Well, last chapter didn’t get much of a response… but what it did get wasn’t “Kill it!” which leads me to believe that it should continue. Anyhow, here’s chapter 4. My god, this fic seems to be my release for Semi-WAFF, at the very least, and this chapter’s full on WAFF.

Chapter 4, Letters to Kasumi.

He sighed slightly, laying yet another of his traditional brown Gi in the suitcase and shutting the lid. Latching it shut, he fingered the envelope in his pocket with his other hand. It had taken him several false starts, and about six sheets of paper, but he’d finally written it.

Hoisting his suitcase off of his bed, Tofu Ono headed for the entrance to his clinic, flipping the sign to ‘closed’ on his way by, and dropped the heavy case into the back seat of his car before climbing in the front, turning the ignition key and driving off.

HR.

“Hey, Kasumi!” Akane said, walking past the kitchen door. "A letter came in for you from Doctor Tofu.”

“Hmm?” The eldest Tendo asked, looking up to see her sister putting a small white envelope on the edge of the counter.

“I’ll just leave it here for you, okay?” Akane said, smiling, as she headed into the house. “Now where is that P-chan?” She muttered, just before retreating out of earshot.

Kasumi considered ignoring the letter until after she was done pealing the potatoes, but sighed. Her wrist was getting sore, anyways. Setting the knife and potato down on the counter, she walked towards the letter and picked it up.

Sure enough, the post mark informed her that it had come from Dr. Tofu’s office, and she used a knife to cut it open carefully.

Inside were a couple of sheets of paper, each filled with Tofu’s neat script. This was odd, since most of the time he wrote to her the writing was half-way illegible. Curiously, the eldest Tendo sat down at the table and began to read.

HR.

Hello, Kasumi. I hope this letter finds you well.

I just wrote it to tell you that I am going on a training trip to help me with a few problems I’m having. I hope you don’t mind me disappearing on you, but this trip is necessary. I left a spare key to the clinic under the front mat, so if you want to get a book or something, please feel free.

I think I may be going to China, and venturing around the rest of Asia. The trip could take a while, but I’ll be sure to keep in touch.

When I come back, there’s something I…

HR.

Kasumi frowned, wondering why Tofu-sensei’s writing had suddenly degenerated to near complete un-readability there, but continued anyways.

HR.

Tell Ranma and your family good bye for me, all right?

Lo…. …fu O…

HR.

Kasumi blinked at the signature near the bottom of the letter, but shrugged it off as she heard a loud bang from upstairs. “Now you come back here right now, Ranma!” Akane bellowed, charging down the stairs after a frantically running female Ranma, Ryoga clamped firmly to the redhead’s arm.

Kasumi smiled as the two slammed through the front door, and kept on running. “They’re so excitable.” She mused, going to get some wood to repair the door.

HR.

Kasumi looked down at yet another letter from Dr. Tofu, this one having obviously seen better days. The envelope was rather dirty, and it appeared that part of the corner had been torn off. Frowning worriedly, she used the rip to open the note the rest of the way, extracting an equally battered set of papers and photos.

The photos were interesting, to say the least. One, she realized, even looked sort of like Ranma’s description of the Jusenkyo springs, only all of the poles were in one big lake, and Tofu was standing next to a sheepish looking guide.

Smiling slightly at the sight of a Tofu who looked reasonably well, she turned to the letter.

HR.

Hello again, Kasumi.

Well, this trip to China has certainly been an adventure. I’m sorry I haven’t written in several months, but it’s hard to get to a post office when you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere, and the Chinese Government doesn’t like tourists too much.

I haven’t had much luck in solving the problem I came here for, (As the ten discarded drafts of this letter prove,) but it certainly has been an enlightening trip.

I’ve visited several of the places that Ranma-kun and Mr. Saotome told me about. As you can see, Jusenkyo looks a little different these days. I took that picture a couple of days before I mailed this, by the way.

I actually saw the battle Ranma had with Phoenix King Saffron that flooded the valley, though from a very safe distance.

Ah, I’m getting off track.

I just sent this letter to tell you that I’m heading into the depths of Asia now. I’ve learned a lot about alternative methods of medicine here in China, but like I said, I have another reason to travel. Also… I don’t think the Amazons like me too much at the moment, but I’ll explain that some other time.

