[FFML] [fanfic][R1/2] The Things We Wish For... Chapter 11

[DB Sommer]

The Things We Wish For...
Chapter 11


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Standard Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Ranma 1/2 characters. They
belong to Takahashi and whomever she sold the rights to.

[Author's forward: Back to a more (relatively) normal bent with this one.]

Preface: What's happened before: Akane got her hands on a wish and used it
to wish her mother had never been in a car accident and was alive in the
present. Well, her mother wasn't in an accident, and is with them in the
present. There's only a slight complication; Kachiko had been in two
accidents, the first occurring when she was the ripe old age of seventeen.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx


"All I'm saying is I can get you that rematch you want with Mom if you give
me the rematch I want."

"I already gave you the terms for a rematch with me."

"Fine. Two dates if you win."

"And only one if you win."

"Why don't we make it all or nothing?"

"No!" Kachiko slammed her fist down on the dining room table. "You have to
agree to one date just to get the fight started, and I get a second if I
win."

"Sounds to me like you're afraid of losing," Ranma taunted, unconcerned with
his tone since he and Kachiko were alone in the room. Others in the
household tended to become irritable when he was anything but courteous with
the 'newest' addition to the Tendou family.

"Yep. It's called, 'hedging your bet,' something you never do since you seem
to be under the impression that you never lose."

Ranma crossed his arms in disdain. "I don't."

"Yes, yes. You only suffer 'temporary setbacks'," Kachiko said drolly. "Let
me tell you something about that." She began wagging her finger at Ranma,
only to stop and clutch her back as she winced in pain.

Ranma's attitude switched from taunting to one of concern. "What's wrong?"

"Cramp in my back. I get them sometimes." Kachiko winced again, then turned
her back to Ranma. "Could you massage me a bit, get the circulation
flowing?"

"Sure. I get them sometimes, too. It hurts like the..." Ranma trailed off as
Kachiko raised the back of her shirt, revealing nothing but bared flesh, her
bra absent.

Ranma rose to his feet, retreating toward the door to backyard. "I just
remembered, I've got to fight Ryouga today. He gets lonely if he doesn't get
angry with me at some point during the week. Bye." The moment he cleared the
threshold, he bolted through the yard and over the wall.

Kachiko ran to the doorway and shouted out, "Tachi-chan would have had the
guts to massage me!" She slammed the door hard enough to nearly shatter the
frame. "I can't believe he'd pass up the opportunity to massage my back. I
wonder if someone messed with a pressure point connected to his sex drive or
something."

A voice from behind Kachiko said, "Don't you get tired to trying to force
Ranma to date you? It's obvious he doesn't want to."

Slowly, a sly, and not altogether comforting, smile, formed on Kachiko's
face. She turned and met the steady gaze of her accuser: Akane.

"For your information, Ranma is something of a weenie boy. I knew guys like
him back in school, though I never went out with one. They're indecisive
when it comes to girls, usually because they've never dated one before. They
always need a little push to get them going. Once they learn how much fun
hanging out with the opposite gender is, they loosen up and tend to act
normal. So this is really for Ranma's own good." Kachiko smiled smugly.

"Oh, please. This is for your own good and no one else's, just like everyone
else that bothers Ranma. He'll be happy if you leave him alone."

"No, I like him. I'm going to give him a chance to win me over. If he
manages to, who knows what will happen."

Akane began turning red with anger. "He's my fiancé!"

Kachiko's attitude went from sly and taunting to cold. "He'll be the fiancé
of whoever he wants to be, including no one, if that's what he wants. I
can't think of anything more terrible than being forced into a marriage you
don't want. If anyone tries making him marry, including his parents or the
creepy old guy, and Ranma doesn't want to, they'll have to go through me
first."

"You're trying to force him to date you," Akane stated in just as chilling
tones, the girls near mirror images of one another.

"It's not the same thing. I'm helping him broaden his horizons, which he's
going to have to do eventually since he's way too afraid of dating for his
own good. Besides, it's not like I'm forcing him to commit to anything.
Actually, it's the opposite. I won't let him commit to me until we've dated
a few times, and I decide if he's worth keeping around for a long term
thing, which would be way in the future, since we're both so young."

"Back off from Ranma," Akane warned.

Rather than act intimidated, Kachiko laughed. "If you're so hot and bothered
about controlling who he should and shouldn't date, why don't you ask him
out? Get him wrapped around your finger and you won't have to worry about a
thing. I've done it to lots of guys. Like... like... umm, like...."

A confused look passed over her features. She began scratching her head in
puzzlement. The scratching turned into hair pulling. Just as it seemed the
tufts would be coming out by their roots, Kachiko released her hold and
turned to Akane and shouted, "If I had met any guy worth keeping around, I'd
have wrapped him around my finger! I could do it! I could!" She stomped off,
muttering under her breath about meeting nothing but an unending chain of
losers.

Akane, anger not assuaged in the slightest, huffed to herself and headed for
the front door. Mother or not, she'd show that darn Kachiko.

Xxxxxxxxx

With it being dinnertime, and gut instinct telling him it would be best to
not be at home for a while, Ranma had opted to eat at the restaurant nearest
to the direction he had headed of in: Ucchan's. As he had expected, the food
was good and the service prompt as Ukyou reserved most of her attention for
him. It made for a pleasing eating experience.

He was just about to devour his second okonomiyaki, Ukyou beaming in
approval of his hearty appetite, when Akane stormed into the shop and
stomped her way to him.

She grabbed Ranma by the back of the pigtail, and pulled him away from the
counter. "Come on, Ranma, we're going out."

"See you later!" Ranma called out to Ukyou as he was pulled out of the
restaurant, food left behind on the counter.

"Hey, you didn't pay yet!" Ukyou called out, slightly irritated, though not
at the lack of payment. Why hadn't she thought of taking the direct approach
to get him to go out with her?

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kachiko hummed merrily to herself as she skipped down the stairs, taking
long strides that were closer to leaps. Her feet came into contact with the
steps only three times before she landed lightly upon the wooden floor
below.

Upon arriving at the bottom, she took a moment to reexamine her clothing. A
better part of an hour had been spent painstakingly choosing an ensemble
that would elicit a precise reaction from the male of the species. It was a
newer style that she would never have been allowed to wear in her time, one
that would have made her parents disown her on the spot if they saw her
wearing it. She wore a white sleeveless top that was actually more of a
front, since it lacked a back. Instead it was a collection of strings that
tied around the back and neck to hold it in place. Likewise, she didn't
bother wearing a bra. The shorts she wore were black, tight around her
backside, and worn low, so the top string of the thong underneath peeked
above the waistband, broadcasting to the world her choice in undergarments.
Having a string riding through the crack of her bottom was a bit
uncomfortable, but sacrifices were necessary if she was going to entice
Ranma into acting like a normal guy. The clothing only accentuated her
demure, yet fit, frame. It was the best she could come up with. If it didn't
work, nothing would.

With a light step she danced across the floor and into the living room. "Oh
Ranma, where are you?" she called out in a sing-song voice.

