Nabiki - New Horizons
Part 8 - Just Another Night At The Tendos
By G.L. Sandborn
Sodoshi Lawrence slept soundly in her car seat strapped securely
in the middle seat of a first class section on the giant airplane.
Her parents were almost as thankful for her peaceful travel as the
rest of the passengers - children being the bane of air traveling
public everywhere.
Nabiki Tendo-Lawrence passed the time with business magazines in
two languages, taking careful notes about hot stock prospects and
critical emerging technologies. Her attention, however, was divided
between her work, her daughter and her silently sweating husband.
While Sodoshi required only occasional tending, Jeffrey was more
on edge than usual. For starters, he hated flying. Not that he was
afraid or anything. It was just that being in such a confining place,
thousands of feet in the air, supported by, what appeared to him to
be, thin strips of metal, and flown by unknown former military pilots
left him very.... uncomfortable.
"Are you alright?" Nabiki finally asked, her hands full of
magazines and papers. "I've never seen you so...."
"I'm fine," Jeff cut his wife off abruptly - not angrily, but
with a degree of nervousness. He certainly didn't *look* alright. In
spite of the cabin's air conditioning, Jeff was sweating.
"I thought shinobi training taught you to deal with your fears."
Nabiki lowered her voice, trying to keep their discussion within the
family.
"Yeah, well... maybe we forgot to test for airplanes," Jeff loud
whispered back. "I never could get the hang of flying." His eyes
absently wandered to his fellow travelers. He secretly envied their
easy nonchalance - the way they were able to calmly read or watch a
movie. To him, every minute off the ground was torture. He tried
drugs, therapy, and self-hypnosis. Nothing worked. He couldn't
concentrate on reading material, business work, or even his lap top
computer. In the end, the only way anyone could get Jeffrey Lawrence
on a plane was to guarantee he would NOT be seated at a window seat.
Otherwise, he would spend the entire trip staring out the window
waiting for something to fall off.
"Why don't you take a nap or have another drink or... something?"
Nabiki suggested, a hint of irritation in her voice. She really
didn't understand how someone could have such an irrational fear - not
to mention a person with as much shinobi training as her husband.
Jeff's incredulous look told her he'd already tried the nap route
but kept waking up in a panic. Faced with another 10 hours of
anguish, Jeff took his wife's suggestion and ordered another drink.
He'd arrive in Tokyo alright, however, he might need a little help
getting off the plane.
Sodoshi finally woke with a fuss - her legs kicking with
displeasure. It was obvious what her problem was. Nabiki, having
learned how to change a diaper without getting... ah, too close to the
contents, put away her research materials with a sigh. Knowing how
and liking the job were clearly two different things.
"What a cute baby," came a voice from the isle next to Nabiki's
seat. Nabiki turned her head to see one of the young flight
attendants admiring her daughter.
"Baby needs changing," Nabiki lamented as she turned back to look
at her, now wide awake, daughter. A quick glance at her sweating
husband told her *he* wasn't going to be much help.
"Oh, I can do that for you," the young flight attendant cooed as
she reached for the baby.
Nabiki just flashed an almost giddy smile at her husband while
she handed the baby's bag to the attendant.
<Yup, definitely going to like flying first class.> she thought
with an even bigger grin.
Nabiki waited a few moments after the attendant took her daughter
to be changed before 'getting even' with her husband for an earlier
strike to her ego. Leaning over the middle seat, she held out one of
her Japanese magazines and pointed to an article.
"Did you see this story about the Chinese airliner that crashed
in the South China Sea last month?" Her face was totally neutral, as
if she was just informing her husband of something she thought he
ought to know. "Seems they only found some floating luggage and an
oil slick. Pretty grim, huh."
Jeff stared at his innocent looking wife for several seconds
before chugging that last of his drink and announcing he was going up
to the lounge.
As he staggered out of his seat and headed for the lounge, Nabiki
sat back in her seat with a satisfied look on her face.
<Yup! All in the timing.> she thought to herself with a chuckle.
<Now we're even, Jeffrey Lawrence.>
"I don't understand why we're not meeting Nabiki and her family
at the airport, daddy." Akane Tendo had been nervously helping Kasumi
all morning, cleaning and straightening. Everything was going to be
just perfect for Nabiki's visit. She was almost as anxious about the
visit as Kasumi. Both kept making detours past the open engawa,
looking for the arriving family members. In a minor fit of
impatience, Akane finally hinted to her father that they should go to
the airport to meet the arriving trio.
"Daughter, we cannot afford for all of us to travel out to the
airport and back." Soun Tendo flatly declared from behind his
newspaper. "Young Jeffrey-san will be arriving with his family in due
time. Patience marks the way of the true path of a martial artist."
Akane just made a face at the newspaper and slunk back to her
cleaning.
"And making faces at me won't make them arrive any faster," her
father added. Akane just rolled her eyes and resumed dusting the
shelves.
