The legendary Kuno family resilience had caused him to pass out with his eyes open, and he had in truth only come to awareness as he was hauled upright. "Think nothing of it," he murmured absently.
"Are you--"
"I'm fine," he said, frowning at the bokken Genma had broken in their fight. "I have much thinking to do. Please let me know if you confront this fiend again ... while I'm not certain I shall have further business with him, I know others who may."
"Uh ... right," the officer said slowly.
Tatewaki thought the man kept talking to him after that, but ignored the words for the moment, instead trying to focus on what Genma had said. Then he thought about it. He'd heard, once, that Ranma had claimed to be Akane's fiance with eagerness during a challenge match against Mikado. But outside of that one time, he'd heard far more claim from both Ranma and Akane that they were not affianced at all.
As he made his way slowly home, wishing he'd had a spare bokken to use as a walking stick, he frowned, looking up at the early morning sky. A long night of fighting and running had taxed even his mighty reserves; while he thought he could make it to the dojo easily, especially since Genma had vanished.... He realized that he needed to rethink things.
Saotome Ranma arriving before him, weak, asking for help, and then passing out had been a fine start, and seemed a wonderful thing the last night. His sister ensnaring him, and that Kuonji girl pinning him down cheered Tatewaki immensely. That would mean he was free to pursue Akane! Or the pig-tailed girl! Or both!!
But....
Somehow, things weren't adding up. Had it been that he'd called Ranma an enemy all that time, when in truth, Ranma was no more pleased with his position than Tatewaki was? Could it be that behind their rivalry, they might actually be kindred spirits?
That thought appealed to him; it made sense. Ranma never actually won -- he just ran away after knocking Tatewaki down. Admittedly, sometimes it took a few minutes or an hour for Tatewaki to get up, and there was no formal acknowledgement of victory. Truly, every fight they'd been in, at least in Tatewaki's mind, was really just an extension of the one before it. And he had to admit, Ranma had a great fighting spirit, and real power, besides.
Somehow, the idea of someone being able to best him being on his own side comforted him. Especially when he thought that Ranma had asked him to train in the way of the sword. He'd initially planned on nodding his head and then laughing it off; the Kuno family art was a sacred thing designed for nobility. But ... if Ranma had actually been spending his time trying to free Akane to date with Tatewaki, as Genma suggested ... there was nobility in that.
Nodding to himself, he decided to question Ranma about the pig-tailed girl. Truly, she was the only thing between Tatewaki and Ranma working together, and if Ranma released her ... or was already trying to ... then there was nothing to worry about. And why would Ranma pursue the pigtailed girl, now that he had Kodachi? And apparently Ukyou, though that didn't bother Tatewaki. If Kodachi was happy, and it didn't hurt him, he had no reason to protest. Cheered by this thought, Tatewaki nodded, and looked up, realizing that he'd arrived at the gate to the Kuno manor and been standing in the street, staring blankly for a long while.
He scowled, then saw that it was still early morning, the sun only barely risen. Much of the world would still be asleep, and he hadn't yet seen his bed. Still, he was used to going without rest if it was required. "Now," he murmured, passing through the gate, "to wait for Ranma to awake, so I may discuss things with him."
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(Posted Wed, 20 Jul 2005 22:49)
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