Ranma could see Kasumi bursting with excitement as the train finally reached their platform. He could barely keep up as she charged off the subway in a most un-Kasumi way. He grabbed their luggage and raced after her, only catching up when they finally emerged out into the open air with people hustling and bustling about. While Ranma had definitely enjoyed his vacation, there was just something about cities that made them feel special. Perhaps he was just used to them after living in Tokyo for two years, or maybe it was the ten years spent mostly away from large populaces and modern civilisation.
They didn't waste any time looking around and immediately took off in the direction of the Nerima district. It wasn't a long walk but it was one full of slight apprehension and anxiety as they slowly drew closer to home. Soon the garden wall was in view and Kasumi quickened her pace until she was almost jogging towards the house. Ranma couldn't help but smile as he looked at how happy Kasumi was to be coming home. He knew she too had had a good time away but he also knew that to Kasumi, not much was more important than her family.
It was strange; Ranma was so used to being greeted at the door by Kasumi, now when they walked through the doors it was Nodoka who first saw them. She ran up to the pair of them and enveloped Ranma in a very warm hug. She was surprised when he returned it, not for very long but she enjoyed the brief mother-son exchange. He parted from the hug just as Nabiki entered the hall, smirking at the pair of them.
"Hey Kasumi, Saotome." She shot a mischievous look at Ranma "Ready to pay me back yet Ranma?" His eyes went wide and a large bead of sweat rolled down his cheek. Nabiki came over, smiling, and clasped a hand on his shoulder. "I missed you Ranma, you're just too easy to mess with." She walked past him to Kasumi and the two sisters started talking animatedly about the trip. Nodoka watched the whole thing pleasantly before turning her attention back to her son.
"Well Ranma, aren't you going to greet your fiancée now?" He looked up at her, slightly startled and honestly the thought hadn't actually crossed his mind yet.
"Um, yeah. I guess." He need not have bothered as at that moment Akane came trudging down the stairs. Ranma had held mixed feelings about this moment; on some level he was happy to see Akane again, she was a friend after all. On another level he was actually a little frightened at what her reaction would be. She was obviously angry or annoyed but luckily he had talked to Kasumi and they had discussed just what to do in this situation. He quickly ran forward before Akane could say a word and scooped her up into a large hug, taking the blue-haired girl completely by surprise.
"Hey 'Kane; d'ya miss me?" Akane wasn't sure what to do, all the anger and frustration was suddenly replaced by confusion before she could even react. It was confusing because she wasn't used to Ranma acting like this and because she wasn't at all sure what to make of the hug itself. Of course Genma and Soun chose that exact moment to walk in on the arrival party, immediately the waterworks began and the signs were out.
"Oh glorious day, Ranma is back now the schools can be joined!" Genma was holding a sign much to the same effect and even as a panda you could see his grin. Akane took one look at the celebrating fathers and another at Ranma, still holding her in a hug and also staring at the fathers with exasperation. Her cheeks turned red and when Ranma turned back around he thought it was out of embarrassment. He would have been right but it wasn't just because Akane was feeling self-conscious and before he could pull back from the hug Akane's whole expression changed.
"Ranma get off of me you pervert!" Seconds later Ranma was across the room with stars dancing in front of his eyes and Akane was trudging back up the stairs. Nodoka's gaze flickered between concern for her son and confusion at what had just happened. She did however notice Kasumi immediately run over to Ranma and see if he was okay. It was subtle but the older woman had noticed a slight change in the way Kasumi had been standing; now it was more evident in the way she acted.
Nabiki sighed and wandered off muttering about how things were already back to normal. The two fathers also chose that moment to depart, happily dancing through the house as they talked about their children already arguing like a married couple. Nodoka quietly walked over to her son who was already standing back up, Kasumi looked about ready to dash of to the kitchen and get the first aid kit but Nodoka stopped her.
