Ranma Fanfiction: Meeting Later 14

Chapter 14

Akane rolled her eyes as Kasumi heaped food on her brand new fiancés plate. Her eldest sister had been rather cold with Ranma after Nabiki spilled the beans earlier before he arrived, but after he stated he was holding to that stupid promise, her too proper sister changed her tune.

Receiving her own plate, Akane waited for her father to call thank you for the meal to begin eating, she considered ruefully how it wasn’t really a stupid promise, after all if he had been sleeping with any one of his other fiancées, she probably wouldn’t have ever gotten so close to him. As her eyes glanced at his profile, watching his lips move as he thanked Kasumi, she sighed in frustration.

With a few prods, Soun finally called “itadakimasu”, and the meal began, Ranma eating slowly as his mother glared, Akane tempted to giggle at his holding back. Fortunately, Genma was so inebriated that his efforts to eat faster were too erratic to make a difference other than to Soun’s plate, the nearest in reach. Not that that stopped his wife from jabbing him sharply in the upper chest occasionally with her free hand. The patriarch of the family didn’t notice, forgetting to eat with a happy smile as he sipped more of the high grade sake the Saotome’s had brought as an engagement gift. At least he had stopped crying.

With a hiccup, the elder widow reached for the sake bottle to refill, only to push it over with fumbling fingers, the contents pouring quickly across the table. In almost synchronized movements, Ranma dove back from his seat, while Genma leaned enough to put his cup where the liquid poured off the table.

Nabiki looked mildly impressed at the old drunk’s skill, Nodoka less so automatically moving to help Kasumi clean up. Ranma, red faced as she realized he dodged a hot liquid unlikely to trigger his curse, quickly returned to his seat, poking his tongue out at Akane childishly when she sighed in amusement at his antics.

“Enough with the sighs and goo goo eyes, it’s embarrassing,” Nabiki hissed in Akane’s ear, snapping the girl to sit up, blushing red. Nodding quickly to her sister, Akane tried to hide further embarrassment by quickly eating, finishing her plate when the wall clock chimed six o’clock, coinciding with a knock at the door. Eager to escape the table and Nabiki’s infuriating grin, she jumped up.

”I’ll get it,” she stated, excusing herself quickly. Going down the hall and opening the door, her heart sank as she realized that the embarrassment of the day wasn’t over yet.

At the door, two very different women broke from glaring at each other to smile at her. “Congratulations!” they cried at the same time, both moving to give her a hug, stopping just short of jamming each other in the doorway.

”Ms Hinako, Mrs Miyakoji, please, come in?” Akane said reluctantly, aware of the cool winter night outside in the open doorway. “We were just finishing dinner.”

Quickly removing their shoes, the women, apparently in mutual truce, moved to follow Akane back into the house.



Bowing respectfully at the two families, just clearing the table after dinner, Shika Miyakoji put on an air of slight embarrassment. “I was just passing by and wanted to congratulate Akane for her new engagement. Soun-chan has been so looking forward to this day.”

Nodoka eyed the trim woman, still holding much of the beauty that made her a five consecutive year Miss Tea Ceremony winner. A couple years her elder, Shika didn’t look it, and with her use of such a familiar name towards the Tendo patriarch, in front of her rival, irritated Nodoka as childish like her son’s pursuers.

Unfortunately, at least Shika was wearing a beautiful quality kimono of floral print with her brown hair carefully bound on her head, the much younger Hinako Ninyomia instantly earned Nodoka’s dislike by being far from traditionally sedate. On her tall and curvy, the educator’s little black dress would have been tasteful a size bigger without so much lace exposed around the edges, her efforts blatant as she bowed as well, letting her generous cleavage work as her dark hair fell like a shimmering curtain from her shoulder.

Automatically Nodoka’s hand jabbed out again at Genma’s chest, jarring his eyes back from leering, Nodoka’s eyes on the items both women held, especially the strange glass fishbowl atop Hinako’s palm.

The statuesque woman smiled demurely, tipping her eyes to the still seated Tendo patriache. “I too dropped by to congratulate Akane on her engagement, but also descided to help with this busy transition, coming to get her new fiancés details to help him be ready for school tomorrow.”

Kasumi gave her sister Nabiki an inquisitive glare, wondering how much the middle daughter had taken in cash from Hinako to help set that excuse up, not that it was relevant as the inebriated Soun quickly invited the women to join them.

”Please,” Shika asked, “Allow me to make a tea to celebrate this occasion?”

Before anyone could agree, or in Genma’s case disagree to any change in the alcohol content of his beverages, Hinako brought forth a glass bottle, the cork wrapped in gold foil. “Tea would be nice, but I rather thought champagne was more fitting for such a happy occasion.”