ShadowSoft Inc. Presents: A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic side-story "Careful Destiny" Part Three by: Todd Hill AKA Shadow Stalker Based on: Be Careful What You Wish For... written by: Richard Beaubien Inspired by the "Ranma 1/2" Manga and Anime by Rumiko Takahashi WARNING! While this story is *NOT* a lemon, it does have some adult situations in it. Read at your own discretion! LATER THAT EVENING... The door to the Tendo home slid open, and a pretty young lady stuck her head in the house, scanning the interior. "Daddy! Kasumi! I'm home!" she yelled when she couldn't see anyone. Nabiki scratched her head, puzzled at the emptiness of the house. Her father wasn't in the dojo; she'd already checked. And when she walked into the kitchen, Kasumi was nowhere to be found. Curious, she walked upstairs in search of *anyone*. Peeking her head in Akane's room, she found her younger sister still in her school clothes, asleep on the bed. Nabiki smiled to herself, knowing that Akane needed the rest after what losing Kuno and fighting those idiots from the Kendo club had put her through today. `When she wakes up, I'm gonna have to thank her for knocking that guy out. After being out of practice for so long, I figured the odds of her even joining the fight were enormous. She made me quite a bundle today.' The eager opportunist smiled at the sleeping figure of her younger sister, then quietly closed the door and walked to her own room. `I feel like taking a bath,' Nabiki thought as she entered her room, stretching her arms luxuriantly. She gathered her shorts, panties, and shirt and headed off for the bathroom. She quickly covered the distance from her room to the bath, closing the door to the dressing area behind her. Not wanting to wrinkle her uniform, Nabiki carefully shrugged herself out of the skirt and shirt, hanging them on a hook next to the door. She then took off her panties, grabbed a towel, and entered the bath. Kasumi turned from her scrubbing when she heard the door open. "Oh, hello Nabiki." "Sorry, Kasumi," Nabiki blushed, "I didn't hear any water running, so I assumed..." She stopped suddenly, and turned to walk out. Kasumi smiled winningly, and patted the empty stool next to her. "Please don't leave, Nabiki. I need to talk with you anyway." She scooted over a bit to allow some room for her younger sister, then resumed scrubbing herself. Nabiki kept her face expressionless as she walked over and sat next to her sister and began to clean off. `I wonder what's so important that we have to talk in the *bathroom?*' she asked herself curiously. She wasn't getting any clues from Kasumi's body language, but that wasn't anything unusual. Her older sister wasn't talking either, just smiling and scrubbing. `I guess I'll just have to ask her what's going on if I'm gonna find out anything...' "So what's on your mind, sis?" Nabiki asked in her patented disinterested tone. Kasumi stopped scrubbing her . "Akane told me about what happened today. She was really upset about it, too. In fact, it took me a while to get the poor girl calmed down." Nabiki nodded. `Ah. I guess our little sister didn't take the loss of Kuno-chan very well.' "I saw her in her room just a moment ago. She was asleep, so I assume she's doing okay." Kasumi looked at Nabiki directly. "I'm not so sure that she's okay Nabiki. It's was obvious to me earlier today that Akane is very fragile. The slightest thing could upset her, and she doesn't need any more problems to deal with right now." Kasumi placed a hand on Nabiki's shoulder. "Now, I want to hear everything that happened today." Nabiki dropped her soap and rag next to her stool, then crossing her legs, turned to face Kasumi directly. "Now sis, I hope you`re not thinking that *I* had anything to do with what happened ..." Kasumi shook her head, cutting Nabiki off. "I'm not thinking that at all, Nabiki. Akane was so upset that she could only give me partial details of what happened. I just want to hear it all, from you." Nabiki nodded, then launched into the details of Kuno's fight with Ranma, and the fight afterwards with the Kendo team. Kasumi sat in silence, absorbing all of the details of Nabiki's story. "And that's all I remember about today. Akane wasn't around when I left school, so I thought she'd come straight home. Looks like I was right." Kasumi frowned. "Then you didn't see what happened to her after school was over, did you?" Nabiki shook her head. "No, I had... things ... to take care of, so I didn't stick around after school. What happened?" Kasumi told her what she knew. "According to Akane, Ranma had asked her out. But she said she didn't accept because she found out that Ranma was dating Kinuko Amagi. At least, that's all I was able to get from her. I was hoping you'd be able to shed some more light on it." "Well, it was common knowledge around school that Kinuko had `taken pity' on one of the campus geeks and agreed to date him. If memory serves, it *was* Ranma Saotome that she was dating. But they broke up over three weeks ago. I know that because I had a pool going to see how long their relationship would last." Nabiki smirked to herself, remembering the windfall she'd garnered from that little enterprise. "As far as I know sis, he's not dating anyone right now. Little sis should be able to date Ranma if she wants to." Kasumi sighed, not yet satisfied. "Well, Nabiki, I'm still worried about her. Akane's not been happy since the day she was engaged to Kuno. Now that she's free of him, she's going to need some time to adjust. Jumping into another relationship right away would be the wrong thing for her to do." "I wouldn't worry Kasumi. Akane's a tough girl, and if today's fight was any indication, she's still quite capable of taking care of herself. Besides, dating Ranma might not be such a bad thing. He's got a cute bod." Nabiki laughed mischievously. Kasumi couldn't help but smile at Nabiki's comment. "You're incorrigible sis." She shook her head at her sister's openness. They sat in silence for a few moments, the soap flying as they cleansed themselves. Kasumi debated something as she scrubbed, her face becoming serious once she'd made her mind up. "I need to tell you something Nabiki, and I want you to keep it between us for now." Nabiki nodded, always willing to take free information. She crossed her arms, resting them on her knees. She then leaned forward and rested her chin on her arms. "Go ahead, sis. I'm all ears." Kasumi adopted the same pose as Nabiki. "You know that the engagement between Akane and Kuno had been arranged." Nabiki nodded. "Well, Daddy did that to cover for a previous arrangement that had been broken a long time ago." Nabiki's eyes widened. "Kasumi, are you telling me that there was a *previous* marriage arrangement for Akane?" "Not exactly. Daddy had agreed with another family before we were born that should they have a son, and our family have a daughter, they would marry the children to carry on the Anything Goes school. The agreement was broken when you and Akane were little. You probably don't remember any part of it." "You're right," Nabiki shrugged, "None of this rings a bell. Although I am glad that I wasn't forced to marry someone. Does Akane know *anything* about this previous arrangement?" Kasumi shook her head. "No, and I want it to stay that way for now, okay?" Nabiki was a little shocked at Kasumi's intensity. "Okay, sis. I won't tell Akane about this. But I don't understand why you're telling me this. Now that Akane's free of her engagement to Kuno, she should be free to look for a boyfriend, assuming there aren't any more arrangements." "No, there aren't any new arrangements that I'm aware of. But there's a *very* good reason that I'm telling you this." Kasumi paused, not sure how Nabiki would take this. "You see, Ranma's family was the one that broke the original agreement with Daddy. One of Nabiki's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Ranma Saotome? That geek engaged to one of us? You're kidding, right Kasumi?" she asked in a laughing voice. She shook her head slightly. "Nope, I'm telling you the truth." She paused for a moment, letting Nabiki digest that little bit of news, then continued. "When Ranma's father broke the agreement with Daddy, our family was severely dishonored. For many years afterward Daddy searched to find another suitor for one of us so that our family name wouldn't remain tarnished." Nabiki's head shot up in shock. "What!? You mean Daddy was willing to shack one of us up with some guy just to keep his own honor!?" Kasumi showed Nabiki a hurt look. "Nabiki, calm down! Daddy was very upset after Mr. Saotome broke their agreement..." Kasumi's mind reeled as she suddenly returned to that fateful day. <* Soun's hands clenched the receiver of the phone tightly, his knuckles turning white. Tears were streaming down his face, and his voice was trembling. "Genma, just what the *HELL* do you mean you're calling off our agreement?!" A beautiful young woman held a trembling Kasumi to her as they watched the exchange take place. She cradled a very young Akane in her free arm as she sought to console her oldest daughter. "Mommy, why's Daddy so upset?" Kasumi