When Ranma rolled off of the couch in the morning he had to reevaluate just what he had said to Kasumi yesterday. 'Even a forest floor's better than sleeping on that lumpy thing'. He did a few stretches to work out the worst of the kinks and wandered bleary eyed into the bathroom. It was only after his shower that he noticed the small note stuck up on the large mirror. *Woke up early, went for a walk, Kasumi* He chuckled, after all who else would it have been from? Housekeeping would never do that.
He quickly got dressed and casually walked through the hallways of the floor. In the elevator he took a few moments to look down the list of things on the floor directory. He decided to just get immersed in the whole spa experience and go for a massage; after all his parents weren't here so he was able to indulge in a few 'unmanly' things while he could. He clicked the button and once again endured the horrific music as the steel box lowered itself through the massive building.
He stepped out of the box feeling a little better, smiling as he made his way through the winding corridors of the spa complex. If it hadn't been for the signs pointing him in the right direction he may never have made it back to the room, never mind get to the spa. He walked through a beaded door only to be practically hit by a wave of thick incense and heady smells that immediately made his head fuzzy. He walked up to the desk where a young Chinese girl sat reading a Manga comic, he tried to read the name but only got 'Inuya-' before the girl put the thin book down and smiled at him cheerfully.
"Are you here for a massage?" He was just thankful that her grasp of the Japanese language was better than some of the other Chinese girls he knew. He smiled pleasantly at her and suddenly the girl seemed to be paying even more attention to him, it actually unnerved him slightly.
"Um, yeah." She looked down at a small notepad with seemingly illegible scribbling across it and picked up a pen.
"Room number?" He panicked when he realised he had forgotten but luckily his room key had it inscribed on the card. "Okay then, if you go through there," She pointed down a hallway that seemed even more smothered by the aromas that permeated this place, "Chun will be with you soon." He thanked her and followed her raised arm down the corridor, turning into the first room on the right. Like the rest of the place this room was warmly lit but the scents seemed weaker, instead replaced by the slight smell of oil and flowers. He sat of the bed in the middle of the room but he didn't have to wait for long, soon he heard someone enter the room and he looked up.
"Shampoo?!" He was shocked at first, as was the young woman who entered, but when he looked closer he saw that it wasn't Shampoo. The young woman's hair was a darker shade of lilac and her features were older, more angular; however the two would have passed for sisters easily. The woman looked up at the young man in her parlour, a little shocked at his small outburst.
"Um, if you're looking for the stylist that's floor eight."
He shook his head quickly. "No, sorry, you just look a lot like somebody I know."
She smiled at him, an all too familiar smile, and he suddenly felt like running from an inevitable glomp.
"Somebody called Shampoo?" He nodded, started to hear how strange his words were. "Wouldn't you mean Xian-Pu?" He looked at her strangely, not hearing the difference in what she said and she sighed, muttering something about the Japanese under her breath. "Anyway, lay down on the table, take of your shirt and we can start." He did so with no small amount of discomfort, every time his eyes were off of the woman he expected to be mauled from behind as she shouted 'Aiyah!' He lay down and Chun began rubbing the lotion into his back, slowly working from one point of tension to the other, working in small circles designed to slowly loosen the muscles.
"Wow, you really have a lot of tension in these muscles, yet at the same time they're quite well stretched, I'm guessing you're some kind of martial artist?" He grunted as she found a particularly sensitive spot just below a nasty scar. "Sorry, I'm not really used to working physical therapy, I didn't realise any of these scars were still fresh." He mumbled not to worry about it and she continued with the massage.
Ranma was almost glad to leaving the massage parlour, while the actual massage itself was sort of relaxing there was just something wrong. Apart from the fact his masseuse looked a lot like Shampoo, something which freaked him out, there was just something missing that he couldn't place. Chun looked quite apologetic, even though he tried to smile reassuringly.
"I'm sorry, I've never worked on somebody as tense as you, maybe if you come back tomorrow-" Ranma held up a hand while fastening his shirt back up, still smiling.
"It's alright; I didn't come with high hopes. Although I might take you up on that offer." It was more said out of sympathy than anything else, Ranma knew he wasn't coming back. He left the area, giving a small parting wave to the receptionist before winding his way back through the building in the direction of the elevator. He thought about heading back up to the room but felt like that wouldn't really accomplish much; instead he hit the button for the ground floor.
