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: Did you know that in my outline chapter 3 and 4 were one chapter. I dont know if that's a good thing or bad thing.
Only You...
By TsunamiSaotome
Over the next week, Ranma, Kasumi and Nodoka spent most of the days together. The three went out to many spots in the area that Nodoka had talked about, including meadows and a well hidden lake. When they weren't out, the three helped each other around the house, or the two women watched Ranma practice. Ranma's only surprise was when he had woken a bit earlier then usual one morning and went outside to kill some time, and found his mother practicing her sword forms. Watching her proved that the blade she always carried with her was not just for show, his mother truly knew how to wield her weapon. Her grace and fluid movements made Kuno look like he was a disgrace to the sword. Had anyone else been watching, they would easily see that Ranma inherited the grace and beauty Ranma displayed as he practiced came from Nodoka. Today, however, was going to be a bit different from the previous week because Nodoka had to take care of some personal business in town. That is what led to Ranma standing outside his mother's room talking to her through the door.
"Mom, are you sure that you have to go?" Ranma was speaking a bit louder then he would normally as there was a door between the two of them.
"Yes, Ranma. I have to. I don't think that I should put this off any longer." Nodoka's voice was muffled.
"Kasumi and I could come with you, so you don't have to go alone." A little concern had crept into Ranma's tone.
"I'll be fine. You two don't need to worry about me, but I am still happy that you are. I'm just going to be gone for the day."
"If your sure...but what if one of Nabiki's people find you?" Ranma asked, finally voicing his true concerns, "You could get hurt if Nabiki tells the others."
"Ranma you've seen me practice, so you know I can defend myself." From the tone of his mother's voice, Ranma knew that she was very confident in herself.
"I know but I just got you back and I don't want to have anything happen you again so soon." The concern in his voice increased with every word. His imagination gave him images of what all his fiancées/rivals could do to his mother if he wasn't there.
"Thank you, Ranma. I was concerned about Nabiki too, so I need to change into something a little different so no one recognizes me." Nodoka then opened the door and stepped out of her room.
Ranma stood there with his mouth hanging open. His mother looked nothing like his mother. She was wearing a pair of tight blue jeans, and a white t-shirt which was short enough to expose her belly button and sported a black and white yin/yang symbol on the front of it. As if the clothes weren't enough, she had let her hair down and it now had flashes of bright red streaking across it.
"Ranma?" Nodoka waved a hand in front of his eyes but still didn't get a reaction. After a few minutes of trying to get his attention, she gave up and dragged Ranma downstairs to the kitchen, where Kasumi was getting breakfast ready.
"Breakfast is almost..." it was then that Kasumi caught sight of Nodoka and her reaction mirrored exactly that of Ranma.
Nodoka, getting annoyed with the responses of her two children, snapped at the two. "I don't look that bad! What is wrong with you two!"
"Umm...Mother, its not that you look bad... You look very good in those clothes. Its just that this is so different, that I...we're shocked to see you like this." Kasumi tried to explain. She was also trying to get rid of some of the envy, and possibly jealousy, she felt from not being able to look as good in clothing like that. The fact that she had never tried anything like that, and therefore wouldn't know if it looked good on her or not, was overlooked at the time.
Nodoka's forceful tone pulled Ranma back to reality. "Kasumi is right, mom. This is really different. I mean, you're dressing like someone Kasumi's age should be dressing like."
"So your saying that you would like to see Kasumi in clothes like this?" Nodoka then leaned on one of the countertops and took on a thoughtful expression.
"I...I don't think that...that clothing like that suits me...very well." Kasumi stuttered a bit as she tried to imagine what she would look like in the clothing Nodoka was wearing.
"Oh My..."
The two women turned to the source and Nodoka broke out in a wide smile. Given Ranma's current state, Nodoka just had to point out the obvious. "I think, Kasumi, that Ranma is sure you would look very good."
Kasumi blushed at Nodoka's comment. She couldn't help but stare at Ranma and think that, given Ranma's current state, she might look okay in those kinds of clothing.
Ranma was, well...out of it. His eyes were glazed and blank; he had a small smile, with a bit of drool falling from the corner of his mouth. There were also a couple drops of blood escaping from his nose, some evidence that not all of his thoughts were innocent.
It was at that point breakfast announced it had been done a few minutes prior. With a short shriek that woke Ranma from his early morning wet dream, Kasumi ran to the over to the now overcooked meal to salvage what she could. Ranma, watching the strangest sight he has ever witnessed in his entire odd and chaos ridden life, saw Kasumi Tendo panicking and scrambling around the kitchen to fix one of her meals that was ruined, not by Akane, but of her own inattentiveness. In the end, breakfast had to be fixed by way of leftovers from the night before.
"It isn't that bad." Nodoka tried to comfort a near-mortified Kasumi.
Kasumi lifted her head off the table and replied, "We had to eat leftovers because I completely ruined the food. It was the first meal I've destroyed in over ten years, and if it's not so bad, why is Ranma acting like that?" She then pointed to the boy.
Nodoka's only response was to look at her son and lamely say, "Umm..."
"Exactly!" Kasumi then fell forward, hitting her head on the table with a soft thump.
Nodoka finally couldn't hold all of it back anymore, and hid a smile behind her hand. She looked at her son and a small giggle got past her hand. Ranma was under the table in a textbook example of the "tuck and cover" technique, in a fetal position with his arms over his head, mumbling to himself.
"The world is going to end! Hell froze over! Don't you get it? Kasumi messed up a meal! That can't happen! We're all going to DIE!" Ranma kept rocking and speaking to himself in a near-hysteric voice.
Nodoka couldn't help it, she had to say something. "Since we are all going to die, could you work on making me some grandchildren?"
After a few silent moments Kasumi slid her head off the table and looked at Ranma, who was pulling on her leg. "What?"
"Since we're all going to die, I want to... I want to enjoy my last few moments alive."
Kasumi picked up her head and glared at Nodoka, who had gotten up and moved away from the table. "I see you two are going to be quite busy in a few moments. I'll head to town a bit early, so you two can be alone."
As Nodoka left the room, and the house, she could hear Kasumi hitting her head on the table. When she reached the car she started to laugh, causing the driver to give her a weird look.
Back in the house, Kasumi stopped banging her head because it had really started to hurt. "Ranma, the world is not going to end." She paused, wincing a bit at the throbbing pain in her forehead. "Ranma..."
Ranma poked his head out from under the table and looked at her. "Really?"
"Yes, now come on out!" Kasumi sighed as she watched Ranma tentatively move a bit further out, and wearily look around. She abruptly stood up, causing Ranma to instinctively duck back under the table. She kneeled down and latched onto one of Ranma's biceps and, with strength she didn't know she had, slowly started to pull Ranma out of his little makeshift safety shelter. "Come on Ranma, it's not that bad. It's only one meal. It's not like I'll turn into Akane."
"Kasumi." Ranma's voice was so serious that Kasumi froze. Ranma directed his eyes so that they bore into Kasumi's own. "Please, never let that happen."
Ranma was so sincere when he spoke that Kasumi was at a loss for words. All Kasumi could do was gaze into Ranma's fear laced eyes. After a few moments Kasumi responded. "Hahahahhahahahaha!" by laughing.
Ranma's eyes widened in horror, 'It...it really was the end of the world. The meal was just the beginning; the beginning of Kasumi losing her mind.' He thought.
Kasumi looked at Ranma's worsening expression and started to clutch her ribs from laughing so hard. Looking at Ranma's face, she could almost hear Ranma's mental scream.
Inside Ranma's head: 'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!'
"Ranma, I'm sorry. You know that -giggle- was one of the few times I've seen you that afraid. -giggle-" Kasumi had mostly recovered and was trying to relieve Ranma's fear.
"Part of me was really, really afraid." Ranma admitted once he realized Kasumi was okay.
