response,' Wondered Kasumi as she stood up and made her way over to Ranma. As she moved closer to Ranma and watched him cringe with each step she took, Kasumi was finding it more and more difficult to not badmouth the people in Nerima that conditioned Ranma to be like this. When she reached him she took both of his hands in hers.
"I'm not going to hit you, Ranma. Calm down. I won't hit you." Kasumi said to Ranma in the softest and most calming voice she could.
Ranma heard Kasumi and stopped apologizing, but still had his arms in front of his face. From behind his arms he opened his eyes.
"Huh? Why not? It was my fault." Ranma said with almost enough conviction to convince Kasumi.
"What?" Kasumi spoke in her gentle but now confused voice.
"Waking up with you in my arms...I'm sorry for taking advantage of you!" Ranma's voice was now a bit muffled because he was on his knees bowing to Kasumi.
"It was not your fault." Kasumi continued in her gentle voice, "It was my fault."
"Huh!"
"I woke up to do some chores for the morning, but I got my feet tangled in my sleeping bag and fell... umm... on you." A blush slowly grew on her face as she recalled her little adventure earlier this morning, "If you hadn't caught me this morning I might have been hurt."
"Oh good!" Ranma sighed in relief "Umm... I have a question though."
"What?" Kasumi asked. She smiled a bit at seeing Ranma dropped his guard.
"When you fell on me why didn't you just get off?"
Kasumi shivered at the memory of Ranma's arms around her. "You wrapped your arms around me, so I was... stuck." Kasumi paused then continued, anticipating Ranma's next question, "I tried to wake you, but I couldn't, and it was... well...really comfortable, so I kind of fell back to sleep."
Ranma smiled and responded before he realized what was being said, "It felt really good holding you."
As soon as both of them realized what was just said, both of their eyes' widened and they both turned to study their feet. Having nothing to say, both settled into an uncomfortable silence. Idly, Kasumi pondered why it was that she had been embarrassed and blushed more in a few days than she had in her entire life prior to leaving with Ranma. Was it that some goddess had decided that she spent too much time serving her family and had not been through enough of the trials and situations a normal girl would? She paused at that thought, she had never been a normal girl; she never could be, that chance was given up when she had to take over the mother role in the Tendo household after her mother's death. Kasumi could not say that she hated it; in fact, she loved it, but in the past two days she had acted closer to her age then she had in the ten years previous. Kasumi's little introspective was disturbed when Nodoka made her presence known.
"Kasumi, why did you wake up so early this morning to do chores, when this is not even your home? Do you think that I'm such a poor hostess that I couldn't take care of my own home?" Nodoka asked in a harsh tone. She had apparently overheard their entire conversation from the kitchen.
"No, no...I... I was..." Kasumi was stumbling over her words as a bit of shame wash over her as she took in Nodoka's words.
Ranma was about to come to Kasumi's defense, but Nodoka shot him a glare that stopped any outward protest that he had.
"I...I thought that I was still back at the dojo, and I was only getting up to do chores, like I have been for the last ten years. I just forgot that I was... wasn't there anymore." Kasumi finished with her head down in defeat.
Nodoka walked around the kitchen counter and into the living room, where Kasumi stood, looking meek, and enveloped the younger girl in a hug. "Kasumi, I know what you had to do for the last ten years. I also know that in those ten years you have never had a chance to just be a girl. I can take care of the house; all I want is for you and Ranma to be like carefree teenagers, and enjoy your newfound relationship. Okay?"
"Okay." Kasumi's reply was muffled as she embraced Nodoka a bit harder, relishing in the feeling she thought she would never feel again, and had nearly forgotten, a mother's love for her daughter.
At first, Ranma didn't understand what his mother was trying to do, but after he heard to his mother's words, he understood. He figured that his mother was trying to get Kasumi to stop being a substitute mother and be more of a girl. He decided to give them a bit of privacy, and went into the kitchen to watch over breakfast, giving his mother and Kasumi the opportunity to bond.
"Now I know that there isn't much for a young couple to do out here, but there are a few things, and when you finish with those we'll find something else. For today, I made a picnic basket for the two of you. I'll give you directions to an open field and you and Ranma can go on a picnic." Nodoka said after releasing Kasumi from their hug.
