Comments? Critisism? Please?

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	Kasumi's Dinner Disaster
	Part : All
	A Ranma 1/2 Fanficion
	Jenny 'Android18' Chan
	android18@hotmail.com
	www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Padoga/4071/index.html
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	Kasumi Tendo hummed to herself as she stirred the soup she
was preparing for dinner. She lifted the spoon to her lips and
took a taste.
	~Yum!~ Kasumi thought happily as she stirred some more.
She looked over to the counter where an old recipe book laid. She
picked it up and skimmed over the recipe.
	It was a hard recipe; one that she had never tried before.
But the result was well worth it.
	She put the recipe book, still open, back on the counter,
and turned down the heat on her soup. 
	Suddenly, someone tapped her on her shoulder, and Kasumi
turned around to see Akane who had a look of surprise on her
face.
	"What are you doing Kasumi?" Akane asked, "I thought you
said you were going to go out with your friends today."
	"Oh, I was," Kasumi replied, "but Sako-chan canceled at the
last moment, so I just decided to stay home."
	"Oh." Akane said, a look of disappointment on her face. She
turned to shuffle out the kitchen.
	"What's wrong Akane?"
	"Well," Akane turned around again, "I told everyone that I
was going to make dinner since you weren't going to be here. I
was really looking forward to it."
	"Oh my," Kasumi said, "I'm sorry. I didn't know that. 
Otherwise, I'd never made this soup... I'm sorry Akane."
	"That's okay," Akane replied, but the disappointment was
still on her face.
	"I know!" Kasumi said suddenly. "I can take this soup over
to Dr Tofu's, and we can have it together! That way, you can still
make dinner for the family!"
	"Really?" Akane asked happily. "You'd do that?"
	"Of course! I'll just walk over there right now and ask if
I can join him for dinner!"
	"Why don't you just phone him?" Akane asked.
	"The soup needs to simmer for a little longer," Kasumi
explained. "By the time I get back here from the clinic, it 
should be ready! Watch the soup for me, will you?"
	"That's great! See ya later, Kasumi!" Akane called as her
older sister disappeared out the door.
	Akane looked at the recipe on the counter that Kasumi
had left, and skimmed it over. Then, she looked at the pot on
the stove, and took a taste with a spoon.
	"It's delicious!" Akane proclaimed, "hey, maybe I should
make this for everyone! Yeah! That's what I'll do!"
	So, she started to cook.

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	"Cooking wine....cooking wine... cooking wine," Akane 
muttered to herself over and over again as she hunted through
the cupboard for the liquid.
	She searched everywhere, but still the last ingredient
alluded her. 
	"Kasumi!!" Akane hollered, "where's the cooking wine?!"
	A silence answered her question.
	"Kasumi?" Akane asked again, puzzled. "Oh yeah! She's over
at Doctor Tofu's! Right!"
	Akane looked in the cupboard, pondering her dilemma. "I
can't find the cooking wine," she said to herself, "but... 
wine... hey, if I put sake in it, wouldn't it be about the 
same? Yeah, I'll try that!"
	Akane looked around the kitchen and found a large bottle
full of sake. She heft it, and then poured a little bit into
her pot, which was right beside Kasumi's.
	She stirred it furiously for a few moments, and took a
taste. She ended up spitting the "soup" on the floor.
	"Yuck!! This is sick!!" Akane frowned. "But I can't let
all of this go to waste... maybe if I put more sake in it,
it'll taste better. Yeah, that's what I'll do! And, even if
it doesn't get better, Dad and Saotome-san will still like
it because of the sake!"
	Smiling, Akane tipped most of the sake in the bottle
into the pot until it almost overflowed.
	She stirred the thing some more before taking another
taste. She ended up gagging.
	"I don't get it!" Akane moaned to herself, "why does
this taste so bad! I followed the recipe to a T! True... I
did make a few, slight, minor alterations, but it shouldn't
be THIS bad."
	Akane grumbled to herself a little bit when she suddenly
realized what was wrong.
	"I didn't turn the stove on yet!" Akane shouted. She
corrected her mistake and chuckled as she turned the dial.
"There! Now it should be perfect."
	"Hey, Akane, whatcha doing?" Asked a voice.
	Akane turned around and saw that it was Ranma who was
peering suspiciously into the kitchen. She smiled grandly.
"Guess what, Ranma! I'm making dinner!"
	Ranma's eyes went wide and his skin turned slightly
green. "Y-you are?" He asked a tremble in his voice.
	"Yup!"
	"But I thought Kasumi was going to, since her friend
canceled on her!"
