Ranma 1/2
Altered Destinies: A scary thought
Chapter 8
Kasumi stepped into the teachers lounge as another day of work was coming to a close. In her hand she held a folder containing the list of the students she would soon be supervising. The vice-principle had finished and given it to her just an hour ago and now was the first opportunity she had to look it over. She made herself a cup of tea and took a seat at an empty table where she settled in and opened the folder.
She leafed through the sheets of student record forms taking note of any that were odd. Mostly she found only the usual unruly or slightly disruptive students but a few caused her a little surprise. She continued on to find Akane, Ukyo, Ranma, and even Tatewaki's sheets. She'd already been warned that they had decided to be a little liberal in regards to placing students in her class so she wasn't surprised to find Tatewaki as one of her students, even though he was a year ahead of most of the others. What really surprised her was to find Nabiki's record.
Kasumi looked at her sister's forms with a slight frown. Akane and Ranma she expected, they did have tendencies to get into the occasional fight although it was often instigated by the other party, but Nabiki wasn't like them. Kasumi looked down the form to find the reasons for her assignment: known connections to disruptive elements, known tendencies to manipulate disruptions for her own benefit, and possible instigator of fights and other unacceptable school behavior. Oh well, that was Nabiki, always making the best of the worst of any situation, even when it was sometimes questionable.
Of course Nabiki would likely be extremely displeased by this. For the last week or so, ever since the little... incident, Nabiki had been avoiding Kasumi whenever possible. Even when they were forced together by something it was clear that Nabiki was very uncomfortable with her proximity. Kasumi had never... well, actually no one had ever seen Nabiki in such a state of emotional distress. She had recovered somewhat, but being overseen by Kasumi would cause a great deal of tension between the two of them.
Kasumi sighed. Sooner or later she'd have to work things out between herself and her sister so this really didn't matter that much. She continued on through the forms, giving each one a brief glance before finally stopping at one particular sheet with a name she recognized from her past, Ryoga Hibiki. Kasumi forced her mind to recall the person in question and after a moment managed to place him.
It had been shortly before she and Genma had set off for China. Kasumi was finishing up her last year of school. One day Kasumi had met this boy on the road while on her way to school. He was completely lost and confused, or at least at the time it had seemed that way, but later she learned that he simply had no sense of direction. Recognizing the name he gave as a school near her own she had offered to take him there and he thankfully accepted. Once they arrived he had thanked her again. At the time Kasumi really had no associations in the area and this boy was the first. He had seemed kind enough so she had suggested that they walk together each morning which he gladly agreed to. From there she had developed a fairly strong friendship with him and was quite saddened when the time came to leave. They had agreed to meet for one last picnic, but he had never made it.
As she thought about this with a slight smile she suddenly realized something. Ryoga was the boy she had seen on the street that day. She could practically hit herself for not recognizing him especially with his dog there as well. She was a most distinct animal after all. Of course, she was distracted that day but, still, it was quite the mental slip.
"Ah, a smile on the fair one's lips, that's truly a pleasant change," Hiro said as he took a seat across from Kasumi. "So, what sprightly thought has brought about this favorable change in your mood?"
Kasumi greeted her fellow teacher with a friendly smile. "Oh, I just got my new class list."
"And you're smiling?" Hiro asked teasingly.
"I do enjoy my work. It's not as bad as it seems. I think many people overestimate the little I do. The students are really very quiet and courteous."
XXXXX
"No snakes in the rope bag."
"Clubs are grease free."
"No glue on the ribbons."
"Rings... check out."
Haruka smiled in satisfaction. Her fellow teammates and herself would not be caught unaware. They were all well informed as to the habits of the Black Rose and she would not catch them napping.
"Hey, where's Kimiko?"
"She was in class today, maybe she's late."
"Not hardly. She was leaving the locker room just as I came in."
"Where is she then?"
"Ladies, ladies." Haruka waited until the chattering girls quieted down and turned there full attention on her. "As to the location of our esteemed captain, may I remind you that after months of trying she finally landed Kie." At the mention of the captain of the boys' swimming team many of the girls sighed and there eyes went dim as dreams flicked through there heads.
"Gods, he's so cute."
"How did Kimiko land him anyway? Couldn't have been her sparkling personality."
"Well, you know what I heard..."
"What? What? Tell us all girlfriend."