Jeffrey Lawrence had no trouble getting off the airplane in Tokyo
- his shinobi training allowed him some ability to function 'under the
influence'. As the Lawrence family trooped to the first class cabin
door, Jeff looked almost beside himself with delight at being on the
ground again.
Nabiki, loaded down with Sodoshi, the baby's bag, her own
briefcase and the latest newspaper under her arm, looked like a pack
mule - and an unhappy one at that.
"Jeffrey, will you, at least, carry *something*," she snapped as
they paused in the doorway.
"Oh, I'm sorry, dear," Jeff replied lightly. As a growing crowd
of impatient first class passengers queued up behind them, Jeff slowly
selected... the newspaper. Sliding it easily from under her arm, he
tucked it in the pocket of his lap top case and beamed at his wife.
"Thanks a lot," Nabiki sarcasticaly grumbled as she pushed past
the overly mellow Jeff and stomped her way up the boarding ramp.
Jeff grinned like an idiot and took a few minutes to thank just
about everyone from the pilots to the designers at Boeing for the
trip, making sure to shake as many hands as he could going out the
door.
"Look, kid, I'll vote for you if you'll just get out of the
doorway," grumbled an American businessman at the animated Jeffrey.
The attendant, her tired version of a 'Kasumi smile' stuck in place,
thanked Jeffrey for flying the airline and motioned the way up the
boarding ramp to the terminal. After an abrupt bow, she watched
Jeffrey stagger up the boarding ramp after his wife and silently
thanked the powers that be that this flight was over.
Jeff caught up with his wife at customs. The bored looking
customs inspector ran his white gloves lightly over their personal
effects and asked if they had anything to declare.
"My husband's drunk, my baby needs changing, and I'm in a real
grumpy mood," Nabiki offered.
The inspector could tell Mr. Lawrence was 'under the influence',
chose not to check Nabiki's claim about the baby, and figured he only
had five more years till retirement, so there was not reason to
challenge Mrs. Lawrence on her personal statement.
Stamping their passports, he waved the bicultural couple through.
"Here," Nabiki thrust her briefcase in Jeffrey's gut. "I've got
to go change sweetie-pants again. Do you think you can find our
luggage?"
"Certainly, dear." Jeff started looking around like he was lost.
"Where do you think our luggage might be?"
"Since it's an American flight, our luggage is probably arriving
in Cleveland. But on the off chance that everybody did their job, try
the baggage clam area, genius."
Jeff squinted at the Japanese signs trying to determine where the
baggage claim area for their flight was. Nabiki added that she'd meet
him there after changing Sodoshi and disappeared to the nearest
women's rest room.
Jeff wandered towards the baggage claim area until he came across
a tiny airport restaurant/bar. Stopping out front, Jeff looked at his
claim tickets, then the sign for the baggage claim area, and finally
the beaded door to the bar. He repeated the circuit several times
before deciding what he needed was something to eat. The luggage
could wait.
Staggering into the establishment, he tucked his tickets into his
coat pocket and grinned like a tourist. Finding a suitable seat at
the counter, he smiled at the hostess and struck up a friendly
conversation. Unfortunately, he chose to use English.
"Hi," he grinned.
"Hai." The hostess bowed politely and waited for his order.
"I just flew in from Hawaii and, boy, are my arms tired." Jeff
chuckled at the stupid joke and noticed the lady's smile didn't miss a
beat as she endured another gaijin in her establishment. Jeff failed
to notice a young, but very attractive, girl who followed him in. She
had been waiting for him.
He *did*, however, notice two attractive young ladies seated
nearby staring his direction, whispering between themselves.
"You come here often?" He tried his best pickup line on the
ladies. The two just leaned together and giggled.
"Sir, would you like to order something?" the hostess asked in
Japanese while trying to stay out of arms reach of the drunken gaijin.
"You know," Jeff tried to rest his chin on his fist, but his
elbow kept slipping off the counter. "You speak Japanese real good."
"Arigato," she replied nervously. "Perhaps you would like
something? Perhaps our chicken yakatori?"
"Yakatori away, my good woman. I'm hungry." He finished with
leaning back and rubbing his belly. The two ladies giggled again and
the hostess went to fetch his food. Jeff leaned towards the giggling
ladies and added: "You know, my wife doesn't understand me." He
snorted a laugh. "I'll bet you've heard that one before." The ladies
just giggled harder.
"Pardon me, sir," the girl asked softly with a polite bow. "You
*are* Jeffrey Lawrence, aren't you?" Something about him didn't seem
right. She was expecting some accomplished shinobi warrior instead of
this drunken gaijin. Her mind quickly formulated a conclusion that it
was all an act. Only a truly accomplished member of her people could
put on such a convincing performance in public. Still, there was that
little shadow of doubt.
Jeff slowly turned to the plainly dressed girl and seemed to leer
her direction.
