(continued from pt 1)
* * *
The rain fell on the rooftop like a legion of tap dancers. Ranma
groaned at the sound. "So much for a peaceful night of trying to clear my
head.... Fate must be another fiancee Pop promised me to," he decided.
"There's no way I can be this unlucky..."
"Ranma?"
He looked over his shoulder, spying Kasumi standing at the entrance of
the kitchen. "Yeah, Kasumi?"
"Well, I was wondering if you would like to watch a movie with me."
Shrugging, he responded, "Sure, why not? What's it about?"
Her head tilted a little. "Is there something the matter, Ranma? You
seem upset."
'Just feeling so confused and torn that becoming like Kuno is looking
really good and-WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?!' He shook his head violently to
rid himself of the thoughts. "It's...it's nothing..."
"Are you sure?" she asked. Her lips quirked down slightly. "If you
don't wish to watch-"
"No, Kasumi!" he said a bit quickly. He really hate hurting anyone that
did not deserve it, and to even think of hurting the oldest Tendo daughter,
it was tantamount to blasphemy. "It's just the rain. I was thinking of
going up on the roof when it started."
"Oh." She padded into the living room then. "What do you do up there,
Ranma?"
"Mmm...thinking, mostly. With my life, I hardly ever have time to do
that sort of thing, you know?"
She nodded, smiling softly. Ranma had a wan smile resting on the corner
of his mouth. With Kasumi, he never knew exactly what went on inside of her
head, but somehow, she always knew. Weird, definitely, but she seemed to
always know when something was up.
"So...what is on your mind, Ranma?"
He blinked. That was one question he wasn't expecting from her.
"Ah...just, just some things about my life, is all.... Nothing exciting." He
happened to look into her eyes at that, then suddenly wished he hadn't.
Ranma turned away from her quickly, feeling a blush ride over the bridge of
his nose. "So, what's the movie?" Silently, he chided himself.
Walking behind him, she answered. "I don't know exactly. I think it
was called 'Three of a Kind.' Mariko recommended it."
He shrugged after a moment of thought. "Doesn't ring any bells."
"Well, here it is," Kasumi said, pulling out a tape from a small cabinet.
"Let's watch it then." Ranma hopped over the couch, landing neatly on
the cushion. Tossing his pigtail back, he added,"I'm willing to try
something new."
"R-really?" She had a small look of surprise on her face.
"Mm hmm. It's not as if something bad's going to happen if we try to
watch a movie."
As if to answer the challenge, a tongue of lightning lashed out from the
dark, rainy sky, then the borrowed house went black. Thunder rolled across
the weighty sky laughing its rumbling bass tone.
He grumbled. "Great..." Ranma found himself temporarily blinded before
his eyes readjusted themselves quickly in the almost complete darkness.
Slowly, he scanned the room, catching a shillouette of one Kasumi Tendo.
"Hey, Kasumi. Aren't you going to sit down?"
"I...I can't.... I'm, I'm afraid...."
Ranma blinked. 'When has Kasumi ever been afraid?' "Um, Kasumi, what
are you afraid of?" He heard her take a deep breath.
"...the storm...and...and the dark..."
He was a bit surprised. "Um, would it help if I, you know, if I got
some candles or something?"
"Hai. Please, Ranma....?"
'Man, she's really scared.' Wordlessly, he slid over the couch and
slowly treaded over to Kasumi. "Hey, Kasumi," he spoke in a soft, low voice.
"Can you show me where they are?"
"Hai...but-"
"Hold out your hand, okay?"
She hesitated for a moment, then extented her arm in the dark. After
groping for it for a moment, Ranma grasped her hand gently. The warmth shot
up his arm and spread throughout his body. Suddenly, he felt nervous. 'This
is bad. I better-no, I can't just leave her here in the dark...' He quickly
added, 'Mr. Tendo would kill me if something happened to his daughter, that's
why.'