	"Yeah, Sako-chan did cancel, but then Kasumi decided
to have dinner at Dr Tofu's house, and let ME make dinner!"
	Ranma swallowed. "Listen, Akane. I, ah, I can't make
it to dinner tonight, I have to.. ah... go back to China
and find a cure for my curse!"
	Akane blinked. "WHAT?!"
	"Yeah, I have to go to China," Ranma repeated. "Sorry,
but I'm gonna miss dinner."
	"Just like that, you're going?!" Akane shouted. Ranma
nodded. "Well, can't you just stay a little longer and at
least have some of this soup?"
	"Sorry, but, ah, the boat's leaving right now! Seeya!"
Ranma darted away.
	"Hey, Ranma! Wait a minute! Come on, just have a little
bit of soup!!" Akane shouted as she chased after Ranma, 
temporarily forgetting about the soup.

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	Akane grumbled to herself as she stalked back into the
kitchen after spending the last 10 minutes chasing after Ranma.
Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view),
she didn't catch him.
	Instead, she had run into her dad, Genma and Nabiki in her
mad pursuit. After learning about dinner, all three of them
confirmed Ranma's plans about going to China and then told her
that they would also be going with him.
	"And I thought Ranma was lying," Akane grumbled.
	She looked at the stove, and her eyes went wide. There was
A LOT of steam and smoke coming from one of the pots.
	"Oh, NO!!" 
	Akane ran to the stove, and turned down the heat. She
waved away some of the smoke.
	"No!!"
	Akane had turned up the wrong dial, and ended up boiling
away all the water in Kasumi's soup while her own soup had yet
to be cooked.
	"Kasumi'll kill me!" Akane groaned to herself. "Well...
'Kasumi' and 'kill' don't belong in the same sentence, but..
oh, she'll be so disappointed!!"
	Akane cleaned up some of the mess. "What'll I do? What'll
I do?!" She tapped her chin when suddenly, she got an idea.
	"That's it! I'll just pour my soup into Kasumi's pot, then
let it simmer a little bit, and no one'll ever know the 
difference! Ha! The perfect plan!!"
	Akane proceeded with her plan and warmed up the soup,
stirring nervously.
	Suddenly, a wall crashed in, and in stepped Shampoo.
	She was carrying a box full of ramen in her hands.
	"Nihao!" Shampoo cried, a happy smile on her face. "Where
Ranma? Shampoo have good food for him!"
	"You missed him," Akane replied, "he just went back to
China to get a cure for his curse."
	"Aiya! Ranma go back to China without Shampoo?! This no
can be! Shampoo go too!!" With that, Shampoo raced back to the
nekohanten to pack up.
	Akane blinked. "Hey, wait a sec! I'm not gonna let Shampoo
be with Ranma! What if she tries to do something to him?! I'm
gonna go to China too!" Akane ran out the kitchen to go to her
room, when she bumped into Kasumi.
	"Oh! Kasumi! You're back! What did Dr Tofu say?" Akane
asked.
	Kasumi smiled. "I'm afraid Dr Tofu accidentally destroyed
his kitchen while he was talking to me, so we can't eat at his
house. I invited him over to our house to join us! Is that
okay with you?"
	"Oh sure, go for it!" Akane said, "you'll have the house
all to the two of you. I'm going to China to get Ranma."
	Kasumi blinked. "When did Ranma say he was going to
China?"
	"While you were gone. Dad, Nabiki and Saotome-san are
going with him."
	"Oh, well, have fun then, Akane." Kasumi said as her
younger sister ran upstairs, ran back downstairs with a
duffel bag, and out the door.
	Kasumi smiled. She went to the phone, and dialed Dr Tofu's
number.
	"Hello, Dr Tofu! There's been a slight change of plans...
oh, no no, dinner's still on... yes, but everyone has suddenly
left for China, so it'll just be you and me! How long will it
take you to get here?.... 15 minutes? My, you must run very
fast!... oh, you flatter me, Dr Tofu. I'll see you in 15 minutes
then! Goodbye!"
	"15 minutes!" Kasumi said to herself, "I must get the main
course ready! I've only got the soup done!"

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	Some time later, Dr Tofu and Kasumi were seated around the
dining table. Betty-chan the skeleton sat with them. On the
table was the soup. 
	"I'm sorry," Kasumi said, slightly embarrassed, "but you
got here so quickly I didn't get all the food done. Let's have
some soup first while we wait for the food, yes?"
	"Of course!" Dr Tofu said, laughing.  He put a hand behind
his head. "I'm really sorry for being so much of a bother."
	"Oh Dr Tofu, you're not a bother!"