"And who's little girl are you?" He grinned in his most
seductive manner - considering his inebriated state, it looked more
like a grimace.
Instinctively, she retreated a couple of steps at the forwardness
of the gaijin and swallowed hard.
"Are you Jeffrey Lawrence?" she asked again, her eyes darting
around the room. This was not going as smoothly as she was told it
would. It was also causing more of a scene than she anticipated.
Fearful of delivering her message to the wrong person, she was taking
unusually careful steps.
"Hai, Lawrence-san," Jeff blurted out in a horse whisper while
pressing his nose with an index finger.
"These are for you... from a friend." She held out a small box
of chocolates simply wrapped.
"Arigato, my kawaii little messenger," he thanked the girl with a
polite bow that practically caused him to fall off the bar stool.
Turning to the nervous looking hostess, he waved the little box in
front of his face. "What a wonderful country. They give gaijin
visitors chocolates."
With everyone's attention on the waving box of chocolates, the
girl quietly slipped a carefully folded note into Jeff's coat pocket
and silently glided back through the door, disappearing into the
terminal crowd. When Jeff turned back to where the girl was, only
moments before standing, to offer her some of the candy, he was
surprised at her absence. His reaction, however, was still a drunken
nonchalance.
Thirty minutes later, Jeffrey was finishing off his second
helping of the delicious meal. The two ladies were still giggling at
the funny gaijin and the hostess was becoming worried that he was
going to stagger away without paying.
Jeff was just telling another joke in English, and getting rave
reviews from the rest of the folks in the bar when a familiar pair of
legs passed the doorway. Freezing at the sound of his voice, a peeved
Nabiki Tendo-Lawrence burst through the beaded doorway, carrying
Sodoshi and her bag.
"There you are!" she accused in Japanese as she stomped up to the
counter. The three other ladies just exchanged worried glances.
"Dear! How nice to see you again." Jeff said in English as he
waved his arm the direction of the women. "Let me introduce you to my
companions." He paused as a confused look crossed his face. "Come to
think of it, I don't even know your names."
"Jeffrey!" Nabiki snarled as she glared at the other ladies.
"We're going to be late."
"Quite right. We don't want to keep Kasumi waiting any longer
than necessary. After all, she's only been waiting for six months."
He finished with leaning back on the counter, crossing his arms and
trying to look in control. He wasn't fooling anyone - especially
Nabiki.
"Get your things, Jeffrey. We're leaving." Nabiki turned on her
heel and stomped out the door.
Jeff switched back into Japanese to thank the hostess and pay his
bill. Bowing politely to the other ladies, which only elicited more
giggles, he confidently staggered out of the bar.
"Poor man," one lady said to her friend.
"Yes, with such a shrew for a wife." the other answered.
"So young and handsome too."
"Why is it that only the shrews get handsome Americans for
husbands?"
"Perhaps it's because they don't hang out in airport bars." the
hostess suggested.
The pair groaned knowingly and returned to their drinks.
The cab ride was colder than the little car's air conditioner
could account for. Nabiki, still holding her baby, kept shooting
angry glances at her husband.
"I hope you had a good time with your little... friends." She
sounded almost jealous and looked like a hundred pounds of dynamite
with a lit fuse.
"Now dear, I was just hungry and the ladies there were just being
nice to the gaijin." Jeff tried to minimize the damage. "I still
love only you, Nabsie."
His hug only caused Nabiki to grow increasingly irritated.
"I hope you didn't leave anything there," she snapped while
fussing with Sodoshi's little dress.
"Got everything right here." Jeff patted his pockets. "Even
remembered to get my passport." He reached into his coat pocket and
removed his passport and the carefully folded message the girl had
slipped into his pocket in the bar. Nabiki quickly noticed the
message.
"One of your little trollops leaving you messages. Perhaps a
rendezvous in a 'Love Hotel' or something?" Her 'look' was growing in
intensity as she thought of her husband being propositioned by some
strange 'lady of the evening'.
Carefully, Jeff unfolded the paper and slowly read the message.
What was written instantly shocked him sober. Nabiki could tell by
his face it wasn't a social note from some gold-digging girl.
"What is it, Jeffrey?"
Jeff swallowed hard and handed the note to his wife.
"It's from Master Sato." His voice was sounding miles away as he
contemplated the ramifications of what he now knew.
"This can't be right, Jeffrey." Nabiki glanced from the paper to
her husband and back again. She had read the note twice and each time
it said the same thing; all three of them, along with the rest of the
Tendos, were in danger. Her initial fear was replaced by her anger as
she thought of the injustice of it all. They had survived one shinobi
war' already - both having suffered more than either deserved. Her
solution to the current threat was simple. "Jeffrey, we're going
home."
"No, Nabiki, we can't do that," Jeff answered in a low voice
while shaking his head. "This time we have friends. The shinobi
clans are mobilizing now to protect us and our families."
