jdrutsch@ucdavis.edu (Jeffrey Rutsch)

"Junk"
by Jeff Rutsch

     I love to cook!  True, it is hard work, but the reward of seeing
my family enjoy what I serve them is worth the trouble a thousand
times over.  I make a point of leaving every day at two o' clock,
unless I haven't finished my sweeping.  I walk to the marketplace and
leisurely choose the food I wish to buy.  I've found that if you take
your time making purchases, grocers know you're in no hurry and will
lower their prices!  I've also made friends with all the workers, and
I know they lower their prices for me, or at least save their best
produce for me.  That is very important when serving a family of six
and the guests they always seem to have around.  Perhaps I don't need
to go to all the trouble, but I feel better about myself when I do the
best job I can, no matter how small the job may be.
     By four or four thirty I return.  In the past two hours the house
gets just as messy as it was when I began cleaning up in the morning.
Father's guests aren't very neat!  For the next hour or so I clean
things up as best I can.  By five thirty I start dinner.  My family is
very athletic, and eats a lot, so making dinner is no small chore!  I
start by preparing the food.  I chop the vegetables.  I skin, clean,
and cut the meat, usually chicken or fish, into small chunks.  I sift
the flour.  I then get all the spices, sauces, and ingredients into
organized groups.  It is now time to start cooking.  I always start
with the rice, because to cook rice properly, forty minutes are
required.  With my typical meal, this means I can clean for another
ten minutes.  This is just enough time to get rid of all the new
messes.  The house never gets as clean as I'd like, however.  I return
to the kitchen and prepare the main courses of the meal in various
woks covering the stove.
     I follow mother's recipes to the dot, so the meals are always
good.  While I like eating the food, I can't eat nearly as much as the
rest of the household seems to be able to.  But I stay anyway, basking
in the glory of the contented looks and the inevitable compliments.
This happens every day, and has happened every day since our dearly
departed mother left us.  Only a few days ago, something a bit unusual
happened.
     I was at dinner.  All I could eat was some rice with vegetables
and a little tea, so I looked at the others eat.  Something seemed to
be wrong with Ranma.  I looked closer and it was evident he was in
pain!  He was slooping forward a bit to keep his back from touching
the chair.  And, well, maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed he
was having difficulty just lifting the chopsticks to his mouth!
     "Ranma, are you feeling all right?  You look hurt!" I asked.
Ranma didn't even look up at me.  "Just the martial arts workout,
Kasumi." he blurted.
     I glanced at him when I got the chance.  Ranma was obviously
trying to conceal his pain.  Or was it all in my mind?  Why should I
be concerned in the first place?  I laughed at myself for being so
upset.  Until Ranma, trying to eat my sushumi, winced in pain, and
dropped his food and chopsticks to the ground!
     Nobody else looked concerned, but I was in panic!  Ranma
practices hard as a martial artist, so you might expect him to be
sore, but I've seen him instantly recover from horrible tragedies.
He's shrugged off hits from large rocks, and fallen from incredible
distances without injury!
     "Ranma, did you do anything unusual in your practice?" I asked.
Ranma looked away.
     "Oh, no sis." Akane answered for him, and laughed nervously.
     Oh dear.  Akane had beat up Ranma again.  I know it may seem old-
fashioned, but I don't think it's proper the way Akane handles herself
around Ranma.  Really!  All that fighting!  Father betrothed the two
of them, now they should get married!
     After the meal was finished, I cleaned up the dinner table.  I
noticed Ranma had dropped slightly more food than usual on the ground.
I decided a little further investigation was in order.  I took a
little break from sweeping up around the house and paid a visit to
Akane in her room.  She would probably be studying.  Instead I heard
the voice of Ranma.  That was nice!  Akane and Ranma do need to talk!
"Oh Akane..." Ranma said, moaning "that feels good..." I walked inside
the door without knocking.
     "Oh, hi Kasumi!" said the smiling Akane.
     Ranma was lying on Akane's bed with no clothes on but a towel.
Akane knelt by the bed, and was in the process of massaging Ranma's
back.  I put on my sweetest face possible and said "Oh, isn't that
nice of you, Akane."
     "So, what's up, Kasumi?" asked Akane.  Ranma, for whatever
reason, was ignoring me, pretending I hadn't entered the room.  I
looked at Ranma.  He sure needed that massage!  His back was covered
with welts and bruises, and it was obvious he had taken quite a
beating.
     "I was just going to say something, but I see you have company.
I'll talk to you later!" I said, smiling.  I walked out, closing the
door behind me.  I could ask Akane later...I didn't want to interrupt
Ranma and Akane when they seemed to be getting along.

