In the Tendou kitchen, Kasumi found herself in a quandary. In the scheme of things it was a relatively minor thing, but in her little world, it was of major concern. Quite simply it was almost time to serve supper and Ranma had yet to show up. Unless she took measures to set aside his supper in case of his absence, his father would eat it in a heartbeat at the slightest opportunity.
This was of special concern to her as Ranma especially enjoyed her food. He openly professed that seeing what breakfast would be was what got him going in the morning despite often rude awakenings. The only thing to look forward to at school was seeing what his bento contained at lunch. The day ended with supper, which was of particular importance to Ranma. Even in the face of Akane's ire, he would often compliment her and let her know just how much he enjoyed supper.
It was for that reason that Ranma tried to let her know if he wasn't going to make it for supper so she could set aside his portion before Genma got to see it. If he was stopping at a place with a phone he would call, but that was relatively rare. More commonly Akane would indirectly carry such a message by griping about whatever Ranma was supposedly up to that particular afternoon.
The more reliable method for him to deliver a brief message was for her to hear a kunai impacting the large post set near the kitchen window. She wasn't aware of just what his range was with hitting that post with the thin daggers, but it was just as impressive as the other stunts he pulled off so casually. Those daggers had been a gift from her to prevent him from trying to send her a message by bird again.
It sounded like a reasonable way to send a short written missive, but the poor sparrow had been fairly well dazed after impacting the wall like that. It was also over joyed to have the letter it was wrapped in removed so that it could fly away. Kasumi had come close to scolding Ranma when she told him that the message was supposed to be a slip of paper attached to the leg. Ranma had reasonably countered that the bird didn't know where the house was, so it wasn't like it would just fly up and offer her the message.
Of course Mousse in duck form was a viable homing bird, but he had a tendency to quack and produce lots of knives and it was understandable that he wasn't terribly convenient for Ranma. P-chan would also occasionally bounce into the yard, presumably thrown by Ranma, but never with a note attached to his collar. Apparently Ranma was just being kind enough to send Ryouga along to visit so that the little piglet wouldn't get lost while Ranma was busy with something else.
That however wasn't Kasumi's concern today. No message, no Ranma at dinner. That was troublesome.
Despite that, there were still a few moments before everyone gathered at the table and supper was served. So, pouring herself a cup of tea and she waited for the family to gather for supper.
Herding the fathers in, Nodoka took her seat at the table before looking around for her only child. "Ah, Kasumi-chan, has Ranma come home yet?"
Kasumi prepared to give an optimistic answer that wouldn't reveal her worries, be was preempted as her teacup broke away from its handle and crashes to the table, creating a mess of teacup shards and tea. As she grabbed her kitchen towel and prepared to clean up the mess, a ping alerted her to the teapot developing a crack that threatened to split it in half.
A sense of foreboding developing in the eldest Tendou girl, she flinched as Akane's teacup fairly exploded into pieces. The handle from that teacup bumped into its neighbor, causing Ranma's teacup to develop cracks and fall apart.
At that point the teapot gave up the ghost and split in half, flooding the table top with pleasant smelling green tea and tea leaves.
The spill overwhelming her skimpy little kitchen towel, Kasumi left to get reinforcements and shore up the flanks. With the spill contained, Kasumi sat about tending the towels as they slowly absorbed the liquid. "Uhm, no Auntie. I'm... sure it will be alright."
Nodoka didn't miss how shaken Kasumi was at the odd portents. A teacup breaking was considered a somewhat bad omen. Half of an entire tea set breaking for no discernible reason? Still, addressing it directly might cause the poor girl to break down herself. "Perhaps a western tea set was a poor choice? I'm sure it was shoddy materials."
Kasumi took a look down at her tea soaked house dress before glancing over at Nodoka in her traditional kimono with her hair put up into a bun. Smile decreasing a bit more, Kasumi moved to exchange the tea sets.
Ranma gazed happily over the food before her. While she and Hikaru had briefly gotten to know each other, the blond maid had busied herself with exchanging the first course for the second course.
