More than meets the eyes

To those who eagerly await the adventures of Kasumi as a Jedi Guard, I beg for your patience and forgiveness as this idea begs to be put on paper. I've got too many ideas in my head again and I think its best to get this one off my chest otherwise I'll never progress with "Forging our own desitinies"

1st warning: If the title doesn't warn you enough, yes, this is a little crossover with a recent movie. I assure you there are no spoilers for those who haven't watched the movie.

2nd warning: I decided to throw romance out of the window. This isn't a match up fiction. This is an adventure of Kasumi and her friend…….

Chapter 1: A new friend….

"RANMA NO BAKA!" a battle cry was heard nearly a kilometre around the Tendo dojo in Nerima Ward, Honshu island, Japan. At the same time, an object was launched into Lower Earth Orbit at an alarming speed. That object was a certain pig-tailed martial artist dressed in Chinese string belted pants and a silk shirt, all the while screaming as he raced through the sky, "UNCUTE TOMBOY!"

Kasumi Tendo watched the parabolic trajectory, estimating where he was likely to land, then based on his injuries, what time he was likely to return to the Tendo dojo. The elder Tendo sister shook her head and let an uncharacteristic frown spoil her beautiful face. "Oh you two fools, why can't you both just listen before you act," she sighed.

The old woman from whom she was buying vegetables said, "Kasumi dear, you really should get married soon. Or at least do something for yourself. It's a shame to see you do nothing but serve your family day and night. Why don't you start seeing that nice Dr. Tofu? I hear that he has the hots for you." The old woman then winked suggestively.

A depression aura that was comparable with Ryoga's threatened to envelope her heart. "Thanks for your advice Auntie. Dr. Tofu is a sweet man but he is a little bit too silly. Also I'm afraid there's no one else to take care of the family. I shudder to think what they will do without me. I promised mother that I would take care of them, and that's a promise I intend to keep. It's my duty," she replied.

The vegetable seller sighed. She had been selling vegetables when Kasumi's mother was still alive, and after her death, watched Kasumi buy vegetables from her since the age of twelve. Eight years later, Kasumi had blossomed into a beautiful and, unknown to nearly everyone, intelligent young woman yet she was still stuck serving her family hand and foot. It was just as well that the chaos and turmoil that plagued the Nerima Ward since the day Ranma Saotome entered the Nerima Ward never targeted Kasumi, otherwise it might finally drive her mad. Even the worst of all perverts, the Grand Master of the Anything Goes Martial Arts, Happosai, rarely went after Kasumi, although his stays at their house often resulted in many sleepless nights for Kasumi as she shuddered at what would happen if Happosai decided to go after his student's daughters. Only Ranma stood in his way, and sometimes Kasumi was not too sure about Ranma's capability to defeat Happosai.

"That would be 500 yen Kasumi," the vegetable seller said, and Kasumi promptly paid her. She gave a bow to the hawker and promptly started her way home.

It was during these long walks that Kasumi would shed her customary smiling look and ponder about her life, as well as her family and extended family. The false smile that always graced her features would melt away and she would start thinking. The way to the market was pretty much out of the chaos area that comprised of the Tendo Dojo, the Furinkan High School, the Cat Café, Kuno's estate and Ukyo's Okonomiyaki, thus assuring that nobody ever encountered Kasumi in her daily trips to the market. Most of the time, her thoughts were occupied by a certain couple. It always seemed to her that for some reasons, the gods had selected Ranma and Akane as their play toys and made them go through all sorts of impossible scenarios which prior to Ranma's arrival, Kasumi would not have dreamed possible. The misadventures of Ranma and Akane would have made an extremely funny anime series if it wasn't real to Kasumi.

Demented Samurai wannabe, delusional gymnast, a trio of scheming Amazons and an eternally lost boy who turned into a pig only made up a small fraction of the chaos that defined Ranma and Akane. Everyday something extraordinarily incredulous would happen to them and Kasumi felt their love being tested everyday.

Yes, in Kasumi's humble opinion, Ranma and Akane had fallen for each other. Maybe not at first, certainly not when she had discovered that Ranma was in fact, a guy. But it definitely started after the incident when Akane's hair had been cut short by Ryoga, and definitely after the ice-skating duel, when Ranma refused to let Akane go to save her from the crazy skater martial artist. Those two were the primary incidents, but subsequently, nearly every misadventure involved Ranma saving Akane one way or another. But in the end, it was always botched up by Ranma's incurable foot in mouth disease and Akane's jealousy whenever any of the Finacee brigade, as Kasumi generically categorised ALL women seeking Ranma one way or another, showed affection to Ranma even if he never reciprocated.

