Unscheduled Meetings
"Yumi, darling, come to the table for a minute, I have wonderful news," Maëlys enthused as she walked into Dark Waters. "Oh, and please bring a cappuccino," she added as she went over to sit with Ursula. A few minutes later, Yumi set down the drink, and taking a moment to look around and make sure she wasn't needed elsewhere, pulled up a chair and sat down.
"Thank you," Maëlys said, flashing Yumi a warm smile. "As I said, I have wonderful news. I have begun a career—you are now looking at the new rising star at Nerima's most prestigious fashion house!"
"That's great!" exclaimed Yumi. "I'm so happy for you!"
"Yeah, that's good," Ursula agreed, "you'll be able to start pitching in for expenses."
"Indeed. More than that, I'll be treating you both to a celebratory dinner. Once you show me your finest outfits, I will make arrangements at an appropriate venue." Maëlys's cheeks pinked slightly, and she added more quietly, "And I'd also like to have a more private celebration with you afterwards, Yumi."
"I'd like that too," Yumi said with a faint blush.
"Fine with me," Ursula said.
The door's bell rang as a customer entered and Yumi quickly stood up. "Congratulations again. You'll have to tell me more about your job later." As she headed for the counter, she paused to glance back at her girlfriends and wonder for the hundredth time how her life had reached its current state.
o0o
Frowning, Ranma stared down at the living room table. She was the Avatar of Light; she had bigger things to worry about than killing a challenger but not in the right way. Losing sleep over it or even caring about it in the slightest was stupid. All that mattered was that the challenger was defeated and the world was safe. She nodded as her lips shifted to a grim smile and her fingertips glowed with golden light. Really, what she needed to be worried about was acting too slowly, not acting too quickly.
A hand grasped her shoulder. She spun around in a flash of gold. There was a spray of red and a soft thump.
"No…" breathed Ranma as she stared down in horror at Kasumi's bloody body, the teacup she'd been bringing over rolling out of her lifeless hand. "Kasumi… no… Oh god, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it!" Her head whipped to the side in alarm as she heard someone descending the stairs. "Nabiki! I-I didn't mean to! It was an accident!"
Nabiki's hooded gaze shifted between Ranma and the body of her sister and her lips settled into a line. "Kasumi, stop encouraging her. It's not helping."
Ranma stared at Nabiki in confusion. "Nabiki… Kasumi's dead. I'm so sor—" she started to say remorsefully before screaming and leaping over the table as the body sat up.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Nabiki," Kasumi said, "I was just trying to help her work through things."
"I understand, but I don't think that's the right approach here," Nabiki replied as she walked the rest of the way into the room, rolling her eyes slightly as Ranma quickly scurried behind her. "Why don't you spend some time with Velgri. I'll take care of things here."
"All right," Kasumi said cheerfully as she stood up and wiped away the blood staining her clothes with a single sweep of her hand. "Good night, Nabiki, good night Ranma," she chirped as she virtually skipped to her room, not seeming to be bothered by the way Ranma shifted to keep Nabiki directly between the two of them.
"As for you," Nabiki said, turning around and poking a finger into the other girl's breastbone, "stop making such a racket and go to bed!"
"But—!"
"Go!"
Ranma ducked her head and slunk to her room. She lay down, rested her head on her pillow, and closed her eyes.
o0o
Nabiki walked down the forest trail, power flowing into her from her surroundings as she admired the natural beauty around her. Tall trees towered above, their canopies softening the light of the sun and tinting it faintly green, and their thick trunks liberally coated with moss. Beneath these titans, small and thin trees, bushes, ferns, mushrooms, flowers, and various other plants thrived in a thousand shades of green and hundreds of other colors. From underneath a large mushroom, a mouse watched her with curiosity as it nibbled on a seed held between its forepaws. She stopped for a moment and took a deep breath, inhaling the heady combined fragrance of dozens of varieties of flowers, herbs, and plants and slowly let it out.
"What a beautiful place," she remarked, a slight smile on her face as she studied a tiny plant with vibrant red berries that was just barely poking out of a carpet of moss next to the path.
