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Ranma and his friends belong to Rumiko Takahashi. They're
used here without permission.

------------------------------
newRanma 2: Cutting

by Chris Jones
------------------------------

    It was late evening at Nerima General when Doctor Tofuu
walked into the waiting room, leading a female surgeon behind
him.

    Akane, Nabiki, Kasumi and Soun were waiting as well as
Genma and Nodoka.

    Careful to keep his eyes away from Kasumi, Tofuu
gestured to the surgeon. "This is Doctor Najima. She's the
neurosurgeon here responsible for Ranma's case."

    Nodoka was about to speak, but Akane cut her off. "Is
Ranma okay?" she asked in an urgent tone.

    "Ranma is conscious and alert," Doctor Najima stated.
"He's in ICU right now, but we should be able move him to a
private room later tomorrow."

    "What happened to my son?" Nodoka asked.

    Doctor Najima bit her lip slightly. "Ranma has had what
we call, a minor 'cranial accident'."

    "Huh?" Akane asked, not understanding the phrasing. "I
know... I know it was an accident," she replied guiltily,
"But can't you be any more specific?"

    "'Accident' is polite language for 'hemmorage', Akane,"
Nabiki informed her.

    "WHAT?!?" Akane yelled.

    "Like Najima-sensei said," Tofuu replied. "It's *very*
minor. He had a brief hallucinatory episode before Kunou-san
called the ambulance, but that has apparently passed. He's
conscious and lucid right now. He's even grumpy because I
won't release him from the hospital."

    "So why won't you release him?" Nabiki asked
suspiciously.

    Tofuu bit his lip. "It's normal procedure to keep a
patient who's had the kind of symptoms Ranma has under
observation for at least 96 hours. I could still release him,
but I feel that the real problem lies in the injury's
location... and the real cause for Ranma's hallucination this
morning."

    "I don't understand, Doctor Tofuu," Akane admitted.

    Najima unrolled the bundle she was carrying. It turned
out to be a chart displaying side view of a human skull and
brain in shades of x-ray gray. It was very obviously a
computer printout, and just as obviously freshly printed.

    "This is the initial cranial x-ray we took of Mr.
Saotome before I scheduled a CAT-scan," she explained to the
rest of the group. She took out a marker and circled an area
near the bottom center of the gray shape of Ranma's skull.

    She pointed to the red circle, and touched her
fingernail to a dark patch inside it. "And this is what's
causing Mr. Saotome's problems. He sustained a fairly major
concussion here this morning. His eardrum tore from the force
of the blow. What is really hurting him, however, is the fact
that the concussion apparently aggravated an old injury at
the same location. That's what this dark area is."

    "Ranma has a head like a rock," Soun wondered aloud.
"What could do such a thing to him?"

    "I believe it's a childhood injury," Najima commented.
She pointed to the dark area again, noting some faint lines
in the image. "From these fractures, I believe that he was
perhaps eight or nine years old when it happened. Currently,
there's a sizable blood clot between Ranma's brain and the
membrane that protects it from the rest of the world."

    All but two pairs of eyes turned suspiciously toward
Genma. Impassively, he said nothing, but began to sweat,
nervous perspiration pouring down his face.

    "What... will happen to Ranma," Genma asked
hesitatingly.

    "Not a lot, unless the injury is reaggravated," Najima
stated.

    "Which probably won't happen, considering Ranma's thick
skull and his conditioning," Tofuu added. "It's a small
wonder that this did anything. Medically, it's a fluke."

    Najima nodded in agreement. "The disorientation and
nausea he felt earlier is gone. He is feeling slight numbness
in one of his legs, but it's fading, meaning that the
bleeding has almost certainly already stopped." she
continued. "What really worries me is this." Again, she
traced another one of the dark lines. "The old clot...
here... puts pressure on a part of the brain that we believe
affects personality. That's most likely why he was behaving
so oddly just after the injury."

    "Ranma's gonna go beserk and kill us all," Nabiki
theorized dryly.

    "Not likely," Tofuu pulled at his collar slightly.
"This area in particular is responsible for... *ahem*...
sexual... response."

    "What does this mean for my son?" Nodoka asked
seriously.

    "It means that he has very little concept of his own
sexuality," Najima answered in a matter-of-fact tone. "We've
done a preliminary verification with the resident
psychologist," she explained, "and we'd like to do further
follow up exams before we make any real decisions, but it
appears that, while the rest of Ranma's body and mind are
mature, he has the sexual mentality of a much younger boy.