The presentation of fresh food presented Ranma with something of a quandary, as she was still theoretically talking with her new friend.
Hikaru however encouraged her to dig in, and even made mention of there being a third course due to arrive at some point. Conscience cleared, Ranma accepted the dining challenge of tackling the second course while handicapped with table manners. Still, it wasn't like she actually had a reason to hurry. Anyone that would have interrupted her dinner was back in Nerima, including her fat panda of a father.
Ah, life was good. Well at least for the moment, but here's to hoping. Right?
Dinner was finally proceeding at the Tendou home, though it was a few moments delayed as Kasumi set out a different tea set after cleaning up the mess of the previous set. Everyone was seated for the exception of Ranma, and the lack of fresh hot water due to the tea incident meant there was a panda sitting at the table as well.
The same panda took less that five minutes to empty out Ranma's setting, even with his wife beside him to disapprove of the action. Nodoka could have disapproved and stopped him of course, but it was pretty much over as soon as it began. Scolding him after the fact would have just brought Genma's glaring faults to light which would have reflected poorly on her in turn.
It did bring something to Nodoka's attention however. "Akane-chan, do you know where Ranma is?"
Akane glanced up with her face being unreadable for a moment before she huffed testily. "As if I would know. He's probably with one of those girls."
For her part Kasumi sighed as Nodoka said something conflicted about her son being manly. It used to be that Akane would mind her manners when Nodoka was around and be somewhat fair in her treatment of Ranma at those times. Now Akane didn't pay much attention to Nodoka's presence and largely ignored Nodoka's advice much as she would ignore anyone else being positive about Ranma.
Kasumi however wasn't prepared to let the issue drop just yet. "Are you sure little sister? Didn't he walk home with you?"
The girl in question gave her older sister an unreadable look as Kasumi normally wasn't one to press an issue. Eventually however her expression settled once more into an upset frown. "Like I'm supposed to keep track of that idiot."
Kasumi sighed one more time as she really didn't want to press the issue. Before she could speak however her nose wrinkled at the smell of something burning horribly. A quick glance revealed that the rice cooker was in the process of burning as it had apparently shorted out.
As the dining table dissolved into panic, Kasumi used one of her still damp kitchen towels to separate the inner rice bowl from the actual cooker. Then wrapping the rice bowl in a towel, she used another towel to remove the still smoking cooker outside to where it could die in peace.
Absently shooing some of the smoke out of the house, she now had a definite sense that something was terribly wrong.
Ranma was having a surprisingly good time of things.
The company she was in wasn't too bad. The prince was surprisingly bearable. Sort of like a proper nice person type like Kasumi or Tofu. Apparently very concerned about not imposing upon her.
The blond girl in the green maid outfit, Fuu, was nice and quiet but pretty attentive to her duties. Friendly enough though and she had an easy smile.
The slender red-head with the long braid was apparently her friend. Hikaru also happened to be very open and friendly. The girl wasn't even bothered that her conversation with her new friend was limited to when Ranma could get in a word between bites.
Of course the final component was the meal itself, and it definitely had Ranma happy at the moment.
It seemed to be mostly European in style and pretty much of the fancy type. Fancier even than what the Chardrins pigged out on, which put it more in line with Iron Chef style food. Ranma didn't really know much more about the subject than that, other than the fact that it was very good.
As Ranma was finishing up the rest of what was apparently roasted salmon, Fuu left to get the third course ready. This allowed the martial artist to sample the vegetable dishes that weren't already finished to once again try to figure out what they were.
Before Ranma had managed to clean out every dish simply to keep going, Fuu arrived with the third course. From the looks of the dishes which included steaks and a roasted medium sized bird, this was going to be a fairly heavy course. The other difference was when the blond placed little cards with the dish names in front of the dishes. "As you were interested in the dishes, I made sure to write down what was what. Does that please you Lady Saotome?"
Ranma stared at her blankly for a moment as she grappled with the idea of someone going through that much trouble. More specifically to go through that much trouble for something so trivial just for her. "Ah, sure. That's kinda nice really."
