"WHERE IS THAT BOY?!?!"
People at the breakfast table jolt on hearing Genma's outraged scream, then Kasumi calls upstairs, "Uncle, is there something wrong?!"
The Saotome patriarch storms down a moment later, his whole body quivering. "Where is the boy?!!" he glances around the living room, noting that only the Tendous were present. "His pack and all his belongings are missing!! Did anyone see him?!"
"I...! N-no, Saotome-kun, I haven't seen Ranma-kun since yesterday mor-...!" Souun's voice is instantly cut off as the other words his old friend just said sink into his mind, then panic crosses his face. "Ranma-kun's pack is gone?!!"
"Yes!!" Genma sits at the table, then awks as a jet of tears from Souun transforms him into a panda!
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! RANMA-KUN'S RUN AWAY FROM HOME!!!! NOW THE SCHOOLS WILL NEVER BE JOINED!!!!" the Tendou patriarch wails, then he spins on Akane. "Akane-chan, what are you doing sitting there?!! Why aren't you going out to look for your fiance!!! You must go find Ranma-kun, Akane-chan!!! YOU MUST!!!!"
"HEY!!! It's not my fault that baka left without telling us what we was up to!!" Akane snaps back, doing nothing but make her father cry even more. "He's probably gone off with one of his other floozies!!! Go bug them and leave me alone!!"
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! MY BABY GIRL SCREAMED AT ME!!!! SHE WON'T GO OUT TO FIND HER FIANCE!!!! NOW THE SCHOOLS WILL NEVER BE JOINED!!!!" Souun screams out, the torrent of tears soaking everyone.
"Oh, my!" Kasumi covers her mouth politely as she gazes on the breakfast she made for everyone. "If Ranma-kun took all his belongings with him and never told anyone where he was going, does that mean that he hates us?"
Silence.
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! RANMA-KUN HATES US!!!! NOW THE SCHOOLS WILL NEVER BE JOINED!!!!" Souun howls at the top of his lungs, making everyone, even the transformed Genma, plug their ears.
"You just had to open your big mouth, eh, Onee-chan?!" Nabiki grunts.
"Oh, dear," Kasumi shakes her head...
Sometime later...
"You haven't seen him at ALL?!"
"Nope, not a lick, A-chan," Ukyou replies. The cell-phone Akane now uses to speak to the okonomiyaki chef was one of Shampoo's early gifts to her lover. Despite the resources Nabiki was believed to have at her fingertips, cell-phone monitoring gear wasn't part of it. And Akane doubted strongly that, despite what others might believe of her sister, Nabiki had bugged her room; if the middle Tendou daughter had done that, Akane would've heard something about her relationship with Shampoo by now. "You sure all of Ran-chan's stuff's gone?!"
"All of it," Akane nods. "Saw the room with my own eyes, U-chan. Everything's vanished..." she perks as a knock is heard at the door. "Call you back," she whispers, then cuts the link before stashing her cell-phone. "Just a minute!" she calls out before opening the door, then she puts her free hand to hip. "Is there something wrong, Onee-chan?"
"We, little sister, have a big problem," Nabiki holds up some photographs.
Akane takes them, then glances through them before the specific scenes register in her mind. The group shot on Prince Toma's island. Pictures from the Christmas party. The odd shots from beach outings and trips to mountain onsens. School photographs. Photos of Ukyou and Shampoo. Everything that Akane knew Ranma had as photographic testimony to his time in Nerima -- is now in her hands. "What the...?"
Nabiki guides her sister inside, then closes and locks the door behind her. Akane drops onto the bed as the middle Tendou daughter takes a seat at the work desk. "As I just said, we have a big problem," Nabiki fixes Akane with a metred stare. "Now, I don't know what the hell started this mess, but it's clearly obvious to me that something happened that made Ranma-kun decide to leave us! And by leaving all that behind, he is making a very firm statement to all of us. Guess what that statement is?"
Silence falls as Akane considers Nabiki's words, then she sighs. "So what?! Why the hell does it matter to us what that jerk...?"
"AKANE!!!"
The youngest Tendou jolts as Nabiki glares her down. "You can knock it off with the broken record now!!" the latter snaps, the hint of a growl appearing in her voice. "If you really don't want things to go to hell in a handbasket because of this, you better start coming clean about a lot of things! Or would you like to see how Dad'll react if he learns about you and Shampoo?!"
Silence.
Akane stares wide-eyed at Nabiki as the hidden emission the latter just made to her fully sinks in, then disgust crosses her face. "Is that all you're capable of doing, even to your own family?" she hisses. "Mother must be turning over in her grave right now!"
Nabiki winces as her sister's hit strikes deep in her heart, then she sighs. "Akane, personally, I don't care at all about your relationship with Shampoo. Hell, I've known for a long time what she's like. People talk and I listen to what they say. I haven't painted it broadside over Nerima since doing that would cause a lot more hurt than it's ultimately worth. And while I don't know what you've said over your cell-phone..." she points to Akane's pants pocket, "...the fact that you have one also speaks volumes since I've never got you one. Now," she takes a deep breath, "...we have a choice. We can try to get Ranma-kun back or we acknowledge his decision and leave him be. What's it going to be, sis? You help break Daddy's heart now or shatter it sometime in the future when you fully come out of the closet?"
Akane's gazes turns inward as she considers Nabiki's words, then she sighs. "How can we resolve this now? I..." she holds up a hand, "...don't want to go public with what's going on between Shampoo and myself, not now, preferrably not for some time to come. I'd prefer to get rid of the panda first, not to mention that stupid engagement. If..." she takes a deep breath, then blinks as something comes to her. "He knows," she whipsers, her eyes widening as the implications sink in. "Oh, gods, he knows..."
"Riiiiiiiiiight," Nabiki drawls, a slow nod tilting her cheek. "I came that conclusion when I found the pictures. Hate it say it, sis, but you slipped up big time." She leans on her clenched hands. "Now, getting rid of the panda is easy enough. It can be done. Getting rid of the panda's wife might be necessary, too. Who knows what she'll do if she finds out about what's going on between you and Shampoo, much less Shampoo and Ukyou. She might want Ranma-kun to be a 'man above men'..."
"I personally don't care what that monster thinks!!" Akane spits out, storming to her feet as she marches to the window to gaze on the front lawn. "To believe that someone like her was Mother's friend! All the time she stormed in here, waving that stupid katana and that stupid contract around like she was queen of the jungle or something like that...!" her voice trails off, then she gazes at Nabiki. "Look, get rid of the panda now. As for Ranma, well..." she looks away. "I'll have to talk to Shampoo and U-chan about it first."
Nabiki nods. "Okay..."
Now what?
(Posted Wed, 12 Mar 2003 07:53)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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