She continued on, following the trail, various bits of nature capturing her attention as she walked. The path was broken by a small brook, water musically babbling over moss covered rocks, and when she crossed, she saw a fox drinking no more than half a dozen feet downstream. It barely spared her a glance when she passed. As the sound of the brook faded behind her, she frowned in thought as she heard faint voices ahead. She slowly approached and soon came to a clearing to the left of the path, where several figures were sitting on large toadstools around a wide and flat stump covered in small playing cards and chips.
The figure that immediately caught her eye was the dragon. Reaching about three feet in height above the toadstool it sat upon with its tail wrapped around itself, it had a short snout and was covered in metallic purple scales. A pair of wings were folded on its back, and it was peering at the cards held in its left talon. To its left sat the distinctive figure of a Raggedy Ann doll, complete with red yarn hair, black shoes, red and white striped socks, white pantalets, white apron, floral print dress, and shiny black eyes. The thin, hand rolled cigarette that clearly contained something other than tobacco that was dangling from her mouth was unquestionably nonstandard, though. On the doll's other side, a small woman who could only be a fairy sat on the edge of her toadstool, tiny legs dangling; Nabiki guessed she'd be a bit over two feet tall standing. She had short brown hair, in a pixie cut appropriately enough, blue butterfly wings with gold borders sprouted from her back, and she wore nothing more than a simple but elegant white dress with a pouch hanging from a golden cord around her waist. Something in her gaze and bearing gave a strong impression of honor, nobility, and trustworthiness—which Nabiki found quite impressive, considering that the top corner of an ace of spades was sticking out of her pouch.
Finally, she focused her gaze on the last member of the group as she stepped into the clearing and approached the stump. His head tilted upwards and dark eyes met hers. "N-nabiki! W-what are you doing here?" Buddy asked, cards falling from the stuffed bear's paw to reveal four kings and prompting the other players to quickly fold before turning to face Nabiki as well.
"Why, I was going for a walk and just happened to stumble across this little gathering," Nabiki replied innocently. "While we're both here, there are some things I want to talk to you about," she added, lips twitching into a smile that no one would ever describe as friendly.
"Ah… I'd love to chat with you, Nabiki, but it would be unthinkably rude to ignore my friends here—" Anything further was cut off by the purple dragon unfurling its wings and immediately taking to the air and flying away into the trees.
"I would not dream of delaying this happy reunion," the fairy stated nobly as she scooped her chips—along with those in the pot—into her pouch that somehow managed to hold them all before gracefully flying off as well.
"Ann! Please don't go!" Buddy implored the last remaining member of the group.
"Fuck that noise," Ann declared as she took a drag on her joint and hopped off her toadstool. "If you think I'm staying around after the stories you told about her, you're off your rocker." She swept her chips into a purse, and turning to Nabiki, held up a hand in a friendly gesture. "Peace out, sister." Without a look back, Ann walked off into the woods.
Buddy watched the doll leave then turned back to Nabiki and whimpered to find her now standing directly in front of him with crossed arms. "S-so, what did you want to talk about, Nabiki?"
"I want you to tell me exactly what's going on."
Buddy bowed his head for a moment then looked up to directly meet her gaze and levelly said, "You know what's going on, Nabiki."
She opened her mouth to inform the bear that no, she did not know what's going on, but closed it and frowned as she felt his words resonate within her. She took a moment to think, then scowled at Buddy. "How is it that I can tell that I do know what's going on but somehow don't actually know what I'm supposed to know?"
"That sounds like a personal issue, Nabiki, but if you don't consciously know what you know, I imagine it's because you aren't ready for that knowledge."
She gave him a long look. "You didn't come for Kasumi."
"No. I was there for you, Nabiki. Always you."
Nabiki held his gaze for another long moment, then turned and walked away without a word, not stopping until she sat down on a mossy rock on the shore of a pond in the middle of a copse of thin silver trees with gold leaves. She trailed her hand through the cool water and gazed down into her reflection's eyes. After several moments, she nodded and stood, reaching out to gently catch a falling golden leaf before going home.
oOo
"You're looking much better this morning," Akane remarked as Ranma walked over to the breakfast table with a spring in his step and took a seat. "Did you sleep well?"
