Story: Junk
Hope you enjoy it: Wrote this half a year ago, just put on finishing 
touches.  Kind of offensive in parts, so be warned!

I love to cook!  True, it is hard work, but the reward of seeing my
family enjoy what I serve them is worth the trouble a thousand times
over.  I always make a point of leaving every day at two o' clock,
unless I haven't finished my sweeping.  I walk to the marketplace and
leisurely choose the food I wish to buy.  I've found that if you take
your time making purchases, grocers know you're in no hurry and will
lower their prices!  I've also made friends with all the workers, and
I know they lower their prices for me, or at least save their best
produce for me.  That is very important when serving a family of six
and the guests they always seem to have around.  Perhaps I don't need
to go to all the trouble, but I feel better about myself when I do the
best job I can, no matter how small the job may be.
By four or four thirty I return.  In the past two hours the house gets
just as messy as it was when I began cleaning up in the morning.
Father's guests aren't very neat!  For the next hour or so I clean
things up as best I can.  By five thirty I start dinner.  My family is
very athletic, and eats a lot, so making dinner is no small chore!  I
start by preparing the food.  I chop the vegetables.  I skin, clean,
and cut the meat, usually chicken or fish, into small chunks.  I sift
the flour.  I then get all the spices, sauces, and ingredients into
organized groups.  It is now time to start cooking.  I always start
with the rice, because to cook rice properly, forty minutes are
required.  With my typical meal, this means I can clean for another
ten minutes.  This is just enough time to get rid of all the new
messes.  The house never gets as clean as I'd like, however.  I return
to the kitchen and prepare the main courses of the meal in various
woks covering the stove.
I follow mother's recipes to the dot, so the meals are always good.
While I like eating the food, I can't eat nearly as much as the rest
of the household seems to be able to.  But I stay anyway, basking in
the glory of the contented looks and the inevitable compliments.
This happens every day, and has happened every day since our dearly
departed mother left us.  Only a few days ago, something a bit unusual
happened.
I was at dinner.  All I could eat was some rice with vegetables and a
little tea.  So I looked at the others eat.  Something seemed to be
wrong with Ranma.  I looked closer and it was evident he was in pain!
He was slooping forward a bit, to keep his back from touching the
chair.  And, well, maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed he was
having difficulty just from lifting the chopsticks to his mouth!
"Ranma, are you feeling all right?  You look hurt!" I asked.
Ranma didn't even look up at me.  "Just the martial arts workout,
Kasumi." he blurted.
I glanced at him when I got the chance.  Ranma was obviously trying to
conceal his pain.  Or was it all in my mind?  Why should I be
concerned in the first place?  I laughed at myself for being so
upset.  Until Ranma, trying to eat my sushumi, winced in pain, and
dropped his food and chopsticks to the ground!
Nobody else looked concerned, but I was in panic!  Ranma practices
hard as a martial artist, so you might expect him to be sore, but I've
seen him instantly recover from horrible tragedies.  He's shrugged off
hits from large rocks, and fallen from incredible distances without
injury!
"Ranma, did you do anything unusual in your practice?" I asked.  Ranma
looked away.
"Oh, no sis." Akane answered for him, and laughed nervously.
Oh dear.  Akane had beat up Ranma again.  I know it may seem old-
fashioned, but I don't think it's proper the way Akane handles herself
around Ranma.  Really!  All that fighting!  Father betrothed the two
of them, now they should get married!
After the meal was finished, I cleaned up the dinner table.  I noticed
Ranma had dropped slightly more food than usual on the ground.  I
decided a little further investigation was in order.  I took a little
break from sweeping up around the house and paid a visit to Akane in
her room.  She would probably be studying.  Instead I heard the voice
of Ranma.  That was nice!  Akane and Ranma do need to talk!
"Oh Akane" Ranma said, moaning "that feels good..." I walked inside
the door without knocking.
"Oh, hi Kasumi!" said the smiling Akane.
Ranma was lying on Akane's bed with no clothes on but a towel.  Akane
knelt by the bed, and was in the process of massaging Ranma's back.
I put on my sweetest face possible and said "Oh, isn't that nice of
you, Akane."
"So, what's up, Kasumi?" asked Akane.  Ranma, for whatever reason, was
ignoring me, pretending I hadn't entered the room.  I looked at Ranma.
He sure needed that massage!  His back was covered with welts and
bruises, and it was obvious he had taken quite a beating.
"I was just going to say something, but I see you have company.  I'll
talk to you later!" I said, smiling.  I walked out, closing the door
behind me.  I could ask Akane later...I didn't want to interrupt Ranma
and Akane when they seemed to be getting along.