asked through tear-soaked cheeks. She rubbed her reddened eyes and sniffled slightly. "Shh, Kasumi-chan. I'll explain later, okay dear?" She looked into Kasumi's little face, smiling at her. "Everything will be okay," she soothed as she caressed her cheek. She turned back to look at her husband, a mixture of anger and concern evident on her face. "Now you listen to me Saotome! If you break off the engagement, I will NEVER speak to you again!" Soun thundered into the receiver. A tinny voice could barely be heard over the other end. The young woman leaned forward, and caught what Genma was saying. "...isten to me Tendo. I'm doing you a favor by breaking off this engagement. I can't have Ranma marry one of your daughters..." "Are you saying that there's something wrong with my children, Saotome?!" "No! I..." Soun cut him off furiously. "Listen carefully, Genma, because I'm only going to say this one more time. You will honor our agreement or you will never be welcome here again!" A long pause could be heard on the other end of the line. Then Genma finally spoke with a resigned voice. "I'm sorry Tendo, I can't... " Soun stood in front of the phone, his mouth agape in shock. He continued to hold the receiver in his hand, a dial tone droning softly from the speaker. Kasumi watched her mother place Akane in her playpen, then run up to him. "Soun dear, what was that all about?" Soun looked at her like she was a stranger. "What? Oh... sorry dear. Genma called to tell me that he's broken our agreement to marry our children..." he stated in an eerie monotone. She placed a hand against his back. "Soun, what does that matter? Our daughters should be free to choose whomever they want to marry, anyway." Soun shook his head violently. "NO! Genma and I swore to marry our children so that the future of the Anything Goes school of martial arts would be assured! How could he even think of breaking such a solemn promise?" Soun balled his hands into fists angrily. "Fine! If he wants it that way, then we'll never speak to them again!" She held her hands up to her face in shock. "Soun, surely you can't be serious? They're our *best friends!* I've known Nodoka since we were children." Soun ignored her. "Honor demands that we shun them, and that is what we will do." She started to protest, but Soun cut her off. "I will not debate this point! They are not to see us or speak with us *ever again!*" Her eyes tearing, she turned and ran away from her husband, leaving him alone with the receiver still in his grip. *> Kasumi wept as memories of events flooded through her mind as clearly as the day they happened. She spoke with a thick voice. "I can just remember it, Nabiki. Mommy and I saw just how hurt he was. He swore that he'd never speak to Mr. Saotome ever again, and that he'd redeem the honor of the Tendo name and the school of Anything Goes, whatever the cost. For several years after that, Mommy tried hard to help him get through it, but he was desperate, and driven. He wouldn't listen to her, always saying that the school had to have a successor. And when Mommy died, Daddy dedicated his life to undoing what Mr. Saotome had done. He'd become obsessed with insuring that the Anything Goes school would continue. He'd been unsuccessful for many years trying to find someone suitable to marry one of us. He was afraid that people thought we weren't worth marrying. That hurt him deeply, although he tried to hide it. And with him always looking for a successor to the dojo, he hardly had time to be with us..." Kasumi covered her face with her hands, unable to keep her emotions in check any longer. Nabiki frowned, disliking what she'd heard, although she had to agree with her sister. Her father had never been too prominent in her life, which meant that Kasumi had been her rock while she and Akane grew up. That made seeing Kasumi crying in front of her very hard to take because it was so *unlike* her to be this upset. She decided to shelve the information about the Saotomes for now, and concentrated instead on consoling her sister. She sat forward and grabbed Kasumi by the shoulders. "They're the reason Akane's feeling the pain she's in right now. They're the reason we didn't have a father around all the time. We owe *all* of that to Ranma's family. They're ... they're ..." Kasumi broke off, angry and bitter over what she'd been forced to watch her father and sisters endure over the years. Not being able to withstand her sister's pain any longer, Nabiki stood up and pulled her older sister to her feet, hugging her tightly. "Kasumi, it's okay now. Akane's going to be okay, and so's Daddy." She rubbed her sister's back in a comforting manner, while Kasumi held onto Nabiki desperately, burying her head between her sister's neck and shoulder and crying heavily. Nabiki fought back the few tears that had threatened to surface. She had no good recollection of any of what she just heard, so it didn't affect her the way it did Kasumi. But she was beginning to understand why her father and Kasumi behaved as they did. "You've done so much for Akane and me, sis. We love you so much," she said as she looked down to her weeping sister, and held onto her tightly. She reached up and ran a hand across Kasumi's wet face. "If it'll make you feel better, cry all you want." Kasumi continued to cry, holding on to her younger sister tightly. She had been holding her pain in for so long that it shocked her at how powerfully she wept. Nabiki brought her hand back down to rub her sister's back. She admitted to herself that she had no experience in dealing with a crying person, and it galled her that she wasn't able to comfort her sister properly. As her hand continued to glide across her sister's back, she absently noted that Kasumi was covered with cold, soapy water, and was shivering. Nabiki looked at the tub, a temporary solution for Kasumi's pain coming to her. "C'mon sis, we could both use a hot soak," she said as she guided her older sister over to the tub. Nabiki sat in the tub first, then helped Kasumi in. The tub just barely accommodated both women, but she didn't want to leave her sister alone. They sat together, with Kasumi in Nabiki's lap. She wrapped one of her arms around her older sister to hold her while the other one wiped more tears from Kasumi's cheeks. Kasumi's crying finally ended as she sat cradled in Nabiki's loving embrace. A moment later she thought about how they looked, and she couldn't help but chuckle at her predicament. "What so funny, sis?" Nabiki smiled to herself, relieved that Kasumi was no longer crying. "Akane and I were in the same position less than an hour ago. She was crying in my lap much like what I'm doing with you right now." Nabiki smiled. "Well, you looked like you could use a friend right now. So get comfortable, sis." Nabiki relaxed herself, enjoying the feeling of the hot water and Kasumi's silken skin on her own. Kasumi reclined against her younger sister, enjoying the companionship and drawing comfort from Nabiki's soft presence. "Thank you Nabiki," she said softly as she relaxed in her sister's embrace. Nabiki adjusted herself slightly in the tub so that Kasumi could submerge more of herself in the warm water. They sat together in silence for a long while, resting in the warm water. After a while, Nabiki stirred, having dozed off. Blinking a couple of times to clear her vision, she reached over and stroked Kasumi's face. "Hey, you awake sis?" she whispered into her ear. Kasumi pushed her head back so that it was touching Nabiki's shoulder. "Mmm. Yes, I was just thinking is all..." Nabiki sighed softly. "Kasumi, there's no need for you to keep dwelling on this. I understand why you're upset with the Saotome's, but that's all in the past. We'll be okay as long as us Tendo sisters stick together." Nabiki brought her free hand up to sister's shoulder and gave her an affectionate squeeze. "Don't worry so much about the past, sis. Things usually have a way of working themselves out." She then slid her hand down her sister from the shoulder to the waist, letting it drift aimlessly across Kasumi's stomach. "It's interesting, though, that the person who saved Akane from a doomed life with Kuno would wind up being Ranma Saotome," Nabiki admitted. "Yes, ironic isn't it Nabiki?" Nabiki's look became thoughtful as she considered Kasumi's words. "I wouldn't go so far as to say ironic, sis. You're assuming that Ranma doesn't know about the arranged marriage between his family and ours. He may very well know about it. In fact, that might explain why a wimpy geek like him would turn into a hot-shit martial artist all of a sudden. Maybe he's trying to redeem himself, or his family, or something..." Kasumi's mind was still clouded with feelings of anger and regret. She didn't trust a Saotome being with Akane. "I guess the only way to be sure what his motives are would be if we actually sat down and talked to him." Nabiki smiled, and patted Kasumi on the stomach. "That's actually a good idea, sis. The only question is, how do we get Ranma alone and talk to him away from Akane?" Kasumi patted Nabiki on the arm. "If anyone could figure out a way to do that, you can Nabiki." Nabiki smirked the