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Lies of the Heart	By : odysseus93 Category: +M to R > Ranma ½ Views: 5269 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma 1/2, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story (and probably couldn't even if I wanted to).

Chapter List
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Kasumi Tendo had so far had a pleasant morning. It had been quiet and peaceful for once, with her only preparing breakfast for herself and her sister Akane. She had begun her day, as she always had, arising slightly before dawn, and going about the business of caring for the Tendo household. This was a routine that had never bothered her, and in fact relished. She enjoyed caring for her family, and tending to the details, almost in an obsessive way, of running a full household.
Lately though, something had started to interfere with her internal sense of harmony. An outsider would of course question the fact that, with the history of such a family, that any form of harmony could be achieved at all, whether internal or external. However, Kasumi had managed it with a grace that few could achieve. She wasn’t a martial artist to be sure, but in her own way she had achieved a mastery of her surroundings that would be the envy of anyone. In her mind, you simply had to stay on track with the little things, and the rest naturally fell into place, irregardless of the outer circumstance.
But that internal sense of order was being challenged. Nothing outwardly had changed for herself, the routine was the routine after all. But the outer circumstances in the household itself had altered to the point where there was an intuitive sense within her that everything was on the verge of unraveling. It all came down to those little things.
When Akane and Ranma had finally married, she of course factored in certain changes that would naturally occur when two people join together to form a couple, and proceeded to change her procedures accordingly. In this, she sadly had to admit, she had been completely wrong.
To be sure, certain things had changed for the better in some areas. The fiance brigade finally backed off, with each carrying on with their respective lives. The Amazons, having finally accepted the situation, returned to China. Ukyo had already established a thriving business in downtown Nerima, and seemed to be doing well, with no hard feelings towards either her sister or Ranma. That of course left the Black Rose, who for all intents had simply fallen away. The Kuno’s, out of politeness, bad been invited to the wedding, but they were a no show. In fact, since that fateful day, no one had seen or heard from either of the Kuno siblings. It was that unaccounted for silence that was one of the niggling factors in the back of Kasumi’s mind.
A year into the marriage, Nabiki had gone off to college as well, which reduced certain expenses. To her credit however, Nabiki had somehow managed to not only keep her monthly contribution to the household coming in, but actually increased it. She always was worried about how Nabiki got the money, but she had always managed to stay on just this side of law.
And then there was Akane and Ranma. She could tell that things weren’t going well. Not at all. It wasn’t that they were fighting. They weren’t fighting at all. Or communicating. Or even interacting in any meaningful way. She was sure that included any form of intimacy. Yes the house was peaceful, but not in any beneficial way.
They did fight during the first year, in not so different a way than they used to. But for some unknown reason one day, it had escalated into something awful. One afternoon, it was a fight to end all fights, and it became vicious, and physical, and there was blood from both of them on the dojo floor. The elders had had to pull them apart to keep anyone from seriously getting hurt, or any real property damage occurred. For the first time since she could remember, Kasumi was actually frightened.
Afterwards, neither spoke to the other for about a week, and then one day, a week later, they were both seen going back into the dojo. Despite the households trepidation at this, there was no fight, verbal or otherwise, and they were there for almost an hour. When they came out, they both bowed to the entire family, and apologized for causing worry, promising to do better, and not let their differences get so out of hand. Everyone was grateful of course, and hopeful.
And true to their word, they didn’t fight anymore. They worked together to get the dojo up and running, and had a few students coming in. Not a lot of students to start, but between that small income and Nabiki’s contributions, things were starting to look up a bit. But everyone could tell that beyond that, nothing was occurring at all between them. Kasumi almost wished they would start fighting again.
She had wanted to talk to Akane this morning at breakfast, to try to discern what was going on after so much time, but decided against it. Both her sister and Ranma were a married couple now, and whatever difficulties they might be experiencing was a matter between them. It would be inappropriate in Kasumi’s mind to interfere in any way. If they truly desired her help, they would ask. Like they used to.
With Akane finishing her morning run, and coming to sit down in the kitchen, Kasumi decided to keep things light, and be the face of happiness and cheer.
“Good Morning Akane.”
“Morning sis” was her quick reply.
As she set out their plates, Kasumi asked “Any plans today?” This was the morning icebreaker that Kasumi started with.
Her sister replied distractedly “Not really. I was going to go meet up with Ukyo today after getting cleaned up, spend a few hours catching up, maybe do some sparring.”
Kasumi forged ahead, “That’s nice, I was just wondering if you were going to be home for dinner, so I can plan ahead. I thought maybe we can watch a movie together, or you know, just sit and talk perhaps.”
Akane paused a moment, and then replied with equal non-interest in her voice “Nope. I’ll be eating at Ukyo’s. Take the day off, you deserve it.”
“Oh, Alright then...” she started, but Akane was already walking away from the table and heading upstairs.
Kasumi just stared at the fading figure, with a lingering pain in her heart.
“Well that went well...” she said with a sigh, as she picked up the plates.

This was the way it had been for awhile. Her once chatty sister had closed down, and locked everyone out.
Not one to let situations deter her mood, Kasumi continued on with her day, and let the problems slide from her mind. With the men off training in the mountains, and Akane out of the house most of the time, she had the run of the place. A long hot bath was hers to enjoy. A little laundry of course, but so little for once. Some leisurely TV.
Finally, around 1:00 in the afternoon, she decided to indulge in something she hadn’t done in a bit. She grabbed her coat and scarf, and decided to walk to the park. There was a small noodle shop nearby that she could enjoy lunch to herself, and then, once finding a quiet spot to sit, she could read a book. Perhaps even finish it! It was time to think about herself a little bit, and to remind herself that despite whatever challenges the family had faced in the past, they always worked out in the end.
With that calming thought she headed out the door of the Tendo compound. She looked up, and saw a beautiful day, with bright sunshine and a few wistful clouds. “Everything will be fine, eventually...” she thought to herself as she began walking to the street, book bag on her arm.
That’s when she heard it.
"Ahha...AHAHAHAHAHAHOOOOOhahahahh."
It was a laughter she hadn’t heard in some time, but it could only belong to one person. As the sound faded off into the distance, a wind kicked up, rustling her hair. A wind of destiny.
Kasumi sighed and said “Oh my” out loud. The voice inside her mind wasn’t as non-committal.
“Oh Crap.”
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Lies of the Heart