Chapter 15 - Agreements
Previous Chapter | A&A Home | Next Chapter
“Breakfast is ready!”
Akane’s voice rang throughout the house as she made her way to the kitchen table to set down the food she’d prepared. She didn’t hear any response as she went back into the kitchen to get the rest of the meal, figuring that people were still getting ready for the day.
As she brought out the last bit of food, she made her announcement again as loud as she could, but once again she received nothing but silence in return. After setting down the rather unique looking concoction on the table, she made her way through the house to find the various residents and drag them forcibly to the table if need be.
Her first stop was the bathroom, which was completely empty. Then Akane made her way to the living room, once again finding no one. Her face became flush as she stomped loudly up the stairs. A subsequent check of all the rooms upstairs confirmed her suspicions.
The house was empty.
Making her way downstairs again, still feeling the heat rise within, Akane went out into the backyard and made her way to the dojo. ‘I can’t think of any reason why they’d all be out here,’ she thought. “But they better be!” she snarled to herself.
Slamming open the door to the dojo, Akane found it as empty as the rest of the house. She bit back a curse and made her way back to the dining room. She sat down at the table with a loud “Hmph!” and proceed to wallow in self-pity and anger.
‘Those jerks!’ she thought to herself. ‘They knew I was cooking and they took off on purpose. It can’t be all that bad!’ As if to convince herself, Akane took her chopsticks and tried one of dishes she’d made. Placing the food in her mouth, she began to chew. In less than a second however, she dropped the chopsticks on the ground and proceeded to spit out the so-called food onto the table.
‘Well, they could have at least tried it,’ she thought grumpily. ‘If Kasumi had made a new dish, they’d be all over each other to... try...’
Thoughts of her sister brought Akane up short. ‘S-She’s so much better at cooking than I am. And she’s more mature. Why does every guy I like have to end up falling for her instead?’ She was surprised that the thought carried no bitterness, but rather a deep longing.
“Please Ranma,” she whispered, “please, please, please do not fall in love with Kasumi.”
Even as she prayed for it not to be so, she wondered how any guy could resist falling in love with Kasumi. Akane found herself reflecting on the qualities that she’d already given thought to, and also added more. ‘She’s beautiful, and sweet, and kind, and so nice...’
Memories of how Kasumi had come to Ranma’s defense in the dojo a few days earlier suddenly sprang into her mind. How her older sister had been so understanding, and Akane remembered how she had said all those awful things to Ranma. ‘I know I was angry, but how could I have said all those things? And the look on his face. He looked like he wanted to wilt and die. And I... I did that to him.’
Reaching up, Akane found tears streaking down her face as she remembered how unfair she’d been to him. Her mind, however, wasn’t through torturing her with that incident yet. She thought back to shortly before she’d ripped into him, and how she’d injured her wrist while breaking bricks. ‘Ranma was so concerned when I hurt myself. Why couldn’t I see that?’ she berated herself. ‘He was worried about me. And what did he get in return? A slap across the face!’
Try as she might, Akane couldn’t prevent the tears from flowing even more freely. Then her conscience began reminding her of all the times when Ranma had tried to be nice, and how wonderful she’d felt. Those fleeting moments of joy only made her current sorrow worse. ‘Now he’ll fall in love with Kasumi and I’ll never have the chance to feel that way with him again. And it... it’s... my fault.’
No longer even trying to hold the tears back, Akane laid her head down on the table and allowed her mind to finally comprehend that she might’ve made the biggest mistake of her young life.
| Nabiki Tendo strolled towards school, humming a happy tune. She happily munched on some rice balls and thanked the gods again that she’d managed to get out of the house without Akane seeing her. ‘Well, there will probably be hell to pay for it later, but as long as I don’t have to eat her cooking...’ A shudder worked its way up her spine and back down as she contemplated the thought. As she neared the gates of Furinkan High, she once again pondered the tape that was tucked in her school bag. Some might believe that it was incredibly fortunate that she’d had the forethought to make that tape, but Nabiki was convinced that people had to make their own luck. She patted the bag gently. ‘And this baby is not only going to force Kodachi to keep her word, but it’s also going to earn me enough yen to make up for Ranma being gone this month.’ Once she passed the gates, Nabiki found Kuno standing next to the same tree that he usually did when he would try to greet Akane in the morning. She narrowed her eyes, but then shrugged and decided it might be good for Akane to release some of her frustration on him. |
 |
Putting aside those thoughts for the moment, she made her way over to the young, wannabe, samurai. “Morning Kuno baby,” she cooed.
