"Old Friends"
by Angus MacSpon

macspon@ihug.co.nz
http://shell.ihug.co.nz/~macspon/fanfic/



"Oh, yes," said Soun genially.  "You'd never think it to look at her
nowadays, but Kasumi used to be quite the wild one."  He drew on his
cigarette, and puffed out a cloud of fragrant smoke.

"Kasumi?" asked Ranma skeptically.

Soun laughed.  "Kasumi.  She was always riding out on that bicycle of
hers, getting into scrapes ..."  He paused, wrinkling his brow.  "Then
one day she had some kind of accident ... I was never very clear on the
details.  She lost the bicycle, somehow.  She ran away from home after
that, and we didn't see her for months."

"Kasumi?" Ranma repeated.  His tone was now one of flat disbelief.

They heard a gentle footstep behind them, and turned to see Kasumi
herself entering the room.  "Oh, Father, not that old story again," she
said, gently reproving.  "It was such a long time ago."

Soun smiled at her fondly.  "And then, when you came back, you told us
such wild stories about where you'd been, and the people you'd met ..."

"Mm."  Kasumi's eyes grew distant.  "Those were ... fun times."  For a
moment she looked oddly wistful; but then she shook her head.  "Still, I
knew I had to come home in the end.  And my friends promised they'd look
after my ..."  She hesitated, and then finished, "pets."

"You sound like you miss them," said Ranma, uncharacteristically solemn
for a moment.

Kasumi shrugged.  "I have other things to do, now."

Then she smiled reminiscently.  "Anyway, I haven't seen Ash and Brock
for years ..."



NOTE:
Somebody _must_ have done this before.  Surely?
Angus