smirk of the victorious, and raised a hand in the air. "I gladly accept all praise of my abilities." Both ladies broke into a fit of giggles. Kasumi rubbed her fingers against one of her arms, and noticed how rough her hands felt. She stood in the bath, holding a hand down to Nabiki. "I'm turning into a raisin, sis. We'd better dry off." Nabiki agreed with her older sister. She grabbed Kasumi's hand and stood up next to her, then slipped an arm around her waist. "Let's get dressed, sis. We don't want Daddy thinking we've left him alone." They grabbed their towels and headed into the dressing area. "Yes Nabiki. I've got to get dinner started anyway," Kasumi said as she closed the door behind her. **** Ranma trudged down the street, his home finally in sight. It had taken him a lot longer to get home than he would've expected. In his mental fog, Ranma had inadvertently headed from Dr. Tofu's office directly to the Tendo Dojo. He caught himself just shy of the gates to Akane's home, then angrily reversed his course and headed to his home. That extra walking had done nothing to help him clear his confusion. Instead his mind was in a constant state of useless activity. Differing thoughts about what happened today whirled chaotically through his mind, leaving him feeling uneasy about what would come next. A twinge of pain from his arms brought him back to the present. Ranma wouldn't dare admit it to his sister, but his arms were damn tired. And as much as he loved her, he wanted nothing more at the moment than to let her go. He picked up his pace, hoping to get in the house before he accidentally dropped his sister on her butt. Ranko had somehow managed to doze off while riding on her brother. She was snoring softly in her brother's ear, the exhaustion of the day catching up with her and replacing her earlier tension. Her head lolled on Ranma's shoulder, and her arms were draped lazily around his neck. Ranma smiled to himself, noting how odd it was that the Saotome genes could allow them to fall asleep anywhere. A few more paces and he arrived at the house, glad that he wouldn't be straining his aching arms much longer. Figuring that he'd have an easier time getting her in the house from the back door, Ranma walked around the house and entered the back yard. To his satisfaction the back door wasn't locked, and he slid it open with his foot with little effort. Carefully he stepped inside, mindful of not hitting Ranko's head on the door frame. He looked about the room and didn't see anyone. Nor could he hear anyone bustling around in the kitchen. Ranma frowned to himself. His father would be home any minute, but where was his Mom? He ascended the stairs slowly, Ranko's burden making the climb difficult. Only colliding with the wall twice, he managed to get to the top. Once at the top of the stairs, he could hear water running in the bathroom. `Mom must be in the bath,' Ranma thought absently. He walked to the door to his sister's room, and sliding it open, shuffled in still carrying Ranko on his back. He sat down on her bed and unwrapped her arms from around his neck. Ranko moaned slightly at being disturbed in her sleep, but otherwise did nothing. Turning at the hips, he removed both bookbags that she had been carrying on her back and set them on the floor next to her bed, then gently laid her down. Standing up and away from her, he picked both of her legs up and moved them so that she was laying properly on the bed. `I don't know how, but she's still asleep,' Ranma chuckled to himself. He put his hand against her forehead, and noted with satisfaction that unlike the time in Tofu's office, she had no fever now. He watched her sleep, and noted that she managed to look unbearably cute, even with the bandage. `Must be in the genes,' he thought jokingly. `I'd better let her know she's home.' Ranma slid up on the side of the bed, placing one of his arms across her as he bent down. Placing his lips near her ear, he whispered to her. "Ranko-chan, wake up." Ranko's eyelashes fluttered lightly as she heard a soft voice whisper in her ear. Seeing her brother leaning beside her, she opened her eyes and smiled. "Hey bro." She turned her head a bit to figure out where she was. "Are we home already?" she asked in a weak voice. Ranma sat back up a bit to look at his sister face-to- face. "Yep. We're in your room, Sleeping Beauty," he whispered as he reached his hand up and caressed her injured cheek. "How's the cut feel, sis?" Ranko smiled at Ranma's reference to `Sleeping Beauty'. She brought her hand up and caressed Ranma's cheek in return. "I guess it's better, although it's still a little sore." Ranko dropped her hand from his face and draped it on his shoulder. "Thanks again for what you did for me today, bro. I couldn't have gotten to the doctor without your help." She pulled him onto her, wrapping her arms around his back in a sudden hug. Ranma struggled for a second, surprised at the suddenness of the gesture, but then relented and curled his arms underneath her to return the embrace. "Not a problem, sis." Ranma held his sister to him, listening to her heartbeat as his head lay against her chest. A few moments later he pulled his arms out from under her and sat up a bit as Ranko released her hold on him, their faces very close. He looked at her lingeringly, her warm breath a gentle caress against his face. Then acting on a sudden impulse, he bent down to kiss her on the forehead. Ranko saw it coming and intercepted him, kissing her brother fully on the lips. Ranma's cheeks colored furiously as she kissed him, but he didn't try to push her away. After about ten seconds, Ranko broke the kiss and sat back against the bed suddenly, realizing what she was doing. "Oh God! Umm... Ranma... I'm sorry! I..." Ranma's heart was racing as the thought of what just happened replayed in his mind again and again. He hadn't expected it to happen, but a small part of him was glad it did. A few seconds later he realized that Ranko was trying to talk to him. He smiled slightly and covered Ranko's lips with a finger, quieting her stammered apology. "It's okay, sis. Granted, it felt weird, but after everything we've been through today you're excused." He winked at her. Ranko blew out a big sigh of relief as Ranma sat up completely. "I don't know what came over me, bro." Ranma took one of her hands in his. "It's okay, Ranko. Although it was probably my fault too. Brothers usually don't kiss their sisters under any circumstances. I'm still new at this, I guess. Having a sister, I mean. Well... you know I love you, but it wouldn't be right for us to keep doing that." Ranma stated uncomfortably. He put a hand to his head, which was starting to ache. "Actually, now that I think about it, that kiss probably had a lot to do with Akane." She looked at her brother guiltily. "I hope you're not upset with me." Ranma shook his head. "Sis, I already told you it was cool. I could think of a lot worse people to kiss than my own sister." She squeezed his hand, grateful that he wasn't upset with her. "And by the way, I love you too bro." Ranma returned the hand squeeze. Suddenly anxious to change the subject, she brought a hand up and clapped Ranma on the arm. "Now I want you to answer the question you ducked back at Dr. Tofu's." Ranma's eyes showed a puzzled look. "I didn't duck a question, Ranko... Which question are you talking about, anyway?" Ranko shook her head slightly. "You never answered my question about what you were going to do about Akane." Ranma nodded. "Yeah, that's right. We were going to discuss it after we got home from Dr. Tofu's..." Ranko gestured to her room. "Well, we're home now." Ranma smiled to her. "Yeah. I guess that..." Their heads turned as Nodoka yelled from downstairs. "Ranma! Ranko! You two home yet?!" Ranma grimaced. He wasn't looking forward to explaining Ranko's injuries to his parents. But as far as he was concerned, Ranko's safety was his responsibility. Ranma stood up. "I'll talk with you after I get through talking to Mom and Pop." Ranko blanched as she realized that he could be in hot shit for her condition. She sat up and tried to get out of her bed. Ranma quickly held his hands out and stopped her from getting up. "No Ranko! Remember what Dr. Tofu said. You're to stay off that leg for the rest of the day." Ranko looked at him angrily. "Ranma, I can't let you take the rap for what happened to me. I'm responsible for this," she said, indicating her face. "And I'm responsible for you," he said, poking her gently in the chest. "Now I want you to stay right here and wait for me to return." Ranko looked like she was going to object again, but Ranma stared her down. "Dammit, listen to me, Ranko! You're going to make things worse if you keep walking on it, so stay there!" Ranko relented, and flopped back against her pillows, angry. "Fine! Be that way!" She turned her head from him, crossing her arms against her chest. Ranma's look softened. "Now cut that out, Ranko! I'm not punishing you. I just don't want to see you get hurt any worse than you already are." Ranko turned her head to face him, her angry look dissipating. "I understand that Ranma, and I appreciate your concern. But I'm old enough to be responsible for my own actions." She held her arms out to him. "I'm not gonna take `no' for an answer. But I do have a compromise. You can help me walk downstairs, and we'll talk to them *together.