#include BTLS Productions Presents Tangled Weave -- Prologue OR Ranma 1/2 Volume 39, Part One Kasumi leaned out of the kitchen, holding a small tray. "Akane, would you carry this tea out to Saotome-san please?" Akane nodded and took the tray from her, carrying it out to the table. She kneeled down and poured, offering one to Ranma's mother, and taking one for herself. Out in the garden, mostly in mid-air over the pond, her fiancé and soon to be father-in-law sparred. True, Ranma still hadn't admitted his feelings verbally, but he would soon enough. Akane turned to look at Nodoka, and held back a small sigh. For just one moment, her heart wished that Nodoka could have been her mother. The moment passed, and she smiled to herself. Patience, and she'd have a mother again. In truth, she wouldn't want anything to be different at all. Wishes of the heart don't often come true. Which is a good thing, because you should always be careful what you wish for. While Akane's wish wouldn't change anything for her, it might be interesting to see how things could have been. -- End Prologue Started: 8/20/2001 Last Revised: 8/22/2001 #include "Tendo-san, your mail is here!" The postcard was short. Bringing Ranma from China. Saotome. Soun wiped the tears from his face. "Ranma, at last." BTLS Productions Presents Tangled Weave -- Chapter One OR First Thread Soun knocked on his daughter's door softly, then opened it enough to speak to the occupant without looking in. "Kasumi-chan, could you come downstairs for a few minutes?" Two bloodshot eyes crept open as a tousled head slid out from under the covers. "Be down in a minute, father." She slid all the way out as the door closed, and yawned. "Ugh. It's still morning, and I'm supposed to be awake already?" The door to the dojo slid open almost unnoticed by the occupants. Soun watched proudly as his two younger daughters sparred. "Nabiki-chan, Akane-chan, I have an announcement to make. It should only take a moment." The two girls, dressed in nearly identical karate gi, paused. The slightly shorter one tossed back her long hair and sighed. "I almost had you that time, too." Nabiki laughed, and skipped towards the door. "Maybe tomorrow, little sister." His last stop was the kitchen, where he poked his head through the doorway to speak to the woman with whom he had shared eighteen years of his life. "Nodoka-chan, could I interrupt you for one moment?" Nodoka turned off the burner, and wiped her hands on the apron. "Of course, dear." A traditional wife was always there to support her husband, she told herself. "Yes, the son of a very good friend of mine. His name is Ranma Saotome." ***** Kasumi rubbed her forehead, trying to ignore her pounding headache. Father had called them all down to announce he'd made an agreement for an arranged marriage. Nabiki had most vocally protested, despite Kasumi's pleading for less noise. With a rather ironic sense of timing, Ranma had arrived just as he'd finished telling them he'd never met the boy. So of course, Ranma had turned out to be a rather cute girl. With a pet panda, no less. Father had passed out from the shock. What was even more unusual was that when Mother had invited them in, the panda had fallen unconscious as well. Thankfully, Nabiki had taken their new guest out to the dojo, Akane following along behind. She hadn't noticed when, but at some point, the panda had wandered off too. Hopefully it was house-broken. She sighed softly, and headed for the bath, passing by a restored Genma without even being aware of it. [Include description of Kasumi somewhere in here.] Genma knelt down beside his old friend, and looked up to see the shock in Nodoka's eyes. He crossed his arms, and softly asked, "Then, Akane...?" Nodoka nodded, stunned. "But Ranma, I thought..." Genma grimaced. "I know. I can explain." Nabiki pulled her fist out of the wall, and after a moment, was able to join Ranma's nervous laugh. She tried to ignore Akane fighting tears from laughing so hard. Honestly, who could have expected her to jump over Nabiki's head? She tighted her belt, and headed for the door with as much dignity as possible, tossing back over her shoulder a final comment, "I'm just glad you're a girl. I'd hate to lose to a boy." Ranma looked to Akane for an explanation as the door slid shut again. "Oh, don't mind her! She's just really proud of her skills and hates to lose." Akane smiled. "I'm Akane. Would you like to be friends?" Ranma nodded uncertainly. The sound of wood shattering in the dojo woke up the sleeping father of three, who was overjoyed to see his good friend after so long. By nature oblivious, he never saw the subtle tension in Genma's face. By the time Genma had finished his tale, he could see nothing through the tears. Not even his own wife, sobbing silently beside him. He certainly never noticed his middle daughter poking her head in the room, then leaving without saying a word. Nodoka dried her tears on her apron, thinking carefully. Promises must be kept, honor demanded it. She could not allow the errors of her past to interfere. Nabiki dropped her clean clothing on the table in the outer room, selected to irritate her mother, lime green short shorts, and a midriff baring top. She washed quickly, and slipped into the bath with her elder sister. "Kasumi, who was that man talking to mother and father? I've never seen him before." Kasumi pried open one eye and shrugged as minimally as possible. ***** Kasumi could feel her headache returning. It wasn't her fault. She was simply trying to be polite to their guest by offering the bath. It was all Nabiki's fault, sending Akane in right afterwards. So when Akane walked in on that strange boy in the bath, and came out screaming, who could blame poor Kasumi? Naturally, the entire story came out after that. The trip to China and the curse, which mother seemed to take very personally. In his defense, the panda revealed the guide book. Written entirely in Chinese. She took a glance at Nabiki, who was nearly as quiet as herself while Akane and her mother berated the panda for his stupidity. Quiet and angry, and by the direction of her glare, angry at Ranma. It did seem odd. After all, it was Akane he saw naked. Yet Akane didn't seem angry at Ranma, just his father. Her father? Whichever it was. She could feel her temples throbbing again. Kasumi turned a speculative eye towards the two. Yes, if you ignored how incredibly young he was, he was rather cute. And since he had been getting out of the bath at the time... Maybe Akane knew something she didn't. Akane had certainly seen something Kasumi hadn't. "Well then, your problem's not so bad!" Soun gestured to his three daughters. "My daughter Kasumi, age nineteen. Nabiki, age seventeen, and Akane, age sixteen. Pick whichever you..." Nodoka spoke up, cutting off any possible discussion. "He chooses Kasumi." After a moment, Soun carefully responded. "Dear, wouldn't Akane or Nabiki be a better choice? They are both martial artists, after all." He then withered back under the forceful glare of his wife. "Yes, which is why Kasumi is the only choice.¨ The daughter being discussed though, was paying more attention to the looks passing between her youngest sister and the boy in question. His face clearly said that he wanted it to have been Akane, and her face said she wanted the same thing. Kasumi smiled to herself. Mother's plan to turn Kasumi into a traditional housewife was doomed from the start as long as little sister Akane was around. She tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear Ranma's father speak up in support of Kasumi being chosen. "Hahaha! Come Tendo, a mother always knows best. Break out the sake and let's celebrate!" Kasumi sighed. She'd fought every other attempt by her mother to make her the perfect traditional wife, and she'd fight this one as well. At no point during that evening was anyone hit with a table. It wasn't until hours later that Kasumi realized the true horror of being engaged. No more dating. It was nearly enough to sober her as she stumbled into bed early the next morning. This was going to put a serious crimp in her social life. -- End Chapter One Started: 8/20/2001 Last Revised: 8/22/2001