    Nabiki couldn't help but grin in mirth. "So... Ranma
and Akane have so much trouble because Ranma still thinks
'girls are icky'?!"

    "Not in so many words," Najima responded reluctantly.
"We're starting to get into territory that really should be
discussed only with Ranma's immediate family."

    "Akane's his fiancee," Nabiki countered.

    "And... the Tendous are almost more family to Ranma
than I am," Nodoka admitted sadly.
    
    Soun whispered briefly in Kasumi's ear. She smiled
politely and helped her father to drag a protesting Nabiki
outside the waiting room.

    "Kasumi! Father!!"

    "They'll inform us later, Nabiki," Kasumi said. "We
really don't want to overhear Ranma's secret, do we?"

    Once the door had closed, leaving a smaller group
inside, Najima continued.

    "From the psychological examination, we know that
Ranma's body responds normally to sexual stimuli, but in many
cases his brain doesn't know how to handle it. The nerve
clusters don't get enough blood and don't emit the right
amounts of neurotransmitters due to the pressure exerted by
the clot. Since the synapses are still functioning to some
degree, the functions have not migrated, as we see many other
brain functions do in the event of neural damage." Seeing
that she was getting pretty far ahead of the group, the
neurosurgeon summarized. "Ranma's arranged engagement affects
him like it would a much younger boy. He understands the most
basic mechanics of an adult relationship, but not much else.
Due to his injury, romance, love, and sex are topics he just
simply can't comprehend like any other young man his age."

    Akane fell back in her chair, flabbergasted by the
statement.

    "And all this time, I thought he was just being
stubborn," Genma commented. "To think--OOF!"

    He was cut off violently by Nodoka's elbow in his gut.
"Be quiet husband, and let the doctor continue!" She turned
back to the conversation, gesturing for the doctor to
continue. "What is the prognosis for my son?"

    "Like we said," Tofuu answered. "We can do nothing, and
Ranma will likely live out his life with no further incident.
However, he will probably have extreme difficulty with his
arranged marriage. He'll probably have difficulty functioning
in *any* sort of sexual role. Lover, husband... or even
father to his children."

    Nodoka exhaled noisily. Her expression slowly contorted
into a mask of loss and grief. "Well, Genma," she whispered.
"You have your perfect martial artist. We can be sure he will
never think about anything *but* the art. Are you happy now?"

    Genma hung his head, causing expressions of concern to
grow on both doctors' faces.

    "What... what if you treat Ranma?" Akane asked quietly.

    "If we remove the clot," Najima began. "It would almost
certainly allow that portion of Ranma's brain to begin to
function normally. I don't think there's any damage there...
just inactivity."

    "The procedure also has the potential to change his
personality dramatically," Tofuu finished. "Any kind of brain
surgery does, really. In this case it's almost assured
because of the problem we're trying to solve. The Ranma we
know won't 'die' per se, but his interests, likes, tastes,
and behaviors may change radically over a short time." Tofuu
cleared his throat. "In my opinion, this will be giving Ranma
a chance to achieve potential he was previously unable to.
The ability to love and be aroused are something we all take
for granted, but Ranma has only the faintest glimmerings of
these abilities. He will likely need to spend several hours
each week with a behavioral specialist for the first year or
so, just to make sure that he develops normally once he does
have those abilities."

    "There's also the matter of Ranma's..." Najima coughed
slightly, an air of unease about her. "Shape-changing
abilities. Frankly, I didn't believe in the... the... uhm...
'curse' until it was demonstrated, and I examined CAT-scans
of his... her... er... uhh..."

    "Ranma's brain," Tofuu finished for the uncomfortable
doctor. "The pressure exerted by the blood clot is slightly
less when he's female due the the shape of his skull. Quite
frankly, I believe that Ranma has developed more female
sexuality than he has male sexuality. We have no idea what
kind of affects that will have on him."

    Visions of Ranma in girls' clothing assailed Akane. All
the times he used his curse to get free food... to pacify or
bribe Kunou... to deceive his mother...

    Akane clenched her teeth. Ranma *swore* by his
manliness, and yet, sometimes Ranma acted like more of a
woman than Akane was. Was this the reason why? Was it
*easier* for Ranma to be a girl than a a man?

