DISCLAIMER: Many of the characters and situations described in the following fic are owned entirely by Takahashi Rumiko, a woman I have the greatest respect and admiration for. (In fact if she were willing, I would have her love child. A neat trick since I am a male kinda guy and not built to bear children.) Her creativity has even inspired the creation of a whole new branch of the Trek Universe. Therefore, any mentions of historical moment from Trek, Trek-Tech and characters and ships, which I shall endeavor to keep at a minimum, is entirely intentional. Within this story are characters who are from the Trek Universe, but not of Trek. These are my creations. All other characters that are integral to this story are her property, apart from the characters from AMG. This is a work intended to share a concept, and perhaps my story telling abilities. There is no money to be earned by me or by anyone else from this work. I might also add, Paladin, Team Paladin, the Starship Percheron and her crew, and Miss Kitty as she is here, ARE my property, and not to be used with out express consent from myself. I have worked hard to develop these characters and hope to use them in published works eventually. I choose to share them and their attitudes with you here. The character from OH! My Goddess belong to who ever owns them… sorry but my copies of this series (as well as Ranma ½) mysteriously disappeared during a move
The timeline for this story is just about there. Meaning there aren't going to be any of the big events that occurred in the manga and anime. The story makes an assumption that events alter somewhat with each restart by the Norn. So Herb and Saffron may exist but won't be part of the story.
And finally, for convenience sake. ( ) author's commentary.
Sound effect
Chinese
Japanese usually spoken planetside
English generally spoken aboard ship
PALADIN ½ - SHE'S THE ONE
Chapter 11 – She's drunk!
Kasumi was in a slight tizzy, she was on a REAL date. This had never happened in her entire twenty years. And more than that, he was handsome. He was more than handsome; he was gallant and kind, poised and sincere, strong and gentle. He was everything a girl could hope to find and he was real!
She couldn't know of the concerns that flowed through his mind though. If Kasumi had known of his personal losses and triumphs she might have been over awed. As it was, she was almost too impressed by him already. If someone from outside had mentioned that Kasumi exhibited all the signs of a girl who had fallen in love at first sight, the girl in question would have pishawed at the remark. Such things are only for romance novels and fairy tales. It never happens in real life.
Kasumi knew she couldn't be in love with him. But it sure felt nice to have attention from him. Her knight had come from his castle in the sky. If she'd known how close that description in her mind of her date was, she might have fainted. It was enough to be going to a very nice three star restaurant with him, and dancing later at the Empress' Ballroom on the fortieth floor of the posh Hyatt in downtown Tokyo. The evening had started the way everything exciting had been happening since Ranma had come to live with them.
It had happened unexpectedly. It turned out that Mr. Macon hadn't know it was her birthday, he had just bought all those wonderful things for her to be nice. But the moment he had found out it was her birthday, he hadn't wasted any time at all in making sure it would be a very special night. Nabiki had helped by making the reservations, and helping her get dressed. Mr. Macon had left for a second time and returned in less time than it had taken her to get her bath finished. Kasumi had been surprised to hear a small argument between Kitty-chan and her father while she had been bathing. It had happened in the hall outside the bedrooms and bath.
"But I wanna go too!" Kitty-chan said in a very upset and pleading voice.
Paladin had kept his calm though, something that Kasumi's own father might not have been able to do. In fact he never had, in the face of obstinance from his daughters, Soun usually either got angry and shouted or became tearful and whiny. Both of which were unattractive and decidedly unmanly. Paladin however was totally different than Soun, he merely said, "Kitty, I know you want to come. Miss Kasumi would probably like to take you along. BUT! We will very likely be out very late, and it will be past your BEDTIME. Ranma and Miss Nabiki are going to watch you and take care of you tonight. You like them too don't you?"
"Uh-huhhhhh. But I wanna see Auntie dance wiff you." Kitty said in a pouting manner.
"I tell you what Kitty. Why don't we make it a big family outing this weekend." Paladin said, compromising for a family outing where everyone could have some fun. Kitty assented finally. It sounded as if Paladin hadn't wanted to punish Kitty-chan for her adamant desire to accompany the adults on the 'date'. But, Kasumi felt that if the little one had kept pushing he might have done so. She was sure it wouldn't have been a terrible punishment, but Kitty-chan probably wouldn't like it very much.