How are you and your family doing? Have Ranma and Akane finally stopped fighting? I’d ask you to reply and tell me all about what’s going on, but I’m rarely in one place from day to day. I suppose I’ll find out when I come back.

I’ll be sure to write again soon.

Lo…. T…fu Ono

HR.

A very small frown actually appeared on Kasumi’s face as she read Tofu’s letter. That comment about the Amazons had her good and worried, but she shook it off. Tofu was NOT Ranma… Not that there was anything wrong with Ranma, and not that she would have any right to say anything if Dr. Tofu came home with an Amazon wife.

She blinked, uncomprehending, as she heard the soft crackle of crushing paper. Looking down, she saw that she was the one doing the crushing. “Oh my.” She said, hurriedly laying the letter flat. “Why ever did I do that?”

Dismissing that worry, she slipped the new letter in with the first she’d received, in a nice safe drawer in her bedroom.

Smiling to herself, she left the room and started heading down to the Dojo. There was a LOT of work to do down there, and she was sure that Ranma needed help.

HR.

The next letter was much cleaner, and it seemed almost to radiate excitement. The scribbled address, “Tendo Dojo, Nerima,” was hard to make out as Kasumi carefully opened the envelope to extract the letter. There was a similar group of pictures to last time, now showing various interesting structures, and what looked like a small town hospital with Tofu standing out front, grinning happily.

Moving to the letter, its script was almost as excited as the writing on the outside, and she had to read it slowly.

HR.

Hello again, Kasumi.

A lot’s happened to me since last time I wrote, but most of it has been good, thankfully. I’ve found a nice little town up in the mountains that has a mental healer to help my problem, and I’m meditating with him every day. In exchange, I’ve agreed to work in the town’s little clinic, since their last doctor had to leave the area a few months ago.

The village is beautiful, and the people are all so nice, even if I barely speak the language. There have been a few problems with those Amazons I mentioned, but not many. Working here is a lot like working in Nerima… well, without all of the martial arts caused injuries, and the locals have started to embrace me. It’ll be a real shame when I head back to Tokyo.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I am coming back to Tokyo. Hopefully, in a few weeks. It will be very nice to see everyone again. I miss you all very much. Also, I’ve got a surprise for you, Kasumi, when I get back. I hope you’ll like it.

Oh, it looks like another patient has come in, so I’ll have to rap this up now.

Love, Tofu Ono.

HR.

Kasumi looked down at the letter, blinking at the last line. It had always been garbled before, and she’d almost come to expect it to be that way. She’d just assumed it was some idiosyncrasy of Dr. Tofu’s letter writing style. Now, though, it read ‘Love, Tofu Ono,” as clear as day.

She was about to let herself dwell upon that thought, when she heard a loud crashing sound from down stairs. With a shrug, she put the letter with the others in her desk, and moved down to see what the problem was.

HR.

Back and forth. That was all she was doing, pacing back and forth, her hands twitching with the urge to pick up a sponge, or a mop, or even a feather duster. The house was… CLEAN. It was completely, absolutely clean, and, truth to tell, Kasumi was bored. This was an odd state of affairs, since there was usually enough going on to keep her occupied, but no one was here this week. Ranma and Akane had gone off on a training trip, Genma had moved out months ago, Nabiki was sleeping over at a friend’s house and her father was somewhere in Hokkaido with Happosai.

Frowning, the eldest Tendo paced over to her bookshelf, looking through the dozens of titles there. Unfortunately, she’d read them all in the four days she’d had in ‘peace’ so far. She was so agitated, she almost considered creating a mess to clean up, in spite of how much that went against all of her instincts.

Fortunately, before things got to that grave a state, she heard the sound of the door bell. Smiling brightly, she hurried downstairs to answer it. It was strange. Most of the time, people didn’t bother using the bell, and she’d almost forgotten what it sounded like.

Reaching the front entry hall, Kasumi swung the door open unthinking, surprised to see that there was a man in a rather dirty grey-brown GI standing there, a backpack over his back, and his brown hair blowing into his eyes. “Oh, hello Ryoga-kun.” The eldest Tendo said, cheerfully.

The man looked taken aback for a moment. “I didn’t know I looked like Ryoga, Kasumi.” He said, nervously. Kasumi just giggled, and he frowned. “That wasn’t very funny, you know.”

