Of course, her training dummies did have plenty of times when they 'wore' a hakama, or 'wielded' a bokuto.
Right now though, she was weaving her hands around the 'limbs' of an unadorned dummy, as she tried to see how fast she could manage to go before she actually hit something. It wasn't a very important exercise, but it was one that she felt like trying out. Fortunately, she was getting better with it, even if it wasn't quite her style.
"You seem to be doing well with your training," Kasumi idly murmured as she watched her sister move.
"I should be," Akane replied, landing a kick between two 'arms' of the dummy. "With all this training, and, I do have to admit it, Ranma gave me some pointers."
"He did?"
"Yup. Except he managed to make it sound worse than he meant it. He wanted to say that I should look to work on my speed more than actual physical contact. What he sounded like was someone trying to warn me off before I messed up the Art."
"Oh dear. That doesn't sound very promising."
"No, but we got over it. We're friends, and his going to be our sister's guy for a very long time. Which I do applaud."
The elder girl smiled. "I do too. It's so nice to see Nabiki so happy."
"Too true. Before they met, I was always afraid that she would get all cold and shut off. But now...."
"Mother would be so pleased."
"Ummm...." the younger girl whispered, choking a little on her words. "I'm sure that she would be. Still, what about you."
"Me? What about me?"
"What do you think about all this? You have to have an opinion."
"I'm just glad that he is here. I've missed my friend, and having him home makes it seem so much brighter."
"And it means that one's down."
"Pardon?"
"Well, think of it sis. Nabiki's already taken the plunge. That leaves me and you free to marry."P
Kasumi put her fingers to her now burning cheeks. "Who, me?"
"Yes, you. Who else could I be talking about?"
"But...."
"But nothing. You're a lovely girl, inside and out. I just don't understand why you don't have a line of guys all waiting to date you. Even when Doctor Tofu comes...."
"I don't know what you mean.... Doctor Tofu is just so silly, and I'm too busy... dally...."
"Come on. You've got to have an idea of the sort of guy that you like."
"You could say that. It's just that Ranma is the only boy that I actually have ever wanted to be around."
"I see. That's true enough. I think that he's a lot better than the jerks that we have around the school. He's the sort of guy that a girl would really want to be with."
Blinking, Kasumi gave off an expression of surprise. "Akane? Are you attracted to him? If you are, that could cause some problems."
"Absolutely not! We're friends, nothing else. I certainly don't aim for anything more. Being such good buddies is great, and I'm not about to mess up such a relationship with the sole good guy around for no good reason. Besides, he and Nabiki are happy together, and screwing up their situation isn't on something that I want to do."
"They are married, aren't they."
The elder girl's words were not a statement, and Akane nodded along with her, leaning against the practice dummy as she she caught her breath. "That they are. And now they can enjoy being a couple, but only with a little word so long as Dad and Mister Saotome are around."
"That will be a problem, won't it? I mean, if they interfere...."
"Then we'll interfere before then. Those two guys are really easy to handle, once you know how to motivate them. Besides, they want what has already happened. So, we'll just have to keep an eye open to handle any attempts those two make to mess things up."
"Not that we'll have to worry about that."
"What? Why not?"
"Since Nabiki and Ranma are only doing what's proper, we have every reason to make sure that they have their privacy," Kasumi commented.
"It is good to have a couple around that's so right, even if they weren't related to me. Still, they really should keep it up."
"But of course."
"Though I do have to have a talk with Ranma once he's free from Nabiki."
"Oh, what would that be about?"
"Just the Art. I think that I'll see if he has any ideas about how to handle fighting groups," the youngest Tendo commented. "I could use some suggestions from him."
"You could."
"Sure, I could."
"That doesn't sound like you're facing something very good."
"Don't worry about it Kasumi. I've already got it under control, and all I need is to work on polishing my style up. If I can't ask him, who can I ask?" Akane asked, raising an amused brow at her sister, while:
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