Akane awoke to the loud noise of her alarm clock, rolling over, raised
her arm. Slam. The alarm clock is history. She cracked open her left
eye to see the remains of the clock. “Damn, now I’ll have
to get another one,” she said. Then Akane groaned and sat up while
stretching her sore body. “Boy what a night, I can’t believe
the nightmare I had. That must have been the scariest thing I’ve
ever dreamed up. Kuno tried to kiss me. Yuck!” Yawn. Akane then
looks at the face of the dead clock and sees that she is one hour late.
“Oh boy, I’m late!” She quickly jumped out of bed and
starts getting dressed for travel. Akane opened her closet and grabbed
a yellow top, jeans and hiking boots, which she hurriedly donned. Opening
the door she ran down the stairs. When she walks into the family room/dining
room she notices no one is around. Akane heard a noise coming from the
kitchen and heads in that direction. When she looks at the clock it
reads 5 am. Her jaw hits the floor.
“Good morning Akane, It’s nice to see
you up so early,” Kasumi said.
“B. . .but Kasumi, I had my alarm clock
set for 5:30,” Akane stammered.
“Oh, well I changed the time to you could
get up earlier. I just know how much you would like to make something
for Ranma to eat,” Kasumi said.
“Gee, that’s very thoughtful of you Kasumi, but if I make
something for the trip, Ranma will get sick and we can’t go,”
Akane replied as she chewed on her lower lip.
“Akane, How are you in chemistry class?”
Kasumi asked.
“Ok, I got all A’s this year. But what
has chemistry got to do with my cooking?” Akane said with a puzzled
expression on her face.
Kasumi sighed, then steeled her expression into one of thoughtfulness.
“Akane, cooking is exactly like chemistry. You have to gather the
supplies first, measure them exactly and then watch them,” Kasumi
said, then noticing the confused look on Akane’s face and tried
a different tactic.
"Akane, what happens when you add something
that doesn’t belong in an experiment?” Kasumi asked.
“Well, I did that once and we had a really
big explo. . ., Oh, I see. So instead of an explosion, people will get
sick if I don’t add the right stuff. Right?” Akane said.
“Yes, that is exactly what I’ve been
trying to teach you. You have to go slowly and add the right things
when your cooking or the food will be bad. The most important thing
is the taste. Have you ever tasted your cooking Akane?” Kasumi
smiled.
“Yes, do you remember when I was sick about
three weeks ago.” Kasumi nodded. “Well, I kept wondering why
Ranma and everyone ran away when I cooked. I passed out when I tried
it, and when I woke up I threw away the food. When I still didn’t
feel well I went to bed. I didn’t want anyone to know that I had
tried my own food. I don’t think I’m up to cooking by myself
just yet,” Akane whispered as she stared at the floor.
“That’s alright Akane, I’ll be
right here. If you are up to it I’ll show you how to cook. Just
take your time and watch what you’re adding. Make sure you read
the labels first,” Kasumi replied as she put her hand on Akane’s
shoulder in a comforting gesture.
“Ok, I’ll try. But no one will eat
it if they know I cooked it,” Akane replied.
“Then we won’t tell them. Now if it
tastes good we will serve it but if it doesn’t we’ll try to
fix it, or throw it away. Is that alright with you?” Kasumi asked.
“Yes, lets start now,” Akane said while
her face lit up in excitement. I can’t wait to see the expressions
on their faces when they find out I cooked it!”
“Ok, now first you need to...” Kasumi
said.
*************************************************
1 hour later.
“Good morning everyone,” Ranma said as he sat down at the
table. - glancing around - “Hey where’s Akane?”
“She went to wash up before breakfast, she’ll
be down in a minute,” Kasumi replied.
“Son, you will take good care of my daughter
or else,” Soun said as he glanced in Ranma’s direction.
Ranma noticed Soun’s stern expression placed
his hand behind his head in a nervous gesture while laughing. “Don’t
worry Mr. Tendo I..”
“Daddy, I can take care of myself!”
Akane interrupted as she walked into the room while nervously eyeing
everyone’s plates. “Oh please, oh please”, she chanted
to herself when she saw that everyone had their plates filled with the
scrambled eggs that she had made this morning. When Ranma lifted a piece
to his mouth, chewed, and swallowed it without twitching and falling
to the floor, Akane did a little victory dance inside her head. She
looked around the table as she sat down, saw everyone eating the breakfast
that she had prepared, and smiled.
“Kasumi?” Ranma asked when he finished
his third portion of eggs.
“Yes Ranma-kun,” Kasumi replied.
“Um...did you make this, um, not that I’m
complaining or nothin, but it tasted a bit different than usual,”
he said.