Kasumi was so shocked at Ranma's admission that the humor of a few moments ago seemed to evaporate. Ranma noticed Kasumi's reaction and forced an emotionless smile onto his lips. When he spoke, Kasumi knew this meant something more than just from the sound of Ranma's voice alone.
"I'm sorry... I guess I overreacted. Your cooking has been like a cornerstone to my life. No matter how chaotic my life is, or how frustrating it is, I know that I could come back and, if you cooked, enjoy one of your meals without having to worry about anything. So watching you mess up a meal kind of started to crumble my world. Given how much I rely on your meals, I find that, when I thank you for a meal, I'm not doing enough to show you how much I value them. It's like, a simple thank you sounds hollow, but I don't know what else to do."
Kasumi pulled Ranma close to her and enveloped him in a hug. At first Ranma stiffened, but gradually relaxed and started to return the hug. "Ranma, thank you. What you said was the greatest, and most heartfelt, praise that I have ever received for my cooking." For the next few minutes the two stayed in the hug, content with what they were sharing at the moment. The moment ended when Kasumi stood up, pulling Ranma up with her. Ranma looked at her in a confused manner; he liked where he was and wanted to go back.
"Come on, lets go!" Kasumi dragged Ranma towards the door.
"Go where?" Ranma replied, obediently following her.
"For a walk. Today is such a perfect day, I'm sure that it would be better to spend it outside. Being outside would be better then anything we could do in the house."
"I'd rather spend the day inside, if I could be in your arms." Ranma's mouth worked faster then his mind, yet again. He blushed as he realized he'd said something embarrassing again.
Kasumi blushed, and it deepened as she answered, "We could do that later..."
Soon, they were outside the house and walking down one of the many paths they hadn't yet explored. Like the many times in the last few days, Ranma and Kasumi walked hand in hand. Ranma was also carrying a large basket of food and they made their way down the unknown path. The scenery around them was the same, though no less amazing and, as the two had quickly discovered, every trail they took lead to something special, like a meadow, lake or river. The two were like treasure hunters and wanted to know what kind of treasure awaited them at the end of this particular path. After an hour of walking the two hadn't passed anything of note other than an old shed. The shed had looked abandoned, so the two had ignored it and continued on. A few minutes later, the skies quickly began to darken.
"Ranma, I think that we should go back to the house." Kasumi said glancing up at the darkening sky.
Ranma being used to sudden rain storms, answered her, "I don't think we can make it in time. Let's see if we can make it back to that shed."
As the two turned to run back to the shed, Kasumi tripped on an exposed tree root and came crashing down on Ranma.
"Kasumi are you okay?" Ranma asked from underneath Kasumi.
"I...I'm okay." Kasumi started to stand, but as soon as she put some weight on her left ankle, she bit back a scream of pain and began to fall again. Once again, Ranma was there to catch her.
"Hold still, let me check your leg." Ranma carefully sat Kasumi on the ground and examined her leg. "I think you sprained your ankle. Relax and let me carry you to the shed."
"Ranma..." Kasumi began to protest but was cut off by Ranma.
"Kasumi, you're hurt and I don't want you to make it worse so please, for now, let me take care of you. Okay?"
Slowly Kasumi nodded and tried to relax. Ranma retrieved the basket, handed it to her, and picked her up, taking extra caution around her ankle. At first, he tried to reach the shed as quickly as possible, but every time he landed he saw Kasumi wince in pain, so Ranma forced himself to go at a slower pace. Since Ranma had to slow down to ensure Kasumi's transport was a comfortable and relatively painless one, they didn't make it to the shed before the rain started. By the time the shed came into view, the clouds had opened and begun to pour down enormous amounts of water, drenching both Ranma and Kasumi. Ranma hoped the shed didn't have many holes in the roof and would be good enough for the two to take shelter from the storm. When Ranma opened the door to the shed, both she and Kasumi became very surprised. Instead of a run down shed ready to fall apart, they found it to be clean and full of towels, blankets, bathing supplies and a first aid kit. Not wanting to question their luck, Ranma quickly walked in and gently set Kasumi on the floor as she inspected the place a bit more and was surprised to find that it seemed to be bigger then it looked form the outside.
"Ranma?" Kasumi asked as she placed the basket in an out-of-the-way corner.
Ranma looked down at Kasumi.
"Could you hand me a towel? Our clothes are soaked and I don't think it's very healthy to stay in them."
Ranma froze as she contemplated the potential consequences of Kasumi's statement. If they took their clothes off, she and Kasumi would be naked in the same small room, but if Kasumi got sick because she had to stay in her soaked clothing Ranma would hate herself. After a quick search she found some rope in the corner with what looked like some emergency equipment. She then tied the rope to walls opposite each other and hung a few blankets on the rope, making a privacy barrier between herself and Kasumi. After setting up and placing Kasumi on one of the folding chairs she'd found stored against the wall, Ranma quickly went and sat in one of the corners on the opposite side of the makeshift barrier, facing away from Kasumi.
Kasumi was blushing in embarrassment because she was undressing in the same room as Ranma, but knew that if she stayed in her dress any longer she would get sick. She was glad Ranma was a complete gentleman and had set up those sheets so she could have some privacy, and that Ranma was also considerate enough to leave a large towel easily within her reach. As she started to undress she spoke to Ranma.
"You should get out of your wet clothing too."
"But!" Ranma tried to argue, but was cut off by Kasumi.
"Ranma, I don't want you to get sick, so please take off your clothes and let them dry." Kasumi asked in a pleading voice.
Ranma didn't want to go against Kasumi's wishes, so with a defeated sigh she started to peel the clothing off her body.
Kasumi smiled at Ranma's sigh and continued to slide her own clothing off, and it took much longer for her then it did for Ranma, due to her sprained ankle. After she dried her hair, she stood up one leg and tightly wrapped the towel around her body. A few moments later, Ranma heard what sounded like a muffled crash. At the chance that Kasumi might be hurt, she peeked over the sheet barrier to see what was wrong and saw Kasumi leaning against a wall with fallen towels surrounding her.
"Kasumi, what are you doing?" Ranma asked, forgetting their state of undress, Ranma rushed over to help Kasumi. Ranma, of course, having no feminine modesty, only had the towel wrapped around her waist, and Kasumi couldn't help but stare at the way Ranma bounced as she approached, then turned away. If Kasumi had kept looking, she might have noticed Ranma's eyes travel up her long shapely lags and settle on, to Ranma, a very short towel. Ranma shook her head in an effort to stop herself from staring and concentrated on the fact that Kasumi might have been hurt further.
"Kasumi, are you okay?" Ranma rushed over with concern very evident in her voice.
"It hurts a little, but before you come over here could you..." Kasumi's voice lowered to a whisper, and her body was also blushing as red as her face, "umm...cover your breasts?...they're really uhh...distracting."
Ranma's face turned as red as her mane. Quickly fighting away her blush and adjusting her towel, she rushed to help Kasumi. Putting one of Kasumi's arms around her and one of her own behind Kasumi's back, she helped Kasumi back to her chair.
"Now, what were you doing?" Ranma asked in a stern, yet concerned, voice.
Kasumi, feeling like she was being admonished, had her head down, "I was trying to hang my clothes to dry them."
Ranma let out a sigh, then a chuckle, which caused Kasumi to look up at her mirthful smirk, "This place isn't even a house and you still doing chores."
Kasumi looked embarrassingly down at the floor then the two started to laugh.
"Stay right there, and I'll hang everything up." Ranma smiled and thought, 'Maybe I'm not the only one with habits to break.' Ranma then proceeded to gather all of their clothing and quickly wrung the excess water out of it, only pausing slightly at Kasumi's bra and panties, and soon finished hanging all of the clothing on the rope dividing the room to dry.
While Ranma was hanging their clothes, Kasumi was looking around the room and saw what that looked like a handle in the floor close to where the emergency supplies were stored. She wanted to go look at it herself, but her ankle still hurt from the last time she'd tried to do something on her feet. To her mind, Ranma was taking so long to finish and, at one point, Kasumi's curiosity was getting to her so much, she had started to debate the merits of crawling over to see what it was, was a good idea; before Kasumi could make up her mind, Ranma finished, so Kasumi asked her. "Can you see what's under that handle over there?" Kasumi's voice was so anxious; she would have all but danced over to the corner, if it weren't for her injury.
