"Asteroid," didn't mean a whole lot to Saotome Genma. It was some sort of object in space, and thus, not something martial artists had a lot to worry about.
That didn't mean he was a fool, though.
"Seek high lands, Saotome Genma! Seek them!" was painfully obvious, and, "It falls.... The earth ... floods," wasn't terribly hard to figure out either.
The astronomer had mumbled something about Genma staying put while he called some authorities. That had earned the professional star-gazer a courteous nod, but if there was one thing Saotome Genma was skilled at it, was knowing when to run.
That thought in mind, he fled the observatory. It didn't particularly matter to him if government spooks flooded the area -- not that he was sure what the protocol was.
So, okay, he'd gotten a prophecy about a calamity happening -- and then he'd gotten proof from an astronomer that it was legitimate. Obviously it was something that justified seeking out the higher ground, but as he puffed along on foot through the night, headed back toward Nerima, he tried to puzzle out how that answered his question.
He was trying to get Ranma and Akane together! Knowing about imminent disaster was all well and good, but it had nothing to do with those two finally marrying and uniting the house!
Or ... did it? Without anything better to do, once Genma emerged from the darkness and reached a village large enough to host a reasonable train station, he sneaked aboard. He did his best thinking when he was still, but he wanted to move fast and get back home. After making himself comfortable in a luggage car, he relaxed and tried to think about things.
After all, if there was some disaster involving flooding, he wanted to make sure that his son and....
Well, that was the answer, wasn't it? He nearly leaped up off the duffel bag that he was using as a pillow and danced with joy-- If there was a disaster, wasn't that something that would bring those two closer together? The answer was so simple he could hit himself for missing it!
If Ranma and Akane were together when the flooding happened -- somewhere safe -- then that was the ideal time to bond!
Perfect!
Confident he had at least the beginnings of a plan, he let himself fall asleep there, lulled by the motion of the car.
Warned by keen senses honed from decades of sleeping in such places, Genma awoke as the train pulled to a stop. A little hungry, he pondered rifling through some of the nearby bags for food before thinking better of it. No reason to risk getting caught, and the train was in Tokyo -- that meant only a quick jaunt back to the Tendo place, and why spoil his appetite when he could enjoy some of Kasumi's delicious cooking?
That thought in mind, when the door to the baggage car was flung over, a quick combat roll and a leap took him through the surprised crowd, and from there he effortlessly lost himself in the crowd. Nothing was stolen after all, so that should save him irate pursuers.
The station he arrived at was one he knew well, so he quickly fell back on a fast-paced route -- one his son would favor, leaping from rooftop to rooftop. It wasn't his favored mode of transportation, since he liked to try being subtle when he could help it, but he had to admit that it was fast.
He was confident that he made record time, leaping from the neighbor's house and landing between the koi pond and the rear porch, raising arms over his head in proud triumph. He'd made it! He'd made it and had the prophecy and a plan!
His grin met his son's entirely unimpressed face as the pigtailed boy pulled his toothbrush from his mouth. "Back from trainin' already?" he asked doubtfully.
"Something came up," Genma declared, a little put off by Ranma's seeming indifference. Well -- the boy didn't know, yet.
"Oh, yeah?" Ranma asked, before returning to brushing his teeth.
"Breakfast is ready!" Kasumi called from within the house.
Both Saotome, younger and elder perked up at that, Ranma pausing to spit into the bushes before rinsing his mouth with the small cup of water he'd brought with him.
Genma beat him to the table, still feeling energized from his run. "I had to come back to keep you sharp, too," he said, mildly reproving.
Ranma rolled his eyes as he sat at his own seat, sticking the toothbrush in his cup. "Whatever," he said, waving a hand indifferently.
"What was it that came up?" Nabiki asked, folding the business section of the newspaper up and looking across at Genma with mild interest.
He accepted the bowl of rice that Kasumi handed him, but hesitated before answering. Soun was at the head of the table, looking up from the sports section of the paper as he realized everyone had turned their attention to his longtime friend.
Now that he thought about it ... what should he say, anyway?
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(Posted Fri, 13 Jul 2012 05:35)
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