Ranma stepped through the door to the Tendo home. She was shivering. For some reason, she was very, very cold. That didn't bother her much, though. What she was worried about was the filth that saturated her to the very bone.
She needed a bath.
She moved to the bathroom and entered, closing the door quietly behind her. Gods, she was dirty. She'd have to spend an extra long time in the bath.
The girl quietly stripped and entered the bathroom proper, again talking special care not to wake anyone when she closed the door. She was so dirty. And cold. So very cold.
Ranma found a bar of soap and proceeded to get into the tub before even filling it up. Screw washing first. Besides, she was so dirty that it wouldn't even work. She had to soak for a long time to loosen the dirt. Not to mention the fact that she was so very, very cold.
The young Saotome turned on the how water, not even bothering to turn on the cold. After a few moments, the then-male Ranma started to work at his legs with the soap as steam filled the bathroom. God, he was dirty.
+++
Kasumi stared at the ceiling. She hadn't been able to sleep, and her alternatives were severely limited. She couldn't watch TV for fear of waking someone up; besides, there wasn't anything good on that late at night. She couldn't read, because she had no books with which to do so. She couldn't...well, she couldn't do anything that wasn't staring at the ceiling, really.
Maybe a glass of water? It was worth a shot, at least.
As she walked down the stairs, Kasumi became aware of water running somewhere in the house. Odd. No one should have been awake.
The sound appeared to be coming from the bathroom. Who could have been taking a bath so late at night?
Stepping into the changing room, Kasumi softly called, "Hello?" When no answer came, she shrugged to herself and walked towards the door to the actual bathroom. Someone must have left the water running after they had bathed that evening. Why hadn't anyone noticed it before, though? No matter. There was no use in fretting about the past. She snorted to herself. The story of her life.
When Kasumi entered the bathroom proper, she had to bite back a scream. Ranma was in the bathtub, the water running, but he wasn't awake, nor was he okay. The water was red with his blood, and his head lolled dangerously close to the water in which he sat.
The woman with long, brown hair hauled Ranma out of the bathtub and turned off the water. Ranma didn't look too good. She had to do something. He was going to die if she didn't do something. Able to think of nothing else, she grabbed a bathrobe off of a nearby shelf, placed it on Ranma and pressed lightly, hopefully inhibiting the blood flow somewhat. Kasumi had no illusions about the situation; Ranma was going to bleed to death if she didn't do something.
She ran out of the house, hoping against hope that Dr. Tofu was awake.
+++
Kasumi ran through the darkened streets of Nerima, winding her way towards Dr. Tofu's office. As her bare feet slapped hard against the pavement, she felt a familiar surge of emotion: helplessness. Ranma was lying on the bathroom floor, bleeding, and she knew for a fact that the flimsy bathrobe she had laid atop Ranma to help staunch the blood flow would do no good. The only thing Kasumi could do was run to get Dr. Tofu. And run she did. Despite the sinking feeling in her stomach and the well of tears threatening to spill over at any moment, the eldest Tendo sister ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She was not going to let Ranma die.
The girl reached the good doctor's office and tried to open the door. It was locked, of course, so she proceeded to bang loudly on the door. "Doctor! Hello, Doctor!!" The pounding and screaming echoed through the silent streets, giving the sounds an eerie quality and heightening Kasumi's fear. "Please, open up! Ranma needs help!"
Suddenly, the door opened. There stood Dr. Tofu, wearing only a dark pair of pants and his glasses. "Hello?" he said, not a hint of fatigue in his voice.
Then he saw who it was.
Before Kasumi could even form a sentence in her mind, Tofu was stammering, "K-K-K-K-Kasumi! What b-brings you here?"
"Ranma's been hurt! I need you to come with me!" Kasumi all but screamed.
"Well, we can't have that, can we?" said Tofu. He turned around and went back into his office, leaving Kasumi to hyperventilate by the front door. A few moments later, the good Doctor returned, carrying a picnic basket. "Let's go!" he said. "We've got to save Akane!"
Kasumi swore. Of course Tofu would be crazy. He was always that way when Kasumi was around. "No, Doctor, it's Ranma! And that's not your bag!"
"It's not?" the man asked, glancing down at the picnic basket in his hand. "What is it, then?"
"Never mind what it is, just go get your bag!" Kasumi felt a tear slide down her face. They wouldn't make it if they didn't hurry.
Tofu, of course, returned with his suitcase and said, "Okay, where's Nabiki?"
Kasumi's hand shot out and struck Tofu's face with enough force to turn his head. "Damn it, Tofu, we don't have time for this! Ranma is bleeding to death!" Her face was contorted in anger, and her cheeks were covered with tears. "Pull your shit together and go help him! If you don't, he'll die!" Kasumi began to sob, her shoulders heaving and her hands covering her face.
Tofu was shocked out of his Kasumi-induced stupor. He calmly looked to the sobbing girl. He then looked to his glasses, which had fallen to the ground with Kasumi's slap. He looked to his suitcase. What had he been doing? Why did he always act like that around Kasumi? Emotions were such confusing things - especially around the eldest Tendo girl. Tofu swore under his breath. How could he let his emotions mess with him like that when a life hung in the balance? Never again. Never, ever again.
Kasumi turned when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes met Dr. Tofu's through his now beat-up glasses. "Where is Ranma?"
+++
Ranma woke up and opened his eyes. He saw an unfamiliar ceiling. He tried to sit up, but pain shot through his entire body, so he decided to stop. Lying down was just fine with him. He did turn his head, though, so he could see where he was and what he looked like. The pain that had accompanied his efforts to sit up apparently had cousins in his neck and head, but they weren't as strong as their kin, so Ranma was able to turn his head far enough to see bandages covering his entire body and Kasumi sleeping in a chair by the head of his bed. At least no one could see his hideous body. Was his face covered, too? He painfully turned his head to the left so he could gaze into the mirror opposite him. The window next to the mirror showed the pre-dawn sky lightening to a dark gray. The sun would be up soon. He shifted his focus to the reflective surface. No, his face was fine. A bit pale, but fine. Not that paleness was anything to worry about, either; he wasn't
attractive in the first place. He looked back to Kasumi. Behind the Tendo girl, he could see what looked to be Dr. Tofu's office. Strange. How did he get here? The last thing he remembered was being in the bath, washing himself raw. Oh, no. Had Kasumi found him and taken him to Dr. Tofu? Had she carried him here, getting all of his dirt onto her self? He hoped not; Kasumi wouldn't understand the fact that the dirt was really under the top layers of skin. She would probably have overreacted. Damn it, he couldn't even clean himself without messing someone else's life up, could he? God, he was so worthless. Had Dr. Tofu examined him? Had he gotten dirty, too? Two people dirtied by his own carelessness. Why did he always screw up like that? There was so much he could have done to ensure that nothing bad happened to anyone else, but had he done that? No, of course not - he was careless and stupid. What a complete waste of flesh. He turned his head to the left
in order to see what else was in the room. He saw an IV bag with blood in it that appeared to be connected to his left arm, and one filled with water connected to the tube running from the first, but other than that, the room was sparsely decorated.
