"So I was almost right, you mean."
"Very much so," Akane — currently in the form-fitting uniform of Cremisi — affirmed with a nod as she sat across the table from her sisters. Ranma, now in the costume of Mustang, sat beside her. After teleporting Nabiki and Kasumi to Okonomiyaki U-chan's, Moroboshi Tariko had headed off to allow the elder Tendou daughters some private time alone with their transformed sibling, her lover and her former rivals. She had promised she would teleport the sisters' belongings out of the Tendou home to Hinata-sou one she made some private arrangements with the boarding house's new manager, Urashima Taiko.
A woman, Nabiki and Kasumi now knew, who — like Tariko and Ranma's new sister, Hayashi Kanami — had not existed twenty-four hours before.
"So you originally agreed to go to this planet in hopes of ridding yourself of your curse — and, after hearing of what happened to Ataru-kun and your other friend Keitarou-kun, give yourself a sister — but when you got there and were exposed to this Crystal of Power and told how much this change would also affect you, you decided to proceed ahead with it, knowing it could possibly come to hurt others," Kasumi recapped what Mustang had told them about his own Gifting.
"Yes," he agreed, nodding before he and Cremisi allowed themselves to revert back to their "civilian" identities. "And by the looks of it, those who would ultimately allow themselves to be hurt by it are being hurt by it."
Kasumi stared at him. "Then you'll go back and reverse this, right?"
He shook his head. "No, Tendou-san, I will not do so."
She jolted, stunned that Ranma of all people was now refusing her. "But what about the agreement to join the schools . . .?"
"My father should have kept it in mind when he made the agreement with U-chan's father," he stated. "Much less all the other 'fiancées' I might have out there. Who says that Daikoku Kaori was the only other 'fiancée' my father arranged for me just to avoid his responsibilities for paying bills for food obtained during our journey. And if my father engaged in these sorts of activities, what could my mother have done?" He then gazed curiously at her. "And what of the time your father made arrangements with Picolet Chardin's family? Could there have been times your father may have made other arrangements in the same manner?" He gazed on Nabiki. "Which may have even escaped your notice, Tendou-sempai?"
Nabiki and Kasumi blinked, and then the former started to pale as the latter looked down at the half-eaten okonomiyaki before her; it had been served to them by Ukyou before they began their conversation. "That may be a good point, Onee-chan," the former then warned as she shook her head.
"Perhaps," the latter agreed before taking a breath. "Ranma-kun?"
"Yes, Tendou-san?" Ranma asked.
"Would you reverse this?"
His eyebrow arched. "Are you asking me to become a murderer, Tendou-san?"
Kasumi jolted. "What?!"
He nodded in the direction of the young woman standing outside the main windows of Okonomiyaki U-chan's, she currently leaning on a lamp pole gazing out at the street to ensure no possible interruptions by any other party who might be interested in what had befallen Ranma and his fiancées in the last day. "If you ask me to reverse time to the state matters were first thing this morning, Tendou-san, you're asking me to kill her. I won't do that regardless of what my actions — no, excuse me, what my rightful refusal to acknowledge the wishes and desires of those who no longer hold my respect has resulted in — might ultimately unleash. She doesn't deserve it."
Kasumi shook her head. "No! Of course I wouldn't ask you to do that, Ranma-kun. I know how much you've desired to be rid of your curse! And having a sister is a wonderful thing in and of itself! But what about your relationship to Akane-chan? How is you becoming Mustang and she becoming Cremisi going to affect what you've been expected to do since the day you met?"
"It allows it to happen without keeping us in the same emotional bind your father and my parents would want us to remain in out of some selfish belief that they know better than we when it comes to determining our futures," Ranma replied. "Put simply, Tendou-san, I came to ultimately realise — as did Akane and my other fiancées — that it is long since time for all of us to get out of this emotional and cultural trap our conflicting desires and needs has put us into." He then lightly smiled. "Besides, in effect, I am fulfilling your father's stated desire the day after the attempted wedding between your sister and myself, Tendou-san. He wished that the problems interfering in our relationship would be fully and finally resolved. They are."
"Not by Japanese standards, Ranma-kun," Nabiki warned.
"Then Dad, Uncle and Auntie should have realised that long before they started trying to force this down our throats," Akane spoke up. "We know how lazy Dad and Uncle are when it comes to dealing with all the emotional issues governing our relationships with each other. Auntie should have realised by now that Ranma (before today, that is) was in no shape to determine anything concerning his future. Who was to supposed to teach him these things? By all rights, Uncle should have done it during his training trip! Did he?" Her eyebrow arched.
The older sisters blinked as they took that in, and then their shoulders started to deflate. "She's got a point, Onee-chan," Nabiki warned.
"Hai, that's true," Kasumi agreed. "But certainly Auntie could … ?"
