"Konnichi wa. May I please speak with Sumeragi Aeko-san?"
"May I tell her who's calling, please?"
"Hai. I am called Saotome Nodoka."
Kasumi hummed as she dusted across the top of the television,
smiling quietly to herself and listening to the sound of fighting
in the yard. It was always nice when her family enjoyed themselves,
and fighting was something most of them loved. Ranma, of course, was
out there in the centre of it all being attacked on all sides. Akane
was one of those attacking him. Kasumi frowned for a moment. There
were times when she knew Akane hated the fighting, especially because
she wasn't the best or even close to being the best. She wished that
Ranma would train with her and help her improve so she might feel
better about herself.
She walked to the back door and looked out briefly, and saw
Ranma go flying into the pond. She shook her head and headed for
the kitchen to make sure there was water on the stoveboth for the
Jusenkyo victim and to prepare tea for when they came in, cold and
hungry.
Just then a knock came from the direction of the door and Kasumi
walked placidly over to it and lifted the latch to see who had come to
visit. It wasn't anyone she knew.
"Konnichi wa, may I help you?"
She looked at the two people standing there then blinked. Wait
a second...there were three people there. Two clones and another
person towering above them, sunlight reflecting of his glasses.
"Konnichi wa." One of the clones bowed deeply and raised his
deep green eyes to hers again. "I am Sumeragi Subaru. I am looking
for Saotome Ranma and I believe he lives here?"
"Oh, why yes, he does. Please come in. I am Tendo Kasumi."
"Hi! I'm Subaru's big sister, Hokuto and this is Sakurazuka
Seishirou, a good friend of my brothers." She cast a sidelong glance
t her brother as she said this and both she and Seishirou smiled as
she blushed.
"Welcome to my home. I am preparing tea if you would like some?"
"Oh, we wouldn't want to be any trouble. If you could just tell
us if Saotome-san is here?"
"Of course. If you'll come this way."
Kasumi led the three visitors into the yard where the fight was
just winding down. Ryouga had managed to avoid the koi pond somehow
and was instead running blindly through the wall of the dojo yelling
something at the top of his lungs. She guessed he was lost again.
Kodachi and Kuno were lying unconscious, one on top of the other, in
an untidy heap half-on, half-off a bush. Mousse was being hit
repeatedly by Ranma-chan's Katchuu Tenshin Amaguriken and a few
seconds later was lying unconscious on the ground, his long hair
floating in the pool of water he had just managed to fall short of.
Shampoo and Ukyo were still battling it out with a pair of dented
bonbori and a gigantic spatula. Akane stood watching everything with
an angry expression on her face before storming inside, ignoring the
three visitors who stood next to Kasumi.
Kasumi waited until Ranma had finished with Mousse then called him
over.
"Ranma-kun. You have some guests."
Ranma-chan swung around and bounced over taking in the three
strangers with interest. Shampoo and Ukyo also walked over, glaring
at Hokuto and Subaru with hostility before noticing Subaru was male
at which they transferred their full glare to Hokuto.
"This is Sumeragi Subaru and Hokuto..."
"Ah, actually, I'm Hokuto."
"Oh, I am sorry. This is Hokuto, Subaru and Sakurazuka(?)
Seishirou."
Seishirou nodded his head in confirmation at her query and
smiled charmingly down at her, his golden-brown eyes dancing warmly
behind the glasses. Kasumi blushed and ducked her head a little.
"Nice to meet you all." Ranma-chan smiled.
"Ah, you're Saotome Ranma?" Subaru asked the redhead.
"Yeah."
"Um, well, Saotome Nodoka, your mother...?"
"Yep."
"She asked grandmother to see if Subaru could do anything
for your curse! But I'm sure she said she had a son." Hokuto
blurted, knowing Subaru would be likely to draw it out longer than
necessary.
Ukyo who along with Shampoo had drifted after Ranma blinked
in surprise then began to smile. "Ranchan! That's great. Maybe
you'll be able to get rid of your curse and then you'll be free to
marry me." Ukyo veered off into dreamland clutching Ranma-chan's
arm to her chest.