There was no answer. Disappointed that her prey failed to respond to her
mating call, she headed toward the bath. Seeing no occupied sign up, Kachiko
began considering her choices. The Saotome bedroom remained, but that would
mean possibly running into Ranma's evil (and elderly) mother. There was no
way he was in the girls' bedrooms; he wouldn't even massage her bare back
when asked to do so. Maybe he was in the backyard, and on the way there, she
could check out the kitchen as well.

As Kachiko strolled into the kitchen, she saw only Kasumi was present,
wiping down some of the cutting boards.

Kasumi started to greet her mother when she saw what Kachiko was wearing.
She drew back, aghast, then pulled the tablecloth from the table and ran
toward Kachiko. "Mother, put some clothes on before someone sees you like
that."

Kachiko fended off the attempts to be draped in the cover. "Knock it off!
I'm dressed to go out and have a good time. Now, where's Ranma?"

"Akane called a little while ago and said she and Ranma wouldn't be back for
dinner since they were out on a date."

"WHAT?!" Kachiko shrieked. "When I told her to ask him out on a date, I
didn't mean she should actually ask him out! She was supposed to get angry
at the implication she likes him and stomp off, growling she doesn't care
about him, like people like her always do! Actually asking him out goes
against everything Nabiki told me she's done before! I can't believe she
outmaneuvered me like this!"

The earlier delight disappeared, replaced by a dark miasma of anger. "I'll
show that idiot Ranma. I'll go out with Tachi-kun, and we'll have such a
good time it'll make that dummy sorry. I might even enjoy Tachi-kun so much
I'll just ignore Ranma from now on and rub his face in the fact Tachi-kun's
so much cooler than him."

Kasumi interjected herself at that point. "I have a much better idea,
Mother."

"It's Kachi, and what?"

"You could go out with Father instead of Mr. Kunou and make Ranma insanely
jealous." Kasumi unleashed a satisfied smile at her ingenious plan.

Kachiko exited the kitchen. She returned a moment later with a bar of soap
clenched in her grasp. She handed it to Kasumi.

Kasumi looked at it curiously. "Are you telling me to bathe?" She sniffed
the air, seeking any telltale signs that she needed to use more deodorant.

Kachiko shook her head. "Didn't I teach you that when you say dirty things
you're supposed to wash your mouth out with soap?"

Kasumi stared down at the bar of soap with distaste. Curiously, Kachiko was
correct. Though she was a little child at the time, Kasumi did remember
others commenting on her having a 'potty mouth.' It wasn't until her mother
washed her mouth out with some lye that Kasumi became more mindful of her
tongue. The taste was so wretched, and had lingered for so long, that she
never spoke that way again. Even now, years later, she still refused to say
bad things to anyone under any circumstances.

While Kasumi stared mournfully at the bar, Kachiko went to the phone and
dialed Kunou's number. It was answered after only two rings. "Hello, is
Tachi-kun there?... Yes, I mean Tatewaki.... He's not?... He's having kendo
practice?... Why that ingrate! I was going to ask him out tonight so he
could have a good time and one up Ranma, but since he's not going to wait by
the phone for me to call, then he can have fun playing with his bokken!"

She slammed the receiver down in its cradle, causing the phone to rattle.
She stomped her foot like a petulant child. "I wanted to go out tonight. Now
what am I going to do? It's no fun going out on your own. Only losers do
that."

Kachiko's eyes roamed the room, wondering what she should do. Nabiki, who
was rapidly becoming semi-fun to hang out with, was visiting one of her
friends until late tonight. There was no one in school Kachiko was close to.
Outside of school, she didn't know anyone that wasn't twenty years older
than her now.

That wasn't quite true. There was one alternative to going out alone.
Literally only one.

Kasumi was about to place the bar of soap in her mouth when it was snatched
out of her hand.

"Eating soap's bad for you. Only little kids do it," Kachiko told her.

"But you said-"

"Never mind what I said before. The only thing that matters is what I'm
saying to you now. Where do you go to have fun?"

Kasumi pondered that one. She began counting the number of places one at a
time. "Well, there's the grocers. The fish market. Sometimes I go to Dr.
Tofu, he's a local doctor, and borrow books from him. Oh yes, and on the far
side of town, there's this Museum of Cookware--"

Kachiko slapped a hand across Kasumi's mouth. "Enough! I'm going to save you
from yourself."

Kasumi smiled at her mother and the willingness she showed to go out of her
way to help her oldest daughter, even if Kasumi was uncertain of what she
needed 'saving' from.

As though able to read her mind, Kachiko removed her hand from the mouth and
placed both of them reassuringly on Kasumi's shoulders. "It's obvious the
lack of a strong maternal figure in your life has caused an inability within
you to determine right from wrong, as well as fun from boring. I will take
it upon myself to teach you the error of your ways."

Kasumi smiled beatifically upon her mother. "Thank you. What shall I do?"

"Get changed for a night on the town. We're going out to a club where they
have cheap drinks and cheaper guys."

"And do what?"

"Enjoy lots of both." Kachiko finally started to grow enthusiastic at the
prospect of going out, even if it wasn't with her first or second choice of
companion.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," Kasumi said hesitantly.

Not wanting to put a damper on the upcoming festivities, and determined to
help out someone that had been prematurely turned into an old spinster,
Kachiko enticed the girl by saying, "We'll do some mother and daughter
bonding while we're there. What better time for it than going out together?"

That disposed of Kasumi's final reservations. "I'll get changed into
something nice."

"Why don't we kick off the bonding by letting me help you choose the
clothes?" Kachiko followed close behind Kasumi as they went upstairs to her
room. When one went out clubbing, one dressed in something 'Not Nice' which
was part of the point in going out. It might take some work, but Kachiko had
faith in her abilities to find something presentable for the poor, naive,
boring girl. It was time for Kasumi to stop being someone else's mother and
live it up a little.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Nodoka exited the bedroom she and her husband were using during their stay
at the Tendous. She would have felt she was imposing on their host's
hospitality, save that there was someone else who was imposing far more than
her and her family. Teach Kachiko to be a proper woman? She'd sooner be able
to teach her manly son to prance about in a dress and make passes at men
than teach the undisciplined girl anything beyond 'Don't scratch yourself in
public,' if that.

If only Ranma hadn't displayed such an unhealthy interest in the girl.
Thankfully, no one else seemed to know he had slept with her on at least one
occasion. And who knew what he did with her when they were alone and away
from the house? It was chilling to the core. If only he would settle down
with one of the other Tendou girls. Or even the okonomiyaki girl. Or the
Chinese one. Or the rich girl that dropped by from time to time. She was a
happy person, laughing in delight nearly every time Nodoka saw her. Ranma
could marry her. It would get nothing but approval from her. Any girl would
do, except for the annoying pestilence to humanity that traveled in the
guise of Kachiko Tendou.

Nodoka pushed those frantic thoughts from her mind. There was no need to
concern herself with the Kachiko issue tonight. It was time for Nodoka to
help earn her keep and prepare dinner with the epitome of propriety, Kasumi.
Now there was a girl that would make a wonderful wife for Ranma. While it
was ultimately who her son loved that Nodoka wanted him to marry, she had
her own personal favorites as to who she would choose to call
daughter-in-law. Kasumi was near the top of the list.

