Happy New year, everyone! If you haven’t donated to the tsunami effort yet, you should.

Disclaimer: Ranma and co. don't belong to me. I'm only playing in that world.

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Chapter 5 -Disappearance

Ranma and I exchanged stories for a while- where we’d been, what we’d done, the scrapes we’d gotten into in our respective lines of work, and how we’d gotten out of them.

It felt odd- It might have been any old friend with whom I was catching up on old times, but this was Ranma, albeit a more grown-up version. He was so much taller, and so pumped. Not that I was staring at his biceps or anything.

Watching his eyes light up as he explained a particular move he’d devised, a strong feeling of familiarity washed over me. I knew him so well; and yet so much about the working of his mind was still-and always had been-a mystery to me. And always the guilt of how I’d driven him away gnawed at my mind.

I watched his braid fall over his shoulder as he turned to signal the waiter for more tea, and was suddenly reminded of the golden-eyed stranger I’d met on the plane to Japan. Something about him reminded me of Ranma, and suddenly I figured out what had been bothering me about him.

The man on the plane, I realized, was a martial artist. A powerful one. Although he’d been dressed in rich clothes, and spoke politely, that fact couldn’t be hidden. He was well versed in the way of the art. And where there was Ranma, and other martial artists, there was trouble.

Still, how could I explain it to Ranma? I mulled it over as the waiter poured Ranma steaming tea and replaced the white teapot with a fresh one. How could I say I had a bad feeling about a man I’d met on the plane, just because he knew karate or something? After all, this was Japan, where any man or woman out of five might be a martial artist.

I dismissed the idea for now, and concentrated on my goal.

“Dr. Tofu’s clinic is still there, where it used to be,” I said eventually.

Ranma sipped his freshly hot green tea and listened.

“There’s another doctor there now, a Ms. Miyaki Setsune. She used to be Dr. Tofu’s assistant, but she took over the clinic when he disappeared.”

“And you wanna talk to her,” Ranma guessed.

“It’s a place to start,” I said.

“Fine,” Ranma replied, standing up. “I’m just gonna grab my taxi voucher from the front desk and we can go.”

“How on earth did you get a taxi voucher?” I asked.

Ranma batted his eyelashes. “The receptionist likes me, remember?” he said, and disappeared.

I’d barely taken a sip of my green tea, when a man slid into the seat across from me and murmured, “What a coincidence. It must be fate.”

I looked up into the amused golden eyes of the man I’d met on the plane.He was dressed just as well as last time, and his braid hung down into his lap when he sat.

“You!” I gasped. “What are you doing here?” All the thoughts I’d had about him ran through my mind, and I blushed.

“Just waiting for a friend,” he said, “who never showed up. I was about to leave when I saw you. And your boyfriend.”

“Um,” I said, wordless as usual on that issue.

He bowed his head. “I’m Kalia.” No last name, I noted.

“Akane Tendo,” I said.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Akane Tendo, again.” He smiled at me. “How did meeting your relatives go?”

I shook my head. “I haven’t seen them yet.”

He laughed. “Putting it off, are you? Well, I can’t entirely blame you. Not all my family is very sociable, either. But, I wouldn't put it off too long, if I was you."

I smiled. "It's just..I haven't seen them in a long time."

"And it just keeps getting longer," Kalia chided. "Well, I suppose I’d best be off. I live close by, so we might run into each other again.”

I nodded again, and he slipped away.

Ranma showed up a couple of minutes later, waving his voucher. “Shall we go?” he asked.

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The two of us stepped out of the taxi and glanced around cautiously. Dr. Tofu’s clinic was too close to our old dojo for my comfort, but it couldn’t be helped. This was where anyone had last seen Dr. Tofu.

“Can’t remember the number of times I showed up here with all sortsa complaints,” Ranma murmured, glancing around. “Dr. Tofu was a good guy. Always tried to help me out.”

“Don’t talk about him in the past tense!” I hissed. “He’s still alive!”

Ranma looked startled, then shamefaced. “Sorry, Akane. It’s just…kinda creepy, you know?”

“Nonsense, Ranma,” I said firmly, squashing my own internal worries determinedly. “Come on.”

Inside, the waiting area had four or five other patients seated on plastic chairs, waiting their turn. They all turned to look at us when we walked in, and their gaze shifted up to Ranma. Then as one, they looked away, obviously having read the aura of slight menace that curled around him.

A pretty young lady with her curly red hair pulled back in a bun, dressed in a white coat, came out every so often to collect one of then, returning them to the waiting room eventually with prescriptions clutched in their hands.

Finally, only Ranma and I were left. She came up to us, and sized us up.

“Neither of you are ill,” she said, cementing my opinion that she was definitely in Dr. Tofu’s line of metaphysical doctoring. “How can I help you?”

“You’re Dr. Setsune?” I asked.

She nodded and swiped away a strand of red hair from her face. I bowed politely.

“I’m Akane Tendo,” I said, and would have gone on, but she recognized me.

“Ah! Tendo! You are…Dr. Tofu’s sister-in-law, the one who lives in America.”

“That’s right,” I said. “And this is Ranma Saotome.” Her eyes widened.

“I remember you,” she said. “You used to come in here quite often. And then that time you sent that little girl in here with her aura drained…” Ranma flushed at the reference to Ms. Hinako.

Dr. Setsune smiled. “Please, come in.” She ushered us, not into the examining room, but the small living room beside that. The place looked different. It had a more feminine feel to it now.

“Please sit,” she said. “I’ll be back in a moment.” She disappeared into a hallway. Ranma and I sat and used the opportunity to assess the situation.

“She seems nice,” I said.

“Yeah,” he said.

Dr. Setsune returned, carrying a loaded tray.