“Good morning, fair Nabiki Tendo.”
‘Boy, he’s laying it on thick this morning. He must really be desperate for a solution.’
“I pray that the gods have shown thee a way to deal honorably with my misdirected sister,” he said, as if reading her mind.
“Possibly,” Nabiki said, stringing him along in her expert manner. “A solution may have presented itself, but I must warn you that it could be costly.”
Kuno waved his hand dismissively. “If it prevents a stain on House Kuno, and likewise maintains the honor of my pig-tailed goddess, than no price is too great. Tell me, what is this solution that thou hast found?”
Nabiki moved closer to him and lowered her voice into a conspiratorial whisper. “Well, it just so happens that someone claims to have videotaped the fight.”
“Truly?!” Kuno exclaimed. Then his look became more thoughtful, and Nabiki had to keep herself from bursting out laughing at the expression.
“But will that be enough?” he wondered aloud. Nabiki actually found herself somewhat impressed that he was able to give the matter that much intelligent thought.
“Normally it might not be,” she went on in that same whisper. “But from what I understand, this person was using a very sensitive microphone that was able to pick up all the words before and after the fight.”
She watched as his brow furrowed while he considered that. She was tempted to tell him to be careful not to burst a blood vessel, but she managed to refrain. After a few moments, his expression finally brightened.
“Then the entire challenge, and her agreement to its terms, were captured as well!” Kuno was practically frothing at the mouth as he considered it, and Nabiki had to fight a chuckle before he went on. “May I assume that the entire glorious battle was caught on tape as well?”
The look in his eyes made Nabiki want to vomit. ‘He’s not even thinking about his sister, he just wants the tape of Ranma. Who knows what he’ll do when he’s alone with that thing?’ She forced herself to push that disgusting thought out of her mind.
“Yes, it does show your sister losing the challenge,” she said forcibly, “which is the whole reason this tape is so valuable.”
“Very well, Nabiki Tendo. Who owns this alleged tape?”
“Well,” Nabiki said quietly, “the person has asked to remain anonymous and wishes for me to negotiate the price. They were hoping to get 400,000 yen for it.” She said the number calmly, almost casually, as if it were a completely reasonable request.
“400,000 yen!” Kuno yelled. “Are they mad?!”
“Possibly,” she allowed. “Though if you think about it, it’s really a bargain.” When he looked at her like she’d grown a second head, she continued. “To save the honor of your family, and the pig-tailed girl, all in one shot? Are you telling me it’s not worth it?”
“No price is too great for my noble house, or for my love,” Kuno said, looking dazed. “And truly the price is but a pittance compared to the great coffers of House Kuno! However, even I only have limited access to the vast wealth of my family until I am of age.”
“True,” Nabiki allowed, tapping the side of her cheek with a finger. “I think I might be able to talk them down to 350,000 yen, but I don’t expect them to go much lower.” In fact, she was willing to settle for 200,000 yen, but she had no intention of telling him that.
“I do not know,” Kuno said. “I think the most I could manage to get would be 300,000.”
He looked so painfully earnest, that Nabiki felt he was telling the truth. ‘Good,’ she thought wickedly, ‘now for the final hook.’
She let out an exasperated sigh to get his attention. “Alright Kuno baby, here’s what I think we’ll do. This person owes me a favor anyhow, so I want you to give me 250,000 yen, and then I will work out the rest of the price with them.”
Kuno glanced at her with more than a little suspicion. “I just told you that with my vast resources I could probably obtain 300,000. So why art thou only asking for 250,000?”
“Because you’re going to need that other money for the additional expenses of course.”
“What additional expenses?” he asked warily.