Nodoka entered the kitchen. It was silent, though there was an assortment of
food left lying about, obviously ready to be cooked. "Kasumi, are you here?"

"Behind you, Auntie."

Nodoka turned around to see a girl behind her, wearing a black shirt that
was both too tight around her chest and too short; it barely reached halfway
down her midriff. It was complemented by a black leather mini-skirt that
showed a scandalous amount of leg.

It took a moment to register the identity of the girl. "Kasumi?!"

Kasumi nodded. "Yes, I meant to ask you, Auntie, could you finish dinner?
I've already prepared the ingredients. You'll only have to make enough for
you, Mr. Saotome, and Father, since no one else will be around. I'm going
out with Mother. We're going to do some mother and daughter bonding. I'm
really very excited."

Nodoka's hand trembled as she pointed at Kasumi. "Clothes?"

Kasumi fingered the top and blushed. "It's Mother's idea. She said nothing I
owned would be appropriate for where we were going, so she insisted I wear
some of her clothes. They're a bit small."

"And appropriate for a bordello," Nodoka said.

"It's to give the guys some eye candy, something you'd never be considered
with those cellulite-laden thighs of yours," Kachiko stated as she strolled
down the stairs, still in the clothing she had been wearing earlier.

Nodoka stared in disapproval at the girl. "What you are wearing is
shameless."

"It's a good thing I have no shame, then."

Nodoka pointed accusingly at the girl. "You are nothing more than an immoral
tramp!"

"And you are an old frump that's forgotten what it means to cut loose and
enjoy herself. Instead you act like a retired geriatric who thinks everyone
else should be the same way. Well I've got news for you, hag, I'm still
young and got a new lease on life I ain't blowing. And I'm not letting you
force me or this poor girl into the early spinsterhood you seem so fond of."
Kachiko grabbed Kasumi by the arm and pulled her toward the front door.

Kasumi started, "But Auntie's not a spin-"

"Yes, yes she is. She might have known how to have fun a couple of decades
ago, but she's long since forgotten. Come on."

Kasumi waved a final good-bye to Nodoka before being pulled out of sight.

Nodoka looked on in shock, unable to find her voice. Now the girl's
corruption had spread to Kasumi. Oh, what tragedy had befallen the Tendou
household. Perhaps it would be best to dispose of the arrangement to unite
the families before Ranma was forced to marry the awful Kachiko girl.

Nodoka returned to her room in a huff. How dare that little brat call her an
old spinster! She was not old, and she knew how to have fun. While it might
have been true that she had been more active when she was younger, that
didn't mean she didn't have fun now. She did. She had fun all the time.

Despite her mental reassurances, the incorrigible girl's words nagged at
Nodoka, and she couldn't seem to dismiss them as easily as she should.
Unable to ignore or forget them, that left only one solution to the problem.

Sliding the door to the bedroom open, she confronted her husband, who was
lazing about in his panda form. "Genma, I still know how to have fun, don't
I?"

Genma suddenly became furtive. He held up a sign. *Don't ask me. I'm just a
panda.*

"Stop that this instant!" Nodoka ordered, making the animal wince. "I'm
being serious. I need to know: am I boring and frumpy? And don't tell me
what I want to hear. I demand you answer honestly."

The panda began sweating. Reluctantly, he held up another sign. *You're a
mature, serious person that has a family to deal with. I approve of it
wholeheartedly.*

Nodoka looked at him, crestfallen. "So you're saying the girl is right and I
am frumpy?"

*Absolutely not!" he signed, then brought another one up. *Can I go now? I
need to wax my head.*

Nodoka sniffled. "Go ahead. Run off and have fun, since it's obvious I don't
know how to have any and would just drag you down."

The panda's shoulders sagged. Slowly, he shuffled his furry form over and
placed one of his large arms around Nodoka. *Why don't we go out and do
something fun?*

Nodoka darted out of his grasp, refusing to be comforted. "She's right. I'm
not fun anymore. I used to like going out and doing things, especially when
you were courting me. It was after we got married and I had Ranma so quickly
that I became this tired old housewife." She held her arms out hopelessly.

The panda looked at his wife in sympathy. He brought a paw to his chin in
thought. After several moments, he held up a sign.

Nodoka read it and blushed. "We can't do that! We're not young anymore. And
what if we got caught? It would be scandalous, and we'd be arrested. Why,
Ranma would probably leave the family rather than deal with the shame. I
still can't believe you talked me into it in the first place."

*Ah, you were the one that suggest it to me,* the panda pointed out.

"I did no such thing..." Nodoka trailed off as the memory returned.
"Actually, Achika was the one that suggested it to me. She always was a bit
of a wild girl. It's why my parents never approved of her. I happened to
mention to her that I thought you were losing interest in me, and she
suggested we do that. I admit, I thought if you liked the idea, you might
show me more attention if we did it." And it had worked, as she recalled.
Genma had been more than happy to entertain her for some considerable time
afterwards.

Nodoka reconsidered the suggestion. "While we can't do that, why don't we do
something similar, but with less risk involved?"

Genma held up another sign.

Nodoka's eyes bulged slightly. Then she turned suspicious. "That would be
interesting. However, it doesn't seem like the sort of thing you'd come up
with on the spur of the moment, though. It's a bit elaborate."

The panda shifted uncomfortably. *I overheard someone mention it once, and I
thought it sounded like it might be fun to do with you.*

"Why didn't you mention it before?"

Genma became nervous again.

"You thought I was too frumpy to want to do such a thing, didn't you?"

Now Genma looked like he wanted to escape.

That settled things in Nodoka's mind. "We'll go out and buy the necessary
items, and then go to the part of town you suggested. But first, get some
hot water. I have no intention of doing that sort of thing while you're a
panda."

*One bucket of hot water coming right up!* Genma signed, then loped out of
the room at top speed.

Nodoka smiled at his enthusiasm. It reminded her that Genma could act like a
true husband, with the proper motivation. She'd have to remember that for
future reference, in case she felt old and frumpy again.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Akane smiled at how wonderfully everything had gone. And to think, she had
her interfering mother to thank for it.

In forcing the issue, Akane's asking Ranma out had resulted in the two of
them having a wonderful time at the local amusement park. Riding side by
side on the attractions, eating the various unhealthy foods offered at the
park, and reveling in each other's company without the interference of
others, had served to lighten Akane's mood more than any other in recent
memory. Once she thought about it, she hadn't had Ranma truly to herself
since her mother's return. While events had always been active in their
lives before, things had turned frantic with Kachiko living under the same
roof as them. Between the issues the various members of the family had with
her, in connection with the girl's own outrageous behavior, there was rarely
a moment of peace to be found.