"Like a baby," he replied cheerfully as he dug into his food, thankfully at a reasonably civil pace. She supposed that whatever issues she may have with Velgri, she owed the fox her gratitude for improving their guest's table manners.
"I'm glad. Do you have any plans for the day?"
"Probably just walk around. I got a good night's sleep, but I still need to clear my head, sort things out," he replied with a frown. "How about you?"
"I need to spend time with Sayuri."
"Need to?"
"Oh, don't get me wrong, I like spending time with her, but well, when I left the other night, I stayed with Yuka."
"Yeah?"
"When I needed to stay with someone, I called Yuka, and not Sayuri. So now I need to do something that's just the two of us to show her that she's just as important to me as Yuka is."
"Oh."
"We'll probably go shopping, get lunch, and then see a movie. There's a remake of Romeo and Juliet that looks really interesting."
"Uh huh," Ranma replied absently.
Akane frowned briefly. "And then we'll fly to China and challenge Mint and Lime to a fight."
"Sounds like fun," Ranma noted as he finished the last of his food.
"Doesn't it!" Akane replied cheerfully. "And once we beat them, we'll fight Prince Herb and Saffron for the championship."
"I'm sure you'll do great. See you later."
Ranma brought his dishes to the kitchen, left the house, and was halfway down the walkway before he stopped short. "Herb and Saffron?!"
He ran back to the house, threw the door open, and cringed and closed his eyes as he found himself face to face with a scowling Akane holding a glass of water already pulled back to be thrown in his face. When a second passed with no splash, he carefully opened one eye to see Akane's scowl slowly lessening as she took deep breaths and eventually lowered the water.
"I… I did it," she said, letting out a shaky breath.
"Uh…?"
"I said I was going to work on controlling my temper, and I did it. Not that you make it easy," she snapped.
"Uh, good job," he said carefully. "So what was that about Herb and Saffron…?"
Akane gave him a brief glare before deliberately taking a sip of water. "Since what I was saying was too boring to keep your attention, I decided to make it more interesting."
"Ah," Ranma said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, I've got a lot on my mind right now…"
She deflated. "No, I'm sorry. With everything that's happened, I shouldn't blame you for getting lost in thought."
"Okay. So, I guess I'll see you later," he said awkwardly.
Akane smiled at him. "Have a nice walk."
"Thanks," he said, a hint of red on his cheeks. "Good luck with the championship."
Akane frowned as she watched him leave. "Either he's a complete idiot or he's been spending too much time with Nabiki…"
oOo
Most people who went for a walk to clear their minds would go to a park, find a trail in the woods, traverse the bank of a scenic lake, or if none of the above were options, walk along the sidewalk. If asked, anyone who knew Ranma would be quick to declare he wasn't most people, and the fact that his "walk" took the form of strolling across rooftops and leaping to its neighbor when he ran out of roof completely supported this popular opinion.
Ranma frowned slightly as he absentmindedly hopped to the roof of a shop. The beautiful night of restful dreamless sleep had done wonders for him, but Ryouga's death still preyed on his mind. There was no doubt one of them had to die the moment Ryouga had issued his challenge as the Avatar of Darkness, and he thought he'd accepted that. It sucked hard that he'd had to fight his rival, friend of sorts, even, to the death, but he felt he could accept that, even if he wasn't happy about it. But somehow, the way it had ended…
"Ranma, m'boy!" a very unwelcome voice called happily as its very unwelcome owner bounded over a fan to land in front of him. Ranma sighed and readied himself for whatever annoyance the ancient perverted grandmaster of the Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū was going to throw his way this time. The tiny old man opened his mouth to say more, but then to Ranma's surprise, frowned and perched himself atop a duct. "Sit," he said in a serious tone.
Ranma was about to blow him off, but the gravity in the old man's voice and expression had him sitting down across from him. They sat in silence for a long moment, the only motion being Happosai taking out his pipe, lighting it, and bringing it to his mouth. Finally, the old man asked, "Who was it?"
