All the characters depicted in this story are from Ranma 1/2, which was
created by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is something that came straight from
my own mind, so anyone wants to get all huffy and try to sue me for any
infringement, chill; it was a strange coincidence that just happened (if
you're really insistent about monetary compensation, I'll pay you; however,
I'm going to need access to a photocopier and two reams of paper first).
Enjoy.
Kasumi 1/2
Chapter Five
Secrets No More
Morning returned to Nerima. A near-typical day it appeared to be, 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
course. 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 house-sitting 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 anguish, but she couldn't. Her sobs reached out and
wrenched Ranma's heart even more. He approached 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 tendrils of blackness began encircling her as she spoke
those words again.
Ranma blinked, involuntarily taking a step back. "W-what?"
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 focused upon the target of her malevolence.
She glowed an ebony 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 condensed 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; as a blinding light flashed
into existence 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.
* * * * *
Ranma jerked awake. Cold sweat poured off of his face and down his chest as
his eyes wildly scanned the entire room. His breaths came in laborious gulps
while his mind frantically tried to reorient itself. Once his senses and
thoughts settled into a semblance of order, he allowed himself the liberty of
relaxation and exhaled deeply. "It was only a dream...."
"What's wrong?"
He nearly jumped out of his skin before his brain dully clicked into gear.
"Oh, it's just you, Kasumi...." He turned around to face the eldest Tendo
daughter.
Her long, brown hair, free of its normal white ribbon, was mussed up, a few
strands sticking to her forehead. Her grayish eyes blinked away a most
restful slumber and focused in on the pigtailed martial artist. Placing one
slender hand upon his shoulder had gathered his undivided attention.
Well, not in the way she envisioned it. At the same instant her arm moved
away, Ranma was granted an unrestricted view of Kasumi's breasts. His entire
body went rigid, and his frozen mind repeatedly ran one thought in an endless
loop. "ohmygodakanesgonnakillmeohmygodakanesgonnakillme..."
"Ranma? Ranma?" Kasumi grew worried as she watched Ranma's lips quivered a
phrase too garbled to understand. "Dear..."
He blinked his eyes. "Wha...?" The events of yesterday and last night
choose that moment to surge forth in a deluge of memories. Sighing to
himself, Ranma pressed the base of his palms against his forehead. "Oh, man,
this is gonna take some gettin' use to..."
"It's all right." Kasumi gently rubbed the martial artist's shoulder.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh...um, it's nothin' to get worried about, so...um..."
"Was it a bad dream?"
Ranma sighed. "Yeah..."
"Was it about..." She noticeably swallowed. "Akane?"
He nodded mutely.
"What did she say in your dream?"
"..." Ranma fidgeted in place, then looked down into his upturned palms
resting on his lap. "She...she hates me." A shadow of the dream touched his
spine before fading away, and he shivered.
A pair of slender arms entwined beneath his own, pressing a pair of cool,
firm mounds into his back. Ranma tensed up at first, but he soon relaxed.
He could feel Kasumi's cheek laying against his shoulder, her regular, steady
breathing warm on his skin and flowing down his upper arm.
"We...don't have to go through with this...we could just forget everything
and let things go back to the way...they were before." Her arms flexed
tighter around his waist as she spoke those words.
"...it would be so easy to..."
She nodded silently, her eyes held closed. "I'm sorry to have done this to
you."
"No."
She looked at him in surprise. "But-"
"You ain't done nothin wrong; this is my fault. I gotta make right for
it...somehow..." He sat there quietly for a few moments. "...just wish it
didn't have to be tomorrow..."
Sighing a little in relief, Kasumi laid her head back down on Ranma. "Well,
we could wait until Father and Saotome-san returns from their training trip.
They shouldn't be back for a few more days, so it should give us more time..."
"Sounds like a great idea. I could use some time tryin' to figure out what
to say. I don't wanna hurt anyone more than I gotta, you know..."
Kasumi nodded, rubbing her cheek against his strong shoulder. "I do..." She
held her breath for a second, then asked, "What time is it?"
Ranma spared a glance over to the alarm clock sitting on Kasumi's night
stand. "Um, it's 2:24. Why you wanna know?"