	"I'm sorry for bringing Betty-chan along without telling
you," Tofu said, glasses fogged up, "but she was just 
complaining about missing your wonderful cooking so much that
I had to bring her along! I hope you don't mind."
	"Oh, I don't mind at all," Kasumi laughed, "the more the
merrier! It really is too bad that Akane and everyone had to
leave so suddenly for China." 
	She served the soup.
	"Why did they go?" Tofu asked.
	"Ranma thought he could find a cure for his curse."
	"Oh, well, I hope he finds it! Here's to Ranma's cure!"
Dr Tofu raised his bowl of soup like one would raise a cup
of wine during a toast.
	Kasumi giggled. "You're so silly, Dr Tofu! That's not
wine, that's just soup! But, if you want to make a toast,"
Kasumi grinned and she clinked bowls with the doctor who had
a happy grin plastered all over his face, "then here's to
Ranma's cure!"
	They drank.
	Tofu downed the entire bowl. He set the empty bowl down
on the table, his face turning a bit pale. He swallowed a few
times, and gave a hiccup.
	"T-that tasted... interesting Kasumi. Was it a new recipe?"
	Kasumi put her bowl down, shakily. She had only taken a
couple of sips, but the sake in the soup already was affecting
her slightly.
	"Y-yes, it was a new recipe," Kasumi said, a bit of a
frown on her face, "hmm... it tasted... rather different, an
hour or so ago..." 
	"I... I can't put my finger on it, **hic**, but it tasted
like... rather like..." Tofu frowned. He helped himself to 
another serving.
	Kasumi took a few more sips. She started getting light
headed. "Oh my... **hic** what ever happened to this soup?"
	"It tastes like... like... like..." Tofu turned to 
the skeleton. "Here, have a drink Betty-Chan, **hic** what do
you think of it?"  He dunked the skeleton skull into his bowl. 
	Kasumi giggled at the sight of it. She wanted to stop,
but whither it was the antics of the doctor, or something
else entirely, she found that she couldn't stop giggling.
	Tofu looked up at Kasumi, who was giggling, and he
couldn't help but chuckle.
	"W-what's wrong, Kasumi?" Tofu asked between chuckles,
"Am I... I... that funny..?"
	Kasumi nodded, still giggling.
	"No, really, there's something in this soup that I 
recognize, but I... can't really... here, what do you think
it is?" Tofu put his bowl under Kasumi's nose.
	She looked at it. "I... I think there really **giggle**
IS something in this soup, Doctor **hic** Tofu... **giggle**
maybe we should **giggle** stop, drinking **hic** it?"
	"Come on, Kasumi, just one **hic** little taste. Maybe
you'll know what it is?"
	Kasumi looked at the bowl. "Oh, alright." She accepted
the bowl, and started glugging it down.
	Tofu's eyes went wide. "Uh... Ka-Kasumi.. **hic** I
said a little taste... you don't have to... drink.. the whole
thing!"
	Kasumi set the empty bowl down, and hiccuped. She seemed
thoughtful for a second, before her shoulders started to
shake and her giggle turned into a full blown laugh.
	"I-I'm sorry, Doctor Tofu," Kasumi said between laughs,
"but I.. I can't... figure.. out.... what it is!" She continued
to giggle, unable to stop.
	The laughter was contagious, and Tofu started to laugh
to. A few moments later, they were sitting side by side, trying
to stop each other's laughter, but only succeeding in making
each other laugh even harder.
	"I can't stop laughing," Tofu said, "and... and I feel
great! I must look like an idiot, but I feel great!"
	"Me too! Me too!" Kasumi agreed, clutching her sides. 
"Wow... this... this is the first time I've ever felt this way
before.."
	"Can't say it the same for me though," Tofu admitted.
	"Oh?"
	"I... I feel this way, every time I see you, Kasumi! I 
feel so wonderful and great, I just... go crazy! It's great,
Kasumi!" 
	"Really?"
	"Yeah! Wow, love is a powerful thing!"
	Kasumi suddenly stopped laughing, even though she was
still drunk. The doctor didn't notice and was still hollering. 
"L-Love?" Kasumi asked, feeling dizzy.
	"Oh yeah, love! L-O-V-E! I love you Kasumi!" He hugged
her close. "Don't know why I never told you, but I feel like
nothing can get me down today! I love you Kasumi Tendo! I
love you!"
	Still not really comprehending what he was doing, Tofu
leaned into Kasumi, and kissed her. 
	Kasumi's eyes went wide when she felt another tongue in
her mouth. Dr Tofu continued to kiss her for a few more seconds
before his eyes also went wide and he realized what he was
doing. He promptly released her.