“Do I need to spell out everything for you?” Nabiki asked in her most professional tone. His blank look said that she would. “What do you plan to do with the tape once you have it? Are you going to simply walk up to your sister and wave it in her face?” He seemed to think about it, but she decided to continue before listening to whatever stupid answer came out. “Of course not. So my plan is to pay to have the tape professionally duplicated. Then we’ll distribute it to key people throughout Nerima including girls at her school, students at this school, and teachers at both. There will be no way that she’ll be able to deny that she lost.”
It was as if a light bulb suddenly went off in Kuno’s head, and his face broke into a huge grin. “So that other money will be to pay for the additional tapes?”
“Right on top of things, as usual,” Nabiki said dryly. “However, you do realize that for me to call in this favor, I’m going to require something in return.”
Kuno’s smile slipped a bit as he asked, “And what, pray tell, would that be?”
“Nothing much,” Nabiki said with a shrug. “In fact, it’s something that should hopefully help your sister behave herself.” She leaned in closer and whispered into Kuno’s ear. His eyes went wide after a few moments.
“I... I’m not sure...” he stuttered, clearly taken aback by what she said.
“Listen Kuno baby,” Nabiki said sternly. “If you want that tape, and you also want your sister to keep herself from embarrassing your family, then I think you better do what I say. In fact, I think this will also help protect the pig-tailed girl in case your sister decides to take revenge on her.”
That seemed to get through to him, and he began to nod slowly. “I concede the point,” he said with a sigh. “When will thou require Sasuke and myself to attend?”
“It will take me a few days to set it up,” Nabiki said, allowing herself a small grin. “Also, I will take care of the duplication of the tape, so if you can have the entire 300,000 yen to me tomorrow, I’ll be sure to get everything ready. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
Ranma pushed back one of the red locks that was stuck to her forehead as she sat next to the fire catching her breath. She watched as Mousse and Ryoga, her two sparring partners, ate greedily. Once she’d sufficiently recovered from that mornings training, Ranma started to dig in as well.
As she ate, she couldn’t help but once again admire how good a cook Kasumi was. What she had prepared was only a basic stew, but whatever herbs and seasoning she’d used had really brought out the flavor. Within a minute, Ranma was reaching for a second helping.
“This is really great Kasumi,” Ranma said as her fiancée dished more stew into her bowl.
“Why, thank you Ranma,” Kasumi responded with a gentle smile.
Once again, Ranma was amazed at the power of that smile. Even though the redhead was currently a girl, inside he was still a guy. ‘And whenever a beautiful girl smiles at you like that, it’s hard not ta respond.’ It wasn’t the same as when Shampoo or Ukyo, who were both very beautiful in their own way, smiled at him. Ranma could always see the demands that they were trying to place on him behind those smiles. With Kasumi, however, Ranma was only able to see a tender compassion.
Apparently Ranma must’ve been staring, because she saw Kasumi’s cheeks suddenly redden as she turned her face away from him. ‘Maybe I should apologize,’ Ranma thought, but then decided against it. ‘I’ll probably just embarrass her even more.’ Instead, she just continued eating her stew in silence. After another few moments though, Kasumi turned back towards Ranma.
“Ranma,” she said softly. “Can I ask you a favor?”
“'Course you can,” Ranma replied, completely at a loss as to what Kasumi might want.
“Well,” the elder girl started, and then paused, apparently collecting her thoughts. “I was wondering if... well... can you teach me martial arts?”
Both Mousse and Ryoga had food in their mouths’ at the moment the words came out, and out of the corner of her eye Ranma was able to see them both nearly choke. ‘Good thing I didn’t have nothin' in my mouth, or that woulda happened ta me too.’ The red-haired martial artist turned her full attention back to Kasumi. ‘She looks really serious about this. But why does she wanna do it? Only one way ta find out.’
“I-If ya want,” Ranma said cautiously. “But, can you tell me why you wanna?”
“A few reasons,” Kasumi responded, her voice getting more confident as she spoke. “First, even though I brought some things to do, it’s been quite boring around here when you three are training. I realize you wouldn’t have time to train me like you normally might, especially with how hard you’re training yourself. But I was hoping that you could teach me a few basic things that I could practice when you guys aren’t here.”
“I guess that kinda makes sense,” Ranma said after she paused. “But you said you had more reasons.”