Ranma felt something stir to his right and turned his head to see what it was. His neck felt stiff, as if it were swollen. It was probably the germs in his system. He still needed a bath. Before he could see what was stirring, he heard a familiar voice. "Ranma?" it softly asked. He saw Kasumi's red, puffy eyes, and wondered why she had been crying. "Oh, thank God you're okay, Ranma." Kasumi made it seem that she was actually glad that Ranma was okay. Yeah, right. It's not like he was worth sympathy. He was just a piece of gum on the bottom of Kasumi's boot, and they both knew it. Still, it was nice of Kasumi to lie to him in order to make him feel better, even if he could see through it. As Kasumi started to cry, Ranma wished she would stop with the charade. The crying was a bit much. Besides, the lies were getting kind of old. He really wished people would start treating him like the piece of dog meat that he was instead of lying to his face all the time.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again, Ranma," he heard the girl sob. Great. She was pissed. Just great. She probably carried him here, too. Geez, he was such an asshole. Making her carry him all this way. What the hell was wrong with him? Not only that, but she'd been tainted by his dirt; Dr. Tofu had probably been soiled, too. Why did Ranma always have to mess things up? Whatever the reason, Ranma had to apologize. He wouldn't feel right if he didn't apologize. He lifted his arm slowly and painfully, pantomiming writing. How easy it would have been had he been able to speak.
Kasumi was so relieved to see Ranma awake that her tears wouldn't stop. Even as she handed him the pad of paper and the pen, she had tears running down her face. She waited patiently for Ranma to finish writing, wiping her eyes and willing the tears to stop. Finally, the Saotome boy held up the pad, which said `I'm sorry for bothering you. I didn't mean to make you go to all of this trouble.' Kasumi replied, "Ranma, what are you talking about? I found you unconscious and bleeding in the bathtub. What was I supposed to do, let you bleed to death? It was the only thing I could do to bring you here and get you treated. Don't apologize." A few moments later Ranma held up his reply. `You should have let me die. I wouldn't be bothering you, then. If you touched me, you should bathe. I'm unclean.'
Kasumi was speechless. Silence hung in the air as the girl's tears were renewed in strength by the Saotome boy's statement. Eventually, she moved to give Ranma a hug. There was nothing else she could think to do.
As she reached for Ranma, he held up his hands in a gesture for her to stop. He quickly scribbled out something onto the piece of paper he had been writing on before. `Don't touch me.' The Tendo girl was shocked. "Wha...why, Ranma?" His reply read `I'm dirty. Could you please remove my bandages and help me to the bath? I need to wash.'
Kasumi's only reply was to, after a moment of awkward silence, calmly and slowly reach for a pressure point on Ranma's body that would put him to sleep. He seemed disturbed as her finger neared, but soon he was asleep, with the weeping form of Kasumi lying on his chest.
That was how Dr. Tofu found them, almost twenty minutes later. He stepped silently next to Kasumi. "Kasumi?" he asked softly, which caused the girl to look up. "How are you doing?"
She looked up at him with huge, tear-filled eyes and choked, "Hold me." She stood and laid her head against Tofu's chest. As his arms awkwardly encircled her, she sobbed, "He's hurt, Tofu. He's hurt so badly."
Tofu's arms tightened around Kasumi's shoulders as the familiar haze of lovesickness began to overwhelm him, but he mentally shook it off. Instead, he said, "I know, Kasumi. I know."
"No," she whispered in between sobs. "No, he's hurt mentally. It's a psychological wound."
"What do you mean?" asked the Doctor.
Kasumi just cried.
+++
It was about six thirty in the morning. Kasumi's `discussion' with Ranma had occurred almost an hour previously, but she had not talked with Dr. Tofu yet. That was partially due to the emotional instability she felt. In the last hour she had started crying for no reason six or seven times, and she didn't feel up to discussing what Ranma had `said.' But she knew she had to. Dr. Tofu had to know. He might be able to do something for Ranma.
Dr. Tofu re-entered the room with two cups of tea and set one down in front of Kasumi before taking the seat across the table from her. "Thought you might like some tea."
Kasumi...she had to get it over with, or she'd never be able to do it. "Ranma woke up earlier. He spoke with me - metaphorically, of course - and the things he said disturb me. First he apologized for bothering me. He apologized because he saw my coming here to get you in order that you might save his life as bothering me. He described it as `trouble' that I had to go to in order to save his life. I replied that there wasn't really anything less I could have done except let him bleed to death, and he said that I should have let him die." The girl looked sadly into the Doctor's eyes. "I should have let him die, Tofu. He's not even seventeen yet, and he doesn't care if he dies. What kind of kid doesn't care if he dies at the age of sixteen?" Tears were running down Kasumi's face again, and she wiped them away with another tissue from the box by her right hand.
Tofu thought on this new information for a couple of minutes, and then asked, "Did he say anything else?"
Kasumi delicately sniffed before saying, "Yes. He kept saying that he was dirty, and then he asked me to help him to the bathroom. He said he needed to wash."
Tofu nodded his head once. "Last night, when I first saw him, I thought the wounds were strange. It looked like Ranma had scrubbed his skin clear away. We now know that's exactly what happened." Kasumi nodded, and Tofu went on. "Obviously, something happened to him that caused him deep psychological pain. - he apparently feels dirtied by the experience."
Kasumi's face showed concern. "What do you think happened?"
"I don't know, Kasumi. I just don't know." He stood up. "Well, I think you'd better get home. The rest of the house will be waking up soon, and it would be awkward if you were missing."
"Why? Because they wouldn't have breakfast waiting for them like usual?" she spat. "Well, screw them! They can make their own God damn breakfast this morning!" she screamed, causing Tofu to take a step back. This wasn't the Kasumi he knew. "I'm not leaving Ranma's side until he gets better," she said quietly, half defiant and half concerned.
Dr. Tofu moved to the girl and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked softly.
"No, I'm not okay, Tofu! Not at all!" She looked up at him, and for the first time, he could see the real Kasumi in her eyes. She had lowered her defenses, and anyone looking into her eyes could see the emotions that had previously been hidden by her mask. "Ever since my mother died, Tofu, I've had to take on the role of the mother for Akane and Nabiki. Hell, I've even had to play the mother for my own father! Do you realize how pathetic that is, Tofu? Do you have any idea how many times I've wished that my dad would just act like a real father and not like some permanent houseguest, always hiding behind the newspaper and watching TV? Too many to count, Doc! That's horrible! A girl should be able to rely on her father for at least the simple things, like the occasional hug or an encouraging word now and then!" Kasumi's eyes were beginning to fill with tears again, so she shut them tightly and plowed forward. "For Akane and Nabiki, I knew they had bright futures
ahead of them, and I wanted to make sure that they could concentrate on their schoolwork so they could realize their full potential. But to do that, I had to suppress my own dreams, and that is too steep a price to pay, Doctor. I didn't realize that until too late, but the fact is that I cannot just give up on my dreams to play mother to my family. So, from now on, I say screw them! They can do their own damn thing, for all I care! I'm gonna study to be a doctor, damn it, and that's that!" Kasumi's face was defiant, but the single tear that ran down her face betrayed the emotions running beneath the surface.
The Doctor gently squeezed her shoulder and wiped away the tear. "That's something only you can decide to do, Kasumi. If you want to do that, go right ahead. I'm sure your family would support your decision either way. But the important thing is to tell them how you feel. If you don't, then they'll continue to expect you to be what you aren't, and nothing will get accomplished." Tofu gently pulled on her hand, indicating that she should stand up. When she did, he took a step back and smiled at her. "Kasumi, whatever you decide to do, I'll be here to help. If you need me to talk to your family for you, I can do that. I know them well enough." Kasumi smiled slightly at that. "If you need me to help you study medicine or anatomy or anything, I'll be here to help you do that, too. I'm already a doctor, and if you need anyone to help you study, just ask."