“Oh? Really," she looked around to
see everyone’s plate clean and nothing is left of the entire meal.
"That’s because I didn’t cook breakfast this morning,”
Kasumi stated.
“Mom? Did you make this?” Ranma asked as he glanced in his
mothers direction.
“Oh, no dear, I didn’t make breakfast
this morning,” Noduka replied.
“Ranma? Wasn’t it delicious?”
Kasumi asked him.
“Oh it wasn’t bad, although I really
can’t figure out the aftertaste. A…Akane did you make breakfast
this morning?” Ranma asked again while getting ready to bolt towards
the bathroom. Soun and Genma looked pleadingly at the bathroom door
and most importantly at the open cabinet where they thought the anti
acid pills were stored. Nabiki noticed this and gave them an evil grin
while holding up the bottle.
“Is this what your looking for?” she
asked them.
Both fathers see that she is holding the anti
acid pill bottle and crawled towards her with pleading expressions on
their faces. “Nabiki, you won't let your father die will you?”
“Yes, please Nabiki-chan, hurry and give
us the bottle before the poison kicks in,” Genma pleaded.
“That will be 5,000 yen a pill and 50,000
thousand for the bottle, gentlemen,” She said while raising her
eyebrows and grinning like a shark.
“NABIKI!” Kasumi huffed at her then
turned, looking at the two men. “Father, Uncle Saotome, there is
no reason for you to do that. I supervised the whole time,” Kasumi
said while looking in Nabiki’s direction with a frown on her face.
“Aww, Kasumi, I was just about to make a
deal and you spoiled it. All that money,” she moaned quietly to
herself. “Gone.”
“Why yes, I did,” Akane said with a
glint in her eye. “If he insults my cooking again I’ll...I’ll
punt him into next week!” she thought to herself.
Gulp. Ranma saw the expression in her eyes and
decided that tact is the best option. Besides, it was good. But just
a little bit spicy though. He then remembered what that odd taste was.
“Um, not bad Akane, but next time don’t add curry powder to
it. I like my food spicy an all, but not my eggs,” he said.
Akane for the most part was too far-gone when
she heard Ranma complement her on the eggs that she didn’t hear
the second half of the comment. “Oh, wow he really liked it. I
actually made something that someone liked,” Akane thought to herself
while staring off into space with a slight smile on her lips.
“Ranma, Akane its time to go or we will
miss the train. Genma please hurry up dear and gather the camping equipment.
I will meet you at the gates. -Looked over at Akane- Oh dear, Ranma
I think you will have to snap her out of it. Akane looks like she’s
in shock, but it must be a pleasant kind of shock judging from the smile
on her face,” Noduka stated.
Ranma saw her vacant expression-gets up-walks
over to her- waves his hand in front of her eyes to snap her out of
it. “Akane. . . Akane! Yo snap out of it!” *no response* “Akane!
We gotta go now or well miss the train.”
Still no response.
“Hey Ranma, why don’t you give her
a kiss to snap her out of it,” Nabiki suggested.
“Urk! NABIKI! Why would I want to kiss an
uncute tomboy like her!”
Ranma’s eyes widen when he just realized what he just said. In
the vastness of his brain we can see the little electrical impulses
going from Ranma’s brain to his mouth. The communication is short
but to the point. “Brain to mouth did you just say that? Mouth
to brain- “Yes I said that!” Brain to mouth -“Way to
go stupid!” Ranma sees Akane snap her head in his direction. Her
eyes narrow. Ranma can just make out the faintest traces of her battle
aurora. -Brain and mouth at the same time- “OH SHIT!”
“Ranma, NO BAKA!” Akane yelled as she
picked up the dining room table - WAM! - and slammed it onto his head.
“. . .” was Ranma’s reply.
“Oh my. Akane I think you should wait next
time until we clear the table first before you hit Ranma with it,”
Kasumi said.
“Humph!” Akane glared at the still
form under the table. Then turned and walked out of the room to get
her gear.
With a serene smile on her face Kasumi looks at Ranma’s unconscious
form. With the table still on top of him she can barely hear his pained
protests.
“Uncute,” he groaned while his body
twitched in pain.
“The coast is clear Ranma, Akane has gone
to get her stuff,” Kasumi informed him. With a surprising show
of strength she lifts the table off of him with one hand. Placing the
table in its proper place she turns back towards Ranma as he is just
picking himself up off the floor.
“Ranma you have to be careful of what you
say next time or Akane will keep getting angry with you,” Kasumi
said while frowning.
Ranma sees Kasumi’s expression and is sufficiently
cowed enough to apologize. “I’m sorry Kasumi, but Nabiki surprised
me, that’s all.”
