“Honestly, Daddy. You’d think you were in a fight with a demon or something.” Nabiki smirked, sitting alongside her father’s tatami mat on the floor.
Soun groaned. “Well, when you get to be my age, something simple like sweeping the sidewalk will hurt your back, too! Have pity on an old man, Nabiki.”
Nabiki waved her hand dismissively, sipping at her tea. “Oh, no, Daddy. By the time I’m your age, I’ll have plenty of servants to handle those kinds of things. With me getting a cut of everything Ranko does now? I’m gonna be sitting pretty by the time I’m thirty.”
As she spoke, Nabiki’s elder sister stepped into the room. “Alright, Father. I just spoke with Dr. Tofu, and he said he will be here just as soon as he can to fix you right up! In the meantime, can I get you an ice pack or anything?”
The Tendo patriarch nodded. “Oh, Kasumi, thank you. Yes, some ice and some aspirin would be lovely.”
With a smile and a nod, Kasumi flitted back toward the bedroom door. “Of course. Right away, Father.” She stepped into the large bathroom on the first floor, opening the medicine cabinet and withdrawing the bottle of aspirin. She took four pills out of the childproof bottle and clenched them in her fist. As she turned to exit the bathroom, however, she heard the sound of movement as someone splashed into the bathtub through the open window. With a shriek, she dropped the pills, whirling to face the sound. Oh no! An intruder! And with Father unable to fight, what are Nabiki and I going to do?
Rising from the steaming water came the figure of Genma Saotome, groaning in some combination of relief and pain. He stood in the bathing tub, wrapping himself around the waist with a fluffy sky-blue towel. “Hello, Kasumi,” he said with a low growl, without moving his mouth. Upon closer inspection, the eldest of Soun Tendo’s daughters noticed that their erstwhile houseguest’s jaw appeared to be wired shut.
“Mr. Saotome! I… didn’t expect to see you back here.” Kasumi backed up slowly.
“Why not,” he grumbled through clenched teeth. “I live here.”
Kasumi emitted a little hmmph, snatching the bottle of aspirin back into her hand from the tile countertop. “Please get dressed. I must tend to Father.” She stepped out of the bathroom, delivering the medication to Soun.
“Did you get lost, Kasumi?” Nabiki smirked, flipping through a manga book idly at her father’s bedside.
“No,” she said, sounding somewhat flustered. “Mr. Saotome is here.”
Nabiki put her book aside, standing. “Oh, is he, now?” There was an angry look about her. Son of a bitch thinks he can just stroll back in here after what he did to Ranko? Oh, no no no.
“Nabiki,” Soun moaned from his bed. “Please try to remember, he is my oldest friend.”
The second-oldest of Soun Tendo’s daughters shook her head. “I don’t give a damn who he is. You know Akane and Ranko won’t set foot in this house as long as he’s here, and I don’t blame them. What does that say about your support of Ranko if you continue to cover for someone who tried to kidnap her and beat the snot out of her? I know you’ve never had the spine to stand up for your daughters to your master, but Panda Boy? Surely you can find the strength to deal with him for your girls’ sake, Daddy.”
Soun signed, groaning as he tried to roll over on his bed to face his daughter. “While we may not agree with his choices, Ranko is his daughter, and he has a right as her father to treat her as he sees fit. It’s not up to us to interfere.”
Kasumi stomped her foot hard on the wooden floor, startling Soun. “No, Father.”
“Excuse me, Kasumi?” Soun tried to sit up, groaning and collapsing back to his bed. Where has this defiant streak come from?
Kasumi shook her head. I’m sorry, Father, for disrespecting you, but someone has to say it.
“Ranko is not his daughter. He has never accepted her, and any right he had to her, he gave up a long time ago. He doesn’t deserve her. And besides, you told Ranko she could call you Father, didn’t you? Will you not stand up for her? Even against a friend? You promised Mother that you would protect your daughters, and that includes Ranko now.”
Soun sighed, lowering his head back to the mat on the floor. “It’s not that easy, Kasumi. Saotome and I, we’ve known each other for decades. We’re like brothers. Inseparable. You understand, don’t you?”
Nabiki nodded with a smirk. “Oh, absolutely.” She turned to Kasumi. “Daddy’s right. Siblings do have a responsibility to stand up for each other, always.”