"Well, wha-"
"Ahem!" Haruka loudly coughed, then glaring at the girls until they quieted she continued. "As I was saying, seeing as how the boys' swim team is practicing at this very minute, I don't think it takes any great imagination to piece together where our captain is. Now, speaking of practice, as your glorious second in command I will now lead the team in traini..." Haruka trailed of as she noticed the girls had ceased to listen to her at the point where she had mentioned the boys' practice, and were all now busy discussing the merits of Kie's various teammates. She developed a large sweat drop on the back of her head and then losing her temper yelled. "HEY, I'M TALKING HERE, ALL RIGHT? HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO BEAT THAT FIEND IN HUMAN FORM IF YOU DON'T PRACTICE?"
The girls, practically blown over by this outburst, quickly resumed their interrupted training session, but they did continue to cast wistful looks towards the door to the pool area. There was much grumbling about their slacker of a captain, but it was clearly sour grapes as any one of them would have traded position with her in a second. All those hunky guys, sigh.
XXXXX
"Kie, don't you dare! I'm warning you!" Kimiko shrieked and dodged out of the way of the water Kie had splashed at her. Laughing she exclaimed. "You'll have to do better than that if you want to get me wet, slowpoke." She darted down the side of the pool, forcing Kie to swim like mad in order to catch her. She gave a grimace of discomfort as she felt an annoying itch in a rather delicate spot. It had been growing worse for the past couple of minutes, and she desperately wanted to scratch it. However, being in a open view of a pool full of boys made that a little difficult, especially as she was the only girl in the swimming area. Her leotard did nothing to hide her lush curves and many of the boys had not taken their eyes off of her from the time she had entered the pool area. All in all it made it rather difficult for her to relieve the itch that was now on the verge of driving her insane. She wanted desperately to rush back to the change room and indulge in a bout of intense scratching. However, she had only recently started to date Kie and with the coach late this was the perfect time to cement her hold over him.
"Come on Kimiko, the water's fine, jump in why don't you."
Kimiko eyed the water with calculation, desperately trying to stop her fidgeting. Maybe the water would relieve the itch. Another spasm made her decision for her. With a loud splash she joined Kie in the pool, her hand already scratching even as she hit the water. "EEYYYAAA!" Kimiko screamed in anguish. Rather than soothing the itch, the water had intensified it ten fold. It felt akin to having her skin crawling with ants and on fire at the same time. Lost to all thought except for the one centered around stopping the now torturous itching, Kimiko drove her hand inside her suit and scratched like a maniac, to no avail. Now desperate and lost to any sense of decorum Kimiko forced her leotard off and scratched furiously at the various inflicted areas.
Kimiko's scream had attracted the attention of every boy that was not already watching her. So, when the loss of her leotard and the water of the pool soothed the irritations to the extent that she once again became aware of her location she found herself floating in the pool, naked, and with her hands doing some rather crude things, all the while surrounded by the entire swim team and what ever other boys had been in the vicinity. Worse, Kie was only a few feet from her and the expression on his face alternated between concern and lust and remorse for the lust. With a shriek every bit as loud as the one that had accompanied her contact with the water, Kimiko burst out of the pool and ran sobbing through the crowd of boys and into the girls changing room.
"Boy did you see that?"
"See it? I saw everything, and I mean everything." Laughing, the boy who had made this comment turned to a still stunned Kie who was just emerging from the pool. "God, I wish I was in your shoes. She must be really wild on a date. Must bother you though."
"Huh?" Kie eyes turned towards his questioners still dazed from the event.
"I mean, you must have to keep a pretty tight leash on her. A girl like that, you let her out of your sight for a minute and she's doing some other guy." That was as far as he got. Kie was no martial artist, but his punch would have received rave reviews from any of the school's students who were. The loud mouth arced a respectable distance before crashing to the ground in pain, and minus several teeth.
One of the loud mouth's friends objected strongly to this. "Hey! No one sucker punches one of my friends and gets away with it." That was as far as he managed to get before being decked by a sucker punch from one of Kie's friends. And the fight was on.