"Are you crazy. I saw how they 'protected' you before."
Nabiki's eyes were wide and wild with emotion. "You almost died. Do
you remember *that* protection?"
Jeff shook his head again and shifted his position slightly. He
might not have been born shinobi but knew all the implications of
being a clan member. So long as your clan survived, you were never
alone.
"If evil is determined to hunt for us here, it'll surely come for
us in Hawaii. If we run now, we'll be running for the rest of our
lives. We saw what running did to Sodoshi Tanaka." He stared at his
slumbering daughter. "I won't have that happen to our daughter as
well."
Nabiki, too, looked at her baby, fear battling with her
stubbornness for control. She remembered well her child's namesake -
how her parents were murdered - then her older brother - and
finally.... Nabiki hugged her baby tighter.
"I won't allow anything to happen to So-chan, Jeffrey." Her look
told him that she was willing to protect her daughter with every fibre
of her being. Sodoshi was *hers*. The threat of taking something so
personal from her caused her blood to boil with anger. NOBODY *takes*
anything from Nabiki Tendo-Lawrence. NOBODY!
Jeff directed the driver to stop by Dr. Tofu's clinic on the way
to the Tendos. The good doctor would have ways of purging Jeff's
system of the alcohol. Above all else, Jeff needed to be sober and
alert now. His family was in danger.
Their arrival at the Tendo compound was pretty much what could be
expected. As the cab pulled up at the main gate, Jeff was the first
out, holding the door for his wife and their baby. Nervously, Nabiki
adjusted the baby's little dress as she waited for her husband to
remove the remainder of their things from the car's trunk. Keenly
aware that her first impression with Kasumi would be the most
important, Nabiki fussed with her daughter, all the while casting
nervous glances at the front door.
She needn't have worried. Bursting from the residence in a race
to the gate, Akane sprinted for her sister. By the time Kasumi
arrived, Akane was holding her niece, cooing and cuddling. Ranma,
Genma, and Soun, maintaining the family dignity, calmly wandered out
to help Jeff with his luggage.
As the girls drifted inside, excitedly chattering amongst
themselves. The men carefully gathered up the luggage and followed,
quietly trading polite greetings - with one exception.
Genma Saotome, always looking for ways to get his hands on
portions of Jeff's money, eased up to the young American and began
outlining his latest sure fire', can't miss, gonna-be-big money
making scheme. It was, as usual, half-baked and hair-brained. All he
needed was a couple hundred thousand yen to make it work. Jeff, as
usual, just kept walking, smiling, and nodding like he was interested.
Both knew Jeff wouldn't bite, he never did. Still, it didn't prevent
Genma from trying. Jeff's primary concern at that moment was to find
somewhere to lay down. The concoction Tofu had given him for his
alcohol over consumption had a nasty little side effect; it left him
nauseous and sleepy. Listening to Genma only intensified both.
Dinner was a tribute to Kasumi's skills in the kitchen -
everything was perfect. Much to Nabiki's relief, Kasumi held little
Sodoshi throughout the entire meal, feeding her carefully warmed baby
food with a spoon. Nabiki marveled at how natural and at ease the
childless Kasumi was with her baby. It was Kasumi in her natural
state - caring for an infant. All of which left Nabiki feeling even
more uncomfortable.
For her part, Sodoshi was unusually calm and cooperative for
Kasumi - as if she knew she was in the hands of a competent provider
of child care. Kasumi even finished off the dinner by feeding Sodoshi
little bites of rice with her own chopsticks. All of which only fed
Nabiki's feeling of inadequacy.
After dinner, Ranma and Akane disappeared, Kasumi retired to the
kitchen to clean the dinner mess while Nabiki played with her
daughter. Nabiki figured that being a mother exempted her from
helping her older sister - not that she ever helped Kasumi in the
past. As she carefully wiped her daughter's face, removing the last
of the child's dinner, she could feel her father staring at Sodoshi.
A quick glance confirmed his wistful look.
"Would you like to hold her?" Nabiki finally asked. "Grandpa."
She couldn't resist adding the last title - almost as a gentle tease.
The expression on Soun's face immediately caused Nabiki to regret
applying the title to her father. It wasn't that he looked hurt. It
was just that he'd never been called that before. The thought of him
actually *being* a grandfather had never really been brought home so
directly.
"I'm sorry, daddy," Nabiki quietly apologized with an embarrassed
look.
"Quite alright, daughter. You're absolutely right. I *am* a
grandfather now." He paused staring at the slumbering Sodoshi. "It's
just, until this moment, I hadn't actually thought too much about it."
He looked at the table with the same blank expression they had seen
many times when he was struggling with his emotions. "I would like
very much to hold my granddaughter."
Gently, Nabiki handed over her daughter and watched as Soun
cradled the tiny body. In spite of the fact that Sodoshi had almost
doubled in size since birth, she looked so much smaller in the large
hands of her grandfather. His eyes began to water as he softly
touched the baby's tiny fingers.
