[Here's the last of the review pieces.]
Chapter 3
Caught By Surprise
Dr. Tofu sat in his office, a small overhead lamp shining down upon him
and a spread of papers on his desk. Over and over, he leafed through the
papers, his eyes comparing one document with another. The papers continued
to rustle as he examined one lone form laying at the corner of his desk.
"Agh!" He put a hand to his forehead, pushing back strands of his hair
from his forehead. "There has to be something I missed, some dumb mistake
I've been making for the last 30 tests.... But what is it?"
Tofu began to read the forms over, one by one. "I still can't believe
that Kasumi is...pregnant...." He sighed heavily. "How could this happen?
She never had a...boyfriend in the last few years, Nabiki commented before.
How on earth could she let herself be..." His brows furrowed upon reading
six more documents, and he did not finish the comment.
Kasumi slipped out of the bathroom and headed towards her room. She
heard Akane and Ranma getting into another fight downstairs, but her nature
to quell arguments was already busy with another battle. Mind versus heart,
the need to do what is considered to be right versus the need to do what is
desired. If she wasn't pregnant, the choice would have almost been
clear-cut, but now....
'Oh, my...no matter what choice is made, things will never be the same
again.'
"Get out of the way, Ranma. I'm going to see Kasumi."
"Dammit, Akane, I just told you Kasumi doesn't want to see anyone right
now-"
"And you haven't told me why! unless you're lying and keeping one of
your other 'iinazukes' up there-"
"I just told you no one else is here but Kasumi! Don't you trust me?"
"Why the hell would I trust a pervert like you for?!"
Ranma reeled back as if she struck him hard. 'She doesn't trust me?'
The gravity of her words stuck fast to him. 'She doesn't trust me...she
really doesn't...trust....' His head fell a little, images and thoughts from
the vacation coming back to him....
* * *
"Really, Mariko, it wasn't necessary to come all the way from Tokyo and
pick us up. Tou Ouizumi is a good distance out of the way and-"
"Oh, Kasumi, relax!" the girl with waist-long, raven black hair replied,
waving a dismissive hand. "It's all perfectly fine, and I like to drive.
'Sides, trains take too long, and getting a ride here in any other way would
be costing you a ton."
Kasumi nodded as she stuffed away some of her clothes into the dresser.
"I just don't want us to be inconveniencing you as it is."
"You? an inconvenience? Don't be silly! You're my friend, my best
friend at that. I'm only too glad to do favors for you." She then gave
Kasumi a sly smile. "And I bet the next two weeks with cutie pie, he'll be
doing a lot of 'favors' for you..." she said, almost purring.
"Mariko!" The eldest Tendo stared wide eyed at her friend. "Ranma's
Akane's iinazuke, and I would never even think of betraying her!"
"Uh huh..." The sly grin did not disappear.
"Honestly, they are in love with each other-"
"Which explains why she smashed him flat into the ground with that
hammer before we left." Before Kasumi could defend her younger sister's
actions, she was cut off. "Look, you already told me about them being
engaged by giri. It's so sweet, noble...and much too traditional for today's
life. They don't love each other in that way, no matter what they think. I
can see it."
"But-"
"Why do I say that? Because they don't trust each other. Not one whit
of it in that relationship."
"Well, Akane is the jealous type."
"Not to mention possessive, attention starved, stubborn, and-what's the
word?-controlling. She's always been number one in the Arts around Nerima
until Ranma arrived and dethroned her quite easily. And on top of that,
'he's a boy'," she said with an amazingly close facsimile of Akane's voice.
"...which really irks her and her pride. She couldn't accept being second
best then, and she can't accept it now, just like she can't accept him and
his little curse. She was forced into this engagement, rather than letting
Ranma get to know his potential fiancees, and the _only_ reason she is still
engaged to him is because she doesn't want to disappoint her dad."
Unknown to Kasumi and Mariko, Ranma was just outside the room Kasumi
would be occupying for the next two weeks. He was intent on asking Mariko
about using the backyard for his morning practices, but he heard them talking
through the closed door. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but the intensity,
and the subject, of the conversation was beginning to get to him. So Ranma
pushed his senses a little farther and listened with an attentive ear. Soon,
he thought about what the hostess had said about him and Akane.
'That's crazy. I know my feelings about Akane. What does she know
about us anyways? And giri has nothing to do with it.'