Another tear ran down Kasumi's face, but the smile on her face told Dr. Tofu that it was not a tear of sadness or bitterness. "Thank you, Doctor. And I'm sorry for yelling at you, but this situation with Ranma has my emotions running in overdrive."
The Doctor smiled. "I understand. Don't worry about it."
Kasumi continued, "But I did mean it when I said that I would like to stay with Ranma until he's better."
Dr. Tofu nodded. "I understand. I'll just call the house sometime today and tell them what happened, and you ca-"
"No!" insisted Kasumi, interrupting Tofu. "Do you think that Ranma would want anyone else to know what happened? I think not!"
The Doctor held up his hands in a placating manner. "Alright, you're right. I won't call them. But they will be wondering where you and Ranma are as soon as they see that you're not home, you know, so I will have to tell them something."
Kasumi bit her lower lip. "I know, I know." The girl smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry for interrupting like that, but I don't want anything else to happen to Ranma if it can be avoided."
"I understand. But you do realize that it could be as long as two weeks before I can allow him to go home, right?" Kasumi nodded, and Tofu continued. "Well, I suppose that I could say that I wanted to study something about Ranma's Jusenkyo curse, so I asked him to come and stay for a while." The Doctor and Kasumi both smiled. "Yes, that would work. And you could say that you, being the sweet person that you are," Kasumi blushed a bit at that, "wanted to stay with Ranma and make sure that he wasn't uncomfortable. Would that work?"
Kasumi launched herself into Tofu's arms and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, saying, "Thank you, Doctor!" She pulled back from the blushing and flustered Tofu. "Well, I guess I should go back to the house and at least tell them in person that Ranma and I are going to be gone for a while, so I'm off. I'll see you in about an hour, doctor?" Tofu nodded dumbly. "Okay. Bye!" said Kasumi, smiling a smile that would rot your teeth from across the room.
As the Tendo girl left the Doctor's office, Tofu giggled to himself and walked over to his skeleton, Betty. "Hello? May I help you?"
+++
Kasumi was just putting the rice on the table as Akane walked into the dining room. "Good morning, Akane!" The eldest Tendo daughter smiled, causing Akane to smile, as well. Kasumi had that effect on people.
"Good morning, Kasumi." Akane's smile was replaced with a worried frown quickly. "Have you seen Ranma? After he didn't come back last night, well...I checked his room just now, and he's not in there, either. Do you know anything?" Her eyes were wide, and her hands were clasped together at her waist. She was the quintessence of worry.
Kasumi sighed, forming her words in her mind. "Ranma's at Dr. Tofu's right now." Akane's eyes shot open, even more so than they had before, and she rushed out of the room. "Akane! Wait! Let me explain!" It was too late, though; the younger woman was already out of the door. Shit. Kasumi ran past a groggy Nabiki, into the street, but there was no sign of Akane. Shit and double shit.
Nabiki walked up behind her older sister. "Whaz hpnin?" she mumbled sleepily.
Kasumi frowned. Damnit! "Nothing, Nabiki. Come on back inside. Breakfast is ready."
+++
Akane ran through the streets of Nerima, speeding her way toward Dr. Tofu's office. What had happened? Had he gotten into a fight with someone? He probably would have won, but she hadn't seen him fight, really, so...what had happened? Oh, she hoped he was all right. She didn't notice the tears of worry streaking down her face as she rushed up and into the Doctor's office. "Dr. Tofu?" she called out, worriedly. "Hello?" She sniffed and wiped at her eyes. She hated crying. It made her feel weak.
"Yes?" came the reply. "I'll be right there, please wait a second." The Doctor's voice was coming from behind a door somewhere toward the back of the office. Soon, the door opened, and Tofu walked out, drying his hands on a white towel. "Oh!" he said, a bit surprised. "Hello, Akane. Shouldn't you be at home, getting ready for school?"
"Where's Ranma?" she asked anxiously, dabbing at her eyes again. Lord, she hoped that Ranma hadn't done anything rash, like...no, she wasn't even going to think about that. He didn't...couldn't...suicide? Had he...no...NO! He couldn't have! Ranma...Ranma wouldn't...would he...? Damn tears, why wouldn't they stop? She HATED crying!
The man hesitated briefly. "Akane, I don't think..."
"WHERE IS RANMA?!?" screamed the girl. "Something happened yesterday, Doctor, and he didn't come home last night, and I need to talk to him, and I've been worried, and now I find out that he's in your care, and...just...where is he?" Akane was still crying. Why couldn't she stop?
Dr. Tofu was taken aback. THIS was a new development. The last he had known, Akane wasn't too interested in the boy. Well, that certainly seemed to have changed. Tofu sighed. He couldn't say no to that sweet, worried face. So much for his and Kasumi's plans. "Okay, Akane." He hoped Ranma would forgive him. He moved back to the door he had just vacated and opened it. "He's in here. Please don't excite him. He just woke up, and he's kind of..."
The rest of the sentence was cut off as Akane rushed by him and into the room. She stopped and gasped as she caught sight of Ranma, completely covered in bandages. Oh, Lord, she hated crying so much. "Ranma!' she exclaimed as she rushed to his side, stared at him in amazement. "Ranma! What happened?" She looked back to the Doctor, her eyes wide with shock. "What happened?"
Ranma closed his eyes as Dr. Tofu explained how Kasumi had found him in the bath. Of ALL the people he didn't want to know about this...damn it damn it DAMN IT!!!!! His eyes closed, Ranma strained to cry out, to scream in rage and pain, but his wretched body wasn't able. He didn't want her seeing how weak he really was! She already thought he was a freak, and now he had to go and prove it to her?!? God, why couldn't Ranma just die? It would have been so much easier had he just died. Damn it all, he didn't want Akane's pity!
Akane's back was to Ranma as she listened to Doctor Tofu's hypothesis on what had happened. He had tried to kill himself? By washing his skin away? All of her fears and anxieties about Ranma came crashing into reality, and Akane could barely stand. Her knees wobbled, and she swayed as she stood in front of the Doctor. Why had Ranma done that? The raven-haired girl unsteadily turned to Ranma, not even noticing the fact that she was cutting Tofu off mid-sentence, and whispered, "Why, Ranma? What happened? Why would you ever do this?"
Ranma's eyes shot back to Akane at that question. Why? Why would he do that? What the hell kind of question was that? He was a dirty freak, that's why! She had said as much to the entire school! What the hell was she thinking? Ignoring the pain accompanied by the movements, Ranma reached for the pad of paper and the pencil that rested on the table next to his bed, but Akane reached them first, handed them to the bandaged boy. He closed his eyes to stopper the well of tears threatening to spill over. He didn't want her fucking pity. Slowly, he wrote, trying to minimize the physical pain of his actions. After he finished, he gingerly held it out to Akane, who read it out loud. "'I'm a dirty freak, Akane. You should know that. You told it to the whole school, after all.'" As soon as those words, Ranma's words, left Akane's mouth, and he saw the look in Akane's eyes, he regretted ever penning them down.
Akane...she wanted to cry, she wanted to hit something, she wanted to scream, she wanted to..."Ranma, that's not what happened at all," she croaked through her sobs. When had she grabbed Ranma? No matter. "Ranma, they found out about our engagement, somehow - I didn't tell them - and they were saying horrible things about you! They were calling you names, and asking questions about how you looked, and...oh, Ranma, I was going to yell at them, and scream how they shouldn't judge someone they don't know, but then I saw you leaving, and...and...Ranma, you have to believe me!" She realized she was wailing, but she really didn't care. She just wanted Ranma to feel better. "I'm sorry, Ranma! I'm so, so sorry!" Her words trailed off into sobs. Ranma didn't deserve that kind of hurt! He didn't deserve so much pain!