"I wish your mother could see this," he mumbled as if trying to
avoid waking the slumbering child in his arms. "She would have been
so proud of you, daughter." With that, his tears flowed freely as he
hugged the tiny body to him. One of his fondest dreams was that his
daughters would present him with grandchildren. Kasumi he was sure
of. Akane he had hopes for. But, Nabiki... Nabiki was a total
surprise. Holding her child first was beyond anything he ever dreamed
possible.
Embarrassed, Nabiki stared at her folded hands in her lap and
sniffed a little herself. She hadn't anticipated her father's
reaction to the baby. Actually, she hadn't thought too much about him
one way or another. His blubbering over her baby left Nabiki a little
embarrassed and unsure of how to respond. Luckily, her father took
care of that too.
"Forgive an old man for his... unmanly reactions," Soun sniffed.
"It's just I never expected..."
Nabiki stopped him with a gentle hand on his shoulder. Her warm
smile was genuine.
"That's alright, daddy. I never expected her either."
Soun's mustache fluttered up into a sad smile. Wordlessly, he
acknowledged his daughter while watching Sodoshi yawn her readiness to
sleep.
"It has been many years..." His voice sounded distant. His look
was almost vacant as he reminisced. "I can remember holding you like
this while your mother..." His voice seemed to choke and his lower
lip began to tremble again. Luckily, he still had a close friend.
"There, there, old friend." Genma leaned slightly in Soun's
direction. "You are a trained Martial Artist."
"I'm also a grandpa. I'm entitled to my memories."
"Quite so, memories are the prerogative of the aged." Genma
sighed almost wistfully. "I guess we *are* getting old."
Their tranquility was broken by a commotion from the main
hallway.
"Stupid tom-boy!" It was Ranma-chan's voice - spitting mad and
sounding like he always did when fighting with Akane. Sure enough,
Akane's voice followed his.
"Honest, Ranma, I didn't know the bucket was there! It was an
accident, you jerk!"
The sounds of pounding footsteps on the stairs clearly indicated
the pair's combined anger.
Genma quietly dead-panned: "Of course, our work is not quite
done."
"Quite so, old friend."
Jeff, doing his best imitation of Soun Tendo, stared blankly at
the wall across from him and sipped his after dinner tea. A nap and a
meal had helped, but he still looked like someone coming down off of a
two day drunk.
Nabiki's eyes wandered from her father (still looking wistfully
at the baby), to Genma (still shaking his head at the feuding
youngsters), to her husband (still staring like a drunk salryman).
<This is *still* the goofiest family I've ever seen.> she
lamented. Looking again at her husband. <I better get Mr. Shadow
Warrior to bed before he passes out again.>
Excusing herself, noting to the fathers that it had been a long
trip and both her husband and her baby needed their sleep, she
retrieved Sodoshi and tugged at Jeff's collar to get him to follow.
As she passed the kitchen, she bid her sister goodnight and
endured Kasumi's final thoughts to baby Sodoshi. Kissing the child on
the forehead, Kasumi smiled as Sodoshi's little hands fussed across
her face trying to make the annoyance go away. Nabiki smiled to
herself. At least, she knew something about babies in general and
Sodoshi in particular that her sister apparently didn't; Sodoshi
*hated* being messed with while trying to sleep.
The Lawrence family passed Ranma-chan on the stairs as she was
heading for the bath. Nabiki couldn't resist.
"Well, I see you and Akane are getting along better."
Ranma-chan's growl as she stomped down the stairs told Nabiki
that she still had the touch.
As the family reached the top of the stairs, Jeff took the
opportunity to say something that, probably, should have waited until
they were safely inside their room - better yet, not voiced at all.
"I can't get over it. Ranma, in his female form, *still* has the
hottest body of you girls." He finished with a few, lewd 'ruffing'
sounds.
Nabiki reacted predictably, after an icy stare her husband's way,
she slipped through the door to their room and slammed it shut in
front of Jeff.
As his head bounced off the wood door, Jeff stepped back, wide
awake now, and groaned at his stupidity.
"Aw come on, Nabiki," he whined in a loud voice at the closed
door. "I was just kidding. Let me in."
Downstairs, the two fathers just looked at each other over their
shoghi board.
"Yes, we still have work to do, old friend," Soun lamented.
"Quite so."
Back upstairs, Jeff, lamenting his stupidity, noticed a small
black pig at his feet. Rubbing his eyes, to make sure he wasn't
'seeing things', he snarled at the staring creature.
"What are *you* looking at?!?" The pig backed up slightly.
Akane took that opportunity to emerge from her room.
"There you are, P-chan." She stomped down the hall to retrieve
her pet. "Did that nasty man scare you?" she added with a mock pout
towards the pig.