Her walk eventually took her to a desolate plot of land that now served as a junkyard for Nerima's residents. Nobody quite knew why the little plot of land filled with abandoned machinery was allowed to exist. They only knew that the Americans had once established a base on Nerima back in World War 2 after Japan's defeat. Urban legend said that the place was haunted, that during the American occupation, several Japanese women had been kidnapped, raped and killed by the Americans soldiers. There were also rumours of school fights taking place in those premises, which it even served as an execution ground for shadowy members of Japanese society.

That was how Nerima residents came to describe the place. For Kasumi, it was had been a short cut home for the past eight years. Further research done by Kasumi revealed that the land was owned by a modest company called Toei Mechanics that manufactured toys. While she had been unable to discern why the land remained undeveloped, she did manage to find out from several of Nerima's oldest residences, that during the American Occupation, no such crimes were committed. Some of the oldest women even smiled as they remembered how young and handsome the American soldiers were. Their image of American soldiers were of young and brash soldiers but ultimately idealistic and friendly despite the crimes Japan had caused in the 2nd World War. This Kasumi managed to learn online as she knew that her own country's view of World War 2 history was severely downplayed.

In any case, for some reason the land was left alone and the machinery dating back to the 1940s continued to accumulate rust. When she was a child, Kasumi often explored the junkyard for she was not afraid of it whereas other children were scared to go near it. After her mother's death, it was her place of mourning, where she could hide and shed tears which she didn't want others to see. In recent months since Ranma came, she still came and the junkyard served as her private retreat. The junkyard was not haunted nor was any of the awful rumours true. Kasumi had thoroughly done her homework on it short of asking the corporation is she actually crossed it. As no harm was being done from crossing the yard, she decided not to.

Despite being fenced, the gate was closed but unlocked. Kasumi was always careful to open and close the gate on one side, cross the length of the junk yard and exit on the other side. This cut her journey short by 10 minutes. She knew most of the junk yard now, even noted and identified the antique trucks, machinery, even a very old tank that had a huge gaping hole on it. So it surprised her that day to find a new item in the junkyard.

The exit of the junk yard was located next to an old abandoned hangar. The hangar was where the broken tank was housed. Today, as she passed by the hangar (which was exposed to the elements, there were no hangar doors) she noticed that the tank seemed to be out of place. She went to the tank curiously and discovered that somehow, the tank had moved forward from the back of the hangar. It was strange to her but her danger sense did not go off, so curiosity got the better of her and she went to see what was behind the tank. And there she beheld a car.

She did not know anything about cars. In Japan, cars were a rarity, normally owned by rich people, few were owned by the average salary man. With land being a precious commodity, houses were not designed with cars in mind, those who wanted to own cars had to in fact, buy a parking space first. Kuno of course owned cars but they were mostly chauffeured limousines. Cars were not what Kasumi normally thought about as well so the sight of one sitting in her junk yard was quite a huge surprise, especially when the corner behind the tank was where she normally hid and cried.

She looked around to see if anybody was around. She took a deep breath and stretched out with her rudimentary chi senses which her father had taught her long ago before her mother's death reduced him to a crying wreck. As far as she sensed, there was no one in the junkyard. She was even more puzzled as she looked around and did not see any sign of a car driving into the hangar. She saw no car marks, not even drag marks if the tank had been moved forward to make room for the new car. Moreover the two entrances to the junkyard were too small to allow a car to come in.

Kasumi was confused. It was as though the car had been there all along and she never noticed it. Only Kasumi knew that the back of the tank was her personal space and it was now occupied by a stranger.

After satisfying herself that no one was around, she took a closer look at the car, which was reversed park into the gap between the tank and the hangar wall. Whatever model the car was, it was very old and looked as battered as the old tank itself. It looked somewhat like the Mach 5 car from the old anime Speed Racer, except it had a roof and was not open aired. The car was a dirty yellow and two black stripes ran through the middle of the car, from its boot across the roof all the way down the hood. The paint was faded in several places and it even had scorched marks. The car bore no markings and she had no idea how to tell the make of the car. Kasumi then looked inside the car. It was a manual car, that much she knew from the shape of the gear and had leather seats and even an am/fm radio.

The only other odd thing about the car, apart from it appearing out of nowhere in the first place, was an odd insignia that seemed to be engaved on the stirring wheel's horn. But that was all she could appraise before her nerves finally caught up with her and she panicked and ran home as fast as she could.

For the next few days, she dared not take her short cut. She was quite upset as she felt as though her personal space had been invaded, almost as if a total stranger had taken up residence in her bedroom. As usual though, she hid her troubles behind an ever smiling mask whenever she came home. The only difference was that her chores were performed much later due to the extended trip around the junk yard she had to take. As a result, tea and dinner were prepared half an hour later though.