"Huh?"
"Who did you kill, boy?"
"What?! How did you know?" Ranma demanded. When the only response was a puff on the pipe and expectant silence, he sighed. "Yeah, ok, I guess you've been doing this for a pretty long time. It was … Ryouga."
"Finally got fed up with his crap, huh?" the old man asked with an understanding nod.
"No! It was an official challenge." Ranma inhaled deeply and sighed. "To the death."
"Ah. Didn't want to accept it but couldn't refuse, huh?"
"Yeah… but that's not really the part that's bothering me. I mean, it does bother me, but it's what happened during the fight."
"I've seen it before," Happosai said, nodding knowingly. "Two youngsters fighting, their blood is pumping, both their passions high, and in the heat of the moment, they forget they're supposed to be fighting and instead—"
"That's not what happened!"
"No? It would have explained why you look like crap if you had to kill him afterwards. Fine, tell me what happened, then."
"Okay," he said, looking into space as he recalled the events, "he challenged me and we headed to an out of the way place to fight, but he insisted on starting on the way. It seemed remote enough, so we went at it—not that way!—and after a bit, he missed with a ki attack and blasted away some trees to reveal there were houses pretty close." Ranma glanced at the old man briefly and saw him nodding slightly, eyes closed. "Well, I wanted us to move someplace further away, but he refused and even threatened to blast the houses if I left."
Ranma sighed deeply and shook his head. "I knew that us fighting there could get a bunch of people killed, so I convinced him that the new, um, body strengthening technique he was using had a pretty serious permanent side effect. When he dropped it to prove me wrong, I hit him with a cheap shot, figuring it'd hurt him enough to make the fight short or make him mad enough to chase me somewhere else. Instead … it just killed him," Ranma finished softly, dropping his gaze.
"I know it doesn't make sense. If I was planning to fight him to the death anyway, what difference does it make if I surprised him with a cheap shot?" He looked up to see the old man nodding sympathetically. "I, I guess I feel like he deserved better. It sucked that I had to kill him, but after all we'd been through, he deserved a real fight. We had a rivalry and kinda friendship for years—if it was going to end with a fight to the death, it should have been an epic battle, not a trick and a cheap shot. Damnit, Ryouga, why couldn't you have just fought me at…" He trailed off, eyes widening.
"The only reason we didn't have our epic battle was because he refused to fight somewhere else and threatened innocent people to make sure I stayed there. He didn't deserve better. It should have been a fight for the ages, would have been one, and the only reason it wasn't was because Ryouga made sure it wouldn't be." Ranma's posture subtly shifted, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "I hate how things ended, but I'm done beating myself up over it."
Ranma hopped to his feet and gave Happosai a look of respect as the old man nodded again. "Thanks, old letch. I can't believe I'm saying this, but you were actually helpful for once."
Ranma ran to the edge of the roof and leapt over the street to another building, almost feeling like he could fly now that the terrible weight of killing Ryouga's was vastly lessened. Back on the duct, eyes still closed, Happosai nodded again. A few moments later, a soft snore escaped him.
oOo
"Man, I wonder what a real fight between us would have been like," Ranma sighed as he sat with his back against the tree in the Tendou yard. "We'd both have Avatar strength, speed, and durability, and on top of that, full access to both our regular techniques and our Avatar abilities." He shook his head. "Ryouga, you idiot… I don't even know what special abilities you had because you got yourself killed before I could see more than a couple."
He sighed again. "It really would have been something… Maybe I would have even needed to use my super form."
"Why would you do that?" Velgri asked from the branch above him, making him flail and fall over in surprise.
"How long have you been up there?" he asked as he sat back up.
"About fifteen minutes longer than you've been down there."
"Huh. Anyway, I was wondering if Ryouga would have pushed me hard enough that I'd need to use my super form."
"Since the Avatar of Darkness generally doesn't use attacks that target your sense of self or conceptual existence, I think it would be extremely unlikely."
"Wait, is that what it's for? I thought it made me, you know, more powerful."
"It does. Conceptually."