    She thought back on the time when Ranma hit his head
and was confused so badly that he thought he really was a
woman. The thoughts disgusted and terrified Akane. Worse, it
made Akane disgusted at her self, for the way she remembered
treating him and the way it made her feel about him and
herself. She hated herself because of the way Ranma's actions
confused her and left her so uncertain.

    Akane couldn't decide if it wasn't better to let him
stay as he was or risk the alternative.

    "This has happened before," she admitted.

    "That's right, isn't it," Genma exclaimed. Nodoka's
eyebrows lifted in dreadful curiosity.
    
    "Oh?" Najima asked. "Please explain."

    Nodoka looked on in surprise.

    Stammering in guilt, Akane recounted the events she had
been thinking about. She hit Ranma, causing him to hit his
head on a rock in the koi pond behind the Tendou home. Until
another blow had somehow 'righted' him a day later, Ranma
firmly believed he was a girl cursed to become a boy.

    "I have to reassess my diagnosis, then," Najima said.
"If it has happened before, we can't call this an isolated
incident. It's probable that Ranma will have to suffer this
same problem in the future. We'll have to conduct further
tests, but I believe it would be in Ranma's best interests to
remove the clot.   

    Hearing a choked sob from Nodoka, Akane realized that
there were tears standing in her own eyes. She looked up to
see that Genma's face was wet as well.

    "It must be Ranma's decision," she stated finally.

    Everyone in the room nodded in agreement.

* * *

    Outside the private waiting room, Kunou, Shampoo and
Ukyou waited for news.

    "What of the pigtailed-girl!" Kunou demanded as soon as
Nabiki, Kasumi, and Soun appeared. Both Shampoo and Ukyou's
faces were alight with concern for their beloved.

    Nabiki quickly related what she knew of Ranma's injury,
leaving out some of the more specific details. Kunou looked
confused, but Nabiki suspected that it was because he refused
to understand why she was talking about Ranma instead of the
'pigtailed-girl'.

    Shampoo frequently stopped her and asked her to explain
some of the medical terminology.

    After the explanation, Kasumi patiently sat down with
the amazon and explained Ranma's injury in detail using much
simpler wording. Kasumi even threw a phrase or two of high-
school Mandarin into the mix for Shampoo's benefit.

    After almost fifteen minutes, Genma, Nodoka and Akane
came out of the private waiting room. The other girls glared
at Akane for being allowed in when they were not, but the
youngest Tendou made no reaction. Instead, she began to sob
guiltily and ran out of the room.

    "Akane think is her fault," Shampoo said quietly.

    Kasumi nodded.

    "In all likelihood," Genma admitted in a quiet tone, "I
think I remember the original injury. It was a few weeks
before we left for China. I was throwing old wooden railroad
ties at the boy to test his reflexes. One hit him and knocked
him out. At the time I didn't think anything of it, since he
had been knocked out so many times before."

    "It's a wonder you didn't crush his skull," Ukyou
sniped. She turned and stormed after Akane.

    "Shampoo talk to girl too," she said, rising from her
seat next to Kasumi. "Injury is injury. Akane no understand
that," she said, unsure of her words.

* * *

    The next day, as Ranma lay in the hospital bed, he
realized that he wasn't really sure what Tofuu was talking
about when he said that Ranma was 'inhibited'. Genma and
Nodoka both tried to explain it to him, but they stumbled
over their words. In the end, their stifled, uncomfortable
speech had been just as incomprehensible as Toufuu's medical
jargon. All Ranma knew was that his memories of what took
place the previous day disgusted him.

    First there were vague memories of Kunou. Ranma wasn't
certain, but he was pretty sure he had kissed the
upperclassman. GYAH! Then, once he regained consciousness at
the hospital, there were all sorts of embarrassing questions
the doctors and nurses asked him. Ranma wasn't sure what made
him more embarrassed, the intensely personal and explicit
nature of the questions or the fact that he didn't know how
to answer most of them.

    In the end, it was sweet, gentle, Kasumi who had
quietly and patiently explained that the blood clot in
Ranma's head could cause worse and worse problems for him and
his relationship with Akane. Ranma would never be as mature
as he wanted to be or as mature as Akane needed him to be
without the surgery.

    He was sure as hell damned if he was ever going to kiss
*Kunou* again!

    There really was no choice. Ranma just didn't like the
consequences.