* Okay bro?" Ranma sighed, then smiled at her. "You remind me of me, you know that sis?" He bent down and pulled Ranko up to a standing position, with her pivoting on her good foot. Ranko laughed at his comment. "I thought that was the other way around, bro." He snorted at the comment. `So much for Ranko getting her rest,' Ranma thought to himself as he put her arm around his neck to help her walk. `I hope Mom and Pop don't overreact when they see her,' Ranma prayed as he helped his sister out of her room. **** Nodoka prowled the downstairs again, looking for her kids. `They should've been home over an hour ago. I hope nothing's happened to Ranma.' She worried as her search continued to turn up nothing. She went out to the training hall, and only found Genma in there, working out. "Genma dear, have you seen the children?" Genma stopped his kata abruptly and turned to his wife. Grabbing a towel, he dried off his bald pate as he walked towards Nodoka. "What was that dear? I didn't hear you." Nodoka looked at him impatiently. "I *said*, have you seen our children?" Genma shook his head. "No, I haven't dear. I came straight here after work, so I didn't look in the house. They haven't been out here, as far as I know." "I'm worried, Genma. I've been looking for them, and they're not anywhere around here. They should've been here long ago..." Nodoka began biting her nails nervously, her worry for Ranma's safety clearly eating away at her. Genma saw the look on her face and reached out, holding her to him. "I think Ranma's okay, dear. But let's go inside and wait for them." Nodoka put her arms around her husband and lay her face against his broad chest. "Yes, you're probably right." Saying that didn't console her any, however. She didn't like the idea of Ranma fighting. It just didn't seem *right* to her. Genma put an arm across Nodoka's shoulders and went inside. `Nodoka's worrying too much about the boy. If he's as good as I saw last night, he should be okay.' But Genma couldn't help but acknowledge the twinge of doubt that was eating away at his confidence in his son's abilities. Without saying anything further, the two turned and walked out of the training hall and back into the house. **** Ranma knelt down so Ranko could sit at the table. He heard her gasp as she tried to fold her bad leg behind her in a standard sitting position. She opted instead for crossing her legs, leaving her good leg underneath the damaged one. Once Ranko was seated comfortably, Ranma sat beside her. He kept one of his arms around her shoulders in a protective gesture. Their heads snapped up suddenly as the back door whipped open, and their parents stepped inside. Nodoka saw her children sitting casually at the table, and exhaled deeply in relief. "Thank goodness you two are home safe! We were so worried about you!" She dropped her arm from Genma and ran to her children, wrapping one arm around each and hugging them to her tightly. Nodoka's pleased expression changed to a puzzled one as she noted the tension in both of them. The fact that Ranma had his arm *willingly* around his sister added greatly to her confusion. She assumed their tension had to do with the challenge that Ranma said he was going to make today. She eyed her son closely. `I wonder if he actually fought that Kuno boy. Ranma doesn't look like he has a scratch on him.' She ignored her son's pseudo-embrace of his sister for the moment, and concentrated instead on figuring out why they appeared so tense. "What's going on Ranma, Ranko?" She looked at each of them, still unable to figure out what was the matter. Getting nothing else from Ranma, she turned to Ranko and noticed the bandage on her face. Her eyes widened. "What happened to you, young lady?" Ranko self-consciously brought her hand up to the bandage. She watched her mother walk around to face her. Nodoka knelt down in front of Ranko and pulled her hand away from the bandage. She cautiously ran her finger around the edge of it. "What caused this?" Ranma's grip on Ranko's shoulder tightened, and he spoke suddenly. "Mom, don't get upset with her. It's my fault that she got hurt." Ranko turned to protest, but was drowned out by Nodoka. "What do you mean, `it was your fault?' " She sat back to face both of her children, wondering what Ranma could've done that would've injured her like that. Genma walked over and sat down beside his wife, placing an arm across her slight shoulders. "I think you'd better explain, Ranma," he said ominously. Ranma sighed, and prepared himself for the worst. He told them about the fight with Kuno, but skipped the part about Akane and Kinuko. He didn't want his parents finding out that `he'd' slept around. "Kuno didn't even hurt me. I defeated him, broke his bokken, then Ranko and I went to school." "How did Ranko manage to get hurt during that fight?" Nodoka pressed tersely. "She didn't. I haven't gotten to that part yet, mom. At lunch Ranko, Akane, and I were attacked by seven guys from the Kendo club in revenge for what I did to Kuno." Nodoka and Genma's eyes opened in alarm. "I took out four of them, and Akane took out one, but not before three of them had managed to beat up on Ranko." Ranma's look became self-recriminating. "I should've paid more attention to her. If I had, then she wouldn't have been triple-teamed like she was." Ranko felt the eyes of her parents descend on her. Genma was half smiling at Ranma's achievement, but Nodoka's face was a stark contrast to that. "Now you know why I never liked the idea of you fighting, Ranko. This could happen to you again if you continue to..." Ranma held his hand up. "Mom, I'm not finished yet." He flinched as Nodoka shot an irritated glance his way for interrupting her. With some effort, he continued to speak. "Towards the end of the fight, Akane took out one of the guys holding Ranko back, and I took out the other. After that, Ranko finished off the guy that was beating her." "So what does that prove? She still got injured," she pressed, although she could already see that she wasn't going to win this argument. Genma spoke up, understanding what Ranma's point was. "It proves, dear, that once Ranko was fighting one-on-one, she was able to take out her foe, despite her injuries. She's a great martial artist. The only problem was that she got attacked by some kids that don't know what honor is." "And what's to prevent her from getting attacked like that again in the future, Genma?" Nodoka shot back hotly. She was upset that she was the minority in this conversation. This incident had drummed home to her again the inherent danger of being a martial artist. And she didn't want her little girl to face that danger any longer. Ranko's face reddened with anger as she watched the conversation flow between her brother, father, and mother. Finally she'd had enough. "Would you people *stop* talking like I wasn't here?" All heads turned to her in various stages of shock. "Sorry sis," Ranma added sheepishly, squeezing Ranko's shoulder again. Nodoka looked at her, unable to stay angry at her little girl. Her anger disappeared as her face grew calm. "I'm sorry for talking over you. I just don't like seeing you injured, Ranko." She sat next to her daughter and looked closely at the bandage. She tried to forget about the argument by concentrating on Dr. Tofu's handiwork. "Looks like you've already had this looked at. Whoever worked on it did a good job." Ranko smiled as she remembered the kind Dr. Tofu. "Yeah. Dr. Tofu really knew what he was doing." Nodoka showed her children a puzzled look. "Who's Dr. Tofu?" Ranma quickly spoke up to answer. "Well, he's a doctor close to the school. I felt that Ranko needed to be taken care of quickly, so I took her there. I was told that he was very good. Don't worry about the bill; he took Ranko's insurance card." Nodoka appeared mollified by Ranma's explanation. She looked down and saw that Ranma's hand was still on Ranko's shoulder. Eyeing it with a smile, she spoke again. "Well, you two are obviously getting along a lot better," she said with obvious satisfaction. Ranko blushed, but halted her instinct to push Ranma's hand off of her. "Well, yeah. Ranma and I came to an understanding recently." Ranma smiled and began rubbing Ranko's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "She's right. It's like I finally learned to appreciate having a sister." Ranko's blush deepened, but she couldn't help but smile inwardly. This last week with her brother had been an absolute paradise compared to the fifteen years of her life that she'd had to endure with the other `him'. Nodoka smiled warmly. "I'm glad that you two aren't brawling anymore. It's about damn time you started getting along." Ranma blushed this time. He made a mental note to ask Ranko about how he treated her in the `past' when they talked later on. "Yeah. As far as I'm concerned, I'll not fight Ranko again. Except for sparring, that is." Ranko absently rubbed her bad ankle, wondering if she could remain