Now an oasis in the chaos had been discovered. It was such a blessing to
have Ranma all to herself, Akane mused. It would have been nicer if Ranma
had been the one initiating things, but of late, it was hard to rely on him
for anything. He accepted the postponement of the engagement rather than
fighting for it. He wasn't paying attention to Akane the way he should have
been. He didn't reject Kachiko's attentions with the vehemence he was
supposed to. For that matter, he spent too much time with Kachiko period.
Why couldn't he treat her the way he did Kodachi, or at least Ukyou? Instead
he acted like the time lost girl was being set upon by others, when all they
were trying to do was make Kachiko act normal. Far too often he ended up
taking her side when he should have been on the family's. But that was
Ranma. He didn't think things through and tended to be insensitive. Akane
knew that from the beginning. It's just things would have gone much more
smoothly if he acted responsibly, thought about is treatment of others, and
stated what he wanted.

Today he was acting perfectly fine. It was obvious he was enjoying himself,
and subsequently Akane's presence. It would have helped if he'd do something
more to indicate how much he liked her being around, like holding her hand
or a similar gesture, but Akane was content to accept what was given to her.
It made her realize just how nice it was to be with him during these quiet
moments with only the two of them around and no one harassing them
continuously. If only it could stretch on forever. She'd do just about
anything to have Ranma to herself like this for the rest of her life.

The thought had taken hold of her mind. Akane decided to test the waters
further. "Ranma, I was thinking about the engagement."

"Don't worry about it. It's on hold."

That wasn't the answer she was looking for. She also hadn't counted on
being cut off so abruptly. Ranma's rudeness was showing again. Why couldn't
he be more understanding to her wants and needs?

Before she could venture toward the subject again, Ranma pointed at a poster
hanging next to a café in a more quiet area of the park. "What's that?"

Akane examined the item in question. "It says there's a hypnotist performing
at the café."

Ranma shook his head at the poster. "Ah, that hypnotism stuff is a crock.
Only people with weak wills and stuff fall for it. You wouldn't catch me
acting stupid just because someone waves some shiny object in front of my
eyes."

"Let's check it out." Akane always had a fascination with hypnotism. More
importantly, it would give them a chance to sit there and enjoy each other's
company even longer. Also, Ranma wouldn't find it so easy to run if he was
sitting there stuffing his face.

Ranma shrugged. "Why not? I'm hungry anyway."

The two entered the café, which possessed a very cozy atmosphere despite
being located in the middle of an amusement park. A waitress ushered them to
a table near the stage. The hypnotist in question was already in the middle
of his act. He wore a garish green and red ringmaster's type outfit with
purple stars on the legs and arms. The worst part of the ensemble was the
ridiculous circle stuck to the front of his top hat. It had concentric black
and white rings around the surface, and would spin on its own, independent
of his motions.

On the stage, sitting on a chair, was one of the café's patrons. There was a
glassy look to his eyes, and he was acting as though he was driving an
invisible car rather than sitting in front of group of strangers.

"See? It's silly. I'd never do something stupid like that. I'm impossible to
hypnotize," Ranma stated as he took his chair and began watching the
performance in spite of his stated disdain for it.

"I have to go to the restroom." Akane rose to her feet and headed off.

Xxxxxxxxx

Ranma breathed a sigh of relief. The whole day had been weird. First there
was the whole Kachiko flirting with him, which had made him incredibly
uncomfortable. While he had deftly avoided that situation, Akane came along
and asked him to go to the amusement park with her. It seemed odd, since
she had never shown that much of an interest in such places. He didn't want
her to have to go alone, and amusement parks did tend to be kind of fun, so
he agreed. It turned out to be the right choice. He and Akane had a great
time on the rides and stuffing their faces on all the great food. It was
nice to enjoy himself in a non pressure situation where no one was making
any demands of him.

The only minor problem was that bit about the engagement she had tried
bringing up. He had avoided that easily enough by pointing out the first
thing that had caught his eye. Thinking about something that pressured him
like that was the exact opposite of what he wanted to do. Luckily, she had
let the matter rest rather than trying to ruin his day by pestering him
about something he didn't want to think about. With each day that passed,
and the weight off his shoulders of being harassed about marriage, he
realized that putting the engagement on hold was the right choice. He was
only sorry he hadn't thought of it sooner. And to think, he had Kachiko to
thank for it.

However, as much as he owed her for alleviating some of the stress in his
life, he was grateful it wasn't Kachiko who had asked him along to the
amusement park. She probably would have tried to make it into a date or
something. At least Akane was reliable about not trying to make him do
something like that. She was content to just hang around with him, with no
expectations.

"Excuse me, sir?"

The statement shook Ranma out of his thoughts. Before him was the hypnotist.
A quick look showed the person that had been on the stage had now returned
to his seat, shifting uncomfortably at the attention he was receiving. Ranma
felt he understood the man's situation, as the crowd's attention was now
directed at him, thanks to the hypnotist.

"Yeah, what do you want?" Ranma asked.

With a flourish to the crowd, the man said, "I could not help overhearing
your boast about being impossible to hypnotize."

That sounded vaguely like a challenge. Instincts rising to the fore, Ranma
kicked back in his chair and put his feet on the table. "Yeah, that's right.
That hypnotism stuff doesn't work on me. My mind's way too sharp to fall for
something like that."

"I see. I see." The hypnotist sounded as though he was uncertain of the
boast. "Well, perhaps you could help me with a little demonstration, my
confident friend."

"What kind of demonstration?"

The hypnotist pulled a small gold chain from his breast pocket. A shiny gold
coin was attached to the chain. He began waving it back and forth in front
of Ranma's eyes. "Look into the pretty coin of gold, and you will do as you
are told."

Xxxxxxxx

Akane stared at herself in the mirror. Everything had been going perfectly
today. She had taken a chance by asking Ranma out on a date, and it had paid
off big for her. Now it was time to go for broke. If she was successful, it
would be over at last and the situation that had been plaguing her for so
long finally resolved. And if she wasn't....

No! She would be successful. It was long past time something went her way.
She was confident that things would work out. If Ranma wasn't interested in
her, he would never have accepted going out on the date in the first place.
She knew she was the one he was interested in. She knew it.

Hands trembling in a mix of anticipation and fear, Akane exited the restroom
and headed for the table she and Ranma shared. There was no sense in waiting
any longer. It was time to go for it.

Her attention was fixated on Ranma as she sat down in the seat next to him.
Fearful of losing her nerve, she blurted out, "Ranma, I want to restart the
engagement because I love you and want you to marry me."

In response, Ranma leaped upon the table and began hopping back and forth,
uttering bestial sounds, like he was a monkey.

Akane looked on him in shock. Tearfully she cried out, "You don't have to
make fun of me! All you had to do was say no!" She gave him a solid right,
punching him clear of the table and onto the stage. Tears streaming from her
eyes, she wailed in sorrow, not caring what anyone thought as she ran off
deeper into the amusement park.

Everyone in the room was silent, save for the hypnotist who meekly said to
Ranma, "Oops. Sorry about that. Usually people laugh when I hypnotize the
person they're with into thinking they're a monkey. I'd have to say this is
the worst case of timing in my life."

Ranma gave a loud "Eep!" in agreement.

Xxxxxxxxx

The Ferris wheel operator scratched his head as he watched the handyman
examine the operating level carefully.

"I don't know what's wrong with it, but I'm sure it felt funny," the
operator said.

