It was a wonderful day.

Kasumi Tendo thought this as she walked down the streets of Nerima,
smiling.  She had just finished returning some books to Dr. Tofu, who had
as usual thanked her and started dancing with Betty.  Kasumi laughed.
*He's such a silly man..* she thought.  She pulled out a notepad, and
crossed out a line on the pad that said "RETURN BOOKS TO TOFU".  "Now, for
the herbs," said Kasumi, as she began crossing the street.

Toshiro Matsuyama had been having a rather bad day.  He had been chewed
out by his boss for being late, and now he was stuck behind an accident.
He swore and swore after pounding the dashboard until a piece of it had
come loose.  After a moment of thought, he decided to drive around the
accident.  He twisted the steering wheel with a vicious movement of his
left hand and stomped on the accelerator.  The heavy truck responded with
a loud roar, and picked up speed as it swerved around the broken down car. 

Kasumi stepped out into the road, smiling.  She suddenly heard people
yelling at her to get out of the way.  She turned around and saw a huge
Mishima Heavy Industries truck bearing down on her at what seemed like an
impossible speed.  *How will I ever get the herbs now?* was the last thing
Kasumi thought.  There was a moment of infinite pain, and then blackness.  

Toshiro looked at his hands.  They were bleeding.  All around him, people
were screaming, and running into the middle of the street.  "Someone call
an ambulance!" yelled one man.  He just stared at the steering wheel, not
fully realizing what had happened.  He glanced out the window, and had
just enough time to see the girl's once-beautiful black hair matted with
blood before consciousness left him.


*******************


And now, an explanation:

It is widely agreed that Kasumi is the center of the Tendo family.  But
what if tragedy took her away from them, and someone else had to take her
place (mainly, Akane)?  Sure, the first thing you think is "They'd all die
of food poisoning".  My idea is, Akane never really dealt with her
mother's death fully.  With the death of Kasumi, Akane eventually
collapses emotionally, and has to finally come to terms with her mother's
death as well as Kasumi's (with the help of Ranma, mostly, whose usualy
bravado and arrogance completely deflate after Kasumi's death).  This
eventually leads to her taking Kasumi's place, and seeing how much Kasumi
actually did for the family.  Akane will eventually discover Kasumi's
diary, and will learn that Kasumi actually knew a lot more than it seemed
(tying in the theory that Kasumi's...naivete, as it were, is just an
illusion created by her).  I think it has potential but just wanted to see
what everyone else thought.  Please respond privately or on the list.

Thanks,

-jdb

 *********************************************************
Justin D Baugh, CompSci@Rensselaer
www.rpi.edu/~baughj
"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, is still there." - Phillip K. Dick