Chapter 16 - Understandings
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Soun Tendo sat in his accustomed place, at the head of the table in the family dining room, reading the newspaper. However, he was having difficulty concentrating on the text, since he kept shooting glances at the clock. He knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the hour of reckoning was nearly at hand.
‘That damn Saotome,’ he thought once again. ‘He said he was just going for a walk, but I know he just didn’t want to be here when Akane gets home. She’s going to be furious that we snuck out before breakfast.’ Of course, the truth was that he didn’t want to be in the house either, but he’d decided that it was better to face her anger now.
‘I need to stop running away from the problems with my daughters. Well,’ he amended quickly, ‘it’s okay to run away from Akane’s cooking though.’ He sighed, shook his head, and finally set the paper down on the table. His thoughts, like they’d done so many times since Akane broke the engagement, turned to his wife.
‘How could I have been so blind?’ he asked his deceased love. ‘I know if you had been here, you would have set me straight right at the beginning. But now it’s too late. Akane was hurt badly because of me. The only redeeming thing that seems to have come out of this mess is that Kasumi seems to be happy with Ranma.’ He recalled the glimmer in his eldest daughter’s eye just before she left with the younger Saotome on their trip.
‘Maybe with a little pushing...’ he mused, before catching himself. ‘No! Of course I’ll encourage them to be together, but I’m not going to make the same mistake I did before. I won’t! Kasumi deserves happiness more than any of us, and if Ranma and her discover that together, then I will encourage it with all my heart. But nothing, not the promise that Saotome and I made, or anything else, is going to force me to do something that will make her unhappy. On that, I give you my word, dear wife.’
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Akane opened the front door to her home and stepped in. “I’m home,” she called out, kicking her shoes off at the same time. She walked into the dining room and saw her father sitting there with his eyes closed. “Dad?” she asked curiously, watching as his eyes snapped open. “Oh, A-Akane dear. W-Welcome home.” ‘Huh?’ she wondered. ‘What’s his problem?’ Then she remembered that morning and let out a sigh. “Listen dad, you’re probably expecting me to chew you out about this morning.” She watched him carefully and could see by the look in his eyes that she was correct. “Well, |
It didn’t surprise her in the least to see the look of confusion that came across his face. However, the look of determination that replaced it afterwards was unexpected.
“Of course,” he said rather seriously, motioning with his hand for her to sit.
Akane looked around to see if Ranma’s father was anywhere. ‘Hmm, not around. I wonder when Nabiki is going to get home though?’
“Actually dad, it’s kind of private. Can we talk out in the dojo?”
Her father regarded her for a moment, and then nodded. He stood, and the two walked out of the house together. Once they were in the dojo, Akane closed the door behind her. She took a deep breath, and looked into her father’s eyes. ‘This isn’t going to be easy,’ she decided. Nevertheless, she’d made up her mind earlier to have this conversation, and she was determined to see it through.
“I... I wanted to apologize to you,” she said softly. The startled expression on his face would have made her giggle at any other time, but this was too serious. “I’m still upset about what happened with Ryoga, but I... I should’ve been able to figure it out on my own. And I’m sorry that I... that I broke the engagement.”
She watched her father carefully for any reaction. His shock had worn off, and he was simply looking at her with a sad expression. The two stood there for a few minutes before he finally spoke.
“Akane,” her father said, his voice nearly breaking. “I don’t deserve your apology. What happened with Ryoga was reprehensible. You have every right to be angry with me.” She was about to interrupt, but he held up his hand before she could speak. “If your mother was still here, she’d have flayed me alive for what I did. I’m glad that you’re willing to forgive. It’s showing that you’re much more mature than I am. Also, as far as the engagement goes, this is probably for the best. At least Kasumi was willing to assume the responsibility.”
“Maybe she shouldn’t have to bear that responsibility though father,” she said earnestly. “I don’t think it’s fair for her to have to pick up the slack for my mistake.” Akane held her breath while she waited for her father to digest that statement.
