Goodbye

Dr. Tofu got off the floor and closed his clinic with a heavy heart. “Betty what should I do?” he asked the skeleton and then realized she wasn’t going to answer him. She was a skeleton after all, oddly enough; she was the only almost-person he felt comfortable discussing his feelings for Kasumi with. It’s not like she would repeat them to anyone.

He walked home to his large, empty house; he’d bought it with the idea of marrying Kasumi and having a family with her. The popular doctor was greeted by many people in the street as he walked home, he merely grunted back in his distracted state.

He pulled open his door and said “I’m home honey” as he did every night in preparation for when she would be there to answer him. He imagined her greeting him at the door with a kiss and putting on tea, so that they could sit down and chat about their days before they ate the dinner that she’d prepared for them. Then he realized that she would never come here, not even as a friend because she was going to America and it was his fault!

How many times had he tried to tell her about his feelings for her only to make a fool of himself? He couldn’t understand it; he considered himself to be intelligent and could speak to anybody, except Kasumi. He had been captain of the debating team in college and could easily debate world politics, advances in medicine, history and theology; yet put him in front of the young homemaker and he was lucky if he could speak!

He sighed and got undressed to take a bath; he pulled out his ponytail, let down his shoulder length dark hair and took off his glasses. Clad only in his underwear, he thought he looked pretty good for thirty two. His body was still as tightly muscled as when he was in his twenties, constant working outs did this. With his hair down, he thought he still looked foxy, his college girlfriend used to call him. Yes he had had one; she had been fun and loved to party, which was fine for when you’re young. It hadn’t been a serious affair and they broke up soon after college. He’d been on a few dates since then but hadn’t found anyone who could measure up to his ideal of feminine beauty, his mother. She was the proverbial kitten with a whip and traditional Japanese beauty at the same time. Then one day he had noticed the then sixteen year old Kasumi and had fallen madly in love with her, and had been playing the fool for her whenever she was around ever since. How many times had he tried to ask her out, only to make her laugh at his loutish behaviour while his heart ached?

He thought of the people that seemed to swarm around Ranma, drawn to him like honey bees. Dr. Tofu loved living in Nerima now that Ranma was here; there was never a dull moment. With the various challenges and jealously fights between the various male and female martial artists; who needed to pay for cable? He smiled at their antics and tried to give them advice when they asked for it. How many times had he wanted to turn their heads away from the object of their affections and say “try that one instead, they’d be more compatible with you”, but never did? Yet at least they had the excuse of being adolescents; he didn’t even have that. He also had to laugh that they all seemed to come to his clinic with problems outside of his area of practice. Like the time that Ryoga had come to him with his face flaming, asking for a penicillin based cure for something that he’d picked up from a girl on the road. It had been curable and Ryoga had departed with a box of rubbers to prevent future problems. Dr. Tofu had been amused that it was Ryoga that needed these.

He thought about Kasumi, she seemed so shy and demure. She was always sitting beside her father catering to his every need and being subservient to the people of the house. ‘What was the real Kasumi like?’ he wondered. He knew that she liked to read, he’d once run into her at the library after she’d dropped her books. Her cheeks seemed to burn as he helped her pick them up, he realized that they were all steamy romance novels like ‘paradise in flames, lady of sin and carnal innocence’ He’d quirked his brow at her, almost comfortable with her for once now that she seemed almost human rather then the angel he thought her to be. He opened his mouth to talk to her, actually talk to her and sighed in frustration when he began singing the musical score of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado, in English, so she hadn’t a clue what he was singing. She had giggled and excused herself. Another opportunity lost.

Dr. Tofu washed himself then settled into his onsen with a groan, acting the fool was a strain on the muscles even for one as limber as himself. ‘Kasumi’ he thought with sorrow. He loved everything about her, the demure, ladylike way that she dressed. Her, polite friendly demeanor. Her quiet beauty and gentle ways. Some people thought her a bimbo with her soft voice and large eyes, but you can’t grow up with Nabiki and be an idiot. She was a true lady who was probably saving herself for marriage, not that Ono hadn’t ever pictured their wedding night.

The Tendo sisters all so beautiful in their own ways: Akane was the fiery one, Nabiki was the devious one and Kasumi was the quiet one. The one he loved; the one who always put him in a dither just by being near him. He smacked his head. How could he have thought that no one else would notice while he geared himself up to ask her out? Who could get to know her and not love her? Damn it, she was meant to be his, not with some yahoo from America!

Dr. Tofu got out of the water and put on his robe, he stood in front of the mirror and said “Kasumi would you like to go out to dinner with me?” Nothing, his glasses didn’t fog up, nor did he start acting crazy. No when she wasn’t with him, he was fine, but when she was....chaos. He sighed in sorrow, he was getting sick of being a bachelor and he was getting sick of the girls that his mother kept on trying to match him up with. He certainly hadn’t enjoyed almost being matched with Ranma! She’d even suggested that perhaps she should find him a nice male when he was younger! All he wanted was a simple life spent with the woman of his dreams, preferably where he didn’t act like a lunatic the entire time!

He didn’t know what was wrong with him, he’d tried therapy, he’d tried mediation, and he’d even tried positive and negative enforcement! Nothing seemed to work. Kasumi not there, as cool as a cucumber; Kasumi there, instant buffoon! There had to be some way to break through the idiot barrier he reasoned. But how? He had to think of a plan and fast, he only had a week to change her mind.

He ate a lonely dinner and did some paperwork until it was almost ten thirty and then he went to the same place he did every night. He stood in the shadows across from the Tendo household and watched as the light came on in Kasumi’s room. He always felt like a pervert when he did this, he always purposely chose an angle where he couldn’t see her undress, all he could see was the light in her room. He knew that she went to bed at ten thirty every night, after she prepared the bento boxes for the school bound members of the household. He pictured her washing her face, changing into her nightgown (he tried not to focus too much on this part), brushing her teeth and brushing her hair. Then she did what she did every night regardless of the weather; she pushed open her window and leaned out to stare into the night. The light in her room highlighted her features and made her glow like an angel. She mouthed something, closed her window and turned out the light.

“Goodnight Kasumi” he whispered and went home. That is he intended in this pursuit, just to be last one to say goodnight to her.

Kasumi prepared for bed, pushed open her window and leaned out, she looked in the direction where Dr. Tofu lived and said “goodnight Dr. Tofu” then turned out the light and went to bed. She knew it was silly, but it made her feel good to express her feelings if only to the night. Besides, she would have to stop this soon anyway.