A stray thought got her to pick up the card for the fowl and confirm that is was indeed roasted duck. "This duck wasn't wearing glasses was he?"
Understandably confused, Fuu wrestled momentarily with the absurdity of the question. "Well, no, I don't believe so."
Ranma just had to make sure. "Didn't have a bunch of throwing knives hidden in his wings and throw them at people?"
Fuu reached a level of personal confusion that was befuddling enough to make her feel weird. "No, I think I would have heard if that was so."
Ranma released a sigh and put the card back down. "Ah good, just making sure it isn't someone I know. Reminds me of that time Shampoo tried to serve me Ryouga on a platter." The red-head paused and cocked her head to the side thoughtfully. "Now that I say it like that, that sounds kind of funny."
Audience stunned into silence, Ranma began with the steak. Yum! She certainly didn't get to try that much in Japan.
Kasumi sighed and tried to let the tension flow out.
Oh poor Mr. Rice Cooker, at least there was finally peace in that regard. Ever since that time Akane had tried to make rice pudding, Mr. Rice Cooker had just never quite been the same since then. The rice always tasted funny for one. The little accident at dinner was likely more the result of that gunk than the spilled tea from earlier, though one could never be sure.
Dinner was of course a rather unpleasant affair by this point, so Kasumi didn't see much reason to smooth things over. She instead had an increasingly nagging concern to address. "Akane-chan, are you sure you don't know anything about Ranma not making it to dinner tonight?"
This time Akane started with a frown at the question which changed slightly in tone as she faced her older sister. "Why should I care?"
Kasumi sighed in exasperation. Her little sister could just be so difficult at times. "Mrs. Yamagawa informed me that you walked home with Ranma until just a block from the house. Then you met a blond young man with a sword, a magic prince type?"
Her little sister fidgeted for a moment before frowning in consternation. "Ranma was being a stupid jerk again!" Akane quieted a moment before finishing in a satisfied tone. "I took care of it though, I pounded that pervert good."
Nodoka looked uncertain as it didn't really tell her anything about where Ranma was. She was also the only one that didn't realize Akane meant she'd pounded Ranma and not the stranger. "Really dear?"
Kasumi felt like doing something unpleasant as sighing just wasn't cutting it, so she instead wrung her apron in her hands. Mrs. Yamagawa had told her the whole sordid mess, including the part with the strange young man carrying female-Ranma away afterwards. It had occurred some hours ago and Ranma not showing up by now was beginning to worry her. The problem was Kasumi just couldn't find a way to mention that without condemning Akane for her part in the matter.
Her concern was briefly overridden as she flinched at the thunderous sound that erupted from the kitchen. Worry overtaking the eldest Tendou girl as tonight was proving to be especially unfortunate, she went into the kitchen to investigate.
Her expression caught between a frown and pout, Kasumi observed the mess in the kitchen as the entire pots and pans rack had crashed to the floor. Once again the feeling of unease that surrounded Ranma's absence gripped her.
Perhaps she should tell Auntie?
It might perhaps be that her little sister wasn't ready for that sort of relationship. Perhaps violent maniac wasn't an acceptable description of one's little sister, much less someone's fiancee.
Perhaps it might even be in Akane's best interests if she wasn't engaged to Ranma-kun anymore? Less stress might do her temper good.
Ranma was experiencing something peculiar as she enjoyed her meal. The hunger that drove her was gradually abating. As the hunger abated the urge to eat was also slowly dropping. As it currently stood she was actually eating at normal human speeds. She still didn't have much in the way of manners, but they weren't particularly bad at the moment either.
Because she was no longer in a hurry, she easily noticed the new arrivals.
The first of these were a pair of girls. One was a pretty girl with long black hair wearing a frilly girl type dress. The other was a short haired brunette in a sun-dress that looked to be on the energetic and sporty side of things. For the moment however they didn't seem intent on introducing themselves. Instead they were apparently content to let her eat in peace and chat with the other two girls.