He avoided the gaze of the concierge as he walked to the back of the hotel, emerging out into the hot springs area. He immediately noticed that there was no dividing wall, it was male and female springs, but he assumed that was because there were families here, and everybody was in bathing suits anyway. He grinned as a couple of kids ran past, playing some kind of high energy game that only they could enjoy for extended periods. He saw an older couple playfully scolding them but laughing at their humorous antics all the same.
He wound his way past elderly and young couples, laughing kids and men and women on their own. There were more than a few young women also checking him out but he ignored everyone, only flashing the occasional smile as people acknowledged him with a nod or a look. He found a nice secluded spot in an empty spring and slid into the steaming waters with a sigh. It felt even better than the massage as Ranma could feel all his problems and worries being leeched out by the soothing waters.
Even so, with the serene atmosphere and calming waters Ranma just couldn't find it in him to relax. There was still that missing element, something that just wouldn't allow his mind and body to calm themselves without it present. He lay his head back into the waters to try and figure it out but sat back up when he saw a familiar figure walk into the springs area. His previous problem forgotten briefly he happily waved Kasumi over to him and she smiled, walking over quickly to stand by his spring.
"Actually in the water today Ranma?"
He laughed, glad that Kasumi was finally loosening up, however she still looked uncomfortable, nervous even, as she stood in her swimwear . "Are you getting in?"
He seemed to shock her out of some deep though as she looked down in embarrassment before sliding into the waters herself, sighing with relief as it began its relaxing process on her body.
"This place is just amazing Ranma. I walked around for an hour just looking at everything they have. There's an exercise room and baths and massage parlours and training halls." She looked up at him. "Except nothing I saw there was on par with you." He looked across, blushing from the compliment. He was used to people admitting that he was a good martial artist, yet coming from Kasumi the praise seemed even greater somehow.
"Uh, thanks Kasumi, so what did you decide to do?" She looked at him, some red tingeing her cheeks and he didn't know if it was from the water or something else.
"Actually Ranma I was still looking around when you waved me over, I didn't actually do anything." She looked away like she had done something wrong, Ranma tried to smile in a comforting way but she wasn't looking at him.
"It's alright Kasumi, it's not like you have to do anything. It's a vacation; if you find just walking around relaxing then you should do it." She gave him a small smile but obviously wasn't really taking his words to heart. He grinned, standing up in the spring about to say something when suddenly a wet mass landed on his shoulders with a small splat. He froze, his mouth open ready to say something, before looking down at what was on his shoulders.
His hair had come loose from its pigtail, which of course was impossible as he had tied it himself, and now hung in a limp mass down his back and on his shoulders. He turned slowly to see a young girl of maybe five smiling sheepishly, his pigtail tie in hand as she blushed. He looked back quickly at Kasumi who was only watching expectantly, waiting to see what would happen. He realised he needed to cheer her up somehow and an idea popped into his head.
"Why you little-" There was no malice or anger in the words and Ranma couldn't help but smile in the corner of his mouth. "Get back here!" it was said in a challenging sort of way and the small child's mind immediately picked up on the signal to run away. Of course Ranma could have caught up to the girl in a matter of seconds and taken the tie without any real trouble but he knew that wouldn't be fun, for him or Kasumi. He made a show of it, running after the kid almost slowly as she delightedly squealed, running away.
He chased her about for about five minutes before shooting a glancing look at Kasumi to see what she was making of all of this. She was quite happily giggling into her hand, unable to keep in her laughter as she saw Ranma make a big display of tripping over nothing or suddenly pretending he had lost the little girl. The child's parents looked on in concern at the teenage boy for a few moments but once they understood what he was doing they too watched in amusement.
Ranma looked back around and suddenly found that the little girl was gone, he wasn't even pretending anymore she had simply vanished. He stood there briefly scratching the back of his head in genuine confusion until a small hand tapped the back of his leg. He turned and saw that the little girl had somehow managed to get behind him and was now proudly holding out his tie in her hand.
"Thanks mister, that was fun!" he laughed, going a little red from being outfoxed by a five year old, still scratching the back of his head.
"Yeah, it was." He closed her hand over the tie. "Keep it, I got plenty" The small child gave him a delighted grin which only made him redder looking into her glittering eyes, so full of innocence. She took off again, this time towards her parents and Ranma didn't chase her, instead making his way back towards Kasumi in the spring. When he got closer he saw there was another young man, about her age talking to her from the side. He quickly hid behind a large rock. He knew he shouldn't be listening in on Kasumi's conversations but he was curious now.