And then when she saw how Paladin had dressed for their outing, she had lost her breath. She had thought she had been transformed when she saw her own reflection, but, Paladin, he looked as if he shouldn't dress in any other manner. To Kasumi's eyes, he looked far beyond handsome. She couldn't think of a term that could describe how good he looked at the time!
Well, she could, but girls like Kasumi weren't supposed to think things like that. If she'd known what Akane's thoughts about her date had been, she would have blushed more than she had when Ranma said she looked great. If she had known that Nabiki had also shared the thoughts that Akane had, she might have gotten protective over her territory. It should be noted that all three of the Tendou girls thought that Paladin looked good anyway, but dressed for the evening as he was… well, it was a bit much for the imaginations of any of the three to apply some fitting description.
There was a slight possibility of one or all three of Ranma's other fiancées turning up before Paladin and Kasumi left. Ranma had been secretly hoping that they would so that they might have someone else to pester. Ranma could see how good-looking his friend was, but he'd be damned if he ever said anything like that. He'd never been told that it is okay for a guy to recognize another as attractive. According to Genma, such statements are girly and completely unmanly.
Of course, if the fiancées had arrived before the departure of Kasumi and her date, they would have been very disappointed by the reaction of Paladin to any advances they might make. For some reason he would only have playful banter with any of them, if that much. Kasumi was another matter entirely. He actually flirted with her. Many times he was flirting with her and asking himself exactly what the hell he thought he was doing. But he couldn't keep from doing it.
He'd even taken the opportunity to ask Bell through a mirror if they were playing with his mind at one point over the previous weekend. She had assured him that they were still unable to even peer enough into his mind to ascertain his desires, let alone manipulate him. "Jerrod, perhaps it is just the natural result of the need of a young father to have a woman in his life for his daughter?" Bell had asked when he decided it was no good and he'd just have to be more careful with how he dealt with Kasumi.
And then he'd turn around and do more flirting and showing off! 'DAMMIT! If I keep this up I'll wind up…' Jerrod left that thought where it lay without finishing it. He really didn't want to think about where he'd end up.
So there the two of them were, in a taxi headed to a three star restaurant in downtown. Kasumi as calm as she could with her nearness of the big handsome man who smelled like a wild desert with pinon and sage. Paladin being very gentlemanly with the nearness of an extremely beautiful young woman whose own scent rivaled any glade filled with spring flowers after a light rain. The cab driver was so taken by the two he even forgot to turn on the meter when they got into his cab. It turned out not to matter as the man had been very generous, handing over a few bills of very large denomination for the ride after they arrived at the destination of Renauldo's.
The matre'd held them at the door for long enough to make sure of the reservations then had the headwaiter lead them to a table near the kitchen, where Paladin pulled out her chair for her to sit first. Just before the headwaiter left, Paladin reached up and took him by the arm and had him lean over. Kasumi didn't hear what the two men said, but the waiter took on a very happy smile and left quickly after handing them their menus.
Shortly their actual service waiter arrived to take their order. Paladin hadn't even looked at his menu as he had ascertained the restaurant's venue from aroma alone. He loved Italian food! Kasumi was having trouble reading the menu, she'd not learned any Italian and the names were very hard to understand. But the pictures of the dishes looked very delicious. She had determined to just point to what she wanted when she heard Paladin, in very good Italian it sounded to her, speak to their waiter.
Their waiter then scribbled frantically on his order pad and nodded quickly. Before long another man had come to the table with a bottle of a ruby wine that looked to Kasumi as if it were very expensive and poured them both glasses after allowing Paladin to sniff at the cork. The man seemed very careful to give the first glass to Paladin and watch as he sipped it. At her date's nod of approval, the man then smiled with what looked like relief.
Before very long two small salads were brought out for them. The salads were spring herb with red leaf lettuce and raddichio, lightly seasoned with sweet vinaigrette. Then cold soup followed, Paladin told her it was gazpacho. It tasted like spicy beans to her, and he grinned when she said so. "That's because it is Miss Kasumi." He told her gently.
To this Kasumi blushed in her embarrassed naivete over the food. She hadn't known that, but he hadn't pointed out her foolishness to her. He was very sweet and patient about the whole thing. They finished the soup and a new dish came out, the entrée, it was squid in a rich red sauce on a bed of noodles. The waiter called it 'Calamari Marinara' It smelled incredible to Kasumi! She could see small bits of garlic and onion with sliced chunks of mushroom all through the sauce. Kasumi noticed that Paladin had taken the liberty to order the entire meal and had kept her from making a fool of herself by then. This was the dish she had decided on pointing out earlier. Somehow he had noticed that the picture had grabbed her attention.
