A Gift for Kasumi
by DojoRanma
Chapter 6 - Spiritual Healing
The train ride was excruciating for Ranma, every little bump or jostle sent jolts of pain up his leg. Trying to keep it elevated was even worse as the muscles in his quadriceps and hips could not keep his leg from smacking into support bars or the floor, which would hurt worse than the bumps and make his leg tingle painfully. It had taken almost twenty minutes to reach the station and climbing the stairs to the platform carrying an unconscious Kasumi had been more of a task than normal. They had missed the train but the Oeno line ran often enough that they didn't need to wait long. He sat and cradled Kasumi close from the chilly night air until the next train had arrived.
Kasumi had not suffered any visible wounds that Ranma could see, and there was no issues with her ki or chi flows as he took the time to check over her for the umpteenth time.
'Soun would never forgive me for hurting Kasumi, neither would Nabiki.' He shuddered, 'Seppuku would be a welcome option if that came about.'
Nabiki was never one to be trifled with. Out of all of the opponents he had ever faced, Nabiki's mere presence made him sca... wary of her. She wasn't a martial artist by any stretch, though she was quite fit and probably practiced some basics when she was younger, but she had a ruthless way about her and didn't need to physically impose her will or use any charms or wiles to get what she wanted.
'Though she could very easily.' He thought and then quickly banished those thoughts from his head with a slight blush. It was then he realized his gaze had been directed at Kasumi's chest as her soft, steady breathing caused it to hypnotically swell and deflate in front of him.
His eyes bugged out for a second as he whipped his head away, causing a minor spasm in his back from the earlier abuse to it. Taking a moment to twist his head and get his neck and shoulders back in alignment to relieve some of the tension and spasming, he looked again at Kasumi. Knowing that she was sleeping peacefully without injury, Ranma was finally able to focus again on healing his injuries. Channeling his ki, Ranma ground his teeth as it started to repair the damage to his knee and ankle. He knew it would be impossible to repair all the damage during the short train ride to his mother's, but it would give some strength back and remove the majority of the limp.
Ki is the external force of existance. People use it to go about their lives, to move, to talk, to create, touch and feel. Chi is our life essence. Everything has chi in it and it allows things to grow, live, heal, be and become what they are. They are two very different elements, like earth and water, but both critical to life.
Ranma's natural chi flows took care of his everyday pains and aches, though quite accelerated compared to that of a normal human being. The damage sustained to his leg though needed external force to help the healing process. He could feel as his ki seeped into his leg, his chi fighting briefly with the invasion of the alien ki energies. He could feel the ki shift and push his bones and muscles back into place with the strength and speed of a world class sumo wrestler.
This ki technique was second nature to Ranma, once the bones and muscles had been set straight, he could let his natural chi flows heal the rest. One of the few techniques he was grateful to learn from his father early on in his training that he could remember. Even though he had no idea what ki or chi was when he was taught the technique, all he cared was that it healed his bumps and bruises very quickly. Now that he knew how his chi and ki worked, the most devastating injuries could be wiped clean within hours and days, instead of weeks and months.
Finally, he let his ki subside and his natural chi flows washed over his leg like a gentle stream of water starting to work on the more intricate parts of the healing process. He opened his eyes and looked around. The ki healing took almost 20 minutes to complete and they were only a few minutes from arriving at the station to meet with his mother.
'Now if only Kasumi would wake up, I would feel much...'
He looked down to see her flutter her eyes open from where she lay. It took her a few moments to gather her senses and check her surroundings.
"Ranma?"
"Hmm. Yes?"
"How did we wind up on the train?"
"Umm. Well, you fainted after Akane attacked when I was jumping over the roof to get you away from her attack on me. I carried you to the station and watched over you while you slept."
He scratched the back of his head nervously, he didn't want her to worry about his injury. She slowly sat up in his lap and shifted into the seat next to her.
"What happened to Akane?"
Ranma paused. 'What did happen to her?'
"I don't know," he replied meekly, "Maybe she went back home."
"I hope so, it would be bad for her to catch a chill being outside."
Ranma slightly facefaulted, but quickly recovered. Shifting in his seat, he tried to break the pregnant pause that had lingered.
"We should be getting to the station pretty soon."
"That's good."
Another pause filled the train car.
"Ranma?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"Just before Akane interrupted us, you were starting to confront me about hiding my feelings from you. I just-"
"Kasumi," he interjected, "It's not just me you're hiding those feelings from. I don't care if you don't want to tell me or let me in. What I do see is you are trying to hide those feelings from yourself."
He touched her chin gently so she would look him in the eyes. Her eyes were becoming glassy with tears that threatened to break through the dam at any moment. He steeled himself and continued.
"I want to help you, if you want it, but you need to be honest with yourself first. That mask helps nobody, least of all you. The same could be said for Akane and Nabiki as well. You're not protecting anyone, especially me, and you're hurting yourself the more you hide."
The dam of tears broke through and Kasumi buried her head in his shoulder. Not used to the situation, Ranma just sat there and let her work through her emotions. I continued for a few moments of her quietly weeping on the train before they were interrupted by the slowing of the train and a voice echoing in the car.
"Azubujuban Station. Azubujuban Station."
When the car stopped, they both stood up and walked towards the exit. Ranma wincing slightly as he gingerly walked out. As they moved towards the station exit, Kasumi broke the silence.
"By the way, Ranma, why do you have a pipe on your leg?"
Ranma facefaulted.
Authors notes:
"It's not dead yet!"
Appearing through the smoke, I am the shadow that quacks in the night... Nine years later and a lifetime ago, after a long time away with writers block and life, I have returned with a new chapter for all my fans. I know it has been a long time and I hope it is worth it. I am going to try to write more often but with everything going on in my life it could be a long time before the next one. Thank you for all the reviews and support, it really does make a difference.
By the way, no I am not making it a Sailor Moon crossover, I could not find where the Saotome home was from the manga and anime, and figured "Hey! Let's put Ranma's birth home right where a whole bunch of other chaos happens in Anime."
Next Chapter - What happening at the party or will we have a glimpse into Akane's whereabouts? Hopefully I will have further updates in the near future. Stay tuned.