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*   *   *   *   *   *

    "Dr. Tofu!  Dr. Tofu!" Akane called, entering the small clinic with Ranma 
in tow, who was now thinking that Akane had been right.  The slash was right 
on the edge of his torso, and hurt like Hell.
    "Akane!  I haven't seen you for a while," Tofu said, walking out of an 
examination room.  "Who's your friend?  I haven't seen a blue Reploid around 
here before."
    "Reploid?" Ranma asked.
    "That's what some scientist dubbed us," Akane said hurriedly.  "We're not 
really robots, because we don't have to follow the Rules of Robotics."
    "Oh," Ranma said, not asking what the Rules of Robotics were.
    "Dr. Tofu, I need your help with Ranma here.  He just got a nasty cut in 
his side from Kuno," Akane said to Tofu, who had waited patiently for them.
    "I'm a doctor, not a mechanic, Jim!  Err... Akane," Tofu amended, looking 
sheepish.
    "Ranma turns back into a human with cold water," Akane explained, looking 
back at Ranma, who was clutching his side again.  "I'm worried about what 
would happen when he gets splashed, so I brought him here."
    "Understandable," Tofu agreed, nodding.  "Ranma, have you ever been to 
Jusenkyo?"
    "Yeah, that's why I can turn into a girl," Ranma confirmed.  "Umm, Doc, I 
hate to hurry you, but could you do something about this already?  It really 
hurts."
    "Oh, of course, Ranma.  Please lay down on the bed in the examination 
room, and I'll be in to sew you up in a few minutes," Tofu instructed Ranma, 
walking to a nearby sink to wash up and get a glass of cold water.  Setting 
it on a tray alongside a needle, some thread, and a packet of rub-in 
anesthetic, he walked into the room, with Akane following him.  She took up a 
position at the side of the room.  Dr. Tofu set the tray on a small table 
nearby Ranma, and went to a small refrigerator he kept nearby, and withdrew a 
pint of blood.  "Just in case," Akane heard him mutter.
    "All right, Ranma, are you ready?  I won't be able to apply the 
anesthetic until I've sewn you up," Tofu said, threading his needle.
    "I'm fine," Ranma confirmed, grasping the sides of the examination table.
    "Akane, would you wash up and come over here?  I suspect that I'll need 
an extra pair of hands for this," Tofu told Akane, who complied.  "Ranma, 
would you roll over on your side, please?  I need to be able to work at the 
whole wound."  Akane arrived, her hands wet from washing.  "Akane, put your 
hands on either side of Ranma's wound, and push them together so that I can 
sew," Tofu commanded.  "On the count of three, I'll splash Ranma," he 
continued, picking up the water so that he had the glass in one hand and the 
needle in the other.  "One... two... three!" he said, pouring the water onto 
Ranma, who gasped in pain as he became human once more.  Akane immediately 
began to push at Ranma's wound, staunching the bloodflow and allowing Tofu to 
sew.  Ranma hissed just a little at each puncture of the needle, but did not 
complain otherwise.  The seconds stretched into minutes, as Dr. Tofu closed 
off the wound bit by bit, moving with quick, expert motions.  After two 
minutes and forty three seconds, Dr. Tofu tied a knot in his sixty-seventh 
suture and leaned back, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
    "There.  That should do it," he said, setting the needle down.  He picked 
up the anesthetic and rubbed it slowly and gently around the wound, which 
numbed quickly.  Ranma sighed in relief at Tofu's ministrations.  "And we 
only lost about three ounces of blood.  Thank you, Akane, I would've had a 
real problem without you," Dr. Tofu said, relaxing.
    "Thank you, Dr. Tofu," Akane said, bowing.  "Ranma might have died 
without you."
    "That's my job," Tofu said with a smile.  "It's been a while since I 
worked E.R.  It feels good to do that kind of thing every now and again.  Now 
Ranma, I just want you to stay off your feet for a few days.  I'll stop by 
later this evening with some anesthetic cream for your wound.  For now, get 
outta here; I've got to clean up before someone comes in and thinks that I've 
killed someone," Tofu said with a chuckle.  Ranma silently got up from the 
table and joined Akane as the two left for the Tendo home.  Akane tried to 
start up a conversation a couple of times, but gave up when she realized that 
Ranma was too deeply in thought to reply.  Most of the walk was spent in 
silence, as Ranma walked slowly beside Akane.  When they arrived at the 
house, Ranma immediately went up to his bedroom, saying that he was tired, 
and wanted to sleep.  Akane just wondered what was bothering him so much.

*   *   *   *   *   *
***Later that evening***

    "Sasuke, have you found a man that can repair my august body yet?" Kuno 
asked from his bed, nearly immobile from the beating that he'd received from 
'X' earlier that day.
    "I'm sorry, Master, but I've said before that nobody on the planet has 
the technology to repair a robot as advanced as you are," Sasuke said, his 
head bowed.
    "Bah!  Leave me, fool!" Kuno commanded.  Sasuke left, leaving the Kendo 
master alone in his room, where he'd been left by Sasuke earlier that day.  
"What shall I do now?" Kuno wondered quietly.
    "Nothing," said a mysterious voice, "Unless you'd like to talk to me."
    "Who are you?" Kuno asked.  "Show yourself!"  A shadowy form seperated 
itself from the wall and approached Kuno's bedside.
    "You wish to be repaired, so you can have a measure of revenge, do you?" 
the figure asked, its voice sneering and grating to the sound.
    "I do.  Can you help me attain this goal?  I assure you, you will be well 
compensated for your troubles, sir," Kuno said with a noble air.  It was 
somewhat spoiled by the condition that he was in.
    "I can fix you, and I can make you so much better," the figure said.  
"But it does not come without a price."
    "I told you already, the Kuno family is quite well off.  You will be paid 
in full, I assure you," Kuno repeated, nodding.  That nod was just about the 
only thing that he could do at the moment.
    "I don't want your money.  I want your assistance in regards to a few 
matters of importance to me.  I assure you, you will not find them 
disagreeable, and you will be rewarded handsomely for your efforts," the 
figure stated, reaching down and tracing the lines of Kuno's shattered wings.
    "If that is your price, then I agree to the terms," Kuno nodded.  The 
figure gathered Kuno's various parts and left quietly out the window, flying 
through the moonless night on silent jets.

