All characters in this story, excluding Mariko, are from Ranma 1/2, and are
the property of Rumiko Takahashi.
Kasumi 1/2
Chapter Five (Teaser)
Morning returned to Nerima. A near-typical day it seemed, sans the Tendo and
Saotome patriarchs. Kasumi was cleaning up the dishes from breakfast.
Nabiki was heading towards the front door, with Akane and Ranma in tow.
Akane whacked Ranma for making a stupid comment about her pet P-Chan. All
was right with the world, it seemed.
Then Ranma had to destroy the odd sense of harmony.
"Um...Akane?"
Akane sighed , then turned around to face him. "What is it, Ranma?"
He suddenly found it hard to talk. "Um, well, you see...ah...I...I
have...something to t-tell you..."
"Ranma, can't it wait? We're going to be late for school."
He laughed nervously. "Funny, I was thinking the same thing..."
She put a hand to her head. "Jeez, Ranma, just come on!"
The pigtailed martial artist sighed and was about to resign himself to his
fate.
"Ranma."
That one soft voice stopped him from just walking out the front door. He
turned to face the owner of the voice. Kasumi was wiping her hands on her
apron, seeming the image of quiet and calm and happiness. Her eyes, however,
told a different story, a story Ranma knew intimately. He sighed, but
nodded, then turned around to Akane and Nabiki.
"Akane, wait."
Her patience frayed a bit more. "What is it, Ranma? We're going to be late!"
"I...I have something to tell you."
"I thought you were going to tell me after school!"
"I'm sorry, but I gotta tell you now. Please? It's kinda important..."
"Let's hear it then, Ranma."
He quirked an eyebrow. "Nabiki...?"
"You know that I'm going to find out about it anyway, so just save yourself
the trouble."
He wanted to retort, but shut his mouth, knowing that it would be pointless,
especially since she was right. "All right," he said, motioning them back
into the house, then closed the door. Ranma walked in front of Akane,
bolstering his courage up before he could have a chance to lose his nerve.
Facing her, he started. "Akane...I...I..." He squeezed his eyes shut, then
snapped them open. Now or never. "Akane,
Icantmarryyoucausekasumiscarryingmykid!" He breathed deeply; that was a lot
harder that he thought, but now that it was done, he felt as though a great
weight was lifted from his shoulders.
Akane blinked. "What did he say?"
"Well, if I didn't know any better, I'd think he just dumped you for Kasumi
because they messed around and he knocked her up."
"Um, that's what I said...kinda..."
Nabiki gave Ranma a careful once over with a scrutinizing eye. After a few
moments, she fell over laughing. "Oh, God, did you ever have me going! For
a moment, I thought you might have been serious!"
"But I am--!" the martial artist cried out in desperation. Nabiki only
laughed harder in response.
Akane, however, looked at Ranma, considering. After a moment, she shook her
head. He couldn't have been serious, could he? No, it was a joke, of couse.
A stupid joke that had pretty much made them late for school. She felt her
anger welling up inside of her. Just a stupid, cruel joke...
"He's right, Nabiki."
Nabiki stopped cold, looking up to Kasumi. "You've got to be kidding me!
You and Ranma?!"
She hung her head. "Yes. Tofu-sensei told me yesterday that I'm pregnant,
and Ranma and I...we made love while we were housesitting at Mariko's house
two months ago." She couldn't help but blush. Talking about such intimate,
private matters was still embarrassing, no matter what.
"Kasumi...?" Akane looked up at her oldest sister. Was she playing along
with the stupid joke as well? The youngest Tendo daughter's face took on a
pained expression as Kasumi couldn't face her, choosing to avert her eyes
elsewhere.
The pain stretched into her voice. "Ranma...?" He chose to not look
directly at Akane, either. The joke wasn't very funny anymore, and she
pleaded to herself someone would just end it now.
"I...I..." It was then that she noticed Kasumi's and Ranma's hands.
Somehow, she had just appeared at his side and took his hand into hers.
Their fingers interwove and seemed to...to... "Oh, God..." Akane whispered
to herself as her world cracked, then shattered like glass.
"I'm sorry, Akane...we never meant for this to happen."
"I...I didn't want you gettin' hurt, but it...it just happened, you know. I
gotta take care of Kasumi and the kid now."
Tears fell from her eyes as the youngest Tendo sank to her knees. Akane
tried stifling her auguish, but she couldn't. Her sobs reached out and
wrenched Ranma's heart even more. He aproached her, his mind searching for
the right words to say just this once.
"I-I'm sorry, Akane...I really am...I didn't...you know...I didn't mean for
none of this to-"
"I hate you."
It was said so soft, Ranma missed the words completely. "-to happen,
and...um, well...I--"
Akane jerked her head up sharply, the betrayal in her eyes cutting off the
apology. Anger scored into her features as well as sadness, grief and tears.
"I hate you." Tiny tendrls of blackness began encircling her as she spoke
those words again.
Ranma blinked, involuntarily taking a step back. "W-wha?"
Her voice, cold and tightly controlled, tore into him again with the same
three words. "I hate you." The tendrils grew in mass and numbers, seeping
into the young girl's body as she focussed upon the target of her
malevolence. She glowed an ebon light as her eyes narrowed, her tears still
coming.
"My...my God...." Ranma was growing very afraid of what he was seeing.
"Akane-"
"I HATE YOU!!" she shouted at him, her body devoured by the obsidian tendrils.
He cringed from her anger, her grief, her hatred of what he had done, all of
those emotions and feelings given almost tangible form. Dark energy swirled
and covalescenced into a form of a fist, then it rocketed outward. Battle
instincts kicked in for Ranma, and he swayed to one side; however, the dark
fist still connected, smashing across Ranma's jaw. He careened into the
kitchen, slamming against the cupboards. He managed to land on his feet, but
already, the black monster was upon him with inhuman speed. No time to
dodge, he barely erected a defense before the dark fury relentlessly pounded
away upon his person. Every blow ached, and his forearms were quickly
becoming numb. Soon, he felt the bones in his arms give way and his defense
reduced to nothing. Then the grim form of Akane poured on even more
punishment upon the now-helpless Saotome, the first waves of the furious
assault toppling him. Muscles ached, flesh blackened, and bones cracked
under her torturous assault. Ranma could not even scream; his jaw had been
dislocated from a fierce blow. The darkening shadow, however, howled in rage
as it raised a fist that appeared to a half swollen eye to quadruple in mass.
Then it descended upon him.
"RANMA!!" His ears heard a female voice cry out. Kasumi? Nabiki? Akane?
He couldn't ponder upon that point any longer; a blinding light flashed into
existance between him and the deadly fist. Darkness crashed into light, and
from that point, Ranma's entire world exploded in a splatter of red, white
and black flecked with grays.
End of story? Are you kidding; I'm just getting warmed up! [smile] I'm
working on it as we speak. To see the fate of Ranma, Akane, and Kasumi, be
looking for Kasumi 1/2, Chapter 5. You won't be disappointed.
My fanfic works are archived at <lwf58.tripod.com/fan_fiction/raemowse.html>
Keep on reading,
Rainman