PM Productions Presents
A Phillip Masters Fanfic
A War Fought in Silence
Chapter Two (A): Consequenses


      Soun stretched as he made his way toward his room. Genma had posed quite a challenge that evening, and he was rather worn out. He was particularly proud of the move in which his old friend flicked a pebble with his toe into the wall behind him. Of course, when he turned back to the board, the pieces had managed to move themselves in a quite interesting fashion. One that would spell disaster for him, if he didn't act swiftly. He never would have suspected Saotome to fall for the, "Hey, there's a ten foot hot dog hovering behind you!" line... but it continued to amaze him the power his friend's stomach had over its ward.   

      He chuckled as he made his way past the dining room, in order to make sure everything was all right in his household before retiring. He peeked in, to find it in shambles. A sigh escaped his lips as he noticed the table would have to be replaced, and the floor needed at least a good waxing. His gaze panned over to one wall, where the moonlight cast an erie glow. There sat a figure, hunched in on itself, and apparently asleep.

      Soun wondered who could have been left behind, either unconscious, or too worn out to continue in whatever contest the Art had claimed of the local fighting community that particular day. Stepping into the room, he could made out more details of the character. Almost instant recognition flashed across his face. "K... Kasumi?" he whispered, shock attempting to clamp its cold fist around his throat.

      He continued across the room, being careful not to make any noise. He couldn't begin to fathom what his little girl had been through to cause this. What he did know, is when he found out, heads could possibly roll. When he came up beside her, he noticed the small pot lying shattered on the floor. He felt a sharp pain as memories all at once rushed back into his mind. Then, they were gone again, and his face settled into a look of calm understanding. Soun carefully leaned down and placed a hand under his daughter's legs. As he lifted, he supported her back with the other. He gently carried her up the stairs and to her room, where he placed her on the bed with a touch only a parent could achieve. Then, he did his best to cover her, and brushed some of the hair away from her face. Planting a soft kiss on her forehead, he smiled warmly and exited the room. Now that his duties as a father were finished, sleep beckoned, and he was not about to rob the night of its only mission.

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      Kasumi awoke, with pains galore. It wasn't long before she was fully aware, and all the more upset for being so. Cramps assaulted just about every muscle in her body, and it felt like someone was jabbing a sharp, heated needle into the back of her neck. Almost on instinct, her hand went to the spot, only to discover that it was rather touch sensitive this particular morning. She rolled around her head a bit, and that allieviated the sensation slightly.

      Standing up, she stretched the best she could, attempting to remove the various kinks and twists her body had managed to wrap itself into the previous night. Finally able to move with relative comfort, Kasumi glanced at her clock. It was five, and the peeking aura of the sun was still indistinguishable from the lights of downtown Tokyo. Breakfast had to be made, as another day dawned upon the battlefield.  Once dressed, Kasumi made her way downstairs. She passed  through the dining room to get to the kitchen, pausing only briefly to stare at the remains of her mother's pot, still in pieces on the floor. She made a mental note to make sure the mess was removed before other family members began to rise.

      A cry from upstairs told her that perhaps it wouldn't be possible, "Ranma, get up and face the music!"

      Some scuffling, and few sharp unknown smacks on the floor later,  Ranma replied, "Damnit, P-chan... it's too early to be doing this!"

       More scuffling, then, "Nonesense, boy! It is the duty of every...."

      More unknown smacks, and what sounded like splintering wood.

      "Ranma, I know you did something to Kasumi!"

      General racket. However, Kasumi was no longer paying attention.

      What Ryouga had said shook her to the core. There was fighting... due to her? People were being done bodily harm because of *her*? She shuddered violently and began to make her way back upstairs.   More voices joined the fray as she was en route. "Ranma, why are you fighting Ryouga this early in the morning?" Akane.

      "What?! I didn't do nothin'!" Ranma.

      "Would you all shut the hell up, and let those of us who have a life get some sleep!" Nabiki. Kasumi leapt up the stairs two at a time, amazed at how much it took out of her. Her breathing heavy from exertion, she ran into Ranma's room.

      Ranma and Ryouga were exchanging blows with practiced ease. Akane was attempting to find an opening in their close quarter battle in order to plant what looked like part of the window sill into Ranma's face.

      Genma was no longer to be found in the room, as apparently he was the reason the window was smashed in the first place.

      Kasumi took in the scene for a few moments, her neck screaming its discomfort as a banshee might shriek its deadly cry to the raging sea.

      "Stop!" she yelled, her head starting to feel a bit light.

      All movement in the room froze. Ryouga actually jumped slightly.

      Akane dropped the stick, as if her fingers were unable to comply with her continual order to grasp. Ranma brushed himself off a bit, trying to remain aloof, though the look in his eyes told another story.

      "What is wrong with you?" Kasumi asked, trying to fathom why these people in front of her, whom she knew and loved, wanted to kill one another because of her. "Ryouga, Ranma didn't do anything to me... why would you think that?"