"-noticed you over here and I thought I'd come over and say hi." The guy sounded very confident and cocky; briefly Ranma wondered if that was what he sounded like to others.
"Oh, well that's very kind of you." The man grinned; it reminded Ranma sickeningly of a wolf.
"My name's Izanagi Kurosawa." Kasumi politely nodded, smiling but Ranma noticed that it was her usual smile, the one she wore at home as a mask. She was obviously quite uncomfortable with the whole confrontation; Ranma could tell by her body language.
"Kasumi Tendo" His smile increased and once again Ranma noted its wolfish likeness. He wasn't sure what he was doing with Kasumi but he could guess, for some reason he felt pangs of jealousy but suppressed them, this was Kasumi's business; he would leave her to it.
"It's nice to meet you Kasumi; perhaps you would enjoy my company further at dinner tonight?" Again she smiled that neutral smile; unfortunately Izanagi didn't know her well enough to know it wasn't a welcoming smile. Ranma started to feel his resolve on staying out of it falter.
"I'm sorry, but I'm here with a friend and it would be rude to leave them like that."
Izanagi just maintained his grin. "That's alright; your friend is welcome to come as well!" Ranma snickered from his cover and decided that would probably be a good time for him to enter. This guy obviously thought Kasumi had meant a female friend and Ranma decided to have some fun with that. It was a good thing he was wearing a top as he plunged his hand into a passing drink without the holder knowing, making him female. He rounded the corner and looked over the pair innocently as if he had only just arrived, he put on his best cutesy smile and with big round eyes he delicately asked.
"Oh Kasumi, who's this nice man?" Izanagi turned and looked over the new arrival, seemingly pleased by what he saw. Ranma's hair was still down and it flowed around him like a curtain of red. Kasumi was surprised at Ranma's transformation and wasn't quite sure why he had changed.
"This is-" The young man cut her off, rushing over to Ranma's side.
"I am Izanagi Kurosawa, and it is a pleasure to meet you." Ranma put on his best fake blush, managing to look shy as he put his hands behind his back, swaying side to side slightly.
"Ranko Saotome." Izanagi looked as though he was going to continue when suddenly Ranma broke out in a bout of coughing, the coughs and splutters wracking his body, startling the young man before him. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry about that, I'm quite sick right now." Izanagi backed off, flinching at each cough and fake sneeze as he decided it wasn't worth it.
"Well, it was nice meeting both of you ladies, now I must be off." Ranma smiled and called after him.
"Oh, but didn't I hear something about dinner?" He broke into another fit of fake coughs and Izanagi only increased his pace, making a hasty retreat from the springs. Ranma slid back into the warm water, triggering the change and laughing as he watched the boy practically run away. He looked around at Kasumi who was trying to give him a stern look but eventually that facade crumbled and she too was left laughing in small giggles.
"Ranma, that wasn't very nice to the poor man." Her voice didn't really agree with her words however.
"Nah, I could tell he was bothering you so I decided to have a bit of fun with him."
Kasumi looked startled that he had managed to see her discomfort even through her neutral smile. "How could you tell?"
Ranma smiled faintly, still caught up in the moment as he watched Izanagi disappear into the hotel. "I had to get good at reading body language, it helps in martial arts as if you can predict what your opponent is thinking or what he'll do next. It's a great advantage." He sighed. "It's also helped keep my life in check for the past two years as I balanced everything." Kasumi looked at him sadly, it seemed even here in a place of relaxation and healing Ranma couldn't evade his problems for very long. He looked up a moment, as if working something out in his head.
"Kasumi, why do you turn guys away?" This wasn't the first time he had seen things like this happen, a few guys had come over to talk to Kasumi when they were at the pool, he also remembered something similar when they were at the beach.
"It would be rude to leave you on your own." He was slightly touched that she was thinking about him when she did it but he also felt guilty.
"You shouldn't worry about me Kasumi; this is your holiday as well." She giggled as if there were some joke that he wasn't in on and he looked at her curiously.
"But Ranma, you've been doing the same thing the whole time." He looked at her, at first shocked but then disbelieving.
"What do you mean?" She giggled again then motioned for him to look around.
"There are lots of girls here that look at you, yet you haven't talked to a single one." He looked around and sure enough there were a few girls who suddenly hid their gaze when he saw them. There were also a few that were slightly bolder, continuing to look right at him, even when he gazed back. He gulped when one girl winked at him very suggestively. Kasumi stood up from the spring and stood to the side, slowly dripping on the floor as she looked back down at Ranma, realisation now in his eyes.
