[Continuity nuts should be able to tell this begins sometime during
the middle of volume 17 (while Ranma is engaged to Nabiki).]

                                 * * *

  Doctor Tofuu's gentle hands finished tying the bandage around her
ankle. "There you are, Akane, good to go."
  
  "Thank you," she said, snuffling slightly as she rose from the
chair, supporting awkwardly on the injured foot.
  
  "What's the matter?" Tofuu looked down at her with concerned eyes.
"It doesn't hurt that much, does it?"
  
  "It... it's nothing," she said, an obvious lie, her voice tired and
weary.
  
  The doctor placed a hand on her shoulder. "Akane, you can tell me
what's bothering you."
  
  The short-haired girl sat down again, sighing. "But I don't really
want to bother you, doctor..."
  
  He smiled warmly at her. "It's no problem at all. I'm just happy if
I can be of help."
  
  His concern touched her, and briefly, she wondered if she really
*had* gotten over her crush on Dr. Tofuu, or if it was just the
frequent thinking about her fiance that had left little room for
attention to anything else. "It's Ranma," she told him, a few tears
slowly forming in her eyes. "When I told him he should be engaged to
Nabiki instead, I ... I ... hoped he would protest."
  
  The tears started slowly drifting down her cheeks, and Tofuu picked
up a handkercheif, carefully wiping them off. "It's OK, Akane," he
tried to tell her, in a low, comforting voice. "You don't need to
cry."
  
  It was hard to tell if she heard him. "The baka doesn't care about
me at all!" she cried, her voice now utterly broken. "And then, I
heard her tell him she loved him..." The doctors strong arms wrapped
about her, but it didn't help much, as she sobbed into his chest.
"Now, I don't have any chance at all!"
  
  "Hush." When her tears slowly subsided, he put a hand her chin,
raising her face so he could look into her bloodshot eyes, his
demeanor radiating sincerity as he smiled at her. "He can't be worth
much if he so mean to a cute girl like you, Akane."
  
  "R-really?" she snuffled, trying to hold back her tears.
  
  He ran his hand through her short, black hair. "I mean it. You can
be so nice when you try to." He smiled, melting her heart all over
again. "And the short hair suits you much better. Did you know your
sister had her this way, too, when she was your age?"
  
  "She did?" Akane had never thought much about it, her thoughts on
Kasumi always focusing on the way she was on, on her rival for the
doctor's affection. Now that he said it, she began to recall when the
older girl had first started letting her hair grow. "You're right."
But why did he bring it up?
  
  "I thought she looked better back then, too," he told her, never
letting the warm smile leave his lips as he spoke in firm, caring
tones. "I'm glad you cut yours again."
  
  Despite her sad state, she couldn't help but blush, her cheeks
reddening slightly as her voice stumbled. "Tha- thank you, doctor."
  
  He kissed her forehead gently, then looked back at her, the deep
brown wells of his eyes looking deep into her soul. "Do you feel
better now."
  
  She flashed at slight smile, all she could manage right now, her
emotions a rough mixture of depression, anger, love, and most of all
confusion. "Yes," she said, and this time, it was the truth.
  
  "That's good." Tofuu was about to add something else, but a knock on
the door interrupted him. "I guess I have other patients waiting. Just
remember, you can come to me whenever you have problem, Akane."
  
  "Thanks, doctor," the girl said as she rose from the chair. "I
will."
  
  She didn't see the wry grin that appeared on his lips as he looked
on the door that closed behind her as she left, or the glint in his
eye that accompanied it. _Yes, you will,_ he thought, rubbing his
hands in satisfaction.
  
                                 * * *
  
                             Out Of Tears
         A Ranma 1/2 fanfic, by Ronny Hedin (thark@swipnet.se)
  
                                 * * *

NOTES
-----
I don't know if you can tell where this is heading...
Why does Kasumi act the way she does? Hopefully, the first
answer that comes to your mind won't be the one that prompted
this fanfic. Very dark, despite that little more than a single
drop of blood will be shed. 
Other fanfics at "http://nabiki.newberry.edu/thark/fanfic/".

---
Ronny Hedin, thark@swipnet.se, http://nabiki.newberry.edu/thark/
                                   ...12 000 miles from T�ky�...