"Oh, is that all," her husband sighed.
Soun smiled along side his friend. "I thought that it was something major...."
Then it hit both men, and they reacted in the only way that they could. They yelled like someone had just dropped hot coals down their pants. "WHAT?!"
"I do believe that I could not put it any simpler," the redhead informed them.
"B... b.... bu... but...." Genma stammered.
"What, husband?"
"How could this be possible?!"
"The normal way. We gave our permission, and they had a ceremony. Not one that I would have wanted, but it was wonderful, none the less."
"SAOTOME?!" the Tendo patriarch bellowed, glaring darkly at his so-called 'friend'.
A sickly smile came across the broad man's face. "Tendo?"
"How could you give your permission to have your son marry a girl other than one of my daughters?!"
"I didn't know that I had!"
"That is something that I can believe," Nodoka murmured. "You see, knowing you, you didn't even look at the paper that I gave you to sign."
"You gave me...."
"Yes, I did."
"You approve of this match?" Soun asked, his tone holding an accusatory hiss.
"Certainly. Haruka is a lovely young woman who has class, style, sophistication, and a deep love for my son."
"And his marriage to this girl makes it so that the promise between our families can not happen!"
"That is the fault of the both of you."
"Huh?" grunted both men.
"The two of you did not warn anyone, including me about this 'arrangement' that you had made. If you had, I would have known to stop their budding romance before anything came of it. But since none of us knew, we couldn't exactly see any reason to not allow true love to take its course. Every one of us went into this without any reason to hold back. You kept this arranged marriage a secret, so no one could do anything about it until today."
"Then why not do the honorable thing and dissolve this marriage, and have your son marry one of my daughters?" Soun asked.
She looked at him as if he'd crawled out from under a rock. "Tell me, what would you have done if one of your daughters had a boyfriend of her own before your promise came up? Or if she had already been married?"
"She would have been incapable of following through on the promise."
"Exactly. We went in to this situation in good faith, and there is no reason to break it, just like that," Nodoka stated.
"And what exactly does this girl have to recommend her, eh?"
"She comes from a good family, one that is, while not rich, is well off."
That got her husband's attention. "'Well off'?"
"Her family's finances are more than secure, and she is doing quite well for herself."
"Does she now...."
"Haruka-chan has her own wonderful apartment, and her own car."
"Sounds nice...." Genma said airily, already imagining himself at a dinner party with bottles of wine and platters of food in front of him.
"SAOTOME!" Soun barked, his head seeming to grow three sizes bigger.
"Just thinking, Tendo. That's all...."
"Humph."
"Now, my daughter in law may not be as traditional as other girls, but I know that she and my son are good together. They share so many interests, after all. I know that my son likes to go to her races, and she likes to try out the moves that he shows her." Nodoka allowed herself a small smile. "That sort of sharing is what I want for my son."
The Tendo patriarch's mouth twisted up as he allowed himself to admit that what she was saying was true. It was the sort of relationship that he would want for his baby girls. But one of them was supposed to have that sort of bond with Genma's son, and there was only a single son around. That meant that he'd have to figure out something to deal with the issue soon, or he'd be stuck with having the promise broken.
But he was sure that it wouldn't be a hard thing to handle, while:
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(Posted Sun, 16 Jul 2006 06:20)
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