"This will be your home, Miss Saotome," Alfred said. "I hope that everything is acceptable."
Ranma was impressed with her new home. It was so different, compared with her old home... She had heard a lot about the living conditions here, but there is a lot of difference between reading about it and watching the real thing.
Still, she couldn't stop feeling a bit ankward in this place. The walls seemed too thick, oppresive compared with the soft paper and wood walls back at Japan, and it was worse the fact that she was wearing her shoes inside her home! She felt like her shoes were burning, but she resisted the impulse of removing them out of respect for Alfred's customs.
"You don't need to worry, Pennyworth-san," Ranma said. "It is better than what I had been expecting."
Alfred nodded, and noticed Ranma's distress. "I do realize that you might have some problems adjusting to this strange land, so perhaps you'll want to talk with Miss Mizuno, who is living at the next door. She is also a student sponsored by Wayne Enterprises, and I'm certain that she'll be glad to speak with another Japanese. And please, do whatever you want to be comfortable. I won't mind."
"Thanks," said Ranma, but she didn't want to remove her shoes yet. She knew that the sooner she got used to this, the better.
"Still, I'm afraid that I must warn you about the rising levels of criminality of Gotham City. It's a harsh subject to bring to a newcomer, but it's neccesary, specially because they see foreigners as an easy target. You should never go to a place where you would be alone, specially at night. Which reminds me..."
Alfred reached for his wallet, and extracted some bills. "Please accept this with my humblest apologies. This should be enough to cover for your stolen goods, Miss Saotome."
"I can't accept that, Pennyworth-san," said Ranma, embarrased.
"I must insist, Miss Saotome," replied Alfred. "After all, it was partially my fault, as I had overestimated the airport's security measures. If I had known better, I would have met you directly at your flight's exit."
Ranma was surprised at the conviction of Alfred's words. Perhaps she didn't know a lot about this land, but she was able to recognize a honorable man when she saw it, and she didn't expect to find one here. She didn't want to depend of anyone, specially after her reciently adquired independence, but she now knew that it was his way of recovering his lost honor, and that he would be distressed if she didn't accept the money.
"Then I accept your apologies, Pennyworth-san." Ranma said kindly, and accepted the money. Of course, she would just buy what she had lost, and return the rest when she finished, despite Alfred's previsible protests. She still didn't want to be in anyone's debt.
"Then, if you don't need anything else, Miss Saotome, I shall leave." Alfred said, giving a small card to Ranma. "I believe that Miss Mizuno will be glad of showing you around the University and the research facilities where you will be working, but if you can't contact her, please call me and I'll send someone."
"Thanks, Pennyworth-san. Good bye"
"Good bye, Miss Saotome."
And with that, he left. With a sigh, she finally removed her shoes, sat down at the floor (she still wasn't used to occidental chairs) and relaxed a bit before going out and buying what she needed.
(Posted Mon, 10 Jan 2005 18:34)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.