All through dinner Paladin kept Kasumi entertained, answering any question that came to her mind. Unfortunately most of her questions hadn't actually been about him, but about his knowledge of the quisine they were enjoying. He went on to explain that he had learned about it from his father and grandfather. They had both been excellent cooks and shared what they had learned with him. He even promised her the recipes for everything they were eating; in fact they were in the books he had gotten for her that day. The conversation remained light and inconsequential throughout.
Kasumi would rather have learned more about him though. Paladin was so fascinating to her, coming from America and knowing so much about everything. "You must travel a great deal Mr. Macon." Kasumi said.
"I get around some Miss Kasumi. Sometimes, I think I travel too much! Other times I think I don't travel enough." When Paladin said this, his eyes had wandered to the window, with a look of minor regret. But when his eyes turned back to her, they were full of light and mischief struggling to get out.
They continued to talk, but it seemed to stay mostly on the subject of Kasumi. What her life had been like growing up, and how she had come to be in the position of principle caregiver for her family. Mr. Macon seemed to be more interested in her dull and miserable life than in telling her about his surely much more exciting one. She couldn't see that he would like to tell her all about it, his life growing up with more expectations of him than any other apart from his ancestors. As far as Jerrod could tell, there had only been one person he had met on earth so far that could come close to appreciating what he had undergone, and Ranma wouldn't believe any of it.
Kasumi wouldn't either, and Jerrod wasn't quite ready to let anyone in on his 'secret' origin. He liked them too much to allow it to damage any relationship he was developing with the Tendou's and Ranma, if it bothered the panda, too bad. But Jerrod couldn't bring himself to damage friendships with too much information about himself.
That was the thing that troubled him most about this whole 'wish' situation! Having to carry on with a fabrication of this kind. That he hadn't exactly lied to any of them didn't matter, he had still provided enough for them to make conclusions about him and his daughter. That he had actively made up Kitty's malady bothered him greatly. He could tell that there was an instant rapport between Kasumi and Kitty from that first day. His little girl followed Kasumi around as if she were the most important person around. Not that this mattered over much to Paladin, it allowed him to observe more and take care of other 'business'.
And now he was out on a date with a woman that had managed to confuse him with her inner strength and seemingly endless cheer. That he projected his own control over everything kept everyone around them both in the dark about his reaction to this girl. He hoped.
It was clear to everyone though that Kasumi was the only woman around that he actively flirted with and showed off for. While they might not be able to read his mind, they could surely read his actions. Even the brain-dead panda had an idea of something happening between Paladin and Kasumi. The only two that didn't really see it were the two most closely involved.
As the main portion of the dinner was finished Kasumi and Paladin continued to talk about nothing in particular, drinking the wine while everything settled. After fifteen minutes a man with a white smock and chef's hat approached their table, pushing a small hand trolley, two assistants with another small trolley of their own followed him. Kasumi had been in mid-question when the man cleared his throat and began performing for her.
Kasumi was completely entranced by the man and his actions while Paladin moved his chair around to sit closer to her while they watched the man in the chef's hat. While they watched, the man pulled out a medium sized copper bowl into which he separated the whites of a half dozen eggs tossing the yolks into another bowl and the shells into a container on the bottom shelf of his trolley. Kasumi was mesmerized by anything having to do with the preparation of food, and this was just that.
But more than that it was something just for her and her date. She knew what was being made, a meringue, but she didn't know what it was for. The other trolley was enclosed and had a door on it like a small refrigerator or freezer.
As the man was preparing the meringue, one of his assistants was opening the door of the boxy trolley and pulling out a large bucket of vanilla ice cream. He placed a large scoop of this into the center of two plates. With this done he handed the plates to the man who had made the meringue. The first man then took a large pastry bag and filled it with the meringue. Then he gently squeezed out a swirly twist of meringue around each scoop of ice cream, completely covering them in very short time.
The other assistant then handed him a butane torch and a bottle of cognac. The cognac was drizzled over the two dishes and then set alight with the torch. Still flaming he placed them in front of the two at the table. After a few seconds the flames went out and Paladin smiled to Kasumi. "That is Baked Alaska, with vanilla ice cream from Corsica."
When Kasumi tasted it she thought she had gone to heaven.
