A/N: Don't hurt me, my evil Jaquel-twin! I hate face cream! (Heh, you know who you are...) Anyway, this chapters gonna be a doozy—for you guys, the characters, and me who has to write it all. P Anyway, hopefully this doesn't totally flop. Good luck to myself!
Adopted
Chapter 4
Akane sat quietly, periodically brining her chopsticks to her mouth. The little boy, whose name was Hikaru, sat in her lap, messily eating with a chopstick in either hand. Yunshin was sitting on Akane's left, eating his food with his usual tenacity. Kimiko sat on Akane's other side, eyeing Yunshin's eating with a disgusted look.
They had come in from the backyard when Nabiki asked if dinner was ready. They dragged more cushions toward the table for Yunshin and Kimiko. Akane wasn't fidgety or nervous; she sat as if nothing had happened, as if she had never been gone. She didn't even seem to notice the awkward silence or the questioning stares of the other people at the table.
Ranma felt the frustration welling up in his chest. How could she just sit there as if nothing was wrong? How dare she just waltz back into their lives and assume that everything would be hunky-dory? He wanted to shake her by the shoulders and demand she tell him everything. And yet, at the same time, he wanted to hold her against him and scold her for being so careless and making them worry. It just made him more frustrated to be indecisive.
He looked at Kasumi and Soun. They were moving slowly, as if through mud or a dream. Nabiki was herself, eating normally and simply ignoring her ringing cell phone. Genma was looking around awkwardly, as if he wasn't sure whether or not he ought to be there.
"More please!" Yunshin said to Kasumi when his bowl was scraped clean.
"Ugh, that's your third bowl!" Kimiko cried scathingly.
Yunshin leaned around Akane to stick his tongue out at Kimiko. Kimiko took a piece of vegetable from her bowl and tossed it at Yunshin's head. Akane's chopsticks cut through the air and caught it just before it hit him in the forehead.
Akane eyed Kimiko warningly, and then looked at Yunshin. Kimiko sat back and started to eat again. Yunshin's shoulders hiked up higher as Akane narrowed her eyes at him. She reached out with a sigh and took his bowl.
"Kasumi?" She asked, her eyebrows lifting and her head tilting to the side. Kasumi looked startled at being addressed so suddenly. She looked at Akane's sincere face, blinking rapidly. "Could you?" Akane held the bowl towards Kasumi.
"O-of course," Kasumi took the bowl and refilled it with what was left in the rice cooker.
"What is this?" Kimiko asked, holding up a stir-fry vegetable.
"You've never had that before?" Nabiki asked curiously. Kimiko shook her head. Nabiki looked at her sympathetically. "Oh, right." Nabiki said, remembering the small mountainside orphanage they had grown up in.
"It's zucchini, Kimiko." Akane said. "It's a vegetable. It's good for you, put some salt on it."
Kimiko sighed and looked around as Akane turned back to Hikaru who was trying to climb across the table. Kimiko spotted the salt on the other side of Soun, who was sitting next to her.
"Could you pass the salt, Grandpa?" Kimiko asked, looking up at Soun with her big brown eyes.
Soun stared at her. His eyes suddenly rolled toward the back of his head and he flopped over backwards. Kimiko blinked as he hit the floor.
"Wow, you weren't kidding about him," She said, looking back at Yunshin.
"Told you," Yunshin said smugly.
Akane watched her father for a minute as Kimiko leaned over him to get the salt.
"You didn't tell them?" Akane looked at Nabiki, surprised.
Nabiki shrugged. "I thought I'd leave the pleasure to you."
Akane sighed exasperatedly. "Fine." She looked around the table. Soun (who had been revived by Genma's magical panda-remedy) sat up.
"Tell us what, dear?" Sound asked. He sounded uncharacteristically calm for himself, and Ranma eyed him suspiciously. In fact, everyone here seemed to be acting strangely calm. Why was that?
"Well," Akane took a deep breath as she started. "This is Kimiko, and Hikaru. You already know Yunshin." She put her arms around Kimiko and Yunshin, Hikaru squirming where he was at. She spoke slowly. "And I adopted them."
No one said anything. Ranma just blinked. Nabiki looked around amused. It seemed no one was going to ask anything, so she took it upon herself to keep the conversation rolling.
