Rikku looked up from her tea as the front door opened and closed. "Ken, is that you?"
"In a way, yes." The young girl ran her fingers through her silver hair as she kicked off the shoes.
"You shouldn't have gone out without telling me, Kayla." Rikku said passing the girl a cup of tea. "At least yesterday you said you were leaving."
"I had some things to take care of." Ken chan, or Kayla as he preferred to be called, said accepting the tea before her body rippled and shifted back to Kenshiro's familiar blue haired one. "Besides, I wanted to see the sunrise. It reminds me of what I'm supposed to fight for."
"I'm just worried about the Amazon's." The redheaded sibling said.
"They didn't see me leave, or come back. I made sure of that. Besides, nothing stopped you from going out too."
"Who said I didn't? Just be careful, little bro. I don't want anything to happen to you. Especially after yesterday." Rikku said wrapping her free hand around her brother's waist. "So what are we doing today?"
"We'll be heading back to Nerima." Ranma said, descending the stairs. "I have to tend to Ukyo and the idiots at the Dojo. Also, your Grandmother is coming with us today, so try to behave yourselves."
"We don't go looking for trouble." Rikku said defensively.
"Yes. It just sort of wanders over and asks us for tea."
"Ha ha." Ranma said bitterly. "Are you sure you're all right, Kenshiro?"
"I'll be fine." The blue haired boy growled. "Why does everyone refuse to to listen the first time I say something?"
"Because we're your family, we love you, and we worry about you." Rikku said, pulling her brother into a warm tender hug. Rather than protesting, Ken just melted into his siblings embrace, enjoying the warmth of her skin.
"If you two get any close you're gonna sink into you sister's pores." Nabiki joked, leaning against the railing.
Rikku started to pull away in fear when Ken carefully pulled her back. "Please. Just for a while." He whispered. "It'll be all right this time. I promise."
Rikku nodded and forced herself to relax. She didn't like to think of exactly why she and her brother were so close, but that didn't mean she could just forget it happened.
"Come on, Nabs. Let's get breakfast started." Ranma said, leading his wife into kitchen as his children continued cuddling. "So any thoughts on what we're gonna do for housing?"
"For Nodoka's sake I want to stay in the neighborhood, but I also want to get us a place of our own. The kids are getting antsy. It's little things but I can see they'd like to cut loose and train and build things like they're used too."
"Yeah I know. Maybe we should take them out to the shrine later. At least that way they can blow off some steam." Ranma mused, setting the miso soup to heat. "And it wouldn't hurt them to get some peacetime interests. We probably won't be in many intense combat situations now that we're home."
"And I think we're all going to have to learn that murder is not an acceptable solution to our problems." Nabiki said, looking at her hands. "I almost killed Mousse because of what he did-"
"To your baby boy, your only son." Ranma said. "I understand your actions, but that doesn't make them any more right Nabiko."
"Do you regret leaving the old mummy alive?" Nabiki asked, after a long silence.
"A little." Ranma agreed. "But I'm tired of killing. I fear I have misjudged her nature. I thought she would see reason and accept us into the tribe."
"Not all of her alternates were so rational, father." Ken said as he and Rikku sat at the table, separate, but hands still entwined.
"It seems Cologne is motivated not by the good of the tribe, but by her own greed for power and glory as elder."
"It may also be desperation." Nodoka said, settling herself next to Ken. "From the stories others have told me, my son ran circles around her and her great granddaughter for quite some time. Surely she faces some repercussion for this."
"Regardless, she has no right to claim my children." Ranma snarled, crushing his chopsticks in his rage.
"Enough, father." Ken said. "The old mummy is a nominal concern. I for one don't care."
"Kenshiro! You need to take this seriously!" Rikku exclaimed.
"You misunderstand, dear sister. If she tries anything to hurt you, I will take great pleasure in wiping her from the face of this earth." Ken said coldly.
"Ken... you're scaring me." Nodoka said shakily.
"That was not his intention, grandmother." Rikku said, tensely. "Kenshiro is... protective of me, as he is of any who hold his heart. But he is really is very sweet."
"And you Rikku? Are you so protective of him, to take another's life?"
Instead of answering, Rikku turned her attention to her meal, plunging the family into an awkward silence.
"I wonder how the rest of the group is faring." Nabiki said quietly. "I wonder if it's this hard for them."
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(Posted Sat, 01 Jan 2005 06:34)
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