	"K-Kasumi!" Tofu cried, jumping to his feet. "I-I..!!"
	Kasumi's eyes were still wide but slowly, she came out
of her shock. "Dr Tofu- it's... it's alright! I... I..."
	"Oh my god!!" Tofu shouted, not really listening to her.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I-I completely forgot what I was
doing and... and I'm sorry! I... oh god, forgive me, Kasumi!
I-I'm so sorry! I just.. please, please! Forgive me, Kasumi!
Please! Forgive me!!"
	"Dr Tofu, it's okay! It's okay, just... calm down!"
Kasumi grabbed Tofu's hands. The man was still babbling on
incoherently. His eyes were wide with fear and shock. "It's
okay... it's okay... it's okay..."
	It took Kasumi a few minutes to calm her guest down
with her soothing voice.
	"Dr Tofu.. it's okay... calm down. You didn't mean
it... it was just the soup talking. Just... calm down..."
	"Kasumi, it wasn't just the soup," Tofu insisted. "I...
I'm not worthy of you! I... I've love you for so long, but,
but, I could always control myself, but then, I...I... the
soup... I... wanted to kiss you... and, and the soup... it
was no excuse, Kasumi! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"
	"I forgive you, Tofu, just, calm down!! Calm down!!"
	Still holding Tofu's hands, Kasumi managed to get him
to sit down on the floor, and rest against the wall. She told
him to take a few deep breathes and finally, she could feel
the tension drain out of him.
	There was more than a few minute of awkward silence.
Finally, Tofu spoke, but it was coherent now.
	"I-I think I should leave, Kasumi. I understand if you
never want to see me again."
	"No!" Kasumi said, "no, I mean, I believe it's best
that you leave now, as it's obvious neither of us is in our
normal frame of mind, but I want to see you again! Maybe it's
best if.. you go back to the clinic, and get some rest. I'll
come see you in the morning, when we're both better, and we'll
talk about this, alright?"
	Tofu nodded. "Yes."
	Kasumi helped him up, and lead him to the door. He stood
outside for a moment, not knowing what to do.
	"I... uh... thank you for asking me over for dinner,
Kasumi." Tofu said, "I... I'm really sorry, I-"
	Kasumi put a finger on his mouth to shut him up. "We'll
talk later," she promised.
	Tofu nodded. He turned to leave, but Kasumi stopped him
and turned him back to face her.
	She seemed to think for a minute, before she reached up
and gave him a quick kiss. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"
	Tofu nodded mutely, eyes wide.
	"Goodnight, Dr Tofu."

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	The sun was shining brightly the next morning, and Kasumi
opened her eyes. She turned to see her alarm clock and her eyes
went wide.
	It was almost 10:00! 
	"Oh no!" Quickly, Kasumi got to her feet. Then, she stopped
when she felt a pounding on her forehead. She grimaced, but 
forced herself to ignore it.
	"I'm late!"
	After some time, Kasumi came down stairs and was going to
go to Dr Tofu's clinic, when she realized that she hadn't
cleaned up the mess last night. She went to the dining room
and was surprised to see her family sitting at the table,
eating ramen.
	"Oh! You're all back already!" Kasumi said.
	Everyone looked up. 
	"We never left," Akane explained. She sent a glare in
Ranma's direction. "Ranma was only bluffing because he didn't
want to eat my cooking. I found him and Dad and everyone at
the harbor. They didn't have a boat going to China last night."
	"So, when did you return?" Kasumi asked.
	"Sometime late last night," Soun said, "why do you ask,
Kasumi?"
	"The mess on the dining table...?"
	"We cleaned it up," Nabiki replied. "What were YOU doing
yesterday that would make such a mess and make the entire
dining room smell like sake?" She teased.
	"Sake?" Kasumi asked, "oh! So THAT'S what it was! Well,
I have to go to Dr Tofu's now. I'll be back in time to make
lunch."
	"Speaking of Dr Tofu," Nabiki said, getting to her 
feet. She picked up the skeleton that was behind her. "Could
you take Betty-chan with you? I found her among everything 
else last night, smelling like sake."
	Nabiki handed Kasumi the skeleton. There was a smile
on her face. "Really, what did you do with Dr Tofu last night,
Kasumi?" She asked.
	To the average person, Kasumi's reaction of "oh, nothing
at all," would seem normal. But Nabiki picked up on the slight
tremble in the voice, and the slight blush rising in the cheeks.
	Nabiki's smile widened. "Right, Sis. Nothing at all." 

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