Meanwhile the girls of the gymnastic team had to cancel their practice early and by mutual consent. It seemed that the entire team was inflicted with an itch similar to Kimiko's, if not as severe. Haruka quickly reasoned out the cause. The Black Rose had struck after all, despite their best efforts. She had not sabotaged their equipment, but had instead slipped some sort of irritant into the lining of their leotards. Inactive at first, either their body heat or their sweat had activated it. Rushing into the locker room the girls were too busy divesting them selves of their contaminated suits to notice the weeping Kimiko. As soon as they gained relief, however, they congregated around her while a solicitous Haruka calmed her down and learned what had happened to her. Her account was garbled but enough of an explanation was understood to turn her entire squad red with rage. As one they shouted. "LET'S PUNISH THOSE ENEMIES OF WOMEN!" Stopping only long enough to arm themselves from a bin of field hockey equipment they charged into the pool area and added to the mayhem that was already going on.
XXXXX
Meanwhile, back in the teachers lounge, Mr. Hiro was shaking his head in denial. "Don't underestimate yourself. You seem to have a real talent for handling troublemakers. Me, personally, I could not stand the thought of a room full of the worst trouble makers in the district under my supervision."
"Yes, it can seem daunting at times, but that's not really what I was thinking about. One of my students is an old friend of mine."
"Really? I guess that will make your job a little easier."
Kasumi nodded, then thinking of the last day she saw Ryoga, changed the topic. "So, have you found a buyer for your uncle's restaurant yet?"
Hiro's upbeat attitude quickly shifted to a slightly depressed one. "The only buyer I have at the moment is some high-and-mighty business mucky-muck. He wants to buy up the whole area and put up some industrial park."
"Oh." Kasumi said, mirroring her friend's frame of mind.
"I suppose it's not that bad. It's not like he's some overbearing land developer or anything. He's offered a fair sum and all but I had a vision of seeing the old place open and running again. To just have it torn down... It seems so wrong." Hiro said as he shook his head gloomily.
"Haven't you had any other offers?"
"A few, but nothing really serious. I guess it's the condition of the place. It does need some refurbishing and the neighborhood isn't the greatest. Everyone seems to write it off after just a glance."
"That's too bad. It was fine old place from what I saw. With a bit of work I'm sure someone could have it up and running."
Hiro smiled slightly at Kasumi. "You have a good eye; I just wish the other buyers did as well." Hiro sighed then put back on a pleasant face. "I'm depressing you and that's the last thing you need. I hope the... feline hasn't been too much of a bother."
Kasumi could not repress a slight shudder, but did her best to control her involuntary reaction, glad that Hiro was tactful enough to not use the C word. "Akane has been keeping her promise well, but I still find the whole place to be very unnerving. Just the thought of it being there... I'll get over it, I hope." Kasumi replied but her voice didn't reflect much optimism.
"Well, good luck to you," Hiro said as he got up.
"You too," Kasumi replied as another teacher rushed into the lounge.
"Hey, there seems to be a riot by the gym."
Kasumi let out a sigh. Duty called.
XXXXX
Sometime later Akane was sitting on her bed holding C-chan in her arms. On the floor in front of her sat the captain of the gymnastics team wearing a heavy cloak and staring down at the ground angrily.
"But I hardly know anything about Rhythmic Gymnastics. Are you sure-" Akane began to say.
"No way! I just... no! You have to take my place Akane. We can't let St. Hebereke win with such a dirty trick. You're the only one available. I... I... can't perform like this and the rest of the team is pretty beat up. They may be able to handle their matches, but no way they're up to replacing me in the main match. Come on, Akane." Kimiko pleaded.
Akane hung her head to think. "Well C-chan, what do you think?" She asked her cat. C-chan, who hadn't been paying much attention to the conversation, looked up at Akane and gave a neutral Mrew. Akane sighed then nodded. "Okay, I'll do it."
"Oh thank you Akane! Thank you! You won't regret this."
Akane dismissed the thanks with a wave. "It's nothing, what exactly do I have to do?" Akane listened as Kimiko detailed what Akane would be responsible for. When the captain finally finished and left for home, Akane sat down on the floor of her room and examined the equipment she had left. She picked up a gymnastic club and tossed it in her hand. "Well, this doesn't look so tough," she said to C-chan who was now laying on the bed then tossed the club higher. This time it landed on her head. "Ah, who am I fooling? I only have a week to learn all this. I'm going to get myself trashed if I don't get a decent teacher." Akane rested her chin on her hands to think.
"I'm home." Akane heard Kasumi call out.
Akane made a quick check to ensure her door was closed then resumed her thought. "I wonder if Kasumi knows anything about Rhythmic Gymnastics. Couldn't hurt to ask," Akane said then got to her feet and headed for the door. "You stay here C-chan."
