Kasumi on Her Own by Cassandra Sunderland (Cassiopia5@aol.com) based on characters from RANMA 1/2 Kasumi woke up at the crack of dawn, just as she did any other morning. Dressing quickly, she made her way to the kitchen. Things were strangely quiet and at first it troubled her greatly. Then it dawned on her that this was the day that everything started. Happosai, Mr. Saotome and father were off on a week of training with Ranma, while Nabiki and Akane would be gone on their field trip for the whole weekend. "I almost don't know what to do with myself." Kasumi mused, so used to her cavalcade of chores that she needed to get done before the others awoke. Now there was no one to cook for, no one to clean up after, just her and the dojo. Kasumi made herself a small breakfast and set aside some laundry. She figured it would be easier to wait until there was enough laundry to do one big wash before Akane and Nabiki got home. After some minor cleaning, Kasumi went back into her room. She looked through her closet to find something she had not worn in years. Kasumi didn't like to talk about it much, but like her other two sisters, she had trained under her father to learn basic defense. Since no one was around, she thought she might make use of the dojo for some minor training before she got back to the book that dear Dr. Tofu had loaned her. Kasumi felt ridiculous in her training gi, but she knew no one could see her and she knew there was nothing to be embarrassed about. Everyone else in the house trained, why should she feel strange about it. She started a few warm up exercises, but she could feel a few twinges from her confused body. hose little kinks were slowly worked out and then she was ready for her real work out. She slowly worked her way through each of the moves her father had taught her, but she didn't feel that she was doing any of the moves correctly. It had been such a long time since she had done any of them and she had no power behind her moves, which made sense, for she had no aggression to back them up. Kasumi never could understand her sister's anger. She often offered advice to Akane, but it never worked. The worst thing was that for a while, Akane tried to mimic her elder sister and that was even worse. Kasumi knew that Akane had to get over her anger and rage, but she had to do it in her own way and her own time. Any force from the outside would only damage. Wait, that wasn't completely true. She also knew that Ranma was the one and only outside force that would help Akane, and Akane would likewise help Ranma. She smiled deep inside as she thought about how the two were becoming closer despite themselves. It was certainly fate, for what they needed most to grow up and take on the responsibilities of marriage was, quite simply, each other. Even though it sometimes frustrated her that Akane and Ranma were so stubborn and slow to see what she saw so clearly, but since she knew the outcome was to be, it made it easy for her to keep her happy mood. In fact, Kasumi saw things so clearly that she almost never had a bad thing bouncing in her mind. Kasumi's thoughts were shattered just like the far wall. A strange woman in black and green came charging into the dojo. Kasumi was spared from being struck by the flying debris, but before she could understand what was happening, the strange woman stood before her and struck a combat pose. Her hair was dark and tied into a very strict tail, but she also had three lengthy bangs. Her eyes were green and cold, but the rest of her face was covered by her cloak. "Hello. Can I help you?" Kasumi brightly asked. "I am Shadera and I have come to challenge you, Akane Tendo!" The girl shouted. "Oh my, well Akane isn't here at the moment, so I'm afraid..." Kasumi tried to explain. "What a feeble lie! Prepare yourself!" With that, Shadera made a fierce kick at Kasumi. Kasumi dodged to the the left and barely avoided the strike. Shadera made a second kick. Kasumi dodged again, but she lost her balance and fell under the spinning leg. Shadera almost fell over herself. "Ha! I thought you=D5d be more of a challenge than this!" Shadera raised her foot to bring it down on Kasumi, but Kasumi simply rolled over to where Akane's weights were. Kasumi was already out of breath. This was much more than she had expected. "Miss Shadera, you are confusing me for my sister." Kasumi tried very hard to explain as she tried to regain her feet. "Shut up!" Shadera shrieked as she leaped over to Kasumi. Kasumi was frightened and covered her eyes. No blow was struck, though. Shadera's foot landed square on Akane's weights. The weight rolled toward Kasumi, but Shadera was to fall flat on her