"So, Akane, maybe you should start at the beginning. Where did you go?" Nabiki smirked as Akane eyed her.
"She went to Nishao!" Yunshin piped in. "I already told you that."
Akane smiled at Yunshin. "Yes, I went there. I was looking for an old teacher of mom's. His name was Nishao; he was a great martial artist, and he's what the village was named after. He was also the owner of the orphanage.
"I went there looking for some martial arts scrolls I had learned about. He said he had them, but in return he wanted me to stay and help around the orphanage for a while. I stayed and helped as much as I could; I put in a new roof, wired the building for electricity, and cleaned out the water well nearby."
"Books!" Hikaru cut in, raising his arms in the air. He giggled happily.
"Yeah, she bought a lot of new books. We hadn't really had them before." Yunshin added.
Akane nodded, smiling at the simple suggestion from the children. But she was suddenly grim. "But Nishao's health was failing. I had been there about four months when he became really ill. He died within a week." Kimiko and Yunshin were quiet for a minute. Hikaru, not fully understanding what was going on, crawled off Akane's lap and played with Kimiko's long hair.
"Nishao had written me into his will. I owned the orphanage." Akane's eyes were serious and sad as she looked at their faces. They had all been listening quietly, hanging on her every word.
"But, of course, I couldn't run an orphanage. I spent quite a bit of money on advertising and trips into town regularly. Eventually, we started having people come to look at the orphanage. Some were looking at buying the land, some were looking at adoption. In only a few months almost all the children had been placed in loving families.
"The land was being bought buy a private investor and the orphanage was being remodeled into a hotel. Buy the end of it all, Yunshin, Kimiko, and Hikaru were the only ones left." Akane smiled down at the children next to her.
Ranma digested the information slowly. Akane had adopted three kids. Akane was a mother. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about it yet.
"How lovely." Kasumi finally commented, smiling kindly.
Soun was suddenly grinning. He reached down and pulled Kimiko into his lap. "My beautiful granddaughter!" He cooed. Kimiko looked toward Akane frantically. Akane gave her a just-go-along-with-it look. Kimiko sighed and patted Soun's shoulder.
"Well, then, son, we've always liked you! It's good to have you as part of the family!" Genma thumped Yunshin on the back. Yunshin smiled up at him cautiously.
Again, they weren't normal reactions for these people. What was with that?
"They'll do good here," Nabiki poked Hikaru's nose playfully before standing up. "As much as these children love you guys," Nabiki shot a pointed glance at Soun who was rubbing his cheek against Kimiko's hair. "I'm sure they'd like to get to bed. They've had a long journey."
"Oh, my yes," Kasumi stood quickly. "I'll draw a bath so you can wash up before bed."
"I don' wanna bath!" Hikaru cried as Yunshin dragged him after Kasumi. Akane smiled after them before turning to her dad.
"Um, dad?" She slowly pried his arms away. Kimiko hurtled out of Soun's lap and into Akane's arms. "We'll see you tomorrow, ok, dad?" She stood and turned toward the bathroom, Kimiko right behind her.
Genma burst out laughing. "Haha! Well, Soun, you're a lucky man!"
Soun laughed too and put an arm around Genma. "That I am, Saotome!"
"How about a bottle of sake to celebrate, eh?"
"Sounds wonderful!"
They stood from the table and ventured out to the porch, still laughing.
Ranma stared after them. How could they be taking this so lightly?
"Don't worry about it," Nabiki said, looking down at Ranma. "They're still in shock. Kasumi too." She patted Ranma on the head. "You should get some sleep. They'll all be back to normal in the morning." She chuckled to herself as she walked upstairs to her own room.
Ranma sat in Akane's desk chair, sighing in the dark. He glanced over at the bed where Akane and three other small figures slept away. They had set up blankets and pillows for the children on the floor, but one by one they had all crawled into bed with Akane. Akane had just groaned and rolled over to make room.
Ranma sat and watched them, still not really sure what to think. Akane had adopted three children? He tried not to smile at the thought. Sounds just like her, he thought. She was always bringing in stray animals and stuff. She loved being there to comfort the wounded and scared creatures. He wasn't surprised she had liked living in an orphanage.