“May I assume,” he asked after a moment, “that your purpose for having this conversation is to get me to reinstate the engagement between you and Ranma?”
“W-Well, no, I... that is...” Akane stuttered. It was a weak denial, and she knew that her father thought so as well. Finally, knowing that she wasn’t convincing anyone, she simply nodded.
Soun let out a long sigh before continuing. “Listen daughter. What I did in regards to Ryoga was inexcusable. However, besides that point, I have always coddled all of you girls, and perhaps you most of all. I have always made excuses for your temper, and allowed you to get away with everything.” Akane was starting to get angry, but her father continued before she could interject. “This situation though was of your own making. And I will tell you this right now. If, when Ranma and your sister return, they decide that they want their engagement to stand, I will not interfere in any way. Do I make myself clear?”
The anger that Akane had begun to feel had vanished and now she was simply feeling numb. As much as she wanted to argue with him, she knew she didn’t have the right. So once again, she merely nodded. Her father’s expression then softened somewhat.
“Listen, my dear,” he said gently. “I will talk to your sister when she returns. I truly believe that when she agreed to take the engagement that she was hoping that you and Ranma would be able to patch things up and get back together. Maybe things have changed since that happened, or maybe they haven’t. Or maybe after spending all this time together they’ll decide that being together isn’t the best idea. Regardless, if it’s alright with your sister, then I will reinstate your engagement with Ranma when they return.”
“Yes father,” Akane said. ‘I can only hope that even if Ranma starts to develop feelings for Kasumi that she doesn’t return them. If that’s the case, then maybe I’ll still have a chance.’ Of course, to Akane’s dismay, it sounded to her as if she were trying to convince herself of that fact.
“I do have one suggestion though,” her father added. Once she made it clear that he had her attention, he continued. “If I do reinstate the engagement, I think you’re going to have to treat Ranma better. He’ll have been engaged to Kasumi for over a month at that point. How do you think he would feel if he were suddenly engaged to you again and things went back to the way they were before?”
“Y-You’re right. I promise that if Ranma and I become engaged again that I’ll be sure to do things better this time. T-Thank you for the advice.” Having already come to a similar conclusion, Akane meant every word of what she said.
“Good,” Soun said. To her surprise, he followed up with a hug, something that was quite rare for him. As angry as Akane wanted to be at him for not agreeing to simply reinstate the engagement like she wanted, she couldn’t help but feel comforted by her father’s embrace.
So, without giving it much thought, Akane hugged her father back.
Nabiki walked out of the school with a huge smile on her face. At the beginning of the school day, after she’d gotten Kuno to agree to give her the money she wanted, Nabiki had immediately gone to the president of the video club and ‘requested’ that he begin making copies immediately.
‘Having him and several of the members owe me favors is going to help cut the cost,’ she thought with a grin. ‘That means that the labor will be taken care of, and all I’ll need to do is pay for the tapes.’ She did some quick calculations in her head and realized that out of the 50,000 yen that Kuno was paying her for the duplication, she’d be able to pocket nearly half of it. That didn’t even account for how much she was going to make from selling the tape itself.
Resisting the urge to rub her hands together, Nabiki moved on towards her next destination. ‘Now to put the next part of my plan into place. I just hope it’s enough to put a dent in that mental barrier that Kodachi seems to have up that guards her from reality. Her idiot brother just better not back out on his agreement with me.’
It only took ten minutes for Nabiki to reach her objective. She looked at the stone pillars of the building in front of her and wondered, yet again, if it might be worthwhile to enter the field of law. She shrugged, deciding to leave that thought for another time, as she entered the building.
