"I am sorry for coming late..."
Kasumi stopped moving...
Her eyes went wide with surprise...
She was still in a state of disbelief. She knows this voice.
This voice…. This is…
She hastily turned to face the person and got face to face with the least person she would ever want to meet. She took a long breath and asked with a whispered tone,
"You?…."
No more words came out of Kasumi's mouth as she kept looking at Dr Tofu with wide surprised eyes. That made Akio more nervous about the situation. He hastily stood up from his sitting position and called out in a more dramatic manner,
"Oh gosh! YOU! Dr Tofu? I didn't know you were also invited here! It was a surprise party for me! What a big big surprise for me! Haha.."
Tofu stood there dumbfoundedly as he eyed Kasumi and Akio in a strange way. Then looking at Kasumi, he said with a trembling tone,
"H-hi K-Kasumi, I.. I.. you.."
"How dare you?" Kasumi whispered with a hatred-filled tone. Her eyes wide with anger,she fisted her hands by her sides as she asked him with a rage filled tone, "HOW DARE YOU COME HERE, TOFU!!"
Tofu took a step back in surprise. He fumbled a bit and said,
"I don't understand! I…. I got an invitation."
"Invitation?" Kasumi asked surprised, "Who had invited you to come here?"
Putting the gift aside, Tofu hastily searched his coat pocket and took out the note he got from Akane. He showed it to Kasumi and said,
"Akane and Ranma came to my clinic and gave it to me. They told me that you had sent the invitation letter to me."
Kasumi didn't need to read the note as she immediately recognised the paper. She angrily looked up at Akane, who was standing on the porch beside Ranma. She gave her an surprised look and asked her,
"Akane? How could you? You told me this is for.."
"It's not her fault." Ranma said as he shielded Akane by coming forward. Then with courage he told her, "I am sorry. It was my idea to do all this. Akane has no hand in this."
"Ranma?! You?" Kasumi asked in disbelief. Then her surprise turned into rage as she asked him heatedly, "BUT WHY DID YOU DO THAT?"
Tofu also angrily looked back at him. He became so furious that he didn't think much about his actions. He growled at him as he tightly gripped Ranma's collars and heatedly asked him,
"SHE IS RIGHT! HOW DARE YOU PLAY THIS DIRTY TRICK ON US, RANMA! IF YOU HAVEN'T GAVE ME THIS FALSE LATTER I WOULD HAVE NEVER COME HERE!"
Tofu was so furious at Ranma that he began to shake him violently. Akane reacted quickly and tried to move Tofu's hands from Ranma's collar, but his hold on him was so tight that she failed. She also didn't use full force at first, but when she saw Tofu was overdoing it, she decided to use all her power to push him aside. Then as if a magic had happened, Tofu's hands were roughly pushed away as he fumbled backwards. Akane looked at the person in front of her and saw that her oneechan was the one who had pushed Tofu aside from Ranma.
"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM!"
Kasumi called out angrily, she panted hard as she furiously looked at Tofu. Then she worriedly turned towards Ranma, she gently laid her hands on his collars and started stretching the material softly. Then looking into his eyes with a worried expression, she asked him softly,
"Oh Ranma, dear, did he hurt you? Are you alright?"
Kasumi's retort surprised everyone, mostly Ranma. Here he thought Kasumi would be angry at him and would tell him off. But here she was! Worrying about him, caring for him! For a moment he began to wonder as he looked at Kasumi, how God had made these Tendo girls? To him, it feels as if they were angels fallen from the sky. He gave a long breath. A small smile came to his lip as he said,
"Thank you. I am fine. Don't worry." He then looked down feeling ashamed as he said, "I am so sorry about what I did. I thought you would be angry at me, but here you are, saving me.."
Kasumi smiled with misery. Her eyes filled with tears as she said with a shaky tone,
"Oh my! Why would I be angry with you, dear? Sorry, did I scream at you too loudly? I am sure you had a good intention for doing it. I trust you, Ranma. And I also trust my imouto. Oh my, stop crying already, Akane!"