However, on a deeper level, Mariko's words left him feeling a little
ill at ease, though he wouldn't admit it to himself.
Kasumi remembered the how Mariko stumbled into Ranma-literally!-with a
glass of cold water As expected, the transformation occurred, pressing a
pair of large, full breasts into her face where there was once a strong, male
chest. She passed out from the shock. What was running through her friend's
mind when she came to, she had no idea, but not only had she recovered from
her initial shock, she was even more lively that before and spent a lot of
time talking with Ranma. Somewhere inside of Kasumi, she envied Mariko's
acceptance of the entire situation with so much calm and open friendliness to
Ranma; she cursed herself for not being like that when she first found out
about his curse. Maybe things would have been much more different if she
had...
She forced herself to stop that line of thought. She was here to get
rid of those thoughts once again, not to feed them. However, Mariko was
making it a daunting task at the moment.
"Ooo...is that a blush on your cheeks?"
"What?" Kasumi blinked hard, instinctively feeling her cheek.
"You _are_ blushing! With thoughts of Ranma on your mind, no doubt!"
She started to deny, but just sighed and unfolded her dresses. "Hai. I
wish Father had not insisted on Ranma accompanying me."
"Oh? Why do you say that?"
Stopping the unfurlment of her remaining dresses, Kasumi sat down on the
bed. Mariko grabbed the chair at the study desk and made herself comfortable
as well. The oldest Tendo cleared her throat, then began her tale. She
brought to life the story about the oni that had broken free from a thousand
year old ward and began to possess Genma, Kuno, Ryouga, and the Shinto priest
before Ranma captured it in its box. Unfortunately, the priest applied the
wrong ward to the box and the family soon discovered that it had possessed
Kasumi. Since no one would had the heart to strike her (thanks to Soun's
"persuasiveness"), they had to endure the evils that she was capable of all
night (Mariko dared not to think what evils Kasumi was capable of, as she
would have probably fell out of her chair laughing). The next day, the
now-miserable household finds out that the oni would leave Kasumi...after it
had drained her dry. Quickly, Soun offered himself to the oni in exchange
for Kasumi's safety, but that never came to fruition; however, after a
serious persuasion, the priest banished the oni from Kasumi with a ward.
Ranma (with help from Ryouga) attacked the oni with the proper prayer
ribbons, but after watching them get shredded, Kasumi caught one of the
falling prayer ribbons and noticed that it was missing a brushstroke. The
oni possessed Happousai, but it found that two evils certainly do _not_ mix,
allowing Ranma to recapture it (and the hentai Master) and resealed with the
new ward that the oldest Tendo had corrected.
"Well..." Mariko stretched out her legs. "You do lead an interesting
life after all. But what exactly does an oni has to do with you having the
hots for Ranma?"
She blushed slightly at her friend's term. "Remember the part where it
was inside of my head all night?" Her friend nodded. "Well, it rooted
through every little part of my mind, discovering everything about me,
secrets, wishes, dreams..." Kasumi paused. "...desires..."
"Oh..."
"Yes. Exorcising it out of my mind did nothing for the mess of emotions
that ran amok. I spent a couple of days, trying to put everything back into
its place as before. It almost worked, too..."
"...but your feelings towards Ranma won't go back into hiding, ne?" A
meek "Hai" was her answer.
Mariko pushed her advantage. "So, do you love him? and I don't mean
like family and friends."
For a few moments, silence spoke in volumes. Then slowly Kasumi began
to speak. "Well, I...I..." She took in a sharp breath and spoke. "H-Hai.
I...I suppose you could say I...I am...do love him..." Her head fell
forward. "Oh my...this wasn't suppose to be happening..."
Ranma could have sworn everyone in a five kilometer radius heard him
blink. 'K-K-Kasumi? In lo-love with me?' Suddenly, his life became a whole
lot more complicated. 'Kami, I'm going to have-'
"But it's much too late for things to change. He is already Akane's..."
He was drawn out of his stupor by that statement. 'Huh? She loves me,
yet Kasumi isn't going to chase after me or anything? No tricks, or schemes?
She's just going to let Akane have me?' His brow furrowed as he tried to
figure out just why did he feel disappointed.
