Alternatives - Chapter 4 ************** It was morning. On the outside, Furinkan High School looked like a typical Japanese High School. Students milled around in the courtyard, not wanting to go to class before absolutely necessary. However on second glance, one noticed a regal looking student standing beneath a tree. He didn't wear the school uniform. He was tall. He had brown eyes and long black hair. He was slender and athletic looking. He called himself handsome. He wore the outfit of a kendoist. However, there was an air of obsessiveness around him that kept others away. His name? He was Tatewaki Kuno, the self-proclaimed Blue Thunder of Furinkan High School. Kuno stood under the tree and waited. He was waiting for the beauteous and strong Akane Tendo and the man who had ensorcelled her with his spells, the cur, Ranma Saotome. As he waited, he thought. Today! Yes, today will be the day that I free Akane and the Pig-Tailed Girl from their enslavement from that honorless dog, Ranma. Akane suffers him only because of her father's evil desires. She will see that I am the better man. Understanding that, she will come to my side freely and willingly! She will say to me, "Oh, thank you, Upper-classman Kuno! My father was going to force me into a marriage with that ... that person. I could never love him. I only love you. I have always loved you." Yes, that is what she will say. I will respond, "Akane Tendo, I love you. I would marry you. Yet, I must first free the Pig-Tailed Girl from the fiend Saotome. Once I have freed her, I will choose you or her." Akane will then say, "Oh, Kuno, you don't have to choose. I love you. She loves you. You love both of us. Why choose? Take us both." Oh, the happiness and joy I will bestow upon my loves. Hark, I hear Akane's voice! Though I fight a thousand times and lose, I will forever fight for your freedom, my loves! ************** Kuno saw Akane and Ranma enter the gate. He met them in the center of the courtyard. He began, "Oh, How I sorrow that the bud that is Akane Tendo is being starved in the light of Ranma Saotome. I see you strive each day to bloom for him. What does he do? Does he shine any warmth or light onto you? No. The dog dishonors both himself and you with his treatment of you. Oh, Akane, come bask in the warmth that is my sunlight. Come and grow strong in the love that I will shower upon you. Oh ... URK" How strong a woman! He thought to himself. She was able to stop my speech with but a single strike. Akane said "Kuno, for your information, Ranma and I are in love. Right, Ranma.?" "Uh ... Right, Akane." Ranma stammered embarrassedly. "I l-l-love you. You l-l-love me." "Ranma, you don't have a hard time saying that you love me, do you?" Akane teased Ranma then she hugged him. Kuno stood frozen. He thought, SHE HUGGED HIM! Oh, Kami, I pray that you set this as it should be! Akane Tendo should be mine by right of breeding and honor. Have I not defended her honor daily by allowing myself to be defeated by her? Have I not let her prove herself against the men of this school? Have I ever let pass a chance of telling her of my love and devotion? Could it be... could it be that... could it be that she actually chose that scum over me? It can't be. Who could resist my charms? I will find out by what foul means of ensorcellement Saotome has used to get her to say and do these things. ************** Clap ... Clap ... Clap Kuno stayed motionless throughout Nabiki's discussion with Ranma and Akane. As he overheard their conversation, other thoughts emerged. So, they are spending the week together. I am glad that I had Sasuke follow them last night. I will find out if they are staying at Saotome's mother's for the rest of the week and what went on last night. I must find out what Nabiki knows. As he stood and thought, the wind blew over his noble brow and through his hair. His hair resisted the wind but wasn't strong enough. It began to move with the wind. This only enhanced his looks. It wasn't until the tolling of the morning bells that he bestirred himself and moved towards his class. ************** During the first class break, Kuno approached Nabiki. Nabiki was sitting at her desk as usual. "Nabiki Tendo, I, Tatewaki Kuno, wish to speak with you. I wish to know what Saotome has done to your poor sister to so derange her thinking. Imagine, Akane actually believing that she is in love with such a low born one. So ... What is your price, Nabiki?" Nabiki had listened to him with obvious and growing irritation. "Kuno, I am going to give you this much for free. Ranma has done nothing to derange my sister's thinking. All he has done since meeting my family is to help her whenever she has needed it. He has rescued her more times than I care to remember. He never used potions, like Shampoo, poisons, like your own very dear sister, or caused her to be attacked by hordes of unwanted suitors, like you. As for his being low born, no one acts with less thought and nobility in this school than you or your father. If you would like to know any more, it is going to cost you. It will cost you 10,000 yen per question to know any more." "That is outrageous. You cannot mean that he has never used any magical powers on Akane. Has he put a spell on you, too?" "10,000 yen. The answer to your question is no," Nabiki replied, "Any more