I was very pleased with myself the next day.  Breakfast was excellent,
and I had somehow gotten ahead of cleaning the house.  Today I knew I
was going to be able to do the type of work I wasn't normally able to
do.  Clean the windows, wax the linoleum...the more heavy duty stuff
which went a long way towards making our house a home.
I went to the store to get my family a small lunch.  After just half
an hour I was very happy with myself; I had managed to get more saimen
then our family could possible eat, and for nearly free.
The family enjoyed lunch, as always.  I think maybe even more then
they normally liked it.  But something a bit strange happened.  Ranma
was in his female form.  That isn't strange of itself.  While Ranma
doesn't mind his altered state as much as he used to, he isn't like
Mr.  Saotome, who seems to prefer his transformed state.  Still, when
in his female form, Ranma usually changes back whenever it's
convenient.  That day, however, I had some boiling water left over.
After letting it cool to lukewarm I got up to pour it on Ranma.  I
just assumed he would want me to.  But he motioned to stop me, and
when I didn't immediately react, he literally jumped out of the way!
This time even father took notice.
"Why, Ranma, what's wrong?"
"Uhhhh...Oh, nothing.  My male body just got a little hurt in my
training today.  Nothing."  I looked at Akane.  She quickly flashed a
worried smile.
That explanation was good enough for father, but not good enough for
me.  I approached Akane after lunch.
"Akane, I know what you've been doing, and it isn't right!"
"You do?" asked Akane.  She looked a bit bewildered.
"Yes!  Beating up on Ranma.  He's going to be your husband, shouldn't
you go easier on him when you spar?"
In the background I heard somebody collapse.
"Oh.." Akane laughed.  The same nervous laugh I had noticed earlier.
"OK sis." continued Akane, "I'll go easier on him next time."
"It's not funny!  It's nice that you two train together, but not if
he's getting hurt.  Akane..." I paused.  I didn't want to shatter
Akane's self-confidence "Don't take advantage of Ranma when you fight.
Sometimes men will let women beat them."
"I'll keep that in mind, Kasumi." She bowed her head slightly and
left.  I sighed.  From the little glimpse of a smile she made at my
comment, it was obvious she hadn't listened to me, and would continue
to beat up Ranma.  What was I to do?
I considered talking to father.  After all, he does want what's best
for us.  Still, I have a difficult time talking to him.  He's so
easily upset, and I don't want to make him any worse.  The pain of my
mother dying still weighs heavily on him.  And I couldn't talk to Mr.
Saotome...anything I said to him would go straight to father.  I
decided the only thing I could do was talk to Ranma.  I just hoped he
would listen.
It seems like Ranma is always practicing martial arts.  I suppose it's
worth it, though.  He is very good.  As I approached the dojo, I was
actually excited...I rarely visit the dojo when anybody is in there,
and I don't think I had ever seen Ranma practicing.  I wonder what he
did?  I suppose the same exercises that father used to do in the
terrible days after mother died, when martial arts was his only form
of escape.
>From the sound of things, what Ranma was doing was quite excruciating.
Even from the outside I could hear shrieks and yells of pain.  A
thought came to my mind...Akane must be practicing with Ranma!  He
can't yell like this all the time, I'd have noticed!  She must really
be hurting him!  I peeked inside the dojo see what was happening.
Inside, Ranma was blindfolded and tied to the wall of the dojo with
metal chains.  His body looked prone, bruised, and bloodied.  About
five feet away stood Akane, wearing an outfit that certain didn't seem
to suit her...all black and leather and with a risque cut, it was
something Nabiki might have worn.  In her right hand she was
brandishing a leather bullwhip.
I smiled and walked back inside the house.

**

This is also the first fanfic I created, written last July.  I
couldn't decide what to do with the story, so I never finished it.
Looking back at it, I decided the best thing to do was end it right
there, so I added a paragraph, gave the story a once over, and called
it a final draft.  Don't imagine I'll post this to raas.  I might if
people like it.  I can't tell how response'll be.
The point of the story, I hope you noticed, was to contrast the
mindless innocence of Kasumi with very un-innocent happenings, a theme
I plan to expand on at some indeterminate point far in the future.
Perhaps I should have dealt more with the B&D aspects.  However, I
don't wanna write a lemon!  This is as close as I wanna get to one,
actually.  Some was necessary or I wouldn't have written it in.
The title "Junk" is also the title of a White Album boot.  It beat out
"Kasumi: Hellbent for Leather."  I should be studying for my midterms
now, so bye!  Anyway, if you like the story, I'd appreciate a reply.


****jdrutsch@ucdavis.edu***********************Jeff Rutsch************* 
"Ranma's not a boy...he's a girl!"
"Akane is MY fiance!  You TOUCH her, and I'll KILL you!"
"Ranma, change back into a boy while I buy you some time."
"But if I seem to act unkind/it's only me, it's not my mind."
"Ranma [sic],/give your heart to Akane [sic]. /Soon,/right away."
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