Silly
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by Florencio B. de la Merced, Jr. (fmerced@pworld.net.ph)

A Fanfic inspired by the anime Ranma 1/2 created and copyrighted by Rumiko
Takahashi
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Part 3


Everything looked quite normal at the Tendo dojo that morning.  Nabiki,
though expressionless and quite immersed at the novel she's reading, was
still sitting out on the porch overlooking the koi pond.  Kasumi, the
eldest of the three Tendo sisters was, as she always does on laundry days,
hanging some clothes and linen up the clothesline.  Soun Tendo and his
best friend, the panda-ish Genma Saotome were busy in another one of there
unforgiving and unending game of shogi.  Things looked right in the world.


"Haah!  I win again, Saotome."  Soun exclaimed another triumph over Genma,
as the old panda could only feel his head in frustration.  "Shall we play
another?"  Genma reached for a wooden board lying on one side of the
gameboard and raised it to Soun delight.  "This time you can go first."


"Oh, father.  Have you seen Akane this morning?"  Kasumi lifted the empty
basket off the ground and was on her way back to get the next load.  "Or
Ranma?  I haven't seen them since breakfast."


Nabiki looked a quick glance off her book, but decided it wasn't worth the
effort to answer her sister's question.  Instead she took a sip of
lemonade that she made in the kitchen a while back and promptly returned
to her reading.  Kasumi didn't get any answers too from her father, nor
Mr. Saotome.  So she decided to ask Nabiki directly.  This time Nabiki
couldn't ignore her.  "They could be sleeping again, I think."  Kasumi was
surprised to realize it was already mid morning and still both her little
sister and Ranma were still asleep.  Nabiki knew there was more to it, but
she felt Kasumi wouldn't really understand.  "Why don't you wake them?"
Kasumi returned her basket before climbing up the stairs.


"Akane?"  Kasumi gently knocked on her sister's door.  "Ranma?"  Finally
she decided to take a peek.  When she couldn't see anything, she opened
the door a bit more.  Nothing, Kasumi just prodded herself inside.  "Where
could they be?"  Kasumi climbed down and headed towards the kitchen.
Surprisingly both Akane and Ranma where there.  "There you are?"


"Huh? Oh!  Hi Kasumi."  Akane smiled back at Kasumi, and so did Ranma.
Kasumi looked over to what the two had been doing all morning in her
kitchen.


"What are you two doing here?  What are those?"  Kasumi sat down with them
and inspected a few of the photos scattered all over the kitchen table.
"Oh, Akane.  Isn't this the time when we were on that trip to Ryugenzawa?"
Akane confirmed Kasumi's suspicion and quickly took the picture away from
her.


"Eh, I don't think we need that picture anymore."  Kasumi saw a certain
sadness in Akane's eyes.


"Is there something wrong?"  Ranma was ignoring both women, as he was
digging through a lot of old pictures from a few bundles in front of him.
Kasumi wasn't content in Akane's simple "nothing".  "Akane you could tell
me."  Akane just smiled and again said there was nothing wrong.


"Hey, there's nothing to be ashamed of, Akane."  Both girls looked at
Ranma, who was again rummaging through some pictures.  "You can't deny
that it happened."  Kasumi blinked, only asking in a serene tone what
happened.


"Ranma?  What are you talking about?"  Fortunately Ranma didn't see Akane
glaring at him.


"You know, you and that Shinnosuke dude."  Ranma grimaced as he couldn't
seem to find any satisfying picture.  "Where are those pictures?"  Kasumi
looked at Akane suspiciously.  Akane was denying it, though she wasn't
sure what she was denying at all.  Just then Nabiki entered the kitchen, a
book under her arms, and an empty glass in another hand.


"Nothing happened between us, Ranma.  You know that."  Nabiki was
instantly aroused by the sudden tone in Akane's conversation.  "Nothing
happened between me and Shinnosuke."


"So what with this Shinnosuke?  Isn't he the one you met in Ryugenzawa,
Akane?"  Nabiki joined in after filling her glass with some more lemonade.
Kasumi looked back and forth, only getting confusing signals and some
weird ideas popping in her head.


"Nothing, really!"  Ranma finally stopped looking for pictures as he
finished scouring through the last bundle of pictures he had.  Akane
frowned a bit as Nabiki was egging her to tell her tale.  "Nabiki!
Nothing of the sort happened."  Kasumi was getting a headache.


"Damn, where are those pictures?"


"So, was this Shinnosuke guy any cute?"  Nabiki sipped some lemonade,
enjoying profusely Akane's temperamental side.  "Hey, don't get angry.  It
was only a question."


