Ranma 1/2 : A Mothers Resolve
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is property of Rumiko Takahasi and Viz Media respectivly, and I lay no claim to their ownership. This is purely a work of fiction written for personal and public entertainment and published only on . Please do not repost.
Chapter 2: A Typical Day of Disarray
There were some things that were expected in Nerima, even if they were beyond belief. It was not unommon to see a pint sized pervert with a large burglar bag being chased by an angry mob of women. It was not uncommon for a monster to pop out of the woodwork in a very literal manner. It was not uncommon to see the neighbourhood chiropractor dancing down the street with a skeleton. It was not uncommon to see a pair of Amazons plotting around a cauldron like witches. It was not uncommon to see an okonomiyaki resturaunt run by a pair of crossdressers. And most commonly of all, it was not a suprise when a certian dark haired pigtailed boy was turned into a red haired pigtailed girl by a splash of water, which a certian old lady with a laddle happened to provide.
"How does she do that every time?" The redhead groused to her companion. The blue haired girl spoke as if chiding him "It's your own fault for not paying attention Baka." This was also a common occurance. "You know we pass by here every time, so what did you expect?" The redhead sighed at her companions response, as if trying to work it right "I know that Tomboy, I just had hoped this would be a peaceful day. Thank to mom, I didn't have the Satome Sunrise Attack and I didn't have to fight for breakfast. Best of all, we don't have to go to school."
There was a perfectly reasonable explanation for that comment, As the school had a crater that covered a third of the lot. The pinapple nutjob (AKA. Principal Kuno) had a large stash of pineapple scented grenades under the facility. It seemed that there was an 'accident' involving a pin slipping out of one of them, blowing up much of the school and lot. A certain etherial figure chuckled to herself about that. She didn't have to put much effort into dealing with the eldest Kuno, as he had done most of the work anyway. It also help that the explosion was impossible to cover up so, in addition to the extended stay in a hospital, the principal would be questioned by the police and JSDF for posession of military grade equipment. She believed he would most likely be sent to an asylum before trial, however, mostly due to his eccentric belief in school policies.
Akane gave her friend a glare, showing that she was more annoyed than amused. "Ranma, I don't see why you hate school so much, I mean, It's not like it can hurt you. You just need to put some effort into it and..." Akane was caught off guard by her friend's chuckling, and her temper flared. "Ranma I'm serious here, stop laughing!" Her words were almost at a shout. Ranma, for once, decided to put brain before mouth, and spoke of why she was chuckling. "Akane, I think you slipped up when you said school can't hurt me. Since i came to Furinkan I have been repeatedly attacked by a kendoist, ambushed by rivals, poisoned, nearly blown up by the principal, drained by a ki vampire and all sorts of other unpleasantries." Ranma sighed and continued "And how can you even think that school is safe? Even before I came along you had to deal with Kuno and the Hentai Hoard."
Akane winced as if she had been hit, Ranma was right. Her life had been chaotic well before Ranma had come into her life, and it only seemed to get worse once their fathers had announced their engagement. Their fathers had given them no time to truly get to know each other, always trying to get them married immediately. Akane silently thanked Nodoka for draging Genma out of their home, as her father didn't seem to push the issue so much without him. "You made your point Ranma, but I still don't know why we were sent shopping." Ranma shrugged and mentioned the reason. "Kasumi broke her jar of tea leaves, and she asked me to pick some up. I brought you along because I don't know what blend she drinks." This was more than a shock to Akane, mainly because Kasumi was always so careful. "How did it happen?" was the only thing she could say, and Ranma decided to fill her in.
Flashback
Kasumi was in the kitchen as per usual, cleaning up Akane's attempts at 'cooking' as if it were a natural occurance. Ranma had just walked in after his worship of the porcelain throne, suprisingly without being malleted. "I don't think that was a healthy skin color Ranma-kun" Kasumi said absentmindedly. Ranma nodded in agreement, after all, it was the first time it had turned a purpled hued green. What had suprised them was when Akane helped him get to the bathroom before his stomach emtied it's toxic contents. "I wish she would learn. Shes got no talent in the kitchen whatsoever, and it only gets worse when she's mad." Ranma looked at the mess in the kitchen that Kasumi was cleaning and asked "When was the last time you took a break?" This caught Kasumi off guard for a second, but she smiled, resumed mopping and replied "I'm fine Ranma but thank you for your concern. I need to get this cleaned up and I can not afford to..." Was all she could say before Ranma took the mop from her hand and positioned her to sit down on one of the clean chairs.
"Kasumi, you need to slow down." Ranma said gently, trying to be civil. "You havn't taken any time for yourself and you've been doing way too much for one person. You should at least stop for some tea." Kasumi nodded "That sounds like a wonderful idea Ranma, let me get the leaves." Ranma nodded and went to boil the water, one to be disrupted a short while later with a loud crash of breaking glass. Turning around he had found Kasumi butt on the floor and a broken jar of tea leaves on the ground. To say that Ranma was quick to her side was like saying Happosai was a pervert. "What happened Kasumi?" She pointed to a small clear stain on the floor and said "I though cleaned that up, but it seems that I missed a spot. I slipped and broke the jar." Ranma was first to get the dust pan, and then he noticed something. "Kasumi, these leaves are moldy".
End Flashback
"I can't believe Kasumi has been drinking that" was the response Akane gave when the reached the store "She seemed fine today, all things considered." Ranma nodded and spoke up a bit "yeah, but this morning she complained she had a headache, and thats why were getting a new jar." Akane looked at Ranma oddly. Since when did Kasumi complain?
The etherial entity smiled at this, knowing that her eldest woud recover soon, and was saddened as she watched a certain package come in, and a painful reminder of her greatest mistake and an even more painful foreshadowing of things to come.
The package was from China.