A soft, hesitant kiss placed just along the side of his neck answered his
question. "...oh," he half whispered, half moaned. "I...I don't know if-"
She whispered into his ear. "I...I know this is an improper time, with your
dream and all, but...please...?" Laying a trail of light, suckling kisses
from his earlobe to his shoulder, Kasumi drew herself tightly against him
even more, her lithe fingers dancing over his toned muscles and sliding along
his powerful arms until they found his hand. One of her hands encircled his
own and gave it a gentle squeeze. The other slender hand dipped beneath the
bed covers and began teasing ministrations upon his now-stirring member.
"...Kasumi-chan..." Ranma succumbed to her feathery touches, turning his
head around to catch the eldest sister's lips. 'Up all night...I'm going to
regret it in the morning...' he thought to himself briefly, but the words
sank into the forgotten recesses of his mind as the martial artist lost
himself within the addictive, hypnotic rhythm of physical love.
* * * * *
Morning came to Nerima. The sun's golden fingers stirred to life the sleepy
members of the ward. Those whom the beams could not reach, alarm clocks
helped awaken.
Akane Tendo was in the latter category. Her wind-up alarm clock brazenly
rang out, breaking the youngest Tendo out of a deep slumber. She stretched
out, yawning, then pulled herself out of her warm bed and made her way to the
bath. After a cold rinse, she dried off, then dressed in her morning jogging
attire.
On her way out the door, Akane saw Kasumi dressed and humming a tune to
herself in the kitchen. It was her usual habit; anyone who knew the eldest
Tendo girl would say so. However, on closer inspection, the tune she hummed
today seemed...off, for the lack of a better word. "Morning, Kasumi," she
called out. "I hope you're feeling better."
Kasumi turned to face her. "Good morning, little sister. I'm feeling much
better, thank you." She yawned suddenly and politely covered her mouth.
"Oh, my. Excuse me."
"Uh, it's all right, Kasumi. I'm heading out for a jog now."
"All right. Be back in time for breakfast." Suddenly, her hand covered her
mouth again. "Excuse me," she spoke in a muffled voice, quickly leaving the
kitchen.
"Okay." Puzzled by her older sister's sudden motion of urgency, Akane hopped
out the door and on her way down the familiar path.
* * * * *
On the rooftop of the Tendo home, Ranma sat, watching his
fiancée...correction; soon-to-be ex-fiancée take off on her daily run, and
sighed heavily. "She's gonna be so pissed off...."
His eyes lingered upon her as Akane did some stretching for a minute or two
before making her way down the sidewalk. Turning right around a corner, she
disappeared from his sight altogether.
"I'm sorry..." he whispered to the winds. "I can't be like oyaji...though,
it would be so easy to...to..."
Unable to finish his words, the pigtailed martial artist rose from his place
on the roof, then hopped down to the green earth below.
"Kasumi?" he called out, though not too loudly.
The subject in question stepped out of the bathroom, wiping her hands on her
apron. "Yes, Ranma?"
He said nothing, but his head was held low. Even so, he approached her
without trouble. Kasumi stood still as he neared her, until he was scant
inches away. He stopped moving altogether and stood there as still as stone.
"Ranma?"
"Is Nabiki up yet?" he asked without looking up.
"No; she won't be up for another ten minutes or so. But-"
Without warning, his head found her shoulder and leaned into it, his arms
about her waist very loosely. The Tendo daughter responded, drawing her arms
around him tightly. He then sagged against her like a rag doll. A few
moments elapsed, and Kasumi could feel a dampness seeping through her blouse.
She only held him tighter.
"Why?" was all he said.
"Ranma..." She brought her cheek to nestle against the youth's head as they
held onto each other.
* * * * *
Breakfast was...odd, Nabiki idly noticed as she finished up her bowl of miso
soup. The table was very quiet, sounds of chopsticks clacking against
porcelain aside. That, in itself was a puzzlement, as Akane had brought down
P-Chan to eat at the table. Ranma, who usually acted jealous whenever the
piglet was coddled by her younger sister, merely acknowledged the porcine pet
with a "Hey," then when about eating as normal. Not once did he react in any
way when Akane was feeding her pet.
Nabiki sighed inwardly, then took a slow sip of tea. "Another mystery to
solve..." she murmured to herself. Her eyes turned towards her older sister
Kasumi. The middle Tendo daughter came home late last night. On her way to
bed, she paused long enough to check in on her sister, surprised that she
wasn't downstairs waiting for her as usual. That moment proved to be the
single most shocking revelation in Nabiki's existence. Kasumi was having
sex! The sister most likely to be a virgin at age thirty was riding up and
down upon a man-a real live man!-having the time of her life! Dazed, Nabiki
had silently left the two to their own devices and went to bed, promising
herself to get up early enough in the morning to catch a glimpse of the
identity of Kasumi's mysterious lover.