Kasumi gasped. “Nabiki Tendo! I’m surprised at you, taking his si…” She stopped talking as Nabiki’s dark grin turned to their father and the younger sibling crossed her arms across her khaki vest. Oh. This is one of those things you do where you outsmart everybody. Okay, little sister. I’ll play along.
“Thank you, Nabiki. I’m glad someone still sees sense around here.” Soun grinned from his bedroll. Dodged a bullet there. “You always were the practical one, honey.”
Nabiki leaned against the back wall of the bedroom at Kasumi’s side. “So, you agree. Good. In that case, Daddy, you should know that Kasumi and I are going to follow your example, and stick by our sisters. As I’m sure you know, I’ve been covering most of the bills here for months, and one of my main revenue streams these days is the music career of my little sister Ranko. So, as long as that prick of a panda is under this roof, I won’t spend another yen of her money to support his freeloading ass while he plans his next abuse of her. So, if he stays, I hope you have another plan for income, because the bank is closed.”
The eldest Tendo girl nodded. “Exactly. And I will… I will… I will stop cooking! Mother always said that you can’t cook without love, and… I do not love that man! Not after what he did to poor Ranko! I won’t make him so much as a rice ball! And… I won’t do his laundry, either!”
Nabiki chuckled. “Well, look at you living dangerously, big sister Kasumi.”
“Hmmph!” Kasumi put her hands on her hips defiantly, the look somewhat betrayed by the frilly white apron she wore with the little ducklings embroidered across the chest. “I know, it’s not very proper, Father, and I’m truly sorry, but I have to put my foot down! For Ranko’s sake, and Akane’s!”
The younger girl laughed. “Look out, Daddy. We’ve got a badass over here!” She held her palms up in the air with a shake of her head and a smile. She’s adorable, but she’s trying to play tough, and it’s just not in her blood.
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“But, girls,” Soun pleaded, sitting up only slightly. “I can’t just throw him out! I just can’t face him and do that. Not after all we’ve been through together.”
Kasumi nodded resolutely. “Then I will tell him.”
Nabiki grinned up at her sister. “Makes sense to me. I mean, you practically are the head of household around here anyway.” She put her arm around Kasumi’s shoulders. “C’mon. I’ll back you up.” As they walked down the hall, Nabiki whispered under her breath, hoping her words were out of her father’s earshot. “While we’re at it, you think we could get rid of the freaky old man, too?”
The pair entered the kitchen, finding Ranko’s father in his trademark beige gi, raiding the refrigerator.
“So, Mr. Saotome,” Kasumi began, folding her hands nervously at her waist. “We need to talk about Ranko.”
The aging martial artist turned with a sigh, having not found anything he could easily consume with his still-shattered jaw. “What makes you think I want to talk about that ungrateful boy,” he growled through his unmoving mouth.
“I…” Kasumi swallowed hard, circling around the kitchen toward the sink. Confrontation was a lot harder when it wasn’t imaginary. “We don’t approve of the way you treated her.” Basically, ever since she was born.
The old man shrugged. “He’s my son, and it’s my business how I deal with him.”
With a heavy sigh and a deep eye roll, Nabiki groaned. “You just refuse to get it, don’t you? You really expect us to sit by while you attack our sister?”
Genma scoffed. “Akane wasn’t even there. I deliberately waited to talk to Ranma until she wasn’t around to make sure she wouldn’t be involved.” Because she’d probably have kicked my ass again.
Nabiki smirked maliciously. “No, Saotome. Our other sister. I’d hoped her having broken your jaw would have prevented at least some of the poisonous bullshit from leaking out of your mouth, but I guess a girl can only be so lucky.”
Kasumi nodded. “That’s right. Ranko and Akane will be getting married in July, and she is going to be a part of our family. And that’s going to be a problem as long as they can’t come here to visit without having to deal with you.”
Getting married in July, huh? That should be interesting, Ranma. Genma started to rub his chin, but stopped as he realized it hurt quite badly to do so.
“Ranma can’t get married like that. You know it. Not unless I find him a husband, which I suppose I could do, now that I think of it. He is pretty famous now, after all…”
The eldest of Soun Tendo’s daughters stomped her foot on the wooden floor again, clenching her apron in two tight fists her sides. “Stop calling her that! She is a woman now, her name is Ranko, and she is not yours anymore!”