    The tests begun a day later. There were a battery of
psychological, emotional, and physical tests. Ranma realized
that he was badly mistaken if he thought that he would never
be so humiliated as he was by the first round of questions.
Again, he was unable to answer most of the questions. He
didn't even know what some of the things they asked him
meant.

    The physical tests were only a degree less humiliating,
but Ranma bore up with determination, if not grace.

    At the end of the third day, Cologne visited him.

    "Hello, Son-in-law."

    "Hey, Granny," Ranma answered restlessly, sitting on
the side of his bed. He had been confined to his hospital
room for almost three days, and wanted to move around. Worse,
preparations for the surgery were in full swing. He had not
been allowed to eat for more than a day and the left side of
his head had been shaved. They even cut off his pigtail
despite his protests.

    Hopping over to the stand next to the uncomfortable
bed, Cologne took a few minutes to conduct her own exam of
the boy. It consisted mostly of staring deeply into Ranma's
dark eyes and examining his aura.

    Ranma bore up with no comment.

    "I understand you're going into surgery tomorrow."

    Ranma nodded grimly. "Yeah, I guess you heard."

    Cologne nodded. "Well, I have made some inquiries. A
weak-brained man is no good for Shampoo, you understand."

    Ranma laughed mockingly and leaned against the back of
his reclined bed. "Tell me somethin' I ain't heard yet."

    "There is a certain small degree of danger to Jusenkyou
cursed victims whenever a bone is broken," Cologne said
seriously. "The bones can shift during the change and cause
problems."

    Ranma nodded seriously, an interested expression on his
face.

    "Usually the risk is so slight, I don't concern myself
with it, but in your case, where your skull will actually be
cut, there may be a problem with the bone buckling during
your change. Worse, there may be gaps, allowing you to become
infected."

    "Wonderful," Ranma sighed and covered his face. "One
more damn thing to worry about."

    "That's why I brought this."

    Ranma looked up at the item Cologne had produced. He
couldn't help but hiss in anger when he saw the same ladle
that Herb had once used to lock him in his girl-form.

    "Unfortunately, I don't know of any way to lock you in
your uncursed form," Cologne said, aware of Ranma's
discomfort. "I've already discussed it with young Tofuu-
sensei, and he agrees with me. Of course, after you heal,
I'll change you back with the Kaisufuu."

    "After I marry, Shampoo, right?"

    Cologne chuckled. "I gave you the phoenix pill, didn't
I?"

    "Eventually," Ranma sniped.

    Cologne reached out and poured a small measure of water
over Ranma's head, changing her. Ranma shuddered and sighed
at length. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at
the wall.

    "I'm sorry, Ranma," Cologne said honestly. "Tofuu says
that the bone will be completely knit after twelve weeks.
Come by the Nekohanten, and I'll change you back. I'll have
some ramen waiting for you."

    Cologne waited for an answer, but none came.
Eventually, she turned to go.

    Just before she got to the door, she head Ranma begin
to whisper. "Thanks, old-ghoul."

    "I'm not completely perverse," the woman said before
stepping outside.

* * *   

    Akane nuzzled P-chan protectively once before she
stepped into the dojo. It was more for her own comfort than
his, but she could tell that the little pig was concerned. It
was almost as if he understood that Ranma had been hurt and
was facing surgery.

    Taking one last deep breath, she slid the door open and
stepped into the dojo. Inside were almost all of her friends
and rivals, including many people from Furinkan High and the
surrounding area. Ranma's parents, her own family, and even
Cologne was there. Tatewaki and Kodachi Kunou stood together
on one side and Mousse, Shampoo and Ukyou stood at the very
front of the group.

    She was a little worried that Ryouga hadn't shown up at
her invitation, but she was confident she could probably talk
to him before he discovered Ranma in his delicate condition.

    "As you may already know," Akane said hesitatingly,
"Ranma has been in the hospital for the last few days"

    "Get on with story, violent girl!" Shampoo catcalled.
"We already know this part."

    Akane glared, but held her tongue. She spent several
minutes explaining the nature of Ranma's injury and the
upcoming surgery, without going into the effects of the
injury itself.

    "And because he's going to have brain surgery and will
be in a very delicate state, I'm going to be blunt. I've got
Dr. Tofuu's ear right now, and he has complete authority over
Ranma. Unless each and every one of you swears not to fight
with Ranma for the next three months, I'll get Tofuu to
confine him to the hospital with only family visitors.