"Is this a plan to let me be alone with him so I could seduce him and have my way with him for hours and hours?" Kasumi asked, almost in a monotone, rolling her eyes, she figured she knew what Nodoka had planned.
"Oh My... What a wonderful idea!" Nodoka gushed, "Oh, I think there are some energy drinks in the refrigerator. I know you two will need them."
Kasumi just stood there frozen as she thought 'That look on Nodoka's face was too real. I don't think she thought of that. Why do I have the feeling I just dug my own grave?' She groaned and covered her face with her hands.
Ranma came over and asked, "What did you do to mom? She seems really happy."
Kasumi decided to peek through her fingers and saw Nodoka practically skipping all over the kitchen. "I was only being sarcastic!"
Nodoka stopped in mid skip and looked over at Kasumi, "That was cruel; you shouldn't mess with this young woman's heart like that!"
Kasumi's mouth decided to give evidence that Ranma's foot-in-the-mouth disease may very well be contagious, "You seem like you're senile and old to me."
Ranma's own disease not wanting to be out done added, "You're not as old as the old ghoul, but you have to be at least 40, or something. That's still really old!"
Nodoka pressed her back to one of the taller cabinets and dramatically crossed her hands over her heart. "Oh the cruelty, how can my children be so heartless!" Nodoka then turned her head so it looked like she was trying to turn it away from Ranma and Kasumi, but left enough of her face visible to allow the other two to see a lone crocodile tear roll down her cheek.
Kasumi, who had lowered her head once again, was about to apologize for her comment, looked up at Nodoka and rolled her eyes again. She then looked at Ranma, only to see that her naive and innocent Ranma had fallen for his mother's little performance, and was about to move over to comfort his mother. Kasumi shook her head and grabbed Ranma's arm, dragging him up the stairs to get ready for the day.
When the two came back Nodoka, no longer feeling melodramatic, had breakfast set out and ready to eat. Breakfast passed uneventfully with little more than idle chatter being exchanged. When they finished, Nodoka got up and handed the basket to Kasumi.
"Mom?" Ranma asked, getting Nodoka's attention.
"Yes, Ranma." Nodoka said as she turned to regard her son.
"You could come with us." Ranma asked.
"Not today Ranma, I'm going to check around the house today and see if there's anything that still needs to be done."
"We could help. I've been taking care of a home for so long that it's going to be hard for me to stop." Kasumi spoke. She didn't want Nodoka doing this all by herself.
"Hmm...if you really want to stop that habit, you could go with your earlier suggestion to me. I know that my son would be more than willing to help you." Nodoka beamed back with a look in her eyes that could only mean she was thinking about grandchildren.
In response, Kasumi only slightly blushed, a sign that she might have been getting used to Nodoka's twisted sense of humor.
Ranma chose that moment to interrupt their conversation, "Sure, I'll help her. I'll help all day if she wants."
'All day...' When Kasumi heard that her head filled with images that should only have been in doujinshi. She silently cursed her suppressed sex drive, and tried to guess what would happen if Ranma was to really try to bed her. This brought up many images most people would have thought impossible to find going through the mind of sweet and innocent Kasumi.
"Kasumi?" Ranma's voice woke her from her fantasy.
"Huh?" was Kasumi's awe-inspiring reply.
"Uhh...what are you doing?" Ranma asked while glancing at Kasumi's body and coloring.
A bit confused at Ranma's reaction, Kasumi glanced down to see her hand just barely hovering over her skin. Her left hand was over her left breast, and the right was nearly on her panties. Ripping her hands to her side, she tried to come up with an answer. "I was err...umm...scratching." she finished lamely.
"It looked like you were about to..." began Nodoka's ever-so-helpful voice. The only problem was, she was never given the chance to finish, because Kasumi took that moment to grab the picnic basket, grab Ranma, and take off at a speed that impressed Ranma. Ranma would have commented, but he was to busy acting like a silk cloth as he was being dragged through the wind. When Kasumi was out of hearing range of the house, she stopped to catch her breath and looked back. There was Nodoka, waving good-bye to them and wearing the same insufferable smirk that Ranma usually wore during a fight.
