Waters Under Earth

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic by Alan Harnum - harnums@hotmail.com

All Ranma characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, first
published by Shogakukan in Japan and brought over to North
America by Viz Communications.

Homepage at:  http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Bay/9758

Commentary welcomed.  I'm now subscribed to the list, so, public
or private, whatever your cup of tea.  

Chapter 23 : Those Left Behind [2 of 3]
     
     Soun turned, clippers dangling at his side from one hand.
"What about, Nabiki?"

     His middle daughter regarded him evenly for a moment, hand 
cupping her chin.  "I think it's good that you're doing some work
in the yard, you know.  Makes it easier for Kasumi."

     "Aye," Soun replied.  "Perhaps you should see if there's
anything you can do to help her out."

     Nabiki shrugged.  "I'm not really the domestic type."
     
     Soun frowned slightly and let the clippers drop to the 
grass, taking a step towards his daughter.  "Nabiki, do you think
Kasumi's happy?"

     "Hmm?  Kasumi's always happy."
     
     "I know that," Soun sighed.  "But she does so much, you 
know.  I sometimes wonder if..."

     "You know, now that you mention it, I ran into Doctor Tofu
today when I was out," Nabiki said, snapping her fingers.  "Don't
you remember how Kasumi always used to visit him?"

     Soun nodded.  "Of course.  You know, I always thought he 
had something of a fancy for her."

     "You too?" Nabiki queried, raising an eyebrow.  "I wonder
why she stopped visiting him, you know.  Maybe all the work just
got to be too much for her."

     Soun felt a twinge of guilt.  "Maybe.  I... had always
rather hoped he might make his intentions more clear, but he
always seemed so flustered around her."

     "Yeah, well, sometimes people just need a push in the right
direction," Nabiki said.  

     Soun nodded again.  "You could be right."
     
     She raised a finger.  "Not a shove, mind you.  Shoving
doesn't always work out too well."

     "Mmm," Soun said, looking at the ground.  "Perhaps."
     
     "I've got it," Nabiki said, snapping her fingers and
grinning.  "Why don't you invite him over for dinner?  That might
get things off to a good start."

     Soun ran his fingers through his hair and was silent for a
moment.  "Well, you know, the only problem is... he tends to be a
little... destructive when he's around Kasumi.  It might be best
to arrange something so the two of them can be alone..."

     "Unchaperoned?" 
     
     Soun shook his head.  "Well, no, but..."
     
     "Give him a chance, daddy," Nabiki said, putting a hand on
his shoulder.  "I'm sure he'll be fine."

     "Alright," Soun said.  "I'll give him a call, see what I can
come up with..."

     Nabiki patted his shoulder affectionately.  "Let me handle
it, dad.  I'll have him over here tonight."

     "Oh, very well," Soun said.  "This is very good of you,
Nabiki.  Thank you for suggesting it."

     "No problem," Nabiki said.  "I'll get on it right now."
     
     She turned and walked away, hands in her pockets.
     
     Soun smiled and went back to the hedges.  Just when he was
worried about Nabiki, she'd shown him that there were some things
beyond money that mattered to her.  

**********

     In her room, Nabiki leaned back in her chair and tapped a
pencil against her lips.  She was trying to decide how best to
approach this; talk to Kasumi first or Tofu?

     She leaned back further and perched one foot on the edge of
her desk.  Tofu had been enthusiastic when she'd talked to him,
but a few days ago Kasumi had been embarrassed with the mention of
his name.  If she went to Kasumi first, she might get flustered
and reject the idea right away.  Again, Nabiki wondered just why 
the visiting had stopped, then pushed it from her mind.  Not her
business; Tofu had paid her to see what she could do to bring him
and Kasumi together, not wonder about why they'd been kept apart.

     Yeah, going to Tofu first was best.
     
     She picked up the phone, flipped open her address book and
searched through it till she found his number.

     He answered on the second ring.
     
     "Hey doc," she began.  "Good news..."
     
**********

     Tofu hung up the phone and walked back into the examination
room from the small, semi-detached office.  The elderly man 
looked up from where he sat on the table.

     "We get back to my back now?" he said.  
     
     Tofu giggled.  "That's very funny."
     
