Through my trained eyes.
I watch as Ranma leaves again and sorrow fills me.
I see him. I always watch him. Whenever Akane mallets him through a roof and he gets up as if it were nothing... I watch him and know what will one day happen.
His face, eyes, movements... all of them seemingly as normal as any other person. Actually, they are extremely abnormal. He is seen as the greatest martial artist of his time. And has not yet been truly defeated. He doesn't even know..
But he isn't normal. My eyes see. My eyes know.
I know that while he fights all the fiancées and rivals... he fights an inner battle he doesn't even know about.
I thank god for Genma. He knew. He and I both knew. This was the only way for Ranma. There was no other. And, sacrificing his sons love of him, Genma threw away everything. His wife, his honor, and his happiness, to let Ranma have at least some time.
Ranma's Immune system was crippled at birth.
At the age of six Ranma was diagnosed with Lung Cancer... It was said that he would die before his seventh birthday.
Genma knew a way to stop this. He had to strengthen Ranma. Make him. Force him to live. And the only way was to make him stronger. Daily Ranma copes with difficult breathing, while fighting unimaginable odds and winning. His immune system strengthens by the day... but so does the disease. And I know that he will soon collapse.
Genma knew this way back then. When Ranma began to start losing his breath around the age of a very early seven, Genma sought more ways. He found the Neko-ken.
Genma was in no way the foolish man he perfectly made himself out to be. He read the entire manual. The cats lungs were different then a normal humans lungs. They were stronger, more resistant to disease. And Genma, against every good thought he had ever had to his son, threw the boy in the pit.
Ranma survived and became strong. His lungs became stronger, his immune system, better then any humans, and got better with every passing into the Neko-ken state.
But it still wasn't enough.
He had to find something to help Ranma even more. After a long time of searching, he found Jusenkyo.
Ranma had become horrible at fighting by the time they had reached Jusenkyo. Genma saw the punch miles away that sent him into the water that he knew would curse him into some form.
When he exited the water and threw his son into it a girl came out. And Genma hid his happiness. Ranma successfully chased him for nineteen hours before giving up. Ranma's female side was not diseased.
Ranma has just asked me if I knew why he could always breath better as a female... I don't have the heart to tell him. If he doesn't know... he'll keep fighting.
I thank god for Soun. He knew. He and Genma devised a plan to keep Ranma permanently active. While Soun would simply raise his girls, while having agreed to the fake proposal to unite the schools, Genma would engaged his son to every single girl he could find as he grew up in exchange for stupid things. Foolish things.
And some would come looking for Ranma. Which, in turn, would make Soun's daughter Jealous and fight him constantly. Then they would add oil to the fire with half brained schemes to get the two to marry, that would never work. Thus forcing them to hate each other. And in turn never marry, and always fight. While the school would still be carried on by Ranma. With other fiancée's always on the doorstep competing against one another, it worked perfectly. And Ranma remained active. His system kept fighting the cancer that seeped into his lungs. The disease that he didn't even know about.
I thank god for Cologne. Upon seeing the boy for the first time she knew... she knew immediately and also immediately spoke with Genma...
They resolved to let Shampoo help in the fiancée War as Genma, apparently, hadn't gotten quite enough fiancée's to fight over Ranma, as none, at the time, had shone themselves.
And Cologne, once she began to like Ranma to an extreme, decided to help the boy even more. She guided him to the phoenix pill. After having finally eaten it he was both cured of his being stuck in his female form and his lungs were completely immune to any form of air that wasn't completely pure. The only thing Ranma had to worry about was the cancer already in him... but...
Ranma approached his eighteenth birthday.
The battle with Saffron occurred. Ranma has just left me, telling me that he hasn't been able to breath properly for almost a week since unless he is in his girl form but it's getting better. I smile a happy smile and let him go, telling him it will all be fine. And he leaves, his smile genuine.
The failed wedding occurs. And once again I applaud Genma and Soun. They called all of his fiancée's and rivals. The wedding was perfectly ruined.
Afterwards Ranma finds himself staying in his girl form. He finds it easier to breath but still doesn't understand why. Not much more time... not enough to be noticed by his peers of course.
Weeks later he walks in to see me... his face is blue... his eyes are bloodshot and he looks almost half dead.
But is it the disease? No... No. Ranma surprises me yet again. He asks my advice... he seems to have FINALLY chosen a fiancée...
But... If he chooses a fiancée. If he stops his almost constant battles... he will die. I... I... hate myself... so much. But I love all life and have no choice...
I discourage him from asking Akane to marry him. I ask him why he would possibly want a girl who would hit him all the time? But the half reassure him by saying, But if you keep trying, maybe one day things will be different for the two of you.
Months later, Ranma still constantly fights... and I know that one day... his fights will come to an end. They can't be kept up forever...
Akane has just left telling me that she beat Ranma in a fight. She laughs that his excuse for losing was that he couldn't breath for a time.
And I have no choice... At that time... I must tell her.
And tell her I did.
She edged around him for almost a week, unable to believe.. all this time... that she had been a part of what was simply keeping the boy alive. And she never stopped malleting him. She swore she wouldn't.
Several months after that.. Akane and Ranma had grown close... far to close for Genma's comfort.
Without any notice whatsoever. It happened. Ranma proposed to Akane... and she accepted... while knowing everything about him she decided she would stay with him.
Afterwards Genma and Soun told her what Ranma had contracted. And, she happily replied... I already know... why do you think I've been malleting him even more lately?
In truth, every single mallet that hits him, strengthens him just a little.
And they were married.
Shampoo
gave up quickly... after that. Cologne informed her of what had been
happening. And while she was angry she understood why her great
grandmother had done it.
The boy was an amazing person, even for someone as old as herself, to behold. It would be a shame if he had died.
Ukyo went into a mad rage. In the end she was admitted to a psychiatrical ward for two attempted suicides and one homicide, that she profusely apologized for every time afterwards that she saw Akane.
Kodachi had died in an attempt to cure the cancer when she found out. She used herself as a test subject forgetting that she had no cancer with which to cure.
But Ranma and all of his male rivals still didn't know. Genma hoped that would be enough.
Akane loves him with all of her heart now. And he her. I see it in the way they move and act and go about their lives. Nothing stops them.
As Ryoga attacks Ranma daily, he smiles. As Kuno tries to seduce Akane daily, she smiles.
I see this. I know this.
Cologne saw this. She knew this.
We both have something very much in common. Cologne and I. We can both see with the trained eyes of an experienced doctor. We can both always tell if someone is sick.. or just red in the face. Especially myself. I have had a disease for a long time as well and I am afraid today will be my last day on this side of death. I have not fought, like Ranma. I held out as long as I could... but this is my final memoir.
Please forgive me Ranma... if you ever read this I should have told you.
I see now... and always will see, even after I die, Through my Trained Eyes.
Diary of Doctor Tofu. June 26, 1998.
This is a repost. I wanted to see if people would still like this so I reposted it. Hope you enjoy my first one shot! (Suped up by growing experience!)