When the meal was done, Ranma patted his belly and grinned broadly as he lounged with Nabiki. "Now that was a good meal."
"But of course," his wife responded with a raised brow. "My sister has always been the best cook among us."
"I kinda figured on that."
"What about you? How well do you cook?" Genma asked the short haired girl.
Nabiki gave him a flat look. "I don't."
"Eh? You can't?"
"I can follow the directions on cartons or boxes of prepackaged foods. Heating up a cup of noodles is my thing, not making miso from scratch."
"I would have thought that you would have learned the basics...."
"Listen, I don't need them. My big sister does it, and I know that I'm not exactly talented in that arena. I make reservations, not recipes."
"And I like her that way, Pop," the pigtailed boy commented, glancing at his wife who seemed pleased.
"I suppose that you will have reason to enjoy her...." his father answered. "I just didn't think...."
"'Ever'."
"Yes, I.... HEY!"
Akane snickered from where she'd been watching television. "Looks like he got you there, Mister Saotome."
"Yes, and I'm proud of him for it," Nabiki commented, looping an arm around her husband's shoulders.
"You are?" her father-in-law asked.
"Of course. It's always good to be smarter than others, and I'd kind of prefer that the guy in my life be bright enough to think on his feet, and Ranma just gave a sign that he has that sort of talent...."
"Well, I know.... My training did wonders."
She continued on as though she didn't even hear him. "Even if that instance wasn't a difficult time to do that."
"What? HEY!"
"I always like to exercise my own mind too. You should try it sometime."
"I already do...."
"Now you see that is how you do it better," the middle Tendo daughter said, turning to her significant other. "Make them think that they're getting ahead in the conversation when you're just waiting to spring on them."
"That I can understand. We do it in the Art all the time," Ranma told her.
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Ya reel in your opponent, makin' them feel comfortable enough ta lower their guard, and then... BAM! Ya show 'em what ya've been hidin'."
"Exactly!"
"And it's right on both sides. Just like Mister Saotome said," Akane agreed.
The Tendo patriarch gave his younger daughters mildly admonishing looks. "Show a little more kindness to my friend, please?"
"I'll give him all the respect that he deserves."
"That's all that I ask."
"We'll do what we can, and considering that Ranma was raised by him, he must have done something right," Nabiki put in as she took a drink from her elder sister.
"He's done a good number of excellent things. And remember, he will be staying with us, so treat him well."
"It's not like I'm sharing a room with him. After all, if you were to tell me that I'd have a roommate, I'd expect that it would be Ranma."
"True, he is your fiance," Soun thoughtfully agreed. "And it would be understandable why an engaged couple would share a room...."
"Should I look for a pack in my room when I go to sleep?"
"No. He will share a room with his father."
"Oh."
"I'm just glad that you've accepted the promise so readily. I just don't think that an engaged couple should share a room without a reason."
"If they were engaged, then it might be improper," Kasumi pointed out.
"That is what I was saying. There will time to share spaces when you're married, but for propriety's sake, we have to follow some basic rules. And that means that Ranma and his father will be staying together in the same room until something changes."
"Don't worry, boy," Genma murmured into his son's ear.
Ranma blinked at his father. "What d'ya mean?"
"It will be just you and me, son. If you want to sneak out, I'll be the only one to know."
"'Sneak out'? Why would I wanna do that?"
"Simple, boy. You have a very lovely fiancee, and I know that you might be wanting to enjoy that fact. Well, this could be your chance," the portly Saotome said, doing a small gesture to point at the shapely middle sister.
Covering his face with his hand, the pigtailed boy wondered if his father was always going to be such a problem, while:
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(Posted Sun, 16 Apr 2006 01:38)
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