questions?" "I would like to know where they will be staying for the week." "20,000 yen. They are staying with Ranma's mother." Nabiki replied tersely. "So, I wonder why they are staying with Saotome's mother?" Kuno thought out-loud. "30,000 yen. He went there yesterday to ask his mother some questions. As you already knew. He brought Akane along because..." Nabiki was interrupted by Kuno. "He wants to marry her! I know that. I have not given my permission for anyone to marry Akane. Especially, Ranma. ... Still, it would free the pig-tailed girl from Ranma's evil grasp. I must think upon this!" he said. Kuno started to leave the classroom. Nabiki watched as he turned. Kuno, you are a complete and utter idiot, she thought. "I haven't finished," she said to stop him. Turning back to Nabiki, Kuno began, "What more elucidation do I require? I know where he is staying and what he wants to do. What more do I need of you?" "For starters, the reason he asked Akane along yesterday. It was NOT to finalize marriage plans." Nabiki stopped. "..." Kuno slowly turned back to Nabiki. "Very well then, why did he ask her to his mother's house?" Kuno asked. "40,000 yen. He needed a friend that he could trust." Nabiki answered. "Must I play 20 questions with you?" Kuno lamented. Reaching into his outfit, he pulled a large wad of notes. "Here take what is necessary, tell me what I wish to know." Nabiki accepted his money, counted it (140,000 yen) and said, "That will just about cover it. Thank you. I don't expect you to believe this, but here is the truth. A little over a year ago, Ranma was cursed in China. When he is hit with cold water, he becomes your pig-tailed girl. When hot water is poured upon her, she becomes the boy, Ranma again. He went to his mother to ask for help in honorably solving his fiancee problems. He doesn't want to hurt anyone, including your sister, and he wants to maintain his family's honor. His mother told him of a way that he could solve all of his problems. There is a pool of cursed water in China that will allow him to separate from his girl side. In other words, there would be two Ranmas, a boy and a girl. In fact, he was told that he could jump into the pool and create a Ranma for each of his fiancees. I don't know what he will choose to do. I do know that he and Akane said that they wanted to be together. You've seen the result this morning. Kuno, give up on my sister. She loves Ranma and Ranma loves her. If Ranma gets uncursed, you might want to try and pursue his girl side. However, his mother is very old-fashioned. Also, I think the pig-tailed girl's brother or brothers will be watching you closely." Kuno listened to Nabiki. When she finished, he asked, "Is that all?" "No," she answered, "you must not bother either Akane, Ranma or the Pig-Tailed girl until Ranma makes his decision. If you do, you will probably lose any chance at ever dating the Pig-Tailed girl." "Very well, you have given me much to think upon. If what you say is true, and Saotome is willing to free the pig-tailed girl, then I may help him. If I find that you have lied to me Nabiki, I will be very upset," Kuno turned and left. "Oh, I am very afraid, Kuno," she answered sarcastically. Nabiki looked at his back as he left. A smile crossed her face. One problem child down and three to go, she thought to herself. I think I’ll tackle Ukyo next. She knows about Akane and Ranma statement of love. Let’s see, how shall I approach her? ************** "Kuno, what are you doing out of your classroom?" a teacher asked in the hallway. "I have many things to think upon,. I am going to the Kendo Club room for some solitude." Tatewaki answered absently. "You may leave your classes when the day is over, not any sooner," the teacher returned, "Get some buckets and stand in the hallway for a period. Then, go back to your own room." "Yes, sensei." ************** Nabiki made sure that she was outside Ranma and Akane's classroom as lunch period began. As she entered the room, she saw Ukyo confront Ranma and his subsequent departure. "RANCHAN!!!" Ukyo yelled after him. "You'd better have a good explanation for this!" As Ukyo moved to the window and started to follow him, Nabiki ran over to her and grabbed her by the arm and said, "Before doing anything you might regret, Ukyo, let's talk." Akane along with Sayuri and Yuka were surprised by this. Nabiki had sought out Ukyo. Nabiki was always the one being sought for. Nabiki then had stopped Ukyo before she followed Ranma out of the window. That was dangerous. Nabiki knew very well that laying hands onto an angry martial artist can easily lead to injury. Akane stood up, so that she could come to her sister's aid. "This had better be very good, Nabiki. I want to talk with Ranma and find out what happened last night. I also need to know from him, if he has made his choice," Ukyo said with deadly calm. Ukyo was angry. She had been this angry only once before in her life. That was when a certain boy had left her behind while riding upon her dowry. "Oh, it is Ukyo. If you ever want to have a chance of getting what you want, come with me right now," Nabiki said with a smile and a firm tug. "Nabiki, is everything OK?" Akane asked worriedly as she started over towards them. "Yes, Akane, everything is OK. Ukyo and I just need to have a chat about several