Mariko's voice carried through the door. "Oh come on, Kasumi. You're
always giving up way too easily-"
"But he already has three other iinazuke besides Akane-"
"Hold on there; let me recall.... From your letters, you mentioned
Shampoo, the Amazon that's virtually married to Ranma; Kuno Kodachi, the
flower girl from St. Herebeke's girl school that's out to marry him;"-he
couldn't help but shudder at the thought-"and Kuonji Ukyou, the okonomyaki
chef that was engaged to him when they were six years old." There was a
clicking sound made, the kind of sound made with the tongue and the roof of
the mouth, then after a moment's pause, Mariko resumed talking.
"From the way I see things, Shampoo's a bit too pushy. She doesn't
quite love him as she would like to think she does, or else she wouldn't be
slipping him potions to gain his heart." Ranma slowly nodded in agreement.
Shampoo has tried to win his love with a few potions and pills and kami knows
Cologne has tried on more than one occasion to entrap him into a wedding with
her great granddaughter.
"Kodachi...the girl's totally off her rocker. If what Ranma says is
true, the girl's not even in the running. She's nuts and deluded, wanting to
be the center of some badly written romance. She's far worse than Shampoo
could ever be."
He contained the urge to burst through the door and appraise Mariko for
voicing his thoughts, though not in his own words. Kodachi was crazy, and
malicious on top of that. How she could ever see him with her...Ranma
shivered at the thought.
"As for Ukyou, he won't marry her; he still thinks of her as his six
year old friend, not as a fiancee. Plus, he's still getting over the fact
that she's not a guy as he had remembered her. That's a lot of mental
obstacles to overcome, and even then, he still won't marry her, because he
doesn't feel the same thing towards her."
'Geez, she just about read my mind about my iinazuke problems,' Ranma
thought. 'Now if she could figure out how to make everything right for them
all and cause as little honor lost as possible....' Ranma tip toed away from
the room, deciding to ask Mariko about using her backyard later.
Somewhere within Ranma, the uneasiness he had felt earlier began to
intensify ever so slightly.
Kasumi sighed a little, laying back on the bed. "You make it sound so
simple, but-"
"You can. After all, Ranma was engaged to Nabiki, ne?"
"Hai...but she was only using him for her own ends. Admittantly, her
scheming have kept us afloat since Mother died and Father stopped, but still,
I wish she didn't abuse Ranma's trust like so. It's so...not nice."
"Hmm...so why haven't you made your claim to him yet?"
She thought about the question briefly. "Mariko, I-I don't want him
resenting me; after all, I helped push the engagement onto Akane, when I
should have accepted it in the beginning without question. I-I was
scared...he changed into a girl...and that-oh, my..."
"Yeah, I hear you. It was pretty freaky, feeling a solid chest under
your cheek, then suddenly out pops a pair of breasts." She shrugged a
little. "Just have to take the bad with the good, is all. We all have our
little quirks. And it's not like the person inside changed any now, is it?"
Sucking her lower lip briefly, Kasumi mulled over the exchange. "It is
a little tempting...but I still don't want to betray Akane..."
Mariko spun the chair back to the table, tossed back her raven hair,
then laid beside her relaxed form, one arm propping her head up. "No one's
asking you to betray anyone, and I'm certainly not suggesting you seduce him
and screw his brains out and make him yours." She chuckled at her own words,
which earned her a strangely considerate look from her friend. "However, I
don't want you to betray yourself on this. You really got it bad for him,
and not once have you brought up your stately principals about younger men."
She blinked at that. 'She's right, I haven't. Oh, my...'
"Kasumi."
"Hai?"
"Just consider being straight up with him about this. No sense in
missing out on what could have been, and if he doesn't feel the same, hey,
nothing lost, ne?"
"I...I suppose you're right, but something bad may become of this."
"Oh, don't be such a worrywart, okay?
"Okay..." Kasumi said, a smile beginning to show.
* * *
It had been four days since Mariko waved good-bye to her and Ranma at
Tokyo International Airport terminal. Since then, she busied herself with
cleaning and cooking, though she had to restrain herself a little on the
latter as there were only two people living at the residence. Ranma
practiced the Art in Mariko's backyard; when that wasn't enough, he lounged
around the living room bored out of his mind.
At least Kasumi thought he was bored, until she noticed how he seemed to
be thinking about something. Also, he hadn't spoken many times with her when
she was in the same room with him. Something wasn't right, but what?