"That's alright Kasumi, you go unpack and I'll take care of Ranma." She looked nervously between the two but while Nodoka's voice was gentle it brokered no argument. She nodded meekly, picked up her bags and walked off. The older woman noticed how, even in his dazed state, Ranma watched Kasumi leave. She once again looked between the two young adults, wondering what she was missing and what had changed as she brought Ranma through into the living room and sat him down.
"Really mom it's okay, I'm used to it by now." That slightly worried Nodoka, why was her son used to being hit by his own fiancee? It didn't sound right at all. All she had seen in the hallway was Ranma come in and greet his fiancée with a hug, yet he had received a painful looking blow for his troubles. She had seen this sort of thing before occasionally but only thought it was a rare occurrence, maybe she needed to ask Ranma about how rare it actually was. "Anyway mom, I'm okay so I'm going to see if Kasumi needs any help unpacking."
"Ranma, could you wait here a moment? I want to talk to you." He turned on the spot, not sure if he should be nervous or not as he was sure he hadn't done anything wrong. "It's about Akane." Well at least now he knew he should be nervous. "I want to talk to you about this whole hitting business. I understand that couples tend to fight a little bit but honey don't you think that was taking it a little far?" Ranma looked across at his mother in disbelief.
"It's not my fault she hits me mom, you saw what happened in the hallway. What did I do wrong?" Nodoka winced slightly at the heat in her son's words; perhaps she was being a little harsh. "Anyway, it's not like I ask for it." Then he grumbled under his breath "I'm never asked for it." Nodoka looked up curiously, trying to figure out what he meant when he answered the question for her. "I never asked to be her fiancée but I try and make the best of it. But it sometimes feels like I'm the only one required to try and what I do is never good enough." He walked of mumbling under his breath leaving Nodoka with some thinking to do.
She walked upstairs, her son's words still fresh in her mind. 'What did he mean by that?' She walked past Kasumi's room and saw the girl putting away her clothes and beginning the process of tidying her already immaculate room. She stepped in, watching the young woman in her element for a moment as she worked in a flash to put everything exactly where it was supposed to be. Nodoka smiled, the young woman embodied everything about the perfect Japanese housewife. She coughed, alerting the younger woman to her presence.
"Oh, hello Auntie Nodoka, is there anything I could do for you?" Ranma's mother smiled. 'Always so polite, so attentive.'
"Actually dear there is. Could you tell me about the night Ranma chose Akane as his fiancée?"
Kasumi gulped, her face growing visibly nervous for the first time in a long time.
Ranma was out in the dojo working through a set of katas he had just developed on the fly. While it was fun teaching Kasumi Tai Chi there was nothing like getting back to his art properly. He flowed through the moves, his mind on nothing but the next step or turn, blind to all else. This was how he failed to notice the two women watching him elegantly flow through his manoeuvres until the elder one coughed noticeable. He twisted gracefully out of the air to land on his feet without a sound and turned to face the two newcomers.
He saw his mother watching him, something like admiration in her eyes for the display she had just witnessed but there was also firmness in her features. Kasumi was next to her, looking away from him and his mother shyly, trying to look at anything but his inquisitive face. He rolled his neck to relieve a cramp that had started appearing and walked over to the pair, a pleasant but cautious smile in his face.
"Uh, hey mom, I thought I told you I was alright. You don't need to check up on me."
Nodoka's smile didn't waver but her eyes grew a little harder. "It's not about that Ranma. Why didn't you tell me you never chose Akane as your fiancée?"
Ranma's jaw immediately dropped open; there was no warning just the abrupt question. "What?! Um, I, but, Pop and, um Akane and..." He trailed off realising he was making absolutely no sense as his mother watched, not a bit amused. He hopelessly looked across at Kasumi who carried on avoiding his gaze, looking at the floor guiltily instead. "I thought Pop told you all about it?" Nodoka looked at him and then back towards the house, he was just glad that the look she did it with wasn't directed at him.
"Oh no, my dear husband neglected to mention that particular detail." Ranma gulped as her hand twitched next to its position by the katana. Her hand stopped and she looked back around at her son; her gaze softened and she kneeled on the floor in front of him, he did the same and after a bit of hesitation so did Kasumi. "Son, Kasumi told me what happened that night. All this time I believed that you had chosen Akane as your fiancée, so I let the occasional fight or bat tempered words go." She looked solemnly towards the ground.