"I give up. What is it?" Jeff knew better than to ask but,
between the alcohol and Tofu's 'medicine', he'd lost both his reserve
and his common sense. "It looks like an oversized bald hamster."
The pig's reaction was a flurry of feet movements and a struggle
to escape Akane's firm grip - all the time glaring at Jeffrey
Lawrence. Jeff just stood his ground and shot the pig an incredulous
look.
"He's my pet pig, P-chan," Akane sneered as she turned to go back
to her room. "You're as bad as Ranma." She cuddled the still
'bweeing' P-chan as she walked and cooed: "I won't let the nasty
gaijin hurt you, P-chan." She paused at the door and glared at Jeff
once more.
"Surely, you're not going to sleep with that barnyard animal?"
Jeff's incredulous voice was punctuated by Akane's glare just before
she stepped into her room and slammed the door shut.
"Then again, maybe you are."
Downstairs, the two fathers just shook their heads.
"Yes, *much* work left to do." Genma absently scratched his bald
head while studying the shoghi board.
"Quite so, my friend. Still, it's nice having all the children
home again."
Soun's voice was interrupted by a loud yell from back towards the
bath. Seconds later, a naked male Ranma came tearing through the room
and down the hallway with a small white cat in hot pursuit. As the
pair exited the main door, they almost ran down an elderly neighbor
lady coming up the walk towards the house.
She adjusted her glasses at the naked Ranma as he sped past,
heading for the dojo. What her thoughts might have been will forever
be unknown as Kasumi, following calmly, noticed her and offered the
appropriate evening greeting.
"Oh, konnbenwa, Suzuki-senpai," Kasumi said in her friendliest
voice while bowing politely. "I hope we're not making too much noise
again."
"No," the lady watched as the naked Ranma scrambled through the
door of the dojo, followed by the bounding white cat. His cries of
'Get away from me' provided the background for further conversation.
"I've come on behalf of a friend's son - as a 'go between'."
"Oh my," Kasumi remarked in a tiny voice, her fingers lightly
covering her mouth in surprise. Her thoughts, too, were interrupted.
"Was that Ranma?" Akane asked as she scurried up to the ladies.
"Yes. That way." Kasumi pointed towards the dojo, holding her
pose while Akane quickly bowed her way past the pair and ran towards
the practice building.
"Wasn't that..." Mrs. Suzuki paused as her aged mind sorted
through all the bits of information at her immediate disposal.
"Nabiki?" she finally asked.
"No, that was Akane." Kasumi corrected politely.
"Then the other was..."
"Ranma."
"Isn't he..."
"Engaged to Akane."
"Wasn't he..."
"Yes, he was running naked through our yard."
"Isn't that..."
"A little strange, yes. But we've gotten used to it." Kasumi
sighed.
"Damned strange boy, if you ask me."
"You've got me there, Suzuki-senpai."
The pair watched the darkened dojo for a few minutes, noting all
the commotion. Mrs. Suzuki quietly tried to make some sense out of
the noises coming from the building.
"Ahhhhh. Get it off! Get it off!"
"Hold still, you pervert!"
"Meowwww!!!"
"Let go of him, you bimbo!"
Kasumi cleared her throat and invited the confused looking
elderly neighbor inside for tea. Mrs. Suzuki accepted but continued
to stare at the dojo as she entered the house.
Upstairs, Nabiki finally relented and opened the door to her
husband. Looking rightfully chastised, Jeff slunk through the door
and into the room. Nabiki, however, wasn't through with him.
"So, you don't think my figure is as good as Ranma's." She
leaned against the closed door, crossed her arms, and glared at her
husband. "I've worked hard to get back to my pre-pregnancy condition.
You know that." Jeff just looked at the floor and tried to convey an
expression of repentance - his eyes glancing up at his wife, showing
his apology as best he could. He wasn't sure if she was really angry
or playing one of her 'games' again.
Nabiki caught his sheepish looks. She knew he was sorry but
secretly enjoyed being the 'master', especially in her former home.
"Have you had your bath yet?" She started tapping her foot.
"I'm not letting you in bed without a bath."
Jeff's look told her he hadn't. She surpressed her little smile
as she hatched the rest of her plan.
"Get your things and go take your bath." Nabiki stepped aside
and waited patiently for her husband to comply. Armed with his night
clothes Jeff slunk to the door. "Just a minute, buster," Nabiki
growled. Jeff stopped and looked at his wife.
Without so much as a warning smile, Nabiki grabbed his shirt and
pulled him into a kiss as passionate as any she'd ever given him.
Seconds later, she broke the kiss and stepped back - her face still
hard and serious. She was the master here and Jeffrey better at least
act like he knew it.
"Now," She began straightening her clothes. "Go take your bath."
"Yes mommy." Jeff pouted as he opened the door. This was a new
game of Nabiki's. Secretly, he was starting to like it.
"Git!" she growled as she spanked his butt through the door.