     "Huh?"
     
     "Back to your back," he replied, and laughed.  
     
     "Eh?  I guess it is," the old man said, and chuckled 
slightly nervously.  

     "Know what?"
     
     "What?"
     
     "I'm invited to dinner at K... Kasumi's house..."
     
     Tofu reached out and slammed his fist into the wall near his
patient's head.  The wall cracked.  "Isn't that _great_?"

     "Yes, just wonderful," the man croaked, gazing at the web of
broken plaster.  "I've just remembered an urgent appointment, I
must be going now, goodbye..."

     He scrambled off the table, grabbed up his shirt, and ran
out of the clinic while pulling it on.  Tofu watched him go, then
turned to look at Betty where she stood in the corner.

     "Isn't this lovely, Betty?" he asked.  
     
     Betty didn't say anything back.  
     
     "I'm glad he left.  He might have gotten in my way.  
Everyone wants to get in my way with Kasumi, Betty.  Even
Kasumi."

     Again, Betty didn't answer.  
     
     Tofu reached over and caressed the smoothness of her skull, 
very gently.  "She stopped coming, Betty, even though I loved 
her.  That wasn't right, Betty, don't you agree?"

     As Betty was not inclined to nod by herself, he reached out
and helped her.  "Good.  I can always count on you, Betty."

     He grinned at Betty, staring into the blankness of her eyes.
     
     Betty grinned right back, and stared into the blankness of
his.

**********

     Nabiki walked into the kitchen just as Kasumi finished
putting away the last plate in the cupboard.  "Hey sis?"

     "Yes, Nabiki?"
     
     Nabiki sauntered over to the counter and grabbed an orange
from the fruit bowl.  Pinching the skin between her nails, she
began to peel it.  "You know, I ran into Doctor Tofu today."

     She watched Kasumi's face carefully, but saw no change in
expression.  "He really seems stuck on you, you know that?"

     "I don't know what you're talking about, Nabiki," Kasumi
replied.  She turned on the water in the sink and began to scrub
her hands under the stream.  

     "Of course you don't," Nabiki drawled.  Even Kasumi wasn't
that dim, and from the conversation they'd had in the yard a few
days ago, there was more to the situation with her and Tofu than
anyone had suspected.  "So anyway, I got to talking to daddy, and
he ended up inviting Tofu over for dinner tonight.  Hope that's
not too much trouble."

     She popped a sliver of orange into her mouth and carefully
watched Kasumi from behind.  There was a minute quiver in her
older sister's shoulders as she continued washing her hands, but
other than that, nothing.

     "That okay, Kasumi?" 
     
     "Just fine, Nabiki," Kasumi whispered.  "Just fine."

     "Great," Nabiki enthused.  "Want a piece of orange?"
     
     "No thank you," Kasumi replied softly.  The liquid whisper 
of the water rolling between her hands overlaid everything, all
conversation.

     Nabiki walked out of the kitchen, chewing contentedly on
another segment of the orange and absently crumpling the peel in
her fist.  Behind her, Kasumi continued to wash her hands.

**********

     Soun pushed his hair out of his eyes for what seemed like
the hundredth time since he'd started working, and resumed his
pruning of the bushes.  He was quite pleased with what he'd
gotten done so far; the yard would look better because of it, and
Kasumi would have less work to do in the end.

     Now that he truly looked back and considered it, he had done
a great wrong to his eldest daughter by allowing her to continue
keeping his house.  It was past time that she should have been
thinking about a household of her own, but the responsibilities
of this one had likely gotten in her way.

     That was one of the reasons he was glad Nabiki had come to
him with the idea about Tofu.  He knew the young doctor was in
love with Kasumi; his behaviour could mean nothing else.  If
Nabiki came through with her prediction of getting Tofu over to
the house for dinner tonight, who knew where things could lead?

     A few quick motions with the clippers sent more excess of     
branches and leaves tumbling to the ground from the bushes.  He
found himself wondering, suddenly, about Akane.  By now, they
would have arrived in China, and would be on their way to
Jusenkyou.  