The handyman nodded. "It looks like some of the gears are slipping and the
wiring on the control panel's shot. It could go at any time. I keep telling
them they need to sink more money into replacing some of the parts, but they
won't listen to me."

"I know the feeling," the operator agreed. "Do I need to shut her down?"

"Yep, unless you like the idea of the whole thing going out of control."

"No thanks. I don't think I need the lawsoof!" the man grunted someone ran
past, knocking him aside as though he wasn't there. The impact threw him
into the handyman, who grasped out at anything to keep from falling over.

As he did so, his hand struck the panel, starting the Ferris wheel, before
he found himself buried under the operator.

"Would you get off me?!" the handyman spluttered as he tried to rise to his
feet.

"It wasn't my fault!" the operator insisted. "Someone knocked me over."

The handyman stared at the Ferris wheel. "You mean that girl that jumped
into one of the cars right before the thing started up?"

The operator looked up to see that indeed, someone had run into the car. He
tried stopping the wheel with the controls, but all that met him was the
sound of gears giving out.

"I think we have a problem," the operator said.

"I'd say hers is worse than ours," the handyman said as he stared up at the
wheel as the car continued moving toward the top.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Akane's eyes were blurry as she sat in the car of the Ferris wheel, finding
privacy in a place where no one could disturb her. What she needed was
solitude for her broken heart.

She hated Ranma, hated him more than anyone she had ever hated in her entire
life. It was made all the worse by the fact she still loved him more than
anyone else as well. Why couldn't he have accepted her heart? After all they
had been through, all they had shared, why couldn't he just say he wanted to
marry her the way she wanted to be with him? She was certain he had said he
loved her when he thought she was going to die on Mount Phoenix. He couldn't
have changed his mind. Not after that. It wasn't the way things worked. When
you professed to love someone under those circumstances, it was forever.
That was the reason she had consented to the surprise marriage directly
afterwards. She knew they were meant for each other and it would last a
lifetime.

It was that damned Kachiko's fault. That was it. She had put thoughts in
Ranma's head about it being too young to marry and that it would be a
mistake and that it should be postponed, if not nullified outright. She had
run her mouth off about it repeatedly, and Ranma was gullible enough to
believe the babble she spouted. Kachiko was wrong. There was such a thing as
'true love' and destiny. She and Ranma had shared both. It was only thanks
to Kachiko's interference that things had turned out otherwise.

There was no way Kachiko was her mother. Not really. No mother could ruin a
daughter's life so thoroughly. She was an impostor that had no business
being there. Akane was sorry she made the wish in the first place. If she
had it do all over again, she would wish the girl wasn't around any more.
She wished she was still dead and things could go back to the way they were.

But they wouldn't. Things were what they were, and Akane had nothing left.
It was over.

The sounds of gears groaning and the car jerking back and forth finally drew
Akane out of her sorrow-filled thoughts. She wiped her eyes, wondering what
the men operating the wheel were doing.

Now at the highest point of the spin, Akane looked down at the ground and
saw a large group of people gathered around the bottom, staring at the
wheel. She wondered what was going on, then saw several of the gears shoot
away from the center where the wheel was connected to the stand. Several of
them headed toward the crowd, forcing them to scatter. They barely got out
of the way before the parts struck the ground, hitting hard enough to break
concrete.

The wheel shuddered, coming to a complete stop. Despite the lack of
movement, Akane could feel the entire structure shake as internal forces,
unable to be released, built up. This was bad. From this height, Akane would
be badly injured in a fall, if not killed outright.

Her panic was momentarily sidetracked by a figure in red that streaked
toward the wheel, opposite the direction that everyone else was heading. The
figure got to the bottom of the wheel, then began climbing upward with an
inhuman agility.

It took Akane only a moment to figure out who it was. It was the man who was
always there to rescue her when she found herself in trouble. The one who
was always there in her time of need.

Except the one time when she truly needed him.

"Go away, Ranma!" she cried out through the open window.

Ranma hesitated a moment. Then the wheel shifted dangerously again. That
prodded him into motion and he continued scampering up the side of the
wheel. Soon he was hanging from the bottom of Akane's car, swinging back and
forth from one arm, unmindful of the open space between him and the ground.
He began grunting at Akane again.

"I said leave me alone!" Akane shouted, wishing she had something to throw
at him and drive him off. Seeing him was like being stabbed in the heart
again and again.

Ranma swung up to the side of the car, making more noises at Akane.

She shouted, "Quit babbling like an idiot, you jerk! I don't want your help!
I don't want to be saved by you! You already said you didn't love me!" It
then occurred to her that he hadn't exactly said he wasn't interested as
much as he acted like he wasn't, making fun of her with his babbling when
she had bared her soul.

Except, he was still babbling inanely, not saying a word. And then there was
his exceptional agility when scaling the wheel. While Ranma was as limber as
a Chinese acrobat, he had come up the side of the wheel as though he was
running across flat ground, if not faster. Even he had never displayed that
kind of nimbleness. And then there was the bizarre grunting. It was almost
as bad as when he was meowing in the nekoken. Except he wasn't acting like a
cat. It was more like a monkey. No. It was exactly like a monkey.

"Oh Ranma, I'm so, so sorry!" Akane said as the truth of the situation
dawned on her. His father must have tied a bunch of bananas around him and
threw him in a pit of starving monkeys, and Ranma had been too ashamed to
admit it. It was a monkey-ken, or some other idiotic move, probably to
increase his agility. She was really going to give Genma a piece of her mind
this time.

It was in the middle of the vow that the final bolts connecting the wheel to
the center gave out. The wheel fell to the ground, remaining upright despite
not being attached to anything. Despite not falling far, it made a loud
crash as it hit the earth. It sat there for a moment, motionless. Then
slowly, inexorably, the wheel began rolling, following the downhill grade it
rested upon.

"Oh my god!" Akane shrieked as she saw the cars touching the ground, cars
whose bottoms extended beyond the circular structure of the wheel, crumple
under the weight poised above them.

Ranma reached through the window, grabbing Akane and bearing her in his
arms. As the wheel continued rolling, gaining momentum, he leapt up to the
top of one of the pair of metal rails that made up the edge of the wheel's
structure, and began running along it, just fast enough to stay at the top
of the wheel as it continued rolling.

Akane clung tightly to Ranma, afraid to look down. Ordinarily she wasn't
afraid of heights, but in this case, she was more than ready to make an
exception.

"All we need to do is wait for the wheel to bump into something, like a
building so it'll stop rolling," Akane told herself.

While the idea was good, Akane discovered one slight problem with it: there
were no structures in the wheel's path. The only thing that threatened to
stop their progress was the edge of a steep drop, since the amusement park
was built on the top of an extended plateau. With nothing in the way, the
wheel picked up speed as it drew ever closer to the edge.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bystanders watched in horror as the wheel plummeted over the side. Within
seconds, they heard the crash of metal and plastic as a ton of amusement
ride met the rocks below.

"Those poor people," someone said.

"They'll never survive that drop," another commented.

"Maybe they caught on to the side of the cliff," another said hopefully.