off of it over the next several days. At his comment, she turned to him and smiled. "Hopefully that won't be too long in coming, bro." Nodoka `awwwed,' sending both children into a deep crimson blush. "Mom..." Ranko said, embarrassed. Ranma looked to his father, who'd watched the whole exchange with some amusement. Hoping to shake his embarrassment, Ranma decided to talk to his father alone. "Mom, I need to talk to Pop for a moment." He brought his hand down from Ranko's shoulder, but let it rub against her back before he stood up. "Let's go to the training hall, Pop." Nodoka frowned. "Is everything okay, Ranma?" Ranma looked at her, nodding his head. "Everything's okay mom, I just want to talk to Pop about some guy stuff." He smiled, hoping to forestall any further questions. Genma looked to Ranma and nodded. Without saying anything else, both men walked out of the house and headed to the training hall. Nodoka turned from watching the men leave to look at her daughter again. "Well, I wonder what *that* was all about." Ranko shrugged her shoulders. "Beats me. He probably wants to talk about Akane, is all." Nodoka sighed as she remembered what Ranma had promised to do if he'd beaten Kuno. `Which was something I didn't expect him to do,' she thought to herself. "I hope Ranma's not going ahead with his plans to marry that girl. He hardly knows her." Ranko looked up to her mother. "Mom, I've met Akane, and she's not a bad person. If you want to know the truth, I think they're a good match." Nodoka shook her head, unable to hide a smile. "You two really *are* getting along better. It's odd hearing positive things about Ranma coming from your mouth." "MOOOOM!" Ranko yelled, afraid that her blush was going to become permanent. Nodoka held her hands up in a placating gesture. "Okay, young lady. I'll stop" `I don't want her to blush to death,' she thought with some mirth. She looked over her daughter, taking in the bandage on her face, and noted how stiffly Ranko was sitting. "Honey, you look like you're awfully sore. How badly were you hurt?" Ranko looked over at her mom. "Well, I was worked over pretty badly. But it wasn't anything I couldn't handle." She struggled to catalog the injuries that she'd sustained, but her foggy mind wasn't cooperating. Her eyebrows shot up as she suddenly remembered something. "Ahh, the list! Dr. Tofu gave me a list of things to do to take care of my injuries. That'll tell you about my injuries better than I can." Nodoka shook her head, wondering how her daughter could be so casual about being hurt. `She's got the body of a girl, and she acts like a girl most of the time. But that male martial artist mindset keeps showing up...' she observed. She dismissed that thought, knowing that her daughter wasn't as reckless as she sometimes seemed. "Where's the list?" "It's up in my room." Her mother stood up. "Well, let's go to your room then." Ranko held her hand out to her mother. "Could you help me up please? I twisted my ankle also." Nodoka looked at her sternly before taking her hand and helping Ranko to her feet. "And when were you going to tell me about that one, little girl?" Ranko looked at her calmly. "Mom, I didn't hurt it during the fight. I sprained it after school when I was walking home. I tripped, that's all." Nodoka rolled her eyes, but accepted Ranko's story. She curled one of Ranko's arms around her shoulder, and slowly helped her daughter up the stairs and into her bedroom. **** The two male Saotomes entered the training hall, closing the wide doors of the building behind them. "What did you want to talk about son?" Ranma sat in the center of the training hall, gesturing for his father to do the same. Genma did so, facing his son on the mat. "I wanted to talk to you about the fight." "I thought you already did, Ranma." "Well, yeah, I did. I just wanted to make sure you knew that I would've prevented those guys from hurting Ranko if I'd not been so wrapped up in my own fight." Ranma gaze descended to the floor as he got hit with a wave of guilt. Genma smiled to Ranma. "Hey, son. You don't need to worry about that. Ranko's a martial artist, and she knows that pain's a part of the package. I'm just glad that you did help her when you could. Besides knocking out four out of seven armed enemies isn't bad for someone who's only been a martial artist for a few weeks." Genma patted Ranma on the knee. "You should be proud of yourself Ranma. You defeated those four hoodlums, and also managed to take care of their captain." Ranma's head came back up abruptly. "Yeah, that's right. I guess defeating Kuno wasn't as big a deal for me as everyone thought." He pushed away sudden thoughts of Akane that had cluttered his mind, and concentrated on mending the rift between the Tendos and Saotomes. "Pop, you know that I made a deal with Mr. Tendo." Genma nodded. "Yes, you told Soun that you wanted to marry Akane, right?" "Close Pop. He and I agreed that he'd let me date Akane if I defeated Kuno. I'm going to worry about that later." "Later? How much later?" Genma asked worriedly. He didn't want anything *worse* to happen between he and Soun. "Calm down, Pop. I got Mr. Tendo's okay to go slow. I thought it'd be best for me and Akane." `He'd freak if I told him about Kinuko. Best to keep that to myself for now,' Ranma added to himself. "Anyway, that was only half of the agreement." "Oh, there's more?" Genma said with extreme interest. "Yeah Pop. I had Mr. Tendo promise that he'd call off the feud with our family and sit down and talk with you if I won the fight." Genma's eyes enlarged to the point of almost falling out of their sockets. "Ranma, you didn't?!" Ranma showed him a puzzled look. "Yeah, Pop. I did..." He stared at his stricken father. "I thought you'd *like* to hear this..." He broke off, thoroughly confused at his father's reaction. Genma shook his head, as if shaking off a weight. "But it's been so long..." Ranma sighed lowly. With all that had happened to him in the past two weeks, he'd forgotten that his father had a tendency to overreact. Especially over nothing. "Pop, it's okay. Mr. Tendo and I talked today at Dr. Tofu's while Ranko was being looked over. He knows that I won the fight, and he and I thought that the best way to meet was for us to come over to his house tomorrow." "Come over to his house tomorrow?!" Genma started making gagging noises. "What are we gonna do once we're there boy, have some sort of encounter-session crap?" Ranma shot Genma an angry look. "I sacrifice my time and energy to try and bring our two families back together, and all you can do is whine?!" Genma had a downcast look on his face as he absorbed Ranma's words. "You're right, Ranma. I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound ungrateful. It's just... it's been so long since Tendo and I have had any good words to say to each other, and I'm not so sure that we'll have a peaceful meeting. The last time we talked was years ago, and we were both angry." "Don't sweat it, Pop. We'll have fun, I promise." "What're we going to do, Ranma?" Ranma shuffled about uncomfortably. "Well Pop. When Mr. Tendo and I talked last night, we also fought. For about twenty minutes." Genma's brow shot up in a show of respect at hearing that. "Well, we managed to trash his dojo as a result of the fight. So I offered our services to help repair the damage I helped to cause." Genma calmed. At least the boy had thought of something that would provide a distraction in case things didn't work out all that well. "Alright, Ranma. I guess that's not a bad idea. What do we have to do?" Ranma held out the list that Soun had given him. "This is a list of things that we have to bring with us when we arrive at the dojo tomorrow. Only the things not marked with an `X'." Genma nodded, then pocketed the list. "That was it Pop. I don't have anything else to tell you." Genma stood and pulled Ranma to his feet. "Why did we come out to the training hall, Ranma? We could've talked about that in the house." "Aww, I couldn't stand Mom talkin' about me like that anymore in front of Ranko. It was starting to embarrass the hell out of me. That, and I don't know how mom would take the news about tomorrow's trip to the Tendo house." Genma nodded at Ranma's foresight. "I guess I'll tell Nodoka about that when we go back inside. To tell you the truth, I have no idea how she'll react either." They walked together back to the house. "By the way, you shouldn't be embarrassed about being protective of your sister. That's a very honorable trait, Ranma." Genma reached over and patted Ranma on the back. "And I appreciate you taking care of my little girl." Ranma relaxed at his father's words. He'd been tense smiled satisfactorily as the approached the back door of the house. Everything was going the way he'd hoped. `What could possibly go wrong tomorrow?' he asked himself light- heartedly. He cringed as he heard thunder crack in the distance. **** The two women entered Ranko's room. Ranko hobbled over to her bed as her mother closed the bedroom door behind her. Reaching down, she pulled her bookbag into her lap. Fishing her hand around inside, she came up with the bag of stuff and the list that Dr. Tofu had