Nabiki stumbled into the family and around the low table, and with a semi-controlled collapse sat in her usual place and rubbed at her eyes. She had never been a morning person, and having Ranma and Akane sharing a room for the past month hadn’t helped at all. At least, until last week after Ranma had started training for her new job, when the nights had become as peaceful as they’d usually been before Ranma’s arrival. No morning brawls between Ranma and his father, no rude strangers looking for a fight, no maniacal fiancées — she was actually halfway convinced that the consecutive peaceful nights of sleep she’d had made up for needing to act as a food source for the brand new succubus before a couple of those nights. Now if only it could make up for the long, boring days she was spending with Shampoo trying to translate the scrolls. She knew they were missing things, thanks to the Amazon girl’s shaky Japanese, but so far the mercenary Tendo had been unable to think of someone that could maybe read the scrolls that she was willing to trust.
“Good morning, Nabiki, I hope you slept well?”
“G’mrng, Ksmi,” Nabiki mumbled back as she completed their morning ritual by picking up the cup of coffee Kasumi had placed on the table in front of her. Lifting it, she took a deep sip, looked up — and froze in place as she found herself staring at her sister’s shapely ... and naked ... backside as Kasumi strode to the doorway to return to the kitchen.
The middle Tendo sister didn’t realize coffee was dribbling down her chin until Nodoka handed her a napkin. “Nabiki-chan, you had better change that top so Kasumi can get the coffee out before the stain sets,” the Saotome matriarch suggested with an urchin grin that was almost as much of a shock as Kasumi’s state of undress.
Nabiki swallowed what was left of her mouthful of coffee and put the cup back on its saucer as she shook off the shock, then abruptly surged to her feet. “I’m going to make that bastard wish he — she had never been born!” she shouted.
“Language, Nabiki-chan,” Nodoka scolded. “Who are you talking about?”
“Ranma! She’s infected Kasumi!”
Of course she hasn’t,” Kasumi said serenely as she walked back through the door carrying breakfast dishes on a tray.
“But ... but ... you ...”
“I simply felt that if Ranma feels most comfortable without clothes, she should not be alone,” Kasumi continued as if Nabiki hadn’t spoken, crouching to place the breakfast tray by the table.
Nabiki shook her head, but before she could resume her stuttered disagreement the other three females of the household walked through the doorway from inside the house still damp from the furo, a grinning Ranma in the lead, in her now typical bare state when at home and her tail twitching from side to side as she walked. “That was a really cool move,” the red-haired girl said over her shoulder to Xian Pu. “Why didn’t ya use it before?”
Xian Pu shrugged. “Never need it be —” She broke off, eyes widening as they took in the family room’s occupants.
Ranma’s head whipped forward to see what the threat was ... and she stumbled at the sight of the auburn-haired woman. “Mom?”
Nodoka stood stiffly in place, eyes fixed on her child’s face. “As you requested, not any longer — but I would like to be ‘Auntie’ Nodoka, if you’ll have me.”
Ranma stared at her for a long moment, before visibly gathering her senses. “Yeah, sure, glad ta have ya,” she got out, as her hands made abortive motions toward her breasts and crotch.
Noticing the hesitant movements, Nodoka forced a smile. “Kasumi has already explained your ... ah ... preference for not wearing clothes, Ranma, there is no need to change that on my part.”
“Ah ... sure, thanks ...” Ranma stumbled to a halt, her tail lashing back and forth behind her. Mother and daughter stared at each other even as the succubus frantically tried to figure out what to do now that she’d gotten what she’d wanted.
Behind her, Akane rolled her eyes. “Typical, something else that didn’t change,” she muttered, then continued more loudly, “Hug her, already!” Reaching up, she planted her hand between Ranma’s shoulder blades and gently shoved.
Caught off guard, Ranma stumbled forward into her mother’s arms. Nodoka stepped back under the sudden collision but managed to keep her feet, then shifted her hold into an embrace. After a moment, Ranma hesitantly returned the hug, her red-furred tail lifting to circle Nodoka’s waist. “I’m glad you’re back, Mom — Auntie,” she murmured into her mother’s shoulder.
Kasumi sniffled slightly from where she watched off to one side. “How beautiful,” she murmured.
Akane glanced over. “You’ve got — Kasumi, what are you wearing? !” she gasped, gaping as her eldest sister’s appearance finally registered.
“More like, what she not wearing ... too too little,” Xian Pu snickered.
A furiously blushing Kasumi again laid out her ‘reasoning’ as she crouched to resume laying out the breakfast dishes on the low table before sitting in her own usual spot. Akane meekly sat, head whirling with the explanation — anyone else (besides Ranma now, of course), and she’d have already loudly labeled them a pervert, but ... quiet, matronly, upright Kasumi?
The breakfast was quiet except for the occasional snicker from Xian Pu’s continuing amusement at Akane’s bemused state, until Nabiki asked, “So Ranma, why did you run away yesterday?”
Nabiki sat quietly as the breakfast finished up. She’d rushed her breakfast while Ranma had explained her abrupt departure and late return, and while the middle Tendo wasn’t anywhere close to Ranma’s or Genma’s speed when it came to clearing off a plate, she’d finished up quickly enough to devote some time to people watching while the rest finished their meal. She wasn’t sure she liked what she saw. Certainly, she enjoyed a certain level of chaos around her, during the daytime at least — it kept life interesting and opened up opportunities to rake in more yen — but the hints she was picking up perhaps had the potential to make things more exciting than she’d like.
Okay, something’s going on between Akane and Ranma — mostly on Akane’s part. No big surprise there, I think little sis is finding she bit off more than she expected and Ranma’s as oblivious as usual. Maybe school will help with that, get Akane out of the house. ‘Auntie’ Nodoka might help, too.