"Thank you, Ranma." Lightning streaked across the sky, and her hand
squeezed his tightly. "Please, let's hurry and get those candles." Thunder
rumbled over the roof.
"Hai, let's." He looked into the grinning darkness. 'Because this
isn't making things any easier....'
* * *
Two candles burned in a forked candleholder sitting on the coffee table,
illuminating the house's two occupants. Kasumi sat beside Ranma as close as
she could but keeping some distance between them at the same time. Her hands
laid in her lap, palms up to the ceiling, her loose ponytail resting at her
back.
"Would you ever believed that I was more like Akane when Mother was
still alive?" she said suddenly.
He had to blink. "You? No way..."
She allowed a small smile cross her lips at that. "Well, it's true. I
was very tomboyish then. Akane and I were very competitive in the martial
arts; she was the youngest of us, and she felt that she had to prove herself
to get Father's attentions, whereas I wanted to be the best of us all.
Nabiki didn't practice very much, though; she was the most sensitive of us
all."
Snorting derisively, Ranma said, "Yeah, right..."
"Remember, this was all before mother died."
"Oh, yeah...I forgot about that...."
"...and, it was my fault that she died."
He turned his head fully to the eldest Tendo daughter. "Huh?"
She took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly through her nose. "It was
because of me, that Mother passed away. Remember when I said I was like
Akane then?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, it wasn't quite accurate; I was more so Akane then than she is
now."
His brows furrowed in disbelief. "...I can't believe that...Kasumi, you
are the gentlest person I've ever met in my life. To think that you were
ever violent-"
"I know, but, all the same, it is true. Mother taught me how to cook
and clean and a many number of things because she hoped it would break me out
of being so tomboyish. I'll admit, I really did not like doing 'girl stuff'
then. It was so boring and bland...I wanted to be the best martial artist
there was, not a homemaker. So, I resisted changing.
"One day, I resisted a bit too..." She paused, looking for something it
seemed. "...a bit too enthusiastically, and Mother had sent me to my room
for the night. I was so angry with her...I wanted to get back at her, but I
didn't know how."
Taking in this new information, he nodded slightly. "What did you do?"
"Well, after some long thinking, I decided to run away from home.... It
wasn't the smartest idea I had, but then again, I was angry, and I didn't
want to obey Mother, I didn't want to be like her...I just wanted to live my
own life."
After he recovered from his initial surprise, he added, "Yeah, I know
what that's like...."
"I was caught in a storm before I knew it, and I could neither find
shelter, nor turn to any of my friends, because Mother would know where I
was. I was chilled to the bone as well as frightened of the unrelenting
storm, but I was too prideful to admit it. So, I pushed on, hoping to find
someplace to get out of the rains.
"The next thing I knew, Mother had found me. Truthfully, I was
frightened at what she may have decided to do to me for running away, but she
was just happy that I was safe and alive. Then she took me home. That was
when...it happened."
"It?"
"Yes. A car had lost control on the road, and came at us as we were
nearing home. Mother...she threw me out of the way, and tried getting out of
the way herself, but she had gotten clipped in the stomach by the passenger
side mirror as it zipped by, eventually imbedding itself in someone's house.
The ambulance arrived shortly...
"Mother was hemorrhaging badly, plus she had developed pneumonia from
being out in the rain for so long. She was given a few days at most; the
best they could was to make her stay as comfortable as they could. We
visited her everyday until then, Father was quickly breaking down, Nabiki was
withdrawing into herself, Akane, she didn't understand what was happening and
she became so easily frustrated..."
"And...you?"
"...numb. I was just...numb. It hurt so badly, but I ran out of tears
to cry the day after the accident. All I could really do was wait for the
end. And it came quickly.
"The day she died, Mother had all of the family to leave but kept me
behind. She took my hand and told me that she wasn't angry with me for
running away, but she needed me to take care of the family. She gave her
love to me...and then, the hospital just blacked out. It only lasted a few
seconds, but when the power came back on...."
He didn't need to hear the rest to make the connection. "Oh, man...I'm
sorry. I didn't know...."