She cursed herself for forgetting to set her alarm clock at an earlier time.
* * * * *
"Hey, Ranchan!"
Ranma looked down to the sidewalk as he strolled on top of the fence.
"Ucchan? What are you doing here?"
"Oh, nothing, really. Just woke up early, feeling really refreshed. Had
good dreams, you know." She smiled at him.
"Glad to know someone had good dreams..." he mused under his breath.
Unfettered, she went on. "Since it was so early, I figured I'd come over to
your place, and walk with y'all to school."
"Oh." He turned his gaze forward again.
Ukyou observed her fiancé for a few moments, then leaned over to Akane.
"Hey, what's up with Ranchan?"
Akane shrugged a little. "He's been like that all morning. I tried to talk
to him about...about a problem last night, but he just told me that it was
all right."
The okonomiyaki chef stole a look up to the youth on the fence. "Don't look
all right to me. Looks pretty sad about something, in fact."
Akane made a noncommittal sound, but she gazed at her fiancé, concern and
worry evident in her eyes.
* * * * *
'So much is happening so fast...' Kasumi thought as she cleaned up the house.
'Finding out that I'm pregnant, Ranma deciding to end his engagement with
Akane...he must be hurting deeply, but he's making himself go through with
this. I wish-'
The front doorbell rang, and Kasumi ended any further thoughts. She put down
a feather duster and went to the door. A giant panda greeted her no soon
than when she opened it. "Oh, Saotome-san! What brings you here so soon?"
"Kasumi, my daughter!"
She blinked. "Father?" She found herself swept into a crushing hug by the
mustached Tendo patriarch. "Oh, my!"
"Oh, Kasumi," Soun said, letting go of his firstborn. "It's so good to be
home again!"
"Father," Kasumi started, smoothing out her dress. "What brings you home so
early? I thought you weren't due home for another few days."
He chuckled as the giant panda sauntered off. "Well, we decided to cut our
trip short to check in on our two heirs, see how they were getting along. So
how are they doing?"
She was caught off guard by his inquiry and had to spare herself a few
moments to think of a response. 'I don't want to lie to father...'
Soun frowned. "Have they had a fight recently?"
"Yes, Father. Last night, but," she hurried her explanation. "They made up
this morning." 'Sort of,' she added to herself.
The older man beamed. "That's great! Hear that, Saotome-kun?" He turned
around, only to be greeted by empty space. "Saotome-kun?"
"I think he went to get some hot water," Kasumi helpfully supplied.
"Ah, I see. Come with me then," he said, pulling his daughter with him.
"We'll wait for him to come to the engawa, then you can tell us all about
what happened while we were away."
'Oh, my,' she thought as she was guided by her father. 'This doesn't bode
very well at all.'
* * * * *
"So what's eating Ranchan, Sugar?"
"Honestly, I don't know," Akane admitted on the walk home. Ranma was taking
his usual route atop of the chain-linked fences and brick walls again, but he
had barely spoken to anyone all day long. "We had a fight yesterday, but
outside of that...he's been acting strange."
"Tell me about it. Half the time when I catch him looking at me or you, he
kinda shrinks back on himself. Like he's afraid of us or something."
"Afraid?" Akane stopped walking, as well as did Ukyou; Ranma, on the other
hand, continued going, not looking back once. "Afraid of what?"
The okonomiyaki chef shrugged. "Got me. Maybe..." She burst into a sharp
laugh. "Nah, that wouldn't be it."
"Wouldn't be what?"
"Oh, nothing. For a moment, I almost thought he finally chose, but that
can't be right."
Akane blinked. "What do you mean by that?"
"Cause, when he finally chooses me, he wouldn't be afraid of looking at me."
Ukyou flashed her a smile. "After all, I'm the cute fiancée!"
The Tendo girl balked. "Wh-wh-what?!"
"Whoops! Time to open up shop again. Catch ya later, Akane. Bye!" Ukyou
raced off to her shop laughing, while leaving her companion behind sputtering
a denial shortly before she realized she was all alone.
* * * * *
"I'm home," Ranma said without much energy as he walked into the Tendo house.
"In here, Son!"