Ranma saw the way Kasumi was acting and decided to take her time. When she was about half way to it, she ducked as a balled up towel sailed past her head. She turned around and saw Kasumi balling another towel, "Oh my...I never expected you to have such an...aggressive personality." Ranma then smiled that frustrating smirk at her.
"Oh you be quiet and hurry up!" Kasumi crossed her arms in front of her and looked somewhat upset with Ranma.
"Okay! Okay!" Ranma quickly made her way to the handle and pulled on it, revealing a hidden panel. She then reached to the next floorboard and pulled it off, leaning it against the wall as well.
"What is it?" Kasumi had stood up and was trying to look over Ranma's shoulder from across the room.
"Looks like a pit for a small fire." Ranma made her way over to Kasumi, "I'm going to move you over here, okay?"
Kasumi nodded and waited for Ranma to pick her up, which she did, very carefully so she would not hurt her ankle any more then it already was. Ranma set her down so she could lean against the wall while she got Kasumi's chair. Kasumi looked at the, now exposed, compartments and saw a small stone fire pit, and in the place of the second panel Ranma had pulled up, she could see a stack of wood and some matches. She looked up above the pit and found her suspicions true. The roof above the pit was slanted in such a way as to allow smoke to escape but rain, or whatever other element, could not get in easily. Ranma had set up the chair near the pit and helped Kasumi onto the chair, then busied herself with starting a fire. Ranma, given all of her experience living in the wilderness, had a good fire blazing in a matter of minutes and was extra careful with the edge of the fire; she didn't want to burn down their current shelter, after all. Once the two were settled and warm next to the fire, Ranma asked a question.
"Kasumi, I ahh...noticed that you've been...very curious lately uhh...I was wondering why?" Ranma hope that this wasn't too personal a question, and that she would not offend Kasumi.
Kasumi took a moment to think of an answer, "I'm sure you know that ever since I was ten, I've had to put everything behind my responsibilities of taking care of my family." She looked to Ranma and saw her nod at the statement, "For the first time in years I no longer have those responsibilities. Everything I see, even if it's something as simple as a tree seems so new and so different without that constant weight on me. When you're there with me, it's like everything I see or do is special."
Everything settled into a comfortable silence. Ranma closed her eyes and concentrated on the warmth that flooded her body from Kasumi's words. Kasumi's heart started to race as she admitted those last few words but watching the heartwarming smile blossom on Ranma's face calmed it. Kasumi felt joy in that a few words from her made Ranma so happy. The room was silent. Only the drops of the heavy rain outside could be heard. The silence that held the small shed was abruptly ended by a loud rumble of hunger.
Ranma blushed then giggled, and soon the giggles turned into full-blown laughter, "I think I'm rubbing off on you." Ranma then started laughing again.
Kasumi sat there, embarrassed and in shock. She was surprised that her own stomach was almost as loud as Ranma's. "Nooooooo! That is a horrible fate!" Kasumi stated in mock horror.
Ranma paused, blinked then paused again, "Hey!" finally realizing that she was being insulted. Kasumi giggled and Ranma grumbled. As Ranma made her way to get the basket of food she had an idea on how to get Kasumi back. She hid an evil smirk as she grabbed the food but, before she turned towards Kasumi, she tried to pretend to be grumpy, and succeeded, before walking back to Kasumi with plans for vengeance. Ranma pulled out a strawberry and handed it to Kasumi, who reached for the fruit but, at the last moment, Ranma pulled it out of her reach.
"Open your mouth and I'll give it to you." Ranma smirked.
"I hurt my ankle, not my hands." Kasumi then tried to grab the fruit from Ranma. But Ranma, being the martial artist, was faster and had better reflexes and, therefore, was able to keep it from her. Minutes later, Kasumi gave up; she crossed her arms in front of her and had her head turned away from Ranma in annoyance. That didn't work very well because it was at that moment her stomach reminded the world that she was hungry. With her hunger driving her, she devised a rather devious plan... a devious plan for her, anyway. She darted her hand towards the offending fruit which, as expected, Ranma pulled away. Her hand didn't stop there though, and it continued on to grasp Ranma's wrist. That was when Kasumi's lips formed a sultry smile capable of turning Ranma's mind into mush. Without breaking eye contact, she slowly moved towards her goal and, with unhurried grace, she took the entire strawberry in her mouth, wrapping her ruby lips around Ranma's fingers in the process, slowly pulling away, and sucking on her fingers at the same time. When Ranma's fingers were clear of her mouth she darted her tongue at the tip of Ranma's index finger. That little action at the end proved to be too much for Ranma's, now liquefied, mind causing her to faint backwards with a silly little grin plastered on her face. With the only obstacle between her and her main objective blissfully incapacitated, Kasumi gathered her prize and ravished the basket of food.
Half an hour later, Kasumi let off a content little sigh. She had eaten her fill and cleaned up after herself. She put the basket of food off to the side so Ranma could finish it when she awoke. As with almost all big meals, Kasumi soon found herself getting tired and with the steady sounds of raindrops beating in the shed she became sleepy. The shed was getting cold, and the only source of warmth was the fire Ranma had started earlier. Kasumi covered Ranma's prone form in a blanket from a nearby shelf, as she wanted to fix a place for herself and Ranma to sleep, but there weren't enough blankets on the shelves within easy reach to do so. So she had to choose, she could leave the blanket on Ranma and sleep without one, take the blanket for herself and leave Ranma without or the two of them could share it. She didn't mind leaving the blanket on Ranma but knew Ranma would. Ranma might be mad at her for not taking the blanket for herself because she was used to roughing it. If, by chance, she did get sick Ranma would put herself through a very bad guilt trip. The second option was out as Kasumi couldn't see herself being comfortable while making another suffer. The last option didn't seem that bad because they had already done it before. With her decision made, Kasumi carefully lay down and gathered the smaller girl in her arms and slowly drifted off to sleep.
When Ranma woke, the sun was just beginning to set and she could still hear the constant rhythm of rain drops outside. She snuggled closer to the source of heat near her and inhaled. 'mmmmm...that smells good.' she thought of the light scent of vanilla teasing her nose. Ranma slowly opened her eyes and stared at the sight in front of her. Her mind was still too sleepy to figure what was in front of her, so she closed her eyes, moved her head so close to the fabric in front of her that it tickled her nose and breathed in more of that enticing vanilla scent. When she let out a breath, she heard a faint moan. Moving her head back she glanced at where the sound came from, and froze in shock. 'Kasumi!' Ranma's mind had two warring instincts: The first was to move as far away and as quickly as possible from this spot The second was to stay perfectly still and hope that she could think of something else before Kasumi woke up. That was when her senses told her that something warm was wrapped around her back. Considering the position that they were in, Ranma knew that it was Kasumi's arms around her. And, since Kasumi's arms trapped her, Ranma settled on the second option. Ranma stayed perfectly still, until her eyes inadvertently drifted to where her nose was earlier. It was then that Ranma finally remembered that the two of them were only wrapped in thin towels. Ranma began to turn red as she realized that she nearly had her nose buried in Kasumi's cleavage. Her body instantly started to react to that line of thought and took a few minutes of closed eyes and sheer will before her body had calmed down enough to allow her to think coherently again. Ranma leaned her head back to watch Kasumi's face, so she could have something else to help her ignore the messages her body was sending her. As she continued to watch, only one thought repeatedly entered her mind.
'God, she's so beautiful.'
Ranma tilted her head again, trying to get a better view of the sleeping beauty, only to have a lock of her red hair fall in front of her eyes and send her thoughts down the path of self degradation.