When she changed her schedule though, nobody said anything. What was waiting for another half hour for Kasumi's wonderful food?

There came a day though, when all hell broke loose. Akane and Ranma had just stepped out of the house then who should come along but Shampoo making her deliveries. With a crash, she banged her bicycle into Ranma's face, who promptly dropped to the floor momentarily stunned. She then promptly glomped Ranma in the middle of the street, in a cheongsum that had a heart shape cut exposing her cleavage, STATING that Ranma would take her out on a date. This had the usual effect of making Akane see red but before that could happen, Mouse appeared, wearing his glasses for once and promptly attacking the right target which was Ranma. Ranma frantically deflected Mouse hidden weapons when Akane's mallet smashed into the back of Ranma's skull. This stunned Ranma monetarily who fell forward and Shampoo finally released her glomp and started attacking Akane. Ranma then had the task of both defending himself and preventing the more violent Shampoo from actually killing Akane. Then Ryoga arrived and with another shout of how Ranma was always cheating on Akane, promptly launched a Shishi Hokodan which promptly blew Ranma into LEO.

All this happened in about 10 seconds, right in front of Kasumi who was about to go for her usual shopping. But at the moment, shopping was the last thing on her mind. All she could think of now was the injustice of it all.

She dropped her basket. Her smile disappeared and she actually shivered with rage. But at the same time, she fought her anger, knowing that anger was unbecoming of her. Yet a greater part of her wanted to shout out at the Nerima Wrecking Crew in front of her, including Akane, for all the disturbances they had caused. My God, they can't even go out of the house the house without something happening, she screamed mentally.

If anybody saw Kasumi right now, they would have sensed Kasumi's aura being depressed enough to launch a Shishi Hokodan herself. But they were all consumed by their fighting long enough that eventually, Kasumi's good self won out and her rage was suppressed. But then she started running. She couldn't bear it. She had to cry but she couldn't. She was the pillar of her family, she mustn't show weakness, especially for Ranma and Akane's sake. She fought within herself to maintain her smiling persona but now, it just looked blank with no hint of expression.

For awhile she ran aimlessly but when she finally calmed down enough to take her bearings, she found herself at the junk yard entrance. Without a second thought, she opened the small gate, closed it and ran into the hangar. She ran into the hangar to the back of the tank, and then squeezing in the gap between the car and the tank, sank to her knees, and finally burst into sobs.

"Oh mother, what am I to do? What am I to do?!?! Ranma and Akane, they're being destroyed. EVERYONE IS DESTROYING THEM!" she cried.

"I've tried to be their rock and support, to be the firm foundation for them to hold back on. But mother, it's just too hard. No matter how much they move forward, in the end its always back to square one. It wouldn't be so bad if its just for a few days. BUT ONE WHOLE YEAR! WHY WON'T THEY JUST LEAVE THEM ALONE! WHY DON'T THEY JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! WHY WAS I SO STUPID TO TURN DOWN RANMA!"

This was one point of her life she severely regretted now. At the time, the thought of a fiancé who could turn into a girl was just too disgusting for her, along with the age factor. But as she watched Ranma save Akane time and time again, not to mention his small acts of kindness towards everyone he knew, even Happosai, she realised what a rare catch Ranma was, that underneath the fierce chauvinistic exterior was a heart of gold, completely uncorrupted by Genma's greed and Happosai's perversity.

"Mother, is this what I am to be? To be a housewife forever without even being married? Is this what you meant when you said take care of the family? I want to mother, and I will continue to do so till the day I die but…. it's just not fair!"

For a long time, she talked to her mother, voicing out her despair and fatigue of being the family doormat. She even apologised for doing so, for she knew that at the moment her emotions were weak and she needed to spill out her grievances, even if it was to thin air. She prayed for her mother to listen. She did not particularly believe in God, as she blamed Him for her family's predicament in the first place.

Finally her voice became hoarse and she breathed in deep gulps of air, hiccupping along the way. Her body was cold and she rubbed her arms to get some warm feeling back. She was deeply ashamed of her tantrum and her moment of weakness and at the moment, was truly lost at what she should do.

She was startled when she heard a noise behind her. She swung her head around and saw that somehow, the door of the car had opened. She was startled and immediately backed into the hangar wall. Kasumi realised what a vulnerable position she was in, trapped with a tank on her right, the wall behind her and the back of the strange yellow car on left. She expected someone to come out of the right hand driver's seat but nobody did. Steeling her nerves, she walked forward and looked into the car. There was nobody in the driver's seat. But she noticed something she had not noticed at first. The keys were still in the ignition.

