EDIT: This is chapter 3. The prologue and first two chapters can be found here: A Kitsune in Nerima
Well, since this is just about finished, I'd figured I'd start posting this here for some quick feedback.
Rest coming Soon(tm)
Well, since this is just about finished, I'd figured I'd start posting this here for some quick feedback.
Soun Tendo quietly folded up his daily paper and set it on his lap as he stared his eldest daughter in the eyes. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" he asked her quietly. "I fear my hearing must be going, because I could have sworn that you said that you wanted to take a trip somewhere."
Kasumi sighed and shook her head slightly. Was it truly so surprising that she desired to go places other than to the market and back? "I said father, that I would like to go with Ranma this weekend to visit some old friends of his. I was wanting to know if you would be alright on your own for the rest of today, tomorrow, and most of Sunday."
Her father opened his mouth to offer the first response that came to mind, only to shut it before uttering a sound as he was fixed by a flat, emotionless stare that screamed violence if his words weren't well thought out. It was a look he had been very used to receiving from his wife when he was about to do something incredibly stupid, which usually meant anything to do with Genma or the Master, may he suffer for eternity in Yomi-no-Kuni.
"I," he coughed nervously, "I suppose that would be alright. It couldn't hurt to take a bit of time off, since you've been working so hard." His eyes widened in fear and panic as he suddenly reached forwards and grabbed Kasumi by her shoulders. "Please, please tell me that there is dinner and breakfast already made, please!"
Kasumi frowned, causing her father to freeze as she casually slipped out from his grasp. "There is dinner prepared, but you will have to sort out breakfast yourself. Akane will not be allowed in my kitchen father, so you will have to order take out or save food from dinner. I refuse to be forced to replace all of my ingredients and utensils again. Understood? If I find so much as a scratch on one of my pans it will be you who is responsible."
"V-very w-well dear." Soun said calmly. He did not stutter, as that would infer that he was in some way frightened by his daughter and her words; and there was no possible way a pure as freshly fallen snow Saint like his eldest could in any way, shape, or form be intimidating. No sir, his daughter was an Angel come to Earth, no doubt about that. Not even the darkening aura of dread tinting the edge of his vision did anything to blacken her pristine state. Although the way she smiled as she turned and walked away certainly didn't do anything to help his desperate attempts at self-assurance.
The moment his daughter was out of sight Soun let out a breath he hadn't even aware he had been holding, his body slumping in relief as the air rushed out his lungs. He wondered if he might not have made the correct choices in his life; in taking on Akane as his heir, in letting his eldest be married off against her apparent wishes, or in letting himself forget just how driven his wonderful wife could be when there was something she wanted, a trait that had evidently been carried on along with most of her essence within her eldest daughter.
If he could describe his daughters, then they would be the living reminders of their mother; each daughter seemed to possess traits that echoed strongly of the wonderful woman Soun had fallen in love with. It hurt him sometimes though, to realize that of the three only the eldest had seemed to do more than just carry the pieces, but rather she had assembled herself into something new. Akane had her mother's furious temper, but she lacked the self-control and difficulty to bring said temper to bear. She possessed her mother's vindictiveness against those who she deemed threats or trash, yet lacked the proper judgement and insight necessary to make the right choices. Nabiki was a genius with numbers, but she seemed to only care for her own needs, the financial support she gave the family due more to the fact that she didn't want to be forced to find somewhere else to live over a sense of familial responsibility, though Soun had a sense that she had slowly been growing and maturing out of that phase of her life.
And Kasumi, his dear sweet, sweet Kasumi. There were days — most when he was less than sober, but not all — when she would walk into the room and it would be as if his darling wife had returned to life, his legs begging him to start running and to never stop chasing her, his arms begging him to hug her and never let her go, his heart aching for him to kiss her and tell her how much he missed her; only for him to remember that his wife was dead, and that all he was looking at was her living ghost. Everything about her, from her mannerisms, to how she looked as she practiced her mother's techniques in the dojo, it hurt. It hurt him so much to know that he had pushed so much on her, and so soon after her mother's death; it was almost a miracle to see that she had managed to grow up so strongly despite that, and he couldn't help but feel fear at what his wife would do to him if she had seen what had happened him and her family.