"No one does, besides Nabiki." She turned her head to face him. "You
are the second person I've ever talked to about Mother."
He considered her words carefully. "It must mean a lot to you, huh?
Feeling comfortable enough around me to tell me that. So, that's why you
take care of the place?"
"Yes. It was like my atonement for not being nicer when she was alive.
I gave up martial arts and effectively became Mother for my family, losing
myself in my duties." She paused then, biting her lower lip and lowering her
head.
Without thinking, he slipped a comforting arm around her shoulders. The
warmth, familiar and alien, began to seep into his body again, filling him up
and warming him to his very core. It was revelling, but it was terrifying at
the same time. He wanted to pull away, but he couldn't do it...it felt so
right....
No, it was because...because...because she was scared, that's why. She
was scared and she needed him...no, that didn't come out right.... Ranma
gritted his teeth as his thoughts waged their silent war.
"Ranma?"
He blinked. "Yes, Kasumi?"
She trembled a little under his arm, but she replied. "Forgive me...for
what I'm going to do...."
He looked at her, puzzled. "What are you talking about?"
She looked into the soft, blue eyes. Ranma had to fight down a gasp as
he realized he was staring directly into the depths of her soul. What he saw
behind those soft, green-hued irises had both excited and terrified him
equally and in tremendous amounts.
"Ranma..."
He should run, run far away, blind himself, something, anything, so long
as he wasn't able to see that again.
"K-kasumi..."
His mind screamed at him to get away, but his body refused to obey. It
moved of its own accord, reacting to the gentle, lithe hand that touch his
arm, the warm breath that caressed his skin, the look in her eyes....
The silent, internal struggling came to an abrupt end.
Her lips met his in a soft embrace, and he held on longingly. All the
feelings he had and felt flowed in and out within the more intimate contact,
his soul sharing with hers. It was like a dream, the sense of peace that
blanketed him, the warmth and tenderness it provided, and the way she felt
curled in his arms. So blissful it was, like a dream, a dream that he didn't
want to ever end....
Sddenly, light flooded the entire house, shattering the surreal fantasy
that had so encumbered them.
* * *
Slowly, Ranma pulled away from the kitchen window. 'Kuso, did I ever
screw up then. It felt so much like a dream when the power finally came back
on, but realizing that me and Kasumi were still kissing...what a baka I am.
I should've held my ground instead of running away that night...
'I couldn't help it though; I freaked out. Not just because I was
kissing Kasumi, but because I lost control. It wasn't suppose to happen, not
like that, not then, not ever.'
He picked up the tea tray by its thin handles, then carried it and all
of its supplies through the kitchen door, making his way towards the stairs.
'If only I held my ground....' He blanched no sooner than he thought
it, then sighed. 'No, that won't do...not now...especially since...' He
shut his thoughts off abruptly.
'Ranma....'
Despite her plead, he did walk through the door, as Kasumi so hoped.
'He's been gone for a long time. I wonder where he is?' She drew her knees
up to her chin, slowly rocking back and forth. 'Please, Ranma, hurry soon.'
Her eyes closed, recalling another moment from the last two months.
* * *
'It's funny how history seemingly likes to repeat itself,' Kasumi sadly
thought as she poured herself a cup of steaming hot tea. Sitting down in the
living room, she idly ran a finger over the unwatched tape of the night
before. She sighed dejectedly, taking a sip of tea before setting it on its
saucer.
'How could I be so foolish? I knew I should have just stayed in the
background. I shouldn't have tried to win Ranma.' She half-smiled. 'Me,
trying to steal away my youngest sister's iinazuke...it's laughable.' Her
lips twisted and drooped into a foreign frown. "But it's true...."
Sighing again, she had gotten up, a mostly full cup of tea in hand, and
chose to walk around the house. No one else was there, as Ranma was
pointedly avoiding her ever since they had kissed the night before. That
hurt, but at the same time, she could understand to a degree; she was so
afraid of how he would have reacted, she wanted to run away and hide, but he
responded.