things. Isn't that right?" Nabiki said coolly. "Err, Yes. We are going to have a chat." Ukyo glared at Nabiki as she allowed herself to be pulled from the room. "Well... Let me know if you need me, Nabiki. OK?" Akane asked as she watched the two girls leave her classroom. ************** Nabiki led Ukyo outside of the school to the athletic field. There was a soccer game being played. She sat down on the embankment away from everyone else. Nabiki then motioned Ukyo to sit down next to her. Ukyo remained standing. "Well?" she finally asked. Nabiki sighed. "Please sit down, Ukyo. It pains me enough as it is that I will be giving you information for free. At the least, let's be civil, OK?" Ukyo was startled. Nabiki never gives anything away. I wonder what she really wants, she thought. She answered Nabiki, "I'll sit with you and listen to what you have to say." As Ukyo sat down, Nabiki smiled and said, "See, that wasn't so bad was it?" Ukyo said nothing, as she gave Nabiki a look that a mongoose might give a cobra. "Let me guess, you want to know several things.” Nabiki began ticking off items on her fingers, “One: What happened last night at Ranma's mothers? Two: Has he decided whom he will marry? Three: What happened this morning between the two of them? Is that about it?" "Um, yes, that is about it." Ukyo cautiously answered. "Well, I will gladly answer all of those questions.” Nabiki then paused before continuing, “That is, if you will promise to do me one little favor." "What is the favor?" Ukyo asked. Ukyo began thinking quickly. I knew she wanted something from me! OK, here it comes. It’s probably going to be big. "Outside of school, leave Ranma and Akane alone for the rest of the week," Nabiki answered, "Ranma has some decisions to make. He wants Akane to be with him. Promise that you will leave them alone." "OK, I promise," Ukyo carefully agreed. I wonder what the catch is? "Good, that didn't hurt at all, did it?" Nabiki smiled and continued, "You want to know what happened last night. Ranma went to his mother's for help in resolving his relationship problems. His mother gave him two very good options. The first is to choose one fiancee and hurt all of the rest of you. The second is to use a pool at Jusenkyo and make a version of himself for all of you. The downside to this second option is that he will create a permanently female Ranma as a side effect. The upside is that all of the other copies of him will be fully male. He also stated a reluctance to choose just one of you. He is afraid that whomever is finally chosen will become a target for the rest of you. I agree with this assessment." Nabiki paused and watched Ukyo. Ukyo for her part was struggling with what she had just heard. "So, he chose Akane didn't he? His mother just gave him another option." she finally asked. "I didn't say that. I said that he is afraid that whoever he chooses will become a target for the rest of you. He is also very worried about how to keep his family's honor upheld. That seems important to him, also. Has he made a decision? No, at least not yet. He asked his mother for some time to think upon it. He asked Akane to stay. He wanted a friend with him at his mother's." Nabiki stopped, paused and continued in a very serious tone, "I do know this, if he was forced to choose one of you today, he would pick my sister. He cares for all of you, he loves my sister. I really don't know what exactly he feels for you. My guess is that he loves you, just not as much as he does Akane. He is trying to decide whether to create clones of himself to marry all of you. I think this is what he will choose to do. If he does this, you all get what you want." Ukyo sat quietly. She was trying to understand what Nabiki was telling her. It hurt. She was confused. Her thoughts were jumbled. Ranma loves Akane more than me. How? I'm prettier. I'm a better cook. I'm a better fighter than her. She is always beating on him for some reason. I never beat on him. I'm always helpful. I'm always nice. He must love me. Why else would he be thinking about cloning himself? I can't believe that I'm not his first choice. Ukyo began to cry. She looked at Nabiki and sobbed out, "I, I will leave him, them alone until he decides." Heaven help him if he decides to choose a single fiancee and it's not me. Nabiki hesitantly reached out and pulled Ukyo into a light embrace. "I'm sorry, Ukyo. I know it hurts." Nabiki tried to comfort her. "Can you imagine what Ranma is going through? He is trying to find a way to make Akane, Shampoo, you and even Kodachi happy. No one has yet asked him what he really wants. It doesn't seem to matter." Now I have to face Shampoo and Kodachi. I hope this gets easier. I’ll go to the Nekohanten after school. Kodachi will probably be hearing a garbled version from Tatewaki. I can handle her later. ************** Nabiki thought about the upcoming confrontation with Shampoo and Cologne. She thought, I’m much more concerned with Cologne. Shampoo, I can easily manipulate. Cologne is another matter entirely. Cologne will expect me to barter or sell every piece of information. She will also want to feel that she won the negotiations. Well, I’ll give her an easy mark this time. As Nabiki entered the restaurant, Cologne began, “Ah, it is Nabiki Tendo. To what do we owe this auspicious visit?” Nabiki