'Unlike me...I'm a freak. She deserves someone so much better than me. I'm dumb. All I do is cause trouble. I am nothing, and worth nothing, just like people keep telling me...' by now Ranma's aura had become a nearly visible storm of depression and was growing in size and strength. This was enough to wake Kasumi, who unconsciously shed a few tears when she initially felt the depth of Ranma's sadness.
Kasumi eyes had snapped open when she felt the now-enormous wave of depression wash over her. "Ranma! Ranma! What's wrong!"
Ranma was so lost in her own self-depreciative world that she could not hear Kasumi.
When Kasumi saw that her words were not getting through to the red-haired girl, she grabbed Ranma's chin and forced it up so that she could see Ranma's eyes. "Ranma, what's wrong!" Kasumi spoke a lot more forcefully then she had meant to, but the concern in Kasumi's voice somewhat reached through to Ranma.
Ranma's depression nearly overwhelmed her again and she sobbed out, "I don't deserve someone like you."
"What! Why!" Kasumi nearly demanded in a shocked voice.
"Because you threw me away once already!" Ranma screamed in a sorrowful voice.
Ranma tried, weakly, to pull away from her, but Kasumi's arms were strong enough to stop the attempts. Kasumi saw that she wasn't going to get any more from Ranma at the moment. She tightened her arms around the smaller girl and pulled Ranma closer to herself. Ranma resisted at first, but Kasumi's grasp was too tempting, and soon enough Ranma allowed herself to be comforted by Kasumi's embrace. For the next several minutes Ranma held on to Kasumi and, for the first time in a very long time, Ranma cried. Kasumi sat there holding the other girl and whispered kind, soothing words to try calming Ranma down. She didn't know what had set Ranma off emotionally, but whatever it was, it seemed to have left a huge scar. She had an idea of what Ranma screamed at her about, and if she guessed right, she would have a lot to make up for. After what seemed like hours, but was actually only a small fraction of one, Ranma quieted down and stopped shaking. Ranma didn't leave Kasumi's arms, but spoke from within their embrace.
"I'm...I'm sorry." Ranma sniffled after she spoke.
"It's okay Ranma." Kasumi waited a couple more minutes in silence, "Ranma, what's wrong?"
Ranma paused, "I can't tell you."
"Why?" Kasumi said in a quite voice.
"Because...because..." Ranma was reluctant to tell.
"It was my fault, right?" Kasumi tried to finish for Ranma.
"NO, it was mine!" For a moment the fire in Ranma's eyes returned, before drowning in despair again.
"Then what was it? I'm involved right?" Kasumi was determined to get an answer from Ranma.
Silence was Kasumi's only answer.
"Please tell me. Whatever this is, all I know is that it's hurting you, badly." Kasumi pleaded with Ranma.
Ranma was quiet, still unwilling to tell her.
"I know we're new at being a couple, but one thing I know is that if we really want to try and make this work, we need to talk and be truthful to each other." Kasumi explained in a near-angelic voice.
Ranma knew Kasumi was telling the truth, so with a reluctant breath she began. "Kasumi, do you remember the first day I met you all?"
Kasumi nodded. She had a feeling it was going to be this.
"I was still so angry and disgusted with myself that I wanted to run, and keep running, forever. I thought that no one would ever want me. The only reason I stayed was because of those few kind words Akane spoke to me. Then all that stuff where she walked in on me had to happen. I thought that she was going to be my friend but she had to rip that away from me over something I had no control over." Ranma's last sentence was spoken with a bitter anger, "Then I had to pick a fiancée from the three of you but instead of picking I was forced into Akane." Seeing that Kasumi was going to speak raised her finger and placed it on the older girl's lips. "Please, let me finish. Did you know that I wanted to pick you?"
Kasumi said nothing. The only thing that changed was that there was now regret in her eyes.
"It hurt that I couldn't pick the person that I might spend the rest of my life with because of this." Ranma ran her hand through her scarlet hair, bringing it forward so both of them could see it. "When I was rejected, it proved I was a freak. Having Akane call me one everyday kept reminding me that I was a freak, but that wasn't the biggest reminder... The biggest reason I knew I was a freak was seeing you everyday. Because I'm like this, I never had a chance, or even a choice, to be with you. It hurt, it hurt too much. Over time I learned to forget what I felt for you on that first day, and make sure that I wouldn't be hurt like that ever again. My other fiancées never really had a chance because I already picked you. I don't know, but maybe the reason I continued to drag the other girls along was to make them feel what I felt, or maybe it was so that I could forget about you. To be honest with you and with myself...the truth is I didn't choose you a few weeks ago, I chose you from the beginning."
Feeling that Ranma had finished, Kasumi carefully spoke, "Then why were you so sad? I am here with you now, and I want to stay with you."
"But for how long! I have nothing to offer you! I can't do anything in school, so I'm stupid. I have no money, so I'm poor. I have this curse, so I'm a freak. What do I have that would make you want to stay with me!" Ranma's voice was full of anger and sadness as she spoke.
"For now school doesn't matter and, given time, you can learn. I don't care if you have money or not. We could be living in a tent in the middle of nowhere but, as long as I am with you, I don't care. Ranma, you're far from a freak in any form. As long as you are you, I would be happy. And, as for what you could give me to make me stay with you, all I want is your heart." Kasumi's voice was full of warmth, but it still could not reach through Ranma's wall of despair.
"I can't give that to you because...because its already is yours...but that alone can't be enough." Ranma voice was now dead, like she was resigned to the fact that the words she spoke were destined to happen.
Kasumi felt anger growing within her. Ranma had given up and had no faith in herself. When she started speaking her words came out with a sharp edge. "It is, and will, be enough! What do you want me to do? Do you want me to get my own curse, so we could be together? If that is what it takes I WILL do it!"
Kasumi declaration stunned Ranma, who tried to speak, but Kasumi wasn't going to stop now that she had started.
"I betrayed my family. I betrayed my sister, Akane." her voice then dropped to below a whisper "I betrayed my...mother, to be with you. I want you to know something very important, to be with you..." Kasumi voice and eyes filled with determination, "...to be with you, I would betray them again!"
For someone to be so willing to do so much, who had already done so much, for her was too much for Ranma. All she could do was cup Kasumi's face in her hands and whisper two words that were not enough to describe how truly grateful she was, but were very appropriate.
"Thank You."
Kasumi looked at Ranma's, now tear-streaked, face. Ranma had a very rare smile on her face, a smile that Kasumi had never seen Ranma give anyone ever before: A smile of pure happiness. It was as if Ranma received the greatest gift in heaven. 'Given what I just told her' Kasumi thought, 'maybe in her eyes, she has.'
Ranma felt so good that she pulled as close to Kasumi as she could, ignoring the fact that only two towels separated their naked bodies, and fell asleep, the emotional exhaustion finally catching up to her in a physical manner.
Kasumi now knew that she had already meant so much to Ranma, and that Ranma meant no less to her. Kasumi intertwined herself with Ranma and the two were soon sleeping in a lover's embrace.
The next morning the two awoke to a cloudy, but bright, day. When Ranma woke, instead of her pervious reactions, she happily tried to worm her way deeper into Kasumi's surprisingly firm arms. 'Mmmmm...I guess all those years of housekeeping kept Kasumi in shape.' Ranma absently thought. She didn't really care; all that mattered was that Kasumi wanted to be with her, no matter the cost. To Ranma, these last few weeks had been the greatest in her entire life.
With Ranma's breath sending shivers across Kasumi's bare skin, it didn't take long for the still-sleeping girl to wake. Kasumi woke to a pleasant tingling sensation and let off a soft moan. "Ranma..."
"Yes?...and good morning." Ranma almost purred out.
When Ranma spoke, she was so close her words, literally, caused the older girl to shudder in delight.
While still fighting with her body she spoke, "Can I get up?"
"No." Ranma was content to stay where she was.
Kasumi was tempted to agree with Ranma, but they had been gone for the entire night and she didn't want to worry Nodoka, or give her the wrong idea. So with a very reluctant sigh, she asked Ranma, "What about mother? We have been gone the whole night."