"Kasumi, maybe we should go back? I mean, mom might have had something important to say, and we didn't get the directions to the clearing she was talking about." Ranma questioned as Kasumi tried to catch her breath.
After a few more moments of heavy breathing, Kasumi finally replied, "I don't think it was that important, because she's waving at us. We don't really need directions... we could just pick a direction and go; eventually, we'll find to a place where we can eat."
"If you say so..." Ranma reluctantly agreed with Kasumi
With that, the two picked a direction, and started walking. No words were exchanged as they walked; no words were needed, being at each others' side was enough. The silence didn't stop the two from looking around and admiring the beautiful forest around them.
Although, Ranma had been sneaking more peeks at Kasumi then at the scenery around them. Every time he looked at her he felt he was dreaming and had to constantly remind himself that this was no dream, and she truly was here with him. He no longer felt the crippling constraints his father forced on to him. Here he was, free, free to make his own future, a future together with Kasumi.
Kasumi, on the other hand, was amazed at the natural beauty surrounding her. She had seen pictures of mesmerizing forests and other landscapes, but to be in the middle of one was infinitely better. She had been to other forests and even a tropical island, but all of those times she was still bound by the responsibility of taking care of her family. Here, those shackles were ripped away. Here, she could just enjoy herself, with none of the suffocating responsibilities waiting in the background. She was here with Ranma, and that was all that truly mattered in her eyes. After an hour of walking, the two came across a meadow with a small brook flowing into a small pond. The two had come to a stop at the top of a hill overlooking the entire valley. Kasumi stood a few steps in front of Ranma, watching the small breezes as they danced along the tops of the long grass, creating an almost water-like effect, and in the treetops as they rustled the leaves to add yet more movement and sound, as if completing the illusion of Kasumi's fantasy. A fantasy that was now no longer a fantasy. Ranma ignored everything around himself, so focused he was on Kasumi, and the way her hair swayed behind her in the gentle breeze. Her features made known her wonderment as she took in the sight before her; a graceful, yet childlike, smile graced her lips. Ranma could only smile, himself, as Kasumi's entire being seemed aglow with joy.
"Beautiful." was all Kasumi said in a light, feathery voice.
"Yea..." Ranma replied, still mesmerized by Kasumi.
"Thank You, Ranma." Kasumi said, now shifting her gaze to Ranma.
Ranma had just realized she was close enough, and was at an angle which made it easy for her to see him. Ranma had been so enraptured by her beauty that he hadn't actually cared what she was doing, and didn't notice her sneaking little peeks at him the entire time... until she had thanked him, that is. "GAAKK!"
Ranma instinctively cringed waiting to be crushed by a huge mallet. He quickly realized that Akane was not there, and Kasumi had told him earlier that she wouldn't hit him. "You really are very beautiful." Ranma said in a stronger voice, to reaffirm that he wouldn't be punished, and to tell Kasumi how he felt.
"Like I said, thank you. Now come on." Not giving Ranma a chance to reply, she took his hand started to walk down the hill, towards a lone tree in the middle of the meadow, near the pond. When they reached the tree, Ranma proceeded to lay out the picnic blanket, while Kasumi decided to explore the area. Ranma had just finished putting out the blanket when he heard a giggle from Kasumi. Getting a bewildered look on his face, he looked at Kasumi, who was looking towards him.
"Ranma come here!" Kasumi yelled. She had an infectious grin and looked like she was trying to hold back laughter.
"What?" Ranma asked while smiling. Although, he didn't know why Kasumi was smiling, all he knew was that it made him feel warm inside.
"Look." Kasumi said pointing to the tree.
Nodoka's son looked at the tree, and the message inscribed in the trunk. "This place belongs to Nodoka Inoue and to all trespassers you will die a slow and very painful death by Q-tip! If this is Onii-tama it was Onee-sama's fault. If this is Onee-sama it was Onii-tama's fault." Ranma chuckled.
"You know, somehow, I knew that mom was almost as big of a trouble maker as I was." Ranma laughed after his comment.
Kasumi rolled her eyes and sarcastically asked, "Whatever gave you that idea?"