Ranma looked back surprised and noticed that Akane was literally sobbing, hiding her face on her palms. Kasumi gently pulled her towards her and said,
"Don't worry, sweetie; I am sure you made up this plan to make me happy. Maybe you guys had a misunderstanding about something. But I think you guys are clear now. Didn't you hear what this man just said? He wouldn't have come here if you guys hadn't tricked him! He doesn't want to come here. He doesn't care! He doesn't.."
"Oh Oneechan..." Akane said with a shaky tone.
Kasumi couldn't hold her tears anymore as she said, "He never understood, Akane and he will never understand. He is a dense person. Heartless! He is a coward! I don't want to be around with him.. I don't want to see him."
Kasumi backed out from them and said, "Please tell this person to leave. Give me some alone time, please. I promise I will come down in an hour and celebrate Akio's birthday with you again."
"No! I can't leave you alone, Oneechan!" Akane said with a worried tone.
Kasumi sighed, she composed herself and said,
"Dont worry about me. I will be fine, Akane. I have seen more hardships in my life; this small incident won't effect me at all!" She looked at Tofu and said angrily, "I won't let any stranger ruin my happiness anymore!! I hope I won't see this guy when I come down again.."
Kasumi left the place in haste. When Kasumi left the place, Tofu looked down giving a long frustrated sigh as he said in a low disappointed tone,
"I ... I trusted you guys! But you guys betrayed me. You guys shouldn't have done that."
Saying that defeatedly, he also left the place in a quick motion.
"That moron!" Ranma muttered angrily. He attempted to follow Tofu, but Akane held him back and said in a frustrated tone,
"Where do you think you are going, huh?"
Ranma gave her a look of urgency and said, "Akane! I have to go and talk to him!"
"NO! Are you mad? I won't let you go anywhere." Akane said, on the verge of tears.
Ranma stopped and turned around towards her. He held her shoulders and said softly,
"Please, Kane, don't stop me! I told you, I would see the end of this."
"Ranma! The way Tofu left, do you still think he loves one can."
Ranma sighed angrily and said, "All I know is Oneechan still has feelings for him! And the way she had told me that she trust me, I don't want to let her down. So please.."
Akane removed her hand from his wrist and let him go. He smiled at her and without a second word, he left the place in haste.
"Hello.. Yeah, Tofu had left and Ranma left as well to follow him."
Akane turned in surprise and saw Akio was talking over his personal cell phone. She gave him a curious look as he said over the phone,
"Oh! You are already here? Yes, okay I will be on my way.."
"Who are you talking with, Akio?"
Akio hid the phone inside his pocket and urgently walked towards Akane. He smirked down at her and said,
"It's action time, Akane! Wanna come with me?"
"Huh? But what about, Oneechan? We can't leave her alone!"
Akio looked back at her window and said,
"Our Oneechan is strong, Akane. Now its very important for us to confront Tofu. Ranma can't do it alone."
He hastily grabbed her hand and started pulling her with him. Akane started running beside him as she asked,
"But who were you talking with?"
"You'll see.."
Ranma saw Tofu running towards his house with blind force. He tried to call out to him many times, but he didn't stop, only increased his speed more.
Ranma growled angrily when he saw Tofu almost reach his gate. Once he would enter his premises, he knew he wouldn't have a chance to talk to him. Ranma increased his speed as well and called out to him furiously,
"RUN AWAY, YA MORON! I AM GLAD KASUMI TOLD YA OFF!! YOU DON'T DESERVE A WOMAN LIKE HER, YOU COWARD !!*"
That made Tofu stop. Ranma also stopped running , he bent down slightly and tried to catch his breath. Tofu also turned to look at Ranma while panting hard, as he said with a harsh tone,
"DON'T SAY SOMETHING THAT YOU DON'T KNOW, RANMA! I AM NOT A COWARD! You don't know anything about me! I am.. I am not a coward!"