"Now I see that I have been inattentive in my duties as your mother." She looked up with fierceness in her gaze that actually frightened Ranma a little. "I promise you son that I will do everything in my power to make you happy and fix this mess that I helped you get into." Ranma looked back at his mother in shock and surprise, the conviction in her voice was enough to tell him that she was deadly serious. She stood up and left him there, after a furtive glance between the two Kasumi did the same.
Ranma was just left to watch the two disappear back into the house with an increasingly sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He stood up shakily, wondering if all of that was just some exhaustion fuelled hallucination. He wiped his eyes and looked around him but everything seemed real enough. With a slightly shaking body he returned to his katas, yet his mind was far from martial arts.
Dinner was a nerve-wracking affair for everybody, nobody spoke a word and more than a few suspicious glances were thrown around. Nodoka had announced there would be a family meeting in the dojo after dinner and only she knew what it was about, even if Ranma had a small idea. Kasumi seemed to be the most affected, barely touching her food and not looking at anybody as they all ate in silence. Finally everybody was finished and they all shuffled into the dojo in silence, sitting around in a small circle as Nodoka prepared to speak.
"It has recently come to my attention that, for the past two years, my son has been forced into an engagement with a girl he had no choice in selecting." Everybody looked at the woman in shock. "While I have supported my husband in his creation of the agreement between the two schools, that does not mean that I will subject Ranma to a life of unhappiness in a forced marriage." Everybody's looks of shock only increased, even Nabiki looked perturbed. Nodoka changed from her calm but aggressive demeanour to smile at Ranma.
"I have decided that I will give Ranma another chance, a re-do, of that night when he was unfairly pushing into an engagement he obviously did not want at the time." Genma looked about ready to explode but one movement from Nodoka towards the katana on her back froze him in place in an instant. She once again turned to Ranma, a warm motherly smile on her face, and nodded at him expectantly. "Well Ranma, right now it is your right to choose your fiancee. No one here is allowed to choose for you. Do you still choose Akane?"
Ranma's eyes were as wide as dinner plates as he stared uncomprehending around the room. 'This is what my mother meant by helping?' He glanced at the various faces and reactions of the room. Genma was sitting quietly to one side, obviously furious but his eyes never left the blade that glinted in the late afternoon sunlight. Soun was so confused and shocked his mind hadn't even processed the situation enough to begin crying. Nabiki had lost her curious look and returned to her emotionless mask, even so she was glancing every so often at Ranma. Kasumi wasn't meeting his gaze again, she still held that guilty look. Akane was just as furious as Genma yet she wouldn't disrespect her elder by speaking out of turn, she just stared daggers at Ranma, as if all of this were his fault or idea.
The pressure seemed to be mounting on Ranma as one by one the rooms occupants turned to look at him, either with curiosity or suspicion. He felt himself start to sweat as he realised he still hadn't uttered a sound. His mouth opened to the tiniest degree but nothing came out but a hoarse croak, everyone continued to stare at him, boring holes into his skull with their glares. It all became too much for Ranma, the expectations, the anxiety, the pressure; He shot to his feet and bolted out of the dojo at blinding speed.
It took everybody else a few seconds to realise that Ranma had run away and everybody had different reactions. Figuring that all of this was over and they were safe from now the two fathers got up to leave but cough from Nodoka was enough to bring them back down. Akane also got to her feet and in a moment of hope Nodoka believed that she was going to run after Ranma, but she instead turned in the opposite direction and began marching off. Kasumi did in fact get up and run in the direction Ranma had taken off, sure of where she would find him. Having seen all she needed to see, Nodoka told Akane to sit back down and the younger girl did so, still obviously angry at the whole affair.
