[Episode 132925] [Episode 132925]Ranma walked by her side, incredibly all the stiffness in his muscles was gone. Of course, Kassy didn’t fully know Ranma yet. For him, things like this happened on a daily basis, so he tended to recover incredibly fast. He did walk with an added spring to his step, though.
After all, it had been a successful-*Gasp*-DATE!
“...Ranma?” Kassy asked slowly.
“Yeah?” Ranma asked as he turned with a roguish grin.
“You’re still smiling,” Kassy pointed out.
“That I am,” Ranma said. He did feel pretty good with himself. The day couldn’t be better.
Wait, yes it could! They were going home and in time for one of Kasumi's scrumptious dinners!
It was the perfect finish to a perfect day!
...
...Wait a minute? Perfect day!?
OH SHIT! KARMA WAS GONNA BITE HIM IN THE ASS SOMETHING WICKED!
Ranma visibly slumped at the thought.
The Half-Salusian of Imperial Birth blinked her eyes. One minute, Ranma was happier than could be, and now seemed VERY distressed. Was he bi-polar? “Ranma?” Kassy asked hesitantly. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing... It’s just... This is too good to last...” Ranma said with the conviction that he was doomed.
Kassy raised an eyebrow. “Well, nothing is perfect, but I think today went pretty well, don’t you?”
“That’s just it, Kaschan... It’s gonna get real ugly.” Ranma just couldn’t get a break, could he?
The Half-Salusian blinked her eyes as Ranma said that with as much-conviction as a cryptic soothsayer from Greek mythology.
Ranma saw the Tendo Dojo come into view and a sense of dread started to fill him. He was almost home and still no attacks... This was gonna be bad. But what?
Let’s see... Happosai was still missing...
The old geezers were still out on their trip...
Akane was out of the country...
Kasumi couldn’t hurt anyone...
Then what could possibly...
...
...Oh Kami-sama! SAFFRON WAS COMING BACK FOR REVENGE!!!
Ranma’s eyes instantly narrowed with a dangerous glint.
The skunk-eared girl blinked her eyes in confusion as Ranma seemingly hoped about, on edge and looking for any sign of danger. “Ranma, just what’s gotten into you!?” She asked in confusion.
“I’m in the lookout for angry phoenix gods,” Ranma said in all seriousness.
A sweat-drop appeared on the back of Kassy’s head at that statement. “Uh... Ooookaaay...”
As fate would have it, Saffron did not appear. It was a more relaxed Ranma that entered the house with Kassy, only to blanch at the first thing he saw. Nabiki was standing in the living room, looking as intimidating as ever and staring straight at him.
Oh yeah... This was MUCH worse than the vengeful god of Mount Phoenix. Saffron would just kill him and be done with it.
Please Saffron! Come out, come out wherever you are!! Don’t leave Ranma with the Ice Queen, please!!!
Please?
Pretty please with sugar on top!?
Kassy blinked her eyes, wondering just what the hell was going on. Nabiki looked pissed and if her glare was any indication, it was at Ranma.
“Hello, Ranma-kun.” Yup, in full Ice Queen mode.
“Uh... Hi?” Ranma returned nervously.
“We need to talk,” Nabiki said frostily.
Kassy blinked her eyes, wondering if it was her place to get involved.
Ranma remained silent, knowing whatever he said would be used against him. Nabiki had a way of twisting around his words that made Akane pale in comparison.
Nabiki turned to Kassy and gave the girl a frosty look. “It seems like you don’t know a thing about honor.”
Kassy blinked her eyes in confusion. “Honor? What are you talking about?” The sandy-blonde asked, generally confused.
“Are you aware of the fact Ranma is engage to marry my sister?” Nabiki asked and inwardly smirked at seeing Ranma cringe.
Kassy blinked her eyes once, twice, thrice. “Wait... How can that be? Ranma’s supposed to be engaged to that okonomiyaki bitch... And the bath-products girl thinks they’re married... And some other woman is infatuated.” She stared at Nabiki. “So how could Kasumi be engaged to Ranma with all this craziness?”
Nabiki resisted the urge to groan, which would ruin the intimidation factor, and simply narrowed her eyes. “He’s engaged to my other sister, Akane. And if he doesn’t marry her, he’ll stain both his honor and the honor of Clan Tendo.”
Kassy blinked her eyes and said something no one would possibly think. “No he wouldn’t...”
Ranma turned to Kassy incredulously. This problem was the one that made him remain in the current mess instead of simply bolting. He couldn’t lose his honor.
Nabiki raised an eyebrow. “And why not?”
“Listen, my father was in an engagement too,” Kassy said seriously. “It was decided before he or my aunt Ichikoo were born. But obviously my dad DIDN’T marry auntie Ichi. Both sides get along just fine, and there’s no dishonor because both sides agreed to dissolve it. So, from my point of view,” Kassy said, “If Ranma really was serious, he would’ve married Akane and been done with it. If he wants to marry her, fine. I’ll not pester him... But if Ranma and Akane can’t follow through...” Kassy shrugged. “There’s no dishonor for both sides agreeing it was a bad idea to begin with.”