“Ranma, you shouldn’t apologize to me, you should be apologizing
to Akane,” Kasumi replied.
“I know, but, I think I’ll wait until
she calms down a bit first. Otherwise I’ll be taking a one way
trip via air Akane to the mountains,” he said.
Kasumi giggles. “Oh my, Akane sure is strong
isn’t she?”
“Yeah, you wouldn’t believe the places
I’ve landed in the past two years,” he drawled -smiling-while
putting his hand to the back of his head in a nervous gesture.
“Actually Ranma, I’ve been watching
you two for the past two years and I think I’ve become a pretty
good judge of how far she mallets you. There was that time that you
landed at Tokyo University.
“. . .” was Ranma’s reply as his
jaw hit the floor. “How could she know where I landed that time?
Ranma came back to himself just as he heard the next comment.
“Why, just before Jusendo she hit you all
the way to Juban. She must have been really angry then. Of course what
you said to her was not nice,” Kasumi continued oblivious to Ranma’s
surprised expression.
Kasumi looked at Ranma’s face, covering
the smile that tried to peek though, with her hand she winked at him.
“You better get going Ranma or they will leave without you,”
she said.
“Yeah,” Ranma said as he nodded his
head. Then smiled as he turned and dashed up the stairs to get his pack.
Five minutes later he came running down the stairs with Akane in tow.
Then both of them ran out the door to meet Ranma’s parents.
*********************************************
Kasumi was standing next to his mother deep
in conversation. The subject consisted of the merits of how to cook
a proper camp meal.
Ranma and Akane walk up just in time to hear the tail end of the conversation.
“. . . Oh that is a good idea. I’ll
be sure to add that when I’m cooking the fish. Oh and Kasumi dear,
please don’t tell the other girls where we are going,” Noduka
said.
“Yes auntie. I won’t tell them at all.
I will make sure that Nabiki doesn’t as well,” Kasumi replied.
“That’s good dear. Ranma, Akane it's
time to go now. Do you have everything that you need?” Noduka asked
them.
“Yes,” they both replied while nodding
their heads.
“Good, now lets go,” Noduka said as
she walks out of the gate and down the street. Ranma, Akane and Genma
not too far behind, wave goodbye to the rest of the family as they hurry
to catch up with her.
“Have a good time everyone!” Kasumi waved as she watched them
walk out the gates and disappear around a corner.
“AKANE! WHERE’S MY BABY!” Soun
wailed as he ran out of the house to try and catch them before they
leave.
“Father, calm down, you just missed them,
they left two minutes ago. Come inside and I’ll make you some tea
to calm you down,” Kasumi said as she places her arm around her
father’s shoulder- leading him into the house while he is sill
in mid wail.
“Oh. . . Akaneeee, you didn’t say
goodbye to your own father!” Soun wailed, his tear ducts outperforming
any of his previous crying jags and starting to form a small lake in
the middle of the living room.
“Nabiki, can you get me father’s special
tea please,” Kasumi asked with a small smile on her face.
“Which one Kasumi?” Nabiki said.
“You know, the one in the red container,”
Kasumi said with a devilish glint in her eye.
“OOOOOHH!” Nabiki replied-eyes widening
and a smirk appeared on her face. “That one! Ok, got it.”
Nabiki walked out of the room and enters the kitchen laughing quietly
to herself. “Heh, dad will never know what hit him when his medicine
takes effect. It’s better than having him flood the house though.”
Nabiki grabbed the canister and a teakettle
off the stove along with a cup and carried them into the living room.
As she enters, she saw Kasumi running around with buckets and towels
to clean up the flood. The buckets she places directly under the streams
of tears as they fall to the floor. The towels go towards soaking up
the already flooded room.
“Here you go Kasumi,” Nabiki told
her sister as she handed her the steaming kettle, tea and the cup.
“Thank you Nabiki,” Kasumi replied
as she prepares the tea. “Here you go father, here is your tea,”
she said as she placed the cup in front of him.
Soun’s wailing dropped down to sniffles
long enough to drink the tea. Thank you Kasumi. Sniff. Sniff. “That
was a good cup of tea,” he said.
“Oh, it was nothing. Father I think you
should go lay down now,” Kasumi suggested in a soothing tone of
voice.
No response.
“Father. . . Father?” Kasumi turned
around to see her father fast asleep.
“ZZZzzzzzzz.” Was Soun’s only response.
“Oh, my. I think I put too much sleeping
powder in it this time,” Kasumi exclaimed while putting a hand
over her mouth to hid her grin.
“Gee Kasumi, you think so?” Nabiki sarcastically drawled.
******************************************************************