C-chan looked up briefly to acknowledge Akane's exit then dropped her head back to the bed. It was funny, that name, Kasumi, it seemed vaguely familiar as did the voice. If only she could get a look at this person maybe she could remember something. Unfortunately, Akane was determined not to let that happen. She had done a very efficient job of keeping C-chan completely away from Kasumi because of some allergy Kasumi had. C-chan couldn't fault her for her vigilance but it was frustrating to be so near something that might return her memories yet be unable to reach it.
C-chan let out a sigh of acceptance. There was no point in complaining about something she couldn't correct. She'd get her chance. As she thought this she heard the soft creak of the window opening.
XXXXX
"Hey Kasumi, can I talk to you for a second?" Akane asked as she came down the stairs to meet Kasumi at the door.
Kasumi looked up from removing her shoes to look at Akane with a second of fear. Seeing the animal responsible for her feelings no where in sight, she relaxed. "Of course."
"Do you know anything about Rhythmic Gymnastics?"
"Rhythmic Gymnastics?" Kasumi thought for a moment then shook her head. "No, nothing really useful anyway. Why?"
"I volunteered to replace the team captain," Akane replied, seriously doubting her sensibilities about making such a decision. "She had a little-"
Kasumi sadly nodded. "Accident, yes I know. I spent nearly an hour trying to break up that mess. I dearly hope she'll be all right."
"I think she'll be fine, given some time, but that doesn't solve my problem. I'm supposed to compete in a week and I don't know much about this stuff."
"Sorry Akane, it isn't my area of expertise. I'm sure your team mates will help."
"I suppose, but one week? I could really use something more." Kasumi shrugged, unable to find a solution to Akane's quandary. "Thanks anyway." Akane said as she turned to walk back upstairs in disappointment. Kasumi headed off to the common room.
"Hello Kasumi," Nodoka greeted from the table. "You're a bit late today."
"There was a bit of a... commotion at the school." Kasumi replied as she sat down across from Nodoka.
"Oh?"
"One of the girls from the gymn-"
Suddenly a voice rang out from upstairs. "AKANE TENDO, PREPARE TO DIE!" Both Nodoka and Kasumi were quite startled by this. Kasumi quickly jumped to her feet and began rushing for her sister's room to investigate, barely noticing Nodoka saying something she didn't quite catch.
Kasumi raced up the stairs and came up to Akane's door. She could hear the sounds of a struggle inside plus what sounded like muffled shouts. A sense of urgency overpowered the voice in the back of her head trying to remind her of something and she opened the door. On the floor she found Akane wrestling with another slightly taller girl with long black hair. However, before she made any further actions she realized something. They weren't shouting, they were laughing.
Stunned by this realization Kasumi just stood and watched as the two girls playfully tried to gain an advantage in their duel. Nodoka walked up beside Kasumi, a small frown on her face. "Girls," she said to gain their attention.
Both girls stopped what they were doing and looked up at Nodoka. "Yes Aunty/Yes Mrs. Saotome," they responded simultaneously.
"I thought we discussed this. The dojo is for sparring and the bedroom is for sleeping. However, I may be mistaken. If you plan on sleeping in the dojo..."
"Sorry," both responded and untangled themselves from their melee.
It was about this time, now that the apparent danger had passed, that the voice in Kasumi's head managed to get her to listen to it. The cat. Kasumi, starting to sweat profusely, immediately turned and made a dash for the nearest exit to the outside. Akane, her visitor and Nodoka watched this for a second in confusion then Akane and Nodoka realized the problem as well.
"Where's C-chan, Dachi?" Akane asked as she looked around her room.
"Oh, your cat, under the hamper. She's very protective." Kodachi replied, pointing to a nearby upside down clothing hamper. Akane quickly lifted the basket up and pulled a confused and irritated but otherwise unharmed C-chan out from underneath a pile of clothes. Nodoka nodded once Akane located her cat and left to find Kasumi.
"I take it that was your sister?" Kodachi asked.
"Yep, she's kind of got a problem with cats. Come on," Akane said then started to lead Kodachi to the dojo.
Meanwhile Nodoka found Kasumi standing on the walkway outside the common room trying to calm her nerves. "She has C-chan, don't worry," Nodoka said as she returned to sitting at the table
Kasumi noticeably calmed at hearing this then joined Nodoka. "Who was that?"
"She's Kodachi, one of Akane's friends."