given Ranma. "Here's the list I was telling you about," she said as she handed the list over to Nodoka. Nodoka sat next to her daughter on the bed. "Let's see. Hmmm... Contusions, bruises, a few abrasions. The cut on your cheek, and a sprained ankle." She folded the list and placed it on the bed between them. "Looks like you got worked over quite a bit, if that list is any indication." She began rummaging through the bag of items, and pulled out a powder packet. She picked up the list again. "According to the instructions on here, you need to soak in a bath with this powder mixed into the water." Ranko smiled, the thought of a soaking bath pleasing her greatly. "Yeah, I guess so." She stood up on her good foot and reached down to take the packet from her mother. Nodoka deftly pulled the packet out of reach, then put her arm up to keep Ranko from toppling due to overreaching. "You can't walk in there by yourself. Come on young lady, I'll help you." Nodoka stood up from the bed. Ranko put her arm around her mother and walked with her to the bathroom. Once in the bathroom, Ranko began unbuttoning her shirt. Nodoka undressed as well, pulling her kimono off and placing it on a hook. A puzzled look crossed Ranko's face as she watched her mother remove her bra. "Mom, why are you taking your stuff off?" Nodoka stepped out of her panties before answering her. "You've got a sprained ankle, and I don't want to worry about you slipping in the tub or something else like that, so I'm going to help you bathe." Ranko rolled her eyes at her mother's over- protectiveness. "Mom, didn't you *just* take a bath?" Nodoka nodded. "Yes dear, but I don't mind taking another one." Ranko shrugged, knowing that she wasn't going to convince her mother otherwise. It'd been a little while since she'd last bathed with her mother, but the thought of sharing the bath didn't bother her and resumed undressing. Her mother gasped when Ranko removed her bra. "Ranko! You didn't tell me you got hit *there!*" Nodoka exclaimed as she knelt down to look at Ranko's bruised breast. "Well, that cream that Dr. Tofu gave me numbed the bruise. Since I couldn't feel it, I forgot to mention it. Don't worry, he told me that the bruise was superficial, and that it would heal within a week." Nodoka brought her hands up, and pushed up against the nipple, lifting the breast up to reveal the bruise much more clearly. "How sore is it?" she asked as she traced the outside ridge of the bruise with a finger. Ranko winced as her mother's finger occasionally made contact with the bruise. "Well, it's starting to hurt again. I guess I'll have to put some more of that cream on it after I get out of the bath. Hopefully the hot water will help it too." She looked in the mirror behind her mother, finally able to get a look at the bruise. Her eyebrows lifted as she saw how dark and big the bruise was. `Damn that Kenji! I should cut his you-know-what off for this,' she thought angrily. `He'd better be glad that this bruise isn't permanent.' Nodoka released Ranko's breast and stood up again. "That must've hurt like hell, Ranko." Ranko nodded, bringing her hand to her breast self- consciously to cover the bruise. "It did," she said with a grimace. Anger replaced Nodoka's earlier concern as she looked at the wounded breast again. "Who did this to you? Do you even know who it was?" Ranko nodded. "Yeah, it was that brat Kenji." "Kenji Kurosawa!?" Nodoka's eyes flashed angrily. "That little snot did this to you?" Nodoka made a move like she was going to leave the bathroom. Ranko anticipated this and grabbed her mother by the arms to keep her from running out of the bathroom and making a phone call. "Whoa whoa whoa! Mom, don't worry about it! I made sure he paid for what he did to me." She glanced down at her pants, remembering the trophy she'd put in the pockets. "Let's just take our bath, okay?" Nodoka deflated, agreeing with her daughter. She walked over to the tub and started the water running. She then walked back to Ranko and helped her remove her pants and panties. Nodoka's anger started rising again as she saw the myriad of bruises on Ranko's legs. `God, what that boy did to you is inexcusable. I hope you punished him greatly for this, Ranko,' she thought to herself, trying unsuccessfully to dismiss the anger from her mind. `If Ranko says it's been taken care of, then I'll believe her.' She rubbed one of her daughter's legs consolingly. "You're such a pretty girl. This sort of thing shouldn't happen to you." Ranko put her hand on her mother's head to keep from falling while her mother removed her panties. "Thanks Mom. The reason I'm so good looking is because I take after you," she said with a smile, rubbing Nodoka's head gently. Nodoka stood up and smiled broadly, wrapping her daughter up in an affectionate hug. "Thank you, dear. It's good to know that at my age I can still turn a few heads." She winked at Ranko, then stood beside her, keeping an arm around her daughter as they walked to the bath. After pouring the powder into the water, she helped her daughter sit down, then stepped in and reclined against the edge of the tub. The two women sat side by side in the oversized tub, their arms around each other as they closed their eyes and enjoyed being submerged to the shoulders in the soaking bath. **** Soun Tendo entered the gates to his home and walked mechanically to the dojo. From the moment immediately following his conversation with Ranma to now, Soun had nothing else on his mind except the reunification of the Tendo and Saotome families. His body was moving on autopilot as he walked into the dojo and sat the bags of repair material on the floor. Slowly he sat down against one of the sturdier walls of the building, and lost himself completely in thought. He felt genuinely pleased that Ranma had been able to atone for what Genma had put him through so long ago, and consequently end Akane's engagement to that bokken-wielding buffoon. But a part of him continued to rage against reconciliation, reminding Soun of all the pain that he suffered as a result of Saotome's betrayal. Some part of him wasn't quite ready to forgive Genma. Soun frowned inwardly at the word `betrayal.' Yes, it had *felt* like betrayal. At least it had at the time. His campaign to wed away a daughter was firmly rooted in the idea that he had to avenge the loss suffered by Genma's action. But over the last few years he had come to realize that his choice of motivation may have been poor. He never thought that Genma may have had a reason for making that infamous phone call. Recalling the event in his mind, he realized that he never gave the man a chance to explain. And now that he'd heard Ranma's story about why Genma had made the decision he did, Soun was beginning to feel that the responsibility for his pain rested on his *own* shoulders. His pain now lay mainly in the fact that he was living with three near-strangers in his house. Every day he regretted the loss of time with his children as a result of his single-mindedness. He'd been so caught up in his own campaign of righteousness that he never took time to look around and see what the world was doing. It wasn't until the death of his wife that he'd begun to question the wisdom of finding a husband for one of his daughters. That doubt had grown deeper after he'd paired Akane up with that idiot Kuno, and had seen how greatly he'd caused his daughter to suffer. Oh, she'd borne the discomfort admirably, but it still showed through. A vision of Akane's resigned and sullen expression swept through his mind, pushing him towards despair. `It's because of my temper that I've lost precious time with my daughters. I've also managed to lose my wife, and push away my best friend. My God, what have I done!' Soun's anguish overwhelmed him, and he was overcome with racking sobs. As he cried, the realization dawned on him that he could've prevented a lot of suffering had he only listened instead of reacted. And with that realization, the intensity of his despair and his weeping increased. But after a few minutes of crying, the angry voice inside of him that had been his motivation for so many years died away suddenly, giving way to an overwhelming feeling of release. Soun composed himself and wiped his eyes, allowing his grief to dissipate. Some humor began to show as he slowly smiled, realizing the irony that he had Ranma Saotome to thank for bringing this sudden change about. Before this moment, he had never hoped to feel as free and *alive* as he did. He now had the opportunity to be there for his daughters, and to live a life free of an oppressive burden. His heart lightened as he continued to think about the change suddenly wrought in his life. `I'll be able to reunite with Genma! He and I can get back to the way things used to be.' He thought of his wife, and felt a small pang of regret. `Oh, if only you were with me dear. I miss you so much.' Soun stood up, a determined look on his face. `Now that I've been shown what I've done wrong, you can rest assured my loved one, that I will do my best to see that the girls are treated well and are happy from now on.' His mind cleared, Soun walked from the dojo with a spring in