There was a strangled sound, and Soun started to reply "Nabiki..." he said in a tight voice. He started again, "My middle daughter has reaped her own sowing--we do not need to speak of it."
There was the sound of a loud noise, like something impacting against a wall and shattering. Then a silence that seemed to go on forever. Genma spent the time whispering hoarsely into phone, calling his friend's name with increasing trepidition...
"Happö Goju-en Satsu! ... Happö Tsurisen Gashi Onnen Bazooka!"
There are the sounds of a scuffle and finally a girlish voice speaks over the phone, "Soun-kun is unconscious and needs to rest. I'm sure he will return this call when he is feeling better. Shitsurei shimasu!"
click
Genma let out an involuntary breath at the sound of that voice. Young Ninomiya-sensei was there, his old friend was safe--at least for the moment. He replaced the phone in its cradle and slunk back towards his seat and picked up the paper again and resumed his thoughts as though a sleepwalker caught in a dream.
Things had become so much more difficult ever since that day. What could the middle Tendo girl had done to piss off the Kuonji family so badly? Considering they had left him and his alone, even with the severity of the insult when he had foolishly allowed himself to be talked into a marriage contract, what could Nabiki have possibly done? What insult could have provoked such a response? And their allies! How is it they never felt the need to call on those resources in the years since he had left the little girl by the roadside?
Genma wondered if he should be grateful he wasn't considered a threat or insulted at the dismissal of his capabilities?
Ever since then though, everything had been going badly for the Tendo family. While there were plenty who knew enough about the whole situation to understand the types of dirty politics that were being played here, the accusations of burakumin ancestry were enough of an excuse for many who disliked the family (or at least Tendo's middle daughter in particular) to pull away. The middle Tendo hadn't done her family any favors with all the bridges she'd so cavalierly burned while building her little business empire. All mistakes that were coming back to haunt her and her family today.
He'd wanted to stay and help his friend deal with the mess, but unfortunately Nodoka his wife wouldn't hear of it! She had brandished that blasted seppuku pact of hers and forcefully reminded him at blade-point just because she'd cleared Ranma of being held by it, didn't mean she's exonerated him from it! If only he could be there to help his friend. If only he hadn't signed that damn pact! If only Nabiki hadn't...
"What's wrong dear?" Nodoka's voice interrupted his thoughts.
He brushed away at the tears that had began to pool behind his eyes.
"No-chan," he began. "This gyūdon -- it's so good!"
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(Posted Mon, 21 Dec 2009 21:11)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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