Ranma went back make sure the picnic blanket was secure while Kasumi continued her exploration of the area. When Ranma finished, he was about to go join Kasumi, but got a better idea and walked to the nearest flower patch. After a few minutes of wandering, Kasumi noticed Ranma sitting in a flower patch. Kasumi blinked a couple of times at Ranma's bizarre behavior and, wondering why Ranma was acting so strange, warily tiptoed up to Ranma.
"Ranma, what are you doing." Kasumi asked cautiously.
"This one is making a crown for my princess." Ranma said. He stood up and turned around holding a coronet made of white wild flowers, with a single blue flower on the front. He placed the crown atop Kasumi's head and deeply bowed. "I hope it is to your liking."
"Thank you, my young knight. It is a wonderful gift." Kasumi giggled. "You shame me. This is such a wonderful gift that you have given me, and yet you've given me no chance to give you anything in return."
"My lady the only gift I need from you is your smile; for your smile, no gift on earth or even heaven is an equal." Ranma continued with their little play.
"Thank you Ranma. How did learn how to make these? I know for certain that learning to make a flower circlet was not part of learning martial arts." Kasumi said stopping their role-play.
Ranma had first turned away as if insulted, and then spoke. "Anything Goes Martial Arts Flower Arranging."
Kasumi just gawked.
"...I lied."
Kasumi face faulted.
"I don't think you should do that, it looks like it hurts." Ranma said, looking at Kasumi's face, which was now firmly planted in the ground.
'Oww!' Kasumi thought, 'I should have figured that something was up when he turned away.'
Ranma just laughed at Kasumi, which only caused her to glare at him. He then sat down, cross-legged, so he was near eye-level with Kasumi. "So, want me to teach you?"
Kasumi wanted to say no and glare at him some more, but she realized Ranma was being more open, and showing that he was more than a dumb jock. So, for the moment, she decided to let him get away with the trick he'd pulled on her, for now. She lifted her head and replied, "Sure, but could you at least tell me how you learned?"
"Alright." Ranma paused, as if remembering, "It was a couple of weeks before I went to the all boys school I met Ryoga at. Genma had left me for a couple days, and I was bored. I started to walk in a different direction from the camp to kill time. On one of those random walks I ended up in a valley, much like this one, where I met a ten year old girl. She had seen me and called me over before I could leave and, since training had gotten a bit tedious, I went to talk to the girl. It turned out that she often came to the place to play, and couldn't play with any of her friends at the time, so I played with her until she had to go. But before she left, she taught me how to make a flower bracelet. The crown I made you was just a bigger version of the bracelet."
"So what do I do first?" Now that Kasumi's curiosity was satisfied, she wanted to learn how to make a bracelet.
Ranma spent the next twenty minutes explaining, and showing, Kasumi how to make one. Kasumi's first attempt hadn't quite come out as she had intended.
"Wow, this is great. You have to teach me how to make ones like these. I mean I know how to make one in the shape of a circle really well, but I didn't even know that they could be made in a star shape." Ranma paused in admiration of Kasumi's creation, "Kasumi are you okay? You look kind of red... We could go back if you're not feeling well."
Kasumi's only response was to wish she could crawl under a rock and hide.
Over the next hour Kasumi figured out how to make a circular one. Ranma was annoyed though -- Kasumi wouldn't teach him how to make the star shape -- but in Kasumi's defense, you can't teach what you don't know.
When Kasumi finally understood how to make the flower bracelet, she began to make them in all different sizes. At the end of the hour Ranma had six rings, his own crown, three bracelets, two anklets, and a hula-hoop.
"Uhh...don't you think this is enough, Kasumi?" Ranma asked, looking like a wild flower garden.
"Not yet, I have to make some more for the house." said Kasumi, who was busy picking another flower.
"If you make some for the house, it's going to make a big mess when they dry up and crumble, a mess that we'll have to clean up. Uhh... and I don't think that there will be any more flowers around here if you keep going."
"What do you mean? There are still lots of flowers around here." Kasumi looked around herself and noticed that she was now nearly surrounded by a small desert, "Eh he he...umm...I think its time we ate lunch."
"Sure." He stood up and faced Kasumi. What he did next made absolutely no sense to Kasumi. He bowed his head and clapped his hands twice.