By the time the pair left the restaurant, Kasumi wasn't quite drunk from the wine and cognac. She wasn't staggering or slurring her words, but the world seemed a little fuzzy to her at that moment. In the vernacular, Kasumi was pleasantly buzzed. She had become a bit kittenish at this point, playfully teasing Paladin at odd moments after they left the restaurant.
Jerrod hoped she didn't drink too much to be able to enjoy the rest of the evening. He thought correctly that she'd never been out drinking very much, and felt it fortunate that they had only had a light wine and that most of the alcohol had burned out from the cognac from dessert. That coupled with dinner being eaten at the same time as the wine was drunk should alleviate the possibility of an unremembered evening.
The rest of the evening was almost a dream for Kasumi, the dancing, the lights of the city from the balcony of the fortieth floor ballroom, the stars overhead.
At the time Kasumi and Paladin were sitting down for their dinner, in the more affluent part of Nerima, a young man plotted.
The music playing in the background of the immense room that was situated somewhere inside the over large and ostentatious Kuno estate was a rare find for Tatewaki. He had been exposed to European classical music and longed to find more. He claimed it allowed him to clear his mind and make more and better plans of strategy to dispose of the evil Saotome and rescue his beloved Pig-tailed Goddess and Akane Tendou. He even found that his best thinking had been to the strains of a newly discovered composer of the late eighteenth century. The man had composed such classics as 'Was that a Beer Trolley?' 'You call THIS beer?' and 'Did somebody say FREE Beer?' The name of this composer of such classical ditty's was Aloisious Beuregard Albert Franklin Chapman William Doormat Cromwell Jefferson Michael Eugene James Dangle Potsweather LeRoy Ignatious Gonzales Gonzales Gonzales Zapata Jake Flaherty Josephine Palin Johnathan George Finnegan Canned Beans Mcgillicuddy Clease Seamus Gilliam Idle Marx O'Ghandi Jones Ishmael Henri Codswollop Smythe O'toole Johnson III. An Italian composer of German descent, which is odd as his parents were Welsh and he was born in Jamaica. His friends called him Helen.
He was equally well known for his mariachi music.
(On a side note, Aloisious Beuregard Albert Franklin Chapman William Doormat Cromwell Jefferson Michael Eugene James Dangle Potsweather LeRoy Ignatious Gonzales Gonzales Gonzales Zapata Jake Flaherty Josephine Palin Johnathan George Finnegan Canned Beans Mcgillicuddy Clease Seamus Gilliam Idle Marx O'Ghandi Jones Ishmael Henri Codswollop Smythe O'toole Johnson III was also known for various hobbies such as the largest collection of famous people's belly button lint and running up stairs two at a time, throwing open any closed door and shouting 'Ahha! Caught you Bruce…err, Mildred!' coincidentally, he knew no one by those names personally.
One further note, his wife's collection of famous peoples toenail clippings was larger than his collection of belly button lint.)
Tatewaki was listening to a new find of this composer, 'The Magic Butt Tuba' written for the Bavarian Butt Tuba, Nepalese Nose flute, and Russian Vibraphone when his capricious and devious mind, At least to him, arrived at a new plan. The plan to terrify Saotome into weakening the spells he had on the beauteous Akane and Pig-tailed one. That he had tried this once before with disastrous results was not lost upon Tatewaki. Nay, in fact he counted on Saotome losing his mind again, but this time there would be no escape for him. The last time the trap had been escapable. This time, The Evil Ranma Saotome would be locked in a cage with the terrifying fur covered beast from Burma. (Yes, I know, we really shouldn't even think about what is going to happen. But maybe Ranma will be kind to the poor critter and not hurt it too much.)
To succeed on this new plan Tatewaki needed to enlist the aid of another erstwhile opponent of Saotome's. The Amazon, Mousse, would be very useful in this particular endeavor. Tatewaki could see the scene in his minds eye now. The thrown chains of the Amazon would catch the wretched Saotome unaware, restraining him and allowing for them to throw him in the cage. Mr. Puffs would then be able to do whatever it was that big Burmese tigers do with people that are tied up. These thoughts and others reduced Tatewaki to loud maniacal laughter.
His plan was foolproof it could not fail.
Mu Tsu, just as everyone else in Nerima ward, knew that Tatewaki Kuno was an imbecile. The only thing the two of them had in common was a desire to see Saotome defeated and made a fool of. Mousse didn't, however, see any need in trying to use this particular 'weakness' against him. He remembered the last time the old ghoul had tried to defeat Ranma and the cat came out. Even Khu Lon didn't stand a chance against Ranma when he was a cat.