Ranma was crying, too. Partly because of the pain Akane was causing, but mostly because of the emotion he was feeling. He WAS dirty; they both knew it, but Akane was still apologizing. She was crying, too! God, he wanted to believe her! She was crying! He didn't want to hurt her! He always hurt other people, only caring about himself. Worthless piece of...no, this was no time for that shit. Akane...oh, he wished Akane would stop crying for him. He didn't deserve that. He tried to stop crying, but Akane's sobs just brought more tears to his eyes. He had hurt her, Goddamn it, and she was blaming herself for it. Ranma wanted to throw up.
The Doctor watched with not a little surprise as the events unfolded before him. Yes, this certainly was a new development. "Akane," he said quietly as he took the girl by her shoulders and gently pulled her away from Ranma, "I don't think you should be grabbing him like that." As soon as those words left his mouth, Akane practically leapt away from Ranma, barreling into Tofu and knocking him back a couple of steps. The man shook his head slightly in amazement, a wry grin twisting his lips. "The times, they are a-changin'," the doctor whispered to himself.
Akane's arms flew from around Ranma and she hurled herself backward. Ranma was in a hospital bed, completely covered in bandages, and she was squeezing the life out of him? "Oh, Ranma, I'm sorry, Ranma, I didn't mean to...I forgot that...I...are you okay? Did I hurt you, Ranma? I'm sorry. Are you okay?" She was babbling, but that wasn't even concerning her at the time. She just hoped Ranma wasn't in too much pain. Stupid, clumsy Akane, always fouling up...oh, God, he was crying! "Ranma..." Was he in that much pain from her `tender ministrations?' Probably. Clumsy oaf. "Ranma, I'm sorry for grabbing you like that." She could barely make out Ranma's face through her own tears. She wiped at her eyes vainly, trying to clear away the effusion of wetness there.
Doctor Tofu silently watched. Akane certainly wasn't going to grab Ranma again, and Ranma didn't look to be in too much pain, so he judged it best if he left the two fiancées to themselves. They probably had some personal things to talk about. He quietly slipped out without attracting the notice of either teen, then walked to the phone to call Kasumi. She'd have to know about this.
Akane delicately sniffed and snorted a laugh. "Ranma, look at us. We're crying like five-year-olds with skinned knees." She grabbed a chair from across the room and pulled it next to the bed. Before she sat down, though, she grabbed a box of tissues that was sitting on the table next to Ranma's bed and dried her eyes as best she could. "Here, Ranma, let me help." She reached over and dried his eyes for him, too, then sat back to again dry her own eyes. She still hadn't stopped crying, fully. "Ranma," she started, and then sneezed violently.
The Saotome boy had just managed to get his tears under control when Akane dried his eyes for him. What was she doing? She was being nice, that's what she was doing. Why? He didn't deserve that. He had just made her cry! Maybe it was pity? Most likely. She felt sorry for the freak, so she was trying to help him out, to make his life less hellish. Like that would help. She sat down in the chair that Kasumi had earlier been using and dried her own eyes again. Yeah, she just felt sorry for him. Nothing more. He wished it were more, though. He wished that someone would actually want to be his friend. But that wouldn't happen, not with what he looked like. Not with what he was, and what he had done. Akane sneezed. He thought back to what had almost been friendship with Akane and started to chuckle. After a few seconds, he was full out laughing. Silently laughing at himself, at his life. He was so worthless.
Akane wiped her nose, throwing the used tissue toward the wastebasket and missing. She'd pick that up later. When she looked back to the bed-ridden boy, she saw that he was laughing. She smiled, too. She was a bit embarrassed at sneezing like that, but it WAS funny. Ranma's quiet laughter intensified, and Akane was caught up in it, and started laughing herself. She couldn't help it. It was as much for the situation being funny as it was for a relief from the tears she had just finished shedding. Her therapeutic laughter echoed off the walls of the small room, drifting out the window and into the street. When she finally stopped laughing - it must have been two or three minutes! - she noticed that Ranma was still laughing just as hard as he had been before, if not harder. That was good; she liked seeing Ranma laughing. It made her smile. Something about his expression bothered her, though. Something wasn't quite right. As she peered closer, she realized that
Ranma wasn't laughing anymore; he was crying! She hadn't been able to discern because of the lack of sound coming from the boy, but he was crying again!
Ranma sobbed, his eyes closed, his head resting on the pillow. Worthless. Completely worthless. No use at all. He felt someone - Akane - dry his cheeks with another tissue, heard her murmur some words she probably thought were comforting, and he wept. But he didn't open his eyes. He didn't want to see the pity on her face.
+++
"Yes, Doctor. I'll be right over." Kasumi hung up the phone and sighed. Already, things were going wrong. It wouldn't be too long before Nabiki found out as well, that conniving bitch. No, that was just the stress talking. The girl walked back into the dining room, where Nabiki, Soun, and Genma were eating breakfast quietly. "Dr. Tofu asked me to go to his office for a little bit, so I'm going to head out. Nabiki, your lunch is in the kitchen. I'll see you after school. Father, Mr. Saotome, I don't know how long I'll be. You might want to consider going out to lunch." She said all of that without a smile, which was incredibly strange for the eldest Tendo sister.
Nabiki's semi-conscious state barely allowed her to register what was going on, but her subconscious filed away everything for later reference. "'Kay. Bye, Kasumi." Tea. Tea was good. Nabiki liked tea. She filled her cup for the seventh time that morning, hoping to be conscious by the time school came around.
Soun frowned and looked up at his daughter and frowned. This was highly unusual. "Is everything all right, Kasumi?"
Kasumi smirked awkwardly, then nodded. "Yes, Father; everything is fine." She turned and left the room. A few seconds later, the front door opening and closing could be heard. Hmm. This was definitely strange. He hadn't seen Ranma or Akane since the day before, and now Kasumi was going off to Dr. Tofu's? What was going on? The gears in Soun's head began to turn, ever so slowly.
Nabiki stood up and drained the last of her tea before exchanging the cup for her book bag and saying, "I'm off." She turned and left the room.
Soun frowned. What was going on with the children? Could Akane and Ranma have...? "That's it!" he shouted as he sprang to his feet, tears streaming down his face. "Genma!" he exclaimed as he turned to his oldest and dearest friend, "your son and my daughter have conceived a child!"
Genma frowned. "How can you be sure?"
"Why else would they both have been missing since yesterday? Why else would Kasumi be going over to Dr. Tofu's office so early in the morning? It's obvious!" he shouted, his face to the heavens. "Ranma and Akane have had sex, and have conceived a child! They went to Dr. Tofu to make sure, and they want Kasumi's advice as to what they should do!"
Genma nodded solemnly. It made all too much sense. "Oh, happy day!" he exclaimed as he leapt to his feet and embraced the patriarch of the Tendo family.
///////////////////////////////////////
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
This little repost serves two purposes: first off, I really wanted to fix the formatting for the chapter; secondly, I needed to inform everyone of my progress on the story. My progress is coming along VERY slowly. There is a good reason for that, though. My work on the chapter was erased. Completely. It happened at the beginning of January. So, since then, I've been kind of peeved at the whole world, and have been neglecting my TKP responsibilities. I'm sorry. I will honestly try to get the fourth chapter out as soon as I can possibly do so; however, I make no promises. That'd get me in a HEAP `o trouble.
Anyway, again, I'm sorry about the HORRIBLY LONG WAIT, and I hope you'll forgive me.