Tofu's voice broke down as he said that. Ranma looked up at his face, he felt pity as he looked into his eyes. But he had to get through his brain now, so he decided to act hard in front of him.
"I know everything, Dr Tofu. And that's why we wanted to get you two together. But what you did just now is very cowardly! You shouldn't have run away from there like that."
Tofu heatedly looked up at him and said,
"I SHOULDN'T HAVE!? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND,RANMA! SHE DIDN'T WANT TO SEE ME! DIDN'T YOU HEAR WHAT SHE SAID BACK THERE?"
Ranma growled back at him and lashed out angrily,
"I SHOULD BE THE ONE ASKING YOU THIS! DIDN'T YOU HEAR WHAT SHE SAID BACK THERE?"
"SHE TOLD ME TO LEAVE!"
"BECAUSE YOU SEEMED WAY TOO SELFISH WHEN YOU TOLD HER THAT YOU WOULDN'T GO THERE IF WE HADN'T TRICKED YA!"
"Oh how shameful! Did he really say it there? How pathetic!"
Ranma instantly recognised the woman's voice. He hastily turned to look at that person, his eyes went wide with surprise and he became completely blank for a few moments.
Akio and Akane arrived at the place just when Ranma was yelling at Tofu. But before they could join Ranma, they also heard the woman's voice and paused . Akio smirked as he looked at her with a wide grin on his face and as for Akane, she stood by his side dumbfoundedly.
The street became oddly quiet, only the tik tok sounds of fine heels was audible. Nabiki appeared infront of all them, wearing an oversized white coat and white three quarter trousers. Her big fashion clean glasses were complimenting her gorgeous face as she smiled through her red lips and looked at Ranma. She strightway walked towards him, smirked softly and greeted him by kissing both his cheeks.
"Oh hello, Ranma! You look handsome when you're angry, you know that.."
Akane's low growl snapped Akio's stupor. He looked at her and saw that, she was practically burning with rage. She was about to launch her attack on Nabiki and Ranma; but Akio hastily grabbed her arms and stopped her from moving. She angrily stared at him and said in a deadly tone,
"Let me go, Akio! What is she doing here?"
Akio blinked his eyes in confusion as he asked her,
"Why are you so ticked off suddenly! Chill, Akane! She came here to help us."
"HELP US! How!! By flirting with Ranma?"
Akio gave her a funny look and said, "She is not flirting, she is just greating him!"
"Oh really? Then why is she not greeting us like that then?" She asked frustratingly.
Akio shrugged his shoulders and looked ahead at the scene. Akio showed her to keep quiet as he said,
"Calm down for now! Just watch, don't react. Please Akane, for oneechan."
"But who the hell called her to come here?"
To answer her question, he smirked and winked at her and said,
"I also know how to surprise people, you know.."
Akane growled at him and smacked him on his shoulder.
Ranma shook his head, still in disbelief. He gulped hard as he began to feel nervous about the playful way she was looking at him. As if reading his nervousness, she decided to give him some time to compose himself. Nabiki smiled at him and shook her head. She then slowly turned to face Tofu and said,
"Nice to meet you too, Dr."
"Nabiki?" Tofu asked with a whispered tone, "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I had to come. My sister's engagement is under threat!"
"Sister's engagement?!" Tofu asked confused, "Are you talking about Akane?"
Nabiki smirked and shook her head and said with a bold tone,
"Akane is strong enough to make her own decision, Dr. I am not talking about her; I am talking about Kasumi here."
"Kasumi?" Tofu gulped hard and asked her in an unsure tone, "K-kasumi is getting engaged? With whom?"
"Whom you ask?"
Tofu nodded eagerly, to which Nabiki laughed softly. Then looking into his eyes, she said,
"Well, to our Ranma of course! Whom else?" Nabiki said as a matter of fact.
"What!" Ranma whispered and gave her a horrified look.
"What!" Tofu whispered in disbelief.
