Ranma nodded, offering Hotaru what he hoped was an encouraging smile. Of course, he knew how poor his poker face was, and therefore also moved very quickly. A moment later, Tofu eased shut the door of his office, and released an uneasy sigh.
"Give it to me straight, Doc," Ranma said with a fierce intensity he hadn't meant to use. "Is she gonna be alright?"
"She should be fine," he soothed, taking a seat, and gesturing for Ranma to do the same.
"Okay," Ranma said uneasily, sitting opposite Tofu at the desk the doctor had in a tiny side-room. "Something's wrong, though. What is it?"
"I'm not sure it's wrong," Tofu mused, "as much as ... unusual. Well, let me go over everything from the top. Your daughter's a bit underweight, and exhibits the symptoms of anemia. Beyond that, none of my tests revealed anything problematic. I did take a blood sample, but I can't actually process that here -- we won't get lab results until Thursday or Friday. So keep in mind I was really only able to make sure she wasn't injured, doesn't appear to have any symptoms of virulent infection or any other obvious diseases."
He paused, allowing Ranma to digest this. "So far, so good," Ranma said. "'Cept, I'm not too clear on 'anemia'. That's ... dizzy spells, or something like that, right?"
"I don't think she's actually anemic," Tofu replied, shaking his head. "Her chi flows are ... off. Like a good portion of her life-energy is being shunted into some place outside of or within her body where it can't be used normally. She also has an abnormal aura I can't quite place...."
Ranma considered this briefly. Then he considered Urd's explanation of what Hotaru's role would be once she became one of the Senshi, and the notes in the data-cube. He wasn't positive, but suspected that her aura and the oddity of her chi might be linked. "Is that dangerous?" he asked warily.
"I don't think it's life-threatening," Tofu replied at length. "Now, the chi flows can be strengthened, which will help with some things. As it is, right now her mind is very susceptible to suggestion."
For a long minute, Ranma stared blankly at the doctor.
"'Susceptible to' means 'weak against', Ranma-kun," Tofu explained slowly.
Understanding dawned in Ranma's eyes, and then he frowned. "That means that she can be hypnotized really easy, right?"
"Or possibly controlled with some magical artifacts, or by people who have certain types of mental influences," Tofu agreed. "Normally, I wouldn't mention it ... many people are susceptible. However, since this girl is ... your daughter ... and you tend to attract a great deal of trouble to yourself, I thought you should know."
Ranma nodded thoughtfully. "Is there anything we can do to help her out?"
"Strengthening her chi will help immensely," Tofu reasoned. "With strength of life comes the foundation for strength of will. Beyond that, once she's gotten a bit more experience, I can train her in some meditation techniques.... I can share them with both of you, actually. Those will allow both of you to develop mental defenses, though I don't know that you'll benefit as much as she does."
"Okay. How do we strengthen her chi flows?" Ranma mused.
"Pressure points should accelerate the flows of chi throughout her body," Tofu explained. "Similar to what Happosai did with Ninomiya-sensei--"
"Not gonna happen," Ranma grumbled. "I don't want her stuck like Hinako."
"No, no," Tofu assured Ranma. "Happosai's method was a bit ... rough. The pressure points are intended to be used before exercise, and then, it's a different set of pressure points for each exercise. This accelerates the flow of chi without any permanent side effects."
Ranma was still reluctant to expose his daughter to that. Especially if any of those pressure points were on her chest -- he didn't think that would sit well with anyone. "Do you have a chart for those pressure points?" he finally asked, mulling things over. He didn't want to put her at risk of any kind, but it wouldn't hurt to know what his options were. Tofu obligingly handed the papers Ranma requested over, and he leafed through them, glancing at diagrams of the exercises, along with notes of how each pressure point set should be utilized. "Okay," he said slowly, after looking them over. "I guess this isn't all bad...."
"There's also an herbal tea that will allow for more restful sleep when training, and will slowly help build chi-reserves. I have enough for about two month's worth for you and your daughter ... I imagine you'll want to go through this with her?"
Ranma nodded. Just because he was a hero didn't mean he'd pass up an opportunity to improve himself; he needed to make sure he remained a capable guardian for his daughter.
"Alright. That's the susceptibility and the chi flows. Now, this aura, I'm not sure about.... It seems like some sort of magic, but I can't quite identify it. Do you know anything about it?"
Ranma hesitated, considering his options. Did he want to explain what Hotaru was? The notes in the data-cube about what the Senshi really were remained unread, so he wasn't certain if their identities were supposed to be hidden or not ... or really, that much about them in general. He suspected they were, and then answered, "I might. There's magic on Hotaru. But I don't think it'll hurt her directly."
"It didn't seem malicious," Tofu agreed. "As long as you're aware of it, then. Beyond that, so far your daughter has a clean bill of health. From what I've seen, I expect that at worst we'll find she's missed a vaccination when she was younger."
Ranma nodded again, relieved. "That's good to know," he sighed.
Tofu nodded in return, and leant back in his chair. "If it's not too personal a question, Ranma, can you tell me why you've adopted a daughter?" At Ranma's wary expression, the doctor sat up straight, quickly adding, "I'm not trying to say I don't think you can handle it; from what Shan-Pu and Hotaru have told me, you're doing a fine job so far. I'm just curious for your reasons."
"Ah," Ranma sighed. "Well ... basically, Hotaru needs someone to take care of her, and ... well ... someone else decided I was the one for the job."
"So you didn't undertake this willingly?" Tofu asked, frowning slightly.
"Nothin' like that!" Ranma protested. "And believe me, this was way better than the alternative. Anyway, I don't mind takin' care of Hotaru. She's a good kid, and ... I dunno. I hardly really know her, but I.... I think if I can keep her safe, things could turn out really well."
Tofu nodded slowly. "If you can keep her safe," he said, "then I think she's going to be a child of remarkable opportunity."
"Thanks, Doc," Ranma said with a grin.
See other episodes by Sgt. Chibi De`Ohki
(Posted Thu, 28 Jul 2005 05:11)
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