Nabiki hopped up and rested her backside on the kitchen counter, crossing her ankles with a confident expression. “So here’s the deal, panda man. You’ve already kicked the can with Nodoka down the road as long as you can. She’ll be showing up again any day now. And when she does, if you’re still here, we’re gonna tell her everything. The curses, how you treated Ranko, all of it. We’re done covering for you.”
Nabiki glared up at her youngest sister’s tormentor with a matter-of-fact, no-nonsense apathy in her eyes that made her position clear. It was her business face, and when she wore it, whoever she was looking at tended not to have much chance to get their way. “If I were you, I’d pack your shit while you still have your balls.”
Kasumi nodded in assent. “I’m sorry, Mr. Saotome, but we can’t have you stay here anymore. You have forced us to choose, and we choose Ranko and Akane.”
Genma scoffed dismissively, his eye roll displaying what emotion his pulverized jaw could not. “You can’t do that even if you wanted to. This is your father’s house, Kasumi, not yours.”
Nabiki laughed loudly, sipping at a can of orange soda. “Please. Kasumi’s been the head of this household since she was fourteen, and everybody knows it, even Daddy.”
His confident glare morphed into one of worry. “Where is your father? I’ll deal with this with him. Tendo? Where are you?”
Kasumi stepped between the old man and the door separating the kitchen and dining room, blocking his path. “I really am sorry, Mr. Saotome, but the decision is final. You need to go. Today. Please get your things.”
“I… you’re serious, aren’t you?” He swallowed hard. What am I gonna do?
Kasumi nodded firmly, planting her feet. Don’t let his sad face shake you. Be strong, Kasumi. For Ranko. Like Mother would, if she was fighting for one of us girls. She put one hand on the door jamb, blocking the path with her arm. “Unlike some people, we Tendos stand up for our family.”
He swallowed as hard as he could with his maimed mouth. “If that’s the way you want it. I’ll get my stuff.” Fuck. This is bad, but I don’t need to let it show. I’ll camp out for a day or two, and Tendo will cave. He always does.
Akane’s eldest sister stepped out of the doorway to allow him to pass, watching him intently as he entered the guest room he once shared with Ranma and began to stuff his meager belongings into his traveling rucksack. As he gathered his few outfits, Genma glared at the dresses his son had left in their shared closet when he’d fled the Tendo residence a year and a half ago. You did this to me, you stupid girl. This is all your fault.
He rolled his bedroll tightly and strapped it to the top of his large brown travel backpack, shouldering its weight with a grunt. “Alright, I guess I’ll be off, then.”
Nabiki nodded. “I’ll walk you out.” Mostly, to make sure you don’t pocket anything on the way out the door. She escorted him through the dining room and out the sliding side door into the yard. “Goodbye,” she spat at him as he skulked toward the front gate. And good riddance.
As the aging martial artist opened the gate in the outer wall, he came face to face with Dr. Tofu Ono. The chiropractor looked up at him with a smile. “Mr. Saotome! How are you?”
The brunette standing on the porch crossed her arms over her chest. “Genma was just leaving, Doctor. Daddy’s in here,” Nabiki called out.
With a baleful expression, Genma Saotome slinked out the gate and started trudging along the sidewalk.
Nabiki led the young chiropractor into the house, grinning broadly when her eyes met her sister’s. “Kasumi, you were amazing! Damn, girl!”
The doctor gulped at the sight of the object of his desire. “K… Kasumi!” His eyes glazed over, and he dropped his black leather bag on the floor reflexively.
Kasumi blushed, allowing the tinges of a prideful smile to tease up the corners of her lips. I did it. I stood my ground, for my family. It was scary, and I had to be a little rude and forceful, but I did it. Mother, you’d be so proud of me.
As Nabiki dragged Dr. Tofu into her father’s room by the belt of his black gi, her tiny smile widened into a confident grin. I can go after what I want after all. I am strong enough.
Kasumi slipped into the bedroom behind the doctor and her sister, waiting silently behind the young clinician for a break in his examination before interrupting him with a tap on his shoulder. “Um, Doctor Tofu?”
Soun lifted his head from his pillow when his daughter entered the room, a look of panic on his face. “Oh, no…”
“Y…yes?” The doctor stood and turned his head to his left, and as soon as he did, Kasumi’s lips made contact with his.
From just over a block away, Genma could have sworn he heard his boyhood friend scream.