All the characters depicted in this story are from Ranma 1/2, who was created
by Rumiko Takahashi. This story is something that came straight from my own
mind, so anyone wants to get all huffy and try to sue me for any
infringement, chill; it was a strange coincidence that just happened
(besides, any attempts of gaining monetary compensation via suing will be met
with a furious scribbling of IOUs). Enjoy.
Kasumi 1/2
Prologue
Morning came to Nerima. Kasumi Tendo, normally the early bird of the family,
was just beginning to stir out of her bed, groaning softly. She should have
been downstairs in the kitchen preparing breakfast for her family and the two
Saotome males living under their roof. Cooking, however, she was not feeling
well at the time. Waves of nausea rippled through her with a vengeance then,
an event that had been going on for the last two days. With a frown of
disgust, she fought down the rising bile before managing to slide out of bed.
She stood on bare feet with the hem of a V-neck lavender nightgown reaching
down just past her knees. She went out to her closet to fetch some clothes,
when suddenly, her legs started to buckle, and Kasumi barely caught herself
upon the nearest wall. She leaned against it for a few minutes, letting her
world reorient itself. The morning had not even started, yet, she felt
incredibly drained of her strength. With some effort, she pushed off the
wall and stood erect, though a little shaky.
'I should see Tofu-sensei later today. I may be coming down with a cold, or
influenza,' Kasumi thought. 'Perhaps it's-'
Her thoughts were cut short by a new wave of nausea, one prompting her to
reach the bathroom as quickly as possible.
* * * * *
"Tofu-sensei?"
Several frantic sounds were made behind the office door a few seconds after
she spoke his name: many metallic items clanging to the floor, an elderly
sounding man crying out something before the voice turned into a full fledged
scream of pain, and a lot of shuffling about among others before Tofu said
through the door, "K-K-Kasumi....I wasn't...expecting you...to show up..."
His nervous laughter was heard, along with a few strained groans underlined
with choice curse words.
Kasumi blushed a little after making out a couple of the colorful words, then
gracefully composed herself before speaking. "Tofu-sensei, I think I may be
coming down with the flu or something. Could you examine me when you're
finished?"
>From behind the office door, Tofu paused in his excitement.
"Something's...wrong? With Kasumi?" he said to himself aloud. The thoughts
that ran through his head instantly sobered him up. Then he looked down on
the table before him and blinked at an elderly man bent at many an angle that
looked especially painful. "Mr. Yoshimura! You're nearly ninety! You really
shouldn't be trying to live out your younger days now!"
The elderly patient groaned in agony as a response.
* * * * *
Somehow, Tofu managed to keep himself under control for the duration of
Kasumi's visit, even after she took off her blouse and brassiere for the
examination (though he was hastily repeating a mantra "Kasumi could be ill"
under his breath). Once the examination was over (and Kasumi redressed, much
to his relief and chagrin in equal parts), he carefully labeled and stored
away the samples he obtained. Then he tried to escort her out of his office
without going to pieces every time he looked at her soft, warm smile.
"So tell me, Tofu-sensei, what is wrong with me?"
He bounced a little on the balls of his feet before he pushed his glasses up
the bridge of his nose. "Oh, so far, nothing really life-threatening. As
you said earlier, perhaps you attracted a flu or something of the like. But I
won't know exactly what kind of disease it is until after I run some tests."
"Oh, that's good. When will I get the results?"
"As soon as possible, Kasumi, perhaps by tomorrow afternoon."
"Oh good. Then I shall be expecting your call." She smiled at Tofu.
His legs started to turned into rubber and threatened to go on strike then
and there. Quickly, he managed to scrape up what will he had left. "Go home
and take it easy for the day."
"All right. Goodbye, Tofu-sensei."
He smiled. "Goodbye, Kasumi."
She smiled back and turned to walk home. Tofu's smile slipped into a frown
upon her retreating back. A cloud of darkness passed over his features, but
vanished after a second. "Impossible, it couldn't be that," he muttered
under his breath. Sighing, he walked back into his clinic to rush the
samples he had taken earlier to a medical laboratory.
* * * * *
The next day, the Tendo residence was almost completely deserted, except for
a busy Kasumi. Genma and Soun had taken off for a training trip two days ago
and wouldn't be back for another three days. Ryouga had disappeared again
last night; he would not be back for a couple of weeks with his sense of
direction. Akane and Ranma were supposed to be heading over to Ucchan's
after school today. Nabiki had decided to tag along with the two, in case a
moneymaking opportunity should appear before her. "Wherever Ranma goes,
there's always the chance that something extraordinary with happen, or Akane
will wallop Ranma back to the house when he plants his foot in his mouth.
Either way, it won't be a boring trip."
The eldest Tendo daughter sighed as Nabiki's words decided to echo with her.
Akane had been getting more irritated over the course of the last month.
Ranma hadn't helped matters get any better with his careless words, either,
though it was to be admitted that he was hard at work trying to mince them as
much as possible. However, it seemed to be a regular event where he would
either get pushed by and/or push her little sister too far, and she would end
up retaliating with physical force. It was like a vicious reflex action, an
old habit that proved to be very hard to break.
Kasumi heaved another sigh. Just once, she would like to have a day go by
without Akane sending Ranma into low orbit or thumping him over the head with
a mallet or table. Just once, a day to go off without her arguing with Ranma
about something or another. Just once, for her to admit that she...
She bit her lip hard, instantly killing the thought. There were some issues
she did not want to think about. Some matters, she rather not have to
discuss with anyone, herself included.
Just as she shook free of her reverie, the phone rang. Putting down her
cleaning items, she went to answer it. "Hello? Oh, Tofu-sensei!" She
smiled. "I take it you have the results of the test.... Is something wrong?"
Kasumi listened to Tofu on the other end for five minutes. The smile she
had earlier had drained away long ago along with the color from her face.
Her mouth popped open in stunned silence, and her legs gave out. She fell to
the floor, stiffly erect.
She found her voice at the end of the conversation. "...oh...oh
my...I-I'm...pregnant...?"
To be continued...