The fact that Neko-Ranma hadn't yet killed one of the enemies that had inadvertently brought about the mental change in Ranma, shows the level at which Saotome regarded them. Mousse knew that if any of them ever proved to be a real threat, Neko- Ranma wouldn't hesitate in killing him. As it was, he was just behaving as a cat that was the toughest on the block and could afford to play with his opponents. When Mousse had been approached for this particular endeavor by the Kuno manservant, he only briefly thought about the possibility. He quickly retired the idea to the trash heap of idiocy where it belonged.
The fact was, Mousse actually did like Ranma, and respect him. He would never admit to it, but if his own honor allowed for him to warn Saotome of the impending assault on his person by Kuno, he would. Unfortunately, his honor forbade it, if he were to warn Saotome, Xian Pu would likely use it against him the next time he decided to fight. Mousse felt that his back was to a wall on this point.
Mousse decided to be at the proposed location on the day of the attack, just in case his expertise could be used to help Saotome, only if it wouldn't come back to haunt him. He knew all about the 'honor' of the Chinese Amazons, that he knew that it didn't really exist. The Amazons, generally, would use anything to achieve their goals. Even extracting a promise on their word of honor was pointless. Mousse also decided to keep the information from the old ghoul and Shampoo if he could.
Nabiki had allowed Kitty-chan to stay up an hour longer than Kasumi and her father had been doing. This was to make up for the little one not being able to go along with her daddy and Kasumi on the dinner date. She couldn't understand why she had so suddenly taken to the idea of being 'babysitter' to Kitty-chan as quickly as she had, but she had. And Ranma had been a wonderful help with the smallest Macon. 'Maybe that's why.' Nabiki thought to herself at one point in the long evening, after the sushi had been delivered and the family had eaten their fill.
It was a legitimate excuse to be near Ranma and talk with him without Akane getting too upset. Then again, almost anything could get Akane in a jealousy sparked rage. The only fortunate thing about these rages was that Ranma was typically the only target of them.
Tonight was atypical with Akane though, instead of getting upset when Nabiki had put her hand on Ranma's shoulder to get him to look at how cute Kitty-chan was playing with the doll that the panda had gotten for her. Akane spent most of the evening trying to ingratiate herself to the little one. Her little sister even went so far as to express a desire to allow Kitty-chan to sleep in her room, since it would probably be late when Kasumi and Mr. Macon returned home.
That was something that still amazed Nabiki about this whole situation. The way the Macon's had moved in and managed to make everyone so comfortable with them being there. She knew that Mr. Macon didn't have a clue that his flirting with Kasumi as he had been doing since he arrived would get a rise from Akane. Mr. Macon, being as cosmopolitan as he was, of course would be very skilled at the art of flirtation. 'The oddest thing about it', Nabiki thought, 'he doesn't seem to realize he's doing it!'
Nabiki also felt that if Mr. Macon weren't attracted to Kasumi he wouldn't be flirting with her at all. 'He might be attracted to all three of us on some level,' she continued the thoughts on the most perplexing issue she'd encountered in her life. 'But, I don't think Akane or I would have a chance in this particular race.'
Nabiki continued her thoughts on the subject while she and Ranma played a game of Monopoly with Kitty-chan. Akane had sat in on the game briefly, but was quickly wiped out by Kitty-chan. Who could have known the cute little one could be so skilled in strategy. When Nabiki asked about how she could play the game so well, Kitty-chan just said her daddy taught her to play. "An' the bestus way to play 'Nopoly is to start small and work up!"
It turned out that Kitty-chan meant to start with the smaller properties in the game and eventually she owned almost everything. The little cute fur-ball had almost won the game before it was her bedtime. That game of Monopoly had told Nabiki something else about herself and about Ranma. What it told her about herself was that she had a lot to learn about running a business, when the daughter of a billionaire could almost beat her in only two hours. This didn't anger her in the least. It did excite her though.
What it taught her about Ranma was that one, he wasn't nearly as dumb as people might think. And two, as patient with Kitty-chan as he was, and tolerant of losing to a little girl, proved he would be ten times the father either Nabiki or he had.
Nabiki loved her father, but she wasn't blind to his stupidity and foolishness. She had no compunctions about her lack of respect for the panda, even though Genma had surprised her and Ranma both when he had left and returned with a dolly for Kitty-chan. Of course, that might have just been something to keep Mr. Macon from paying too close attention to him and his activities.