his step. He entered the house, and saw Kasumi chopping away in the kitchen. Not seeing Nabiki or Akane at the table, he assumed they were in their rooms. He walked into the kitchen and returned Kasumi's smile. "Oh, hello Father!" she said as she chopped, never missing a beat. Soun returned her smile. "Good evening, Kasumi. Everything is okay, I trust." Kasumi hesitated only slightly at the question. "Well, everything's okay now." Soun didn't like her answer. "Kasumi, is there a problem?" Kasumi was unable to lie to her father, so she lay her utensils on the counter. Wiping her hands on her apron, she turned to face him. "Well, Father, Akane was a little upset when she came home today." "How upset was she?!" he fairly demanded. Kasumi flinched at the volume, and held her hands up to try and calm him. "Don't worry father! She was just put through a lot today, but she's okay." She hesitated, not knowing how her father would take the news that he'd failed at another arranged marriage. Seeing Soun's patience start to wear, she plowed ahead. "She lost her engagement to Kuno today." Soun nodded, pretending that he'd not already known about this. He wanted to keep Ranma's and his agreement secret for now, so playing dumb was his best option. "That is unfortunate. Although given her initial reaction to the engagement, I'm surprised that she would consider this a bad thing..." Kasumi shook her head. "I don't think that she's upset over losing Kuno." She kept the part about Ranma's desire to date Akane, and the mess with Kinuko, to herself for now. She didn't know all of the facts yet, and didn't want her father to get upset over something like that until she knew for sure. "Although it was a rather sudden and drastic change in her life. I think she'll be fine, as long as she doesn't push herself. She just needs a little time to herself." Soun let the tension leave his body. "I agree, Kasumi. If she's allowed some time to recover, she should be okay." He turned to leave the kitchen, stretching his arms. "I've been shopping all day. I think I'll relax for a little while." He walked out of the kitchen, then turned suddenly and popped his head back in the doorway. "Oh, and Kasumi. I need to speak with all three of you in a few moments, okay?" "Yes father. Is there anything the matter?" Soun shook his head and answered quickly. "No, dear. Actually it'll be good news." He aimed a smile at her before ducking out of the kitchen again and heading for the table. Kasumi resumed chopping, but couldn't shake one particular thought from her mind. `I wonder how happy Father will be when he finds out that a Saotome was responsible for Akane's `rescue'...' **** The two Saotome women exited the bathroom wrapped in large towels. After dropping Ranko off in her bedroom, Nodoka went to hers and dressed in something casual. She stepped back into Ranko's bedroom a moment later with an old pair of Ranma's boxers, as well as one of his T-shirts. "I'd rather you wear these old clothes to sleep in while you're using that ointment." Nodoka wrinkled her nose, remembering the smell from Ranko's clothes. "Your outfit, including your bra, was reeking of the stuff." Ranko was a little surprised, then nodded as she realized that she must've grown used to the smell of the stuff. She unwrapped towel and set it on the bed, then sat down on it. Grabbing the tube of ointment, she squeezed some onto her fingers. She frowned at the scent, but forced herself to continue as she began applying it to the bruises on her arms, stomach, and breast. Nodoka took the tube from her daughter and began applying more of the smelly stuff to Ranko's legs. After letting the ointment sit for five minutes, Ranko put on the shirt and boxers that her mother had brought her, then pulled on the ACE bandage for her ankle. "Whew! I'd better open a window before I pass out." Ranko stood up drunkenly, and noted absently that her ankle was feeling much better after the bath. Quickly she opened the window in her room, leaning outside of it a bit to breathe in the sweet outside air. Nodoka nodded drowsily, the smell of the ointment beginning to getting to her as well. She wiped her hands off on Ranko's towel, then propped herself up on the bed as she felt a little spacy. She welcomed the warm evening breeze as it wafted into the room through the now-open window. Once she began to feel normal, Ranko moved away from the window and sat down on the bed next to her mother. "Thanks for the bath mom. It really helped," she said as she put an arm around her shoulder. Nodoka looked up to her daughter and smiled. "I didn't mind it at all. I'm just glad you're feeling better." She looked at the clock on Ranko's desk. "Oh dear, it's past six-thirty. I'd better get downstairs. The two bottomless pits are probably climbing the walls waiting for dinner." Ranko laughed hard at the not-inaccurate description of her father and the `new' Ranma. "Okay mom, I'll be downstairs in a bit. I can make it on my own now." Nodoka patted Ranko on the knee. "Alright Ranko. Just remember what the doctor said. Take it easy on the leg for awhile." "I will mom." Nodoka stood and walked out of the room, destined for the kitchen. After the door closed Ranko flopped on the bed, tired again. She lay there quietly, her legs hanging off the side of the bed and her arm across her eyes. Ten seconds later she was asleep. **** Kasumi and Nabiki walked into the room and sat at the table with their father. At the girls' entrance, Soun turned to look at them. He scowled when he noted Akane's absence. "Where's Akane?" Kasumi smiled wanly. "She was still asleep, and I didn't feel it would be good to wake her." He nodded as she spoke. "I guess you're right. I'll tell her later." "Tell her what, Daddy?" Nabiki chimed in. "All Kasumi would tell me was that you had an announcement for us. What's the big fuss about?" Soun smiled and crossed his arms in front of himself. "There's no fuss, Nabiki. I just wanted to tell you what I had planned for tomorrow." "I thought you were fixing up the damage to the Dojo tomorrow," she countered. She winced involuntarily as an image of the tally sheet for the damage to the dojo whipped through her head again. "Well Nabiki, we're having a `clean up the dojo party' tomorrow," he said enthusiastically. The enthusiasm wasn't rubbing off on Nabiki. Her eyes narrowed. "A party? You mean you want us to help you with the rebuilding, eh Daddy?" she deadpanned Soun winced. "Well, that's it partly..." "I should've guessed. You really need to learn how to break bad news to people Daddy; your approach was transparent," Nabiki chided. Then she caught the last part of what he said, and sighed. "O-kay Daddy. What's the rest of it?" Soun shifted uncomfortably under the intense gaze of his middle daughter. "Nabiki, stop that! Don't forget that I'm your father." Nabiki's gaze relented, and Soun relaxed. "What I was going to say was that we're going to have a party, and I have invited guests." Kasumi's eyes brightened at the prospect of a party with guests, and she clasped her hands together expectantly. "That's nice" `This party may be just the thing that will help cheer Akane up' she added to herself. `It may wind up giving me a lift too.' She turned her attention to the logistics of party giving. "About the guests, how many will there be Father?" Soun shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I'm not sure really. Three, maybe four people." Nabiki remained skeptical of the party. Her eyebrows furrowed as she considered the obvious. "And how much are we paying for this extra help, Daddy?" "Oh nothing at all. They volunteered to help. In fact, they're buying half of the supplies." Nabiki's eyebrow shot up. `Maybe Daddy's finally gotten the hang of negotiations...' Her expression became wary as she considered something else. `... or he hasn't told us everything yet.' She sharpened her gaze. "So who are the people that are coming over tomorrow?" Kasumi nodded. "Yes, please tell us. I'd like to know if it's anyone I know so I can fix their favorite dish." Soun bigsweated at the questions. He didn't want to let that particular cat out of the bag yet. He wasn't sure if either of them knew about the Saotomes or not, but best to be safe for now. "Oh, it's just some old friends, that's all. You wouldn't know them, so I'll just wait and introduce them tomorrow morning when they arrive?" "Tomorrow morning? Oh my, I'd better get to work on setting up the house for the party then. And I also have to finish cooking supper," Kasumi exclaimed as she stood. "Was that all you wanted to tell us father?" Soun nodded. "Yes, that's all, Kasumi." With that Kasumi sprinted for the kitchen, her apron awhirl. The clanging of dishes could soon be heard from the kitchen. Nabiki hid a sour look. Kasumi's exclamation had derailed any further interrogation of her father. She got up from the table and headed for the stairs. "I'm going to my room for awhile, Daddy." Soun grunted, his mind elsewhere again. Nabiki climbed the stairs, frustrated that she wasn't able to learn more from him. `I know he's hiding something from us. But God knows what it could be. I guess we'll find out tomorrow...' she thought