| Kodachi Kuno relaxed on the thick branch of a tree that was just outside the Tendo dojo. She’d already done a quick circuit around the house, peering into all the windows, and found the house deserted. She had heard voices in the dojo, one which belonged to the mongrel bitch Akane Tendo, and the other was most likely that of her commoner father. There was no sign of her beloved Ranma, or the pig-tailed girl who was Kodachi’s nemesis. Worse, she’d stopped by the Cat Café right after school and found the building deserted. ‘Where did those foreign fools go?’ she wondered with no small amount of malice. ‘How am I supposed to deal with that blind idiot if he isn’t around? It’s going to be bad enough trying to find that other fool who gets lost all the time.’ Her goal was to stake out the Tendo home in the hopes that Mousse or Ryoga |
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‘I’ll give the fools the opportunity to recant their version of the story first,’ she thought, believing herself to be amply generous. ‘I might even go so far as to compensate them for their assistance. However, if they refuse to see the error of their ways, I will simply have to dispose of them.’
To her credit, even Kodachi was able to realize that talking to them first was the preferable option. However, she knew if that didn’t succeed, she certainly wouldn’t have any qualms carrying out her plans. So she settled into a comfortable position in the tree and continued to keep watch over the Tendo home.
After several minutes, she watched as Akane and her father exited the dojo and began walking towards the house. At the same time she saw, out of the corner of her eye, a figure coming up the street towards the Tendo home. Kodachi turned her attention in that direction and strained her eyes to see who it was. It took a moment, but she finally recognized the person as the doctor who sometimes treated her beloved Ranma and the Tendo family. Believing him to be of no consequence, she continued her vigil.
Dr. Ono Tofu, friend and doctor of both the Tendos and Satotomes, made his way towards their home. He hadn’t had the best of days recently. First there had been that business with Akane. ‘How in the world could I let that happen?’ he asked himself again, for what seemed like the thousandth time. Even worse in his mind had been what had happened with Kasumi. ‘What if she had been seriously wounded? What if Ranma had been unable to snap me out of it?’
Shame from both incidents continued to fill Dr. Tofu as he walked. Finally, he reached the outer gate of the Tendo home, where he paused and took a deep breath. ‘I have to do this,’ he told himself. ‘I have no choice.’ Stepping forward, he reached the front door quickly. He hesitated only slightly before knocking, and silently prayed that Kasumi wouldn’t answer the door.
After a few moments, the handle turned and the door opened. Dr. Tofu didn’t know whether to be ecstatic or dismayed that Akane answered the door, but regardless, here the two of them now stood. Judging from the blush that immediately overtook the young girl’s features, it was clear that she felt some of the same anxiety that he was feeling.
“D-Dr. Tofu,” Akane managed without too much difficulty.
“Good afternoon Akane,” the doctor said, more serenely than he felt.
The youngest Tendo daughter was clearly at a loss for what to say. ‘Normally she’d seem happy to see me, and immediately ask me to come inside.’ Today though, the girl just stood there, holding the door only halfway open, shifting slightly from one foot to the other. ‘Clearly I’m going to be the one who will have to start things.’
“I was hoping that you and I could talk for a few minutes, if that’s alright.”
“Oh!” Akane said suddenly, as if snapping out of a trance. “Of course. I’m so sorry. Would you like to come in?” She stepped back from him and opened the door all the way.
Ono looked at Akane for a moment, and then looked past her to see if anyone else was visible. ‘I really need to be careful about running into K-Kasumi, or this whole trip will be a waste. Besides, what Akane and I need to talk about might be embarrassing for her.’
“Actually,” he said, “maybe it would be better if we took a walk.”
Akane regarded him briefly before nodding. “That sounds like a good idea.” She looked back over her shoulder and called out, “Dad, I’m going out for a walk, I’ll be back in a little while.” Both heard a muffled acknowledgement before she stepped through the door, and closed it behind her. The two then headed out past the gate and, without any agreement, began walking in the direction of the doctor’s clinic.
Both were quiet for the first several minutes, and Dr. Tofu could feel the tension between them. ‘We have got to put this behind us,’ he thought with determination.
“Akane,” he said in as friendly a tone as he could muster. “About the other day...” He watched as she visibly flinched at the mention of the incident, and began to speak again to calm whatever fears she might have. However, Akane beat him to it.