Faster then the eyes could see Ranma was out Kasumi's arms. "Oh god, I forgot. Mom has to be really worried by now."
Kasumi sat up and rolled her eyes, "She probably thinks you were very manly with me, and that she will be getting some grandchildren soon."
Ranma opened her mouth to reply, but figured Kasumi was probably right.
"Plus, she knows you lived a lot of your life outdoors, so anything that happens to us you can, and will, handle." Kasumi finished her thought.
Working together, Ranma and Kasumi quickly cleaned the shed as best they could. Ranma still didn't let Kasumi do much because of her ankle, which had healed very quickly but Ranma still didn't want Kasumi pushing it. At the moment Ranma couldn't replace the firewood they had used because everything outside was wet, so decided he would do it in a few days, if everything dried first. In a matter of minutes, the two of them had finished, redressed, and began making the slow and muddy track back to the house. In truth, Ranma could have gotten them back much faster, but the two liked the smell of fresh rain and the slow walk back together.
When the two finally made it back, they carefully removed their shoes as they entered the house, so as not to drag mud all over the place, and greeted Nodoka who was in the middle of making breakfast. Nodoka saw them in with a smile, and not the worried face Ranma was expecting, or the eager face Kasumi was somewhat dreading to see.
"I see you two are okay." Nodoka said after her greeting.
Both Ranma and Kasumi nodded at the statement, prompting Nodoka to continue.
"I know you two won't mind, but breakfast is going to be leftovers from last night's dinner." Nodoka paused to see if either would object. Seeing that neither was going to, she continued speaking, "For future reference, if you two are going to have a night of mind-numbing 'fun' and are going to miss a meal, I would like to have notice ahead of time. That way I won't spend time making so much food that would otherwise be wasted."
Nodoka raised an eyebrow at the blush that developed on her red-headed daughter. It wasn't the heavy blush that Nodoka expected to see, but was, in fact, a light blush covering Ranma's delicate features, which piqued Nodoka's interest. Nodoka then smirked at Kasumi, due to the small, but not so innocent, smile that Ranma had on her soft lips. Kasumi didn't like that smirk it was the same one Ranma had worn previously, like the time he took her on a freefall down a cliff. She had a feeling she wouldn't enjoy whatever Nodoka had planned in response to Ranma's little smile.
"Ranma, would you go and clean yourself up?" Nodoka said as she addressed her, at the moment, daughter.
"Sure, come on Kasumi, you can use the bath first." Ranma began walking away.
"You go ahead Ranma. I would like to talk to Kasumi." Nodoka wanted to talk to her other daughter to see what had happened last night.
"Oh no, it would be improper to speak with you while I am such a mess." Kasumi skillfully dodged Nodoka's attempt to isolate and interrogate her, then quickly caught up with Ranma.
Kasumi wanted to soak for a bit longer, but breakfast was waiting for them. Her last meal was nearly twenty-four hours ago, and she was hungry and, if she was hungry, Ranma must be starving. Not wanting to make Ranma suffer, Kasumi quickly finished and let Ranma take his turn and, just as Kasumi thought he might, Ranma took his bath quickly as well. They came down together because Kasumi didn't want to be downstairs alone with Nodoka and Ranma conveniently provided the perfect shield. Kasumi was correct in guessing Ranma was going to be hungry. The two of them tore through the food like, well, like Ranma. Nodoka kept a humorous smile for the entire meal as she watched Kasumi mimic Ranma's eating habits. At the end of dinner, Nodoka discreetly sent Ranma to do some small task for her, leaving herself and Kasumi to wash the dishes and when the two found a good rhythm for the task, Nodoka sprung her trap.
"So, do I need to prepare one of the other rooms for my new grandchild?" Nodoka now had a joyous smile on her face.
Kasumi froze and the bowl she was holding slipped back into the water.
"So, my son wasn't any good?" Nodoka sounded a bit disappointed.
Kasumi's newly emerging foot in the mouth disease made itself known again, "I didn't sleep with him."
Nodoka opened her mouth to interject, but Kasumi continued on.
"I slept with her." that statement caused Nodoka's jaw to drop. Not noticing Nodoka's reaction Kasumi continued to explain, "Her skin felt so nice and she so soft and she makes these absolutely yummy noises."
It was just after that statement when Ranma wandered in. He looked at his mother just as she turned to him and he saw a shocked expression change to one he hadn't seen in a long time. It was his mother's "my son is so manly" look.
Ranma managed to hear his mother shriek out, "My son is so womanly!" before his ribs were nearly caved in and his spine was being rearranged by his overly joyous mother.
Kasumi was ripped back to reality by her new mother's loud declaration, and immediately turned as red as Nodoka's new red highlights, and slowly started inching towards the door.
"Mom... can't breathe." Ranma managed to grasp out.
Nodoka held Ranma at arms length and looked at her now-blue-faced son with pride.
"Why are you so happy, Mom?" Ranma asked after he regained his breath, and his normal color.
"Because my daughter is a woman now, and no longer a virgin." Nodoka happily beamed.
"WWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTT!" Ranma considered fainting, but for the moment that wasn't a good option, "Where did you hear that!"
"Kasumi told me you slept with her." visions of grandchildren danced in her head.
"I did sleep with her" his mother's smile grew, "but that's all I did!"
Nodoka's smile fell, "So, there was no hot lesbian sex between the two of you indicating you two were comfortable with each other and, eventually, leading to my son performing his manly duty resulting in me becoming a grandmother in less then a year?" she deadpanned. Nodoka looked at Kasumi, who now had a foot through the exit of the kitchen.
"Uhhhh..." was Kasumi's articulate reply.
Ranma's reply was a bit more informative, "hot lesbian sex..." Blood started dripping down from his nose, his eyes rolled back into his head and he fainted, with a line of drool coming out of his mouth.
With Nodoka looking on Kasumi answered, "...hhhhhh...no..."
Nodoka's overly happy attitude fell, she mechanically finished washing the dishes, and walked away with an aura of gloom surrounding her. When Ranma woke he tried repeatedly to cheer his mother up but every time he got close to her, his mother turned her dark eyes on him, with her crushing aura of gloominess washing over him to stop his attempts. This proved to be a daunting task for Ranma, who usually just made a quick apology and an even quicker getaway. Kasumi tried a few times as well, but met with the same results.
All of this changed a few hours later, when Nodoka's attitude suddenly reversed itself. Both Ranma and Kasumi watched their mother's quick emotional change with a sense of dread as she became happy, almost giddy, called for a car, and left. They could only watch Nodoka leave, and fearfully await her return.
A little more than an hour after Nodoka had left, she returned with a near-cruel smirk and several decently-sized plain, brown, paper bags. The moment Nodoka set foot into the house; she called both a now female Ranma and Kasumi, and began 'the talk'. Nodoka pulled item after item from the bags and explained how they could be used. She pulled out video game controllers, bananas, chop sticks, tiger balm, handcuffs and many, many other items. Along with each item came a very detailed and explicit example of how it could be used, and where, and when it would have the greatest effect. How Nodoka came up with these examples, neither girl wanted to ask, for fear of what she'd tell them. At the end of Nodoka's mother/daughter/daughter talk, not only had Ranma passed out, again, but Kasumi had as well. Pleased with her children's reactions, Nodoka quickly rearranged them into a rather provocative position, and walked off to make dinner, but not without one final comment.
"That should teach them what happens when they use a mother's desire for grandchildren to trick her."
After a couple of hours Ranma and Kasumi had yet to wake, so Nodoka decided to make a loud announcement that dinner was ready. Waiting a few seconds, she heard a muffled yelp and the sound of a lot clothes being rearranged. A few seconds later her daughters came in looking disheveled and blushing furiously. Nodoka smiled sweetly and walked into the kitchen to get dinner. When she brought it out, the two younger women started to sweat and tremble.