back, smashing her head on the dojo floor. "Oh no!" Kasumi ran over to the fallen woman. "Did you hurt yourself badly? Should I get the first aid kit?" Kasumi was genuinely concerned. "I will not be so insulted, Akane Tendo!" Shadera grunted past her pain. = "Oh my, that bump on the head has made you forget already. I am Akane's sister, Kasumi." Kasumi smiled and left the room to get the medical kit. She had no idea that shortly after she had shut the door, Shadera had gotten to her feet and followed in pained fury. Upstairs, in the bathroom, Kasumi looked for some bandages, but most had been used up by Akane or Ranma. As she bent over to look in the lower cupboard, that was when Shadera charged in. At her great speed, Shadera could not stop as she slammed into Kasumi's side. Shadera flipped over and slapped down onto the floor once more. Kasumi made a slight gasp as she was hit, but she was more shocked by Shadera's sudden appearance in the bathroom. "Oh, Miss Shadera. I would have brought the bandages down to you. Now you seem to be completely unconscious! Poor, poor dear." Kasumi gathered the bandages and carefully brought Shadera to the sofa. Tending to her wounds, Kasumi was interrupted by the phone. "Tendo Dojo." Kasumi cheerfully answered. "Hi! Kasumi it's me, Akane! I thought I'd call!" Akane sounded so cheerful. Kasumi could tell the field trip was going well. "Hello Akane! How nice to hear from you!" Kasumi beamed. "I hope everything is well at home." "Well, some strange girl named Shadera came and attacked me thinking I was you, though I don't know what made her so angry, but she's unconscious, so I have to take care of her." Kasumi happily explained. "What?" Akane was sure she didn't hear what she just heard. "You're packing to go home." Nabiki commented on what she saw. "I have to! It's an emergency, Nabiki!" Akane yelled as she tried to force her poorly packed suitcase shut. "I'm guessing that Ranma was seen talking with Shampoo, huh?" Nabiki mused. "No, it has nothing to do with Ranma!" Akane shouted, finally latching her suitcase. "Then what?" "Kasumi is in trouble and it's my fault! I gotta get home before things get worse!" "Come on sis, nothing bad ever happens to Kasumi." Nabiki smiled back. "This might be different. Kasumi said that Shadera was at the dojo and that means... wait, let me start at the beginning. There was a woman's martial arts showcase just a few months ago and I decided to sneak there and give our dojo a good name." "No Ranma?" Nabiki interrupted. "I wanted to give our dojo a good name!" Akane was growling with anger. "Well, he is more skilled." Nabiki jabbed. "NABIKI!" Akane quickly calmed herself down. "So as I was saying, while was there, I was trying to see what the girls from the other schools had to offer. Some of them were very skilled and others were just pathetic. I had spotted Kodachi there, but I made sure to avoid her. Of course, as I was trying to get out of her sight, I accidentally bumped into this girl named Naranama who was a student of something called the School of the Four Winds. I tried to apologize, but she was furious. I mean, you couldn't imagine the temper this girl had." "I guess I couldn't." Nabiki folded her arms. "Naranama challenged me and just charged as soon as she finished saying she was going to do it. I was barely able to get out of the way her strike and then I hit her. I didn't think it was a good hit, but I took her out with the one punch. The three other students were named Orikasa, Chisa, and Shadera. They were so upset with the way I had supposedly dishonored their school and vowed revenge. Nothing else ever happened so I figured nothing else was to come, but Kasumi just said that Shadera was at the dojo and she had mistaken Kasumi for me! The others may come and poor Kasumi is all on her own. I have to help!" "You know, you may have a point there. I think I'll go home with you." Nabiki suddenly turned to start packing her own things. "Nabiki?" "Hey, no one else is at home. Sure, I have almost no training, but I did train a little under daddy and you might need an extra hand. If there are going to be four of them, I can't see how it could hurt." "Thank you." Akane was stunned. "Well, we're sisters. If we can't stand by each other, who can we stand by?" Nabiki was uncharacteristically serious, and simply resumed packing. Shadera opened her eyes. She looked around and found herself in a bedroom somewhere. There was a terrible pounding in her head and suddenly she remembered. "Akane Tendo!" She shouted. "Oh good, you're awake. You had me worried after that blow you took in the bathroom." Kasumi smiled pleasantly. "Let me get you some food." "Akane