     I was very pleased with myself the next day.  Breakfast was
excellent, and I had somehow gotten ahead of cleaning the house.  I
knew I was going to be able to do the type of work I wasn't normally
able to do.  Clean the windows, wax the linoleum...the more heavy duty
stuff which went a long way towards making our house a home.
     I went to the store to get my family a small lunch.  After just
half an hour I was very happy with myself; I had managed to get more
saimen then our family could possible eat, and for nearly free.
The family enjoyed lunch, as always.  I think maybe even more then
they normally liked it.  But something a bit strange happened.  Ranma
was in his female form.  That isn't strange of itself.  While Ranma
doesn't mind his altered state as much as he used to, although he
isn't like Mr.  Saotome, who seems to prefer being a panda.  Still,
when in his female form, Ranma usually changes back whenever it's
convenient.  That day, however, I had some boiling water left over.
After letting it cool to lukewarm, I got up to pour it on Ranma.  I
just assumed he would want me to.  But he motioned to stop me, and
when I didn't immediately react, he literally jumped out of the way!
This time even father took notice.
     "Why, Ranma, what's wrong?"
     "Uhhhh...Oh, nothing.  My male body just got a little hurt in my
training today.  Nothing."  I looked at Akane.  She quickly flashed a
worried smile.
     That explanation was good enough for father, but not good enough
for me.  I approached Akane after lunch.
     "Akane, I know what you've been doing, and it isn't right!"
     "You do?" asked Akane.  She looked a bit bewildered.
     "Yes!  Beating up on Ranma.  He's going to be your husband,
shouldn't you go easier on him when you spar?"
     In the background I heard somebody collapse.
     "Oh..." Akane laughed.  The same nervous laugh I had noticed
earlier.  "OK sis." continued Akane, "I'll go easier on him next
time."
     "It's not funny!  It's nice that you two train together, but not
if he's getting hurt.  Akane..." I paused.  I didn't want to shatter
Akane's self-confidence.  "Don't take advantage of Ranma when you
fight.  Sometimes men will let women beat them."
     "I'll keep that in mind, Kasumi." She bowed her head slightly and
left.  I sighed.  From the little glimpse of a smile she made at my
comment, it was obvious she hadn't listened to me, and would continue
to beat up Ranma.  What was I to do?
     I considered talking to father.  After all, he does want what's
best for us.  Still, I have a difficult time talking to him.  He's so
easily upset, and I don't want to make him any worse.  The pain of my
mother dying still weighs heavily on him.  And I couldn't talk to Mr.
Saotome...anything I said to him would go straight to father.  I
decided the only thing I could do was talk to Ranma.  I just hoped he
would listen.
     It seems like Ranma is always practicing martial arts.  I suppose
it's worth it, though.  He is very good.  As I approached the dojo, I
was actually excited...I rarely visit the dojo when anybody is in
there, and I don't think I had ever seen Ranma practicing.  I wonder
what he did?  I suppose the same exercises that father used to do in
the terrible days after mother died, when martial arts was his only
form of escape.
     From the sound of things, what Ranma was doing was quite
harrowing.  Even from the outside I could hear shrieks and yells of
pain.  A thought came to my mind...Akane must be practicing with
Ranma!  He can't yell like this all the time, I'd have noticed!  She
must really be hurting him!  I peeked inside the dojo see what was
happening.
     Inside, Ranma was blindfolded and tied to the wall of the dojo
with metal chains.  His body looked prone, bruised, and bloodied.
About five feet away stood Akane, wearing an outfit that certain
didn't seem to suit her...all black and leather and with a risque cut,
it was something Nabiki might have worn.  In her right hand she was
brandishing a leather bullwhip.
     I smiled and walked back inside the house.

**

This is the first fanfic I created, written last July.  I couldn't
decide what to do with the story, so I never finished it.  Looking
back at it, I decided the best thing to do was end it right there, so
I added a paragraph, gave the story a once over, and called it a final
draft.
The point of the story, I hope you noticed, was to contrast the
seemingly mindless innocence of Kasumi with very un-innocent
happenings, a theme I plan to expand on at some indeterminate point
far in the future.  The title "Junk" is also the title of a White
Album boot.  It beat out "Kasumi: Hellbent for Leather."  Anyway, if
you like the story, I'd appreciate a reply.


--
****jdrutsch@ucdavis.edu***********************Jeff Rutsch************* 
"Ranma's not a boy...he's a girl!"
"Akane is MY fiancee!  You TOUCH her, and I'll KILL you!"
"Ranma, change back into a boy while I buy you some time."
"But if I seem to act unkind/it's only me, it's not my mind."
"Ranma [sic],/give your heart to Akane [sic]. /Soon,/right away."
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