A Depraved Sociopath with Psychotic Tendencies
She needed a bath.
She moved to the bathroom and entered, closing the door quietly behind her. Gods, she was dirty. She'd have to spend an extra long time in the bath.
The girl quietly stripped and entered the bathroom proper, again talking special care not to wake anyone when she closed the door. She was so dirty. And cold. So very cold.
Ranma found a bar of soap and proceeded to get into the tub before even filling it up. Screw washing first. Besides, she was so dirty that it wouldn't even work. She had to soak for a long time to loosen the dirt. Not to mention the fact that she was so very, very cold.
The young Saotome turned on the how water, not even bothering to turn on the cold. After a few moments, the then-male Ranma started to work at his legs with the soap as steam filled the bathroom. God, he was dirty.
+++
Kasumi stared at the ceiling. She hadn't been able to sleep, and her alternatives were severely limited. She couldn't watch TV for fear of waking someone up; besides, there wasn't anything good on that late at night. She couldn't read, because she had no books with which to do so. She couldn't...well, she couldn't do anything that wasn't staring at the ceiling, really.
Maybe a glass of water? It was worth a shot, at least.
As she walked down the stairs, Kasumi became aware of water running somewhere in the house. Odd. No one should have been awake.
The sound appeared to be coming from the bathroom. Who could have been taking a bath so late at night?
Stepping into the changing room, Kasumi softly called, "Hello?" When no answer came, she shrugged to herself and walked towards the door to the actual bathroom. Someone must have left the water running after they had bathed that evening. Why hadn't anyone noticed it before, though? No matter. There was no use in fretting about the past. She snorted to herself. The story of her life.
When Kasumi entered the bathroom proper, she had to bite back a scream. Ranma was in the bathtub, the water running, but he wasn't awake, nor was he okay. The water was red with his blood, and his head lolled dangerously close to the water in which he sat.
The woman with long, brown hair hauled Ranma out of the bathtub and turned off the water. Ranma didn't look too good. She had to do something. He was going to die if she didn't do something. Able to think of nothing else, she grabbed a bathrobe off of a nearby shelf, placed it on Ranma and pressed lightly, hopefully inhibiting the blood flow somewhat. Kasumi had no illusions about the situation; Ranma was going to bleed to death if she didn't do something.
She ran out of the house, hoping against hope that Dr. Tofu was awake.
+++
Kasumi ran through the darkened streets of Nerima, winding her way towards Dr. Tofu's office. As her bare feet slapped hard against the pavement, she felt a familiar surge of emotion: helplessness. Ranma was lying on the bathroom floor, bleeding, and she knew for a fact that the flimsy bathrobe she had laid atop Ranma to help staunch the blood flow would do no good. The only thing Kasumi could do was run to get Dr. Tofu. And run she did. Despite the sinking feeling in her stomach and the well of tears threatening to spill over at any moment, the eldest Tendo sister ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She was not going to let Ranma die.
The girl reached the good doctor's office and tried to open the door. It was locked, of course, so she proceeded to bang loudly on the door. "Doctor! Hello, Doctor!!" The pounding and screaming echoed through the silent streets, giving the sounds an eerie quality and heightening Kasumi's fear. "Please, open up! Ranma needs help!"
Suddenly, the door opened. There stood Dr. Tofu, wearing only a dark pair of pants and his glasses. "Hello?" he said, not a hint of fatigue in his voice.
Then he saw who it was.
Before Kasumi could even form a sentence in her mind, Tofu was stammering, "K-K-K-K-Kasumi! What b-brings you here?"
"Ranma's been hurt! I need you to come with me!" Kasumi all but screamed.
"Well, we can't have that, can we?" said Tofu. He turned around and went back into his office, leaving Kasumi to hyperventilate by the front door. A few moments later, the good Doctor returned, carrying a picnic basket. "Let's go!" he said. "We've got to save Akane!"
Kasumi swore. Of course Tofu would be crazy. He was always that way when Kasumi was around. "No, Doctor, it's Ranma! And that's not your bag!"
"It's not?" the man asked, glancing down at the picnic basket in his hand. "What is it, then?"
"Never mind what it is, just go get your bag!" Kasumi felt a tear slide down her face. They wouldn't make it if they didn't hurry.
Tofu, of course, returned with his suitcase and said, "Okay, where's Nabiki?"
Kasumi's hand shot out and struck Tofu's face with enough force to turn his head. "Damn it, Tofu, we don't have time for this! Ranma is bleeding to death!" Her face was contorted in anger, and her cheeks were covered with tears. "Pull your shit together and go help him! If you don't, he'll die!" Kasumi began to sob, her shoulders heaving and her hands covering her face.
Tofu was shocked out of his Kasumi-induced stupor. He calmly looked to the sobbing girl. He then looked to his glasses, which had fallen to the ground with Kasumi's slap. He looked to his suitcase. What had he been doing? Why did he always act like that around Kasumi? Emotions were such confusing things - especially around the eldest Tendo girl. Tofu swore under his breath. How could he let his emotions mess with him like that when a life hung in the balance? Never again. Never, ever again.
Kasumi turned when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes met Dr. Tofu's through his now beat-up glasses. "Where is Ranma?"
+++
Ranma woke up and opened his eyes. He saw an unfamiliar ceiling. He tried to sit up, but pain shot through his entire body, so he decided to stop. Lying down was just fine with him. He did turn his head, though, so he could see where he was and what he looked like. The pain that had accompanied his efforts to sit up apparently had cousins in his neck and head, but they weren't as strong as their kin, so Ranma was able to turn his head far enough to see bandages covering his entire body and Kasumi sleeping in a chair by the head of his bed. At least no one could see his hideous body. Was his face covered, too? He painfully turned his head to the left so he could gaze into the mirror opposite him. The window next to the mirror showed the pre-dawn sky lightening to a dark gray. The sun would be up soon. He shifted his focus to the reflective surface. No, his face was fine. A bit pale, but fine. Not that paleness was anything to worry about, either; he wasn't
attractive in the first place. He looked back to Kasumi. Behind the Tendo girl, he could see what looked to be Dr. Tofu's office. Strange. How did he get here? The last thing he remembered was being in the bath, washing himself raw. Oh, no. Had Kasumi found him and taken him to Dr. Tofu? Had she carried him here, getting all of his dirt onto her self? He hoped not; Kasumi wouldn't understand the fact that the dirt was really under the top layers of skin. She would probably have overreacted. Damn it, he couldn't even clean himself without messing someone else's life up, could he? God, he was so worthless. Had Dr. Tofu examined him? Had he gotten dirty, too? Two people dirtied by his own carelessness. Why did he always screw up like that? There was so much he could have done to ensure that nothing bad happened to anyone else, but had he done that? No, of course not - he was careless and stupid. What a complete waste of flesh. He turned his head to the left
in order to see what else was in the room. He saw an IV bag with blood in it that appeared to be connected to his left arm, and one filled with water connected to the tube running from the first, but other than that, the room was sparsely decorated.