But cats and dogs were one thing—children were completely different. He wondered how official it was, if they were legally hers. She was so young. Had she really thought this through?
But he knew Akane. She was smart. She would have thought it through before she even knew that she had had the idea. But he couldn't help but worry about her. She hadn't even graduated high school yet, was she ready to be a mother?
He sighed again. He stood from the chair and sat at the edge of the bed. This wasn't new for him. He didn't sleep much anymore, not in the middle of the night, anyway. He spent most of the time on the roof or in Akane's room. He had been coming in even before Akane had left, though after she had the room had a much less welcoming feeling. Since Yunshin had been there, it had almost recovered its cozy-ness.
Ranma watched as Yunshin rolled over, kicking Kimiko in his sleep. Yunshin was special indeed. The family had opened up to him almost immediately. And he'd been here less than a week. Even Nabiki had, and she hardly opened up to anyone. Ranma himself had even said that Yunshin would be staying, whether or not Akane came back. It was a given. Yunshin was so friendly and innocent they had unconsciously included him. Akane had made a good choice with him.
The others, on the other hand, he had no idea about. Akane had a way of instantly liking anyone. He supposed she had inherited that from Kasumi. Even if she hid it better than Kasumi, it was there. It didn't matter who they were or what they did she had a soft spot. He smiled. Even him, when they'd first met. Akane may have disliked him, but if she had truly hated him, she would have kicked him out on the streets before thinking twice. He suspected a lot of it was that she had felt sorry for him. He didn't know if these were good kids or not, though. It wouldn't matter to Akane; she would have taken them home anyway. He wondered how well they would fit with the family.
Ranma exhaled and leaned forward, elbows on his knees, running his hands through his hair. 'The family', he said, as if he was a part of it.
He glanced back toward Akane on the bed.
No, he was a part of it. After all they'd been through, it didn't matter if he married into the family or not. It was like they had just adopted him.
He grinned at the irony.
Ranma stiffened as Akane groaned and turned in her sleep. He turned just as she sat straight up. He blinked as he found himself nose to nose with her.
"Uh," Ranma swallowed, wondering what she would do. "H-hey."
She blinked sleepily for a second before she pushed his face back and fumbled at the blankets. She grunted when she couldn't pull them back because he was sitting on them. "Mmf, scoot over, Ranma..." She mumbled.
He hopped off the bed, stepping back as she got out. She swayed for a moment, waiting for things to come into focus. She turned and pulled the blanket back over the kids.
"It's'too...hot," She explained sleepily, half to Ranma half to herself as she plopped down on the floor. She pulled an abandoned blanket toward her and settled down on a pillow.
Ranma watched her for a minute. He wasn't quite sure what had just happened. She hadn't punched him, or kicked him, or thrown her desk at him. That was a new development.
He relaxed as he watched her snuggle down. He turned and slid open the window, glancing toward the bed again before he started to crawl out of it. He stiffened when a hand caught his pant leg.
"Hey."
Ranma looked back. Akane had turned towards him and was watching him through the dark.
"Thanks," She said quietly. She reached toward the bed where Yunshin's arm was hanging over the side. She took his smaller hand in hers. "For keeping an eye on him."
Ranma smiled. "Sure thing." She smiled back and turned over. Ranma smiled again as he crept out the window and slid it shut behind him. Akane waited until she could no longer hear his footsteps on the roof until she closed her eyes with a little chuckle.
"This should be fun," Nabiki muttered to Ranma as he came down the stairs the next morning. He had just woken up, rather late actually. School had started an hour ago but nobody had woken him up. In fact, as he came down stairs, Nabiki was the only one awake.
"What should be fun?" Ranma asked confused. Nabiki had been watching TV, but as he came down she switched it off and turned to face the room.
Nabiki just nodded toward the stairs as a response.
A few seconds after Ranma sat down next to Nabiki they heard moving around upstairs. Kasumi appeared at the top, still in the middle of pulling back her hair as she descended. She yawned sleepily, as she paused in front of them.
"Good morning!" She said when she saw them. "I'm going to start breakfast if you'd just wait a few minutes." She paused right before she entered the kitchen. "You know, I had the oddest dream last night."
"Oh?" Nabiki asked, trying not to smile. Nabiki elbowed Ranma and gave him a this-is-going-to-be-good look.