"But not physically?"
"No."
"Oh. So, I'd use it against things like … brainwashing or an attack that would just, like, erase me?"
"Essentially."
"Did you ever tell me that before?"
"On our initial training trip, yes. I don't believe it came up in our refresher session, though." She cocked her head. "Maybe we should have another, in case anything else was missed."
"I really don't think that's necessary," Ranma said as he quickly got up and headed into the house. "Gotta go! I think I heard Kasumi calling me." He was almost to the front door when the eldest Tendou daughter came down the stairs.
"Oh, are you going out?" Kasumi asked. "Would you mind picking up a few things for me from the stores?"
"Uh… sure."
Two minutes later, he paused for a moment on his way to the store. "Wait, since when do foxes climb trees?"
oOo
"Okay, let's see where I need to go first," Ranma said as he pulled out the shopping list.
"Well, I'll be," a man's voice called, distracting him, "is that little Ranma Saotome? Why, it is! There's no mistaking those handsome features, that poise, and such a distinctive sense of style! Good to meet you, young man!"
Ranma looked up in surprise to see an approaching middle aged man in a gray business suit wearing a trilby and carrying a briefcase in his left hand, a beaming smile on his face and his right hand extended for a handshake. "Uh, hi," he said, holding his hand out to be vigorously pumped.
"It really is amazing how spot on my boy's description of you is. Thinks the world of you, he does, by the way—you've been a huge help and inspiration to him over the years. It's always Ranma this, Ranma that... I'm delighted I finally have the chance to thank you for it."
"Ah, it's not necessary," Ranma said, flushing at the praise. "And, uh, I'm sorry, but who are you?"
The man laughed and awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, of course you wouldn't know who I am! What boy goes around flashing pictures of his old man to his friends?" He clapped a hand on Ranma's shoulder. "It's a pleasure to meet you, son. I'm Michio Hibiki, Ryouga's father."
Ranma stiffened under Michio's hand as the color drained from his face. "Uh, w-well, I think you maybe got the wrong idea. Ryouga and I weren't—aren't—that close. We pretty much fight and argue most of the time."
Ryouga's father squeezed Ranma's shoulder. "Oh, don't worry about that, I know how boys are," he laughed. "Why, that's nearly a declaration of undying love at your age! My boy may have been ranting and raving about you, even as you led him to school every day, but no matter what he was saying, it was always about you. Frankly, me and the little lady have been wondering if there was something more growing between the two of you…"
"No! We were ju—are just rivals. Why does everyone keep saying that?"
"Ah, so everyone keeps seeing something more between the two of you, do they?" Michio slyly asked, giving his shoulder a friendly pat before removing it.
"There is nothing between us," growled Ranma.
"Sorry, sorry," Michio said, holding up his hands placatingly. "Just having a bit of fun. I should know better. The little lady never says anything, but I can tell that she only laughs at my jokes to be polite. As an apology, I'll buy you lunch. Well, honestly, I'd insist on treating my boy's best friend anyway, but now I have another reason. Are you hungry enough for two lunches?" he laughed.
"Uh… you don't have to do that. Really."
"I will not take no for an answer, young man! I've wanted to meet you for ages, and this is the least I can do to repay you for everything you've done for my Ryouga."
"I'm not really hungry," Ranma said weakly, not even lying as his appetite fled at the older man's words.
"You'll change your tune when food's in front of you; boys your age can't help it. Especially considering I know where the best burger joint in the city is hidden away. Come on, son, you won't deny this old man a chance to talk about his pride and joy, will you?"
"...no."
"That's the spirit! And not hungry, my foot. You're so famished, you're practically pale as milk."
oOo
"Now, this place is a true hidden gem," Michio said as he waved his arm. "Would you believe it's been around since just after the war?"
Ranma took in the white counter and table tops speckled with gold flecks and wrapped with grooved steel bands on the sides, the shiny red leather stools and booth seats, the gleaming soda fountain, and the signs on the wall advertising items such as genuine Coca~Cola for a nickel. "Yes. Yes I would."