Ranma felt something stir to his right and turned his head to see what it was. His neck felt stiff, as if it were swollen. It was probably the germs in his system. He still needed a bath. Before he could see what was stirring, he heard a familiar voice. "Ranma?" it softly asked. He saw Kasumi's red, puffy eyes, and wondered why she had been crying. "Oh, thank God you're okay, Ranma." Kasumi made it seem that she was actually glad that Ranma was okay. Yeah, right. It's not like he was worth sympathy. He was just a piece of gum on the bottom of Kasumi's boot, and they both knew it. Still, it was nice of Kasumi to lie to him in order to make him feel better, even if he could see through it. As Kasumi started to cry, Ranma wished she would stop with the charade. The crying was a bit much. Besides, the lies were getting kind of old. He really wished people would start treating him like the piece of dog meat that he was instead of lying to his face all the time.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again, Ranma," he heard the girl sob. Great. She was pissed. Just great. She probably carried him here, too. Geez, he was such an asshole. Making her carry him all this way. What the hell was wrong with him? Not only that, but she'd been tainted by his dirt; Dr. Tofu had probably been soiled, too. Why did Ranma always have to mess things up? Whatever the reason, Ranma had to apologize. He wouldn't feel right if he didn't apologize. He lifted his arm slowly and painfully, pantomiming writing. How easy it would have been had he been able to speak.
Kasumi was so relieved to see Ranma awake that her tears wouldn't stop. Even as she handed him the pad of paper and the pen, she had tears running down her face. She waited patiently for Ranma to finish writing, wiping her eyes and willing the tears to stop. Finally, the Saotome boy held up the pad, which said `I'm sorry for bothering you. I didn't mean to make you go to all of this trouble.' Kasumi replied, "Ranma, what are you talking about? I found you unconscious and bleeding in the bathtub. What was I supposed to do, let you bleed to death? It was the only thing I could do to bring you here and get you treated. Don't apologize." A few moments later Ranma held up his reply. `You should have let me die. I wouldn't be bothering you, then. If you touched me, you should bathe. I'm unclean.'
Kasumi was speechless. Silence hung in the air as the girl's tears were renewed in strength by the Saotome boy's statement. Eventually, she moved to give Ranma a hug. There was nothing else she could think to do.
As she reached for Ranma, he held up his hands in a gesture for her to stop. He quickly scribbled out something onto the piece of paper he had been writing on before. `Don't touch me.' The Tendo girl was shocked. "Wha...why, Ranma?" His reply read `I'm dirty. Could you please remove my bandages and help me to the bath? I need to wash.'
Kasumi's only reply was to, after a moment of awkward silence, calmly and slowly reach for a pressure point on Ranma's body that would put him to sleep. He seemed disturbed as her finger neared, but soon he was asleep, with the weeping form of Kasumi lying on his chest.
That was how Dr. Tofu found them, almost twenty minutes later. He stepped silently next to Kasumi. "Kasumi?" he asked softly, which caused the girl to look up. "How are you doing?"
She looked up at him with huge, tear-filled eyes and choked, "Hold me." She stood and laid her head against Tofu's chest. As his arms awkwardly encircled her, she sobbed, "He's hurt, Tofu. He's hurt so badly."
Tofu's arms tightened around Kasumi's shoulders as the familiar haze of lovesickness began to overwhelm him, but he mentally shook it off. Instead, he said, "I know, Kasumi. I know."
"No," she whispered in between sobs. "No, he's hurt mentally. It's a psychological wound."
"What do you mean?" asked the Doctor.
Kasumi just cried.
+++
It was about six thirty in the morning. Kasumi's `discussion' with Ranma had occurred almost an hour previously, but she had not talked with Dr. Tofu yet. That was partially due to the emotional instability she felt. In the last hour she had started crying for no reason six or seven times, and she didn't feel up to discussing what Ranma had `said.' But she knew she had to. Dr. Tofu had to know. He might be able to do something for Ranma.
Dr. Tofu re-entered the room with two cups of tea and set one down in front of Kasumi before taking the seat across the table from her. "Thought you might like some tea."
Kasumi...she had to get it over with, or she'd never be able to do it. "Ranma woke up earlier. He spoke with me - metaphorically, of course - and the things he said disturb me. First he apologized for bothering me. He apologized because he saw my coming here to get you in order that you might save his life as bothering me. He described it as `trouble' that I had to go to in order to save his life. I replied that there wasn't really anything less I could have done except let him bleed to death, and he said that I should have let him die." The girl looked sadly into the Doctor's eyes. "I should have let him die, Tofu. He's not even seventeen yet, and he doesn't care if he dies. What kind of kid doesn't care if he dies at the age of sixteen?" Tears were running down Kasumi's face again, and she wiped them away with another tissue from the box by her right hand.
Tofu thought on this new information for a couple of minutes, and then asked, "Did he say anything else?"
Kasumi delicately sniffed before saying, "Yes. He kept saying that he was dirty, and then he asked me to help him to the bathroom. He said he needed to wash."
Tofu nodded his head once. "Last night, when I first saw him, I thought the wounds were strange. It looked like Ranma had scrubbed his skin clear away. We now know that's exactly what happened." Kasumi nodded, and Tofu went on. "Obviously, something happened to him that caused him deep psychological pain. - he apparently feels dirtied by the experience."
Kasumi's face showed concern. "What do you think happened?"
"I don't know, Kasumi. I just don't know." He stood up. "Well, I think you'd better get home. The rest of the house will be waking up soon, and it would be awkward if you were missing."
"Why? Because they wouldn't have breakfast waiting for them like usual?" she spat. "Well, screw them! They can make their own God damn breakfast this morning!" she screamed, causing Tofu to take a step back. This wasn't the Kasumi he knew. "I'm not leaving Ranma's side until he gets better," she said quietly, half defiant and half concerned.
Dr. Tofu moved to the girl and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked softly.
"No, I'm not okay, Tofu! Not at all!" She looked up at him, and for the first time, he could see the real Kasumi in her eyes. She had lowered her defenses, and anyone looking into her eyes could see the emotions that had previously been hidden by her mask. "Ever since my mother died, Tofu, I've had to take on the role of the mother for Akane and Nabiki. Hell, I've even had to play the mother for my own father! Do you realize how pathetic that is, Tofu? Do you have any idea how many times I've wished that my dad would just act like a real father and not like some permanent houseguest, always hiding behind the newspaper and watching TV? Too many to count, Doc! That's horrible! A girl should be able to rely on her father for at least the simple things, like the occasional hug or an encouraging word now and then!" Kasumi's eyes were beginning to fill with tears again, so she shut them tightly and plowed forward. "For Akane and Nabiki, I knew they had bright futures
ahead of them, and I wanted to make sure that they could concentrate on their schoolwork so they could realize their full potential. But to do that, I had to suppress my own dreams, and that is too steep a price to pay, Doctor. I didn't realize that until too late, but the fact is that I cannot just give up on my dreams to play mother to my family. So, from now on, I say screw them! They can do their own damn thing, for all I care! I'm gonna study to be a doctor, damn it, and that's that!" Kasumi's face was defiant, but the single tear that ran down her face betrayed the emotions running beneath the surface.
The Doctor gently squeezed her shoulder and wiped away the tear. "That's something only you can decide to do, Kasumi. If you want to do that, go right ahead. I'm sure your family would support your decision either way. But the important thing is to tell them how you feel. If you don't, then they'll continue to expect you to be what you aren't, and nothing will get accomplished." Tofu gently pulled on her hand, indicating that she should stand up. When she did, he took a step back and smiled at her. "Kasumi, whatever you decide to do, I'll be here to help. If you need me to talk to your family for you, I can do that. I know them well enough." Kasumi smiled slightly at that. "If you need me to help you study medicine or anatomy or anything, I'll be here to help you do that, too. I'm already a doctor, and if you need anyone to help you study, just ask."
Another tear ran down Kasumi's face, but the smile on her face told Dr. Tofu that it was not a tear of sadness or bitterness. "Thank you, Doctor. And I'm sorry for yelling at you, but this situation with Ranma has my emotions running in overdrive."