She let that thought sink in. 'He had responded.' Kasumi's eyes
half-closed, the memories of the feelings and emotions she felt during that
instant surging forth and warming her to her very core. Then it vanished,
replaced by the moments afterwards when power was restored to Mariko's house.
The confusion and disappointment on his face, followed by shock and
surprise, then fear and indecision, and finally running away, he went though
the gamut of facial expressions in under five seconds. She was too stunned
to respond then, only able to watch him dash out of the room and into the
rains.
Yes, it definitely hurt, but was it because of his apparent rejection of
her, or because he had felt the same way she did? Maybe it was both? She
sighed once again, the third time in as many minutes. 'Oh, my. How can
Ranma make me feel like this? No one else ever could....'
She found herself standing just inside the doorway of the room he was
occupying for another week. It was pretty empty, save for a tatamai mat, his
pack, and a dresser for his clothes. 'I wonder how he looks when he
sleeps...' Kasumi blushed at the unexpected thought and lightly blew the
wisps of steam from her tea, then took a smal sip.
MEOW
She blinked. "A cat?" Sticking her head out of his room, she looked
down the hallway. A pair of sapphire irises shaded by a mop of red bored
down on her.
"Oh, my...Ranma?" Her eyes widened a little bit, and she stepped back
involuntarily.
Neko-onna-Ranma let loose another meow. Then, without warning, it
sprang towards the doorway. Kasumi squeaked, as there was a new three inch
slit in the front of her dress that extended down to the hem when the human
cat had landed. She didn't think much more about her dress however; she was
more intent on trying to figure out how to snap Ranma out of the nekoken
'I'm not Akane, so that's out. Triggering his curse?' She looked at
the tea in her hand. 'That should do. But how? He's very fast on his own,
even more so as a cat.'
MEOW
Breaking away from her thoughts, she glanced at the cat-minded girl just
as she felt her dress give way to another rending, this time seven inches
worth. She drew a sharp breath, her mind whirling. 'Surely, Ranma wouldn't
attack anyone that didn't provoke him...would he?'
After another look, she realized the redhead was just batting at the
loose threads from the first slit in her dress. She grimaced as she made
another slit appear, this one riding halfway up her thigh. Her eyes darted
back up to the hot tea in hand. 'Okay, while he's distracted...' Her free
hand began moving up to reach for it cautiously, hoping to not arouse any
feline suspicions.
MEOW
"Ah!" Again, Kasumi was taken by surprise as neko-onna-Ranma did
something very unexpected; she slipped between her legs, rubbing against the
inside of both her knee and the lower part of her thigh. The redhead purred,
and the eldest Tendo daughter's mind and body froze.
"R-ranma...?"
She looked up at the call of her name, giving Kasumi a very catlike
smile, then mewwed.
'Oh, dear....' She didn't like how things were going, but her mind was
balking on what to do now.
The decision was made for her as she was suddenly pushed down by a pair
of "paws." Kasumi stumbled backwards before falling onto the floor. She
made an amazing effort not to drop her tea as she landed on her bottom, it
now hovering just over her lap. Sighing in relief with it held above her
head, she thought to herself, 'Now's my chance.'
Unfortunately for her, the cat-boy-turned-girl had other ideas.
For the second time in as many minutes, Kasumi's mind and body had
frozen. After she was downed, the redhead had crawled into her lap, then
began to nuzzle her head against her breasts. She let loose a contented
purr, then curled her arms and legs beneath her body. With catlike grace,
Ranma pushed herself into a semi erect position, her soft, kittenish face
parallel with Kasumi's.
She observed neko-onna-Ranma briefly, gaping into the redhead's azure
eyes, trying to keep the fear out of her thoughts. 'This isn't what I want
to happen...not a definte answer...please, not a definite-'
The last of Kasumi's thoughts were shattered when neko-onna-Ranma mewwed
softly, then leaned forward and pressed her lips against the oldest Tendo
daughter's.
