Akane groaned softly as Ken rubbed her stomach. "It's over." She said sadly. "I lost."
Ken nodded. "Nabiki's about to bring the Dojo down, but she thought you'd want to hold on to these." With that Ken pressed the photo of Kimiko Tendo and the small urn that held her ashes into her youngest daughter's hands.
"Is everything out?" Nabiki asked, briskly rolling up her sleeves. When Soun nodded, Nabiki stripped off her shoes, walked into the middle of the dojo, and began to chant.
"Mother Gaea, Blessed Earth.
Draw this back to the heart of Birth.
Sun to Water to Earth to Sun.
Its time is over, its purpose done."
Nabiki smiled as motes of green light filled the air. "It's done."
"What did you do?" Akane asked.
"Everything in the Dojo came from the earth." Nabiki said as a point of green touched the wood of the door frame, causing the contact point to fade away. "From the wood it's built from to the nails that hold it all together. I just called all that back to the earth."
"It won't hurt the house, will it?" Kasumi asked, helping Ranma tend to Akane and Kenshiro's injuries.
"A little bare siding. Nothing some stain won't fix." Nabiki said coming to kneel beside her son and sister. "'Kane... I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?"
"For not being there for you like I should have. I mean, I'm your big sis. I should have..." The elder Tendo trailed off sighing.
"Nabiki it's not like that." Akane started.
"No, it's exactly like that. If I hadn't been so caught up in my own concerns, I'd have seen you hurting. Ken and Rikku would both die for each other. I should have at least been there to listen to you."
"Move over, Nabiki." Kasumi said dryly. "I wanna ride the guilt train too. I was just as much sister and a bit of mother too. I should have seen the changes and pain in both of you."
"Enough." Ken ground out as Ranma reset his shoulder. "There's nothing you can do to change the past. But regretting that past rather than learning from it wastes not only your present, but your future as well." He paused to take his good hand and place Akane's hand in Nabiki's and Kasumi's hand on top of them both. "For good or for ill, you are sisters, and that is a bond that can never be broken. Never forget that."
"Heh. I guess maybe we didn't do such a bad job as parents." Nabiki said with a slight smile as tears filled her eyes.
"It looks like the uncute tomboy did more damage than I thought." Ranma mused, ruffling his ex fiancée's hair. "This arm's gonna need a cast. Probably her leg too."
Akane fumed, and then smiled at Ranma's playful tone. "You're right. I'm not cute. I'm beautiful." She teased.
"You are at that." Ken murmured, blushing faintly.
"You're gonna swallow your foot one of these days." Nabiki said pulling gently on her son's cheeks, stretching his face out of proportion.
"Hey Ranma, can't you just like wave your hand or something?" Akane asked, pointedly ignoring Ken's comment and ducking her head to conceal her own rosy cheeks.
"I could, but it's better for you if your bones heal naturally." Ranma said, making a spinning motion with his fingers to bind both limbs in casts. "I can however accelerate your natural healing ability. It'll itch like crazy but you'll probably be good as new in a week or so."
"What about Ken?" Akane said worriedly.
Ken smiled and patted Akane's cheek with his good hand. "I heal quick, like my dad. I'll be out of this by weeks end."
"Grandpa's waking up!" Rikku called excitedly.
"You gonna be okay, champ?" Ranma asked, getting to his feet.
"She needs you more than I do. Go." Ken said dismissively leaning up against the compound's retaining wall.
"Grandpa! Are you all right?" Rikku asked anxiously.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Genma exploded shoving his granddaughter away hard. "Everything was perfect until you came sticking your nose where it didn't belong! All that ungrateful boy of mine had to do was marry Akane and everything would have been fine!"
"But grandpa-"
"NEVER CALL ME THAT! I will never acknowledge you or that bastard brother of yours as my kin. As far as I'm concerned you can both just rot in the streets for all I care!" Genma spat venomously.
Rikku stared as tears welled up in her eyes. "Why... WHY DO YOU HATE US!" She screamed before bolting out the door and over the property wall.
"Nabiki." Ranma growled as he grabbed his father by the throat and hauled him to his feet.
"On it. Ucchan, come on, before she hurts someone." Nabiki spat, taking a running start before following her daughter over the wall.
"That makes two of us." Ukyo hissed as Ranma tightened his grip on his father's throat. Sparing a final hateful glare, she hurried after the departing Saotome's.
"You pathetic excuse for a human being." Ranma growled tightening his grip around Genma's throat. "Maybe I should have let mother kill you."
"Now... son- urk!"
Ranma's hand convulsed "You have the GALL to call me your son, when you've constantly used me to fulfill your own selfish desires?" Ranma drew back to strike his father, and flung him outside into the stone property wall. "I should kill you myself."
"Ranma!" Nodoka cried out.
"No, my avatarrr." Bast growled as the group once again witnessed the change from Avatar to Goddess. "Leave him with my judgment for a time."
"And just what..." Genma grunted getting back to his knees. "do you intend to do that is so terrifying?"
"Your greed and sloth shall be your undoing, Saotome Genma." Bast said, as the lightening flashed dramatically. "By the power of the Gods, I curse you. Since you hold both cats and females in such low regard, from this day forth, when your laziness and gluttony get the better of you, so shall your form change." Bast smirked as the portly martial artist began shrink and change. "Perhaps now that your worst traits condemn you to the form of a female cat, you'll be a little more sympathetic."
"Somehow I doubt that." Nodoka said, glaring at the small fat white cat that glared back at the family. "But I suppose we can hope."
"Kenshiro. We should go." Ranma said, as the Cat Goddess took her leave. "Soun, Kasumi. Thank both of you for the kindness you've shown me during my stay here. I can't tell you how to run your house, but I really suggest getting rid of the dead weight." He said nodding at the irate Genma neko.
"Soun, Kenshiro and Rikku are as much your grandchildren as they are mine and... his. I think Kimiko would be proud, both of her grandchildren and the talented young woman her daughter has become. Like Ranma, I can't tell you how to live your life, maybe it's past time you stopped listening to the advice of your 'friends' and started thinking for yourself."
Soun pondered this for a long time as Ranma helped his son to his feet. "Tell my grandchildren, they are welcome here anytime they wish."
"Akane." Ken paused, leaning his good side against his father. "Look me up when that cast comes off. There are other styles than Anything Goes that I'm sure would suit you much better."
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(Posted Mon, 09 May 2005 18:05)
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