    "THAT NO FAIR!" Shampoo yelled in outrage.

    Cologne hopped up to the front of the dojo. "And I will
assist her," She stated, turning to the crowd. "A head injury
so soon after such a delicate procedure could easily maim or
kill my son-in-law until he recovers fully. If anyone wants
to hurt or fight with Ranma before he is healed, they must
first go through me."

    "Aiyah..."

    "But what of the beauteous pigtailed girl!?" Kunou
demanded in righteous ire. "Will not the villain Saotome
molest her in a most unwholesome manner whilst they abide in
yon medical facility?"

    Akane shook her head in disgust. Trust Kunou to
complicate the matter with his stupidity.

    "The pigtailed girl is going to have brain surgery,
too. If you try to catch her too hard, you might cripple
her," Akane warned.

    Kunou lurched back, the confusion obvious on his face.

    "You can keep your filthy mitts of my darling Ranma-
sama as well, brother!" Kodachi threatened.

    "But... But how could my tender mercies injure such a
wondrously healthy creature? Was it not my hand that called
for medical attention and saved her from certain death?"

    "Let me spell it out, Kunou-chan," Nabiki called in
from the doorway of the dojo. "The pigtailed girl is going to
have BRAIN SURGERY. Part of her SKULL will be removed so that
the doctors can remove a BLOOD CLOT from her BRAIN. Maybe you
should talk to the doctors as well," she mused. "At any rate,
if you cause the pigtailed girl to overexert herself before
her BRAIN and SKULL are fully healed, the only pigtailed girl
you'll ever get to spend time with ever again will be a
VEGETABLE who sits in a WHEELCHAIR all day and DROOLS all
over herself," she drove her message home. "I don't know.
Maybe you'd like that."

    Kunou swayed, the disgust and fear obvious on his face.

    "While Nabiki is being blunt for Kunou-sempai's sake,"
Akane seconded, "Let me say again how real the risk is. No
bonborri, no spatulas, no bokkens, no blunt instruments, and
no fighting what so ever!"

    "What about you, Akane?" Ukyou asked. "Do all these
rules apply to you, too?"

    Akane looked down at the floor, her face reddening in
embarrassment.

    "It seems," Nabiki cut in, "that the good Doctor Tofuu
confiscated Akane's mallet the first time she tried to visit
Ranma at the hospital."

* * *

    Blackness. Nothingness. No cares. No worries. No being.

    A faint light. A sting. Coldness.

    A pair of glasses. Muffled sound.

    Ranma blinked, and stared into the mirror underneath
her. Doctor Tofuu's face was reflected upside down. He seemed
to be talking to her from behind the blue surgical mask, but
Ranma couldn't hear.

    Strangely, she didn't yet care.

    She could feel a slight pressure on her scalp as the
surgeons adjusted the brace that held her head still. There
was a slight breeze and...

    Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong.
There was a part of her scalp that she couldn't feel, except
for the cold air blowing across...

    Ranma gulped, dread beginning to creep in on her
emotional numbness.

    "Doctor, heart rate is increasing. We're at 130 over
90."

    "It's okay, Ranma-chan," she heard her mother's voice
call out.

    "Calm down, Ranma," Tofuu urged. Ranma could hear him
more clearly now that the anesthesia was wearing off.
Everything was still horribly off, however. Everything seemed
to be happening too slow and all the voices around her were
stretched and distorted.

    She swallowed again, and willed her heart to slow. She
could hear the pace of the constant 'beep-beep-beep' from the
heart monitor slow in the background. They had told her about
this after all the interminable days of tests. They had made
sure she was ready. Ranma had to stay calm and in control,
regardless of the fact that her skull was cut open and her
brain was hanging out and the surgeons had their hands...

    "Soul of ice," Ranma whispered, doing her best to stay
calm.

    "That's right," Tofuu said in a calming voice.
"Everything's going just according to plan. We're about to
begin operating on the clot, Ranma."

    "Okay," Ranma acknowledged, unable to nod. She
desperately clung to Tofuu's image hanging upside down below
her.

    "Okay, Ranma," Tofuu said. "I need you to start
counting from ten down to one. Okay?"

    "Ten, Nine..."