Nodoka spoke, with well-faked concern, "Is there something wrong with dinner?"
"It's...it's fine." Ranma stuttered, her entire arm shaking as she picked up a piece of sushi. Now, one would think Ranma would be happy eating sushi and eating it faster then he normally would. The problem with this hypothesis came from one of his mother's more extreme examples from their earlier talk, one where sushi was used in a 'special way'. When Ranma slipped the piece of fish into her mouth, Kasumi's chopsticks clattered to the table top, and when Ranma looked over at Kasumi their eyes met for a split second, and both turned to look anywhere but at each other. This, in turn, made dinner a tense affair, at least for Ranma and Kasumi. Nodoka sat there, eating peacefully, and thoroughly enjoying the spoils of her plot for vengeance.
Over the next two days Nodoka happily tormented her children. She did so by placing certain items in places they're sure to come across them. Other times she would use simple play on words, which would be misinterpreted by one or both of them, which would result in yet another embarrassing incident. Nodoka had stopped actively trying to push Ranma and Kasumi together, mostly because their reactions were getting less and less extreme. Along with tormenting them, Nodoka had another purpose for this: She assumed that if Ranma and Kasumi became comfortable with that aspect of their coupling, they might be able to move their relationship further, and do so far more smoothly and easily than they would with her interference.
At the end of the week, Nodoka received a phone call which caused her to become excited and very animated. When Kasumi asked why, Nodoka told both her and Ranma that they would find out the next day. So Ranma and Kasumi had no choice but to wait until then to find out.
Early next morning something strange happened: they received a visitor. The visitor was familiar to Ranma; she was the young secretary the three had met in that building where they received a ride to their new home.
"Thank you for coming to our home." Kasumi kindly greeted.
"Thank you for inviting me." The young lady replied in kind.
"May I see Miss Inoue? I have the paperwork she requested, and a warning." The woman was now speaking in a serious tone.
"Of course." Alarmed at their visitor's tone, Kasumi quickly led her to Nodoka.
Upon reaching Nodoka, who sat watching Ranma practice, Kasumi announced their guest.
"Welcome to our home, Sakiri." Nodoka warmly greeted, "I trust you are here to deliver the paper work I started earlier this week?"
"Yes." Sakiri handed Nodoka a large envelope, "And a warning."
By that point, Ranma had seen their guest and stopped practicing. He walked over just in time to hear what Sakiri had said.
Nodoka tensed and waited for Sakiri to continue.
"We found that Nabiki was snooping around our area, most likely looking for a clue to where you three are. We have also seen and heard that she sent the Kunos and a boy named Ryoga Hibiki into the area, probably as a tactic to scare information out of the people in the area. My suggestion to you is that if one of you chose to leave home, do it carefully because there are people looking for you."
"Thank you for telling us, Sakiri. We'll try to follow your advice." Nodoka spoke as she bowed to her guest.
As Sakiri turned around to leave, Kasumi spoke to her.
"Would you like to stay for a snack?"
"As much as I would love to, work calls." Sakiri spoke with a sigh of resignation.
"Maybe another time then?" Kasumi asked with disappointment.
With a nod, Sakiri replied, "Another time then."
Kasumi then escorted Sakiri to her car and made her way back to Nodoka. When she returned, Nodoka set out three cups of tea.
Ranma was the first to speak. "What are we going to do about Nabiki?" Ranma was edgy about having to deal with her.
"Don't worry about her for now. There's something more important to deal with right now." Whatever was delivered to her must be important, not even the mention of Nabiki looking for them seemed to bring down her mood.
"What's in the envelope?" Kasumi asked nervously. Something that could make her mother this happy was either very good for them or very bad for her and Ranma.
"These papers are very important and involve both of you. Earlier this week when I went to town, I looked up some information on the Saotome name, mostly what Genma had done to it during the last ten years. It turns out Genma had sullied the name to such an extent that...if I had stayed to read everything, I may have been there for days...as it was; I still ended up staying there past midnight. Normally, I would have gone ahead and taken care of this on my own, and I really wanted to, but I know neither of you were allowed to make any of the truly important decisions in your lives until recently. I decided this choice will be yours and yours alone."
"Are you asking me if I want to be removed from the Saotome registry and added to the Inoue registry?" Ranma had a clue about where this conversation was going, but didn't know why Kasumi had been included as well.
As for Kasumi, she stayed quiet, waiting for Nodoka to finish.
"In a way, yes, but there's more then that alone." Nodoka's voice had changed into the warm, motherly tone Ranma had rediscovered his love for in these last few months. "I've already changed my name back to Nodoka Inoue because of what Genma has done. Did know you have at least: 102 fiancées, over 30 million yen in accumulated debts, and you're wanted for questioning concerning nearly 1000 petty crimes? These are only the ones that the authorities know about, so there are likely more."
To say "Ranma was shocked" would be an understatement. Not only had Genma trained him in ways that were nearly demonic, and some that went beyond any of the cruel ideas an average demon might come up with; Genma had gone and destroyed any hope he'd had for a future.
Kasumi watched hopelessness settle into Ranma's features. She moved in behind him and pulled him close to her. "Ranma, trust our mother. I know she has a way out of this."
Nodoka smiled as she watched Kasumi, and continued, "Kasumi is correct. The best way I could think to salvage this was to remove you from the Saotome registry, but there is something special I wanted to talk to you about. Kasumi, your mother, Kimiko, was my best friend. Before I tell you what I have planned, can I ask the two of you a question?" Seeing them nod, she asked her question, "Eventually you two plan to marry, am I right?"
Ranma responded immediately, "If she accepts."
"Yes." Kasumi's answer was firm and confident.
The way her children answered made Nodoka's heart swell. Closing her eyes and remembering the past, she explained her plan. "Kasumi, I don't know if you know this or not but, Kimiko was my best friend. When we were young we were sisters, not in name, not on paper, but in our hearts. Shortly before she married your father, her parents, your grandparents, died. She was alone and, to her, I was the last family she had left. It was a little over a month after her parents died when she came to me with a proposal. It had taken her nearly a month to get through all of the paperwork and red tape, but she managed to draw up a contract that, basically, named me the head of her family line when she died. At first, I was shocked and didn't want to do it. I told her, the honor should fall to her children, but she countered with the argument that she could die, anytime and anywhere, and would feel better if someone who would truly care for her family were to be left in charge. I reluctantly signed, but today I'm glad she managed to talk me into it."
"But my mother left everything she owned to us; there was nothing left." Kasumi had started shaking as soon as the subject of her dead mother was brought up. It was now Ranma's turn to comfort Kasumi; Ranma moved to sit behind her, gathered her into his lap and, while his mother talked, held her.
"Everything she personally owned, yes, but everything else fell to me. At first, I was going to hand everything over to your father, but he was, and still is, a complete wreck, so I held on to everything and prayed for the strong man Kimiko fell in love with to return." Nodoka paused to see how Kasumi was taking this, "At the moment, I hold your mother's childhood home, a dojo, and their financial information." Nodoka watched as Kasumi visibly relaxed in her son's lap.
"You said this will help Ranma solve some of his problems. What does my mother have to do with this?" Kasumi asked, wanting to know where the discussion was leading.
"The line carrying her family name ended when your grandfather died, after she took the Tendo name. What I am suggesting, is that you take up the Enjeru name. I want Ranma to take the Inoue name, at least until you two get married, when that happens I want Ranma to take up the Enjeru name as well." Once Nodoka finished, she waited to hear what they thought of her plan.
Not surprisingly, Ranma spoke first, "I thought I was going to take the Inoue name. Why the change?"
Expecting this, Nodoka supplied her reasoning, "I'll admit, it is a bit selfish, but I want to honor my friend. I know she would be proud to call you her son as much as I am. I will be just as happy if you take the Inoue name, but as I said when we started this conversation, the choice is yours and yours alone."
"I accept. She was the one who, with a few simple words, got me to follow my heart. I'd be proud to bear the Enjeru name." Ranma voice left no doubt about his choice.