"WHAT!!"*
Akane's scream draws everyone's attention towards her. Ranma fearfully looked at her and Nabiki just rolled her eyes at her while smirking. Akane looked ready to blast in rage, but Akio held her shoulders and whispered to her ear,
"Calm down! It's for our oneechan! Take a deep breath.. Calmdown, calmdown!"
Tofu shook his head in disbelief and said,
"This can't be real! You are just messing up with me, aren't you? Ranma can't marry Kasumi! He is younger than her!"
Nabiki growled and said,
"So what if she is older than him? I also married an older guy. Ranma has no problem with that! Isn't it, Ranma?"
Nabiki eyed him meaningfully. But Ranma was still at a shock and loss for words.
"But I thought Ranma and Akane are close together!" Tofu said with a panicked tone.
"Well, he will soon be a part of the family." Nabiki hooked her arm around Ranma's arm and said, "Look, I am also close with Ranma, does that mean he is dating me as well?"
Nabiki then looked at Ranma with full of emotions in her eyes as she said dramatically,
"Poor him, he is such a sweet innocent guy. Father had sent him to woo Kasumi, but my ludicrous imouto had told him everything about Kasumi's past.."
"Why... she!!" Akane tried to protest against it, but Akio doesn't let her leave.
Nabiki continued her act anyways, "Ranma would have married Kasumi right away. But he is so generous, when he found out about you and Kasumi; he wanted to check if you guys share the same feelings for each other still now."
She paused and looked at Ranma and said,
"See Ranma, I told you, Tofu don't love Kasumi anymore! Maybe because of her previous marriage he lost his interest on her.. So sad! Anyways, You don't have any problem with her past, do you?" Ranma was still in shock to answer her. But he shook his head anyway to let her know his answer. She smirked seeing that and said, "That's good! You should now stop worrying about them and propose to Kasumi right away, dear.."
"I DO LOVE HER!" Tofu lashed out saying it out loud. He glared at them at first; after a moment he looked down defeatedly and kept repeating to himself, "I don't care what her past was.. I love her. I love her so much. I will always love her.."
"Tsk! You love her? Really? What a joke!" Nabiki said with an angry tone. "Then what are you waiting for? Why haven't you gone to her and tell her that.. Who is stopping you, Dr?"
Akane had enough of standing in the shadows. She pushed Akio aside and rushed towards Tofu and stood in front of him. Taking his hand on her, she asked him in a sad tone,
"Oh Dr Tofu, no one is going to object anymore. I know what our father did, and now the time has come to tell the truth to Kasumi. Go to her and tell her everything, Dr Tofu. I know she will understand and she will forgive you.. Please Dr Tofu! You have to tell her how you feel about her, please, before its too late. What do you guys say?"
Akane turned to look at Ranma and Nabiki, and found that Akio also stood beside Ranma. She saw red when she saw Nabiki was whispering something into Ranma's ear and he was blushing madly as he listened to her attentively. She frowned when the three of them looked at her when she asked them that question and tried to act as if they didn't do anything. Akio cleared his voice and asked,
"What do you mean, Akane?"
She growled angrily, suddenly feeling out of the team. She lost her temper at them and said,
"Idiot!! I told him that to go and TALK WITH ONEECHAN!"
"But why?" Akio asked nonchalantly, "He already told Oneechan that he went there because you tricked him! Don't force him anymore, Akane! What do you say, Ranma?"
The pat on his back from Akio indicated to him that this is his time to speak. Ranma cleared his voice and said with a frightened tone,
"Yeah. Yeah right! Umm.. I don't think we should stretch this situation anymore."
Akane was shocked at first, then soon her shock turned into fury. She crossed her arms in front of her chest as she asked Ranma,
"And what do you mean by that?"
Ranma fumbled a bit, but said, "Well, I gave them time, aint I? Now .. now I don't wanna give them any more time."
"What time are you talking about? What are you planning to do then, huh?" Akane asked him with a deadly tone.