Her eyes flew wide at the contact, the realization of what this
seemingly innocent action meant for both Ranma and her. "-answer.... oh....
oh.... oh, my...." Her fingers became limp, dropping her cup of still-hot
tea.
* * *
The tips of his fingers traced the romanji letters of Kasumi's nameplate
briefly as he gathered up all the strength he was going to need in a few
moments. Letting his breaths come out slow and even, a part of his mind idly
wondered whatever happened to the miniature flower bouquet that marked the
upper left hand corner of the nameplate. Eventually, not even that remained
in his conscious thought.
His breathing slowed down as he steeled himself for the battle ahead.
'Now, or never, Ranma. Now, or never.' His resolve hardened, he formed a
fist and lightly rapped just below Kasumi's name.
Kasumi looked up at the direction. "Ranma?"
"Hai...it's me."
Immediately, she straightened out from her fetal position, tossed back
the bedcovers, and quickly walked over to the door. Her fingers took hold of
the door knob, twisting it in one direction. It clicked, and she pulled the
door back slowly. On the other side stood Ranma, tea tray in hand.
"Come in, Ranma, please."
"Sorry I took so long," he began. "It's just that-"
"I know, Ranma. I heard it from here."
"Oh...everything?"
"No, not everything. Just that you and Akane were involved in another
argument."
"Yeah...more tea?"
"Please."
He took hold of the teapot and tipped it forward. Hot tea poured from
the spout into Kasumi's cup. Ending the flow, Ranma set the teapot back on
the tray, which resided upon a small desk near the bed.
After they finished their tea, Kasumi and Ranma sat upon the bed for a
long period of time, neither one speaking. Eyes flicked over one another,
into hands resting in laps, at various objects in the room during that time.
Several attempts at opening conversations were halted before lips could utter
the first syllables. Finally, Kasumi cleared her throat, then turned her
head to Ranma. "Ranma..."
His brooding posture straightened up a bit as he looked at her.
"Kasumi..."
She sighed softly, looking away. "I don't want anyone to get hurt
because of what we did."
Matching her sigh, he replied, "I know..." He shifted in his sitting
position. "But, it's gonna have to happen...."
"I know," she said quietly. "I know...I don't know if Akane can forgive
what happened."
He turned a wan grin to her. "You, she'll forgive instantly. Me,
she'll kill just as fast; after all, it's all my fault."
Kasumi could feel the quiet venom of his words. "Oh, Ranma, don't say
that."
"It's true, Kasumi." He exhaled. "It's my fault all of this is
happening to you. You shouldn't have been dragged into my crazy life. Now,
we have a kid involved..."
After a moment of silence, she asked, "Do...do you want the child?"
"Huh?"
"The...baby."
Ranma closed his eyes. "You know, until tonight, I never thought about
having a family so early. I...I figured that I would have one sooner or
later, and I don't really have anything against kids, specially mine, so
yeah, I want the baby. What about you?"
A smile conservatively spread across her features. "Hai, I want the
child."
"Well, that's good, too." Ranma gave her a half-smile before
continuing. "Cause, I got something to tell you, and I don't want you to
freak out or nothing like when we first woke up together, okay?"
She studied him warily for a few moments before answering him. "All
right, but I don't want you to do anything rash because I'm-"
"Don't worry. I've given this a lot of thought, for once in my life."
He looked up, meeting her eyes with his, the soft blues pleading before her.
"I tried doing what you said before we left Mariko's place, about Akane and
giving her a fair chance and all." His eyes closed, briefly recalling the
night.
* * *
It was late at night when Ranma woke up finally. He looked up from the
bed he and Kasumi had just shared a few hours ago to the chair she sat on by
the window, clothed in a pale blue kimono. His brain was still trying to
right itself from the new experiences he was undergoing for the last two
days. It was a contradicting array of feelings he had: intense guiltiness;
overwhelming liberation; deep-seated sadness and regret; pure joy and
eagerness; grief; happiness; betrayal; protection. Everything was just so
new and confusing for him; he never had any experience in this sort of
affair, so he decided to go with the flow of things for now.