"Kasumi..." Nodoka gently asked.
"I...I don't know." Her voice was confused and weak; nothing like the Kasumi that both Ranma and Nodoka had come to know.
Nodoka was surprised; she would have expected Ranma would be the one resisting the idea. She, along with Ranma, were very concerned, believing that Kasumi needed some time to sort her feelings out, Nodoka ended their little family meeting. "You both have a lot to think about, so take your time, you don't have to make a choice right away. In the mean time, lunch is a few hours away, so you two go, and I'll call you when it's ready."
"Thank you." With that, Kasumi quickly excused herself.
Ranma was about to follow, but his mother held his arm.
"Let's give her some time and, when she ready, hopefully she will come to one, or both, of us." Nodoka tried to console her son.
Ranma looked at his mother, cast a regretful look in the direction Kasumi had gone, and nodded.
Over the next few days, Kasumi tried to act as though nothing was wrong but, to Ranma and Nodoka, it was painfully obvious she was distant. She still went with Ranma when he, or Nodoka, suggested something, but she'd started to do things she hadn't done before. When she was with Ranma on their 'dates', she no longer had the happy, inner fire that Ranma had come to know and love. Ranma sat with Kasumi every night as she, almost lifelessly, gazed at the stars. When helping Nodoka with the chores around the house, Kasumi was mechanical, cold, and distant. She no longer displayed the little hints of joy that normally accompanied her actions. When Nodoka tried to tease her, Kasumi responded with nothing but a cold shoulder.
Nearly a week had passed, and Ranma was beginning to get annoyed with Kasumi. He didn't know if what he was planning to do would help or hurt their relationship, but he knew that talking about it might help; so he was going to force Kasumi to talk about it, even if it did hurt their relationship. Ranma resolved himself, but he couldn't help the bit of fear that had made its way into his heart.
He walked up to Kasumi as she was blankly staring at the stars again. "Kasumi?" Ranma was proud of himself as he had successfully managed to keep any hint of fear from his voice.
"Yes, Ranma?" Kasumi answered with a serene smile, a smile Ranma had begun to hate because it was Kasumi's old mask.
"Can we talk?" Ranma wasn't sure where this was going to lead, but he was going to see it through, good or bad.
"Sure" came a cheerful reply but, to Ranma, it sounded lifeless.
Ranma wasn't sure where to start, so he asked the question that concerned him the most, "Kasumi, what's wrong?"
"I'm fine Ranma, there's nothing wrong with me." Again Kasumi smiled that smile, but this time Ranma's reaction was a bit different. This time, the smile sent a spark of anger through him.
"Your lying! Do I mean so little to you that you can't even talk to me?" Seeing that same repulsive smile on her face as she was about to answer only served to further anger Ranma. He cut her off in a much louder voice, "Why the hell are you acting like this? Why? Is it because you don't want me to change my name? You don't want me to have your mother's name?" Ranma saw Kasumi flinch at the mention of her mother, and knew he was getting closer to the problem. "Maybe you're the one who doesn't want your mother's name?"
Kasumi acted as if she'd been struck, and Ranma knew what was causing Kasumi to feel so troubled. "So that's it? You don't want your mother's name? From the few things I've learned about her; she was a great woman, and anyone would be proud to inherit her name!"
That was too much for Kasumi, who screamed, in a voice just as loud, back at Ranma, "I betrayed her! You call that something to be proud of? I hit my little sister and stole her fiancé! Is that anything to be proud of? I don't deserve to be her daughter let alone have her name! I would be nothing more then a disgrace!" The last sentence ended in a sob; then Kasumi turned, ran to her room, and locked the door. Shocked by Kasumi's reasoning for her recent behavior, Ranma let Kasumi run past him.
Nodoka had rushed in when she heard the screaming start. Though she knew couples have arguments, it was still a shock to see her son and future daughter-in-law having one so soon. She, like Ranma, also stood there immobile when Kasumi ran to her room. After mentally reviewing what she had heard of the argument, she figured Ranma had finally forced Kasumi's problem into the open. Taking a breath to calm herself, she approached her son. "I hope you understand and accept what this has done... Or what it might do."
Ranma, with a defeated sigh, looked at his mother, "I know what I did, and I'm not happy with it, but the Kasumi that was here for the past few days wasn't the Kasumi I love." Ranma then walked to his own room. He wanted to go and comfort Kasumi, but knew she wasn't ready to see him yet, and he could admit to himself that he was afraid to see her.
As he got ready to sleep for the night, he saw Kimiko's diary; grabbing it he said a prayer as he clutched the book, and fell asleep. 'Please, help Kasumi.'
Even dreams weren't an escape for Kasumi. She sat on her mother's bed, in a white house dress, with her knees pulled to her chest, and sobbing with her eyes closed. Kasumi refused to open her eyes because anything and everything here reminded her of her dead mother. With her thoughts constantly beating on her soul, she didn't notice another being enter the room, and when arms encircled her she desperately hugged back. She didn't know who it was, nor did she care, she needed something, she needed anything, she needed this, so for the first time in over a decade, Kasumi held nothing back, and she cried tears that made even heaven nearly weep and wonder 'Why?', and 'What made this angel shed so many soul shaking tears?'. Kasumi cried for everything she hadn't in the past decade, the loss of her mother, her father, her sisters, friends that were and friends that could have been, loves that she turned away and, finally, for her betrayal. Eventually she had nothing to cry for and her tears stopped, but she did nothing to move away from the comforting embrace. She felt just as safe as she did in Ranma's arms.
She would have said nothing, enjoying the silence, had her visitor not spoken. "I will always love you, Kasumi," the mysterious stranger spoke with her own angelic voice.
Hearing that voice, Kasumi acted on instinct. She ripped herself away, using her legs to push herself off the bed as well; turning to face the person still on the bed she could utter only a single word, "Mama?"
Looking at Kasumi, the older women knew her daughter wouldn't speak. "It's nice to see you, and you've grown into such a beautiful young woman."
Kasumi didn't believe her eyes; she slowly reached out a trembling hand and, equally slowly, caressed her mother's cheek.
It could easily be seen where Kasumi got her beauty, and her divine smile, just by looking at Kimiko. There were some subtle differences, like Kimiko's light brown, almost silver, hair and her light blue eyes, instead of Kasumi's grayish-brown. If one was to look at them, not knowing their relationship, they would likely think Kimiko and Kasumi to be twins, instead of the mother/daughter they were. Kimiko also wore a pure white kimono, which seemed to glitter in the light.
Sensing this woman was really her mother, Kasumi dove to embrace her again; unlike the sorrowful embrace they held before, this one was a joyful and happy one. After what felt like a few minutes had passed, while still firmly in her mother's arms, Kasumi asked, "How?"
Kasumi tried to answer her own question, but knew of only one thing that could bring her together with her mother. She had died. Her mind immediately brought up an image of Ranma. She was dead, and she couldn't be with Ranma. 'No...'
Kimiko knew her daughter was very intelligent and, as far as her daughter knew, there was one way for them to be together here. Feeling the anguish coming from her daughter, Kimiko knew exactly what Kasumi was thinking and, moving her daughter away from her, she used her hand and slowly forced Kasumi to look directly into her eyes, "You haven't died."
"But...But..." were the only words Kasumi could think to say.
"Trust me, you didn't die." Kimiko spoke in a resolute voice.
"How...How, then?" Kasumi felt better, once she realized she could still be with Ranma.
"Did you know that boyfriend of yours, Nodoka's son, is a very special person?" Kimiko questioned her daughter.
Kasumi happily nodded as only a girl in love could.
"Do you remember that diary of mine Ranma found?" Seeing Kasumi nod, Kimiko continued, "Somehow he linked his ki to the diary, and used it like a beacon to summon me."
What her mother said didn't shock her; to Kasumi almost nothing Ranma did could surprise her anymore.
"Now, could you tell me why you were so sad when I got here?" concern was evident in Kimiko's voice.