Normal people would have freaked out, but Kasumi could use her chi senses and scan her surroundings, judging if the circumstances were safe or not, no matter how weird things were. Despite having a car appear out of nowhere in the past few days and then blocking her route of escape with a car door, she felt no danger at all.

For a long time, Kasumi stared at the keys at the ignition. She then ran her hand along the car's roof. Despite the paint job giving a dirty impression, her hand came up with little dirt.

"Where did you come from, little car?" she whispered.

Deciding that she had nothing else to do that day, she stepped into the driver's seat and sat on it. Rather unfamiliar with the car, it took a moment to get the rest of her dress into the car. Then she put her hand on the car door and closed it.

Once again she looked at the keys, as though some mystical bond had formed between it and her. Then she thought of something most un-Kasumi like.

"Oh what the hell," she said as she reached for the keys and turned on the ignition. With all her luck, it would probably explode, ending all of her troubles in one swift stroke.

What she didn't expect was the car's engine to roar into life and then a song filled the car:

Here is a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don't worry be happy
In every life we have some trouble
When you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy...

Ain't got no place to lay your head
Somebody came and took your bed
Don't worry, be happy
The land lord say your rent is late
He may have to litigate
Don't worry, be happy
Look at me I am happy
Don't worry, be happy
Here I give you my phone number
When you worry call me
I make you happy
Don't worry, be happy
Ain't got no cash, ain't got no style
Ain't got not girl to make you smile
But don't worry be happy
Cause when you worry
Your face will frown
And that will bring everybody down
So don't worry, be happy (now)...

Fortunately, Kasumi knew how to speak English, having learnt from TV throughout the years and her own personal studies. She could practise it with a butcher who turned out to be half British and as a result, had become quite fluent in it. As a result, the English song that came of the radio brought a small smile on her face.

"If only it were that easy to forget out troubles. I just wish I could run away from it all, just go away to a place where Amazons don't exist, and people don't get cursed by cold water."

Sometimes I run, sometimes I hide,

Sometimes I'm scare of you,

But all I really want is to hold you tight,

Treat you right,

Be with you day and night,

Baby all I need is time.

She became puzzled as she hadn't touched the radio dial when the song suddenly switched. She played with the dial for awhile but no other song came out of it. "What in the world? What's wrong with this radio?"

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
If you've got troubles,I've got 'emtoo
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you
We stick together and can see it through
Cause you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

If Kasumi had watched more American movies, she would probably have thought that she had just stepped into a Satan possessed car. But once again, her sixth sense told her she had absolutely nothing to fear. All logic aside, it was as though the car was speaking to her through the radio.

She ran her hands on the steering wheel, once again noting the strange symbol on the honker. It didn't look like any car manufacturer she knew. If she didn't know better she would think the logo looked like a robot's head. She then decided she had enough excitement for one day and then switched off the ignition.

Kasumi continued to sit in the driver's seat for a moment. She wasn't freaked out, she was more puzzled at how the car worked. The fact it was here was odd enough, but now it seemed to be spouting songs that made her feel better. There was no evidence of it being brought here, yet it wasn't old, the interior wasn't dusty enough though it was certainly dirty. And the engine sounded like it could use a tune up.

There was a mystery to unravel and for the first time in her life, Kasumi found herself excited at the prospect of it.

Well Auntie, you asked me to do something for myself. It looks like I'll have to learn about cars.

She took the keys from the ignition then exited the car. Kasumi stood beside the car for awhile, looking at it carefully. Then she put her hand on the roof and giggled. "I can't believe I'm talking to car. For what it's worth Mr. Car, thank you for listening," she said.

It had become afternoon already and her father would most likely be crying, wondering where her baby girl was. She sighed as she once again resigned herself and proceeded to do her shopping, except she didn't bring her basked and had to buy another one.

She also bought a book as she went home. It read, Automobile Repairs for Dummies.

To be continued.

Author's notes

Hooo boy, did I get a burst of inspiration tonight. Don't worry all, I'm not putting off "Forging our own destinies", in favour of more than meets the eye. I've planned a plot twist to end all plot twists. Watch out for it maybe 5 chapters from now. I don't intend to drag this story for too long though, as the ending of this story is easier to envision.

Sigh, may as well finally put the disclaimers.

I don't own Ranma ½, I don't own Transformers, I don't own Britney Spears "Sometimes", I don't own Rendy Newman's "You got a friend in me, I don't own Bobby Mc Ferin's "Don't Worry, be happy."

I hope you all enjoyed this story. Goodnight and god bless you.