“Yes. The second is that even though I know I’ll never be a match for many of the girls back home, being able to defend myself would probably be a wise thing. Of course I’m sure I could never beat any of them, I hope that with some training I could hold them off long enough to get to you or someone else who could help.”
Ranma nodded vigorously at that idea. ‘That would be awesome,’ she thought to herself. ‘She’s right, she’d never match Shampoo, or even Ukyo, but it would give her a chance.’ Ranma also found herself admiring the fact that Kasumi was able to realize her own limitations. ‘I just wish Akane coulda done that. It might’ve made things so much easier.’
“And third,” Kasumi said softly, breaking into Ranma’s thoughts, “martial arts are the most important thing in your life, Ranma. I’ve told you that I want for us to take the time to get to know one another, and sharing this with you would allow me to do just that.”
It was hard for Ranma to describe exactly what she was feeling at that moment. Joy that Kasumi really was interested in getting to know him better was certainly a big part of it. ‘Then why do I feel like crying?’ Ranma savagely suppressed that thought. ‘Dammit, real men don’t cry.’ She noticed that Kasumi was watching her carefully and decided it would be wise to say something sooner, rather than later.
“Okay, Kasumi,” she said, fighting to keep her voice even. “When we end our sessions at night I have to cool down anyhow. Since I gotta take things real slow then, that would be the perfect time to teach ya some basics katas.”
Even as the last sentence came out, Ranma found herself wincing. ‘Oh man! I just told her she’s slow! I didn’t mean it like that. Now she’s gonna be mad at me!’ To her surprise though, Kasumi’s mouth lit up into a big grin.
“That would be wonderful Ranma. Thank you very much.”
“S-Sure Kasumi,” Ranma said, once again amazed at how remarkable she could truly be. ‘Don’t be such an idiot Ranma,’ she scolded herself. ‘Kasumi ain’t like Akane, she’s not going to get all pissed at you for saying somethin’ that could be taken the wrong way.’ Ranma gave her fiancée a big smile. “We can start tonight if ya want.”
“Great,” Kasumi said, nearly giggling.
“Well,” Ranma said, standing up, “I gotta get back to training.” With that, she grabbed the bathing barrel and dragged it down to the river. After she filled it halfway up, she strapped it to her back and began jogging. As she ran, she couldn’t help but think about Kasumi.
“Man, she really is something else.”
 |
The final bell of the school day rang, and Ukyo breathed a deep sigh of relief. She was glad beyond belief that the day was over, and she quickly packed her books into her bag. She watched as Akane bolted from the room, leaving her two friends Sayuri and Yuka behind. Ukyo watched them carefully and began to follow them at a rather close distance as they went into the hall. Throughout the entire day, and the day before it, Ukyo had been trying to find out where Ranma was. She hadn’t wanted to ask Akane or Nabiki, so she’d tried to find out elsewhere. However, nobody she talked to had a clue where he might be. ‘If these two don’t know,’ Ukyo thought, ‘then I’m either going to have to break down and talk to one of the Tendos or visit their house.’ The notion of seeing |
She continued following Sayuri and Yuka as they made their way towards the school gate, but from the snippets she was able to catch of their conversation, they were as in the dark as she was. Once off the school grounds, the two girls headed off in a direction opposite of where her restaurant was. Ukyo contemplated following them to see if any interesting tidbits dropped, but her sense of responsibility to her profession held her in check.
Instead, she turned and made her way towards her restaurant. ‘Ran-chan... I mean Ranma,’ she corrected herself, ‘made it clear that he won’t marry me. It still hurts dammit, but I really do want to know what’s going on with him. Maybe... maybe one day I’ll be able to forgive him.’
Ukyo shook her head to clear away her thoughts as she made her way to her restaurant. However, as she entered the establishment and began preparing to open, one thought stayed with her.
‘I hope that when I can forgive him, that we’ll be able to be friends again.’
Thank you for taking the time to read Aijou & Aitou. I hope you have enjoyed yourself. I would love to hear all feedback, positive or negative (as long as it’s constructive). Please take the time to leave a review on fanfiction.net or send me an email letting me know your opinion. Thanks.