“I... I am so, so sorry,” she said, her voice nearly choking. “I’m still not sure what came over me.”
The young doctor nodded thoughtfully as they continued to walk. “Might it have had something to do with Ranma?” he ventured. The look of wide-eyed panic on her face told him that he’d hit the mark. The look didn’t last though as her expression turned introspective instead.
“Well,” Akane said quietly, “I think you’re right.” She gave him a small, sad smile that he didn’t quite know how to read. “I guess that I do need to talk to someone about this. And since it involves what happened, and also involves Kasumi...” she paused and watched him for a reaction.
“K-K-Kasumi?”
A sigh greeted his stutter and Ono tried desperately to get himself under control. ‘Merely talking about her shouldn’t be this difficult!’ he insisted to himself.
“Let me start from the beginning...” With that, Akane proceeded to remind him about Ryoga, and then went on to tell him about the breakup and how Kasumi had assumed the engagement. When that bit of news penetrated his psyche, Dr. Tofu nearly collapsed.
“S-She’s e-engaged?! To Ranma?!”
“Yes,” Akane said so softly that the doctor almost didn’t hear her. “I think she originally did it hoping that Ranma and I would make up. But now...”
“Now?” Dr. Tofu prompted, not sure he really wanted to hear the answer.
“A-After all the terrible things I said to Ranma, and how the two of them are getting along... I think... I think she might actually want... I mean... she might be happy to be engaged to him.”
Dr. Tofu let the words, and their underlying meaning, sink in. “I... see. I hope... whatever happens, I... hope they’re... happy.”
“What?!” Akane demanded, stopping short.
Ceasing his forward momentum as well, Dr. Tofu turned to face her. He saw the hurt in her eyes, and wished there was something he could do about it. However, his shame had other ideas. “I said, I hope they’re happy.”
“But... you love her!”
“Do I?” the young doctor asked, before blowing out a long breath. “I always thought I did. But after what happened at the clinic... I’m not so sure anymore.”
“What are you talking about?” Akane asked in obvious confusion.
“If I truly love her, then how could I ignore the fact that she was hurt. Why did it take a slap across the face from Ranma to snap me out of my... condition?”
“Ranma slapped you!?”
“Yes. And deservedly so. If he hadn’t, I might not have ever come out of it. Over the past few days, I’ve had to ask myself repeatedly whether or not that’s love... Or maybe just some silly infatuation.”
“I...” Akane said, “I think you’re being too hard on yourself.”
“Maybe,” Dr. Tofu allowed. “But I have to ask myself this. What if Kasumi had been seriously injured in some other fashion and wandered alone into my clinic? Would I have been able to do anything about it? What if I caused something even worse to happen to her because of how foolish I was being?”
“You wouldn’t! I mean, you couldn’t!”
“No, of course I wouldn’t. Not intentionally. But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen. The point is, if I really loved her, I should be able to get over whatever it is that happens to me so that it never could happen. The problem is, I’ve tried everything I can think of and nothing has worked. Do you understand what I mean?”
“Yes,” Akane said, small tears forming in her eyes. “I guess it’s the same with me. If I had really just been able to admit that I love Ranma, and stopped blaming everything on him, then maybe I might have been able to act differently. Maybe then things wouldn’t have turned out this way.”
“It’s impossible to say. And if you don’t mind me saying so, do you also understand how that affected those around you as well?” When he received a small nod from her, he went on. “Well, up until this all happened, I hadn’t realized how my situation was affecting others. After taking a hard look at myself, I realized that I’ve actually placed people in danger because of my obsession. I suddenly remembered times when I had injured patients whenever Kasumi happened to come around. Fortunately nobody was seriously hurt, but now that I’ve finally understood what I’ve been doing, I have to put a stop to it.”
The two began walking again, and after nearly two hundred meters of silence, Akane spoke again. “So what do you plan to do?”