as she disappeared upstairs. **** "Ranma dear, could you get your sister and tell her that dinner's ready," Nodoka called out from the kitchen. Ranma stood up from where he and his father had been watching TV. `It's about damn time. I'm so hungry I could eat Akane's cooking.' He winced as his loose comment about Akane had set off images of her, both before and after the wish, in his mind. `Hell, I wonder if Akane can cook now." He turned to face the kitchen, yelling "Okay Mom" before heading up the stairs. Once at the top of the stairs, Ranma gently knocked on her door. Not getting any response from Ranko, he slid the door open. He chuckled at Ranko's odd sleeping pose. She lay there with her legs dangling off of the bed; her feet not quite touching the floor. She was snoring softly, an arm draped loosely across her eyes. He didn't advance into her room, as the smell of ointment was still heavy enough to bother him. Deciding not to disturb her, Ranma walked back out of the room and closed the door behind himself. Once downstairs, he sat down at the table again, and noticed that his father had already started eating. "Hey leave some for me!" Ranma shouted indignantly. Genma laughed through a mouthful of food, and continued to eat heartily despite Ranma's protest. Nodoka walked into the room a moment later with another round of food. "My goodness, Genma! I'm glad I made more food tonight, otherwise the children would've starved!" Genma shot her an indignant look from behind his bowl, but didn't stop eating. Ranma laughed out loud as he sat down at his usual seat at the table. "Where's Ranko? I thought I asked you to go get her, Ranma." Nodoka's face became slightly reprimanding. "I thought you two were supposed to be getting along better now." Ranma swallowed his indignant retort, not wanting to get into an argument with his mother right now. "Mom, I went up there to get her, and saw that she was asleep. I didn't want to bother her, so I let her continue sleeping." Nodoka's stare persisted. "Don't worry, I'll save something for her and carry it up to her after we're done, if that'll make you happy Mom." Nodoka's critical gaze disappeared, to be replaced with a small smile. "Very well, Ranma. I'll expect you to somehow keep some of this food from the human vacuum cleaner over there," she said as she indicated Genma with a shrug of her shoulder. She and Ranma broke out in a fit of laughter as Genma sputtered and coughed. "I am not a vacuum cleaner, Nodoka!" he shouted indignantly. Smiling, he struck a prideful pose, flexing his arms like a bodybuilder. "You have no idea how much effort it takes for me to maintain this figure." He then picked up his chopsticks and resumed eating. Ranma and Nodoka facefaulted at Genma's declaration. Picking themselves up, they both glared at Genma before eating. "Whatever, dear," Nodoka said as she picked her bowl up. Ranma just snorted derisively and began shoveling rice into his mouth. Smiling evilly, Ranma began sneaking food from Genma's area while his mind was fixated on his rice bowl. After a few more moments had gone by,. all of the food was gone and the table was a disaster area. Nodoka clapped a hand to her head and groaned disdainfully, knowing what a chore it would be to recover from one of Genma's all-out eating wars with Ranma. She was afraid that they would've come to blows a couple of times as Ranma had to keep fending his father off to avoid having Ranko's dinner consumed. Ranma stood up and placed Ranko's meal on a tray. "I'll carry this upstairs now." Nodoka nodded, then smirked as she saw the longing in Genma's eyes as he watched the uneaten food leave the table. With practiced balance, Ranma trotted up the stairs carrying the food in one hand. The two parents watched Ranma ascend the stairs, then Nodoka leveled her gaze at her husband. "Genma, darling, I have a proposition for you." Genma realized what she was trying to do, and stood quickly, trying to make it to the door before she could complete her sentence. "Umm, I'm sorry dear. I just remembered that I have to ... ummm..." "... help me clean the table and the kitchen. That *was* what you were going to say, wasn't it dear?" Nodoka smiled grandly at him, and pointed the way to the kitchen. Genma's shoulders slumped in defeat, and he slowly trudged over towards the kitchen. Nodoka turned to follow him as he walked past her. She patted him on the shoulder. "That's a good boy," she taunted as they disappeared from the dinner area. "I don't know why you're upset about cleaning the table anyway. There's more food on you than there is on the table." He stopped and spun around to face her, almost causing her to collide with him in the process. "Ha ha ha," he replied derisively. "Just don't make me wear that damn panda apron again, Nodoka," Genma growled. Nodoka laughed. "But it suits you so well dear," she said, mirth evident in her eyes. "It's almost like it was *meant* for you." Genma shot her a dark look. Nodoka relented, kissing Genma on the cheek. He got a sly grin on his face as she turned to leave the kitchen. Reaching down with his right hand, Genma popped her on the behind before she could walk out of swinging distance. Nodoka yelped playfully at the smite. "That was for the apron comment, dear," he said with a gleam in his eye. Nodoka winked at him over her shoulder. "Keep that up and we won't be able to finish the kitchen." Genma smiled at that, thinking, `To hell with the kitchen!' Nodoka caught the lecherous look in his eye. "Let's get the cleaning done first, okay dear?" Genma nodded wildly, then commenced rapid-fire dish cleaning. Nodoka smiled to herself as she knelt down to clean the table. `Perhaps I should write a book. "How to motivate a man," by Nodoka Saotome.' She laughed aloud, shaking her head at her own mischief. **** Ranma slid the door to Ranko's room open a bit and poked his head inside. She was still laying there, asleep on her bed. Pushing his way in with the food, he closed the door behind himself. Setting the tray of food on her dresser, he walked to the bed and sat down beside her. [to be continued...] **** Author's notes: Well, here I go again. ^_^ (those of you who've read "The Prince and the Lecher" will understand that remark...) I was simply minding my own business, and reading the first two sections of the story "Be Careful What you Wish For" by Richard Beaubien. After completing that, I re-read part one, and said to myself "What if *this* happened instead of *that.*" Well I shouldn't have done that, because here I am clattering away at my IBM keyboard like a man possessed. Some people may wonder about the content (boy *that* was obtuse!). Well, as of this writing: (3/4/96): Released the first alpha of part three for reader input. (3/5/96) Boy! Did I get reader input! ^_^ Several things were immediately changed after I submitted the story to the list. The majority of that was changes in grammatical content and spelling. David Bateson and Kevin Eav get kudos for helping me with the continuity on the story, and the de-lemonization of the bath between Nabiki and Kasumi (although that's always been a dream scene for me @_@ ). I'm still under the influence of this damned cold, so I can't always trust my judgment. Thanks for keeping me on track people! I added some more angst to Kasumi's speech in the bath. (probably *too* much angst). I also added my first flashback scene. Acknowledgments: I'd like to thank Richard Beaubien first and foremost for granting me the permission to write this side-story based on his. Prior to writing this thing, he's never even heard of me. I understand that he's continuing the mother- story from which this one is based. All I have to say is, "Go for it man!" ^_^ It's been a real treat writing this thing and playing around in his dimension (so to speak). It wouldn't have been possible without his work as the base. So to him, I say Domo Arigato Gozaimashita! Bert Van Vliet. You're the one who gave me the writing bug . Prior to picking up my first BubbleGum Zone printout, I was clueless as to the ways of writing fanfic. What a difference a year makes. You're a good friend, and I thank you for the support. Hail SkyKnight! ^_^ Izzy-chan for inspiring the now infamous bathroom scene in part one Wing/Nagisa for being an invaluable proofer for part one. Your contributions helped make part one what it is today. Thank you! Thank You for tolerating my unusual style of writing. I'll get better, I promise ^_^ My music library, for inspiring me in times of need: * Robotech 10th Anniversary Perfect Soundtrack Album * Char's Counterattack Soundtrack * Gundam 0083 Soundtrack * Gundam Singles History Soundtrack * Entire BubbleGum Crisis Soundtrack set * The Macross Complete Soundtrack * Macross II Soundtrack * Macross Plus Soundtrack * Vampire Princess Miyu Soundtrack * Ranma 1/2 Calendar CD `94 * Project A-ko #1 Soundtrack * Megazone Two-Three part 2 Soundtrack * Babylon 5 Soundtrack * Mortal Kombat Soundtrack * The Collected works of John Tesh and Bob James And now for my .sig! Later, Shadow Stalker (Protoculture Addict) (Moderator: The Robotech Echo) sstalker@delphi.com -or- sysop@newberry.edu <--- try this address first!