"Aaaaggh!", cried a frustrated Nabiki as she swept into the kitchen and began reaching for a bag of chips.
Kasumi reached over and plucked the bag from Nabiki's fingers, "What's wrong Nabiki?" Opening the door of the kitchen she called out, "Ranko-chan, dinner is almost ready. Could you set the table?"
A faint cry of "OK Aunt Kasumi" followed her as she turned back to her sister, "Now what's got you all worked up?"
"It's this whole situation. I finally got some info to work with and I'm coming up with nothing. I've tried all sorts of spellings of Lakshmi and nothing comes up in any of my searches." Nabiki eyed the bag of chips in Kasumi's hands but knew her sister wouldn't give them back if it was that close to dinner.
"Oh is that all. You could have just asked me. Lakshmi is one of the major goddesses of the Hindu pantheon. She's the goddess of wealth, fortune, and beauty. She's believed to reside where virtue, righteousness, truth, and compassion prevail. I did a report on her for school." Kasumi turned to the stove and tasted the soup boiling there. "Just a touch more salt."
Nabiki just stared at her sister for a long moment, "I'm going to go beat my head against the wall for the next half-hour or so." She turned and walked out of the kitchen.
"While your out there, could you check on Ranko?" Kasumi called after her.
When Nabiki looked in on Ranko, she found the seating arrangements had changed slightly, "Hey there kiddo. Decided to rearrange the table settings?"
"Uh-huh. It was all out of order so I put everything the way it should be," Ranko replied.
"Really? And where is everyone sitting now."
Ranko pointed to the head of the table, "That's Daddy's seat. Mommy sits over there." She pointed to the other side of the table. "I usually sit next to Daddy unless Mommy is mad, and then I sit next to Mommy. When you visit you sit next to Daddy, and Aunt Kasumi usually sits next to Mommy when she stops by. Grampa Soun an' Grampa Genma sit on the other side of the table from you an' Aunt Kasumi, and when you're all over I sit in between you an' Aunt Kasumi or between my Grampas. Unless Grandma is over," Ranko rolled her eyes, "I always have to sit next to Grandma."
Nabiki absorbed this information, filtered it, and started asking questions. "So only you and your parents live at home?"
"Mmhmm," Ranko affirmed, "Though Grampa Soun and Grampa Genma come over and visit a lot. So does Aunt Kasumi."
"Where does Aunt Kasumi live?"
"Aunt Kasumi lives in Juuban, she a nurse at the hospital."
"Wow. And what about Grampa Soun, where does he live?"
"He lives with Grampa and Grandma over Grandma's house."
'Interesting. Now for the big question', "And what about me? How come I don't come by and visit that often?"
"That's cuz you live in America. You work in that place where they make all those movies, umm, Hong Kong." Ranko obviously thought that her Aunt Nabiki working in the movie industry was awesome. "Daddy said you had to work over there because all the ceilings over here are made out of glass. How come you don't like glass ceilings Aunt Nabiki, are they too bright? Could you show me one sometime? I've been looking but I've never seen a glass ceiling."
"Err.." For once Nabiki was too stunned to reply. She, Nabiki Tendo, had hit the infamous glass ceiling? She was much too smart to be some mere office lady. She had plans! How could she have ended up having to go to America in order to find work?
"Are you ok Aunt Nabiki?"
Nabiki was saved from trying to formulate an answer by a loud crash coming from the sliding doors in the back. Ranko had flinched and jumped behind her at the loud noise. This troubled Nabiki slightly, but her thoughts were derailed by the loud "Nihao!" that rang through the house.
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(Posted Tue, 11 May 2004 20:01)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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