"He not marry Spatula-girl. He Shampoo's airen! Shampoo took
ahold of Ranma-chan's other arm and tugged in the opposite direction.
"Marry a hussy like you? Don't make me laugh. He loves me,
stupid Chinese bimbo."
"He love Shampoo!"
"Ah, Ucchan, Shampoo, could you..." Ranma-chan tried to break
into the argument without success.
"He loves me!"
"Shampoo!"
"Me!"
Shampoo reached again for her bonbori and swung at Ukyo who
was still attached to Ranma-chan's arm. Both she and Ranma-chan
ducked then Ukyo detatched her spatula from her back and swung back.
Kasumi and Ranma watched impassively as it escalated in seconds
into the furious fight to be expected of top-notch martial artists.
They sighed in unison and turned back to their guests whose expressions
all mirrored astonishment. They both smiled a little, that, they
thought simultaneously, was the only good part of the entire madness
that was Ranma's Life. Then Ranma cleared her throat.
"My curse? What could you do about it?"
They looked at her blankly before shaking off the stupor they
had fallen into. Suddenly Hokuto burst into speech, trying to remove
all traces of shock from her own system, and perhaps get back a
little at the calm tolerance of Ranma-chan and Kasumi.
"Subaru is Japan's greatest onmyouji! Curses are as nothing
to the power of Sumeragi Subaru, thirteenth head of the Sumeragi
clan!" Hokuto raised her arm to the sky and almost broke out into
maniacal laughter when the startled look in Ranma-chan's eyes brought
her back to reality. She shrugged. "Well, we can take a look at
it anyway."
"Mm. Do you mind if I ask what was...is, um, going on..."
Seishirou asked in a bewildered tone of voice gesturing at the debris
strewn yard.
"Eh? Oh, that's nothing, happens all the time. So you can
remove curses, hunh?" Ranma asked of Subaru, looking into the emerald
eyes an inch or so lower than his, a small flame of hope burning in
his own.
"Well, I can remove some, but if what your mother implied was
true then I may not be able to. It depends on what sort of curse
it is and how strong it is."
"There's a kettle on the stove, Ranma-kun, why don't you bring
it out, along with some cold?"
"Good idea." Ranma-chan nodded and bounced into the house
disappearing into the shadows.
"Please come inside and sit down and I'll bring you some tea."
She turned and started towards the house, feeling her guests follow
her.
Ranma-chan was just stepping out of the kitchen as they were
sitting at the table. In her hand she held a kettle of steaming water
and a cup of cold water. Kasumi smiled at him and walked past him
into the kitchen to make the tea.
Ranma sat at the table across from Subaru and sighed.
"Okay. This is a demonstration of my curse." So saying he
tipped some of the water from the kettle over his head. He heard
the familiar gasp and looked through the rivulets of water running
from his bangs at the room's three other occupants.
It was at Seishirou that Ranma found himself looking at in time
to see a flash of emptiness followed by malicious amusement. His
expression then conformed into the shock that was displayed on Hokuto
and Subaru's faces. Ranma blinked and wondered whether he had seen
what he thought he had. Suspicion made its way through to his mind
and logged somewhere within his awareness. He would be keeping an
eye on that guy, there was something about him. This process, though,
took place in his subconscious while his conscious shrugged it aside
and turned his attention to Subaru.
"So, what do you think? Anything you can do?"
Subaru blinked and opened his mouth. "Ah..."
He trailed off as a thoughtful look replaced the astonishment.
"Wow, that's amazing! I've never seen a curse like that before.
How does it work?" Hokuto took the opening left by her brother's
silence to question this transmorphic curse victim.
"Cold water," Ranma poured the glass of cold water over himself,
"changes me into a girl and hot water," he used the kettle, "changes
me back."
"How did you get this curse?"