Tendo, I shall destroy you!" Shadera shrieked, yanking aside the bedsheets. "Oh dear, you're still talking funny. That hit to your head..." Kasumi stopped as Shadera charged. Kasumi dodged toward the door, leaving Shadera swinging into open air. With no support and no target, gravity got the better of Shadera and she smashed into the floor, quickly covered up by tumbling bed sheets. "My, you do seem accident prone." Kasumi mused. "...hate you...Akane...Tendo." Shadera coughed. "Shadera, you haven't heard me. My name is Kasumi. I am Akane's older sister." There was the sound of splintering wood down by the front door. Kasumi leaped to her feet and quickly moved to see what had just happened. When she got to the door she saw three more girls standing in the crater that was the doorway. The first was in a blue skintight outfit and wore a white headband and white boots. Her hair was brown and short and she looked like the leader of the three. Next to her was a girl who was almost as tall, but she was in a red and orange outfit, with a brown sash. This second one had long orange hair. The last one was shorter than the others and certainly the youngest. She had a peculiar yellow and black gi, making her look a little like a wasp. "Oh, more guests!" Kasumi beamed. "I'm so sorry about the door. It must not have been fixed properly after that last fight between Ranma and Happosai." "DIE AKANE TENDO!" Shadera screamed as she appeared at the top of the stairs. The others all turned with a jump, as did Kasumi. Shadera tried to charge down the stairs, but misplaced a step and went flying toward the others. The elder girls were able to jump out of the way, but the young girl started to scream. "That's not Akan -" was all she got out before she was hit by Shadera. The two were knocked out instantly. The others stared in shock at their fallen members and then they stared at Kasumi with a newfound rage. Kasumi was truly at a loss, trying to work out what to do next. The standing girls struck combat poses. "Akane Tendo, you have disgraced two of our member. We will make you pay double for your actions." The girl in blue said with a sharp, vicious voice. "Oh dear." "Master, I can not stay here." Soun begged. "I told you, I want both of you ungrateful louts to help me in the training of Ranma." Happosai croaked. "What's wrong, Tendo?" Genma asked, noticing that there was more on Soun's mind then just getting away from the evil master. "I don't like the idea of Kasumi all alone. I just know something is wrong. I can feel it. Don't you understand!" Soan started weeping at the very thought. "Oh come on, Mr. Tendo!" Ranma interjected. "Nothing bad ever happens to Kasumi." "Well, if you're so concerned, why don't we train back at the dojo, then?" Genma offered. "Fine, I don't need you two. I can train Ranma on my own." Happosai spat out. "No way! I'm not staying here with the old freak! I'll go back as well. If there is a problem, you'll probably need me to help fix it." Ranma boasted. "What? As if a snot nose like you could fix anything! It's clear you'll need me there. Any experience can be turned to training. Of course it will be a while before we can get back to the dojo." The four gathered what little belongings they had and started back toward home. Shampoo was riding toward the Tendo Dojo, when she heard the sound of splintering wood and saw chunks of the building go flying through the air. Shocked by this, she leapt from her bike and flipped landing right by the front door of the dojo (or what was left of it). There were two unconscious girls at Shampoo's feet, and she didn't recognize either of them. There were the sounds of fierce battle inside, but as far as Shampoo knew, only Kasumi Tendo was home, everyone else was away. "It can not be Kasumi in there. Nothing bad ever happen to Kasumi. Maybe Ranma home early!" The thought so excited Shampoo that she charged in to find her love. She was rather surprised to find that most of the interior of the dojo was already smashed up. She was equally surprised to see Kasumi (dressed in a gi no less) leap by. "Oh, hello Shampoo! I'm sorry about the mess, but these girls just won't listen to me. In fact you should look out for -" It was too late. The women had unleashed a torrent of wind, one blast filled with shards of ice, the other was hot as steam. The combined strikes would have struck Kasumi had Shampoo not been in the way. Shampoo was completely blindsided by the attack and went flying against one of the walls. She crumpled to the floor as Kasumi fled to the kitchen. The two women quickly followed, even angrier than before. Kasumi knew that these two girls would not listen to anything