"Yes," Kasumi stared into space as she remembered it. "In my dream, Akane had come back." She looked pained for a minute at the mention of her sister's name. "She had brought three children with her. She adopted them." Kasumi suddenly smiled at the assumed joke. "Can you imagine?" She turned back into the kitchen, giggling.
Ranma stared after her. "How come she doesn't remember?"
"Being in shock does strange things to you." Nabiki shrugged. "Some people get delusional, some people suddenly get sick, some people go into a trauma-coma…etc. Most likely Kasumi's side effects just made it hard for her to comprehend everything, as if the whole scene was to fantastical to be real. She probably just subconsciously labeled it as a dream. Daddy's probably the same way too. Though he might act a little more extreme."
From the angle they were sitting at, they could clearly see Kasumi humming to herself as she prepared ingredients. At the same time, they had a straight view of the rest of the house.
All of a sudden things seemed to be happening. Akane's bedroom door opened and Yunshin stepped out, wearing his Gi and rubbing his eyes. He hopped down the stairs, pausing on every step to "hiya!" while punching at air.
Kimiko left Akane's room at the same time Soun left his room on the ground floor. Soun smiled at Yunshin coming down the stairs as he made his way to the bathroom. He slid the door shut just before Kimiko appeared at the top of the stairs. She followed Yunshin down the steps, scowling.
"How can you have so much energy in the morning?" Kimiko asked as she watched him almost fall down backwards from a roundhouse kick.
Hikaru trotted out of the room, only to stop at the top of the stairs and whine at Kimiko for leaving him as he started to crawl backward down them. Genma—panda form—tarumped! from the backyard only to stop in the middle of the living room to avoid Yunshin as he "hiyad!" his way through it.
Ranma watched Nabiki out of the corner of his eye. She was sitting on the edge of her seat, anticipating something.
"Here she comes!" She whispered to Ranma.
Barely after the words left her mouth he heard the front door open and close again. Akane had just come back from her morning jog. Just as Ranma was wondering why she still went on those every morning and just as Akane was slipping off her shoes in the hallway, Kasumi spotted Kimiko in the doorway to the kitchen.
Kasumi let out a surprised little squeak and dropped the large saucepan she had been holding. The saucepan bounced on the floor and flew out the kitchen door into the living room, hitting Yunshin squarely on the head. Yunshin fell over just as Kimiko, who had stepped back to avoid being hit, tripped over him. She found herself on her back, staring up as a giant panda looked back at her with wide eyes. She screamed.
The scream startled Hikaru, who turned and slipped from the step he was on. Soun exited the bathroom just in time to catch him as he fell down the stairs. Soun stared at the toddler in his hands as Hikaru started to tear up at the same time as Kimiko was standing back up. She did a roundhouse kick towards Genma, and knocked the stunned panda over into Soun. Soun dropped Hikaru on the floor as he fell under the weight of the panda. Hikaru, momentarily dazed at suddenly being dropped, began to wail loudly.
Yunshin, forced into movement by his younger brother's distress, stood abruptly, the saucepan flying off the top of his head. As Yunshin ran toward Hikaru, Kimiko blocked the saucepan that was flying towards her for a second time. It bounced off her fist and landed in the doorway of the kitchen, just as an anxious Kasumi was coming out. Kasumi tripped on the saucepan and stumbled right into Akane as she entered the living room.
"Akane?" Kasumi asked, her serene mask suddenly astonished. She put her hands on Akane's shoulders, as if not believing she was really there. There were tears in Kasumi's eyes as she put a hand to her mouth.
Akane looked at her, just as astonished. "Yes, Kasumi?"
Akane, along with Ranma and Nabiki, jumped as Kasumi suddenly shrieked. Then, all of a sudden, Akane was screaming too. They were grinning widely and hugging each other tightly. They suddenly let go and started to circle each other.
"Oh my gosh, how have you been?"
"Me? What about you?"
"Wow, you look so beautiful!"
"I'm not the only one, look at how you've grown!"
"Oh, I missed you so much!"
"Heehee! You should have seen us when you first left!"
Ranma gawked as the two girls cried out to each other excitedly. Then suddenly there was more noise. Ranma turned to see Genma trumping over to the girls with tears in his eyes. He took them both in his furry arms and picked them up off the floor. They squealed.
