Parts of the book did read like a medical text, covering Shiatsu, Herbalism, and Psychiatry, which allowed Kasumi to read much more than she might otherwise have, before she started to try to figure out where the book had come from.
It was obvious, after Kasumi bothered to look, that the book did not come from Dr. Tofu, as it lacked the stamp on the inside cover which all of Tofu's medical books had. Dr. Tofu was in the habit of lending books to others of his peers on occasion when they ran into a problem that was more in Tofu's area of expertise; and when dealing with professionals who were highly forgetful, a bookplate prevented people from accumulating books due to forgetfulness. It also helped when someone he loaned a book to, had to share it with yet another doctor, and so on.
The book dealt with some subjects that were embarrassing to Kasumi. Even some that were sensational, scandalous, and shocking, but it dealt with them in a straightforward, medically sterile manner which allowed Kasumi to read more than she might otherwise, only afterwards leaving her to blush at the ideas discussed therein. Some of the comments scrolled in the margins were in Kasumi's opinion quite obscene.
Kasumi would have probably forced herself to get rid of the book if it hadn't been so full of obviously useful information. Granted, she wouldn't dream of using the information for herself, but it should eventually prove useful.
Actually she did dream about using it quite often, in quite a variety of ways, and with a variety of people, but these dreams were quickly forgotten or dismissed, if they were even remembered at all after waking up.
Slowly it occurred to her that there were at least four things that the book was ideally suited to help her. This wasn't something that occurred to her in a flash of sudden realization, it was something her subconscious pieced together, and slowly nudged into her awareness. This book provided her with a power and control no one else she knew had.
The simplest thing the book provided was a guide to discovering how to best please herself. Her guilty, secret pleasures with a romance novel before bed were just the tip of the iceberg. While they should still remain secret for propriety's sake, she need not feel guilty enjoying something that was not only perfectly natural, might even be necessary for a healthy life. And her desires and fantasies were the generic ones mass produced for the romance industry. Human sexuality was so unbelievably complex that it was unlikely that she was without kinks that would give her more pleasure than the vanilla fare she had been enjoying so far. She owed it to herself to discover what gave her the most enjoyment.
The book also offered her the chance to meddle in the love tangle that her younger sisters were involved in, but unlike everyone else, she would be working for the forces of good! She could find out once and for all whether Ranma and Akane were right for each other, and if they were, then help them get together, and if they weren't, then fix them both up with the person that was right for them.
The book also possibly provided the only method of controlling Happosai, allowing Kasumi to control the harmony of the house. It would also probably provide methods of manipulating the two fathers into behaving better, although the idea of her father as a sexual being made her slightly nauseous, and Genma tended to live the life of a eunuch, concerned more with food and drink than sex, which probably explained the number of fiancees, and the lack of half-siblings seeking Ranma out.
And finally, perhaps, maybe after she learned more about herself, if she was lucky, she might use the book to find someone for herself.
So, Kasumi decided, the first thing to do is to
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(Posted Sun, 31 Oct 2004 02:26)
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