"I believe I have in fact confirmed my suspicions. Your actions now say loud and clear you are not concerned about keeping the engagement to my son. As of right now I am shifting the engagement obligations to Kasumi Tendo." Everybody looked at her in a mixture of shock, disbelief and more than a bit of anger. His anger finally overcoming his fear of the blade Genma finally spoke out.
"Nodoka what are you doing? You'll jeopardise the entire engagement!" Nodoka rounded on her husband with cold eyes and an even voice.
"Be quiet husband, as the clan leader it is my right to change any arrangements made that affect our house. Remember that it was you who gave up the tile of clan leader so that you could go on that training trip that separated my son from me for so long. Don't assume you can take back what you relinquish." His argument dead on his lips Genma sat back down, once again fearful of that length of steel that haunted his dreams on occasion.
"I really must protest Nodoka!" The older woman was actually pleasantly surprised that Soun had managed to hold together so well for so long. She had long ago respected the man, when his wife was still alive and he could still be called a man.
"Oh really Soun, and what exactly are your objections to the change of engagement?" He looked at her oddly, floundered by the abrupt question, nothing really coming to mind that he would want to admit. "There is only a three year age difference between the two of them. As I understand it, you and Kimiko were of a similar gap were you not?" She knew it was cruel to bring his wife into all of this but she felt it was the only way to really get the man to listen. "I have felt a bond growing between those two that only seems to have strengthened in their time away together so I strongly support the engagement. I have not felt a similar bond between Ranma and Akane and after two years that should not be the case if they were compatible." Soun still seemed to want to protest and Nodoka sighed internally.
"This couldn't be about the fact that it is Kasumi would it Soun? After all you are always so eager for the marriage when it was Akane who was my Ranma's fiancée. Is there something about Kasumi that makes her off limits?" Any objections Soun had after that went unspoken, he couldn't possibly defend his case anymore and sound reasonable. Nodoka finally turned to the two girls that were still here. "And you girls? Have you any objection to this change?"
Nabiki smirked, a brow raised as she curtly shook her head. 'As long as it isn't me'.
Akane was too shocked to even speak; suddenly her whole world was turned upside down in an instant. 'I'm not engaged to Ranma anymore?' That was what she wanted, wasn't it? After all this time hadn't she said that she didn't want to be engaged to Ranma? That it wasn't her choice? Yet here she was, finally allowed to leave him and she couldn't even move a muscle to object or speak. She felt as though she was looking down on her body from a third person perspective as she saw herself slowly and jerkily shake her head, the look of disbelief still apparent on her features.
Nodoka smiled, a smile that held no warmth in it whatsoever, and nodded curtly. As there were no objections then she called the whole situation closed. She stood up and walked out with Nabiki not too far behind her, the fathers and Akane were frozen in place, unable to move for the moment. Nodoka looked back sadly at the blue-haired girl, she had so hoped it could work out between her and her son, yet she had even shaken her head when she had the chance to defend her claim. Perhaps she really had been blinded to what was really going on. However there was something else she had to put right with her son before she could rest easy.
Kasumi found Ranma exactly where she thought she would, it took her a while to get through the house and up onto the roof but sure enough Ranma was there with his legs pulled in close to his body. He was seated at the very tip of the roof with his face burying in his knees, not moving or doing anything. Kasumi very carefully walked up the slope of the roof, making sure not to fall this time, and slowly sat down next to the near-catatonic boy.
He didn't react to her presence so she just at down next to him for a while, looking up at the sky and the clouds slowly drifting by. Eventually Ranma started to unravel from his tight position and he looked across at Kasumi, his eyes watery but he hadn't cried yet. He looked like he wanted to speak and Kasumi patiently waited for him to do so; when instead he hung his head down and stayed quiet Kasumi started.
"Ranma, why did you run away?" It was a simple enough question and she hoped it would at least get a response, something to get Ranma out of this state. He raised his head again, watching a single cloud lazily wind its way through the afternoon sky. It had a pink hue cast by the slowly setting sun and he wondered for just a moment how amazing it must be to be a cloud, with no responsibilities and cares, just floating through the sky on eddies and currents of wind.