Ranma looked at Seishirou and shrugged as he answered. "There's
this anchient training ground in China called Jusenkyou which is
covered in these cursed springs which turns whoever falls into one
of them into whatever drowned there. And last year Oyaji dragged me
there for training without reading the guide properly and ended up
knocking me in the nyannichuan." He almost got through it all on one
breath.
"Spring of Drowned Young Girl. And now cold water changes you
into a girl. Must be rather inconvenient after all the weather in this
area is rather unpredictable."
"Yeah. And it doesn't help that this curse also seems to act as
a water magnet."
"What do you mean 'a water magnet'?"
"If there's a puddle two millimetre's deep then somehow I'll
end up in it and it'll be enough to trigger the curse. And if
someone's throwing water out of a window or cleaning the sidewalks
then I'll always be in just the right place to get it in the face."
They all fell silent and sipped at the tea in front of them as
they pondered this further proof that life just wasn't fair.
"I've never come across a curse like this before, Saotome-san,
but if you would like me to I will be happy to investigate it and see
what I can do." Subaru broke his silence and looked across at Ranma.
"Sure. It's not as if I have anything to lose, really. Just
don't go and lock me in my cursed form, right?"
"I-I...no."
"Great. And call me Ranma."
Subaru blinked and nodded slowly, "I guess I can. Um, do you
mind showing me the curse again?"
"I'll just get some more water."
Nodoka arrived home from work that evening to find Ranma
sitting with Subaru on the back porch talking quietly. Kasumi had
informed her of the arrival of the Sumeragi and feeling slightly
guilty for not having told Ranma she had asked him to come she
walked over to them to apologise.
"...So I finally got my hands on the Chisuiton and managed
to unlock the curse and we headed...Oh, hi Mom." Ranma broke off
from his story and looked up at his mother. Subaru stood quickly
and bowed deeply. Ranma followed more slowly and stopped before
the bow.
"Hello, Ranma." She glanced expectantly at Subaru then back
at Ranma with an eyebrow slightly raised.
"Oh. Ah, this is Sumeragi Subaru. Subaru, this is my Mom,
Saotome Nodoka."
Subaru bowed again. "It is a pleasure to meet you,
Saotome-san."
"And you too, Subaru-kun. You look alot like your mother."
Nodoka smiled fondly in reminiscence then gave a mental shake of
her head. "I'm sorry, you probably have no wish to hear such things.
And I must apologise for not informing my son that you would be
arriving but I had thought it would be quite some time before you
would come."
"That's okay. I wasn't expecting to be able to come for
sometime, but I had a day off so I decided to come over. And I
don't mind hearing about my mother, I-I don't know much about her."
Nodoka and Ranma both looked at Subaru in sympathy, each of
them knowing what it was like not to have knowledge of a family
member although they were beginning to learn something of one
another. Subaru caught the looks being sent his way and blushed
lightly, uncomfortable with other's feeling sympathetic towards him.
There were others who deserved it far more than he.
"Well, Subaru-kun, if you wish to learn more of your mother I
would be happy to tell you what I can."
"A-arigato, Saotome-san." Subaru bowed again.
A small silence developed between the three and grew rapidly
uncomfortable; none of them were very good conversationalists in
social situations such as this.
Nodoka cleared her throat. "Ah, I'll just go and see if
Kasumi-chan needs any help with dinner. Will you be staying,
Subaru-kun?"
"Kasumi-san insisted we stay."
"Good. Then I will leave the two of you to go back to your
talk and I will see you again at dinner." Nodoka gave the two a
beaming smile then headed for the kitchen where Kasumi was sure to
be at this time of the day.
Ranma and Subaru looked at each other for a minute then Ranma
laughed. "Well, I guess we'd better do what Mom said."
Subaru gave a small smile in return and nodded. They settled
back onto the porch, facing the now setting sun and Ranma resumed
his tale.
It was not long however when they were interrupted again,
this time by Hokuto who had returned with Seishirou from a
Nabiki-conducted tour of the Ranma areas of Nerima. She sat next
to her brother and looked across at Ranma with a different look
in her eyes.
"Wow. You've had some life."