     Soun sighed.  He was terribly worried, though he was making
a real effort to suppress it.  There was nothing he could do;
Akane was thousands of miles away, and if he'd been there with
her and the others, he only would have gotten in the way, letting
his emotions get the better of him like he was wont to do.  

     The best thing was to wait, and go on as best he could, and
hope with all his heart that she would come back, and bring Ranma
with her.  He'd seen the determination in his youngest daughter,
and it filled him with both a great pride and sense of fear.  If
it was within her power, Akane would bring Ranma back, he was
sure of that.

     Yes, the best thing was to wait, and do what he could for
the two daughters who remained with him.  

     "Father!"
     
     The voice made him turn his head and lower the clippers.  
"Yes, Kasumi?"

     Hands on her hips, Kasumi had about the closest thing to a
frown on her face he had ever seen.  Her voice sounded sharper
than usual as she continued.  "Did you invite Doctor Tofu over
for dinner tonight?"

     Soun scratched the back of his head, running his fingers
through his long dark hair.  "Well, I suppose I did in a way,
though Nabiki..."

     "Really, father," Kasumi replied, not letting him finish.
"I really wish you'd ask me before you invited a guest over.  I
do have to cook the meal, after all."

     Soun blinked.  He took a step towards his daughter and
raised his hand to put it on her shoulder, feeling concern rising
in him.  "Kasumi..."

     To his utter surprise, his daughter cringed back from his
hand, as if she were afraid of him.  Then she seemed to recover
herself, a struggle passing momentarily across her face before
she drew herself upright and took a deep breath.

     "I'm sorry, father," she said.  "I've just been feeling
rather nervous lately.  Please excuse my rudeness.  I would be
glad to have a guest for dinner."

     Confusion reigning over him, Soun frowned slightly and stood     
in silence for a few moments before speaking.  "Kasumi, I should 
apologize.  I should have asked you first; perhaps you'd 
rather..."

     And his eldest daughter smiled, face lighting up, every
trace of anything but happiness vanishing like the wind.  "No, 
no, father, I'd be delighted to have Tofu for dinner.  I'm just
nervous about what I should cook, you know, because it will be a
special meal, and..."

     "Oh," Soun said, feeling immensely relieved.  "Good."  
     
     "I'll have to start planning dinner right away," she said,
turning from him.  "Bye, father."

     "Goodbye, Kasumi," he replied, turning back to the bush.
Snip, snip, went the clippers; down, down, went the leaves, 
falling, falling, falling.

**********

     Nodoka stared warily at the black handset of the phone, and
then picked it up, listening to buzz of the dial tone, but not
finding it in herself to call.

     She wanted to see the Tendos again, wanted to be around
people who remembered her son, who had known him better than she
had.  But somehow, she found it hard to reach out again, after
having left their house behind before.  No one had made any
attempt to get in touch with her until yesterday, when Genma had
arrived unexpectedly at her door.  

     And then he had left her alone again.
     
     And with that thought, almost of their own volition, her
fingers were pressing the buttons of the phone, and on the other
end of the line, she heard the ringing, once, twice, three times.

     "Hello, Tendo residence."
     
     Kasumi's voice sounded slightly strange to Nodoka, an odd
tremble in it that she wasn't used to hearing from the girl.  She
shrugged it off, too glad to hear the familiar voice to linger
over such a minor thing.  "Hello, Kasumi."
     
     "Mrs. Saotome?"
     
     "Yes, dear."
     
     "Goodness, I haven't heard from you since you left."
     
     Nodoka felt a guilty twinge, yet another reminder come too
late that she should have called sooner.  She pushed it down and
carried on.  "How are you all doing over there?"

     "Just fine," Kasumi replied cheerfully on the other end of
the line.  "Just fine.  Akane left yesterday night for China."

     "Yes," Nodoka replied softly, closing her eyes.  "I know."

     "Mrs. Saotome, how are you doing?  You're not lonely, are
you?"

     "No, dear," Nodoka said, wishing she believed it herself.  
"I got used to being alone a long time ago."
     
     "Oh."
     
     "Is something wrong?"
     
     "I was just wondering if you would have liked to come for
dinner tonight."

     Nodoka surprised even herself with the speed of her 
response.  "No, dear, I'd love to come," she blurted.  "That is,
if it's alright..."