*   *   *   *   *   *

    Ranma was silent that night at dinner, still deeply in thought.  The 
conversation was essentially unaffected by his silence, and he didn't seem to 
care too much.  Akane was a bit worried, and her worry grew as she noticed 
that Ranma wasn't eating anything.
    "Ranma," she said quietly, "Is anything wrong?"  Ranma was silent for a 
minute before replying.
    "Nah, but I wanna meet you in the Dojo after dinner," she said.  Akane 
nodded, not knowing what else to do.  For the remainder of the meal, which 
she sat at out of courtesy to her family, a cold knot rested where her 
stomach would have been, had she been human.  She was able to maintain her 
end of the conversation, which mainly lay between herself, Nabiki, and 
Kasumi.  Soun didn't talk to her much, for some reason that she'd yet to 
uncover, and Genma was too busy eating.  Finally, Ranma stood up.
    "Kasumi, I'm sorry that I didn't really eat tonight.  I got a lot on my 
mind, so don't be mad," Ranma said.
    "Oh, that's fine, Ranma.  If you want anything later, I'll be happy to 
fix something for you," she replied, smiling.  Ranma wondered inwardly if she 
ever stopped smiling.  Shaking her head, Ranma left out the door for the 
dojo, walking slowly, due to her injury.
    "Ranma wanted to talk to me in the dojo, so I'd better go too," Akane 
said to her family, leaving.
    "I wonder what's going on between those two," Nabiki wondered aloud.  
Kasumi nodded her agreement, then began to gather up dishes from around the 
table.
    Akane walked slowly into the dojo through the main door, which Ranma had 
left open.  Ranma herself was standing in a corner, holding a big towel in 
one hand and a water bottle in another, which she was staring at intently.
    "You wanted to see me?" Akane said tentatively, walking up to Ranma.
    "When's your birthday?" Ranma asked suddenly, not looking up from the 
bottle.
    "Huh?" Akane responded, surprised.
    "When's your birthday?" Ranma repeated, lifting her gaze from the water 
bottle.
    "Umm... It's in a month or so.  Why?" Akane replied.
    "You helped me out a lot today," Ranma said, changing the subject.  "Kuno 
woulda cut me in half if you hadn't warned me, and I prolly woulda been in 
the hospital or worse if you hadn't helped me with that slash wound."
    "That's what friends are for," Akane returned, smiling.
    "Well, I wanna give you a present.  It's kinda a thank you gift, and 
kinda an early birthday present.  That okay?" Ranma asked.
    "Sure," Akane answered, a bit flustered.
    "Okay, but you gotta do what I say, all right?" Ranma said.  Akane 
nodded, causing the other girl to smile.  "Okay, wrap this towel around you 
like this," Ranma said, throwing the towel over Akane's shoulders and tugging 
it tight around her.  Akane held it tight against her chest and waited.  
"Now, close your eyes," Ranma told her.  Akane complied, shutting herself off 
from the world.  A few seconds passed, as Akane wondered what was about to 
happen.  Then, she felt a trickle of water sliding down her face and rolling 
over her hair.  Suddenly, she froze.  She FELT the water over he hair.  She 
FELT the towel, wrapped around her shoulders.  She FELT the cool wooden floor 
of the dojo beneath her feet.  Slowly, with a trembling jaw, she opened her 
eyes and dared to look downward.  The pink of her toes poked out from the 
cool cream of her feet, a sight that she'd not felt in what seemed like ages. 
 She looked back up at Ranma, her jaw still trembling.
    "H-How?" she asked, amazed at the feeling of air rushing down her throat, 
having never before realized just how good it felt to breathe.
    "Nyanniichuan, straight from Jusenkyo," Ranma said, a note of forlornness 
in her voice.  "Hot water'll turn you back into a robot, but cold'll fix 
that.  Happy birthday."  Akane, finding herself without words, just wrapped 
Ranma in her arms and sobbed for joy.

***Author's Notes***
    Awwwww... aint it pretty?  Seriously, though, I had this planned from the 
start.  So, now both Akane and Ranma share a curse, and Kuno's out of 
commission... but for how long?  Seriously, this has been a lot of fun to 
write, and I hope to keep things going for a while.  I've got a friend right 
now who's writing music (in a midi sequencer) for all the 'X bosses' that are 
gonna appear later on in this fic.  He's already completed one, and is 
working on the second.  I'll release them all at once, to cut down on junk 
mail.  In any case, tell me what you thought of this chapter, and this story! 
 They definitely come out faster when you write to me!  I don't really care 
weather you loved the thing or hated it- I just want to know, and why!!  My 
E-mail is Flashfyre5@aol.com, so drop me a line.  I promise that I'll get 
back to ya!  Oh well, until next time!


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