The Doctor smiled. "I understand. Don't worry about it."
Kasumi continued, "But I did mean it when I said that I would like to stay with Ranma until he's better."
Dr. Tofu nodded. "I understand. I'll just call the house sometime today and tell them what happened, and you ca-"
"No!" insisted Kasumi, interrupting Tofu. "Do you think that Ranma would want anyone else to know what happened? I think not!"
The Doctor held up his hands in a placating manner. "Alright, you're right. I won't call them. But they will be wondering where you and Ranma are as soon as they see that you're not home, you know, so I will have to tell them something."
Kasumi bit her lower lip. "I know, I know." The girl smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry for interrupting like that, but I don't want anything else to happen to Ranma if it can be avoided."
"I understand. But you do realize that it could be as long as two weeks before I can allow him to go home, right?" Kasumi nodded, and Tofu continued. "Well, I suppose that I could say that I wanted to study something about Ranma's Jusenkyo curse, so I asked him to come and stay for a while." The Doctor and Kasumi both smiled. "Yes, that would work. And you could say that you, being the sweet person that you are," Kasumi blushed a bit at that, "wanted to stay with Ranma and make sure that he wasn't uncomfortable. Would that work?"
Kasumi launched herself into Tofu's arms and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, saying, "Thank you, Doctor!" She pulled back from the blushing and flustered Tofu. "Well, I guess I should go back to the house and at least tell them in person that Ranma and I are going to be gone for a while, so I'm off. I'll see you in about an hour, doctor?" Tofu nodded dumbly. "Okay. Bye!" said Kasumi, smiling a smile that would rot your teeth from across the room.
As the Tendo girl left the Doctor's office, Tofu giggled to himself and walked over to his skeleton, Betty. "Hello? May I help you?"
+++
Kasumi was just putting the rice on the table as Akane walked into the dining room. "Good morning, Akane!" The eldest Tendo daughter smiled, causing Akane to smile, as well. Kasumi had that effect on people.
"Good morning, Kasumi." Akane's smile was replaced with a worried frown quickly. "Have you seen Ranma? After he didn't come back last night, well...I checked his room just now, and he's not in there, either. Do you know anything?" Her eyes were wide, and her hands were clasped together at her waist. She was the quintessence of worry.
Kasumi sighed, forming her words in her mind. "Ranma's at Dr. Tofu's right now." Akane's eyes shot open, even more so than they had before, and she rushed out of the room. "Akane! Wait! Let me explain!" It was too late, though; the younger woman was already out of the door. Shit. Kasumi ran past a groggy Nabiki, into the street, but there was no sign of Akane. Shit and double shit.
Nabiki walked up behind her older sister. "Whaz hpnin?" she mumbled sleepily.
Kasumi frowned. Damnit! "Nothing, Nabiki. Come on back inside. Breakfast is ready."
+++
Akane ran through the streets of Nerima, speeding her way toward Dr. Tofu's office. What had happened? Had he gotten into a fight with someone? He probably would have won, but she hadn't seen him fight, really, so...what had happened? Oh, she hoped he was all right. She didn't notice the tears of worry streaking down her face as she rushed up and into the Doctor's office. "Dr. Tofu?" she called out, worriedly. "Hello?" She sniffed and wiped at her eyes. She hated crying. It made her feel weak.
"Yes?" came the reply. "I'll be right there, please wait a second." The Doctor's voice was coming from behind a door somewhere toward the back of the office. Soon, the door opened, and Tofu walked out, drying his hands on a white towel. "Oh!" he said, a bit surprised. "Hello, Akane. Shouldn't you be at home, getting ready for school?"
"Where's Ranma?" she asked anxiously, dabbing at her eyes again. Lord, she hoped that Ranma hadn't done anything rash, like...no, she wasn't even going to think about that. He didn't...couldn't...suicide? Had he...no...NO! He couldn't have! Ranma...Ranma wouldn't...would he...? Damn tears, why wouldn't they stop? She HATED crying!
The man hesitated briefly. "Akane, I don't think..."
"WHERE IS RANMA?!?" screamed the girl. "Something happened yesterday, Doctor, and he didn't come home last night, and I need to talk to him, and I've been worried, and now I find out that he's in your care, and...just...where is he?" Akane was still crying. Why couldn't she stop?
Dr. Tofu was taken aback. THIS was a new development. The last he had known, Akane wasn't too interested in the boy. Well, that certainly seemed to have changed. Tofu sighed. He couldn't say no to that sweet, worried face. So much for his and Kasumi's plans. "Okay, Akane." He hoped Ranma would forgive him. He moved back to the door he had just vacated and opened it. "He's in here. Please don't excite him. He just woke up, and he's kind of..."
The rest of the sentence was cut off as Akane rushed by him and into the room. She stopped and gasped as she caught sight of Ranma, completely covered in bandages. Oh, Lord, she hated crying so much. "Ranma!' she exclaimed as she rushed to his side, stared at him in amazement. "Ranma! What happened?" She looked back to the Doctor, her eyes wide with shock. "What happened?"
Ranma closed his eyes as Dr. Tofu explained how Kasumi had found him in the bath. Of ALL the people he didn't want to know about this...damn it damn it DAMN IT!!!!! His eyes closed, Ranma strained to cry out, to scream in rage and pain, but his wretched body wasn't able. He didn't want her seeing how weak he really was! She already thought he was a freak, and now he had to go and prove it to her?!? God, why couldn't Ranma just die? It would have been so much easier had he just died. Damn it all, he didn't want Akane's pity!
Akane's back was to Ranma as she listened to Doctor Tofu's hypothesis on what had happened. He had tried to kill himself? By washing his skin away? All of her fears and anxieties about Ranma came crashing into reality, and Akane could barely stand. Her knees wobbled, and she swayed as she stood in front of the Doctor. Why had Ranma done that? The raven-haired girl unsteadily turned to Ranma, not even noticing the fact that she was cutting Tofu off mid-sentence, and whispered, "Why, Ranma? What happened? Why would you ever do this?"
Ranma's eyes shot back to Akane at that question. Why? Why would he do that? What the hell kind of question was that? He was a dirty freak, that's why! She had said as much to the entire school! What the hell was she thinking? Ignoring the pain accompanied by the movements, Ranma reached for the pad of paper and the pencil that rested on the table next to his bed, but Akane reached them first, handed them to the bandaged boy. He closed his eyes to stopper the well of tears threatening to spill over. He didn't want her fucking pity. Slowly, he wrote, trying to minimize the physical pain of his actions. After he finished, he gingerly held it out to Akane, who read it out loud. "'I'm a dirty freak, Akane. You should know that. You told it to the whole school, after all.'" As soon as those words, Ranma's words, left Akane's mouth, and he saw the look in Akane's eyes, he regretted ever penning them down.
Akane...she wanted to cry, she wanted to hit something, she wanted to scream, she wanted to..."Ranma, that's not what happened at all," she croaked through her sobs. When had she grabbed Ranma? No matter. "Ranma, they found out about our engagement, somehow - I didn't tell them - and they were saying horrible things about you! They were calling you names, and asking questions about how you looked, and...oh, Ranma, I was going to yell at them, and scream how they shouldn't judge someone they don't know, but then I saw you leaving, and...and...Ranma, you have to believe me!" She realized she was wailing, but she really didn't care. She just wanted Ranma to feel better. "I'm sorry, Ranma! I'm so, so sorry!" Her words trailed off into sobs. Ranma didn't deserve that kind of hurt! He didn't deserve so much pain!