Dr. Tofu reached into the inside pocket of the gi-like uniform that he wore and pulled out a letter. “I stopped by today to talk with you a little to hopefully clear things up. I also wrote this letter for your sister and was going to drop it off.” When Akane looked at him curiously, he shrugged. “I was glad that she didn’t answer the door, or else I might not have been able to give it to anyone. Anyway, this letter took me nearly a day to write, and was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. In it, I’ve told Kasumi how I feel, but due to the problem that I have, that I believe it would be impossible for us to see each other again.”
“I see,” Akane said quietly.
“As I said, it was very difficult, but I think it’s the best thing for everyone. I wish more than anything that I was somehow able to overcome this problem, but the fact is, I can’t. Therefore, I think it’s best this way.” He handed the envelope over to Akane. “Can... can you please see that she gets this?”
Akane looked at the envelope for several moments before answering. “Yes.” She took the envelop and then gazed into his eyes. “I’m sorry that things turned out like this. And I’m also sorry for what happened. I still want you to be my doctor. And I hope we can still be... friends.” She held out her free hand to him.
“Of course we can, Akane,” Dr. Tofu said without hesitation. He reached out and clasped the girl’s hand in his own. “And I would love to continue to treat you and your family. I would also like to continue treating Ranma and his father. I just won’t be able to treat Kasumi, that’s all.”
Once the two were finished shaking hands, Akane gave him a small smile. “Thank you for the talk, Dr. Tofu. I’ll be sure to give this to Kasumi when she gets back from her trip.”
“Trip?” Dr. Tofu asked. Then he waved his hands in front of him. “Never mind. I really shouldn’t ask. It’s probably better that I don’t know.” Judging from the look that crossed Akane’s face, he guessed the statement was truer than he cared to admit.
Finally, the two said goodbye, and Akane turned and headed home, while Dr. Tofu continued on to his empty clinic.
Ranma dodged several of the razor-sharp headbands that Ryoga had thrown at him, all the while working to improve her defensive position. One headband did come quite close to nicking her on the arm, but she managed to avoid it. Ryoga immediately followed up with a Breaking Point attack, which caused the ground in front of Ranma to collapse. This forced the red-haired girl to jump back hurriedly, resulting in her landing off-balance. Ryoga jumped forward and managed to land a solid punch in Ranma’s stomach, sending the girl flying.
Fortunately for Ranma, they were nearing the end of their training, so Ryoga relented. ‘Damn, that hurt,’ Ranma thought as she slowly dragged herself off the ground. Due to the intensity of her training, fatigue was starting to settle in. Because of that, she’d been hit far more than she had the day before.
As she began to massage the bruises that had accumulated on her body, Ranma watched as Ryoga and Mousse began their cooling-off exercises. Suddenly, she remembered that she was supposed to start Kasumi’s training now. She oriented herself, and was about to begin the walk back towards camp, when she noticed the eldest Tendo daughter making her way towards their training area.
Despite the pain that she was feeling, Ranma couldn’t help but smile as she watched Kasumi head her way. The older girls warm-up outfit was rather normal, but it was also borrowed from Nabiki. ‘I guess I never realized just how much bigger Kasumi’s chest is than Nabiki’s,’ Ranma thought, noticing the tightness of the sweatshirt. After a moment, her conscious mind realized what she was thinking and felt her face heat up greatly.
“Are you alright, Ranma?” Kasumi asked as she reached her fiancé. “You look like you’re overheating.” She reached up her hand and held the back of it to Ranma’s forehead. The redhead couldn’t help but noticed how cool it felt, or how soft.
“N-Nah,” Ranma said as simply as she could. “I’m fine. You ready to get started?”
“Yes, sensei,” Kasumi said, flashing Ranma one of those smiles that made the redhead weak in the knees.
“Okay then. Let’s start you off with some warm-up exercises then.” Ranma proceeded to walk Kasumi through several different stretches that not only helped loosen the older girl up, but also helped Ranma cool down from her long day of training. The two worked on those for about ten minutes, until Ranma felt reasonably sure that Kasumi’s muscles were ready.
