Ranma looked to the sky, as he walked home from school. It had been a slow day for once. Happosai was out of town, Kuno was distracted with some big tournament or other... Ryoga hadn't even made an appearance. Not one attack, not one of the girls had tried for his attention, and Nabiki hadn't even tried to extort money out of him!
And it freaked him out. The other shoe was bound to drop soon, and he didn't particularly feel like getting trodden on. He glanced down at Akane, who was in a pretty decent mood. She was talking about some party or other a friend of hers was planning, but he wasn't really paying much attention. So instead, he was watching his surroundings, very carefully, to ensure that wherever the shoe fell from, he'd be in the best possible position to catch it. Nothing would catch him unawares today!
Later, he would realise that just this decision was what had trapped him in his current predicament. He'd also be deeply concerned about where the hell he was going to sleep tonight, not to mention the sudden lack of privacy and space. But for now, he was on the lookout for signs of any attacking martial artists, any signs of a street vendor selling mystical items... And most importantly, any signs of cold water heading in his general direction.
If not for the high degree of attention he was giving his surroundings, he would never have seen it. He wouldn't have leaped off the fence to dash into that alley, Akane wouldn't have followed him, and he'd have spent the next few nights sleeping soundly in the guest room at the Tendo's. Disaster would have struck Nerima as a result of this, but most people don't think through the inticracies of cause and effect when thinking "if only."
As it was, Ranma and Akane were standing over an unconscious figure. The man didn't look very healthy, but he was definitely breathing, as Akane discovered when she went to check his pulse and caught wind of his bad breath.
"Ugh!" She yelped in surprise, "We should take him to Doctor Tofu. There's no way that smell is healthy."
"Heh, don't you worry about that. If his breath stinks so bad, I'll carry him," Ranma said as he scooped up the immobile form. And then he stopped and blinked for a moment as the sheer tenacity of the stench forced its way into his nostrils.
"Are you sure you'll be fine carrying him?"
"What, are you kidding me?" he smirked at her, and began to walk out of the alley taking great care to not breath any more than absolutely necessary. "You're way heavier than this guy. He's no trouble at all!" This earned him a whack on the back of the head. What did he say wrong this time? The guy was skin and bones! Gosunkugi was probably heavier than him...
It had been a slow day at the clinic, so as far as Doctor Tofu was concerned, now was as good a time as any to catch up on his training. If anybody came in, looking for treatment, he'd hear and be with them immediately. You never know when an emergency might crop up, after all. He leaped into the air, and delivered a lightning fast kick to the air, barely making a sound as he did so. He smiled at the form, and prepared another kick. As he did so, the telephone rang, and almost immediately went to the answering machine. "Doctor Tofu?" A sweet, innocent young female voice said, "I've finished with that book I borrowed, and will be bringing it by later."
When he came to, the good Doctor looked around his office, glad that for once he hadn't picked up Betty and ran around town with her on his back. He always felt silly, waking up in that fountain. He tried to stand up, to pick up the papers, and soon realised that he had somehow managed to tangle himself with Betty in the corner of the room.
"Sorry for being so heavy, Ranma."
"Hey, that's not what I said, you stupid tomboy!"
Ah, young love. If only they would get over that silly little shy, teasing stage.
"Jerk!"
"Macho chick!"
Tofu sighed wearily. He'd hoped they'd be a bit closer by now. Still, he'd better figure out just how to get himself back on his feet to help them out.
The two entered the room. Ranma was carrying someone who was very obviously asleep. "... Hey Doc! We got a patient for... Uh... You need some help?" he asked.
"I'm fine, Ranma. I'll be with the two of you in a moment," Doctor Tofu cheerily called out. Ranma put the patient on a bed, while Akane helped Doctor Tofu to his feet, and the two then turned to leave him to his examination.
The patient's energy flow was remarkably weak. He wasn't dying, or sleeping, and that worried Tofu. He checked the pupils, and examined the throat... and then went white with shock. He turned to the door, and impressed himself with his speed. The two teenagers hadn't left yet, although Ranma had been opening the door to leave.
"I'm sorry, but... I'm afraid I can't allow you to leave quite yet."
The two looked up at him in surprise. Well, they'd never seen him like this before. This wasn't a situation he'd had to deal with before, either. Oh, why did these two have to be the ones to bring him in? This wasn't going to be pleasant for anybody involved.
"What's going on, Doctor. Are you feeling alright?"
"Yes, yes, I'm fine Akane. At least, I hope I'm fine. Ahem..." He locked the door and ushered the pair into the waiting room for a seat.
"You see, the trouble is that all medical practitioners have been warned about a new strain of virus that has been discovered recently. And I have reason to believe that the patient you've brought in may well have that virus."
The two looked shocked at that. Obviously they'd just thought he'd fainted or something.
"Uh, will he be alright, Doc?" Ranma asked.
"I'm not sure. But what I do know is that... Well, I have to call the local hospital, so that they can arrange and maintain a quarantine. I'm afraid you can't leave. There's some paper, pens and tape in that drawer. I'd like you to make sure nobody tries to get in while we're gone. I need to make a few phone calls."
It was a good day, all in all. Ranma hadn't noticed that latest little money making scheme she'd cooked up yet, and neither had Akane. Either of them would have put a stop to it immediately, but now it was far too late. When the pair showed up for school tomorrow and found out what she'd done, they'd be ticked off... But Nabiki had already covered herself. She couldn't help but laugh. It was such a simple plan, and... her thoughts were interrupted by the telephone. She wouldn't normally have bothered, but she was standing right next to it.
"Tendo Dojo, Nabiki speaking."
"Ah, hello Nabiki. It's Doctor Tofu. Um, can I trust you to not charge me for message delivery?"
She scowled at that. Did he really think she'd pass up the opportunity to get gossip by saying no to that? If she'd said no, he'd just come round to tell in person. Nothing to gain. "For you, Doctor, it's free. So what's the message."
She picked up the pen, and began to write. As the implications of the message sunk in, her eyes went wide, and she dropped the pen. This was very bad. She'd lose a lot of money on this... And her sister might catch some stupid virulent disease! What the hell did Saotome get her involved in this time?
"Are you alright, Nabiki? You look a little pale."
"I'm fine, Kasumi. It's Akane we should be worried about. It appears that she and Ranma helped some stranger with an infectious disease, and they have to spend the next few weeks in quarantine."
"Oh dear! What disease was this?" Kasumi asked.
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(Posted Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:20)
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