The other arrival was a girl with long blue hair wearing a blue blazer and white skirt combination. She was of particular note to Ranma because she was pushing a fourth cart of presumably more food. This caused Ranma to pause with just a bit of concern. "Uhm, I'm not finished with this yet."
The new girl seemed to be slightly amused judging by her slight smirk. "Not a problem, these are frozen deserts and I'm keeping them chilled for now."
Ranma blinked slightly at that information and guessed that it meant there was ice cream for desert. With that in mind she picked up her eating speed a bit, but found the lack of hunger to drive her a bit odd as she was actually pushing herself to eat now. Luckily it didn't take her that much longer to polish off most of the third course, otherwise having food and people waiting on her would have started to grate on her nerves.
With the third course finished, the blue haired girl worked with the blond maid to clear and reset the table. The deserts revealed were indeed of the sundae variety, but Ranma felt a strange sensation. Normally ice cream treats were something of a forbidden delight that Ranma really had a taste for but rarely got a chance to enjoy, yet at the moment she wasn't particularly hungry for them.
The blue-haired girl caught the apparently displeased expression and quickly developed a frown. "Is there something wrong with my deserts?"
Ranma was still troubled but the accusing tone got her to look up in distraction. "Huh? No, I'm just not hungry is all."
The blue-haired girl rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Well of course not, you've eaten enough for three already."
The red-head in question was looking confused about it herself. "Nah, I've eaten way more before. Could probably eat it again... but I've never not been hungry before. I thought I'd been full before, but this is just... different."
This brought about looks of surprise and concern from those around her, though it was the delicate girl with long black hair that spoke up. "Ah, what you've been eating from the other world was likely mana poor. There, only rich foods and deserts have much mana. Your aura has started to fill out nicely since I've been here."
Ranma didn't particularly understand any of that, a fact which she made blatantly obvious with due haste. "Huh?"
The girl smiled and rephrased her conclusion. "You have magic potential, but the food you've been eating didn't have any. The food here has plenty. It's like saying the food has certain amount of fat in it. If you had no magic training to fill it another way and a huge reservoir to fill, then it's likely impossible that you could have ever eaten enough to satisfy that need."
Ranma stared for a bit and was clearly mulling it over with a sliver of understanding slowly dawning. "So, it's kinda like chi, where I either need to eat lots of calories or to absorb it through meditation to refresh myself? Except this is magic stuff energy?"
She got a happy nod in response to let her know she'd pretty much nailed it that time. That just left her with the quandary with what to do with an entire table of deserts. "Say, do ya got extra spoons?"
Surprised to see a rather clueless look from both the blond maid and blue haired girl, Ranma decided to elaborate. "I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to share something like this if we're gonna be friends. 'sides, whatever the reason, for once I'm not starving for more."
That had the desired effect as smiles started to form and the girls moved to take seats at the table.
After a brief foray into straightening the kitchen back up and clearing the table of dinner, Kasumi was finally able to sit down with Ranma's mother.
She immediately found herself in a quandary as to what to say. It was an incredibly touchy subject and thus had to be broached carefully. Kasumi was also aware of the fact that Akane was such a poor match with Ranma that the family had to broadly overlook her faults to continue pushing Ranma towards her. Due to that it would be incredibly difficult to actually get something truthful out in the air, much less something so painful.
Oddly the way became clear to her as she encountered the fourth dinner related disaster of the night. Everyone has long since moved on to their evening amusements in the house, but Akane still came out with a pot full of something expecting to serve it to some one.
"I've made desert! Who wants to try it first?"
Ranma of course wouldn't be there to eat it. If she cornered the fathers without their normal sacrifice available, it was unclear just what they might do. Still though, Kasumi was fairly certain that Akane wouldn't actually so much as taste any of it herself, much less eat it by herself. She would want someone to eat it, and to refuse her would mean spelling out just how much she couldn't cook.
So, Kasumi had a thought about how best to broach to topic of Akane's engagement to poor Ranma-kun. "Perhaps Auntie would like to try some Akane-chan? I'm sure she's curious since everyone insists that Ranma always get all of your home made treats."
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(Posted Sat, 31 May 2008 12:04)
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