Ranma slumped and Nabiki’s smirk became predatory. Both knew Soun and Genma would NEVER let go of the engagement.
Kassy raised an eyebrow at both reactions. “Am I missing something?”
“Only that our fathers will never allow the engagement not to be fulfilled,” Nabiki explained victoriously as Ranma looked visibly depressed. “So you see, you are a stain on Ranma’s honor if you continue to get involved with him.”
Kassy blinked her eyes, confused. “But then he’d still be staining his honor if he DID marry Akane. From my understanding, Ranma also got a dowry from that bitch Ukyo,” Kassy explained, not minding what the two thought of her feelings of the bandoleer bitch. “So he should at least get that dissolved BEFORE marrying Akane... Otherwise,” She shrugged. “Three families get ‘disgraced’.”
Nabiki’s smirk didn’t lessen in the slightest. “Her engagement is invalid. It’s been that way since she lost her yatai to the Gambling King, so her dowry wasn’t hers to give away.”
“WHAAAAAAT!?!?!?” Ranma bellowed in disbelief.
Kassy blinked her eyes once, twice. “Oh... So basically, Ranma and Genma got stolen property?”
“Saotome-san got stolen property. Ranma-kun was too young to understand what was happening.” Nabiki was starting to feel more and more wary of Kassy. She was making points none had been able to make before.
Granted they were evident, but this was Nerima.
Kassy nodded her head slowly. “At least Ranma won't be indicted with stealing...”
“But that does leave the Tendo engagement with the most validity,” Nabiki said firmly. “Isn’t that right, Ranma-kun?”
Ranma sighed deeply, obviously pained, and nodded in defeat.
Kassy looked at Ranma and sighed. “It obviously pains him so...” The girl shook her head. “Can I see the contract?”
Nabiki’s smile widened. This was the best part. “It was a verbal agreement between two Masters of the Anything Goes Martial Arts, and later approved by the Grandmaster of the style. So not only would Ranma dishonor both clans if he didn’t marry a Tendo, but he would also lose the right to practice his Art. Isn’t that right, Ranma-kun?”
“..........Yes........” Ranma answered mechanically. He was right before. Karma WAS biting him in the ass, and chewing vigorously.
Kassy nodded her head. “I can understand the agreement... But legally, verbal doesn’t hold up squat in a court of law,” She said. “The intention is there, I believe...” Kassy shrugged. “But without any paperwork, it becomes meaningless. Hell, there was so much legal red-tape over when my father dissolved the agreement with aunti-Ichi that my great-grandfather will still bop him over the head for it.”
Ranma sighed and turned to Kassy. “Maybe legally, you’re right, Kasch... Kassy. But Pops and Tendo-san are the Masters of the School,” In his tone of voice it was easy to recognize the total defeat he was feeling. If he even thought about not marrying Akane, he would be forbidden from practicing his martial arts. Seppuku was a preferable choice.
Ranma walked past Nabiki, his shoulders slumped, and went upstairs to his room. He wasn't feeling hungry anymore...
It was then that Nabiki smiled. It always made her feel so much better to put Ranma in his place. Under her thumb.
(------)
It was the next day as Kassy sat back as she watched Ranma try to put together the next exercise. She had a pointed frown on her face that spoke volumes for how she felt.
All day long Ranma had been reserved and too serious for her liking, and she could see the indentations left by his feet as he walked. She didn’t know what the limit for the Gravity-device was, but she was pretty sure Ranma was close to it. And it was so obvious he was pushing himself harder than ever to try and not think about what happened yesterday. “All ready, Kassy.” That was another thing. No more ‘Kaschan’.
“Yes... Ranma...” The girl sighed as she got to her feet.
Ranma stood up and made sure Kassy was tightly tied with the rope to the trunk of the tree. It was a little early to try this exercise, but he needed to vent off some and with the gravity device it would be as if he’d never trained like this before. “Ready?”
Kassy didn’t answer for a moment.
Ranma frowned when he didn’t get a response and turned to regard the skunk-eared girl. “Something up?” He checked everything and it was okay. This type of training was fairly simple.
Kassy blinked her eyes. “Oh? You were talking to me?”
Ranma nodded. “The training is about to begin. Are you ready?”
The girl sighed. “Not really...” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Ranma... I can’t find myself concentrating.”
Ranma half-attempted a smirk. It didn’t quite make it. “Don’t worry, when we get started you’ll concentrate. See that rope tying you to the tree?”
Kassy nodded her head. “What about it?”
Ranma crouched to pick a rock. “And see that bee-hive over our heads?”
Kassy's eyes widened. “What, I have to dodge those things when I can’t run?”
The pigtailed martial artist nodded. “Ready?”