“I think that’s enough,” she said, bringing Kasumi to a halt. “Now, I’m gonna go through a basic kata real slow, and I want ya ta watch carefully. Okay?” When she’d received a nod, Ranma proceeded to go through the motions in a slow, almost exaggerated, fashion. Kasumi watched intently throughout the entire process. It took Ranma about two minutes to finish, and then she turned to Kasumi.
“Alright, I want ya ta try to do what I just did. I don’t expect ya ta get it right the first time, but I wanna see how good you we’re able ta track what I was doin'. Ready?”
With a small nod, Kasumi started in the same stance that Ranma had begun in. Then, much to Ranma’s amazement, she went through the whole kata with only minimal mistakes. Not only that, her motions were quite fluid, not at all jerky like Ranma had expected. She just sat there and stared, until Kasumi obviously felt uncomfortable and cleared her throat.
“Sorry,” Ranma said sheepishly, before perking up. “That was awesome Kasumi. How’d ya do that?”
“Do what?” she asked innocently.
“That! I mean, that was nearly perfect! And on yer first try!”
“Well, I did train with my father when I was much younger. I remembered that as one of the basic katas that he taught me back then. Once I saw you do it, it was easy to remember going through the motions myself so long ago.”
Ranma shook her head in amazement. “Well, it was great. I want ya ta go through it again one more time, real slow, so that I can point out where ya need to improve.” Kasumi nodded and then began going through the kata again, though much slower this time. When she got to the first place that Ranma felt she needed correction, she had Kasumi pause.
“OK, shift yer left foot out more. Yep, that’s good. Now twist yer torso a little to the right. Good. Okay, now yer arms need ta be here and here.” As she was speaking the last sentence, Ranma moved forward and positioned Kasumi’s arms for her. Then it occurred to her that she was touching the older girl without permission and she backpedaled quickly.
Kasumi looked at her and frowned. She moved out of her stance and stepped forward. Ranma, reminding herself that this was Kasumi, and not Akane, managed to keep herself from flinching. The eldest Tendo daughter stopped right in front of Ranma, brought up both her hands, placed them on the younger girls cheeks, and spoke.
“Ranma,” she said softly. “I want you to listen to me. First and foremost, I trust you completely. I know that you would never, ever, take advantage of me. So please do not be afraid to initiate contact with me. Second, you are my fiancé, and we agreed to get to know one another. That makes what I just said ever more important. Last night, I held your hand by the fire. I don’t want you to ever be afraid that you can’t do the same type of thing. Do you understand?”
After looking deep into her eyes, and seeing that she was not only serious, but completely sincere as well, Ranma nodded. “It’s just that I’ve always had trouble with girls Kasumi,” she said quietly.
“I know Ranma,” Kasumi responded. “But please don’t think of me like them. I won’t force myself on you like some of your other fiancées did.” Then she lowered her tone, and her voice contained something that sounded like shame or regret. “And I promise not to become angry with you just because you do initiate contact.”
Again, Ranma nodded and then Kasumi stepped back, letting her hands fall to her side. “Besides,” Kasumi added, before shooting out her right hand in a quick motion and tagging the younger girls stomach. “We forgot the third reason. You’re my sensei now!” Both of them chuckled at how Kasumi had caught Ranma completely unaware, before resuming their lessons.
As they continued, Ranma became more and more comfortable helping Kasumi with her form. At the same time, she was increasingly amazed at how quickly her fiancée was managing to pick things up.
Mousse rushed through his cooling down exercises and looked over at Ryoga, who appeared to be doing the same as well. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Mousse asked.
“If your thinking you’d liked to get away from the two lovebirds before you vomit, then yes.”
“I think that adequately sums it up,” Mousse said. The two turned towards camp and walked away together, with Mousse making sure that Ryoga stayed in close proximity. He felt the urge to say something derogatory to the directionally-challenged boy, but quickly suppressed it. ‘I still cannot believe how convincing Kasumi can be. All she did was just ask Ryoga and I, in that gentle way of hers, to be civil towards one another and Ranma. I think she can motivate people much better than the old ghoul does with her intimidation tactics!’