With that little problem set to the side for the moment, the mercenary Tendo’s eyes drifted over almost unwillingly to her older sister, now kneeling as she ate. The others seemed to have bought her excuse for parading around in only an apron, but not Nabiki — not the way Kasumi was blushing as she explained. Now that I think about it, ‘Auntie’ didn’t buy it, either. There was something off about how she took it — outside of the way she just accepted it, that is. Ranma parading around in the buff is one thing, she isn’t human anymore. Kasumi very much —
“Shampoo, finished already? Please, have some more fish, Ranma actually left some extra for the rest of us.” Kasumi leaned over to pick up the plate with the fish and slip another piece onto Shampoo’s plate ... and gave the Amazon a view under the top of her apron in the process.
Nabiki froze. Was her sister flirting with Xian Pu?! She wanted to reject the thought out of hand, but other little oddities in Kasumi’s behavior since breakfast had started returned to mind. Ranma would be oblivious and Akane would be doing her best to ignore it if she’d noticed, but ... Nabiki hastily glanced over at Nodoka. The older woman had the strangest look on her face, an odd mix of bubbling delight and wry disapproval ... and then it was gone, the Saotome matriarch’s normal calm expression firmly in place.
Then everyone was finished and rising to go their separate ways, Akane talking about last minute shopping before the new school year started in the coming week and Ranma rolling her eyes but surprisingly keeping her mouth shut as the two headed for the dojo and Akane’s morning training. Xian Pu was right behind them, while Nodoka and Kasumi started picking up the dishes. Xian Pu paused in the doorway, looking back toward a Nabiki still sitting frozen in her seat — and Kasumi stepped between them and bent over to pick up more plates, and incidentally flashed the young Amazon in the process. And from the way Nabiki could see her sister again blushing furiously, she knew exactly what she was doing. And from the way that Xian Pu glanced from the shapely derriere on display to Nabiki, so did Kasumi’s target.
Damn, looks like I’m going to need to give Kasumi some lessons in subtlety — or a psychiatrist, Nabiki thought as she finally rose to her feet. “Shampoo, why don’t you go get the scrolls? I’ll be back in a minute.” Xian Pu nodded and headed toward the stairs, and Nabiki rose to grab some more dishes and follow Nodoka and her sister.
In the kitchen, Nabiki glanced over at Nodoka and silently nodded toward the door. Nodoka nodded and quickly left, and Nabiki turned to her sister. “All right, Kasumi, what’s going on?” she demanded.
Kasumi looked up, flustered. “What do you mean?”
Nabiki waved toward her solitary garment. “The apron thing. Akane bought your explanation because she refuses to believe that her saintly sister would intentionally do anything perverted but I’m not buying it, not after the way you put yourself on display for Shampoo — something Akane completely ignored, by the way. I can’t even call what you did flirting, it was too blatant.”
“Oh.” Kasumi was beet red again. “Do you think Shampoo noticed?”
“After the way you practically stuck your butt in her face? She noticed. So what’s going on?”
“I ...” Kasumi turned away to start washing dishes. “I ... I’m lonely,” she admitted quietly. “I didn’t realize how lonely until Ranma and Akane finally got together, and then the first time when Ranma made love to me instead of just ... feeding ... I don’t think Shampoo’s going to magically turn into the love of my life, but I want more than I have.”
“Oh.” Nabiki stared at Kasumi, wondering why she’d never seen through her sister’s mask of serene matronhood. Because you couldn’t be bothered — she puts the food on the table, washes your clothes, and cleans up after you, and that’s been all you care about. “I didn’t think that you were into girls,” she finally said.
Kasumi shrugged. “I certainly prefer men,” she replied, glancing over at her sister as she continued to fill the second sink for rinsing, “and if Dr. Tofu was still around I might have considered making a play for him — he’s a good man, and amusing. But when I learned that we needed to help out Ranma until she could start her new job, I found that the thought of being with her as a girl didn’t bother me — she’s certainly cute enough, isn’t she? But she’s also Akane’s, so that leaves you and Shampoo.”
Nabiki stiffened, eyes wide, before forcing herself to relax when she noticed Kasumi’s atypical urchin grin. “By all means, go after Shampoo!” Nabiki intoned, shuddering theatrically. Kasumi giggled, and her younger sister felt herself relax even more at the sound. She watched Kasumi for a minute, then sighed and stepped forward to take over the rinsing. She was going to have to force herself to help more with the housework ... damn it!
The two worked silently side by side until the dishes were finished, including the additions brought in by a Nodoka smiling in approval. When they’d finished and Nabiki was wiping her hands dry, she said, “Kasumi, if you want to sleep with Shampoo, stop playing around and just ask her. She won’t be offended, and you’ll stop giving me a heart attack — Akane’s been able to ignore your ... ah, flirting up till now, but do you really want to push your luck?”
Kasumi glanced sidelong at her sister. “You think so ... about Shampoo, I mean?” she asked uncertainly.
“Hey, she’s been living with Mousse for the past few years — compared to that boy, you’ve been the soul of discretion. No, she won’t be offended.”
A hint of a smile temporarily broke through Kasumi’s once again firmly in place serene mask, and she nodded. “I’ll think about it.” She started wiping down the counter, and Nabiki watched her for a moment before sighing and heading back to the family room ... and Xian Pu and the stack of scrolls.
For a moment, she considered detouring to the dojo to warn Akane and Ranma of the additional possible budding relationship, but quickly rejected the thought ... it would be more fun to sit back and watch the fallout. With her bedroom between Kasumi’s and the one Ranma and Akane were sharing, Nabiki was already making a bet with herself on how long it would take Akane to figure it out — she would win whichever side of the coin came up, of course.
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(Posted Fri, 16 Sep 2011 06:43)
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