      Ryouga's eyes dropped to the floor. He couldn't explain why he blamed everything on Ranma, it was just natural. "I'm sorry, Kasumi... it won't happen again."

      Kasumi seemed unsure of his response, but let it slide for the time being. There were more important fish to fry, she turned her gaze toward Akane. Her face couldn't help but soften, as her younger sister had a look upon it not seen in almost six years. There was an air about her as one might find about a person who had just been caught sneaking the last ice cream bar from the freezer. "Why, Akane? Why must you blame Ranma as well? It seems that everyone in this city makes it a fine art... if something goes wrong, it's Ranma's fault. Is the reason behind it so shallow as it just makes life easier for you all, or is it something else?"

      For once, Akane seemed unable to reply. There was simply no excuse for her actions... it had just become so commonplace to point the finger at her fiancee. She decided the best course of action would be to join Ryouga in his intense study of the flooring.

      Kasumi sighed, trying to keep her suddenly prominent temper under control. Perhaps it had always been there, but just subdued though her constant denial of the situations around her. She rubbed her aching neck, trying to figure out when exactly it had become obvious to her that Nerima was just a huge battle... one man against the world, in a fight he was certain to lose. "Akane... Ryouga... please leave. I have to talk to Ranma, alone."

      Both children left quietly, Ryouga's eyes never leaving the ground.

     He was ashamed of himself... maybe it had been partially his own fault Ms. Tendou was acting in such a way. It was almost enough to drive him to tears.

      Akane glanced at her sister, the pillar of the household. Her usual smile was absent, and her eyes reflected a fatigue so deep that it would be hard for a stranger to believe it to have ever been there in the first place. A wrenching went through her midsection, almost as if she were going to throw up. Was it her that had caused this? Was Kasumi truly just remaining quiet, while the chaos around her deteriorated her from the inside? She took a sharp turn at the doorway, heading downstairs for the bathroom.

      Kasumi shut the door, her hand still slowly massaging the sore spot. She turned back toward Ranma, who was now looking highly confused. Not to mention not a little disturbed. "What is it, Kasumi?" he asked, worry very plain in his voice.

      "Ranma...." she began, then balked as she thought and rethought how to put the next sentance. "Was your life so hard before you came here?"

      She felt so tired that she knelt before Ranma on his futon, and stared up at him, the question hanging heavy in the air.

      Surprise registered on Ranma's face, and he quickly fell to his knees before Kasumi. He held her gaze for a few moments, as he wasn't sure exactly what she was asking. "Wha...?" he started, coming up non-plussed.

      She broke in before he could finish, "Before, Ranma... as in, before you came to Nerima... to this house. Was your life this hard?"

      For a second, Ranma's jaw worked withoutt sound accompanying it.

      He finally settled on a neutral answer, in the form of another question, "Why do you wanna know?"

      For the first time in two minutes, Kasumi broke eye contact with Ranma, looking out the window at the pinkish-hued sky. "I want to know, Ranma, because I want... no... I need to know why you stay here if it wasn't. I can't imagine that it was, even with Genma as your father... at least you were on the move, and your contant problems couldn't focus on you all at once as they can here."

      Ranma blinked. He had never really thought about it before.  Always was he in a constant war with himself on what to do with his problems, but he never even considered leaving Nerima. "I... I don't think it's important what my life was like before. I like it here."  

      Kasumi's shoulders slumped slightly, as they were getting rather difficult to hold up. Sleeping the way she did last night must have taken a greater toll than originally thought. "Why?" she asked quietly, "What is it that is so important to you here?"

      Ranma's brow was furrowed deeply. It had been a long time since he was forced to seriously think, about anything. "Because, here I have a family... Nabiki is like the sister I never had... Akane is like the friend I never had for more than a few weeks at a time... and you...."

      He blushed slightly. "You are like the mother I never had." His chest felt pained, like when Akane smiled at him in *that* way. It was something he could neither describe, nor say whether he liked or disliked the feeling. It did, as always, make him very uncomfortable and insecure.

      Kasumi smiled again, and it felt as if a weight were being lifted from her shoulders. The light outside was getting that much brighter, and the pain in her neck... was gone....

     "Kasumi!" Ranma cried, as he caught her before she could hit the floor.

End of Chapter 2 a

     

      Ranma awoke, which in itself was wholly uninspiring. There was no fanfare or riotous cheers. No fireworks or parade of oddly dressed people and overanxious spectators. Nor was there the usual bucket of freezing water or well placed kick to the side. Not even a screamed death threat heralded this particular coming of a new day.  It was normal... too normal. Too regular for the center point of Nerima's wild side. In fact, the very air which surrounded him seemed depressed, as if it wouldn't allow such excitement to add color to the morning. The sun rose slowly as the birds chirped their apathetic songs to the world, trying to force joy upon those who couldn't feel it.   His hands went to his face, which felt raw and sticky. If he tried hard enough he could trace the tear marks across his cheeks to the various points they ended at as a result of his erratic positioning throughout the night. He felt dirty and alone... moreso than he had ever been in his entire soloist existence.