"Auntie's been absent from Ranma's life for ten whole years, Onee-chan," Akane cut her off. "In effect, she was as dead to Ranma as Mom's been to us. And when she did come back, what did she do?" She shrugged. "Out came the katana, all the demands for Ranma to be a 'man-above-men' — which, by the sounds of it, would have made him really no different from Happoosai, which Ranma certainly does not want to be! — and no attempts to take him aside to teach him what it means to actually live in our society. Ranma's had no real interest in anything outside martial arts, Onee-chan! Anytime you could try to get him interested in something else is by effectively disguising it as martial arts! Does it teach him anything about living in society? No, it doesn't! And what's worse, when you really sit back and think about it, there's simply no way to avoid the conclusion that Uncle — and maybe Dad, too! — wanted Ranma to be that way in the long term!"
"Do you ultimately consider that fair, Kasumi-san?"
Kasumi turned to see Ukyou, Shampoo and Kodachi walk up to join them. As chairs were pulled up so the other fiancées could sit down at the table, the gymnast (who had been the one who asked that question) placed herself next to Ranma, her hand slipping down onto his pant leg and against his crotch. Noting that Kasumi and Nabiki had both seen where her hand had gone, Kodachi then glanced left at Akane. The latter took note, and then her hand reached down to rub against Ranma's other leg, she moving to lean against him. His response was to reach around his would-be lovers' backs to hold them close to him. Shampoo reached down to grasp Kodachi's free hand as her other arm wrapped around Ukyou's shoulders.
The older sisters were quick to notice the content smiles on all their faces.
"To borrow the French phrase for this, Kasumi-san, we've elected to have a ménage à cinq," Kodachi continued. "A group bonding between five people in an emotionally equal relationship with each other. It turns out that Shanpú's tribe does allow this, so to assuage your concerns about propriety, we will be 'married' under their laws and customs. But since we will eventually go to Yiziba, where the very concept of legalized bonds between mates fell by the wayside two thousand years ago, such ultimately wouldn't really matter."
"We've seized the chance when it came to us, Ka-chan," Ukyou added. "Ran-chan showed us the way and we decided that where he goes, we'll follow."
"Airen did give us the right to decide what to do," Shampoo further explained. "He never once demanded that we follow him! We're not his possessions; he's never thought of us like that in all the time we've known him and he's known us! And if we decided it wasn't to our benefit, we wouldn't have done it — and Airen would not think less of us for doing that!"
"Easy, Shan!" Ukyou urged.
"I'm alright, Ukyou," Shampoo assured her before turning back to Kasumi. "Kasumi, I know for a fact there've been times that Airen looked on me as nothing more than a pest. There've been even times when Airen has been mad at me because of the times I've threatened others he happened to care for because of what my tribe demanded of me at the time! But underneath it all, he still cared for and loved me!" Her face turned into a neutral mask as she added, "When I realised that, I thought myself the luckiest person on Earth to know someone like that. Becoming Virago ensured I would keep that, just as becoming Wandeln, Moolika and Cremisi ensured Ukyou, Kodachi and Akane would keep it, too! What in the Names of the Mother Goddess and the Great Crystal is so wrong with that?"
"Shan-chan speaks for us all, Onee-chan," Akane stated.
"It's still so hard to take this all in at once, sis," Nabiki stated. "And what about Dad, Uncle, Auntie and Ojii-chan?"
Akane frowned. "What about Dad, Onee-chan? He found it within himself years ago to team up with Uncle and bury that letch somewhere where he couldn't cause any harm! Why can't they do it again? Why can't they ultimately take responsibility for their actions? Why heap it over Ranma's shoulders when he doesn't — excuse me, didn't — have any sort of understanding what he was supposed to do and why?" She gazed on Ranma for a moment before turning back to her sisters. "You know, right this very moment, I marvel at the fact that after all this time, Ranma still loves and cares for me after all the things I've done to him! There've been times when I've treated him no differently than his other fiancées! Like a prize to be won and not a person with his own feelings and desires! And yet he still loves me! And when he became Mustang, he made damn sure that I would get the chance to become someone like him! He gave me the chance to live my life! And if Dad can't take that, too bad for him!"
Silence fell as Ranma and his would-be lovers relaxed, they allowing the elder Tendou sisters a moment to take in what had been said to them. Finally, Kasumi took a deep breath. "Well, if that's what you feel, then there's ultimately nothing I can say or do to stop you," she admitted, a light smile crossing her face. "Part of me is pleased you've made this accommodation between yourselves on your own. But the other part of me . . . " She shook her head.
"Can I cut in to make a little criticism here?"
Eyes turned to see Kanami leaning against the doorway leading into the restaurant. "Might as well throw in your few yen, Kanami-chan," Nabiki stated as she beckoned Ranma's sister inside. "Since today seems the day to lay it all out into the open, your words are just as good as everyone else's!"
"As long as you realise that," Kanami noted as she leaned her hands against the back of one of the benches lining the front side of Okonomiyaki U-chan's. "Put frankly, girls, your family was all but dead when Oyaji and we showed up on your front door last year," she then began. Ignoring Kasumi's and Nabiki's winces on her saying that — Kanami did notice Akane grimly nodding, though — she continued, "All because your lazy fool of a father couldn't get his butt off the floor and actually do something to make your lives better after your mom died. Because he couldn't make himself do something for you, all three of you were forced to step in and do things he should've been doing for you."
