Kasumi's Little Secret
Part 2:  Day 1
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic
Version 1.0

Insert standard fanfic disclaimer here

	The sun was in the process of rising when Ranma's alarm went off.
Ranma's eyes cracked open as he peered out the window.  Instinctively he
reached out to pound the alarm into silence as he realized that the sun
had not yet risen.  <Why's my alarm goin' off at this time anyway?> he
asked himself as his fist began it's decent.  <It's not like I have t'get
up for nothin', right?>  As Ranma's hand touched the clock he remembered
why he had set his alarm to go off early...

<Begin Flashback
	"So when are ya goin' to start trainin' me Kasumi?" Ranma asked.
	"How about tomorrow Ranma-kun?" Kasumi replied.
	"But I got school tomorrow..."
	"Oh my," Kasumi said.  "Well since you have school and I am far
too busy once every one gets home...how about tomorrow morning?"
	"I've got trainin' with Pop in the mornin'," Ranma sighed glumly.
	"How about before your training with your father," Kasumi
suggested.
	"Ain't that kinda early?" he protested.
	"Did you want to learn or not?"
	"All right," he grumbled, "what time?"
	"How about six?"
End Flashback>

	"The things I put up with for martial arts trainin'," Ranma
grumbled as he made his way into the bathroom.  

***

	Akane's eyes slowly cracked open as she heard a loud crashing from
the bathroom.  She was about to get up to investigate when she hear a
familiar female voice swearing loudly.  Akane glanced at the alarm clock
in her room.  It read 5:45.
	"Ranma no baka," she groaned as she flopped onto her back, and
tried to get back to sleep.  

***

	"Explain to me again why I'm standin' here Kasumi?" Ranma, now in
his male form, asked.
	"Because it's part of your training Ranma-kun," Kasumi said.
Ranma was wearing his usual balck pants and red silk shirt; while Kasumi
was wearing her white karate-gi.  The two of them were standing on the
fence surrounding the Tendo residence, balancing on one leg.  Ranma was
constantly fidgiting, shifting from one stance to another.  Kasumi simply
stood there, her foot tucked neatly behind her knee and her hands pressed
together as if praying.
	"But I don't need any balance training," Ranma protested.
	"I'm not training your balance, Ranma," Kasumi said.
	"Then what are you doing?" he asked.
	"Patience Ranma," Kasumi smiled, "think of it as an exercise for
your mind.  When you figure out what I'm training I won't need to train it
anymore."
	"But..."
	"Please stop asking questions Ranma-kun," Kasumi interrupted,
"just watch the sunrise."  Kasumi smiled as she remembered when someone
had said those exact same words to her.
	The first rays of the sun peeked above the horizon, pushing back
the darkness of the rapidly fading night.  Kasumi stood, enchanted by the
wonderful sight.  The light of the sun turned the sky from midnight blue
to a warm pink and it seemed to glow with life.  Slowly the pink faded
into a bright blue as the birds cried out their welcome to the new day,
their songs telling of the freedom of flight in that wonderous blue
canvas.  The sun itself was an ascending disk of pure light.  Kasumi could
only watch it for a short time before she had to turn away.  Kasumi
blinked back the tears in her eyes, hoping that Ranma would just think
that it was the sun.
	"All right Ranma," Kasumi said, "you can get down now.  Let's go
into the dojo."

***

	Ranma spent the next hour learning the first few techniques of the
most basic Tai-chi form that Kasumi knew.  <Basic she calls it!> Ranma
thought afterwards, <hah!  Most Kempo katas I know are shorter and simpler
than that one!  And that's the _easiest_!  What am I getting myself
into?!>  Most of the time was spent watching Kasumi perform the kata and
asking questions about the techniques.  Some of them had seemed purely
ornamental but Kasumi had demonstrated how each technique could be used in
both attack and/or defense.  After Ranma had watched the entire kata,
Kasumi started teaching teaching him the beginnings of the form.  They
stopped only when they heard Genma calling for Ranma.  Ranma's eyes had
widened in surprise as he said, "Oh boy!  I completely lost track of time!
Sorry, Kasumi, I gotta go!"  Kasumi had smiled as he raced out the door.
<Having a student is more stressful than I thought,> she sighed, <but if
Master Huang could teach me, than I can certainly teach Ranma.  After all,
he's no worse than I was when I started.>