      Sitting up, Ranma buried his face in his hands, ashamed at the weakness he showed. However, it wouldn't stop... the tears came anew, as if they were simply waiting for their captive audience.   "Kasumi...." he whispered softly as the pain struck home once again.

     

PM Productions Presents 
A Phillip Masters Fanfic
A War Fought in Silence
Chapter Two (B)

     

      The Tendou household was devoid of its usual life that morning.

      Nabiki seemed even more haggard than was normal for even her. Akane held herself upright, but one look in her eyes told another story of woe that would make the most hardened soldier cry for pity. Ryouga, who had stayed as a result of the previous day's events, seemed disjointed. His hair was matted down on one side, as though he had spent the night in the mud... which was not entirely fiction, as the floor of his tent was ripped and the rain had been relentless.

      Soun and Genma were nowhere to be seen, as they had never left the hospital the day before. Dr. Tofu had made it perfectly clear that no one was to try to force them out... for the protection of the hospital staff. It had taken him and Soun to convince the rest of the family to go home and rest, promising that at any sign of change they would be the second to know after those at the hospital. Tokyo Central was a large facility, but also a very full facility, and they simply did not have the capacity to house so many people overnight. As it was, Soun and Genma had to sit in chairs in Kasumi's room the entire night.

       Kasumi had fallen into what the doctors could only call a coma.

      Some guessed at severe trauma due to stress... others figured it to be more physical in nature. Who was right and who was not would be discovered once the myriad tests had returned from the labs. Some of them would take days due to the sheer volume of patients, though they were put on the top of the list due to the unsure nature of her injury.

      Dr. Tofu had near ripped the hair from his scalp trying to finagle them higher and higher until even his substantial push in the medical field was exhausted completely.

      The people of the house were on auto-pilot. Not a sign was to be found of a person who had slept comfortably. They took their turns in the bath as best they could, girls in first, then the guys. Akane and Nabiki avoided each other's gaze entirely, while Ranma and Ryouga were acutely pacifistic.

      In a unanimous, unspoken vote breakfast was never made. Once everyone was cleaned and prepared, they all sat around the dining table... and for a brief moment, things seemed almost passable as normal.

      That lasted all of two seconds. "Akane," Nabiki began, after the short silence, "are you going to call, or am I?"

      Akane lifted her gaze from the table top, and sort of focused on her sister. "I think you should, Nabiki... I'm not sure I could..." she paused, and her eyes found the spot where her hands here idly intertwining in her lap. "...stay in one piece."

      The older girl nodded understandingly and stood up. She made her way out into the hallway and picked up the phone. The dial tone sounded unnaturally loud in her ear, and she quickly typed in the number to remove it. While her conversation with the hospital was taking place, those left in the dining room were silent; each individual was fighting his or her own personal war with themselves. Time stretched out, making seconds seem like minutes, minutes like hours.... Then, finally, Nabiki returned. She could feel all the eyes of the room on her, though she would meet none of them with her own. "Kasumi's been moved from critical condition as she's remained stable through the night... however, she hasn't shown any signs of waking up yet."   "Did any of the tests come back?" Ranma asked, mirroring what everyone else wanted to say.

      Nabiki sighed, drawing in a deep breath. "Yes, her blood sample showed an abnormally high white cell count... which usually means there's something wrong biologically... yet, the adranaline is almost nill, so they aren't too worried about a clot of some sort being the cause."

      "Is that all?" Akane queried, her voice shaking slightly. She had been worried there was some sort of blockage to Kasumi's brain, and was glad that had been disspelled... however, it still left them not knowing at all what the actual cause was.

      "Damnit!" Ryouga spat, glaring over the table at Ranma. He wished so badly that he could knock some snot out of his rival and make it all go away. For some reason, this always seemed to work in the past. However, this time, actions could barely whisper, and he felt more useless than when the captain of the Valdez had asked him to take the helm while he made himself another drink.

      Ranma stared back passively, as if he could care less if his friend jumped over the table and removed his throat. His thoughts were subdued, though occasionally something eccentric and seemingly unconnected would rise to the surface. At one point he felt like screaming... another he felt like comforting Akane. They were all noble causes, and no one would have probably blamed him for doing any of the above. Unfortunately, his motivation had bottomed out long before the day had even begun, and showed no signs of rekindling.

END FOR NOW

     

There are a number of reasons this is as short as it is... if you really want to know them, just ask. Comments are greatly appreciated, and I shall try to hasten my writing as much as possible to make up for the brevity of the part.

Thanks for reading,

PMasters