"Thank you, Ranma." Kasumi was still confused at Ranma's actions.
"Oh that wasn't for you. That was for all of the poor innocent flowers you killed." Ranma gave her one of his arrogant smirks and started to jog away.
Kasumi flushed and gave chase. Right when she was about to catch him he leaped away. "Hey! That's not fair!"
Ranma's retort was to spin around in midair and stick his tongue out.
Kasumi smiled, and shook her head, at Ranma's behavior. Figuring Ranma would not start eating without her, she walked at a leisurely pace to Nodoka's tree. Only ten minutes had passed when she saw Ranma soaring at her in mid leap. She kept walking and as she expected Ranma landed right in front of her. He looked at her in a questioning manner. She just smiled and leaned closer to him, which prompted him to start sweating at the sweet look that he was receiving. Once she was sure that Ranma was only looking at her face, her hand snuck up and flicked him on the nose. Ranma jerked his nose away from Kasumi as she spoke. "You weren't very nice teasing me like that."
Ranma then smirked. "So you don't like me teasing you, huh?"
Kasumi's smile faltered a bit. She didn't like that smirk. It wasn't his normal smirk, it was...more sinister. "Ranma, what are you doooooooooooooiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnngggggg!"
Ranma had scooped Kasumi up with one arm on her back and the other behind her knees, and jumped towards the forest. Kasumi felt the sensations of rising and falling but was too frightened to open her eyes... that, and Ranma's chest was really comfortable. Once they had stopped falling, and stayed still for a few seconds, Kasumi opened her eyes and looked around. What she saw was breathtaking. They were looking down at the valley. The sun was shining down on everything, casting shadows on the valley, and making the water glitter. It was a completely different view from this morning; it made the whole place look more enticing.
"Ranma if you ever do that to me again without warning me, I'll..." Kasumi looked up to find that the sinister smirk was now joined by a sinister gleam in his eyes. 'I don't think that I like that look.' was Kasumi's last thought before she saw Ranma glance down. Going against her better judgment, she looked down... to see that they were standing on a thick branch above a thirty meter cliff. She didn't have a good feeling about this. "Ranma..." and they fell "...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Kasumi instinctively pulled herself closer to Ranma and squeezed her eyes shut. When they stopped, the eldest Tendo daughter cautiously opened one eye, only to see Ranma's insufferable smirk above her. Opening both her eyes and looking around, she saw that Ranma was safely on the ground, she was still in his arms, and not on the ground herself. Glaring at Ranma, whose smirk only got wider; she gave him the first suitable punishment that came to mind. "I will never cook for you ever again."
After hearing that, it was Ranma's turn to have his smile waver, but it quickly returned looking more confident. "Really?"
"Yes!" was the forceful reply from Kasumi.
"Why?" Ranma said with a clueless look.
"Cause you let me fall!" Kasumi looked at him like he grew a second head.
"Do you think I would let you fall?"
The question made Kasumi pause. "Well...no. Not if I could get hurt."
"See? You were safe the entire time." Ranma replied.
"But it was still scary"
"Open your eyes and watch, it's actually really fun! Trust me." Ranma said with a soft and genuine smile.
"...Okay..." Kasumi still had a bit of apprehension in her voice as she spoke.
Kasumi's anxiety quickly left her as she relished the wind in her face, along with the safety and comfort she felt while being cradled in Ranma's arms. Kasumi was very disappointed when they had to stop, but understood why when Ranma's stomach let off a roar, not a growl, but an actual deafening roar. She wasn't sure, but she thought she heard an echo. Much to Ranma's embarrassment, the two decided to stop for lunch. They ate in silence, which was mostly due to Ranma's mouth never being empty for more then a second. When they finished eating, both felt extremely tired and drowsy and started to fall asleep. Ranma, wanting Kasumi to be comfortable, used the flowers he had been wearing to make a pillow for Kasumi. Kasumi was too sleepy to protest, and let herself be pampered by Ranma. Soon enough the two were asleep on the blanket, being warmed by sunlight.
