The Spring Of Our Destiny: Kasumi And The Ambassador
By Rev. Doc
The following story is based on characters created by Rumiko Takahashi.
The Neighbor Part 1
The little trips helped her keep her sanity. That was the case almost everyday. Well, everyday since Genma and Ranma had shown up. Not that she disliked the two. But since they had arrived the days were, well what could she say, most interesting. Perhaps it was not so much the Saotomes, but the mass hysteria that had accompanied them. Whatever the case, she just needed this time of quiet and tranquillity to get focused.
To most who saw Kasumi walking down the street on her way to the market, she would have appeared to be one who hadn’t a care in the world. So at peace. This day however was different from most. She was running late. She preferred making her shopping trip as soon after lunch as possible. Today after they had finished their meal, the men had left the house. Soun and Genma were off to a Shogi tournament that was being held in the district community center. Kasumi, for once, was alone.
After the dishes were put away she had poured herself a cup of tea and wondered to the living area. She stood and looked out the door and savored the quiet, watching the inhabitants of the koi pond move slowly back and forth. It was spring, and it was the season of the year that Kasumi loved the most. Occasionally, a faint warm breeze would press against her, just strong enough to blow her hair back. Not too hot, not too cold, jussssst right. She giggled to herself remembering the story her mother had shared with her as a child about those three bears and the little girl.
Cherry blossoms floated to the ground. Yes, they could be a bother to clean up, but they were so beautiful. She knelt down upon the porch taking in the peaceful scene and had lost all track of time. All was right in the world. At least until Hurricane Akane and Tsunami Ranma came into the house. Kasumi listen to the heated argument between the two. Something to do with Shampoo again. It was shortly after the mallet came through the wall and both combatants went to their separate rooms that Kasumi realized that she still had the shopping to do. Thus was the turmoil in Kasumi’s heart. Minor to most, but for the mother figure of the Tendo household who held to order and routine, well, unthinkable to say the least.
As she came down the alleyway the bench at the far end caught her eye. Well not so much the bench, but the old woman who sat upon it. Kasumi recognized her right off. It was Mrs. Sato who lived several doors down from the Tendos. Kasumi worried about her. Her son had moved to America several years’ back. Since that time Mr. Sato had passed away leaving Mrs. Sato totally alone. Her son had tried to convince his mother to move overseas with him, but the matriarch of the Sato family could not give up the home that she and her husband had made together, nor give up her homeland. The eldest Tendo daughter saw to it that the elderly woman was visited often usually with something nourishing to eat.
As Kasumi drew near she was startled to see her older neighbor place her face in her hands and begin crying. She had witnessed her cry on occasion, but at those times it was due to memories of her husband or son, or tears of joy during one of Kasumi’s visits with her. This however, was different. What Kasumi witnessed now were tears of pain, of hurt, of sorrow, of such magnitude that it weighed heavily on the younger woman’s heart as well. And she had yet to know what the problem was.