Within ten minutes, the two reached camp, where they found dinner sitting over some warm coals. Both decided it would be rude to simply dig in, so each went to their own tent to rest. As Mousse laid down, he couldn’t help but once more be impressed by Ranma.
‘He just keeps going. It’s non-stop! At least Ryoga and I get to rest, but even so I still end the day exhausted. I don’t know how he, or rather she, does it.’ It surprised Mousse to find himself harboring a grudging respect for Ranma. He wanted to deny it, but the effort was futile.
‘I just hope that once this is all over, and Ranma has defeated Shampoo, that the two of us can be allies. I don’t expect that we’ll ever be friends, and I don’t think I really want to be, but it would sure be nice to fight with him, instead of against him.’
Mousse closed his eyes, deciding to rest before Ranma and Kasumi returned. As he nodded off to sleep, he found his thoughts turning towards Shampoo and he wished fervently for pleasant dreams.
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Kasumi watched with a wry grin as Ranma tried his hardest to stay awake. Her fiancé had managed to get through both their practice, and dinner, fine. He’d even managed nearly a half hour of studying. But now, she could see that the day was finally catching up to him. ‘I’m surprised it took this long. I probably would have been exhausted within an hour of waking up!’ Kasumi had to fight a giggle when she saw his eyes begin to droop, only to snap open fully when Ranma realized what was happening. ‘He’s trying so hard to study too. I know he’s really doing it for me.’ “Ranma,” she said softly, “I think you have done enough for the evening. Why don’t you head off to bed?” |
“Are you telling me you really love studying that much?”
“Huh? 'Course I don’t. It’s just-”
“It’s just that you are doing it because I asked you too,” Kasumi finished for him.
“Well, yeah, I guess,” Ranma said sheepishly. “That’s part of it. But...”
“But?” Kasumi prompted.
“Well,” Ranma started, his face coloring up a little. “I... that is... I mean, I was hoping we could... watch the stars again.”
Kasumi felt as if her heart was going to burst. ‘The poor dear is not only staying up because he knows I want him to study, but he also wants to spend quality time with me.’ The last person who had really seemed to be both concerned with what Kasumi wanted, and who also wanted to spend that kind of time with her, had been her mother. Both were something that felt unbelievably nice.
From the position sitting next to him, Kasumi leaned over and kissed Ranma on the cheek. “Ranma,” she said softly, looking around to see where the others were. She knew Mousse was still taking a bath, and she guessed that Ryoga was in his tent. Feeling that she had relative privacy, she looked back at Ranma, whose face had turned even more red. “That really means a lot to me. More than I can say. But you and I will have plenty of opportunities to spend time together while we’re here. I can see that you really need the sleep, and I don’t want your training to suffer.”
That last comment apparently broke through the young man’s defenses. “Okay,” he said finally. “But tomorrow night,can we... I mean...”
“Watch the stars together?” Kasumi asked. Ranma gave a small nod in return.
“It’s a date,” Kasumi said with a small, musical laugh.
She watched as Ranma stiffened a little at the word ‘date,’ but it was quite minor. ‘He recovered pretty quick. I hope that means he’s loosening up some.’ His reaction, and her thought, only lasted a second before Ranma started putting his school papers back in their folder. When he was finished, he looked at her again.
“Thanks for yer help, Kasumi,” he said. “And yeah, tomorrow night, it’s a d-date.” She watched as he hastily stood and made his way to the tent, passing by Mousse who was just returning from his bath. Ranma entered his own tent for the night, while Mousse got Ryoga and led the young man back to the barrel so that he could take his own bath. Then Mousse headed to his own tent, where he would rest until Ryoga called for him to lead him back.
‘Hmm,’ Kasumi contemplated, ‘this would be the perfect time for that little talk I’ve been wanting to have.’ With that, she finished collecting together all of Ranma’s materials, took them to her tent, and then headed towards the bath.