"Kodachi... Seems familiar..." Kasumi said as she tried to recall the name. She had definitely heard or seen the name before.
"She was probably mentioned somewhere at the school. She's Tatewaki's younger sister."
Kasumi nodded as she finally remembered seeing the name on Tatewaki's student form. "Are the Kuno's family friends? I know Ranma is often visiting Tatewaki."
"Yes, we met them several years ago... actually about a year after you went on your training trip. As I recall we were visiting a park when Ranma wandered off. When we found him he had gotten into a fight with Tatewaki, you know boys." Kasumi nodded. "Anyway, amazingly, after they had thoroughly beat on each other, they actually hit it off. We joined Tatewaki and spent the day with him, Kodachi and their caretakers. Akane ended up talking with Kodachi most of the time and Ranma with Tatewaki. Ever since then they have been friends, although I don't believe either of the girls have much use for the boys."
Kasumi nodded then asked. "Is it normal for Kodachi to make this kind of an entrance?"
"I'm afraid so. Like I said, she's a bit on the wild side. Her caretakers were never very good at discipline. At one time I actually caught her with half a medicine cabinet on her."
"Really?" Kasumi asked in surprise.
"Unfortunately, yes. It was back on Akane's eighth birthday party I believe. Kodachi and several other of Akane's friend were over and as is usual they partook of a little too much food. Kodachi offered to give Akane some of the stuff she had with her. I think they were old medications from when her mother was sick. How she got her hands on them I have no idea." Nodoka shook her head at the memory. "Anyway, I made sure to give those people a good piece of my mind on the matter."
"I assume that she doesn't do that anymore."
"Nono, of course not. It is a good thing too. Dr. Tofu said that should she have continued to use such things much longer it could very well have affected her health. Fortunately, she had just started carrying them, and was fine when I discovered that she had them. She had not at that time used any. To think that they let her have such things... If their father were here I'd be sure to tell him just what I think of him leaving his children under such shoddy supervision."
XXXXX
Akane walked into the dojo and allowed C-chan to jump to the floor. "That was a really dirty trick you pulled, Dachi!"
Kodachi, carrying several of the tools, walked in after Akane and waved off the remark. "Bah! I am the queen of practical jokes, but even I don't have divine knowledge. She wasn't supposed to jump into the pool. I mean really, leotards are not for swimming. That's why they have swimsuits. How was I supposed to know she'd do something so stupid?" Kodachi paused for a second then smile in amusement. "It must have been a hell of a show though."
Akane scowled. "Yeah, well, it still was a stupid trick. Hope you're not planning on pulling something like that on me?"
"Sorry, only one master prank per team. However, if you're really interested I could make an exception for you," Kodachi said with a huge grin.
Akane let off a small laugh. "No thanks. How did you find out so quick that I'd be replacing her?"
"Who else are they going to ask around that school of yours? The talent pool is rather shallow there."
"Hey, this isn't exactly my thing you know. I've never even seen a Rhythmic Gymnastic match," Akane said then turned just in time to catch a pair of clubs tossed to her by Kodachi.
"Well then, we'll just have to fix that, won't we. Can't have my competition boring the crowd into unconsciousness."
XXXXX
Kasumi yawned as she approached her bedroom. At least Kodachi wasn't something to worry about. For a moment, after she heard her yell out her battle cry, she had thought yet another problem had come to make her life that much more complicated. Thankfully that was not the case here.
Kasumi opened her bedroom door, walked in and nearly tripped over a small cabinet next to the doorway. She looked around her room in confusion. A dresser, a large bed, two end tables, and a desk now occupied the once barren room. For a second Kasumi thought she had walked into the wrong room but then she realized what was going on.
The furniture was all brand new, and the exact furniture she herself had picked out just a few days ago. With nothing else to spend her money on Kasumi had finally decided to get some decent furniture for herself.
"It arrived this afternoon," Nodoka said as she looked in on Kasumi. "We set it up as a surprise. Hope everything is okay?"
"Oh, it is. Thank you," Kasumi responded quickly as she ran her hand over the bedspread.
"Have a good night then," Nodoka said with a smile and left Kasumi to herself.
A bit of playful excitement overcoming her, Kasumi plopped down onto the bed with a heavy bounce. This was going to be so nice, she thought to herself. No sleeping on the floor for her anymore. It had been ages since she had slept in an actually bed by herself. The last thing that even came close was...