"Ranma, can we talk?"
He brought a close to his kata, then straightened out. He looked at the
backyard steps, where Kasumi was standing at in wait. 'At least she's
starting the conversation. One less thing to worry about.' "What'cha want,
Kasumi?"
She walked down the steps and stood in front of him. Looking him
directly into his eyes, she asked. "Tell me, are you angry with me?"
He blinked. "A-a-angry? with you? Wha-wha-why would I be angry? It's
just so...so sudden, that's all." He hastily looked away from her face.
'She knew? But how...?'
Looking away herself, she sighed softly. "You are angry with me.... I'm
sorry; I shouldn't have forced you into this."
"No! No, it's quite all right, indeed!" he automatically spoke up. "In
fact, I think it's probably the best thing that could have happened,
actually." He chuckled a bit too nervous, his hand scratching the back of
his head, as he wondered what exactly possessed him to say that.
"Really?"
"Um, yeah, I suppose..." He felt terrible about making Kasumi feel so
bad. Even when she said she wasn't going to pursue after Ranma as had
Shampoo, Ukyou, and Kodachi a few nights ago... "Er, Kasumi?"
She met his gaze again. "Hai, Ranma?"
Now, how could he make this up to her? 'What makes Akane feel better?'
"Um, how...how about we go get something to eat later on?" 'Okay, so I'm
thinking what makes me feel better.'
Kasumi blinked. Twice. 'Did he just ask me out?'
So caught up in his own thoughts, Ranma didn't notice the change in her
face. "Ah, I was kind of thinking we go to that gaijin restaurant, I think
it was called...New York Grill? Sounds pretty interesting, I think."
Not doubt, she was stunned beyond words, but she managed to squeeze out
something Kasumi-ish. "Ah, hai, hai, that sounds wonderful. I'd be
delighted to." She smiled, if not a little nervous.
He smiled back. "Great. We can call a cab and go, oh about six or so.
That's fine with you?"
"O...okay, Ranma."
"All right, then. I better go ahead and finish up practicing, then.
See you in a little bit, okay?"
"Um, sure." Kasumi walked up the stairs and into the house, closing the
door behind her. 'That was certainly strange. Ranma usually is trapped into
dates with Akane, yet he just asked me so effortlessly.' She allowed herself
a smile. 'Well, in his own way, of course.'
Meanwhile, Ranma returned to his kata. A minute into it, something
dawned on him as he sprang into mid air. 'Did I just ask Kasumi out on a
date?' He froze in mid leap, landing uncharacteristically clumsily into a
small pond that he had never noticed before. Out surfaced Ranma-chan. "I
just asked Kasumi out? Oh, kami, Akane's going to kill me when she finds
out!"
* * *
The date (though Ranma would deny that it was just that) had started out
quietly, with Kasumi making small talk, though Ranma wasn't a very big talker
to begin with. Also, he was rather nervous about what could go possibly go
wrong; every time he went somewhere with Akane, he would be ambushed by some
or all of his fiancees, attacked by Mousse, Kuno, or Ryouga, or get caught up
in some trick to be wedded off. As they arrived to the New York Grill, Ranma
loosened up, though it was mostly in anticipation of the food. Walking into
the restaurant, he felt kind of proud of himself; he managed to save up a
proper amount of money without Nabiki's schemes eating it away (some of it
was from the failed dates when oyaji and Mr. Tendo had set him up with
Akane). The two ordered their food, then engaged in some idle conversation.
Their meals arrived and they ate up; Ranma even restrained himself from his
normal eating methods (as oyaji wasn't around trying to steal off his plate).
Afterwards, Kasumi wanted to take a walk in the park. He agreed after a
moment of hesitation.
As they walked, Kasumi glanced at him from time to time without making
it too obvious, secretly thankful that they were near the same height.
'Ranma is a lot easier to talk to now,' Kasumi thought. 'I wonder why he is
so nervous, though.'
"That was something delicious, ne, Kasumi?" Ranma said, patting his
stomach lightly. He had chosen a dark blue, long-sleeved Chinese shirt with
contrasting wooden white ties and white cuffs, coal black pants, and shoes of
the same color. As usual, his black hair was pulled back in a pigtail and
tied with red rope.