So, here Nabiki sat in the living room, the last one at the house awake. Waiting for her sister and Mr. Macon to return home. That would normally have been another indicator to Nabiki about herself that she was not acting normally, as others knew it. It wasn't that she wanted to be a mother hen to her older sister, no. It was that she had it in her head to make a full report to Mr. Macon about the evening and the task of babysitting Kitty-chan, although it had turned out to not be much of a task. Kitty-chan can be a handful, but she's always fun to be around and cute beyond words.
The word 'cute' set off alarms in Nabiki's head. 'That idiot kleptomaniac Asuza will probably do something really stupid if she ever sees Kitty-chan!'
The fathers had also decided to await the return of Nerima's favorite homebody and the strangely intimidating American. Nabiki had decided that her father was likely to start making demands on Mr. Macon before long, if the 'dating' continued. And with the panda there, there was no telling what kind of idiocy they'd figure up. 'Something else to report on to Mr. Macon.' She didn't fool herself and think that the man in question hadn't already gotten a very good idea of how the fathers operated.
It was fortunate that the fathers had fallen into saki induced slumber before long. Nabiki always thought it a very good thing the two idiots weren't violent drunks. They were masters of Anything Goes, and could be very dangerous. She knew that Ranma would never let any harm come to innocents though, even if it meant beating the crap out of both fathers.
Nabiki knew that Genma was more skilled than her own father, and Ranma regularly beats his furry butt.
Still, Nabiki waited for the two to return from the dinner and dancing date. She had the television on quietly just for something to keep her awake, occasionally she'd look at the time. She was growing a little alarmed, the clock on the VCR said it was 2:15 in the morning, they still hadn't gotten home yet. She'd just decided to put on her shoes and go out to the street to see if there was any sign of them when she heard the door rattle with someone opening it.
Nabiki stood in the entry with one shoe on as her sister and Mr. Macon stepped through the door. To her observant eye, Kasumi looked happier than she ever had before. Mr. Macon looked a bit tired, but still full of energy. 'He'll probably want to practice a little before he goes to bed.' Nabiki observed. She also noticed something else, Kasumi was holding Mr. Macon's hand, and she was very giggly. Mr. Macon also had a small smear of lipstick on his shirt. It wasn't on the collar, so Nabiki didn't think it was anything like what Akane would assume. 'They had probably done slow dancing.'
"Sooooooo, did you two have fun tonight?" Nabiki asked, trying not to sound as nosy as she knew she was being. Kasumi was her sister after all, and she had a right to know! She'd also stayed awake so she could ask Mr. Macon about her problem with the girls at school.
Kasumi leaned in to Nabiki and said in a loud whisper, "I had the mosht wunnerful thyme Nabiki! Mishtur Macon is a wunnerful dansher. And he smells sooooooooooo good too!" Apparently Kasumi had forgotten the man was still right behind her and didn't realize he was blushing at her profuse exclamations about him.
"Kasumi, you're drunk!" Nabiki gave her own exclamation. With this she turned to Mr. Macon with one eyebrow cocked in a demanding manner, her nose hairs still curling from the assault of the alcohol on her sisters breath.
Shame facedly Paladin just held up one hand and said, "Miss Kasumi discovered 'Long Island Iced Tea' Miss Nabiki. Honestly though, she only had two of them, and half of a bottle of wine at dinner, and 'Cherries Jubilee' at the ballroom. Does she drink often?"
"NO, Kasumi doesn't drink at all!" Nabiki said in a harsh whisper, confirming Paladins fears. 'No wonder she was so kittenish on the dance floor.' He thought.
"I do hope she can remember her evening, alcohol sometimes destroys the memories of the event where the drinking happened." Paladin said. He really didn't want to have Kasumi think he had taken advantage of her. He'd never do anything like that. He had an idea though.
"Miss Nabiki, could you help me take your sister to the kitchen? I have an idea for a remedy that if she has it before she sleeps, she shouldn't have the normal consequences of over indulging in adult beverages." He explained.
Together they maneuvered Kasumi through the living room to the kitchen and sat her down at the island counter on one of the stools. Nabiki sat beside her while Paladin got to work, he pulled out various herbs and vegetables with a few spices and Worcestershire sauce and put them all in the blender and pureed the lot. It was green. It was gloppy and it had an intriguing aroma to it when he was done.