"Nah, the drop's sheer. You'd have to be a monkey to climb that thing."

It was at that moment Ranma finished climbing up over the edge, Akane
holding on tightly around his neck.

A sound of disappointment filled the air.

"Shoot, no dead bodies to stare at. Let's go back to the Tilt O' Whirl and
ride it until we throw up."

"Cool."

With nothing further of interest happening, the crowd dispersed.

"That was... close," Akane said.

Ranma gave a loud "Eep!" in agreement.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Kachiko stretched her head back, pouring the contents of the glass down her
throat. It felt like drinking liquid fire as every inch of flesh that came
into contact with it burned. Her eyes blurred in pain from the path the
liquid took.

"'Prairie Fire' is aptly named, isn't it?" the bartender asked.

"Got that right." Kachiko wiped the tears from her eyes. Even her nose was
running from the effect from the mixture of Tequila and Tabasco. "Let me try
something else."

"How about a Harvey Wallbanger?"

Kachiko reached across the bar and grabbed the man by the collar of his
shirt. "Hey now, just because I've had a few drinks, don't you go thinking
you can get away with propositioning me with a kinky sex move named after
some guy called Harvey."

"It's vodka, Galliano, and orange juice."

"Getting me drunker won't change anything."

"That's the name of the drink. Those are the ingredients"

The light of realization dawned in Kachiko's eyes, though the light was dim
in relation to the amount of alcohol she had consumed. "In that case, gimme
one."

"You should probably let go of me, first."

"That would help, wouldn't it?" Kachiko gave him a peck on the cheek in
apology and released her hold on his collar.

The show of affection lightened the bartender's mood as he mixed the drink
in question.

He had placed a shot glass in front of Kachiko when Kasumi staggered toward
the bar, nearly stumbling into it.

Kachiko steadied her. "Whoa, there. Having some problems walking, huh?"

"Not really," Kasumi said blissfully, then spotted the shot glass. She
pointed in its general direction. "Is that for me?"

"No," Kachiko said.

"Good." Kasumi picked up the glass and downed the contents in a quick gulp
before Kachiko could prevent her.

"That was mine." Kachiko stared mournfully at the empty vessel.

"Would you like it back?" Kasumi offered.

"No, that's all right. You keep it. I'm sure you'll put it to good use." She
patted Kasumi on the head. "You know, I was afraid you'd be an angry drunk,
like Wakaba, but you're actually pretty lively without being rude. You
should drink more often."

"How about now?" Kasumi asked.

"No, it's probably best you not drink for a while. Drink any more, and
you'll be floating away like a fish." Kachiko laughed hard at her own
perceived joke.

Kasumi frowned. "You know, despite how much I've drunken, that still doesn't
sound remotely funny."

"I bet if you had another drink it'd be funny."

Kasumi shook her head. "There's not enough alcohol in the world. I'm sorry,
Mother."

"Kachi! Kachi!" the time lost girl insisted. "People will think we're in
some kind of kinky relationship if you call me that."

Kasumi held up her hand, as though something had just occurred to her. "I
almost forgot. I came over here for a reason."

"To steal my drinks?"

"If you'd like," Kasumi said.

"It wasn't an offer. It was an answer to the question. Now why did you come
over here?"

It took Kasumi a moment to collect her thoughts. "Oh, yes. I've been
spending time dancing with some men that are sweet enough to buy me drinks.
As many as I want. However, when we've been dancing, some of them having
been grabbing my bottom and grinding their crotches into me. While it's not
an altogether unpleasant feeling, especially down in 'that place,' I'm not
sure this is appropriate behavior. I wanted your advice on what to do about
it."

Kachiko accepted another Harvey Wallbanger from the bartender, drinking it
in order to help her consider the matter. "My advice is, if you think
they're hot, knee them in the groin. And if they're ugly, let 'em keep going
as far as you want."

"Thanks. You're always full of wonderful advice." Kasumi headed back toward
the men.

Within moments, high pitched wails of pain reached Kachiko's ears. She
scratched her head in confusion. "I think there might have been something
off in what I said just now. Nah." She decided it was probably for the best.
Sleeping with someone while drunk was usually not a good idea. Unless it was
the guy who was drunk and the girl wanted to sleep with them, in which case
that was fine. It was too bad Ranma wasn't along. Kachiko wondered what he'd
be like drunk. Probably a real goof that made everyone around him laugh. He
seemed the type.

A voice from Kachiko's right said, "Turn the channel to something
interesting," to the bartender.

Kachiko watched the bartender move to change the channel of the television
that hung above the bar. Much to her shock, it showed a picture of Ranma and
Akane. Kachiko scowled as the man of her dreams (well, one of the men of her
dreams, along with Tatewaki) was hanging from Akane's neck while she
supported him in her arms.

Kachiko slammed her glass down on the counter. "That !#$%! I can't believe
he's hanging all over her, and on television!" She'd show that rotten jerk!
She'd track down some hunky guy and do something with him. She wasn't sure
what, since there was no way she'd let a guy get farther than second base on
a first date, but she'd think of something that was sure to make Ranma a
fountain of jealousy. Maybe introduce the hunk as the father of her child or
something.

There was another cry of pain from the dance floor. Evidently Kasumi was
having some luck. Kachiko rose from her bar stool, nearly falling over as
the room swayed and the floor tried to dart out from under her, and made her
way back to the daughter that was older than her. Wouldn't the guys get a
kick out of that when she told them that story?

Xxxxxxxx

Soun heard the front door slam open as Ranma's voice reached his ears.

"And I'm telling you there's no way I was hypnotized into acing like a
monkey. I'd have remembered it."

"But you were," Akane insisted.

"Look, I can prove it. I've been around a monkey during that stupid martial
arts tea ceremony thing. If I didn't act like a monkey then, I'm not going
to do it because some guy with a stupid hat tells me to."

"Let's just drop it," Akane said.

Soun ran toward the front door, looking hopeful. Upon seeing it was only
Ranma and Akane, he immediately became crestfallen again.

Despite her depressed state, Akane picked up on her Father's anxiety.
"What's wrong?"

He wrung his hands nervously. "I found a note from Kasumi saying she went
out dancing with Kachi."

Ranma appeared mystified. "So what?"

Anxiety overcame Akane, giving her an uncanny resemblance to her father. "Oh
no! We have to find them. There's no telling what trouble Mom will get
Kasumi into."

Ranma turned to look in surprise at Akane's statement. "Come on. You're
overreacting. Kachi's a big girl and knows what she's doing. She can handle
any trouble that comes her way."

"You always take her side!" Akane snapped.

"What do you mean 'take her side'?"

"You..." Akane trailed off as she saw the girl in question had suddenly
appeared in the doorway, Kasumi humming merrily from her position draped
across Kachiko's back. Akane caught a wiff of both women, and recoiled.

"We're home." Kachiko announced, mostly to the girl behind her.

Kasumi stood unsteadily as Kachiko released her hold. She smiled even more
blissfully than usual at everyone. "Hello." She added a wave to the
greeting.

Hands on her hips, Akane stood directly in front of Kachiko and said in low,
threatening tones, "Just what did you do to my sister?"