"For someone who claims to understand body language you seemed to have missed that particular sign." She laughed lightly, a small tinkling sound that made Ranma look up at her.
"So... you didn't talk to those other guys... because of me?" He got up out of the spring and hung his head guiltily. "If I'd have know I'd-" Kasumi cut him off by pulling him forward into a hug, much to the chagrin of the few girls still watching Ranma.
"Don't worry about it Ranma, I couldn't be happier with the person I'm with." Ranma wasn't quite sure what was going on and he had nearly accomplished a full body blush as he turned a few shades redder. He also was painfully aware that there were only a few thin strips of fabric between his body and Kasumi's. Nobody could fault the teenage boy for his dedication to self control. Kasumi released him, smiling gently, and slowly walked back towards the hotel with Ranma, still rather shell shocked, in tow.
They got back to the room and by that time Ranma had managed to gain a bit more of himself as he changed out of his wet clothes into his more traditional Chinese outfit. He sat on the couch, idly flicking through the television channels but not at all paying attention. He was too distracted, all he could think about was how good that hug had felt, he desperately tried to rid his mind of the thoughts but he couldn't, they were just too prominent.
Instead he tried to divert his thoughts; he remembered thinking about getting Kasumi to loosen up. While she seemed to have improved in that regard as of this morning she still didn't seem completely comfortable. He pondered on what he could possibly do to help her, but the only thing her really knew how to do was martial arts. It struck him then that Kasumi had complimented his art this morning, maybe if he offered to teach her some she could relax.
It sounded weak, even in his head, and he was sure she would refuse, even so his mind's proverbial wheels kept turning. It couldn't be anything too physical, the idea of hitting Kasumi just made him sick so he ran down a list of martial arts that he did know. While he did just amalgamate them into one style, Anything Goes; he still remembered what exactly made up one style or differentiated it from the other. A few struck him as acceptable but only one really struck him as perfect, it was a style that really he had no right knowing and was pure coincidence.
Kasumi surprised him by emerging from the bathroom, interrupting his train of thought as she came out wearing nothing but a towel. He immediately averted his eyes while she didn't even notice him there. Like before he knew he was no pervert but the urge to just take one look at Kasumi wrapped in a towel was overwhelming. He had never had these feelings before and they confused him to the point he became distressed. Kasumi returned to the bathroom and Ranma let out a great sigh of relief; he had almost caved into his feelings.
Now his train of thought was irrevocably derailed as all he could picture was that one fleeting glance he had gotten of Kasumi, as well as a few more of her in a bikini his mind threw in for good measure. He groaned and flopped down on the couch, wishing that he could personify his mind for a moment and introduce it to his fists. He turned the television up louder, hoping to drown out his thoughts but nothing worked.
Eventually Kasumi emerged again, this time wearing a nice dress that he had seen her wear before, but this time there was no apron covering it. It was a simple look, but it complimented her well, a fact that was once again painfully reminded to Ranma. He smiled at her, doing his best to hide his inner confusion and she smiled back, not noticing the too subtle change in the pigtailed teen.
"Hey Kasumi, I've been thinking, and it's alright if you don't want to, but, do you want to learn some martial arts?"
She looked at him sceptically for a moment, just like he thought she wasn't interested. "But Ranma, I don't want to hurt anybody."
He realised that if that was her objection then this might work after all. "No, I wouldn't do anything like that" With a not too small blush he added "I couldn't hurt you. It would be Tai Chi; it's a mostly meditative style of martial arts." Kasumi looked at him curiously, wondering why Ranma knew a style of martial arts that wasn't actually beneficial to his fighting. It didn't seem like something Genma would actively teach the boy and as if he were reading her mind he explained.
"Pop didn't teach me it. It was during our trip in China, before Jusenkyo. Pop would leave me with a dojo's sensei for a few days while he got us some money to continue our trip. I had wanted to learn the style for a while but never got the chance with Pop watching me all the time. I asked the sensei's to teach me instead. I got about four or five days with each one and I had just about mastered it by the time we got to Jusenkyo. Pop doesn't even know that I learned it, it wouldn't be manly enough for him." Kasumi listened patiently, intrigued by his story.
"Why are there martial arts that aren't focused on violence?" Ranma looked up, actually happy that Kasumi was taking an interest in something he knew very well.
