Quiet reigned at the table for a few moments as the four teenagers really didn’t know what to say about the situation.
Ranma recovered from the surprise first, voicing an idle thought. “Huh, guess that’s the dojo the old man always went on about.”
The older girl put her hand to her mouth in polite surprise. “Oh, your father told you about this before?”
The part where the girls would normally insult him had been headed off by the fathers’ sudden departure, so Ranma was still in a good enough mood to be polite. “Kasumi-san was it? No, he didn’t mention this before, only that one day I would take over a dojo and uphold tradition and all of that. Actually he told me I was getting married only about an hour ago and I refused because I wanted to seek a cure instead. So he whacked me over the head with a street sign and carried me here while I was unconscious. I didn’t wake up until he sat me down in your entryway in my female form.”
Bemused by their guest, Nabiki couldn’t help but poke holes in his story. “A street sign? You mean the metal kind?”
Ranma sighed at having to make excuses for his father yet again. “Yeah, I hate it when he goes around wrecking stuff like that. I try to avoid damaging stuff if I can avoid it, something your little sister needs to learn. She punched a hole in your dojo earlier.”
Flustered by the story, Akane yelled at their guest, still angry that she turned out to be a boy anyways. “That’s your fault for dodging you jerk!”
The young man simply stared at her, deciding not to make fun of her for saying something so silly. “If we’re going to talk, could I get something to drink?”
Excusing herself from the table, Kasumi stood up, a bit flustered by her lack of manners. “Oh, yes, I’ll get you something now.”
Ranma stood up as well, trying to calm her tension with some gentle words. “That’s alright, I can get it myself”
Kasumi wasn’t about to let that happen, motioning for him to retake his seat. “Oh no, there’s no need for that.”
Not wanting to sit back down across from the angry tomboy, Ranma settled for a compromise. “Fine, I won’t get in your way, but I’d like to see the kitchen anyways.”
With Kasumi mollified by his reply, Ranma thought of something else he’d like to ask. “Are you the kind of girl that insists on doing these things? I’ve basically lived on my own for my entire life, so I can take care of myself.” Realizing that sounded a bit confrontational, Ranma amended his statement. “Well, what I mean is it’s a bit awkward for me to impose on you when I can do it myself.”
The older girl stared at him for a moment. “On your own? Wasn’t that panda that turned into a man your father?”
Ranma sighed at the reminder. “Yeah, but he’s pretty useless, so I have to take care of myself. I can cook my own food, earn my own money, buy my own clothes, wash them, mend them, all of that.”
A bit surprised, Kasumi hadn’t thought about that since her father didn’t do any self-sufficient things when camping. It made sense when she thought about it, but it was still a surprise to think he could take care of himself. Still, this was her household. “Well, I do the cooking, cleaning, laundry and mending, among other things.”
Ranma couldn’t help but smile and laugh a little as she proved to be the serious housewife type, a pleasant surprise. “Ha, does that mean you won’t let me bathe by myself either?”
Kasumi paused to consider the question, since if he was her fiance it might be proper to wash his back in the bath.
Akane saw her older sister pause and jumped to the conclusion the perverted jerk was taking advantage of her. “Stop thinking about it and tell that jerk no!”
Blinking in surprise, Kasumi cocked her head to the side before straightening up. “I suppose not then. I can scrub your back and wash your hair for you.”
The irate tomboy pounded on the table and stood up in protest. “That’s not what I meant!”
Hearing that, Nabiki started laughing at the situation. “Hah! Give it up Saotome, you can’t out-nice my big sis!”
Ranma glanced back at the peanut gallery and raised an eyebrow. Challenge accepted.
Turning back to Kasumi, he put on a bright smile. “There’s no need for that Kasumi-san. Besides, I’ve learned some new styles I’d like to try out, so maybe I could cook some nights?”
The counter offer confused the domestic maiden, although there was one detail she found issue with in particular. “Styles? Don’t you mean recipes?”
The young man grinned at the thought of it. “Nah, styles, I mean we traveled most of the way to Tibet and back, I got to experience a lot of styles of everything, including cooking. Saw some really great techniques in my travels.”
Kasumi continued to stare at him. “Are we still talking about cooking?”
A bit confused himself, Ranma calmed down a bit and stared at her in return. “Yeah, what did you think I was talking about?”
Kasumi cocked her head to the side as she considered it. “Martial arts?”
Ranma mirrored her head tilt. “Haven’t you heard of culinary martial arts?”
“Ah.” Turning around, Kasumi headed towards the kitchen. “Well, then come along Ranma-kun, I’ll show you around the kitchen.”
As they left, both Nabiki and Akane stared, surprised at their older sister’s sudden acceptance of the young man.
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(Posted Thu, 05 Sep 2013 03:46)
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