The youth blinked in surprise. "Oyaji? What's he doing home? Shouldn't be
back for another few days."
"We've heard the news, Ranma, my boy!"
'Tendo-san is here, too?' Then he turned chalk white. 'They know?!' His
heart already in overdrive, he burst through the family room and onto the
engawa, or back porch. "I can explain!"
Soun chuckled as he stood up. "No need to, Ranma. Kasumi told us the whole
story."
"Sh-she did?" The pigtailed boy audibly gulped.
"I must say, I'm proud of you, son!" Genma joined Soun and gave his son a
hearty slap on the back.
"Y-Y-You are?" the Saotome boy said, confused.
"Why, yes, Ranma. We both are! We knew you'd finally see the error of your
ways and start behaving like a real fiancé!"
Ranma blinked rapidly. "Y-You mean, that's a normal thing to do?" His brain
tried its best to make sense of that; surely it wasn't normal to sleep with
the sister of a prospective fiancée.
"Of course, Son!" The older Saotome gave his son another hearty slap on the
back.
The Tendo patriarch shoved a few thousand yen bills into the baffled youth's
hands. "In fact, keep up the good work, and take her out tonight. On me."
"Um, thanks, I think..."
"Think nothing of it. Just be sure to show her a good time."
"Um, yeah..." Bewildered, Ranma slipped away from the back porch, leaving
behind a happy pair of parents. He wound his way to the kitchen to see if
Kasumi was there. He found her standing in front of the refrigerator,
apparently looking for something to prepare for dinner. "Ah, Kasumi?"
"Yes, Ranma?" she responded, turning around to face him.
"Ah...what did you tell our folks?"
"I told them about you and Akane last night. Why do you ask?"
"Um...did you happen to mention anythin' about... um... um... you know..."
"About..." She touched her belly lightly and glanced up to him. He nodded a
little at that. Her hand slipped away to her side. "No, I haven't. Why?"
Ranma sighed in relief, then gave her the short version of the incident with
the patriarchs. It took a lot of effort for Kasumi to not laugh out loud.
"It's not funny..." The youth muttered, blushing in embarrassment.
"I know..." Kasumi said slowly, letting the mirth ebb away. "...but the very
idea of Father actually approving of what we did..." She had to prevent
another chuckle from passing her lips.
The pigtailed boy tried to be annoyed, but found himself chuckling in spite
of himself. Once he started, the Tendo daughter couldn't help but to join
in. It helped to keep the grimness of the situation at bay.
The laughter died down, and the atmosphere took on a more subdued effect.
Neither party made a motion to talk at first. After long minutes of
deafening silence, Kasumi spoke softly. "So, we tell then tonight?"
"Yeah," he said without much energy. "I guess like we talked about last
night. Umm..." He fidgeted in place, clearly uncomfortable with the
conversation, but he struggled onward. "...so... what time do we tell 'em
all?"
"I... I don't know. Before dinner, perhaps?"
"...can't think of a better time."
"Well, we don't really need to do it tonight..."
"No, we better do it tonight. If we don't..." He let his words trail off,
unsure of how to address his thoughts.
Glancing towards every entry point, Kasumi reached out and took his hand into
her own. "Don't worry about it too much, okay?"
He sighed, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. "That's easy to
say..."
She slipped Ranma a soft smile. "It is. I'm pretty nervous, too, but we can
do it." Another scan of the kitchen area, and she leaned in, giving him a
quick kiss on his lips. "I know it." She squeezed the martial artist's hand
for emphasis.
Ranma offered her a smile, if a little on the weak side. "Yeah, we can, ne?"
The weight, however, kept its unmoving perch on his shoulders.
They stood quietly for a short time, before the pigtailed boy broke the
growing silence. "Um, Kasumi?"
"Yes?"
He took her hand into his, then placed the wad of yen Soun had just given
the youth in her palm. "Here."
The Tendo daughter looked at the crumpled bills. "What is this for?"
He scratched the back of his head absently. "Well, I won't be needin' it
after tonight, since me and Akane ain't goin' anywhere tonight, and I figure
you'd have some better purpose for it, you know."
"Oh, Ranma...I couldn't-"
"Hey, I figure it's mine now, and I want you to have it, you know. So, just
keep it and use it for whatever you need, okay?"
"All, all right then, dear." She smiled a bit at him.
He smiled back a little more confident than earlier. Still the weight on his
shoulders did not budge one iota. It became heavier, if anything.