"Hai. They seem to take exceptional care in their cooking." Kasumi,
who was just behind him, wore a green sweater, a tan dress, off-white, low
heel shoes, and carried a similar colored purse. Her soft brown hair, wound
tightly and tied with a white ribbon, laid still on her right shoulder.
He drank in the scene around him. "Still, it's no match to your
cooking," he said absently.
Kasumi blushed slightly at his comment and was thankful he wasn't looking
in her direction.
He exhaled. "Haven't felt this relaxed in a long time. I wish this
moment could last forever."
'I wish this could last forever, too.'
"But with my luck, something's bound to happen anytime now."
Her daydream broken, Kasumi looked at him. "Oh, Ranma, don't look for
the bad side of everything."
He snorted a little. "Honestly, Kasumi. I can't even remember the last
time I've went somewhere in another girl's company without one of my
iinazukes finding us, or having to deal with a jealous rival wanting to kill
me because I've been engaged to someone they like. It's so frustrating
having to always stay on my toes, trying to figure out how to fix things
without hurting or dishonoring everyone else.
"As far as I'm aware of, I have Akane and Ukyou as my legitimate
iinazukes, no thanks to oyaji. I'm also linked with Shampoo based on some
stupid Amazon law. Kodachi wants to make me her husband (when Hell freezes
over, he thought).
"I have way too many problems due to these iinazukes and this curse.
Kunou continually rants about me being an evil sorcerer who has bewitched
Akane and his 'pig-tailed girl,' Ryouga's always picking a fight for some
'injustice' I've caused Akane, Mousse thinks I've bewitched Shampoo into
loving me instead of him..." He stopped walking and turned to look behind
him, letting his words trail off. "I'm sorry, Kasumi. Didn't mean to drop
all that on you."
"No, Ranma, it's quite all right, actually."
"Really?"
She smiled at him. "Yes, it is. It helps to talk about the things that
bother us the most."
Ranma seemed to consider her words for a moment. "I...I think you may
be right. Feel a little better, you know, just getting all that off my
chest..." He seemed to want to say something, but the words were not coming
for several minutes.
Gently, she touched his shoulder. "Perhaps, we should return home,
Ranma."
He blinked at her, then awareness came to him. "Y-yeah, I...guess we
better." Together, they started walking back to the park's entrance. From
there, they would hail a taxi and return to Mariko's home.
Kasumi was walking beside Ranma. 'Perhaps I should just tell
him...perhaps...' A glance towards Ranma told her that he was lost in
thought. 'Perhaps I shouldn't complicate his life any more than it
is...perhaps...'
As she debated with herself, Ranma's hand accidentally brushed hers.
Kasumi went rigid. The rippling sensation from the brief contact left her
feeling very much as she had felt after asking her father's permission to
take this trip; a racing heartbeat, a dryness in her mouth, trouble
breathing, a sensitive bosom, an uncomfortably warm and slick feeling beneath
her dress, and a gaggle of feelings and sensations, the most pronounced ones
now being ecstacy, fulfillment, fear and devotion. She felt very warm and
fuzzy and whole for a brief moment, the loneliness and emptiness she once
felt had vanished...
...then it returned like unwanted relatives quickly.
'No matter if it's right or wrong, I must...' She cleared her throat,
and wrung her hands in front of her. "Ranma?"
He looked in her direction. "Yes, Kasumi?"
"Well, you see...something has been...bothering me. For some time now."
'The advice sounds so good, when you're not forced to take it yourself, that
is.'
"Oh?"
"Yes." 'So far, so good.'
"Ka-Kasumi..?"
"...I...I...Ranma-" 'Can't be nervous now. I've already started; I
must finish it.' "Well, you see, Ranma, I..."
I have to tell you something-"
MEOW
"...oh my..."
'Man, I could get use to this. No baka oyaji, no pressure, no rivals,
no iinazuke problems...' His gaze slipped up to the eldest Tendo daughter
as he took in the scene around him. Inwardly, he sighed. 'Though I really
have no idea what to do about Kasumi. She's the only one who has ever been
so nice to me since I can remember. Never hits me for some stupid mistake.
Always willing to listen. Such beautiful eyes. A wonderful cook. A
kind-Gah! What was I saying? I don't want another iinazuke!'