"You can't find quality like this nowadays," Michio said firmly. "Most places these days use cheap, mass produced ingredients and are hobbled by endless rules and regulations."
"Like … health regulations?" Ranma asked hesitantly.
"Ha! Good one!" the older man crowed, clapping him on the back and guiding them to the booth. "Let me order for us both; son, trust me, you won't be disappointed."
"Uh, okay. I'm not really hungry, though…"
Michio winked at him. "Sure you're not," he said, holding up a hand. A moment later, a waiter dressed in black slacks, a white shirt, red and white striped apron, red bowtie and a white paper cap atop his head arrived at their booth.
"Welcome back, sir! What can I get for you and your friend today?"
"A cheeseburger for me and a double for the young man, both with the works, two orders of onion rings, a cherry Coca Cola for me, and a chocolate malt for my friend."
"Coming right up, sir!" the waiter exclaimed before turning and striding off like a man with a mission.
Michio nodded in satisfaction and turned back to his dining companion. "So, how are you doing, son? Everything's good, I hope."
"Ah… it could be better," Ranma replied weakly.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. But try not to let it get to you—things will always look up sooner or later. Why, there have been plenty of times when things looked grim for my Ryouga, but I always have faith that he'll persevere and be all right in the end." Michio peered at Ranma for a moment before turning and calling to the waiter. "Just bring out things as they're ready! My young friend looks like he's about to pass out from hunger!"
"I-I'm fine," Ranma protested, jumping slightly as two plates of thick onion rings, a tall vintage shake glass containing a thick, frothy brown liquid, and smaller glass shaped a bit like an upside down bell filled with a dark fizzing liquid were set on the table.
"Two pumps of cherry syrup, just how you like it, sir!" the waiter cheerfully exclaimed. "I'll have the rest of your order out in a few minutes."
"Good lad," Michio said approvingly as the waiter turned and hurried back to the grill. "Eat, son, eat!" he exhorted Ranma. "How will I be able to face my boy if I let his best friend starve to death right in front of me?"
Ranma swallowed and reached out for a golden onion ring and took a bite. It tasted like sawdust in his mouth.
"Now, isn't that a great onion ring?"
"Delicious," Ranma replied with a weak smile.
"Just wait until you try your burger!" He smiled and shook his head, gazing into space as Ranma choked down the rest of the onion ring. "I'm glad I finally got to meet you. My boy owes a lot to you. You inspire him, drive him to being better than he'd be otherwise. He wouldn't be where he is today if not for you. Whoa! Slow down, son! Don't choke on your food! Have some of your malt."
Michio shook his head as Ranma took a sip of his drink and got his coughing under control. "You've got to be more careful, lad. You have far too much potential to be done in by an onion ring. So young and already so accomplished… Undisputed heir to your school of martial arts, a major player in the Nerima community, someone who can hold his own against or even defeat figures straight out of legends… Why, you're even the Avatar of Light, at your age—I'll wager you're the first boy to manage that!"
Ranma stared at Michio wide-eyed. "You, you know?"
"Of course I know, son. Didn't my boy tell you it's a family position? I would have expected that to come up in the pre-fight banter."
"H-he did." Ranma looked around. "So, all of this was just—"
"No, son, I meant everything I said. You were my boy's closest friend and I honestly do appreciate everything you've done for him. I certainly can't hold you winning the challenge against you."
"I … I'm sorr—"
"Hey, none of that. You have nothing to be sorry for. I know you didn't want to kill your friend, but that's the burden we bear as men, having to carry out our duty no matter how much it hurts. I'm proud of you, Ranma."
Ranma cringed. "Are you sure you're not just trying to make me feel horrible?"
"Oh well, maybe just a bit," Michio laughed, "but can you really blame me?"
The scowl he got in response said yes, he could, but after a moment Ranma sighed and shook his head. "I guess not… But please stop."
"Fine, fine. Ah, here come our burgers! Do try to enjoy the food, son; I do love seeing someone appreciating a good meal."
"Yeah, okay. I'll try." He took a bite of his burger and his eyes widened. "This really is good!"
"Good, good! Now, don't wolf it down, son. You won't be able to come back here after I'm dead, you know."