she had to say, but she had no idea what to do next. As they came crashing into the kitchen, Kasumi watched as they smashed into the stove. The explosion was tremendous. Kasumi rolled out back into the main room, hoping that the phone was still intact. She was breathing very hard now and every muscle in her body was aching. Reaching up and grabbing the phone, she dialed the only person she could think of to call. "Hello? Dr. Tofu's office." Dr. Tofu answered his phone with great enthusiasm. "Dr. Tofu, it's Kasumi." Kasumi whispered over the mouthpiece. "Uh...Hello Kasumi! How unusual to hear from you at this hour..." Dr. Tofu laughed nervously. "I need help, could you please..." Kasumi's voice was cut off, snapping Dr. Tofu to his senses. It was unlike Kasumi to sound so nervous, after all, nothing bad ever happened to that wonderful woman. He kept hearing that tinge of fear in her voice and knew that he had to get to the Tendo Dojo as quickly as possible. His mind became clear, even though it was filled with thoughts of Kasumi and he raced out of the door. Unfortunately it was the door to the bathroom. Then he heard her voice again, replayed in his head. "I need help..." Quickly, he grabbed his coat. "I need help..." He exited his house with no added troubles. "I need help..." He was able to run with unerring concentration down the streets to the Tendo Dojo. "I need help..." He spotted the enormous hole where the door had once stood and in the wake he spotted two fallen bodies. Now he was desperate to find Kasumi. The sound of splintering wood alerted him to where trouble might be located. Leaping into the center room, he spotted Kasumi trapped on what was left of the staircase. Standing at the top of the stairs was a strange girl in blue and on the wreckage of the dining table was another girl. He recognized the fighting stance they were taking and he knew they were about to unleash their attacks. Kasumi had nowhere to go but a hard drop down. There were seconds to act and he could think of nothing but Kasumi's safety. "Jump here, Kasumi! Trust me!" Dr. Tofu extended his arms. In that same instant, both girls unleashed their power and Kasumi was not there to be struck by the passing blasts. As Kasumi found safety in Dr. Tofu's arms, both girls had been brought down by the other's attack. "Are you OK?" Dr. Tofu lowered Kasumi to her feat ever so gently. "Thank you, Dr. Tofu. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't gotten here!" Kasumi smiled sweetly, thought it was clear that this had been a great strain on even her good nature. Dr. Tofu was unable to respond as he was suddenly struck from behind. Naranama had recovered from her injury and was standing over the unconscious body of her victim. "You are not Akane Tendo, but you have done enough to warrant my revenge!" Naranama challenged, pointing at Kasumi. Then for the first time in her life, Kasumi felt the unfamiliar fire of rage burn into her. She didn't even have a moment to think as the fury seized control of her right arm, launching her whole body into a fierce punch. She would recall, in later days when she tried to remember this moment, that she let out an actual battle cry, but she could never be certain of it. It was certain, however, that her heart screamed out in pain and that ferocity sent Naranama flying out to the front walk. Kasumi didn't come to her senses right away, but stood gasping for breath trying to figure out what she had done. Slowly the pain in her hand matured into a sharp realization of all that had occurred. Kasumi dropped to her knees and began to weep. She couldn't help herself as much as she tried. Everyone showed up a little later. Soun let out a sharp cry the moment he saw the condition of his dojo. Then Soun called for his daughter, but Akane and Ranma had already charged inside. There were no signs of life at first, but then Kasumi appeared, dressed in a rather plain dress. It was clear she had been doing a lot of work. "Oh! Welcome home Akane! Ranma! You're home early." Kasumi was quite happy to see everyone. "Kasumi! What happened?" Akane shrieked. "Yeah, looks like a bomb dropped here." Ranma mused. "Where is Shadera?" Akane continued. "Oh, well she and her friends left." Kasumi answered rather simply. "I doubt they'll be coming back. Oh, Shampoo and Dr. Tofu had dropped in as well, but they've gone home too." While Akane and Ranma simply stared at each other, trying to guess what the missing pieces to the story were, Soun charged in and grabbed Kasumi in a fierce hug. "Kasumi! I was so worried about you!" Soan cried out. "Oh, father, you know you don't have to worry so. I'm fine on my own." Kasumi smiled.