Soun sat up and looked on in uncertainty. Then he suddenly smiled as tears ran down his face. He put his face in his hands and sobbed.
"Oh, Kami, thank you for returning my precious daughter to me!" Soun cried loudly.
Yunshin and Kimiko watched Soun with incredulous eyes as he talked to the ceiling. Hikaru sat with a finger in his mouth, his fear and pain forgotten, his tears still in the midst of falling down his cheeks as he watched his mother laugh and scream.
"And, cut," Nabiki smirked as she reached toward the camcorder next to her and switched it off. She turned to Ranma with a smile. "Well, that was fun, don't you think?"
"PFFT!"
The screaming quieted and they all turned to look at Ranma as he hunched over, covering his mouth. He couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing, clutching his gut to keep it from popping open. Tears came to his eyes and he fell over, off the back of the couch, to lie on his back on the cushions.
"What…Haha!…the heck…pfft…was that?" He said in between breaths.
The rest of the gathered people smiled at each other before slowly regaining their composure.
"Set the table, would you?" Kasumi said to Genma before she hurriedly slipped back into the kitchen to finish breakfast. Genma saluted her with a sign that read "-Sir, yes, sir!-" He then took the bowls Kasumi handed him from the kitchen and began to circle the table.
Soun stood and crushed his youngest daughter in a hug before pulling away to kiss her on the forehead. He then pulled away and giddily skipped toward the table.
Akane grinned after him as she walked towards the miniature group gathered at the stairs. Hikaru watched Akane with wide eyes as she picked him up and brushed away his tears.
"Grown ups are freaks," Kimiko grumbled to no one in particular.
"Haha! No kidding!" Yunshin laughed as he stood and walked toward the table, Kimiko trudging after him. Akane looked back at Ranma who blinked innocently. She smiled and jerked her head for him to follow.
Breakfast was the complete opposite from dinner the previous night. There were smiles and laughter and talking…They all seemed to be talking at once, whether to Akane, or someone else, or their teacups, it didn't matter.
"So, Akane, what are you doing later?" Kasumi asked brightly. "I'm sure there are a lot of people who would like to see you."
"No, I don't have time." Akane shook her head.
"Why not?" Genma (newly human and still damp) asked through a mouthful of food.
"I'm taking the kids into town. I've got some shopping to do." Akane replied.
"Aw, man! I hate shopping!" Yunshin cried distraught.
Kimiko punched him in the arm. "You've never been shopping."
"So? Shopping is what girls do." Yunshin stuck his tongue out at her as he rubbed his arm. There was a ridiculous amount of laughter. Everyone seemed to be laughing at everything, no matter how silly.
"What are you shopping for Akane?" Nabiki asked, picking at her food.
"Clothes, mostly." Akane replied. "The kids hardly have anything that fits them properly. I'd also like to look into some other things, like schools and such—"
"Oh! Yeah, mom, I looked into some stuff while I was here!" Yunshin pulled his ever-present notebook from out of nowhere. He handed it excitedly to Akane.
"Really? How thoughtful, Yunshin." Akane smiled at him and he beamed.
"Let me see!" Kimiko took the notebook and flipped through it. "What is all this crap?"
"It's not crap, it's notes!" Yunshin snatched it back from her.
"Why would you take notes on the 'Principle's office'? No one cares about that." Kimiko crossed her arms.
"Oh, yeah? Have you seen the Furinkan High offices? They're huge!" Yunshin spread his arms so wide he almost toppled over.
"It's true," Ranma added through a mouth full of food.
"Yeah, see?" Yunshin stuck his tongue out again. She returned the favor with vigor.
"Oh my!" Kasumi exclaimed. "I suppose I'll pull Akane's old clothes out of the attic. The children must have something to wear when they go to town!"
"Yeah, we want our new family to look good," Nabiki replied with a sardonic smile.
"We have to talk, too, Nabiki," Akane said as she pulled Hikaru's hand away from her sleeve.
"Why's that?"
"About finances and such."
It was quiet for a second.
"What for, dear?" Soun asked, puzzled.