     "It would be wonderful," Kasumi assured, sounding almost
relieved.  "Just wonderful."

     "Why don't I come by early and we can cook dinner together?"
     
     "Really, that's not..."
     
     "I'd really like that."
     
     "Okay."
     
     They worked out the arrangements for the next few minutes,
discussed what they would make.  When Nodoka finally hung up the
phone, she felt happier than she had in a long time.

     She had a feeling it was going to be a pleasant evening.
     
**********     
     
     It had been several hours now since Soun had started the
work in the yard, and he could not shake the feeling that he was
making little more than a dent in what needed to be done.  Every
time he looked, he saw other things that needed to be done; tree
branches that needed to be cut down, grass that needed cutting.
And he was not even finished with the bushes yet.  

     He was working on the ones that led up the front walk when
he noticed a strange discrepancy in them.  Some seemed to have
been worked on more recently than others, as if there had been an
interruption, and the work had been abandoned.

     And then he remembered why.  Kasumi had been working on them
when Cologne had arrived, and taken Nodoka, and the next day 
Ranma had been gone.

     Soun rested the clippers on the ground as he sank down to
the weathered stones that paved the front walk, unable to stand
beneath the surge of sudden grief that overwhelmed him, all the
emotion he had tried so hard to bury for once, the desperate
concern for his vanished future son-in-law, for the daughter who 
had left to find him, for his old friend trying to redeem himself
in the eyes of his wife.
     
     Not for the first time, a horrible feeling of helplessness
washed over him, that this was the best he could while his
youngest daughter and his oldest friend went into danger.  But
his skills were nothing, and whatever meagre courage he'd had in
his youth was long gone.  

     Raising himself up, resting his forearm on his knee and
staring at his house, Soun realized he was tired, after a few
hours of menial yard work.  His clothing was soaked with sweat,
his hair plastered damply to his neck and forehead.  
     
     He felt tired, and useless, and weak.  

     "Soun, are you alright?"
     
     He looked up from where he sat, surprised at the voice and
the speaker.  "Nodoka?"

     Seeing the elegant kimono and immaculate hair of his
friend's wife left him only more conscious of how he must look,
sitting down in the dust like this.  

     "Forgive my lack of reception," he said, standing up and
brushing stray bits of bush debris off his gi.  "I had no idea
you would be coming over today."

     "Kasumi invited me," Nodoka said, smiling slightly, though
her eyes were sad.  "We're going to make dinner together."

     "Ahh.  Another guest, then."
     
     "Hmm?"
     
     He leaned in conspiratorially, feeling his mood shift again.
"A young fellow who I think might be interested in Kasumi."

     "Really?  What's his name?"
     
     "Tofu Ono.  He's the local chiropractor; nice boy."
     
     An odd expression passed across Nodoka's face, one that Soun
couldn't decipher.  It vanished moments later.  "We've met."

     "Oh?"
     
     "A few days ago.  He does work for my new neighbour 
sometimes."

     "What kind of work?"
     
     Nodoka pursed her lips thoughtfully.  "You know, he never
really said... I'm not even sure what business he's in himself,
to tell the truth."

     Soun shifted his feet uncomfortably.  He'd never gotten
entirely used to talking to Nodoka.  "It's good that you're
getting to know your neighbours."

     "Just one of them so far," Nodoka said, smiling a bit sadly.
"But he's very nice."

     "Glad to hear it."
     
     "Mmm."
     
     He stooped and picked up the clippers from where they lay.
"I suppose I've kept you long enough, then.  You and Kasumi will
probably want to get dinner started now."

     "It was nice to talk to you, Soun," Nodoka said, nodding her
head as she stepped past him towards the front door.  Soun nodded
silently in reply, and went back to the hedges.

**********

     Nabiki sat in the large room that doubled as dining and 
living room, resting her elbow on the low table and munching on a
bag of rice crackers as she watched the news on TV.  Nothing
particularly interesting in her opinion; she'd pretty much left
it on for background noise after hearing the financial report.
     