Staring out into the cloudless, starless, night sky, Kasumi was faring
about the same as he was in trying to sorting out her new feelings. She
never intended on matters to go this far; in fact, she never even remotely
thought that she and Ranma would end up sleeping together at all, let alone
three times in two days. She sighed softly; that is what she gets when she
supresses her libido for years and awaken another's by accident. She felt
extremely guilty by their acts, but at the same time she felt...alive. For
the first time, she was truly alive. Not a homemaker, not a mother figure
for her family, not an easily forgettable background character. She was her
own person, free to make her own choices for her own life.
Then again, she was still Kasumi. And she didn't want to hurt anyone,
most of all her little sister Akane, if she can avoid it.
Carefully, she phrased her question in her mind, then asked.
"Ranma...how do you feel...about...Akane?" She had to forced the last part
out.
"Akane?" He was caught off guard by her question.
She nodded slowly, not looking away from the window. "Honestly."
His mouth started to let loose his usual barrage of insults, but paused
to think for a moment. "Why are you asking, Kasumi...chan?" Inwardly, he
winced as using that honorific with her was yet another new experience for
him.
She really wished he hadn't called her "Kasumi-chan." What she was
going to do was hard enough as it was....
"Well...are you going to remain engaged to her, or are you going to get
engaged to me...as well?"
"Huh?!" He shot up in bed, ramrod straight. "Whaddaya talking about
'as well'?"
Slowly, her head pivoted around to face his startled expression, her
own, bleak. "Are you going to marry Akane?"
Ranma stared at her as if she was mad. "If I'm gonna marry anyone, it's
won't be that macho, uncute tomboy!"
She bit her lip. "Why not?"
"Because-!" He faltered in his rant, losing his train of thought.
"Do...do you...care about her?"
"Ah...." Absently, he scratched the back of his head. "I...I...guess
so...but Ka-"
She cut him off, mainly because she had made a decision, even if she
thought it was the dumbest thing she thought of, and she wanted to avoid
being swayed from that choice. "Have...have you given her...a chance...?"
He didn't answer her. Instead he focussed his attention to the floor.
"Can you say...you love me? Or that you love Akane, or anyone else?"
He heaved a great sigh. "I don't know."
Every fiber of her being protested at the sight of him. He looked so
defeated, she wanted to throw her arms around him and comfort him. She
couldn't, of course; that would be her undoing. One touch, and she would
have surely lost the struggle between her and Akane's happiness. "Can you
try...try to give her a fair chance, Ranma?"
He glanced back up. "But-"
"I know that she is violent at times, but try to understand her, and let
her show you what she really feels inside her." She was facing the window
again, not wanting to meet his eyes.
The ensuing silence was deafening.
Just when the eldest Tendo thought that Ranma might have left the room,
his voice shattered the quietude. "What...about you...? And what we did
here..."
She supressed the anguish she was feeling. "We can't tell anyone else
about what happened here. It would break imoutosan's heart. And, as for
me.... Promise me, you'll try to do this, for me."
Ranma watched her with wide eyes, unable to believe what she was saying.
He rolled back the bed coverings and swung his legs over the edge of the
bed. "Kasumi..."
"Promise me," she said in the sternest voice she could muster. "Promise
me you will try...please...." The last part came out more like a whisper.
His teeth ground against one another as the internal war inside of him
flared to burning life. Duty versus desire, his wants and needs going
against what others ask and demand of him. His confused state of feelings
muddled the battlefield war was being waged upon, clouding lines which had
been clearly marked before, and her words were turning the flow of battle.
Overall, it was a short-lived war, ending just as abruptly as it started.
"...all...all right...." came his reluctant decision.
Her eyes pinched tightly. "Yes...thank you...." Twin sets of tears
streamed down her cheeks, unseen by either party.
(conclusion)