“How are you, Akane?” she asked, laying down the tray of tea cups and small red-bean paste buns. “Last I heard, you were studying in the United States.”

“I’m still there,” I replied. “I’ve finished my studies and I’m working. I’m visiting Japan for Nabiki’s (that’s my older sister, you remember her?) wedding.”

I glared at Ranma, who was already on his third bun.

“That’s wonderful!” Dr. Setsune exclaimed, pouring out tea for us. “Congratulations. Who is she marrying?”

“Kunou Tatewaki,” I said. Her face went still, showing no expression. Then she said, “Kunou?”

“You know him?” I asked.

“I…know OF him,” she said. “Not much, though. Have a bun, Akane.” She handed me a cup of tea.

“Thank you.” I munched my bun and quietly thought about how to broach the subject of Dr. Tofu but the problem was taken care of for me.

Ranma leaned forward, grey-blue eyes intent. “I haven’t been back in Japan long, but I was wondering…what happened to Dr. Tofu?” he asked.

Dr. Setsune stiffened slightly, and flicked a quick glance at me, as though she thought I might be angry, or like she waiting for me to say something.

I stared into my teacup as though its contents absorbed me totally. Finally, the doctor looked at Ranma.

“Is that why you’re here? To find Dr. Tofu?” she asked, worry clear in her green eyes.

“Well, we don’t know what happened to him,” I said, looking up finally.

“But didn’t Kasumi…?” Dr. Setsune stopped, and said, “I suppose not.” She bit her lip and appeared to think for a second.

“Dr. Tofu…he was a great boss, very patient, really helpful.” She poured a cup of tea for herself, the pot shaking slightly. She sat it down carefully and brought up the cup of tea to allow the warm vapour to caress her face. “After he got married, he was really happy. Kasumi moved in here with him, and they were very happy. Then one night, it was getting quite late and I was finishing up my shift. I’d packed up everything and was putting on my coat, ready to go home, when a man appeared in the doorway. He said he wanted to see Dr. Tofu, and I said the clinic was closed, but then Dr. Tofu appeared.”

Dr. Setsune paused. “He said- Oh, Miyaki, you know we’ve always got time for one more, and then he laughed, you know, how he used to, with his eyes? He knew I was tired, and he told me to go ahead. Then, the next morning, he was gone. Kasumi was…well, she’s better now, anyway. The police looked everywhere.”

“Did they suspect the late-night visitor?” I asked, wondering if this was our break.

“Of course,” the doctor said. “I told them immediately, but they could find no trace of him. We couldn’t even find his name in the records. Dr. Tofu would have recorded him automatically. But there was nothing.”

I deflated, but Ranma asked, “Was there anything distinguishable about him? Anything you could use to mark him?”

“He was Japanese, but his Japanese had a strange accent, as though he’d lived abroad for a while. But it wasn’t an accent I recognized.” Dr. Setsune shook her pretty red head. “I’m sorry. I really don’t know anything more. The police did everything they could.”

“Yes, I know,” I said. I set down my empty cup, and glanced at Ranma. He nodded. We stood up. “Thank you for your hospitality, Dr. Setsune. You were very helpful.”

She smiled sadly and stood as well. “I wish I could have provided you with some sort of..what do the Americans call it?..Ah! Closure.”

I said nothing. I’d only find closure if I found Dr. Tofu alive or could identify his dental records on a body.

“What now? Ranma asked when we were outside.

I sighed. “Let’s go to the police station.”
Ranma held up a palm. “Hold on. We’re close to your place. You know you can’t avoid them forever.”

I felt old anger rising up from somewhere inside me. Standing on the stoop of Dr. Tofu’s clinic, seeing the familiar road outside, and the one familiar face, old instincts were beginning to rise up inside me.

Instead of yelling, I took a deep breath. And then I thought about it. I didn’t want meeting my family to get in the way of looking for Dr. Tofu. BUT…Ranma was right. I had to do it sometime. Even Kalia, a stranger, had said so.

“You’re right,” I said.

Ranma did a doubletake. “What did you say?” he asked. “Did Akane Tendo just AGREE with me?”

I grinned at him. “Hey, when you’re right, you’re right. Enjoy it while it lasts.”

I turned and strolled out onto the road. It was bright, so I pulled on my shades.

“The dojo, then,” said Ranma, joining me and looking down the road apprehensively.

“You look nervous for someone who’s idea this was in the first place,” I mentioned.

“Hey, I was hopin’ you’d come up with some great reason we didn’t have to see them. Besides, have you thought of what your Dad’s gonna say when he sees us together?”

“He’ll immediately assume all sorts of things which will make life harder for us,” I said.

“Don’t worry, I have an idea.”

“Oh yeah?” I pulled off my shades and looked up at him questioningly.

Ranma smirked. “I’ll just tell him I’m married.”

“What?” The shout was out before I could help it. “You can’t tell him we’re married!!”

Ranma gave me a quizzical look. “Akane, I didn’t say ‘we’, I said ‘I’. I’ll tell him I’M married to some lovely gaijin chick I met in America.”

I swallowed past the sudden lump in my throat. What did I care? Wait! I did care. But Ranma didn’t think I did, or was he trying to piss me off?

“Is that okay with you?” he asked. Something glinted in his eyes, but was gone before I could catch it.

“Sure,” I croaked. “I…” I cleared my throat. “I’ll tell him I have a boyfriend.” Ranma frowned. “Yeah, yeah, you can be married, but if I got married without telling my family all hell would break loose. So, I’ll just have a boyfriend.”

“And what’s his name?”

Golden eyes popped into my mind. “Kalia,” I said.

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R/A shippers, don’t worry! Ranma and Akane, together forever! Anyway, do click and review. Cheers!