Nodoka had wanted to go with her son and Kasumi, but, as she had told Kasumi earlier, she was the mistress of the house so she had duties here to attend to. She went through every room and obsessively cleaned everything until the room looked like it had just been built. She had a quick lunch before deciding to take the opportunity for a long soak. After that, she really didn't have anything to do, so she decide to have some tea outside and relax some more. After an hour or so outside, she decided to start dinner and wait for her son and future daughter's return.
Ranma woke up about an hour after he had fallen asleep. He had been awakened by a rather cool gust of wind, and had also heard sounds of someone moving near him. He sat up and glanced to his right and saw Kasumi had curled herself into a ball to try warding off the cold. Seeing as he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again, he folded his half of the blanket over Kasumi. After watching for Kasumi to stop shivering, he moved away from her and started to do some katas. A little over an hour later, he was so focused on his workout he failed to notice Kasumi was up and watching him, with an enraptured gaze. She watched every movement of Ranma's lithe and powerful form. In Kasumi's eyes, the art was no longer the violent tool that she always witnessed in Nerima. People who used unarmed combat, like Ranma, are the reason why it was called an art. It had nothing to do with his hard, well defined, muscle that rippled deliciously when he moved. Nope, those glistening muscles had nothing to do with it, nothing at all. After another 2 hours of drooling...er...watching him practice, Ranma ended his routine and saw Kasumi was up and watching him. Ranma smiled and stared walking towards her.
"Did you sleep well?" Ranma kneeled so he could speak to her without having to look down.
"Yeah." Kasumi's couldn't help but let her eyes wander over his body since his sweat-drenched clothes stuck to him like a second skin. Her show was interrupted when Ranma stood up, extending a hand to help her to her feet. Taking his hand she pulled herself up. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. We should be going back; mom will probably have dinner ready soon." Ranma didn't let go of her hand when she tried to pull away. Kasumi cast a quizzical look at Ranma, and though he couldn't meet her eyes, he mumbled, "It feels nice."
Understanding Ranma's unvoiced question, Kasumi tightened her hold on his hand. Together the two cleaned their things up and walked back, hand in hand. When the two reached the Inoue house they saw Nodoka fluttering about the kitchen, already started on dinner. The two offered to help, but were quickly and forcefully asked to go up stairs and get cleaned up. When Ranma and Kasumi had returned from their baths, dinner was ready and set to be served. Dinner was fairly animated as Kasumi told Nodoka about their day and what they did. Of course, she omitted some parts and certain thoughts, but tale was still accurate. After dinner had ended and the three had cleaned up, Ranma walked to the wall surrounding their new home and sat on one of the fallen trees in the yard. It was only a few minutes later when Kasumi and his mother followed him.
"Ranma, do you mind if we join you?" Kasumi held her hands behind her back and wore a delicate smile. After seeing him nod his consent, Kasumi sat to his right and Nodoka sat to his left.
"What are you doing out here?" Nodoka asked, watching her son as he stared at nothing.
"Just came outside so I could think." Ranma said, looking at the darkening sunset.
"If you want, we could leave you alone?" Nodoka asked, but as both women stood up to leave, Ranma's hands darted out and grasped both of them by a wrist.
"Please stay!" Ranma spoke a bit louder than he had intended, but continued anyway, the tone of his voice making him sound weary, "Could you just listen for now?"
"Always." was the strong reply from Kasumi's concerned voice.
Ranma took a calming breath and began express his thoughts, "You know, I've been acting so different these last two days. I mean look what I did. Who would have thought, without any magic, potions or blackmail that I would be flirting and teasing Kasumi like..."
"...a normal boy?" his mother finished for him.
"Well...yeah. I never knew or thought that I could do anything normal." Ranma said, looking depressed.
"Ranma, I'm not the only one with a mask." Ranma looked at Kasumi in confusion. She wouldn't meet his eyes and had her head down.
"Wha?" was the only word that came out of his mouth as he struggled to figure out what she meant.
"A little over a week ago, you said that I hide behind a mask." Kasumi still didn't want to meet Ranma's eyes, especially when he realized what she was talking about.
It was a few moments after she spoke that he figured out what she meant. Once he did, his body stiffened, his face colored and his eyes widened. "Yo...you heard that?" his voiced wavered as he spoke.