Ranma gulped hard as he noticed how scary she looked at that moment. Then he tried to say again,
"Well, well…. well I.. I.. I'll ask Kasumi to marry me!"
Akane was ready to make Ranma eat his own words; but Tofu beat her to it as he yelled at Ranma saying,
"SHE WILL NEVER ACCEPT YOU AS HER HUSBAND!"
"How can you be so sure about that?" Nabiki defended.
Akio also joined her as he said,
"Of course she will accept him as her husband! Dr Tofu, you also saw how oneechan was caring for Ranma back at our home when you tried to hurt him."
"Is that so, Akio?" Nabiki asked, surprised .
"Yes! She even pushed Tofu aside to help Ranma."
"Oh really? Awwww!! That's so romantic."
"AHH!! THIS IS NOT ROMANTIC!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS TALKING ABOUT?!" Akane fully lost her temper as she began to argue with Nabiki.
"Why Akane? What's wrong with it!" Nabiki asked, arrogantly.
"Do you even know what are you saying, Nabiki? Ranma and Kasumi! HAVE YOU GONE INSANE?" Akane argued, feeling frustrated.
"Well of course! Why not! They both want it then why not!" Nabiki replied.
"THEY DON'T WANT IT!"
"THEY DO WANT IT!"
"NO!! KEEP QUIET !! WHO EVEN CALLED YOU HERE!!"
"YOU CANT COME BETWEEN TWO LOVERS, AKANE!!"
"I SEE NO LOVERS HERE!! DR TOFU IS READY TO CONFESS TO HER! LET HIM DO THAT!!"
"HE GOT HIS TIME! NO MORE!! NOW ITS RANMA'S TIME!!"
"AHHH!!! I CAN'T STAND YOU, NABIKI!!"
Ranma wanted to dig a hole for himself and hide inside it as he kept hearing the unstoppable quarrel between the two Tendo sisters . On one hand, Akane was angry at him and on the other hand Nabiki and Akio were fussing about his relationship with Kasumi. He became so scared to see Akane's reaction, he wanted to stop the act right then and there. But then Nabiki whispered to him, they are doing it to provoke Tofu to pressure him, so that he would confess his feelings for Kasumi. And if he really want good for Kasumi, he have to take this torture and lie to Tofu. With no choice left, he had to agree with them. The conflict between Akane and Nabiki's silent war intensified double and it was making him crazy. He couldn't take it anymore! He roared loudly and lashed out angrily, saying,
"JUST KEEP QUIET YOU TWO, DAMN IT!" The girls stopped arguing and looked at Ranma. He glared at Tofu and said angrily,
"HEY DOC! NOW LISTEN TO ME LOUD AND CLEAR! IF YA HAVE ANY FEELING FOR KASUMI GO AND TELL HER NOW!! OR… OR.."
"OR WHAT RANMA?" Akane asked angrily.
Ranma shifted his glare from Akane to Tofu as he said with a hard tone,
"I won't ask Kasumi to marry me! I WILL FORCEFULLY TAKE HER TO THE COURT TOMORROW MORNING AND MARRY HER THEN AND THERE!! YOU HEARD ME COWARD!"
"GO FOR IT, RANMA!!"
"That's the man I know!"
Akio praised Ranma and Nabiki started clapping for his bravery. Akane stood there completely surprised, he mouth wide open with surprise as no words came out of her mouth anymore. Although Ranma's nervous system had broken down inside him, he acted strong in front of them and stood with his head high. He fisted his hands by his sides, took a long gust in and asked him angrily,
"So?! What would you do now, Dr Tofu?"
A/N: So, what will Dr Tofu do now!! Hahaha.. Poor Ranma. Sandwiched between his two angels ;p!!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please write your review to me, I would really appreciate that :). I really need your kind support to continue this fic. Believe me I cant do this alone anymore. I need my readers help to boost my confidence so that I can finish this fic. So please..
Thank you again. See you in the next chapter.