moved to the kitchen counter and sat in front of Cologne. “I have some information that you will find very, very interesting. It includes the possibility of Ranma acknowledging Shampoo as his wife.” “Hmm, I would find that interesting indeed. Why not tell it to me and I will give you some free ramen, eh?” Cologne opened. Cologne then put a bowl of ramen in front of Nabiki. “As a matter of fact, I would like some of your regular ramen. Please don’t add any truth drugs or any other spice to it. However, Cologne, since this information has direct impact upon my family, I cannot sell it for just some ramen. This information is worth at least 50,000 yen. I also would require that none of you attempt to contact Ranma or Akane for the next 30 days. Also, if Ranma needs help getting to or from China in the near future, you will help him and any who he wishes to travel with him.” Nabiki countered with a smile. “If your information is truly this good, child, I will gladly pay. However, I will pay you 10,000 yen today. If this information leads to Ranma and Shampoo being together, I’ll pay you the rest.” Cologne smiled genially at Nabiki. Nabiki sat for a moment and ate her ramen. She looked around the restaurant. Mousse was being especially attentive to the hat rack close by. Shampoo was not there. Nabiki assumed that she must be out on some delivery. She let her gaze wander back to Cologne. “Cologne, here is the deal. I’ll take your 10,000 yen as down payment and none of you will contact any member of my or Ranma’s family for the rest of the week. If you agree, I’ll give you everything I know.” Nabiki allowed herself to be worn down. “I see. I agree. Now girl, tell me what you know.” Cologne agreed to the terms. “Actually, I’ll let you listen. As you already know, Ranma and Akane visited Nodoka Saotome yesterday. Ranma wanted to ask his mother for help in solving his relationship problems. Nodoka had more to offer.” Nabiki finished. She then pulled a cassette tape from her school bag and handed it to Cologne. “You’ll find all of the information you need to know on this tape.” Nabiki turned back to her ramen. Then as an afterthought, she turned back to Cologne, “It is always a pleasure doing business with a woman as illustrious as you, Cologne.” Cologne laughed and replied, “Flattery works even less well on me, child, than it does on you.” In the corner, Mousse looked like he had just swallowed a horse fly. He had overheard enough to know that Shampoo actually getting Ranma was a possibility. He knew that somehow he must stop it from occurring. He thought to himself, Ranma Saotome, if I must kill you to win Shampoo, kill you I shall. ************** After she returned home, Nabiki sat in her room thinking. She was trying to decide how to keep Kodachi away from Ranma and Akane. With someone as wily as Kodachi, you must meet wiles with wiles, she decided. She went downstairs to the phone and dialed the Kuno residence. “Hello, Kuno residence, Sasuke speaking.” “Hello, Sasuke, you are just the man I need to talk to.” Nabiki said. “Mistress Nabiki, what do you want with me?” Sasuke nervously asked. “Well, Sasuke, I assume you were at the Saotome home last night listening in to what was being said. Am I right?” she asked. How could she know that I was there? “I don’t even know where Mrs. Saotome lives, Mistress Nabiki,” he said. “Of course, you were there. I just called to let you know that I have a tape of the conversation from last night. Would you be interested?” Nabiki continued cheerfully. “Yes, I would Mistress Nabiki. What do I need to do for you?” Sasuke fearfully asked. “I want you to keep Kodachi away from Ranma and Akane long enough for him to make his decision. You know the one I mean. Keep her away until the end of the school week, that’s all I ask.” Nabiki offered. Sasuke was surprised. Nabiki always extracted a large sum from her victims. All she wanted was for him to keep Mistress Kodachi busy for the rest of the week? He could do that. “Yes, I’ll do that. When can I get the tape?” he asked. “Come over right now and you can have it. I have a feeling that your Master Kuno might want to listen to it, also,” Nabiki answered, “Bye Bye.” She then hung up. A few minutes later there was a very hesitant knocking at her window. She opened her window and handed a tape to Sasuke. ************** Nabiki felt very proud of herself. That was a good days work! Akane and Ranma will never know, but I just gave them a very needed vacation from trouble. I hope they use it wisely. She then turned to her computer and started working on their wedding present. ************** As always, I enjoy getting your C&C. I was on vacation last week, that slowed down my writing. I hope that this was worth the wait. Next chapter, Ranma announces his decision and a few rivals are not happy. I am also experimenting with dropping the bracket notation around thoughts []. I want to write using standard English (American style -- or how they pronounce it in Texas: Muhrikan.) Since standard English doesn't use brackets, I want to move away from them. My pre-readers split down the middle on this. Thanks Guys! So... tell me what you think. Should I go back to using thought brackets [] or is this readable and understandable? (This is also a blatant plug for you to give me some C&C) Ja ne, Mike