"Er, actually," he hedged, one hand going to the back of his head as he reconsidered his approach. What should he say, then? "It's a ... surprise!" he declared, wincing at the realization he wasn't as confident as he'd hoped with his delivery.
Ranma gave him a particularly dour stare before shaking his head and snatching some of his fish. "Sounds awesome," he said flatly.
Genma snorted, shaking his head and frowning as he glanced around the table. "Where's Nodoka, anyway?" he wondered.
Ranma rolled his eyes. "Hadda leave early to talk to the insurance guy about the house that got wrecked," he mumbled, between bites.
Genma nodded thoughtfully, stealing back enough from Ranma to replace what he'd lost before the breakfast duel resumed at their usual pace. After that, things settled into the normal routine, though Genma was able to see that his son was still bothered by things.... Well, looking at the state of the dojo, brought down into a pile of rubble during the failed wedding, he could see why the boy was a bit on edge.
Best not to stir things up too much.
Once they'd left for school with Nabiki, Genma turned to his long-time friend, already setting the go board up.
"Tendo-kun," Genma began, glancing toward the kitchen entrance, where Kasumi was washing up after breakfast, "I have an idea, and it's enough to make a plan, but I need help putting some elements into place."
"What's that?" Soun asked, looking interested, forgetting about the go board already.
Taking a deep breath, Genma began from the start, regaling his friend with the story of his journey to Tsugaru spire to find the ancient monk, and ending with his realization that what the monk had told him still could be used to get Ranma and Akane together.
"It's just ... well, to be completely honest, we tried the wedding thing without really explaining it to them, and that...." The elder Saotome trailed off with a nod out the open doorway to the back yard, where the crushed dojo remnants still sat, not feeling the need to complete the argument aloud.
Soun nodded thoughtfully, both men turning to look as Kasumi called a cheerful farewell on her way out to the market before lunch.
After another silent pause, Soun pulled a cigarette from his gi and lit it, inhaling thoughtfully. "You're right," he said after holding the smoke in his lungs for a long minute, slowly expelling it in a long stream. "We should be more careful about this, but it is still an opportunity, Saotome-kun."
"So, we need a plan," Genma said. "I know we want to get them together, away from everyone else here who could cause problems. I'm just concerned about how we'll actually _do_ it."
"What about asking your wife?" Soun asked, tilting his head slightly to one side.
"Eh-- Well, that ... wouldn't hurt, I suppose," Genma allowed thoughtfully. "But she doesn't really mind those other girls hanging around Ranma."
"Then we just need to present it to her properly," Soun declared, brightening. "You said it was a surprise? Well, it can be! We'll just say it's a simple vacation somewhere safe, go up to this 'high ground', and then let her handle the rest! All we need to do is let her know that we're all going!"
"We can even leave the old master out!" Genma realized. "Tendo-kun, that's genius!"
"Couldn't do it without you, Saotome-kun," Soun returned cheerfully, stubbing his cigarette out. "Now, what shall we pack? And where shall we go? If we leave the other parts of this to your wife, that will be our biggest concern."
"It should seem suitably romantic," Genma mused, rocking back on his cushion slightly. "But also a place the master's never heard of."
"And high ground," Soun added, nodding.
"Come to think of it ... I do know one place," Genma realized. "It's nearly a week away by foot, or two days by train. Enough that Nabiki and Kasumi should be fine, as well. I found a hot-spring on a training trip, nestled between three peaks of a single mountain. That should fit the bill. High ground, natural hot-spring to qualify as romantic, and far enough away that we shouldn't be bothered by anyone else!"
"We'll have to get the paperwork, and we'll be lacking a minister, but..." Soun trailed off and rubbed his thin. "Well, maybe that's actually for the best. Maybe we can just give them a little time together to realize how much they love one-another! Now, where is this place?"
"Ah ... the other side of Ryugenzawa," Genma said, consulting his memory. "To the west."
"Excellent!" Soun cheered. "Now, we just need your wife--"
"Need me for what?" she asked from the hall to the entryway, causing both men to startle and turn to look at her in alarm. She beamed a bright smile, tilting her head to one side. "What's going on, dear husband? Tendo-san?"
"Er.... We were just discussing the surprise that Saotome-kun had planned for -- well, all of us!" Soun said with an anxious bright grin.
"Oh!" Nodoka exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "That's wonderful!" Turning her full attention to Genma, a tiny, nearly undetectable hint of steel emerged in her voice. "And what delights did you have planned for everyone, dear husband?"
"Uh," Genma started, feeling slightly anxious. Was she upset about things? He supposed he hadn't handled the last wedding attempt as well as he could have....
See other episodes by Sgt. Chibi De`Ohki
(Posted Mon, 16 Jul 2012 17:18)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.