"It was too much." Kasumi was glad he had finally talked; the silence was becoming thick and unnerving. She wasn't used to Ranma being the one not willing to speak, he was always so full of life, read to jump in and do anything. "And I was scared." That shocked Kasumi to the very core, something she had thought she would never hear Ranma admitting was that he was scared; of cats maybe but he could always blame his father. Scared for something that was entirely his own, she wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't heard it.
"To think I had to make a decision, one that would change my life permanently and I had no idea what the consequences were. I was more scared than I had ever been. It's not like a fight where if you make a mistake or a bad move you at least know what was going to happen. Here I had nothing, nothing to go on except a few feelings and everybody's expectant gaze, wanting me to give an answer." The way he put it made Kasumi realise just how nerve-wracking it really must have been.
"And the worst part was..." Kasumi looked across at him, surprised that it could get worse, but he was still looking away from her, following that same cloud with his eyes. "I finally had a choice. After two years, somebody had finally given me a choice, something that I had a say in, and I wasn't being forced or coerced." His head dropped back down and the look in his eyes was dark and self-loathing "And I ruined it." Kasumi could practically feel the pain radiating off of the body with his revelation.
"I proved to everybody that I wasn't fit to make a choice, that I was a scared child who couldn't make up my mind, that I had to have something decided for me." Kasumi wanted to shake him, tell him that it wasn't true but she was rooted to the spot by the emotion in his voice. Ranma finally looked at her, straight into her eyes with his own crystal blue ones. The tears were gone, all that was left was a slightly dead glazed over look.
"Even worse was that I couldn't make the choice because I was just afraid..." He never broke his unblinking gaze with Kasumi. "...Afraid of what my answer would be." he dropped the gaze, looking up at the sky again as he searched desperately for that cloud again, but it was changed by the wind into an unrecognisable mass that he couldn't find. His voice now a whisper he returned his gaze to the tiles beneath him. "Because I wanted to choose you."
A deathly silence hung between them for even they didn't know how long; probably seconds, maybe minutes. Kasumi stared at the teen and he in turned stared back, both of their faces mirroring the other's blank look. Slowly, so slowly that if somebody was watching they would have noticed until it happened, Kasumi leant across the seemingly infinite gap that separated them and planted a single kiss on Ranma's cheek. His face didn't change but Ranma's eyes opened wider as his entire mental faculties fizzled to a halt.
"Ranma, don't think that you're the only one whose had their feelings change." She looked at his blank face and worried for a moment but when she saw his eye twitch and he nearly fell over backwards her mouth curled into the faintest hint of a smile. "A lot of my feelings have been changed over the last few weeks, before then I could never have thought of you..." A blush crept across her face "In the way I do now." She looked at him, having regained some composure, sadness now in her eyes. "But it can't be that way, can it?" He slowly shook his head, sadness in his features as well.
"I can't just give up on Akane like that, it's dishonourable. I was put in a situation two years ago and had plenty of opportunities to do something about it." His head drooped a little further "If I had known then what I know now..." He raised his head back up when he felt Kasumi's hand on his shoulder.
"Never look to the past Ranma, all you'll find is pain." Her eyes spoke of understanding and he knew that she must have dwelled on her mother's death for quite some time. She stood up, more certain in her movements than he thought he could be right now. "You are the most honourable person I know Ranma and I have come to care for you deeply." She wanted to look away, anywhere but his eyes, but she stayed strong. "And I hope Akane realises that."
He too stood up, strengthened in his own way by the words as he looked her in the eyes, never wanting to look away, for when he did life would start moving again. He walked towards her in small, uncertain steps until he was right in front of her. His head leaned in and she did the same and their lips met in the middle while they both felt spreading warmth through their bodies.
It didn't last long and soon he was pulling away, she did the same, and he watched her leave, moving back down the roof and into her window. He slumped back down to the roof, the feel of that sensation burned onto his lips. There was the beginnings of a smile on his face as he looked towards the horizon; it lit up with a panorama of warm colours just as the sun dipped below the distant mountains and the clouds were bathed in orange and pinks.