Ryoga sat in the barrel, enjoying the warm water as it eased his aching muscles. He wondered, not for the first time, exactly why he was here helping Ranma. ‘I finally believe that he’s doing this for Kasumi. I also now know that she’s the one who started the relationship between them. I guess his intentions are honorable, at least this one time, but that doesn’t explain why I’m here.’
A stray memory suddenly pushed itself to the forefront of his mind. It was of Mousse, in the dojo on the night when they’d made their pact, telling Ryoga that this was a chance to repay some of the debt that he owed the Tendo family for what he’d done. ‘Is that it? Is that why I’m doing this?’
It was a hard concept for Ryoga. By admitting that he owed them a debt, it merely validated that he’d done something to wrong the Tendo family in the first place. As much as he wanted to blame Ranma for what had happened, Ryoga had finally come to understand that it wasn’t his pig-tailed nemesis who made him sleep in Akane’s bed and take advantage of her the way he had. Even his excuses about protecting Akane from Ranma were really hollow when he remembered the points that Ranma had brought up that night in the dojo.
“Ryoga,” came Kasumi’s voice from behind the sheet that they had erected for privacy. Her voice nearly caused him to jump and spill the contents of the barrel.
“K-K-Kasumi,” he sputtered. “I-I’m...”
“Yes, I know you’re taking a bath Ryoga,” she said calmly. “I plan to stay back here, but I wanted to talk to you for a minute if that’s okay.”
“S-Sure,” Ryoga said, feeling a little nervous. This would be the first time the two of them spoke alone since everyone had discovered his secret. He knew it was inevitable, but he had been hoping to avoid it for as long as possible. Unfortunately, it seemed his luck had finally run out.
“We haven’t had much of a chance to talk since I spilled that water on you. But now that we have a moment, I just wanted to tell you that I think that what you did was wrong. Not only what you did to Akane, but what you did to Ranma too.”
“What?!” Ryoga nearly yelled. “I didn’t do anything to that jerk!”
“Ryoga,” Kasumi said, her voice low and even, “I suggest that you keep your voice down. Can you do that?”
“I... Yes.”
“Good. Now, you put Ranma in the impossible position of having to decide which act would stain his honor the least. He either had to keep your secret, thus hurting Akane and the rest of us. Or, he had to reveal your weakness to everyone, which would have been a broken promise and would have also gone against his own personal code. That was an impossible decision for him to make.”
“But it’s Ranma’s fault that I got my curse. If he hadn’t run out on our duel, and then knocked-”
“Stop,” Kasumi interrupted. “Was it Ranma’s fault that you were late to that duel?” When silence greeted her, she went on. “I didn’t think so. And I assume that you were quite aware of your own tendency to get lost by that point.” Again, no answer. “So, knowing that you were likely to be late anyhow, why you didn’t leave early so that you could arrive on time.”
“But... I...” Ryoga tried to say something, anything, but it was no good. ‘Dammit! She can’t be right! It has to be his fault!’ But even as he thought the words, his personal fantasy world, where everything that went wrong was Ranma’s fault, started to finally crash down around him. He tried to think, tried to reason, but nothing coherent would form in his mind. So he simply sat there in silence until Kasumi continued.
“Even though I’m still angry at what you did,” she said gently, “I am happy that you are helping Ranma. By helping him, you’re also helping me, and my family as well. I believe that this is a perfect opportunity for you to regain some of the honor that you lost as a result of your actions.”
It took a few more moments, but Ryoga was finally able to respond quietly. “Maybe... maybe you’re right Kasumi.”
“I hope I am,” she said. “Anyhow, please think about what I said. Goodnight Ryoga.”
He listened as her footsteps faded, and he found himself reflecting on not only her words, but everything that Ranma and he had discussed before.
‘If this wasn’t Ranma’s fault,’ he wondered, ‘then I wonder what else I’ve been blaming him for that wasn’t his fault either.’ The concept caused him to shudder, despite the warm water he was soaking in.
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.