     Absently, she glanced at her watch, listening to the sounds
of Kasumi and Nodoka working in the kitchen together as they
drifted down the hallway.  Tofu was supposed to be here in a 
little less than an hour; she hoped to be able to discern as much
as she could about him and Kasumi's attitudes towards each other
from watching them tonight.  Given the amount of cash she'd been
given by Tofu this morning, she could stand to make quite a tidy
profit on the situation.  

     And if Kasumi ended up happier in the end, that wasn't too
bad a thing, though if things went too far too fast, Nabiki might
lose the cooking and cleaning she'd come to expect over the years
before she was ready.  No, it would be better to pace things out;
let them move gradually, a little shove now and again.  Maximize
profits monetary and otherwise.

     She crunched down on a cracker, watched the images on the
television screen without ever really hearing any of the words.
Losing herself in little schemes like this had always been her
way of escaping the reality of the situation, of just who and 
what she had indebted herself to.  

     Hopefully, with Ranma vanished, Yoshiyuki's requests for
information would taper off, and she'd get a break from being in
contact with the man.  His advances towards her got worse and
worse every time they talked, and it made a cold fear grow in her
any time she thought about what might happen if it ever went
beyond words.  
     
     She remembered when he'd locked the doors for a moment as
she'd been about to get out of the car a few days ago.  She had
come close, so close, to losing the thin edge of control, to
letting the fear show through in public for once, instead of in
those rare private moments when the enormous hopelessness of the
situation came upon her, and she could not hold back the helpless
fear, could not hold back the need to weep.

     The bag rustled as she hunted down the last few crackers
remaining and pulled them out all at once, then proceeded to
devour them one by one.  She crumpled the empty bag, then hooked
it through the air to bounce off the top of the blaring 
television and into the wastebasket nearby.

     "Point for Nabiki," she said, standing up and absently
swallowing the last bits of the final cracker.  She walked out
the door into the hallway and poked her head into the kitchen.

     "How's it going?" she asked.  
     
     Nodoka looked back from where she was chopping up vegetables
at the counter.  "Just fine, dear."

     She brought the knife down on the cutting board with several
rapid thunks, then slid the sliced vegetables off to the side.  
"Where's your father?"
     
     "Dad?  I think he's in the bath."
     
     Resting her arm against the frame of the kitchen door, she 
called to Kasumi.  "Hey sis, Tofu's gonna be here in about an
hour."

     "Oh," Kasumi said, not looking up from where she was 
stirring a bowl.  "That's nice."

     "Uh-huh," Nabiki said smugly.  "You excited?"
     
     Kasumi said nothing.  The silence in the kitchen was filled
with the sound of Nodoka bringing the knife down, Kasumi banging
the wooden spoon against the sides of the bowl.  

     "Well," Nabiki said, feeling a bit uncomfortable for a
reason she couldn't place, "I'll leave you guys alone, then."     
     
     Heading back out into the hallway, she about to return to
the dining room when she heard someone knocking steadily on the
front door.  Not hard, but in a way that made it clear they
intended to do so until they got a response.

     Puzzled, Nabiki made her way towards the entrance hall of
the house.  Tofu seemed like the punctual type, certainly not the
kind of person to arrive nearly an hour early.  

     The knocking continued as she reached out for the door, and
stopped as soon as she put her hand on it and slid it open.  

     The sharp eyes of the young man on the other side regarded 
her from beneath the fall of his blue-back bangs.  "Took you long 
enough to answer the door, didn't it?"

     Pantyhose Tarou buffed his knuckles against the burnished
scales of his vest, and smirked slightly at Nabiki in an
annoyingly knowing way.  "Is Akane here?"

**********

     Tofu Ono ran the comb through his hair once more, and then
tied it back into his standard small ponytail.  He adjusted his
glasses once, then looked at his reflection in the mirror of the
small bathroom in his suite above the clinic.  He had to look his
best for dinner.  

     He smiled at his reflection, watched it smile back.  He
carefully adjusted the smile until it showed in his eyes as well.
He'd learned to do that long ago.

     "You'll knock 'em dead, doctor," he said to his reflection.
     
     That made him laugh, gripping the edges of the sink tightly
in his powerful hands.  It was a private laugh, a laugh that he
never let anyone else hear.  Against his will, his eyes went 
cold, and the corners of his lips curled up until his smile
looked less like a smile than it did a snarl, the feral 
expression of a predator.