Kasumi's excitement drained away at the thought. She quickly pushed it aside and got back up to get ready for bed. She walked over to the dresser and, as she expected, found her clothes all neatly folded in separate drawers. She frowned as she realized just how little her wardrobe had changed even now that she was home. This curse had done a lovely job of ensuring she basically remained as she was. A casual inspection by most people and they'd probably think a boy lived here.
"Come on Kodachi-"
"I'm training Akane, or have you forgotten."
Kasumi turned as she caught Ranma's and Kodachi's voices in the hall. Something in Ranma's tone sparked a bit of curiosity in her and she stepped over to the door to listen.
"Well, how about after the tournament, a victory celebration?" Ranma asked.
"With you? I think not. Celebrations are supposed to be fun," Kodachi replied.
Kasumi heard a door open then close with a bit of a slam. She then heard a sigh of disappointment from Ranma and footsteps followed by another door opening and closing. Kasumi looked down at the floor, perplexed. What was that all about? Then it hit her.
So, he's got a girlfriend... sort of, Kasumi thought as she returned to getting herself ready for bed. Well, I didn't expect anything different. This is what I originally wanted, right, Kasumi asked herself, for Ranma and Akane to be able to go about their lives without the pressure of the engagement hanging over them. That was exactly right, but Kasumi couldn't help but feel something. It was an odd feeling, like maybe she'd been... abandoned.
That's silly, she thought as she sat down on her bed. It was his life to lead, not hers to lead for him and, besides, she never expected this to work out. Kasumi took a moment to banish the thoughts and then laid down and tried to get some rest.
XXXXX
Across the hall Ryouko had caught the same bit of conversation and she now looked at Ranma with shock. It just couldn't be. Say it wasn't so. He couldn't!
"What's with girls, eh Ryouko?" Ranma asked as he prepared for bed himself. "I'd do anything for her and she won't even give me the time of day."
Ryouko hung her head as the truth smacked her in the face. It wasn't fair! How could he like a girl who didn't even like him? But maybe... Ryouko's hope rose. Yeah, Kodachi doesn't like him. All I have to do is tell him how I feel and... But wait, what if she's just acting and she really does like him, playing hard to get. No! Ryouko hopes crashed back to earth.
She couldn't give up, not without a fight. She'd tell him how she felt. Yes, that was it, she'd tell him and everything would work out, it had to. She'd have to do it quickly though. She couldn't risk the situation changing and with Kasumi here to mess things up that was bound to happen soon.
When, how, and what about the her curse? She couldn't tell him about the curse, that would destroy any chance she had but that left her with no real time to talk to him. In the morning, by the time he had left, she barely had enough time to change and get to school herself. During school was no good either. She was in a different class and during lunch he was always with Akane and that blasted Kasumi. After school was no good either. She had to rush back and change before he got home.
It was hopeless. She'd never get to talk to him. Despair pressed in on her. No, she'd get a chance, she have to risk it sometime or she'd lose him for sure.
XXXXX
Kodachi restrained a yawn as she thumped down the stairs with none of her usual grace. She winced with each step, punctuating them with invective as she descended. "Pink furred little monster!" Thump. "Vindictive..." Thump. "Spiteful..." Thump. "Little..." Thump. "Hairball!" Thump.
Reaching the bottom at last she looked back up the stairs in the direction of Akane's room. She smiled. "I like that in a person. You and I'll get on just fine C-chan. We have a lot in common."
Kodachi was accustomed to Akane's ridiculously early training regime. Normally she just rolled over and caught another hour or so of sleep after Akane left. She had rolled over this time as well, but five minutes after Akane had left and just as Kodachi was on the verge of rejoining the love of her life in the dreamscape, C-chan struck. She had practiced a little acupuncture on Kodachi's backside, landing stiff legged and with four paws worth of claws extended. Kodachi had come out from under the cover as if shot. Breathing hard she had scanned the room for her attacker, but C-chan had made good her escape, and short of tearing the room apart there was no way Kodachi was going to get near her.
Fully awakened Kodachi had given in to the inevitable and gotten up. Now standing at the bottom of the stairs and trying not to think too much about her newest battle scars she became aware of the noise of combat. Intrigued, as Akane's work outs had always consisted of a jog followed by a solitary kata in the dojo, she investigated. As she entered the dining area there was a tremendous splash followed by course laughter.