Kassy nodded her head slowly, her eyes wide. “As... As I’ll ever be...” She said non-too-convincing.
Ranma nodded and threw the rock at the bee-hive; the reaction was almost instantaneous.
“CRAP!!!” Kassy shouted as she started running about, waving her arms to try and whack at the attacking insects.
Ranma didn’t move in the first couple of seconds, allowing the angry hive to pierce his skin and using the pain to damper all his thought processes. Once that was done nothing was left but self-preservation. The pigtailed martial artist forgot everything, all Nabiki said about his honor and his martial arts obligations, and dedicated his entire being to the training session. He started jumping about, hitting bees as he went and avoided being stung.
Kassy was dodging about, trying to avoid. She wasn’t going to get away and tried to whack at the bees, wincing each time she got stung. Which was often.
Ranma heaved for breath after the first two minutes of training, he’d never trained with the gravity device in such a high setting before and he was particularly straining his legs as he landed attempting to soften the blows to the ground.
Kassy kept on whacking at the insects, not noticing Ranma for the moment. This was hurting more than she thought and she was trying to at least NOT get stung in the face.
Finally, after a full five minutes of constant mayhem, the bees returned to their hive. They left down two teenagers in fetal positions trying to cover their faces. There was a crater under Ranma were he hit the ground due to exhaustion, cracking four ribs and almost dislocating his shoulder. The boy was glad the pain made him forget about anything else.
Kassy groaned, feeling almost as bad as Ranma. She had been stung all about, and felt like utter shit... But still not as bad as she emotionally felt. “R-Ranma?” She whimpered out.
“... Y-yeah...?” Ranma wheezed back.
“Let’s... Let’s not do that again, okay?” She asked fearfully.
The pigtailed martial artist groaned as he tried to get up, but couldn’t summon the strength to do so. He was starting to suffocate. “... I... Kas... I need... This...”
Kassy blinked her eyes. That... The way he talked didn’t sound right. “Ranma, are you okay?”
Ranma’s answer was pretty weak. “... Need... This...”
Kassy frowned. That did NOT sound right. She got onto her hands and knees and crawled over to Ranma. “What’s wrong? Something doesn’t sound right.”
Ranma didn’t answer, his body pressed so tightly against the ground cracks continued to appear under him.
Kassy's eyes widened. She looked over Ranma for the Gravity Device.
120-G’s
“RANMA!!!” Kassy shouted. He was all but 5 G’s from burning the device out.
She turned off the device, her eyes intent over Ranma’s form.
The sound of an intake of breath was heard and Ranma’s eyes snapped open. “What...? What’s wro-AAAARRrrrghh!” He held his side in pain.
“RANMA!!!” Kassy shrieked. “What happened!?”
Ranma grit his teeth and swallowed hard. “I think... I cracked my ribs on that fall.”
Kassy frowned. “We need to get you to a hospital...”
“I'll be all right,” Ranma said through gritted teeth. “Or as close to that as possible,” He mumbled under his breath.
Kassy frowned as she sat by Ranma. “Need me to get you anything?”
Ranma wasn’t thinking clearly, or maybe he was for the first time in years. The situation he was in was completely hopeless and for the first time, he didn’t feel it would resolve itself. “A tanto would be nice...”
Incredible that for Ranma to think clearly, he’d need to be almost completely broken physically.
Kassy’s eyes widened. “A tanto!?”
Ranma closed his eyes. “I lose my Art if I don’t...” Damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. If he didn’t marry a Tendo he would lose the right to practice Anything Goes. If he married and took over the dojo, he’d stop traveling and stop learning. He’d never be the best. Dying honorably while still being the best sounded like the sanest choice.
“What? Lose your art...” Kassy asked as memories of what happened the night prior flittered through her mind.
The Half-Salusian misinterpreted this.
She thought Ranma WANTED to be with her, if it meant that he’d lose his right to be in his school... And to be with his school meant he’d lose her.
Trembling, Kassy found herself hugging Ranma tightly, while still trying to be gentle. “I’m sorry... This is all my fault...”
It was then that Ranma asked a question that shocked Kassy stupid. “Kaschan... Will you be my... Second...?” In his muffled state of mind, he asked the girl to help him retain his honor as he committed seppuku. It had to be a responsibility for close one, and Ranma right now felt the closest to the teenager holding him.
Her eyes widening in fear, Kassy’s face paled. “W-what!?”
“Seppuku... Only way out...” Ranma said drowsily.
“NO!” Kassy said as she hugged him. “I won’t let you! I won’t let you kill yourself!” She was sniffling as she kept a tight hold on him so he wouldn’t hurt himself.
“But the school... Honor... I...” That was the last thing Ranma said before finally losing consciousness. When he woke up he WOULD remember what he thought about, however.
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by Red Priest of the 17th Order
(Posted Sun, 20 Feb 2005 18:13)
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.