That brought up a torrent of emotion in Kasumi, and in the end she didn't resist it. She went on to explain Nodoka's plan, then to how she felt, and finally how that resulted in her yelling at Ranma.
"I did all of those things and betrayed you, I'm not a person who deserves to have the Enjeru name." After finishing, Kasumi was not willing to look at her mother.
"Kasumi, I am very proud of you and I would love for you to take my family name." Kasumi was taken aback by her mother, and when her mother spoke there was absolutely no doubt, "You chose the path your heart desired, and you are now walking that path, follow your heart, and have no regrets. I know this will hurt Akane but, to tell you the truth, she might have to be hurt in order to grow up. I have watched all of you grow this past decade, and I am very disappointed in what you three have become. Your father has completely failed as a parent; I almost hate him for what he has forced you and Nabiki to do. He has spoiled Akane by not disciplining her when she needs to be. Akane doesn't even know what a martial artist is, for Soun never taught her. I do not like what has become of Nabiki, even though necessity, and your father's inaction, has forced her to become the cold and greedy person she has. I see glimpses of the kind-hearted and energetic Nabiki I remember, but she has hidden it so deep I don't know if she is even aware it's still there. Maybe you can help to bring it out again. Did you know that when you started taking over the duties in the home I was so proud of you at first? But, over time you were the one who came to disappoint me the most."
Kasumi raised her head as she heard the praise, but it quickly fell as she learned of her mother's disappointment.
"I was happy that every thing I taught you about taking care of a home was being used perfectly, but when you started to give up every thing else for the home I became upset. You gave up your friends, you gave up on school, you even gave up your future, all to become what? You became nothing more then a slave. I remember you used to love the martial arts as much as Ranma does. I spent hours arguing with your father over it, I taught you my school's style against his wishes, and you gave it all up on a whim. You stopped practicing it, you even stopped thinking about practicing it, like it was never important to you. That hurt me, it was the last thing I received from your grandparents and, when you stopped, it really hurt." Kimiko stopped and gathered her daughter to her, now very close to breaking into tears once again, and into her lap, "Lately though, I couldn't be any more pleased with you."
"Really?" Kasumi looked up at her mother, tears still pooled in her eyes, but curiosity shone brightly behind those tears.
"As I said earlier, you started to follow your heart again, and you started truly growing up; you stopped acting as though you were being forced to be that way. Maybe you can help your sister grow up too."
"Thank you, mama." Kasumi sat, relishing the first time she had with her mother in over a decade.
A bit later, Kasumi was roused by sounds of her mother giggling.
"What's so funny?" Kasumi couldn't help but giggle as well because, like her own, her mother's laughter was just as contagious.
"-giggle- I was just remembering some of the things that you and Ranma did during these past few weeks. -giggle-"
"Like?" Kasumi's cheeks were tinted red as she asked, she knew that there was a good chance she was going to get very embarrassed, but she wanted to know anyway.
With a very familiar glint in her eye, Kimiko answered, "I believe...you still owe Ranma a... you still owe Ranma -snicker- your cherry."
Kasumi was proved correct as her face turned cherry red, and she opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by her mother.
"And, when am I going to get some grandchildren to watch over?" Kasumi's mother asked in a semi-scolding tone.
All Kasumi could do was bury her head in her arms and, in a muffled voice, say "Now I know why you and Nodoka were best friends."
"Hahahahahaha...oh, that reminds me of the time Nodoka gave you and Ranma 'the talk', that really brings back some memories."
It took a moment for Kasumi to truly understand the implications of her mother's statement, to which Kasumi responded, "EEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" There where some things that children should never learn about their parents.
Kimiko retaliated with, "Feh, I'm pretty sure you were going to try some of that stuff on little Ranma-chan."
Kasumi was at a cross-road, to one side was little Ranma-chan and lots of toys, and to the other was the information that Nodoka and her mother had... "EEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"
Kimiko rolled her eyes and laughed at her daughter's discomfort.
"Kasumi, my daughter, I must go now, it's almost time for you to wake up." Kimiko spoke in a comforting voice.
Kasumi was instantly alarmed, "But, I don't want to lose you again!" Again tears had begun gathering in her eyes.
Kimiko cupped her daughter's face in her hands, using her thumbs to clear away the tears, "Oh, Kasumi, you never lost me. You may not have seen me, but I've always been with you, and I always will be. You're my daughter, and you have so much ahead of you... I wouldn't miss it for anything. In fact, I have something to ask of you."
Kasumi nodded.
"Please take up the art again, you are the last who can learn my... no, our school; but, more importantly, the few times I have seen you truly happy where when you were practicing the art, and I want to see you smile like that again. Ask Nodoka to show you where our family dojo is, and once you get to the dojo, you'll find scrolls detailing our entire school hidden beneath the floorboard under the family shrine."
Kasumi nodded again.
"If you want to talk to the stars, or to your future husband, I'll be listening. Remember, I will always be watching over you, and mostly defiantly that boyfriend of yours... he really lives up to his name." Kimiko finished with a lecherous smirk.
It took a couple of seconds to figure out what her mother was talking about, but when she did she developed a small nosebleed. Just as the two started to fade away, Kasumi yelled out in embarrassment, "Moooooommmmmmmmmmm..."
For the fist time in days, Kasumi woke up with a genuine smile on her face. The first thing she did was rush out of bed and go looking for Ranma. She found him as he was walking in from an intense morning workout, which was partially a result of their argument last night, her reaction to it, and his usual morning routine. When he caught sight of her, he froze like a zebra cornered by a cheetah. Ranma's reaction was a small part him not being ready to be confronted by Kasumi yet, and a large part due to Kasumi wearing a small white nighty where most of the material was see-through and the rest was lace designed to draw attention to certain parts of her body.
In an instant she was on top of him, mashing their bodies and mouths together, and after a few brief seconds she pulled away, about to tell Ranma how thankful she was to see him, but got a good look at him first.
Ranma's body was limp, his eyes were glazed over, and his mouth had remained in the same position Kasumi left it in.
Hearing a chuckle, Kasumi looked over at Nodoka and flushed as she realized the older woman was holding a small camcorder in front of her, recording the entire thing, "I think you broke him."
Author's Notes: As always, I would like to thank my pre-reader DelShalDar. Drkjester I haven't been able to contact you in a while, if you read this pass me an email.
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 everyone you took the time to review my story even those who took the time to read it. I hope hear from everyone again and hopefully even more people.
JonnyG: You Rock! (Sorry couldnt think of anything else to say) Thank you like always!
Wonderbee: Thank you. Kuno is up next he ties into how I will deal with Kodachi.
Ranko: I'm funny? I never knew that! J Thank you!
Nobody Special: I know that I have Ranma speak to formally but I've started two other stories and in both I've tried to mimic Ranma's rough speech but I made him speak this way because I felt more comfortable writing him like this. Since this was the first story I've put out I wanted something I was comfortable with. Maybe in the future in my other stories I'll write with him using different speech patterns.
Dennisud: I believe that to I think that playfully hitting is fine but what Akane and other characters do is to much. I really like my Nodoka, I wanted to make her seem a bit off but still there enough to be a good mother. Originally I had something like the old Kasumi in mind for her but that didn't really fit so when I was free writing this Nodoka just seem to grow.
Shinji the good Sharer: feh, you started it weren't you the poor shmuck running away from Kasumi, didn't you also throw Belldandy and a few others in there too?
...: I remember that and her leaving with him would mean that it would hurt her family because they were not ready to take care of them selves. Kasumi could be forever chained to her family because they were never making any serious effort to learn how to take care of them selves. I didn't want that so I forced the issue and hopefully this chapter will help make Kasumi's feels a bit clearer.
James Axelrad: The answer will come just keep reading. As for schooling I will deal with it eventually but for now I write to get away from school so I havent really thought about it.
Oh and flames will be tossed into Akane's cooking. Then when they're alive be force fed her cooking to die a slow, painful death.