Kachiko sniffed disdainfully at the display. "Me and Kasumi were doing some
mother and daughter bondage."

Kachiko watched everyone's reaction to that.

She shook her head clear of the cobwebs for a moment. "Bonding. I mean
bonding. Not bondage. I'm not into that. I'd never do something like that.
Except that one time with... but that's not important right now. But there's
nothing wrong with experimenting. It's healthy. It shows you have an open
mind." She noticed everyone's reaction again. "I think I'd better quit while
I'm behind."

While Kachiko tried figuring out where she had gone wrong, Kasumi had moved
around her and Akane and walked up to Soun. She smiled and embraced him.
"Good evening, Father."

Soun caught the scent surrounding her and sobbed, "My daughter's dressed
like a slut and stinking drunk! I've failed in my duty as a father!"

Kasumi appeared put off, an almost unheard of condition for her. "I'll have
you know I only had twelve or thirtyteen drinks this evening. I am barely
feeling tipsy." She moved to Akane and hugged her as well.

Uncertain of how to react, Akane just accepted the display of affection. As
Kasumi moved away, Akane noticed her own clothing had taken on a somewhat
alcoholic scent. She didn't' want to know how much one had to drink to cause
that, only that Kachiko was to blame for it.

"Good evening, Ranma." Kasumi moved to embrace him, then changed targets as
she grabbed his head and forced his mouth to hers, kissing him.

Ranma's pig-tail shot out from behind his head as he felt a tongue that
wasn't his force its way past his lips.

"Hey, hey, enough of that!" Kachiko shouted as Kasumi tried intertwining her
body with Ranma's.

It took the combined efforts of Kachiko and Akane to pry Kasumi away from
him.

Kasumi appeared satisfied at the results. "Kissing boys is fun. I'm going to
do it lots more often now."

Ranma's reaction was to stand statue still, his mind not quite able to
process what just happened.

Mood decidedly cooler toward the daughter she had done 'bondage' with,
Kachiko took her by the shoulders and pointed her toward the interior of the
house. "It's time for you to go to bed."

Kasumi giggled. "Ranma should come with me, then." She tried to grab onto
his shirt.

Kachiko fended the hands away while continuing to push Kasumi toward the
bedroom. "No, Ranma's going to be happy sleeping all by himself tonight. You
need a good night's sleep as well."

"Okay, Mother," Kasumi said dreamily. "We should do more mother and daughter
bonding tomorrow."

"Maybe the night after that instead. I'm feeling a touch on the woozy side
myself," Kachiko reluctantly admitted. She called back, "Good night
everyone. See you tomorrow."

The trio remained motionless, looking at where the girls had departed in
disbelief, as though it hadn't happened and the real Kachiko and Kasumi
would appear any minute now.

They remained there for some time.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kasumi awoke to the knowledge that she was dying. It was sad and tragic. She
would have wondered how her family would deal with her loss, but it hurt too
much to think. Instead she just lay there, waiting for death to visit and
end her suffering.

For some odd reason, she didn't die. She just lay limply on her bed as pain
receptors in her brain insisted on dancing the rumba. It was really quite
mean of them. Perhaps they were making up for lost time, since she hadn't
engaged in any behavior, aside from nicking herself with a kitchen knife,
that would have given them cause to become active.

Kasumi waited until the receptors slowed down to a mellow waltz before
dragging herself out of bed. As she rose, she noticed she was still dressed
in the same clothing that her mother had insisted she wear the previous
night. She fingered the clothing distastefully. It was so improper, not
sleeping in an appropriate outfit. She was just glad no one was there to see
her in such a sorry state.

Kasumi dared to push herself up from the bed and stand up. As she did so,
the receptors in her head started with a new dance. In wooden clogs, if she
was any judge of it. She also became aware of a terrible taste, as though
someone had dipped something dead in mucus and then stuffed it in her mouth.
For the first time in her life, Kasumi was sorry she wasn't going to die. It
would make things so much easier

Deciding remaining motionless wasn't going to improve her condition, and she
had already managed the arduous task of regaining a vertical base, Kasumi
headed toward the bathroom. Within the medicine cabinet was aspirin, which
would hopefully ease her suffering. If that didn't work, there were always
knives in the kitchen that could be used to end the torment.

No longer caring about her appearance, Kasumi headed to the bath in the
clothes she was already wearing. As she made it to the bottom of the stairs,
only missing a couple of steps on the way, she spotted Ranma already up as
he exited the bathroom.

"Morning, Ranma," was the best greeting Kasumi could manage in her current
state.

She noted with surprise (and annoyance, she was amazed to discover) that
Ranma's reaction was not to greet her in return, as he usually did. Instead
he put the wall to his back and slowly backed away, as though she was a
dangerous foe he dared not take his eyes from. He remained that way until he
was out of sight, then she heard the sound of footfalls hurrying away from
her.

That was peculiar. She hoped there was nothing terribly wrong with him.
While he was uncouth and quite rude, he was a younger man, and that was to
be expected. He lacked the calm bearing that older, more experienced men
had. Though he was a decent kisser....

Wait. Where had that thought come from? Perhaps she had dreamed of kissing
him, which is why she would think such a bizarre thought. It was peculiar,
though. She had never regarded Ranma as particularly desirable due to being
so much younger than her. Though now that she thought about it, he did have
a nice, tight bottom....

There it was again! What was with these unusual thoughts regarding the young
man who had been living under her roof all this time. Well, she knew what to
do concerning such impure impulses. It was time for a very cold shower
followed by a very cold bath. That would dispose of her unwanted ardor
quickly enough, and she could return to normal.

Kasumi walked into the bath and headed to where the stool and bucket were
stored. She set them up, trying very hard not to think that Ranma had been
in there early, naked, and that if she had risen ten minutes earlier and not
thought about looking for the occupied sign, she might have stumbled upon
him the way Akane had the first day he was here....

"Cold water. I need cold water," Kasumi murmured to herself. Her impure
impulses were much stronger and more frequent than usual. She had to take
action fast. As she ran the cold water in the bucket, she lamented the fact
she hadn't found a good man, like her mother had, at her age, and could do
something about those naughty thoughts Well, technically, her mother hadn't
found a man yet. But she would. Eventually. And it would be Father.
Probably.

The splitting pain in Kasumi's skull increased. Pondering temporal mechanics
under normal circumstances was bad enough; doing it in the middle of a
hangover was impossible. Dance numbers started blending into one in a
choreography that would have made Bob Fosse green with envy.

Bucket filled, Kasumi began removing her clothes. As she peeled the far too
tight shirt over her head, she found herself scarcely believing her mother
had talked her into wearing such risqué clothing. It displayed her ample
bust far too clearly for her taste. Dressing like that always made men
stare, and she was uncomfortable with such things. The attention usually
made taking cold showers a necessity often enough that her skin sometimes
felt it permanently had goosebumps.

Kasumi wondered what had happened last night. She didn't remember much after
her mother handed her several glasses of alcohol, one right after another
until they, and the events surrounding them, turned into a giant blur. She
hoped they had done some wonderful emotional bonding, and that her mother
would have a better time remembering them than her.