Nabiki had obviously been telling tales and even when they
were not exaggerated at all, most of them sounded very impressive
and Hokuto was most definately impressed, though not the least bit
awed.
"Ah, yeah."
"Nabiki told us all about the fights you're always having
and showed us all over the place. Y'know everyone in Nerima
knows you?"
"Really?" Ranma sounded slightly surprised. He was wondering
why.
"Uhuh. You're kind of a local celebrity or something." Hokuto
giggled. "It's fun talking to people about you, they've all got
stories to tell. And complaints about the property damage you
and your friends cause."
"..." Ranma had no idea what to say.
"And we met your fiancees again. They're both really nice and
Ukyo makes the best okonomiyaki I've ever tasted."
Talk of food was something Ranma could more easily talk about.
"Sure, Ucchan's definately the best. I've travelled all over Japan
and there's none as good. And Shampoo and Cologne make the best
Ramen."
"Really? We'll have to try it, won't we Subaru? Oh, and I
don't think you should marry Kodachi y'know. She seems a little..."
"Crazy? Her and her brother are both totally wacko and there's
no way I'm going to marry Kodachi."
"Don't forget to tell them about Kuno, Hokuto-chan." Seishirou
murmured from where he was standing in the doorway leading into the
dining room.
Hokuto made a face. "What's with that guy? He's just as
crazy as his sister. All that Shakespeare and stuff? Weird?"
"Kuno now has a trio of true loves." Nabiki spoke up for
Ranma's benefit. "His beauteaous Akane, his pig-tailed goddess and
now, his emerald-eyed sprite."
Ranma shook his head in disgust. "Well, don't hold back from
hitting him as hard as you can if he starts getting annoying."
"Oh, she didn't. She was great, not only did she use her
fists, Ranma-kun, she also managed to use her voice."
"Not very effectively though. The guy is thick, or is he
deaf? Well, whatever, if I ever see him again I'll just hit him
and not bother with the words."
Subaru's expression, throughout the conversation about the
Kuno's, had grown steadily more bewildered and had almost crossed
over into confusion by this time. He just stopped himself from
going so far as to interrupt when Ranma caught his look and took
pity on him, explaining the Kuno siblings to him. At the end Subaru
didn't look any clearer on the subject but had decided to let it go.
He couldn't believe anyone could be that bad, even if everyone around
him said so.
"Minna-san? Dinner is ready if you would like to come in?"
Kasumi spoke softly from the doorway and then stood aside as everyone
filed into the dining room. She waited until everyone was comfortably
seated before joining Nodoka in the kitchen once more and bringing
out the meal.
Ranma had, by the time the meal was placed on the table,
managed to introduce everyone who wasn't already acquainted. Then
the meal was in front of them and the war between Genma and Ranma
began anew.
At least, until Nodoka cleared her throat and glared, the
embarrassed and angry look in her eyes promising dire consequences
should it continue. Genma seemed to shrink at the gaze and Ranma
smiled a sheepish apology, slowing his intake down to a fraction
of the speed.
The visitors each held a pair of chopsticks frozen half-way
to their open mouths, stunned at the martial display. A few grains
of rice fell from Seishirou's chopsticks and landed back in his
bowl. It seemed to serve as a sign for the twins and their
veterinarian friend to resume their as yet untasted meal. They
each finished the motion of chopsticks to mouth and chewed slowly
expressions of delight soon appearing on their faces as they
discovered just one of the reasons why Ranma and Genma competed
so hard for each grain of rice.
Kasumi's cooking was really good, and with Nodoka
helping...it was along time before anyone spoke.
"Wow. That was great!" Hokuto patted her flat stomach in
appreciation and smiled blissfully at Kasumi and Nodoka. "Am
I ever glad you called Obaasan."
Subaru and Seishirou nodded in emphatic agreement.
"Indeed. Arigatou gozaimasu, Kasumi-chan, Nodoka-san, that
was one of the best meals I've ever had," Seishirou smiled
charmingly at the two.
Subaru bowed his head, his hands clapping together in front
of him. "Hai. Arigatou."