He sighed and looked up into the sky, his eyes searching for answers his heart knew he would never find.
Kasumi sighed and shook her head slightly. Was it truly so surprising that she desired to go places other than to the market and back? "I said father, that I would like to go with Ranma this weekend to visit some old friends of his. I was wanting to know if you would be alright on your own for the rest of today, tomorrow, and most of Sunday."
Her father opened his mouth to offer the first response that came to mind, only to shut it before uttering a sound as he was fixed by a flat, emotionless stare that screamed violence if his words weren't well thought out. It was a look he had been very used to receiving from his wife when he was about to do something incredibly stupid, which usually meant anything to do with Genma or the Master, may he suffer for eternity in Yomi-no-Kuni.
"I," he coughed nervously, "I suppose that would be alright. It couldn't hurt to take a bit of time off, since you've been working so hard." His eyes widened in fear and panic as he suddenly reached forwards and grabbed Kasumi by her shoulders. "Please, please tell me that there is dinner and breakfast already made, please!"
Kasumi frowned, causing her father to freeze as she casually slipped out from his grasp. "There is dinner prepared, but you will have to sort out breakfast yourself. Akane will not be allowed in my kitchen father, so you will have to order take out or save food from dinner. I refuse to be forced to replace all of my ingredients and utensils again. Understood? If I find so much as a scratch on one of my pans it will be you who is responsible."
"V-very w-well dear." Soun said calmly. He did not stutter, as that would infer that he was in some way frightened by his daughter and her words; and there was no possible way a pure as freshly fallen snow Saint like his eldest could in any way, shape, or form be intimidating. No sir, his daughter was an Angel come to Earth, no doubt about that. Not even the darkening aura of dread tinting the edge of his vision did anything to blacken her pristine state. Although the way she smiled as she turned and walked away certainly didn't do anything to help his desperate attempts at self-assurance.
The moment his daughter was out of sight Soun let out a breath he hadn't even aware he had been holding, his body slumping in relief as the air rushed out his lungs. He wondered if he might not have made the correct choices in his life; in taking on Akane as his heir, in letting his eldest be married off against her apparent wishes, or in letting himself forget just how driven his wonderful wife could be when there was something she wanted, a trait that had evidently been carried on along with most of her essence within her eldest daughter.
If he could describe his daughters, then they would be the living reminders of their mother; each daughter seemed to possess traits that echoed strongly of the wonderful woman Soun had fallen in love with. It hurt him sometimes though, to realize that of the three only the eldest had seemed to do more than just carry the pieces, but rather she had assembled herself into something new. Akane had her mother's furious temper, but she lacked the self-control and difficulty to bring said temper to bear. She possessed her mother's vindictiveness against those who she deemed threats or trash, yet lacked the proper judgement and insight necessary to make the right choices. Nabiki was a genius with numbers, but she seemed to only care for her own needs, the financial support she gave the family due more to the fact that she didn't want to be forced to find somewhere else to live over a sense of familial responsibility, though Soun had a sense that she had slowly been growing and maturing out of that phase of her life.
And Kasumi, his dear sweet, sweet Kasumi. There were days — most when he was less than sober, but not all — when she would walk into the room and it would be as if his darling wife had returned to life, his legs begging him to start running and to never stop chasing her, his arms begging him to hug her and never let her go, his heart aching for him to kiss her and tell her how much he missed her; only for him to remember that his wife was dead, and that all he was looking at was her living ghost. Everything about her, from her mannerisms, to how she looked as she practiced her mother's techniques in the dojo, it hurt. It hurt him so much to know that he had pushed so much on her, and so soon after her mother's death; it was almost a miracle to see that she had managed to grow up so strongly despite that, and he couldn't help but feel fear at what his wife would do to him if she had seen what had happened him and her family.
He sighed and looked up into the sky, his eyes searching for answers his heart knew he would never find.