Ranma was crying, too. Partly because of the pain Akane was causing, but mostly because of the emotion he was feeling. He WAS dirty; they both knew it, but Akane was still apologizing. She was crying, too! God, he wanted to believe her! She was crying! He didn't want to hurt her! He always hurt other people, only caring about himself. Worthless piece of...no, this was no time for that shit. Akane...oh, he wished Akane would stop crying for him. He didn't deserve that. He tried to stop crying, but Akane's sobs just brought more tears to his eyes. He had hurt her, Goddamn it, and she was blaming herself for it. Ranma wanted to throw up.
The Doctor watched with not a little surprise as the events unfolded before him. Yes, this certainly was a new development. "Akane," he said quietly as he took the girl by her shoulders and gently pulled her away from Ranma, "I don't think you should be grabbing him like that." As soon as those words left his mouth, Akane practically leapt away from Ranma, barreling into Tofu and knocking him back a couple of steps. The man shook his head slightly in amazement, a wry grin twisting his lips. "The times, they are a-changin'," the doctor whispered to himself.
Akane's arms flew from around Ranma and she hurled herself backward. Ranma was in a hospital bed, completely covered in bandages, and she was squeezing the life out of him? "Oh, Ranma, I'm sorry, Ranma, I didn't mean to...I forgot that...I...are you okay? Did I hurt you, Ranma? I'm sorry. Are you okay?" She was babbling, but that wasn't even concerning her at the time. She just hoped Ranma wasn't in too much pain. Stupid, clumsy Akane, always fouling up...oh, God, he was crying! "Ranma..." Was he in that much pain from her `tender ministrations?' Probably. Clumsy oaf. "Ranma, I'm sorry for grabbing you like that." She could barely make out Ranma's face through her own tears. She wiped at her eyes vainly, trying to clear away the effusion of wetness there.
Doctor Tofu silently watched. Akane certainly wasn't going to grab Ranma again, and Ranma didn't look to be in too much pain, so he judged it best if he left the two fiancées to themselves. They probably had some personal things to talk about. He quietly slipped out without attracting the notice of either teen, then walked to the phone to call Kasumi. She'd have to know about this.
Akane delicately sniffed and snorted a laugh. "Ranma, look at us. We're crying like five-year-olds with skinned knees." She grabbed a chair from across the room and pulled it next to the bed. Before she sat down, though, she grabbed a box of tissues that was sitting on the table next to Ranma's bed and dried her eyes as best she could. "Here, Ranma, let me help." She reached over and dried his eyes for him, too, then sat back to again dry her own eyes. She still hadn't stopped crying, fully. "Ranma," she started, and then sneezed violently.
The Saotome boy had just managed to get his tears under control when Akane dried his eyes for him. What was she doing? She was being nice, that's what she was doing. Why? He didn't deserve that. He had just made her cry! Maybe it was pity? Most likely. She felt sorry for the freak, so she was trying to help him out, to make his life less hellish. Like that would help. She sat down in the chair that Kasumi had earlier been using and dried her own eyes again. Yeah, she just felt sorry for him. Nothing more. He wished it were more, though. He wished that someone would actually want to be his friend. But that wouldn't happen, not with what he looked like. Not with what he was, and what he had done. Akane sneezed. He thought back to what had almost been friendship with Akane and started to chuckle. After a few seconds, he was full out laughing. Silently laughing at himself, at his life. He was so worthless.
Akane wiped her nose, throwing the used tissue toward the wastebasket and missing. She'd pick that up later. When she looked back to the bed-ridden boy, she saw that he was laughing. She smiled, too. She was a bit embarrassed at sneezing like that, but it WAS funny. Ranma's quiet laughter intensified, and Akane was caught up in it, and started laughing herself. She couldn't help it. It was as much for the situation being funny as it was for a relief from the tears she had just finished shedding. Her therapeutic laughter echoed off the walls of the small room, drifting out the window and into the street. When she finally stopped laughing - it must have been two or three minutes! - she noticed that Ranma was still laughing just as hard as he had been before, if not harder. That was good; she liked seeing Ranma laughing. It made her smile. Something about his expression bothered her, though. Something wasn't quite right. As she peered closer, she realized that
Ranma wasn't laughing anymore; he was crying! She hadn't been able to discern because of the lack of sound coming from the boy, but he was crying again!
Ranma sobbed, his eyes closed, his head resting on the pillow. Worthless. Completely worthless. No use at all. He felt someone - Akane - dry his cheeks with another tissue, heard her murmur some words she probably thought were comforting, and he wept. But he didn't open his eyes. He didn't want to see the pity on her face.
+++
"Yes, Doctor. I'll be right over." Kasumi hung up the phone and sighed. Already, things were going wrong. It wouldn't be too long before Nabiki found out as well, that conniving bitch. No, that was just the stress talking. The girl walked back into the dining room, where Nabiki, Soun, and Genma were eating breakfast quietly. "Dr. Tofu asked me to go to his office for a little bit, so I'm going to head out. Nabiki, your lunch is in the kitchen. I'll see you after school. Father, Mr. Saotome, I don't know how long I'll be. You might want to consider going out to lunch." She said all of that without a smile, which was incredibly strange for the eldest Tendo sister.
Nabiki's semi-conscious state barely allowed her to register what was going on, but her subconscious filed away everything for later reference. "'Kay. Bye, Kasumi." Tea. Tea was good. Nabiki liked tea. She filled her cup for the seventh time that morning, hoping to be conscious by the time school came around.
Soun frowned and looked up at his daughter and frowned. This was highly unusual. "Is everything all right, Kasumi?"
Kasumi smirked awkwardly, then nodded. "Yes, Father; everything is fine." She turned and left the room. A few seconds later, the front door opening and closing could be heard. Hmm. This was definitely strange. He hadn't seen Ranma or Akane since the day before, and now Kasumi was going off to Dr. Tofu's? What was going on? The gears in Soun's head began to turn, ever so slowly.
Nabiki stood up and drained the last of her tea before exchanging the cup for her book bag and saying, "I'm off." She turned and left the room.
Soun frowned. What was going on with the children? Could Akane and Ranma have...? "That's it!" he shouted as he sprang to his feet, tears streaming down his face. "Genma!" he exclaimed as he turned to his oldest and dearest friend, "your son and my daughter have conceived a child!"
Genma frowned. "How can you be sure?"
"Why else would they both have been missing since yesterday? Why else would Kasumi be going over to Dr. Tofu's office so early in the morning? It's obvious!" he shouted, his face to the heavens. "Ranma and Akane have had sex, and have conceived a child! They went to Dr. Tofu to make sure, and they want Kasumi's advice as to what they should do!"
Genma nodded solemnly. It made all too much sense. "Oh, happy day!" he exclaimed as he leapt to his feet and embraced the patriarch of the Tendo family.
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AUTHOR'S NOTES:
This little repost serves two purposes: first off, I really wanted to fix the formatting for the chapter; secondly, I needed to inform everyone of my progress on the story. My progress is coming along VERY slowly. There is a good reason for that, though. My work on the chapter was erased. Completely. It happened at the beginning of January. So, since then, I've been kind of peeved at the whole world, and have been neglecting my TKP responsibilities. I'm sorry. I will honestly try to get the fourth chapter out as soon as I can possibly do so; however, I make no promises. That'd get me in a HEAP `o trouble.
Anyway, again, I'm sorry about the HORRIBLY LONG WAIT, and I hope you'll forgive me.
A Depraved Sociopath with Psychotic Tendencies