It was as Kasumi removed her bra that she glanced in the mirror. Instantly,
she froze, staring at the image. Slowly, her hand came up to her breast,
trying to prove that the thing in it was false, or the result of some
twisted magic, like the one that had produced Ranma's separate female
counterpart. But no, the actions of the person in the mirror followed their
originator's exactly.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

A scream pierced the tranquility of the house. In her room, Nabiki smothered
her head under her pillow. Soun shot out of his bedroom in an instant,
trying to locate the source of the disturbance. Kachiko ceased her search
for more of the hair of the dog that bit her, and headed toward the
bathroom. Ranma and Akane, who were already in the living room (an aura of
tension coming from Akane and one of mystification around Ranma) became
concerned as they too headed toward the scream.

Ranma, Akane, and Kachiko arrived at the same time, followed closely by
Soun.

Seeing Kasumi in nothing but a pair of panties and a towel covering her
bosom, Akane slapped her hands across Ranma's face an instant before he shut
his eyes on his own.

Thoughts of propriety overruled concern as Soun was the first to utter,
"What's wrong, Kasumi?"

Tearfully, she held the towel against her bosom with one hand while pointing
at it, sobbing, "There's a thing there."

"A thing?" Soun asked.

Kasumi waved her free hand frantically. "You know, a thing."

"A towel?" Kachiko offered.

"Not that."

"A mole?" Kachiko asked.

"No."

"A nipple? Breasts tend to come with those, you know."

"No. I mean yes, but that's not what I mean."

"Quit keeping me in suspense. What is it?" Kachiko asked in a tired voice.

A single tear running down her face, Kasumi removed the towel.

"Kasumi!" Akane gasped.

"Daughter!" Soun said transfixed by what was there.

"What? I think the birdy tattoo looks neat," Kachiko said. "You're making a
big deal out of nothing."

The casual dismissal of her concerns was too much for Kasumi to bear. For
the first time in recent memory, she felt an anger consume her, one that she
didn't even try to fight. Giving in to her impulse, she strode forward,
moving so fast Kachiko didn't have time to react as Kasumi raised her hand
and slapped her mother across the cheek with an open palm, hard enough to
turning her face away from her daughter.

Kachiko remained motionless, holding her rapidly reddening cheek. Soun and
Akane drew back. Ranma tensed at the sound of the slap, but decided it would
be better to keep his eyes shut and hope for the best.

"I can't believe you did this to me!" Kasumi raged, her voice cracking as it
was forced into a higher pitch than it had been in years. "You're an evil,
irresponsible person! You're not my mother! My mother was nice and wonderful
and the best person in the world, and you're nothing like her! You're just a
selfish brat that's only concerned for what she wants and doesn't care about
anyone around you! I hate you I hate you I hate you!!!"

As the last word left her lips, Kasumi seemed to realize what she said, and
who they were directed to. Suddenly, the agony in her skull was dwarfed by
the pain of comprehension of what she had just done. Horror filled her, and
she wished with all her might she could take back what she said.

Sobbing worse than ever, she pleaded, "I'm sorry, Mother. I spoke out of
turn. Please forgive me." Any punishment Kachiko leveled against her
wouldn't make up for the terrible things Kasumi said about her. Just so long
as she wasn't angry with her and reject her. That she couldn't bear.

Kachiko's look of disbelief at the litany of anger directed toward her
vanished. Instead, she began snickering slightly. "You know, this is the
first time since I've met you that I can honestly believe you might be a kid
of mine." She patted Kasumi affectionately on the shoulder. "You're actually
an all right girl. You just need to let it out a little more often. You'll
be happier for it." Kachiko headed for the door.

Amazed at the lack of reaction from Kachiko, everyone simply stared at her,
Kasumi the most shocked of them all. She was so certain her mother would
have punished her endlessly for such disrespect, as she had other times
since her return. Instead, she had condoned the behavior. Why? Why had she
openly endorsed such a terrible and inappropriate thing?

Just as she was about to leave, Kachiko looked over her shoulder and said,
"Oh, by the way, about the little mark on your breast. For your information,
I didn't come up with the idea of getting the matching tattoos. You're the
one that suggested it. You thought it'd be a neat thing for a mother and
daughter to have." And with that she left the room.

All strength left Kasumi's body as she sank to her knees. With that
revelation, some of the haze over her memories parted, and she remembered
her behavior from the previous night. She had acted inappropriately, and not
like a proper girl at all. She had drunk herself into a stupor and behaved
scandalously with men. Many men. She even remembered the inspiration and
talking a reluctant Kachiko into getting tattoos for themselves. It all came
back to her in a rush, sending her mind reeling as she processed all the new
information.

With the return of Kasumi's memories, one important fact came to the
forefront, one that made the others that should have troubled her seem
insignificant. Going out had been fun. More fun than she had experienced in
years. She had worn a smile on her face for so long that her cheeks still
felt tired from the overuse of her facial muscles. She had forgotten how
enjoyable it was interacting with men, something she hadn't done since high
school, when she had gotten more than her share of attention. Dancing had
left her breathless and made more muscles ache, but in a good way. Even the
drinking had produced a fairly pleasing effect, allowing her to cast aside
her usual inhibitions and enjoy herself to the fullest without regard as to
what others would think of her (though judging by the painful aftermath, she
could live with a little less pleasure if it meant a little less pain).

Kasumi looked down again at the tattoo adorning her breast, as thought
seeing it in a different light. It was small, and low enough that no one
would know it was there, save under the most intimate of conditions or in a
public bath. It really was very beautiful work, with details so intricate
she could actually see the feathers. She had always liked blue jays, and
having one pictured on her flesh, even there, wasn't very terrible in and of
itself. While she would not want any others on her body, there wasn't
anything truly bad with having a small one in such an out of the way place.
And if others found its presence scandalous, well, perhaps they should mind
their own business and not worry about how other people appeared to them.

There was one other important factor about the tattoo which assuaged her
concerns. After the first couple of weeks since her mother's return, Kasumi
had felt left out when compared to her sisters. Kachiko enjoyed matching
wits with Nabiki, and she had an interest in martial arts similar to Akane
(as well as an interest in Ranma), but there had been no common ground
between Kasumi and her mother. All attempts at taking care of hearth and
home were met with stiff resistance, and the few times when Kachiko relented
and did so, it was done out of necessity rather than enjoyment. However,
thanks to the tattoos, she now had something in common with her mother. It
made Kasumi feel a touch of pride and joy at the knowledge that there was
now an experience that was shared exclusively between the two of them.

Mood considerably brighter, Kasumi excused the others as she began removing
her clothing once again and prepared to clean herself off, humming
pleasantly as she stared at the new addition to her breast. Maybe it was
good to be alive after all.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

[END NOTES] Yes, the hypnotist uses the same dialogue as the Ghost Clown
from the 'Foul Play in Funland' episode. What can I say? It was a classic
line. ^_^]

Special thanks to:

Fido for the 'mother and daughter bondage line
Eternal Lost Lurker
Michael Chase
Chris Horton
The Apprentice
David Tai



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