     He walked out of the bathroom, went to the small spot in the
corner of his bedroom where the tiny family shrine rested.  He
knelt, and opened the doors, looked at the photos of his mother
and father, at the objects kept in their memory.  
     
     Then he casually swept them aside, letting them fall to the
carpeted floor with soft thuds.  His hand reached out, found the
hidden switch in the plain wood, flicked it to one side, and
opened the inner doors concealed inside the shrine.

     He looked at the symbol carved into the wooden panel beyond,
brutal in its crudeness.  An orb bisected by a tree, and a great
serpent who twined around both, the end of his body lying amidst
the upper branches of the tree, his jaws gripping the exposed 
roots, and his middle section wrapped thrice around the orb.  

     He picked up the small bottle that lay before it, uncorked
it, poured a mouthful of the foul-tasting, slimy liquid between
his lips and sloshed it around for a few seconds.  Then he
spat the gritty, bitter stuff on his hands and rubbed them
together, coating them in sticky filth.  

     "Father of night," he began, closing his eyes and clasping
his hands in front of him, "lord of carrion, source of darkness,
breaker of worlds, king of ashes..."

**********
     
     Nabiki regarded Tarou evenly for a moment before speaking.
"What are you doing here?"

     Tarou looked nonplussed by the response.  "Don't answer a
question with a question, that doesn't do either of us any good.
Besides, it's obvious why I'm here by what I just asked you.  Now
where's Akane?"

     "In China," Nabiki replied, beginning to close the door.
"So sorry.  Goodbye."

     Tarou stopped the door with his hand and stared at Nabiki,
surprise on his face.  "What?"

     "If you didn't hear me the first time, Akane isn't here,"
Nabiki sighed, ceasing her efforts to close the door.  "Why don't
you go knock over a building or something?"

     "Why'd Akane go to China?" Tarou demanded, taking a step
into the house and forcing Nabiki to move back or be bowled over
by him.  

     Nabiki put a hand against his chest and glared up at him.  
"We had enough of you dropping in uninvited last time.  Why don't
you destroy somebody else's home this time?"

     Tarou reached up and got a grip on her wrist with one
long-fingered hand.  Without any apparent effort, he pushed it
back until it was touching against Nabiki's shoulder, a mild grin
on his face.  

     Nabiki kept on glaring at him.  Neither the grip nor the
position hurt, and she was damned if she was going to back away
from Tarou.  

     Finally, he let go of her hand, and she dropped it to her
side for a moment before folding her arms across her chest and
continuing to regard the tall, slender boy with an expression of
irritation.  

     She had not had much to do with Tarou the times he had shown
up, but from his last appearance, she had formed two opinions on
him.  The first was that he tended to do a lot of property 
damage; that was nothing new to her, given the propensity of
pretty much everyone else she knew for the same.

     The second, however, she found mildly disturbing, which was
the impression she got that Tarou might be almost as smart as she
was, something she didn't like at all.

     "Well?" she said.  "Shouldn't you be knocking down the 
ceiling or something?"

     "That was not my fault," Tarou replied, almost defensively.
     
     "I don't suppose you brought Rouge along again?"
     
     Tarou burst out laughing.  "I'd rather hang around with
fem-boy than that nutcase."

     "No doubt," Nabiki said.  "Why don't you, then?  He's not
here either, if you're wondering."

     "Ahh," Tarou said, nodding as if he'd known that all along.
He leaned with one arm against the wall, and examined the
fingernails of his other hand with mild interest, his face
neutral.  "So has anyone else departed your household recently, 
then?"

     "Happosai's gone too," Nabiki replied.  "So there's no one
here for you to talk to or fight.  So go away."

     "Nope," Tarou said.  "That's out of the question until I
hear about why everyone's suddenly gone all of a sudden."

     Nabiki put the mildest edge of irritation into her next
words.  "It's a long story, one that I wouldn't get much benefit
out of telling and that you wouldn't get much benefit out of
hearing."

     "Nabiki?  Who was at the door?" she heard Kasumi's voice
call from down the hallway.

-Continued in section 3


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