"I've got things to do here."
Jeff scurried into the hall and paused only long enough to grin
at the closed door behind him, before heading for the bath. Nabiki
was inventing new 'games' with this trip. Secretly, Jeff enjoyed them
more than he let on - it helped their marriage.
As Jeff passed the main room, he noticed Kasumi seated around the
main table with an older lady dressed in a drab kimono. He couldn't
help but notice how uncomfortable his sister-in-law looked. This was
a new experience for him; he'd *never* seen Kasumi with such an
expression before.
Without asking who the older lady was, as it was impolite to do
so unless invited, Jeff proceeded to the bath, seemingly unnoticed by
the ladies.
Kasumi took a sip of her tea, trying to remain calm in the
presence of her neighbor - her official 'go-between'.
"Normally, my dear, I'd be dealing with your mother first. But
since..." Mrs. Suzuki suddenly seemed tongue-tied at the suggestion
of Kasumi's late mother. They had been friends ever since her mother
came to live in Nerima as a little girl. She had seen just about
everybody living in the neighborhood grow up but was particularly fond
of the little girl who grew up and married the dashing and handsome
Soun Tendo.
"I understand, Suzuki-senpai," Kasumi nervously replied as she
stared at the cup in her hands. This was all new to her. Having a
'go-between' contact the family indicated some young man was
interested enough in her to take such a serious step. In spite of how
excited she was, it understandably left Kasumi all... flushed.
The two women talked in generalities for several seconds until
they both noticed the fathers, still sitting at the shoghi board,
leaning perceptably towards the ladies like they were evesdropping.
Kasumi was the first to notice as she fixed her father with a blank
stare. Mrs. Suzuki caught on quickly and turned to duplicate Kasumi's
blank stare at the two men. Several seconds ticked by as the room
grew totally quiet. Slowly, Soun's eyes rolled to look at Genma. His
friend did the same his direction.
"Ahem," Soun cleared his throat as he tried to think of what to
say. "After all, I *am* her father."
Somehow, that didn't seem to have any effect as the two women
continued to stare blankly at the fathers. Obviously, the
conversation between Kasumi and the 'go-between' was not going to
proceed with the men in attendence.
"Well, Saotome, I believe it's been a long time since we've
visited Mr. Miyagi's establishment. I think I could go for a cold
beer right now." Soun looked at his friend out of the corners of his
eyes.
"Weren't we just there yester..[Oooof]" Genma's reply was
abruptly cut off by his friend's elbow in his ribs. He got the
message. "Yes, I quite agree. A cold beer would taste quite good
right now."
The two fathers got up, bowed respectfully to the ladies, and
began to leave. Genma hesitated next to Mrs. Suzuki before bending
over and asking in a low voice: "Are you available to act as a
'go-between' for another pair I happen to know?"
"Saotome!" Genma yelled from the hallway. "Subtle, you're not."
he added as Genma quickly caught up with him.
Kasumi appologized for her father and his friend as the two men
walked to the door. She heard the door open and close. For several
seconds, the two women sipped their tea and waited. Finally, Kasumi
felt she'd waited long enough.
"Did you forget something, father?" she asked in a loud voice.
"Ah... no... not really," came her father's voice from the
hallway. "Come along, Saotome."
"How did she know we were still here?" Genma's startled voice
sounded genuinely shocked at being discovered.
The door opened and closed again. This time, the ladies waited
to hear the gate out front do the same before continuing their
discussion.
"Now then, Miss Tendo," Mrs. Suzuki smiled broadly. "I'm here on
behalf of a young man who's family I've known for many years. While
I'm no expert at these things, I've watched the young man in question
grow up and think he'd be a good match for you and your family."
"Was this request made by the young man in question or by his
family?" Kasumi smiled at her cup of tea. <Well, mother, I should
have figured you'd get around to this sooner or later.>
"By the family."
"I trust his mother approves of my family." <How did you get his
mother to request Mrs. Suzuki to do this?>
"Quite so. They are most impressed with the Tendo family line."
"I suppose we should begin dating then." <Of course, he'll have
to spend less time at the clinic.>
"Yes, the Watanabe family is most anxious for their son to be
wed."
Kasumi's eyes 'ponged' open as she stared at her tea in thinly
disguised shock. Mentally, she replayed the last few exchanges in her
head, over and over. No matter how hard she tried, it still came out
'Watanabe'.
"Who?"
"Kenji Watanabe. He's a new policeman just assigned to our
district. I understand you've already met him."
<Stop laughing mother. It's not funny.>
Akane followed the scratched and bruised Ranma back to the house.
Ranma, having to improvise a covering, wore an old blanket wrapped
around himself like a toga.