"Adding three more members to one house can cause quite a strain. We'll need to talk about some things." Akane said and Nabiki nodded. Akane again pulled Hikaru's persistent hand away.
"All right, while you're gone today I'll pull out some forms and bank books."
"Sounds good to me."
"Mommy—" Hikaru tried again.
"Not now, Hikaru," Akane said to him before turning back. Hikaru tugged on her sleeve again with a frown.
"So what are you going to do about school and things?" Genma asked curiously.
"Well, I am planning on taking the end of year exam." Akane shrugged.
"But you've been gone a year. You're going to be way behind." Soun reprimanded as if to an imaginative child.
Akane smiled triumphantly. "Actually, I'm ahead of my class. When I left, I contacted the principle from Nishao. I asked him to send me the work, and I would commit from there. Principle Kuno agreed because if he lost me, one of his best students, the GPA of the school would plummet. I actually finished school a few months ago. All I have left is taking the test."
"You what?" Ranma cried incredulously.
Genma chuckled. "Maybe you could help Ranma a bit then! He's probably what would have made the GPA plummet. Haha!"
"Can it, pops," Ranma shoved a slice of toast in his father's mouth.
"How?" Nabiki said. She looked aggravated. "How come I didn't know?"
Akane looked surprised. "You didn't?" Nabiki just scowled. "I was surprised that no one came after me, actually. I thought you did know, and you were just letting me have my space." Akane again pulled Hikaru's hand away as he shook her arm, frustrated.
"Well, I didn't," Nabiki's jaw clenched. How had something as simple as this slipped past her? She should have checked with the school very first!
"I did drop out of school under my own name, though," Akane said, trying to back peddle as she watched Nabiki. "I just reenrolled under a false name."
Nabiki just snorted and let it go for now...but she was going to fire someone for this…
Hikaru, who suddenly couldn't take being ignored anymore, crawled on the table, stood up, and cried out, "I wanna go s'opping for a bana spit ice ceam!"
There was no hesitation as everyone burst out laughing again. Akane pulled him off the table and into her lap.
"All, right, we're going already."
"This dress feels weird," Kimiko complained, pulling at the white hem.
"Oh?" Kasumi's brow puckered. "It should fit you, Akane used to wear it when she was your age."
"Akane wore this?" Kimiko asked. Kasumi nodded and Kimiko looked down at the dress in wonder, all her discomfort forgotten.
Kasumi turned back to Yunshin. He was still struggling with his belt as he tried to stuff it through his pant loops. Kasumi smiled softly. She had pulled out the boxes of Akane's old clothes and was now watching as the kids tried them on. She was glad she had kept them; they seemed to come in handy more often than not.
"Who invented these things?" Yunshin grumbled as he struggled with the belt. Kasumi had found a red shirt that would fit Yunshin, but the pants had been harder to dig out. The largest pair of jeans in the box was barely big enough to fit Yunshin. But Yunshin hadn't minded, he had stared at them in awe as he slipped them on. It upset Kasumi to think that these old hand-me-downs were probably the nicest clothes these children had ever worn.
Kasumi finally saved Yunshin from his misery as she knelt to help him with the belt.
"Oh for heaven's sake," Akane scowled at herself in the mirror. She was a wearing a dress of hers, one that she used to wear frequently, but now it just looked childish on her. Akane spun on her heal, stepped over the piles of clothes on the floor, and stalked out of her room.
Ranma, who was standing in the doorway, raised an eyebrow as she passed him. She walked down the hall and pounded on Nabiki's door.
"Nabiki! I need your help!" She looked down at what she was wearing. "I really need your help!"
Ranma walked into Akane's room as she walked into Nabiki's.
"Ranma!" Yunshin exclaimed when he saw him. "Look at this!" He gestured toward his shirt as Kasumi tucked it into his pants, the brown belt latched securely around his waist.
"Well, aren't you the handsome little devil?" Ranma grinned down at him and he beamed back up. Ranma spotted Hikaru sitting on the bed. Kasumi had put a striped shirt and overalls on him. The overalls were too big, so they had to be rolled up a ridiculous amount of times. Ranma picked Hikaru up and sat on the bed. "Well, lookie here."
"Look!" Hikaru excitedly held out the front of his overalls so Ranma could better see the printed tiger on the front. Ranma ignored the fact that it was a cat and smiled.