For the last few days, the conversation he overheard has been weighing
on his mind. For the first time in a long while, he had time to actually
think about lots of things, namely the engagement. In the past, he sometimes
felt that he really wanted the engagement to Akane, no matter how much he
would deny it. She had wanted to be friends when he first arrived at the
Tendo home. Her smile made him feel good, and she was cute whenever she did
smile at him. She was always quick to help him out, even when he didn't want
it. Of course, Akane had her bad points, too. She was violent, always
hitting him with an array of objects (mallets seemed to be her tool of
choice, though he still had no idea where they came from). Sometimes, he
conceded that he deserved an occasional lump for being a little _too_ honest
in his speech, but most of the poundings he had to endure were not his
fault. He didn't have much control over his fiancees, or Kodachi. He
certainly didn't control Akane's inability to put two and two together and
figure out that P-Chan, her pet pig who she takes to bed with her every night
whenever she finds him wandering about is really the Eternally Lost Boy
Ryouga with a Jusenkyo curse. And he sure didn't have any control over the
poison Akane calls her cooking (the curry she makes is decent, but the rest
is unfit for any kind of consumption). If she only tasted what she makes,
she would understand just how awful it is and why he refuses to eat it.
'Why exactly do I put up with Akane and her temper to begin with?'
It wasn't the first time he asked himself that question. 'I don't know.
I guess it's because I really needed the friendship after getting
cursed...even if I had to go through hell for it. Nabiki just sees me as a
source of income. Always have, always will. Kasumi, I thought it was
because I was too young for her taste. But now...now...'
He felt her hand lay on his shoulder, and a tingling sensation ran
through his arm and chest. Then her soft, sweet voice began to speak.
"Perhaps we should return home, Ranma."
He blinked. 'K-K-Kasumi? being this forward? I-I-I-what do I-!' Panic
was beginning to take hold until he realized where he was. After the panic
quickly subsided, he replied, "Y-yeah, I...guess we better." They began
walking back to the entrance of the park.
'Man, I thought I just said I don't want another iinazuke. What's wrong
with you, Ranma? Get yourself together. Don't try to think about it, all
right? That's just it, don't try to think about it. It's probably just a
silly crush anyways....
'Mmm, that's strange. I just feel good about her all of a
sudden...ARGH! Why me?'
He was so preoccupied with his thoughts, he failed to register that his
hand touched Kasumi's when he made to put it into his pocket.
"Ranma?"
He looked in her direction. "Yes, Kasumi?"
"Well, you see...something has been...bothering me. For some time now."
'Uh oh...is this...?' "Oh?"
"Yes."
"Ka-Kasumi..?" His mind was growing blank.
"...I...I...Ranma, I have to tell you something-"
MEOW
Ramna froze. Solid. He didn't see or hear anything other than the
nightmare re-enacting itself. Again. Frantically, he looked around,
gibbering "C-c-c-c-ca-ca-cat...! W-w-where...?"
Almost on command, a small, cream-colored kitten rubbed against Kasumi's
leg, purring as if trying to convince her to take it home and feed it milk
and fish. Had she been a little bit younger or if she was Akane, she might
have obliged it just that. Under any other circumstances, she would have at
least fed it something instead of trying to shoo it away as fast and best as
she could before Ranma reached nekoken stage.
No sooner the cat was out of Ranma's sight, he sped far away from his
fear-given-tangible form. Disbelief written on her face, Kasumi observed the
dust trail he had kicked up in his run. Then her attention returned to the
little kitten.
"Baka neko," she spoke with quiet venom under her breath. Immediately,
she felt guilty. "I'm sorry, neko-san; I shouldn't be angry with you. It
isn't as if you knew Ranma's an ailurophobic." She looked down the lane
where the dust was settling back to the ground. 'Ranma...'
She walked down the path, hoping that Ranma hadn't went farther than the
entrance of the park...or ran into any more cats. Akane had been the only
one who could coax him without worry when he was in the cat fist mode, and...
Kasumi bit her lower lip. An idea formed, but she hastily put it out of
mind; she was too afraid of getting an answer from Ranma that way. A
no-doubt confirmation may be more than she could bear.
'Sometimes, I wish I wasn't so passive...' she thought morosely as she
could make Ranma's shillouette near the entrance to the park. A cab was
coming into view as well, apparently slowing down to pick her and Ranma up.
Kasumi sighed softly, then picked up her pace.
End Chpter Three