Paladin poured it into a large glass and handed Kasumi two aspirin tablets along with the liquid and had Nabiki help her to drink it down. Kasumi licked her lips at the flavor of the concoction and looked like she was going to ask for more, even as her eyes were drooping closed. She slumped onto the counter and began to breathe in deeply with the normal sounds of somnolence. Paladin lifted her up in his arms as if she was no more than a feather and carried her up the stairs, with Nabiki leading the way. He put Kasumi in her bed and asked Nabiki to please get her into bed and comfortable and to make sure her alarm clock was off.
All Nabiki did was to take Kasumi's jewelry and slippers off before tossing the comforter over her. Her sister was a little heavier than she and being a dead weight it would have been impossible for her to get the task done without too much difficulty. Her staying awake like she had, pretty much wrecked her going to school the next day, so she left a note for Ranma to please take care of it for her.
Nabiki then went downstairs to let Mr. Macon know about her decision regarding school the next day. Why? She couldn't answer that herself. She still wanted to ask him about the other thing having to do with her classmates. She found him in the kitchen, cleaning up the little mess he'd made making the anti-hangover treatment for Kasumi.
"Mr. Macon?" She began
Turning to look at her, Paladin had the appearance of being worn out, but would remain where he was and wide awake for as long as he needed to be. "Yes, Miss Nabiki?"
"uhm, I don't know what your stance is going to be on a couple of things, but, I stayed up to ask you a couple of questions. I've been up too long to be able to be any good at school tomorrow and I think I'll stay home. As far as the questions go, well, they're more like favors I'd like to ask of you."
"Miss Nabiki, are your grades high enough that you can skip a day and not worry?" Paladin asked. He knew he could probably tutor both Tendou girls and Ranma to the point of graduating earlier than their peers graduate if it came down to it. But he wasn't terribly concerned with the scholastic level of Nabiki.
"My grades are better than okay Mr. Macon. I was just worried about Kasumi and you being gone for so long that I couldn't sleep." Nabiki admitted.
"So how did the evening go at home Miss Nabiki?" Paladin asked, since Nabiki was planning on remaining home the next day, he didn't feel too guilty in keeping her awake a little longer.
At that question he got a run down on the entire evening. He was even informed of some of the things that he'd noticed himself concerning Akane. Paladin kept the observations about the youngest Tendou to himself though. He was smiling at the story of Kitty beating all three of the teens at Monopoly, and at the fact that Genma had gotten her a doll. He was surprised that Nabiki had Kitty sleeping in her room.
"Kitty-chan decided that herself Mr. Macon." Nabiki said in defense of her lack of will power to say no to the littlest Macon.
They were drinking some juice at the island counter when Paladin finally asked, "Now, about these favors you wanted to ask me about?"
Nabiki had never been embarrassed about what she did to bring money into the house before. But now, her face was glowing as much as Kasumi's had been earlier, but for completely different reasons. "Well, Mr. Macon, so you'll understand why the girls are asking let me tell you why…" Nabiki then explained the whole sordid mess to Paladin.
How, when after their mother had died, Kasumi had taken over in the kitchen, giving up her life for the family. And how Nabiki had taken over bringing in money to keep the family together. She explained how she had gotten proficient at the less than savory aspects of earning money when her school wouldn't allow students to have after school jobs. She explained the betting pools, blackmail and the selling of information to her classmates.
When she got to the selling of pictures to the school body he arched an eyebrow at her. 'Now the titles of the ledgers make a bit more sense!' Paladin thought. Titles like 'Loans', Photo's', and 'Betting Pool' now had an explanation. The explanation, while unintentional, still managed to put her father in a very bad light. 'Poor kid, no wonder she's so much in control here. Her dad is a big spoiled kid that never got over his wife dying! I can understand holding the memory, but not letting go of the grief? That's too much for these girls to have to have dealt with. I'm amazed they turned out as well as they have.'
"But, since you came, I retired from my position in the 'business' and handed it off to another girl at the school. Rei is the girl I handed it off to, but she's leading the group and now they want to know about you.' Nabiki then mumbled something else that Paladin didn't quite catch.
"Could you say that again Miss Nabiki? I didn't quite understand it."
"They want me to sell them some pictures of you Mr. Macon." Nabiki repeated herself.
"Why would they want pictures of me?" Paladin asked, completely perplexed at this statement from Nabiki.