    There was a little pressure and a jarring sensation.
Ranma felt, rather than heard the scrape of metal as a
something brushed the exposed, cut bone of her skull.

    "E-eight, seven, six, five...

    "There it is," she heard Najima's voice say. "Forceps.
Probe..."

    "Four, thr--"

THREEeeTHREE333THReethreeTHREETHREEEEETHREEE3333TTHR33Three33
thr
e3THT333Threeeee333eeThr3333333333333THReethr33EEEETHREEeeTHR
EE3
33THReethreeTHREETHREEEEETHREEE3333TTHR33Three33thre3THT333Th
ree
eee333eeThr3333333333333THReethr33EEEETHREEeeTHREE333THReethr
eeT
HREETHREEEEETHREEE3333TTHR33Three33thre3THT333Threeeee333eeTh
r33
33333333333THReethr33EEEETHREEeeTHREE333THReethreeTHREETHREEE
EET
HREEE3333TTHR33Three33thre3THT333Threeeee333eeThr333333333333
3TH
Reethr33EEEETHREEeeTHREE333THReethreeTHREETHREEEEETHREEE3333T
THR
33Three33thre3THT333Threeeee333eeThr3333333333333THReethr33EE
EEe

    "--ee," Ranma gasped. Her heart began to pound and
sweat began to pour down her face. She could hear the ECG
beeping away wildly.

    "Keep going," Tofuu urged.

    "T-t-two, one, zero?" Ranma said in a tone that asked
if it was all over yet.

    "Okay, now I need you to count the other way, Ranma.
Ready?"

    "One, two," Ranma gulped, having had quite enough of
the number 'Three' for one day."Four, five, six.."

    "Wonderful," Najima's voice said from above her. Ranma
felt a drop of moisture roll down the side of her face.

    "Doctor?" Tofuu asked.

    "It came away in a single piece," Najima-sensei
explained. There are a few... there... and there....
Cauterize that, please."

    "It's mostly over now, Ranma." Tofuu explained in a
happy tone.

    Ranma felt her mother's hand squeeze her own. She
breathed a sigh of relief and waited for the anaesthesia to
claim her again.

* * *
    
    The group sat silently in the waiting room. The only
sounds that permeated the room were the gentle click of
Kasumi's knitting needles and the almost inaudible hiss of
Nabiki's headphones.
    
    "Your move," Soun stated calmly, looking over the
portable shogi board.

    Genma cocked his head impassively, and slid a piece one
space across the board.

    "You're not playing up to par today, Saotome," Soun
accused quietly.

    "Hmmm..."

    A door at the end of the waiting room opened. Almost
involuntarily, everyone else in the room looked up as Nodoka
and Doctor Tofuu stepped through in blue surgery smocks.

    "How fares my son?" Genma asked impassively.

    "He is well, husband."

    "They've removed the blood clot and are closing his
skull right now," Tofuu elaborated, carefully keeping his
eyes away from the eldest Tendou girl, lest he lose his
composure. "His color is good, and he has had good vital
signs all through the surgery. It was a relatively quick
operation, considering."

    "Is Ranma going to be okay?" Akane asked, carefully
masking the concern in her voice.

    "Doctor Najimi believes that Ranma should be just
fine," Tofuu said. "In fact, because of the way we had to
operate, she was conscious for a few minutes during the
surgery. She said she wanted you to have this," he continued,
rummaging in one of the deep pockets of the smock. He pulled
out a vial, filled with a clear liquid that had a irregularly
shaped grayish lump floating inside.

    Nabiki laughed out loud. "Really gave you a piece of
his mind, didn't he Akane?"

    "That's so nice!" Kasumi noted cheerfully.

    Akane's eye twitched in irritation.

    "Bet that's a load off his mind, don't you think,
Akane?" Nabiki chuckled.

    "It's not very pretty is it?" Soun asked aloud.

    "No, it's not," Tofuu agreed, as Akane snatched the
vial out of his hands, and began to cradle it almost
lovingly.

    "He's saying that he thinks he's going to be okay,"
Nodoka commented, kneeling down next to the girl. "He wants
to show you that he cares about you, and doesn't want you to
worry, even if he can't admit it."

    "I know, Auntie. I know."

    "Oh, my son is so manly!" Nodoka wailed.

------

~to be continued...
* * *
C. Jones - guilty@furinkan.net
http://www.furinkan.net

2001 - "My God, It's full of stars!"


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