"I'm going to be the dead one if you keep doing that!" Ranma wheezed once he'd recovered from his coughing fit. "What are you talking about, after you're dead?"
"Oh, well I was going to wait until after we were done, but I'm challenging you, Avatar."
"Absolutely not!" snapped Ranma.
"We both know that's not how this works, son," Michio said softly.
"Why?" Ranma pleaded. "I don't want to kill Ryouga's dad too…"
"Ah, well, apparently my boy let his passions get the better of him and didn't have a very good showing in his challenge. His handler was pretty upset about it and activated me—to send a message more than anything, honestly." He rubbed the back of his head. "I'm afraid I'm not likely to have a very good showing either. I've practiced with the powers a bit, but my boy was the fighter in the family."
"And you can't say no?"
"I'm afraid not."
"There must be something we can do!" When Michio just smiled sadly and shook his head, Ranma scowled. "Fine. I'll accept your challenge in a month."
"I appreciate what you're trying to do, son, but making me wait a month isn't doing me any favors. I … I'm not the sort of man who can appreciate life on a timer, and I'm worried about what my handler might do in that time if you make him wait. If you really want to help me, let me enjoy a good meal with my boy's best friend and put an end to this business today, before anything worse happens."
Ranma clenched his fist. "I… Are you sure?" At the older man's nod, he exhaled sharply. "Fine. I don't like it, but if that's what you want…"
Michio smiled. "I'd be a bit concerned if you did like it." He took a bite of an onion ring and savored the taste. "Mmmm… Just try to enjoy the food, Ranma. Help make my last meal a good one, that's all I ask."
Ranma gave a hesitant nod and ate another onion ring, determined to give it the appreciation it deserved. "This really is good…"
The two focused their attention on the food for the remainder of the meal, with only light conversation, mostly about food. Eventually the plates were cleared away and Michio leaned back and enjoyed a cigarette.
"Thank you, son. You know, actually there is one other thing you could do for me. Please mail this letter after the challenge. I'd send it now, but in the incredibly unlikely event I manage to win, well, that would be very awkward. Uh, don't deliver it yourself, I don't think that'd go over well."
"I will."
"Lovely." He handed over a letter, then checked his watch. "You can probably even get it into today's post. I don't think our fight will last long at all."
It didn't.
oOo
The grandmaster of the Musabetsu Kakutō Ryū shoved open the door to the Tendou home and bounced into the living room. "I'm home!" he declared. "What's for dinner?" He took in the occupants of the room, enjoying the looks of terror on the faces of Soun and Genma as they clutched each other, the groan from Akane as her head slumped, the placid smile of Kasumi as she stroked the lavender fox in her la—
"Oh, hell no!" Happosai heartily exclaimed under his breath before cheerfully crying, "Well, I'm off on a training trip. I'll be back in five years or so!" and hastily bouncing back out the front door.
"He's gone, Tendou!" shouted Genma as he jumped to his feet.
"For five years!" cried Soun as he leapt up to hook arms with his friend and danced a jig.
Akane groaned and thumped her head against the table at her father's antics, then stiffened and quickly sat up as she abruptly felt a dangerous presence next to her. She immediately turned to see Ranma, a stony expression on her face and a dark look in her eyes, facing her sister.
"Kasumi," Ranma said in an even voice that still somehow came across like a growl, "I need to have a word with your girlfriend."
"I'm awake," Velgri said, raising her head as Soun abruptly tripped over the game table, taking Genma down with him. "We can talk in the dojo."
As Velgri jumped down from Kasumi's lap and walked to the dojo, Akane met Ranma's eyes and hesitantly asked, "Should I…?"
"Yeah, you can come."
"Are… are you all right?"
When the other girl just turned and walked away without answering, Akane shivered and followed her to the dojo.
Author's note (1/27/25): As always, thanks to Sunshine Temple for proofreading and feedback. Comments, reviews, and discussion are always appreciated (except flames or spam). I won't say they make me write faster, but getting them is encouraging, and they do make me think about this story, which does often lead to writing more.