"You have a kitty on your clothes?"
"Yeah!" Hikaru smiled.
Ranma looked up as Akane walked back into the room. She was wearing a pair of jeans, now, and blue button up shirt. It was simple, but somehow it looked much more sophisticated on Akane. Ranma averted his eyes as hers flicked toward him.
"It seems I'll have to buy myself some new clothes as well," Akane smiled abashedly. She stopped as Ranma put Hikaru on the floor next to Kimiko. Akane put her hands on her hips. "Well who are these good looking kids?"
Yunshin grinned and Kimiko fussed with her skirt. Hikaru looked upset.
"Mommy, you know us! You our mommy!" Hikaru said, pulling on her pant leg.
Akane faked surprise. "No! You can't be my kids! You're much to good for me!"
"Mommy!" Hikaru looked up at her sadly. Kasumi giggled as Akane picked him up and spun him around.
"Oh!" Kasumi exclaimed as Kimiko stood in front of the mirror. "Kimiko let me fix your hair!" She reached forward and touched the ends of Kimiko's long, knotted hair. Kimiko gasped and flinched away, turning to glare at Kasumi. Kasumi paused, looking startled.
Akane quickly jumped in. "Kimiko, it's all right. She's just going to help you."
Kasumi smiled and picked up a brush. "Yes, I promise I'll be gentle."
Kimiko turned back around and stood quietly, bowing her head to hide the embarrassed blush as Kasumi brushed her hair.
Ranma watched Kimiko and Kasumi as Akane eased Hikaru to the ground. Akane looked thoughtful as she watched her sister and daughter. Ranma just watched, completely oblivious to all deeper meanings of female mood.
"Hey, Ranma, are you coming with us?" Yunshin put his hands on Ranma's knees and bounced up and down excitedly.
"Huh?" Ranma blinked. "Uh, well…"
"Yes, Ranma you should." Kasumi said over her shoulder. "I need some groceries picked up and I don't want to bother Akane with them. It would be very nice if you could go along."
Ranma looked at Yunshin and then at Kasumi. He looked up at Akane.
She smiled and shrugged. "I don't mind."
"All right," Ranma said. "But only if we go get some banana splits." Akane and Kasumi chuckled at the reference.
"Yay!" Yunshin threw his arms in the air and ran out the door.
"Yay!" Hikaru threw his arms up and ran after his brother.
Ranma grinned. Kids are cute, he decided.
"There, you see?" Kasumi said as she turned Kimiko around to face the mirror. Kimiko's eyes widened as she turned to and fro in the mirror. Kasumi had pulled Kimiko's hair back from her face in two high ponytails with white ribbons. Even so, her hair still fell down to her elbows. Kasumi smiled. "Did you know you have natural curl? Very classy."
Akane's eyes softened as Kimiko turned to her expectantly. "Very pretty, Kimiko."
Kimiko beamed and walked toward the door. Akane caught her shoulder. Kimiko looked up at her and Akane just glanced toward Kasumi.
"Oh, um…thank you!" Kimiko blushed and bowed quickly before dashing out the door. Kasumi giggled.
"They're not used to having so many grown ups around," Akane explained. "They'll warm up to it."
Kasumi just nodded understandingly.
A few minutes later Ranma and Akane were standing on the front step, slipping on their shoes.
It felt weird to be standing next to her so casually again. Ranma was tense, careful not to touch her or get to close. He felt like an idiot. This is how he always had used to feel, when they were younger. He thought that he'd grown out of it. He didn't know why, but she made him nervous. She always had.
"I don't know what time we'll be back." Akane said as she opened the door. The kids zoomed ahead, flinging the Dojo gates open and darting through. Ranma paused next to Akane as they reached the gates.
"Is it just me, or do you have the chills?" Akane asked looking out at the world.
"Naw, I got 'em too." Ranma replied. The streets of Nerima were not a place that one just walked out into. You had to prepare yourself; you never know what could happen.
"Think something will happen?" She asked him, already knowing the answer.
"Most definitely."
"Great. Let's go."
"Right behind you."
A/N: Am I annoying, or what? I spend all this time building up to the 'town scene' and then I just drop it. +Snicker+ What can I say? It's fun to torture people.
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