"It's based on the idea that force meeting force only creates pain. Tai Chi uses the idea of softly redirecting the attacks instead, using calm instead of anger." Kasumi was suddenly more interested at Ranma's analogy of softness against force. He looked up tentatively. "So would you like to learn some?" Kasumi thought for a moment, it had never really been a dream of hers, nor part of her future, to learn martial arts. Her father had been insistent when she was a child as, of the three of his daughters, she showed the most promise.
She had been saved from that when Akane had really become invested in the style as a coping mechanism to deal with their mother's death and Soun was too busy grieving to stop her. However, here and now, she thought that it might be a good idea to try something new and, with a smile, she realised she couldn't have asked for a better teacher. She looked up at Ranma and nodded, bringing a grin to his own face. Ranma was finally in his element and he couldn't be happier.
Ranma stood across from Kasumi who was breathing heavily; he had tied his hair into a pigtail once again. Kasumi had only brought swimwear and dresses along with her so didn't have anything loose fitting that was appropriate for martial arts. Instead Ranma had lent her a set of his clothes, his usual black pants and a light blue, sleeveless version of his Chinese shirt. They were of a similar height so the clothes actually fit quite well and Ranma honestly thought she looked good in them.
At first Kasumi had been somewhat uncomfortable in trousers but that disappeared when Ranma had started the training. She realised now that, had she been wearing a skirt, her movement would have been severely hampered and would have affected her ability to complete the various manoeuvres. She had grown used to the feel of the material against her legs as time went on and now she was less focused on that, more so on the actual training.
Ranma was heavily impressed with his pupil, she proved an apt learner, only taking a few minutes to regain all of what her father had taught her when she was so young. It saved Ranma having to re-teach her the basics, instead launching right into the Tai Chi itself after a warm up exercise. Kasumi kept in shape but she found it difficult to keep up with the pigtailed teen as he moved and flowed through the katas he was demonstrating. It was even more worrying when she realised he was taking it easy on her.
Even so she was invigorated by the entire experience. It was new and refreshing and difficult but instead of discouraging her she only wanted to try harder and do better next time. It helped that Ranma was her teacher; he was encouraging and thoughtful, never taking her beyond her limits yet always getting her to push them herself. He was also beautiful to watch; Tai Chi was a slow, delicate style that was heightened in beauty by its calm, measured movements but even Kasumi could feel the power behind it all. After a time Ranma brought her to a stop, signalling that they were done and she looked at him in disappointment.
"Is it over already?" he smiled at her in a bemused way, a brow raised in question.
"Kasumi, we've been working for three hours." She looked over at the clock on the wall of the small dojo in amazement. She never would have thought they had spent that long, the time simply seemed to ebb away as she learned and Ranma taught. He looked at her appraisingly, "So how was it?" He was actually concerned by her answer but didn't show it, for all intents and purposes Kasumi was his first student, with perhaps more to come if he decided to go down that route and become a master.
"It was incredible." His heart did a little leap; he hadn't thought they were doing all that much to be honest, all very basic level stuff. However he realised that for somebody like Kasumi, who had been straining to do the things so ingrained into his own muscles, it must have been very different. She looked up at him with something new in her eyes he hadn't seen before, respect. "You are a great teacher Ranma, any student would be lucky to have you." He grinned stupidly at the praise.
"Well you're a good student, I couldn't believe you remembered all the basics so easily." She shrugged at him, an action he had never seen Kasumi do before, it was much too off handed for her.
"Never tell Akane but father always tells me that if he had chosen one of his daughters to take on the art it would have been me." Ranma looked at her shocked; nowhere in his mind could he imagine Kasumi out breaking bricks like Akane. Then again he rationalised that she wouldn't reduce herself to such a thing, probably more likely to actually learn new techniques rather than dwell on an old strength building exercise like it alone was enough to make her a blackbelt.
"Well I can see why, with a bit more training you could easily be Akane's equal, then with some more you could pass her." Then he smiled secretively. "But you aren't interested in that way, are you?" She shyly smiled but shook her head and he sighed. "Such a shame." She suddenly giggled with her hand over her mouth, looking at him strangely. "What is it?"
"That's what father always said." He didn't quite know how to take that, to have something in sync with Soun Tendo; he hadn't really imagined the day. They retired after that to get changed for dinner, they only had one more night and day here. Now that Kasumi was finally out of her shell she was ready to make the most of it.