"Go upstairs and get ready for bed. I'll get some hot water and
deal with our little... feline problem." Akane sounded almost amused
at what she was going to do. She'd trapped Shampoo's cat form under a
leaky old bucket out in the dojo. She figured she'd just heat up some
water, making sure it was really hot, then pour it over the base of
the bucket so it would seep through to the cat. She chuckled inwardly
at the thought of a naked Shampoo materializing with a bucket on her
head - faced with the prospect of wandering home through the busy
early evening streets of Nerima dressed only in an itchy, moth eaten
old blanket that Akane would thoughtfully provide. In any case, this
evening's romp was *not* going to endear her in any way to the Chinese
Amazon.
<Serves her right for ambushing Ranma in the bath like that.>
Akane gleefully thought as she entered the kitchen.
Jeff was just beginning to relax in the hot water of the furo.
It wasn't like the one back home - it had more of a personality. He
contentedly closed his eyes and thought of all the people who had used
this furo over the years. He wondered how many generations of Tendos
sat in the very spot he was sitting in, soaking in the steaming hot
water. He didn't know any of the early Tendos, so his thoughts
wandered back over the current occupants of the residence. He thought
of Soun and his wife, and how it must have seemed like heaven to them,
having the old place to themselves. He could imagine in his mind's
eye how little Kasumi would splash and play with her parents in a time
when she could be a child. He also saw Nabiki and later Akane joining
the family. The furo must have gotten crowded. He was just getting
to the part where he was visualizing the scene Nabiki told him about
that occurred 12 years ago, the night her mother died, when he heard
the door to the inner bath open. With a little panic, Jeff spun
around in the water to see who was intruding on his bath time. What
he saw caused his jaw to drop.
Standing in the doorway, innocently holding a small towel in
front of her was Nabiki. She eyed him with her little smile before
slowly dropping the towel and posing against the open door.
"And *who* has the best body in the family?" she cooed
seductively. She already knew the answer but was enjoying the
remainder of her little 'game' anyway.
"None better than my lovely wife," Jeff answered, grinning like a
little boy in a peep show.
"I thought so," Nabiki answered as she shut the door and wandered
over to the furo. "Room for two in there?"
"It could be a little tight for two adults."
"Well, we'll just have to see what we can do about that." Nabiki
gently slid into the water and onto her husband's lap. "See? It fits
two."
Kasumi was just bidding her guest goodnight at the front door
when a commotion in the dojo drew both of their attentions. It
sounded like two females yelling at each other - only one was yelling
in Chinese. They watched as the door to the dojo burst open and a
naked Shampoo, her purple tresses trailing behind her, dashed across
the compound only to disappear around the corner of the house.
"Wasn't that...?"
"The Chinese girl from the restaurant down the street."
"Wasn't she...?"
"Yes, she was running naked through our yard."
"Isn't that..."
"A little strange, yes. But we've gotten used to it." Kasumi
sighed.
"I see. Well, goodnight." The old lady waddled up the walk,
casting curious glances around the corner of the house, trying to see
just where the naked Chinese girl with the long purple hair went to -
all the time thinking to herself: <I wonder if Mrs. Watanabe knows
about this?>
Kasumi was just about to go back inside when Akane, dripping wet
but with a huge grin on her face, came slowly out of the darkened
dojo. Ambling slowly past her older sister, Akane grinned happily and
sloshed her way inside the house - leaving little puddles wherever she
went. Kasumi watched her sister go before turning back to see a small
white, and very wet, cat slip out the main gate of the compound.
<A little strange, yes.> she thought with a shake of her head.
<And NO, we haven't gotten used to it.>
Kasumi entered the house with a sigh. She now had a wet mess to
clean up before going to bed. She closed the front door and turned to
get the mop.
<Stop laughing mother. It's not funny at all.>
Walking down towards the bath to get the mop, Kasumi stopped
suddenly in the hall when she thought she heard a noise coming from
the bath. Shaking her head and dismissing any thought about strange
noises, she entered the outer room and retrieved her mop and bucket.
Another noise from the bath attracted her attention - it sounded like
a giggle. Quietly setting the mop and bucket down, she crept up to
the inner door and cracked it open just enough to see inside. What
she saw caused her to immediately blush, cover her mouth in surprise
and turn away.
<I've got to remember to drain and clean the furo tomorrow before
anyone else uses it.> she thought to herself as she quickly picked up
the bucket and mop again. <Honestly, Nabiki. In the furo - of all
places.>
Kasumi quietly closed the outer door and started down the hall.
Leaving her sister and brother-in-law to their privacy. It had
certainly been an interesting evening.
<Stop laughing mother. It's not funny.>
At 2:37 AM, the Sodoshi alarm went off, waking the entire
household. All except Genma and Soun, who were blissfully sleeping
off their visit to Mr. Miyagi's establishment.
For the others...
<Oh, poor thing. Must be hungry.>
"It's *your* turn, Jeffrey."
"Why always me?"
<If Ranma even *thinks* of having kids...>
<I'm sleeping in the dojo.>
Just another day at the Tendos.