"Yes..." Kasumi still had not moved.
"So, I confessed to you without knowing..."
To Kasumi his voice sounded a bit muffled. She was about to reply, but Nodoka started to laugh. Startled, Kasumi turned to see Nodoka wave her hands toward her son. Kasumi stifled a giggle herself as she watched Ranma crawl under a couple of boulders behind them.
"Ranma stop that. Come back here!" Kasumi spun herself around as she got off the log. Taking a couple steps, she managed to grab one of Ranma's ankles and tried to drag him back to where they were sitting. "Come on."
Ranma, seeing that he was no longer moving, looked back and saw Kasumi attached to his foot. For a moment, he entertained the idea of dragging her under the rock with him, but it felt like too much work. Instead, he went limp, content to let Kasumi drag him back. Of course, Kasumi wasn't strong enough to drag him on her own, and gave up after a couple of tugs. Instead, she wrapped her arm around his waist and started pulling. Sighing, he gave up, stood up, and sagged against Kasumi, who pulled him back and sat him down. As she began to sit, she caught Ranma cracking a smile. Once he was settled again, he started to speak.
"If we were back in Nerima, I would never have toyed around with anyone like that." Ranma had a bitter edge to his voice.
"As I was saying, I'm not the only one with a mask. I am very sure that if you had done something like that in Nerima, the results would have been disastrous." Kasumi continued speaking her thoughts from before Ranma had interrupted. "I know that the clueless martial arts jock that was in Nerima was only an act. There were many times I saw proof it was an act, especially in the last few days."
"What if... what you saw these last few days wasn't really me?" A hint of fear now entering his voice. 'Maybe she only likes me the way I've been acting the last two days. What if that's not me? What if I really am that dumb jock? Would she stop caring for me?'
"I wouldn't care. If this is you, or the Ranma I've watched these last couple years is the real you. I don't care. As long as you are you, I'll happily stay by your side."
"I don't care", she says.' Such simple words, but to Ranma it meant so much. 'She isn't demanding that I be anything other than what I am... All she expects is for me to be myself.' To him, it felt like the world had been lifted off his shoulders, he could grow to be himself and it wouldn't disappoint Kasumi. 'And she's the first person who hasn't told me what to be... the first person who doesn't want to change me, or control me... '
Kasumi's smile grew a bit wider, happy that her words had calmed the internal turmoil that Ranma seemed to be going through.
Nodoka was now realizing that her children were very strong emotionally and mentally, but like almost all young couples, still had insecurities that they were afraid to confront. Hopefully she could let them have enough time alone, without the distractions of the past coming back and haunting them, so they could find and overcome those insecurities.
The rest of the night was spent near each other, a newly found peace the three were quickly finding to be addictive.
Author's Notes: My laptop died and I lost everything, and yet I got this chapter written faster then the last, for some reason I find that odd. As always I would like to thank my pre-readers: Drkjester and DelShalDar. Anyways, as always, you can leave a review or e-mail me a comment at:
tsunami(underscore)saotome(at)yahoo(dot)com
Reviewer Responses:
I would like to thank every one else who reviewed and say that I will update as soon as I feel that I have something that is worth people using their time to read.
Wonderbee31: Thank you. I'll deal with everyone eventually. I'm going to try to be a bit different from the norm (don't know if I can though.). So please keep reading and let me know what you think.
Darkepton: Not finishing a story was the main reason that I almost never started or uploaded a story. I don't know what the future holds but I will try to finish every story I put out.
Reaper2040: I'm happy you think that my story is good. The length of my chapters may vary because I usually have to or three events planed that I want to cover in a chapter and I write till I cover them.
a: I have a scene to deal with his name but I have to figure out how it's going to affect the other stuff that I have planned out.
Shinji the good sharer: sweat drops thanks...you know I think reading your stories is staring to corrupt my pure and oh so innocent mind.
Crimson Yrael: I love Ranma/Kasumi match-ups too! I do try and hand each scene with care. I always try to write so that anyone who chooses to read my story can enjoy it.
Oh and flames will be tossed into Akane's cooking. Then when they're alive, they will be force fed her cooking to die a slow, painful death.