* * * * *
If there was one thing Nabiki did not like, it was a mystery. She hated to
be out of the loop in most incidents and affairs that may well concern her;
Kasumi's mysterious lover certainly qualified as such. So who was he?
Time for the usual suspects.
Nabiki mentally went over a list she made during her free time. Ono Tofu...
Saotome Ranma... Kuno Tatewaki... Hibiki Ryouga... Tarou Pantyhose... Kashuoh
Kinnosuke...
She sighed, realizing just how far she was reaching out to put Kinnosuke on
the list. Then again, he did happen to be in the neighborhood within the two
and a half month time frame Nabiki had figured out based on her first
discovery of her older sister's naughty behavior. Knowing Kasumi, or at
least the brunette hoped she knew her, she hadn't been touching herself very
often, if at all, before she was accidentally found out by Nabiki.
Smirking to herself, Nabiki crossed out Kinnosuke's name. The only thing he
cared about was the money and swindling people out of every yen he could
muster. A ruthless bastard he was, and he certainly didn't fit Kasumi's type.
Working her way up the list, the middle Tendo daughter came upon Pantyhose.
Thinking about what she had seen and heard, he was unlikely as well. A
powerful martial artist, his age was estimated to be at least twenty. A
favorable advantage, but he had some quirks, such as having that extremely
bizarre Jusenkyou curse. It didn't help that he had a world-dominating mind
set, and an ego that was bigger than Ranma's himself. With the negative
aspects outweighing the positive, he crossed out Tarou's name.
Next up was Ryouga. Yeah, right. The lost boy and sex went together like
oil and water. Kasumi would still be mopping up the blood from that
nosebleed. Besides, he still has the hots for her younger sister, as well as
the new girl, Unryuu Akari, Nabiki believed. Off goes Hibiki.
Next on the list...the middle daughter hurriedly slashed out Kuno's name. No
odes, or roses by the truckload arriving for Kasumi. She fervently hoped
that her older sister had better taste than that.
Now, it was Ranma's turn. The young woman shook her head absently. Why did
she even bother putting him on the list? Curses aside, the boy draws
problems like flies to honey. He was already claimed by four women: two
legitimate fiancées, one Amazon would-be wife, and one psychotic nut case.
He was still arrogant, immature, young, thoughtless, unromantic, conniving...
Nabiki could write out entire scrolls detailing all of the resident martial
artist's faults. And on top of that, he was engaged to Akane!
So, why did she put him on the list?
Well, there was the vacation Kasumi took, with her father sending Ranma along
to watch out for his firstborn. They were alone for two weeks. Two whole
weeks. Could it be possible? Ranma and Kasumi sleeping together...?
Nabiki broke out in harsh laughter. Yeah, right, as if that would ever
happen; he didn't have the balls to make such a bold move. Tick! Off goes
Ranma's name.
Well, that leaves only one choice left. The most likely one there was,
though it was theoretically possible that Kasumi's lover was a total stranger
to the rest of the family. He was madly in love with her older sister, no
doubt about it; her feelings were never very clear, but some thought that she
felt similarly about him. If he just relaxed around Kasumi...
She grinned as she solved the mystery. It was an obvious conclusion, one she
should have thought of first and not wasted her time making a list. Kasumi
and Tofu-sensei were sleeping together!
* * * * *
Stuck as P-Chan for a while, Ryouga dared not to move from the place where
Akane had left him in her room before she left for school. The main reason
was because he might never find his way back to the Tendo home for days, at
the least. Another reason was that he was thinking about Ranma.
He was certainly acting strange at the breakfast table. Normally, whenever
his dearest Akane would feed him, or show affection to his cursed porcine
form, Ranma would get jealous, even going so far as to hit him, which would
inevitably spark Akane into action to defend her precious pet pig. Today,
nothing. No reaction. No insults. All that the pigtailed boy did was
acknowledge the P-Chan's existence, then ate breakfast as if no one else was
in the room.
Why?
The question had stewed in Ryouga's mind for hours now. What was going on
with Ranma? He seemed so... detached at the table. Akane had tried to
apologize to him afterwards about something, but he appeared to not pay her
much mind. That made the little black piglet's blood boil; ignoring her, of
all things! Of course, he deflated when Ranma said that everything was cool,
that there was no need to apologize about it.
What was going on? The lost pig didn't have an answer to the question, but
he swore that he would get to the bottom of the mystery.