Living the Martial Way
Chapter 3
Father's choice of words leaves me stunned for a moment. He must have thought the matter was closed and started to go back inside when I asked.
"What do you mean, useless?"
He stopped and turned to face me. "You heard me, she's useless. That brat Nabiki is blind. She can't even cook or clean like a woman should."
Twelve years of martial arts training has given me a very strong hold on my temper. And after listening to my father's crap about women for so long, I usually ignore it. But this was the first time I had seen him be so blatantly cruel to someone who was hardly twenty feet away. Father had kept ranting while I was trying to maintain my self-control.
"Kasumi is the only worthwhile one of the bunch. She does all the cooking and cleaning around here, it's too bad she's already engaged. Akane is the only choice, even if she can't cook and thinks she can fight. Women have no place learning The Art! Fuck it's like she wants to grow a dick! But Nabiki just expects everyone to wait on her and doesn't do anything. She makes normal women seem worth the time. If you choose her you'll just end up with a spoiled little whore who-"
'So much for self-control.' I think as I silence my 'father' with my fist. 'I'm sure Sensei Amano will forgive me. Ow, think I knocked some of his teeth out with that one'
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Akane would have leapt out into the yard if I hadn't had my hand on her arm. When the dull thud of a physical blow reached my ears I felt her relax. Kasumi's shocked "Oh my." made me wonder.
"What happened?" I ask.
"He…Ranma…He." Kasumi sounds too shocked to finish.
"Ranma knocked his father unconscious with one punch." Akane sounds awed.
'One punch?' I wonder. 'That time Genma attacked me it took Akane and Father to subdue him. How did Ranma take him down with one punch?'
I hear Father ask, "Ranma…I, uh…That is to say. Is everything alright?"
'He must have come back inside while I was distracted.'
The next thing I hear is Ranma's voice. He sounds so ashamed. "I would like to formally apologize to each of you. I know that my 'father'" He practically spits the word out, "can be rude. But what he was saying is inexcusable. I will understand if you would like to cancel the engagement. If I had to guess, I would say that he has been behaving in a similar manner since arriving. I would like to do what I can to make up for any damage he has done to you or your daughters."
"Ranma, I…that isn't necessary." Father sounds as stunned as I am at Ranma's manners and display of morals. "True, Genma is…different from the friend I trained with. And his behavior over the past four years has been…dishonorable. But from what I have seen you are hardly your father's son. I…I think it would be best to…postpone the marriage agreement for now. Please, get to know my daughters. If nothing else, you will have some friends now that you've returned to Nerima."
"I…Thank you sir. If I may, may I speak with your daughters privately?" Now Ranma sounds nervous. "I would…Like to get their opinions on the situation."
"Of course Ranma. I believe I will have a few choice words with my 'old friend'." Father went outside as Ranma returned to his seat at the table.
"I…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let him come here on his own. I dealt with him for eight years. But I can't imagine what it must have been like for you." He still sounds so upset. "I know how he feels about women, if I had know you were here I…I would have…"
"Ranma please don't worry about it. Uncle Saotome hasn't been living here. He only comes by about once a week. We just stay out of his way when he's here." Kasumi gasps when she realizes what she just said. "Oh my, I hope that didn't sound too rude."
"Sis, I think he understands." This is the first time I've heard Akane sound relaxed around a boy. "Seriously Ranma, if you hadn't hit him, I would have. Honestly, where does he get off thinking I can't learn martial arts?"
Ranma sounds more relaxed, "But still I-" I interrupt him.
"No. No buts. We should be thanking you. Kasumi is right, normally we would just stay away from him. But it didn't always work. Daddy would always try to avoid violence. But that would usually result in one of us being hit..." My voice drops to a whisper as I add "Usually me."
The silence that follows is thick, punctuated only by the sounds of Daddy yelling at Genma. After that last bit, I can't even pretend to call him uncle. The four of us sit there for awhile, all waiting for someone else to break the silence. I was about to say something, anything, just for the sake of conversation when Ranma beats me too it.
"Hello," he says. "I'm Ranma Saotome. It's a pleasure to meet you. Would you like to be friends?"
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I could cut the silence with a knife. Mr. Tendo yelling at 'father' is only serving to make the four of us more uncomfortable. Looking at the three girls in front of me I start thinking. 'Friends huh? It's been awhile. At least eight years since I had a friend. Sparring partners? Yes. Instructors? Of course. Father figures? Sensei Amano. But, friends? I can only think of two.' I come to a decision.
I look at the girls. Kasumi is drinking her tea, her engagement ring shining on her finger. Akane is looking in the direction of our fathers, still with a slight sheen of sweat from her workout and with her hands clenched in anger. And Nabiki is staring at her lap, on the verge of tears and fiddling so much with her hair that her hands have disappeared into it.
"Hello," They all look at me as I speak. "I'm Ranma Saotome. It's a pleasure to meet you. Would you like to be friends?"
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And that makes three chapters. Again, I was originally planning on this one being longer. But it diverged from what I was thinking of writing, but in a good way. I hope the changing perspective between Ranma and Nabiki is not too confusing, please let me know if it is and I will try to fix it. Hope you all enjoy this chapter and I hope to hear from you all. The reviews have been wonderful and have provided an excellent source of motivation.
