Slowly, the eldest Tendo daughter opened her eyelids as the first streams of light entered the window. The young woman delicately lifted herself up and placed a hand upon her forehead, recalling the horrible dream that had plagued her the night before.
“I think I'll make Ranma his favorite breakfast today...,” Kasumi muttered to herself as she carefully made her to the furo.
After turning the water on, the Tendo daughter started for the kitchen and filled the rice maker while mentally cataloging the ingredients in the refrigerator. Making sure that she had every detail firmly ingrained within her mind, Kasumi returned to the furo and began her morning ritual of scrubbing and bathing herself.
When the young woman was finally able to start her soak in the warm water, she took the time to feel her body under the water.
Kasumi frowned deeply at the feeling of love handles on her sides and the way that her belly seemed to pooch out into her lap no matter how much she sucked in. The girl started to become a bit distraught as flashbacks of the night before started flashing in her mind.
The young woman lifted herself out of the furo and turned to get a good look at herself in the mirror. Her frown deepened as the image of herself began to expand and fatten before returning to her true appearance, but Kasumi could still see where her fears and nightmares were beginning to come true.
The Tendo girl's entire body was quite soft and no where close to as toned as her younger sister Akane or even Nabiki. When all you did was act as the family housekeeper, there was little time to try to maintain a perfect figure. And while all good chefs must also try their cooking occasionally, it did not help that she usually ended up having many more servings than intended by the end of the day.
Kasumi thought back to a time when she was still in high school. Back then everything had not seemed as bad. Her siblings while a bit sad had not embraced the anger or coldness that plagued them now. Her father had still taught a bit and money came into the house. And she had so much promise. Top grades, perfectly proportioned body, and a bright future ahead of her.
A few tears began brimming in the woman's eyes at the sight in front of her. Four years later and she had never gone to college. Everyone that she had known had disappeared to their own world's. Her father had given up teaching and her siblings had fallen into pits that were claiming their souls.
And all the while she was fading away from who she used to be. Back then there was so much life in her, but now it was as if an empty shell was living in her body.
A loud splash followed by a cry of 'Baka Oyaji!' rang through the air, but Kasumi paid no head as she was
Wrinkles were beginning to form. Her beautiful hands had begun to prematurely age from all of the dishes and cleaning. Her taut abdomen had slowly become a drooping belly and Kasumi could feel that it wasn't showing signs of stopping. Over the last year, her thighs had started to touch and now they completely rubbed together. It truly bothered her that all of her clothing had been been given to Akane and Nabiki when it was apparent that she had outgrown him.
A knock on the door brought her out of her musings.
“Is anyone in there?” Ranma called out, mentally preparing himself to be malleted through a wall.
Kasumi jumped in fright a bit as she remembered Ranma's role in her horrible nightmare and a wave of dread went through her body.
'Even if it was just a dream. I don't want Ranma-kun to see me like this,” the curvy girl thought.
Tentatively, the young woman poked her head out of the door.
“Ranma-kun, I was just finishing up. Could you please wait outside a bit so I can get dressed?” Kasumi asked politely, taking extra care not to let herself be seen fully.
The pig-tailed martial artist blushed a deep red and in a flash he had planted himself outside the door to the dressing room.
The eldest Tendo daughter breathed a sigh of relief and quickly got dressed. If Ranma was already there to use the bath, it meant that Kasumi would have to hurry to prepare breakfast.
The girl hustled and bustled her way through the kitchen, trying to get the food ready in time. All of her troubles seemed to flow away for a moment as she compensated and got everything completed right on time.
Still rushing, Kasumi tried to lift all of the food at once to the table, but the weight was much to heavy for her and the woman tripped right as she was passing into the threshold of the dining room.
For a moment, time seemed to slow down as it seemed that she was going to fall face first and waste all of her hard work, but at the last second the eldest Tendo daughter felt a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around her waist and relinquish the platter of food from her grasp.
Kasumi looked up to see that Ranma had dashed to her and caught her before she could hit floor. There was a rogue smirk on his face as the man was quite proud of himself for helping the young woman out.
The two stood there for a moment just looking at each other when Kasumi gave a deep red blush as she realized that the man in front of her was probably able to feel her flabby body. Ranma on the other hand was just marveling at the color that was adorning the girl's cheeks.
The pair's moment in time was interrupted as a loud scream rang through the air.
“Ranma no baka!” the youngest Tendo daughter yelled, swinging a fairly large mallet like a baseball bat.
Ranma instinctively coated himself with a ki bubble and flashed into Amaguriken levels of speed. In his high velocity environment, he placed each and every dish upon the table and gently moved Kasumi to her seat and out of harm's way. Carefully, the martial artist took in the force that Akane was using for her mallet and calculated the exact trajectory to minimize damage.
'This might be a subconscious thing or the universe really hates me, but why is the best path always into the damn koi pond?' the man thought as he returned himself to normal and just to his calculations was knocked right into the koi pond.
It took a few minutes, but soon there was the familiar sight of a fuming Akane and a slightly damp but male Ranma along with the entire family enjoying the prepared meal.
“Everyone, I have an announcement,” Soun said, placing his chopsticks over his empty rice bowl.
The mustachioed man placed his arms within his sleeves as he waited for everyone's attention.
“Is something wrong father?” Kasumi asked with a slight quiver in her voice. Everyone except Ranma paid this strange occurrence no heed.
“No. I have news of a joyous occasion. Through one of my contacts I was able to arrange a marriage to a man of high status,” Soun spoke confidently.
A wave of dread went through both Kasumi and Ranma as the horrible nightmare from the previous night flashed through their minds.
“Again Daddy!? Isn't the pervert enough?” Akane screamed, using great emphasis by pointing at Ranma's head.
“You have nothing to worry about Akane. This engagement is not for you. It is for my darling Kasumi,” Soun replied in a cheerful tone.
The dread that had overtaken Ranma and Kasumi doubled.
“Daddy, you mentioned that this man was rich. Tell us more about him,” Nabiki requested, yen signs could be seen floating in the middle sister's eyes.
“He is the son of the head of Sakata Industries. Kentaro has been looking for a young wife that can take care of his home and help raise many children. Apparently, he has always had a desire for a large family. He will be coming by in a few hours,” Soun said, nodding at his own words.
Ranma's heart stopped as he heard these words. Something very wrong was happening and he needed to be absolutely certain before he acted.
“As this does not pertain to me, may I be excused?” the young martial artist asked coldly, a plan was already forming in his mind.
“Boy! Where do you think you're going? This is a time of celebration for us all,” Genma yelled boisterously, moving to haymaker Ranma and drag him back down.
In an instant there was a flash of ki and just a little magic. A barrier materialized in front of Ranma and stopped his father's assault.
“There's something that I have to confirm,” Ranma spoke with conviction as he visualized an ancient amulet that he had discovered a use for.
“You're probably just going to see one of your hussies. Can't you care about someone other than yourself for a change?” Akane spat vehemently.
The pig-tailed martial artist simply ignored the violent maniac as he hurried upstairs. Preparations needed to be made and just in case the worst was happening, he needed to be ready.
Kasumi, on the other hand, was catatonic. Her nightmare was becoming reality and the savior at the end of it all was seemingly going off without any concern...
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(Posted Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:04)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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