"Excuse me.  Can anyone tell me what's going on?"  Kasumi pleaded to all
three who were on the table.


"It's Ranma's fault.  He had to bring it up!"  Ranma voiced out his
protest.  Nabiki just grinned, realizing all four were having quite a
animated conversation.  Kasumi calmed both Ranma and Akane down.


"Sorry."  Akane looked at her fiancée, seeing how apologetic Ranma was
also to her older sister.  "All I can say is that, nothing happened, ok."
Ranma just blinked.


"Of course nothing happened to you.  You're still alive..." Just then it
struck Ranma, "What were we talking about anyway?"  Akane and Ranma
realized they got there signals crossed.  "You mean to tell me you where
talking about..." Kasumi held her breath and Nabiki was all ears.   Akane
realized her mistake.


"What?  What were you talking about? BAKA!"


"Hey, there's nothing to be ashamed of from getting lost, Akane.  It
happens to everyone."  Ranma saw how Akane was feeling embarrassed right
now.  "So what the hell were YOU talking about?"


"Nothing."  Nabiki almost choked, while Kasumi felt relieved.  Ranma had
to think a bit more before feeling slightly embarrassed himself.


"Oh."  Ranma chuckled a bit.  "Well, that's what you get for having a
great time last night."  Nabiki, though in most circumstances she would
have held her poise, that little outburst from Ranma made her less
mannered than she usually is.


"What?"  Nabiki apologized profusely for getting Kasumi a bit wet, but
that didn't stop her from digging for the juicy story behind Ranma's
revelation.  "You mean...."  Kasumi was toweling herself dry and wasn't
really listening.   Akane was turning her attention to some of the
pictures in front of her.


"It's not any of your business, Nabiki."  Ranma just shot a grin towards
Akane, who couldn't help giggle back.  Nabiki just paused to think.  Her
imagination was getting too creative for words right now.  "So let's see
those pictures, Akane."


"Wait!  Were are yours?"  Ranma then realized he had none to show.  Akane
refused to give Ranma the pictures in her hand.  "Oh, no.  No pictures,
you lose."  Ranma frown, as he muttered a bit knowing how's he going to
lose this time as well.


"Damn.  Ok you win.  Can I see those pictures now?"  Akane giggled, but
she just hid the snapshots in her dress anyway.  "Hey!"


"Sorry, you better wait until we get married, Ranma."  Akane helped Ranma
and Kasumi clear the table, while Nabiki was still lost sitting in her
chair.  "They are great pictures, you know."  Ranma growled his
frustration as Akane continued to tease him.  Kasumi decided not to get
herself into a conversation she didn't really understand.


"Damn, Mom must have all my baby pictures."  Ranma chided to himself as he
left the room with Akane.


"Well, I'm sure I was more cute as a baby than you."  Akane just giggled,
Ranma couldn't help sigh.  "What do you think?"


"Why don't you show them to me, and I'll tell you who has the better
looking baby picture?"  Akane flatly refused, feeling somewhere in her
dress where she had hid her own baby pictures.  "Oh, yeah.   What if I get
them myself?"  Akane realized what Ranma wanted to do.


"You wouldn't dare?!"


"Oh yeah?!"  Akane rushed up the stairs up to her room, Ranma following in
hot pursuit.  "I've got you now, Akane!"


"Ranma, don't you dare!"  They both barged into Akane's room.  "Ranma!
Get your hands off me."  Ranma grinned as he gained some advantage, as he
was able to grab hold of both of Akane hands.  He soon got her into a
corner.  "Ranma!"  He wasn't really trying his best to get his hands on
those pictures, he just loved these silly games he played with her.
"Ranma if you don't let go of me, I'll scream!"  Ranma did as he was asked
to.


"Geez.  Would you have really screamed, Akane?"  Akane just laughed.


"Of course not.  But it wouldn't be normal."  Both just slumped on Akane's
bed, laughing out heartily, and at the same time they spent the whole
morning looking at some old photographs.


-----


"Nabiki, are you alright?"  Kasumi sat across the kitchen table looking
worriedly at her sister.


"Huh?  What?  Oh, I'm fine."  Nabiki finished her glass of lemonade.


"You know they were only teasing you."  Nabiki just nodded.


"I know."  Nabiki just sighed.


"I just hope father would stop coming up with these silly games for Ranma
and Akane to compete in."  Kasumi looked at some photographs that was left
on the table.


"Me too.  They're starting to act too weird."  Nabiki looked at a
photograph too.  "Hey, isn't this the carnival we went to?"  Kasumi  just
smiled.


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END


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