She looked at Kasumi. "You kept house clean and made sure everyone ate." To Nabiki. "You became the breadwinner and financial manager of the family." To Akane. "And you kept his dream alive by keeping up your studies in the Art." Kanami then shook her head. "But at the same time, he kept you all back."
"How do you think that, Kanami-san?" Kasumi asked.
"Simple," Kanami replied. "What were your dreams before your mother died?"
"To be a doctor," Kasumi replied.
"Why aren't you in medical college, then?"
"I have to keep the house intact, just like I promised Okaa-san."
Kanami blinked, and then she nodded. "I think, deep down, Kasumi, your mom would have understood if you decided to go out and live your life."
"But what about the family?"
Kanami smiled. "There's the trap."
"I … don't understand."
"You think Nabiki and Akane are old enough to take care of themselves?"
"Of course they are," Kasumi asserted, and then she blinked as certain things began to dawn on her. "Then again … " she breathed out.
"Nothing beats real life for teaching the lessons people need to survive and thrive, Kasumi," Kanami noted, her smile widening. "You felt it was your duty to take your mother's place. You swore an oath to that end. I won't dispute your desire to do that, Kasumi. Were I in the same position concerning my mother, I probably might have done something similar. And yes, in the long run, you did try. But what you failed to do was ultimately realise that part of a mother's duty is to prepare her children for the day they have to face the world alone. Fortunately, in most aspects, Nabiki is ready for that end. Akane needed more help. Thanks to Onii-chan, the Crystal helped her in the long term."
"Put simply, Tendou-san, your oath is now fulfilled," Ranma added. "It's time for you to get on with your life." He glanced at Nabiki. "Both of you."
"Dad won't accept it," Nabiki warned.
"Why do his opinions matter?" Kanami asked. "After all, what has he done to help keep your house intact and bring some wealth in to make things better? Sure, he's part of the ward council, which earns him a salary, but where does that money go? And atop that, why hasn't he done something concerning Jijii? You're his daughters! Why hasn't he done what a father's supposed to do and defend your private space from Jijii's perversions? We couldn't be there all the time to protect you, you know. And if we did successfully shield you from him, what then? Look what just happened tonight. I heard what you said to him after I wrecked Nodoka's sword, Kasumi. And that was a damn good thing you did. But what did your dad do after Jijii told him to 'put you in your place?'"
Kasumi winced as she remembered how she had nearly broken down in the wake of that confrontation, and then she looked nowhere in particular. Seeing that, Kanami sighed. "Obviously, you need a chance to think this whole mess through. I made some arrangements on your behalf so you can get the chance to do that without outside interruptions. And … " Her voice trailed off as she sensed someone land on the ground close to the main door. "There she is."
The door opened, revealing a black-haired woman with goggles over her brown-grey eyes, she dressed in a dark slate-grey uniform with black highlights and boots, a pictogram of a mountain on her chest. "Good afternoon, everyone," she greeted them with a smile and a bow before her clothes melted into normal civilians, her goggles morphing into reading glasses. "I'm Urashima Taiko, sister to Ranma-san's friend Urashima Keitarou. Currently, I'm the manager of the Hinata House complex in Hinata city in Kanagawa. Kanami-san has arranged for both of you to take lodging there for the time being. Tariko-san's already moved all your belongings there so you don't have to worry about confronting your father anytime soon. Your rent's paid for the next two months. If you wish, we can take you there as soon as possible so you don't have to impose on Ukyou-san's hospitality any further."
Everyone blinked, and then Nabiki stood up. "How was our rent paid, Urashima-san?" She then stared at Kanami. "Something you're not telling us, Kanami-chan?"
"That, 'Biki … " Kanami began before she smirked. "Is a secret!"
Nabiki's face smacked into the floor. Seeing that, everyone laughed.
Meanwhile …
"Tendou … "
"What is it, Saotome?"
"Who's going to make dinner tonight?"
Silence.
"Why, Kasumi would do that, old friend … "
"She's not in the house, Tendou. And all her belongings have disappeared from her room."
More silence.
"What … ?"
"Souun? Genma?"
Two men nearly gargled on their bile. "M-m-m-Master … ?"
"Why are all the girls' belongings — INCLUDING all their pretties! — missing from their rooms?!"
Still more silence.
"All of them … ?"
A battle aura clicked in. "ALL OF THEM! WHY HAVE THEY LEFT HOME?! WHY AREN'T THEY HERE AS THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE?! WHO'S SUPPOSED TO BE COOKING THE FOOD AROUND HERE?! AND WHY AREN'T YOU DOING SOMETHING ABOUT MY DISRESPECTFUL HEIR?! DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS, YOU IDIOTS!"
Two men began to wail …
As Kasumi and Nabiki are taken down to Hinata-sou by Cremisi and Stone Mountain …
(Posted Mon, 29 Oct 2007 02:53)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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