Curse of Silence II: Tofu Version 1.1 by Bryan Neef Original story by Chris Jones, continued with permission Ranma arrives at the Tendou Dojo, transformed and angry. He meets Tendou Soun's three daughters, Kasumi, Nabiki, and Akane. He soon discovers that Akane is mute, the result of an auto accident that claimed her mother's life. Ranma embarasses himself and the Tendou girls. Genma pushes Ranma to Kasumi. Both Kasumi and Nabiki are prepared to spare Akane from Ranma, and accept the engagement themselves. It is then that Akane makes her proposal... ============================================================================= Ranma walked on the fence next to Akane and Nabiki. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught their conversation. He knew they were talking about him, even though he didn't know sign language. His thoughts were interrupted by two claps. He blinked and looked at the sisters. "What's wrong?" Nabiki smiled to herself. "We want to know why you're up there?" Ranma saw Akane's nod. "Balance practice. The Old Man taught me to make everything a training exercise. So, I practice on fences." Both girls nodded in understanding. Akane pointed to herself, then the fence. Ranma blinked in surprise before helping her up. The trio continued on in silence. Nabiki, however, kept even with her sister. She noted the smile in her sister's eyes and face. So engrossed in their training, none of the group noticed Ranma's transfor- mation until they made a jump over a gate. "Damn!" The sisters turned to see the redhead jump from the fence. "I need to go back and change." "We don't have time for that. You'll just have to go as a girl today," sighed Nabiki. She turned towards the school when she heard the claps. She saw Akane shake her head and point in a different direction. Nabiki looked around, getting her bearings. "We've got five minutes to get to school. We don't have time." "Nabiki, I really don't want to go as a girl." "I know, Ranma, but it'd be best. We can probably get you water before class. If we don't hurry, we won't be able to get inside." "But..." Three claps got Nabiki's attention. She watched as Akane pointed to Ranma, held her breasts, pointed to herself, then touched her throat. Nabiki looked at Ranma's nearly unreadable face. She touched her own throat before looking back at Akane's level gaze. Nabiki smiled. "You're right, Sis. We'll make a quick stop at Tofu's." *** Ranma and Akane stood in the waiting room while Nabiki went to find Dr. Tofu. Ranma looked at Akane, noting how her fiancee stood proudly in the room. "Thanks, Akane." Akane smiled, patting Ranma's arm. "Were you and Nabiki using that sign language?" Akane nodded. "Don't you use the white board?" asked Ranma as she pointed to the board tied around Akane's neck. Akane quickly wrote on it. "It only works when I'm sitting or standing still. Besides, signing is faster." Ranma read the note, nodding. "True." Before she could continue, a skeletal hand rested on her shoulder. She screamed and jumped, nearly knocking Akane down. Akane's eyes widened in surprise. Her instincts allowed her to jump back a meter. "Hello!" greeted an exaggerated female voice. Akane began to laugh silently when she recognized Tofu's signature introduc- tion. She also heard Nabiki laughing from the doorway. She glanced at Ranma as she dropped cautiously from the ceiling. Tofu smiled. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. I thought Nabiki or Akane warned you." "D-don't worry 'bout it. I was talking with Akane." "I noticed. I'm Ono Tofu, their family doctor." "I'm Saotome Ranma. Pleased to meet you." "What can I do for you three? Nabiki implied there was an accident." Akane looked at Nabiki laughing in the door. She stomped over to her sister, swiping the warm water from her. Nabiki continued laughing as Akane poured the water over Ranma's head. Tofu raised an eyebrow at the transformation. He waited for Ranma's re- action. He was surprised when Akane placed her fingers on Ranma's lips, shaking her head. She pointed to Tofu and took Ranma's hands in her own. She smiled and nodded. Ranma looked at her in confusion. Nabiki spared him from further embarrass- ment. "She says you can trust him. We do." Ranma watched Akane's nod. "I guess. He's a doctor and all." Tofu smiled, patting Ranma's shoulder. "That's good to hear. You'll have to tell me about yourself, sometime. Until then, you'd better go to school." All three jumped with a start. They bowed their thanks and started to leave. Tofu stopped Ranma before he left. "Ranma, Akane's a special person. She doesn't give her trust to just anyone." Ranma looked at the man before nodding. "Thanks, Doc. I'll keep that in mind." Tofu nodded as Ranma left to join the Tendou sisters. He smiled. Acknowledgements Thanks to Chris Jones, I've been able to solidify some of the more tragic ideas I've had for Ranma and Company. Like his other stories, Curse of Silence has inspired me further. As always, Rumiko Takahashi owns these characters. They are trademarked and copywrited by her and her agents (Shogakukan and Viz.) Situations (c) 1999 Chris Jones. Continuation (c) 2000 Bryan Neef. This story may be freely distributed, unaltered. If you wish to use any parts of this for your own works, please obtain permission first from Chris, then myself. I'd also like to thank my ever-growing list of prereaders. They've been helpful and very patient with me. Thanks all. Comments and critiques are welcomed at amaranius@yahoo.com. Author's Notes I know there is a "rash" of these stories going around now. I will probably participate, given time. I am also aware that Mad Hamlet is currently writing a series of sequels to Curse of Silence. He is aware of my stories as well. Hopefully, we won't get in each other's way. It'll be fun. This series will be somewhat serious, but not nearly as angsty as my other works (ahem, Ranma's Curse.) I will be following Chris' style for these stories: not laboring over retelling the whole story. Instead, I will focus on each of the major characters, and possibly a few minor ones. Sit back and enjoy.