“I’m sorry, come on in Dr. Tofu.” Kasumi said, smiling softly as she cleared the entryway. He obliged, entering and carefully slipping off his travel warn boots, switching them for clean house slippers. “I’m so glad to see you back safe.” She continued, helping him with his pack. Fortunately for her arm, the pack wasn’t nearly as heavy as Ryoga’s, and she was easily able to handle it.

“Thanks, Kasumi.” He said, smiling brightly back at her. She noted that he seemed to say her name a lot, but dismissed it as she stepped back and lead him in to the living room. Gesturing for him to take a seat, she headed for the kitchen to bring out the kettle she’d been keeping boiling out of force of habit.

As she walked back into the living room, Tofu looked at her, almost seeming in awe. “Kasumi…” He said, slowly. She inclined her head, waiting for him to continue, as she began fixing tea. “Do you know why I left on that trip so long ago?”

“Didn’t you say that you wanted to learn more forms of alternative medicine, and solve some other problem?” She asked, wondering why Tofu seemed so much more serious than he usually did around her.

He nodded. “Did you know what that other problem was?” He asked, simply.

She shook her head.

He sighed, and reached a hand into his Gi top as he began to speak. “Kasumi, when I first met you, I thought you were just a nice young girl.” He started. “As you aged and grew into a young woman, that opinion began to change.”

Kasumi’s hand went to her mouth, as she said “Oh, my…” Unsure of where he was going.

“Kasumi… I loved you, but I would always start acting strangely around you.” He said, choking on the word love almost as much as Ranma would, but managing to say it. “Now, I don’t act like that. I spent all that time to learn to control myself, and I ask… will you marry me?” As he said the last, his hand was removed from his pocket, revealing a box with a ring in it.

“Oh…my.” Kasumi said, fainting dead away.

HR.

“Ranma! Hey, Baka!” Akane frowned. “Will you LISTEN?!”

“Hmm?” Ranma Saotome mumbled, winding down from his practice Kata and looking over at his rather angry wife. “What’s wrong, ‘Kane?” He asked, stretching.

“I’ve been calling you for five minutes.” Akane Saotome grumbled, glaring at him levelly. “We’ve got a letter from Kasumi. I thought you’d want to read it.”

“Oh?” Ranma asked, heading towards his wife, and the porch she was sitting on. “Haven’t heard from her since she left with the doc.”

Akane growled, obviously holding back both frustration and excitement. “I know, so let’s go read it.” She said, biting out each word clearly and distinctly.

“Okay, okay. Calm down, okay Tomboy?” Ranma said, nudging Akane in the arm. She retaliated with a much harder nudge, but he dodged out of its way.

“Are you two done?” Came the annoyed voice of Nabiki Tendo from the kitchen table, where she was giving her sister and her husband an annoyed look.

“Yeah, I think we’re done.” Ranma said, walking over to his sister in law. “So, what’s Kasumi say?”

Nabiki simply nodded, and began reading the letter she had laid out in front of her.

HR.

Greetings, everyone!

How are you all? I heard that Ranma and Akane have finally gotten married. Tofu-kun says it’s about time. We’re doing well here, though it took some getting used to. Still, this small town is so nice, and I can even take a nursing degree from right here with the College down in the city.

I met the monk that helped Tofu with his little problem. The old man is very nice, but he seems a little… I don’t like saying this about strangers, but he acts a bit like Grandfather Happosai. Still, he doesn’t bother me, and helps Tofu a lot with some patients.

Oh, that reminds me. If elder Cologne is still there, tell her that we are deeply sorry for Lin Lin-san’s injuries. Tofu says that her arm should gain feeling again within a couple of months…

On a happier note, Tofu and I are going to have a baby soon. You should have seen his face when I told him the results of the pregnancy test. I swear, he almost started to bounce off the walls like he used to.

I miss you all, and tell Daddy I love him. I hope you can come up here some day, as the view is beautiful.

Love, Kasumi Ono.

END.

Well, the last letter wasn’t strictly to Kasumi, but there ya go. Hope you enjoyed this installment, and please keep on reading!

Misato:Hey, aren’t you supposed to be working on the AOL epilogue?

Axelrad: And the next chapter of Officer Sato!

Weebee Points frantically upwards.) Look, An update to Forever the Tomboy! (Runs off.)

Axelrad: where? link? damnit, misato! could you please drag him back here?!