"You're woolgathering girl, and you call yourself a martial artist. A true martial artist must always be able to put distract-" SPLASH! "Grouff!"
"What was that you were saying Pop?"
The sound of laughter drifted in from the yard, laughter that was not shared by Nabiki Tendo who had been sitting at the breakfast table. Now flushing slightly she hurriedly placed an assortment of food on a plate and left the room. Kodachi turned her head as she watched Nabiki leave. Such behavior was so unlike Nabiki that Kodachi got caught up in watching her leave and walked right off of the small ledge that fronted the yard. As soon as she set her foot down and found nothing Kodachi twisted herself around and prepared to tuck and roll. She could not quite suppress a small exclamation of dismay however. The next instant she found herself caught by a pair of muscular arms that arrested her fall and then lifted her up and set her on her feet. Kodachi found herself looking up at the most spectacularly handsome man she had ever seen.
"Are you all right, Kodachi?"
As his deep voice vibrated a chord deep inside her all she could think was, he knows my name. She just stood there gazing up at him, trying to memorize every one of his features for future reference.
Kasumi looked at the dark haired girl in front of him with concern. The trip had not been serious, and he had caught her before she could hurt herself. Still, she just stood there looking at him with a glazed expression in her eyes. Nodoka had told her about Kodachi's close call with medication, but that was years ago and Nodoka had said there was no harm done, surely that could not be the problem, could it? He turned to Akane who had walked over from where she had been sparing with Ranma. "Is she all right Akane? It was not a serious fall but she seems to be dazed."
Akane looked closely at Kodachi and then at her sister/brother. Kodachi's glazed look was all too familiar to her. Kodachi was always one for extremes, and if Akane guessed right she had just found the newest in a long line of loves of her life. She gently disengaged Kodachi's grip on Kasumi's arms and led the love struck girl over to the house. Then, turning the girl so she was facing her, Akane snapped her fingers in front of her face.
"Snap out of it, Dachi."
Kodachi blinked and then refocused on the real world. Seeing her beloved's face replaced by Akane's she started and stepped back a step hitting the back of her calves against the edge of the porch and sitting down with a thump. She almost immediately shot back up, hands going back to clasp her outraged fundament.
"Well, I see that woke you up." Akane laughed even if she was a little puzzled by Kodachi's reaction.
Kodachi didn't care about that however. She had far more important things on her mind. "Who is that Adonis!"
Akane blinked, this was extreme even for Kodachi. "Oh, that's my..." Just in time Akane stopped herself. She could not tell Kodachi that her Adonis was her sister. They did not want any one knowing about her sister or uncle's curse, but Kodachi was her friend. She could not let her go on thinking she was in love with Kasumi... or could she? Suddenly remembering Kodachi's boast of the night before. "I am the queen of practical jokes." She had exclaimed and had not seemed in the least contrite about poor Kimiko. Well, maybe it was time the Queen was dethroned. "Him, he's my cousin, my cousin Kaneda."
Kodachi eyes locked themselves once more on the figure of her interest as he twisted the front of his shirt to force out the water soaking it. Kodachi let out a low moan of awe when Kasumi twisted the shirt enough to accentuate every muscle on his body. "How cruel to be related to such a man," she said causing Akane to chuckle for a second. "You have to introduce me, properly."
"Yeah, sure, later," Akane replied, trying to control herself enough not to laugh. Of course she'd have to let Kodachi off the hook sooner or later but the longer the better, it would serve her right. Besides, maybe this would get her to choose her boyfriends more wisely. Akane grabbed up Kodachi's arm and forced her to avert her longing gaze as she lead her to the table for breakfast. Kasumi, Ranma and Genma-panda soon joined them.
"Did your training go well last night Akane?" Nodoka asked after taking a sip from her tea.
"Oh, well enough. Dachi a fairly good tutor." Akane respond then noticed Kodachi's eyes drifting back over to Kasumi. "Right?" Akane asked her with a nudge to the ribs.
Kodachi turned back to Nodoka with a start. "Ah, yeah, of course I am. No one better at Rhythmic Gymnastics than me."
"We'll see about that," Akane replied to Kodachi's boast.
Suddenly Kasumi stood up. "Oh my, I forgot! I have to go. I have a meeting to attend." Kasumi rushed out of the room, Kodachi watching him go the whole way. This one she just couldn't let get away.
End Chapter 8
Ah, another one to add to the pile.
Bye for now.