Thyself
Known
Ch.5: Firefly
By Zorknot
Disclaimer: Ranma1/2
belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and her cohorts.
What Has Come Before: Nabiki just had an accident while being chased by the cops.
Apparently she used a ki blast to deflect t a flying motorcycle before it hit a
woman and her infant husband. She used too much ki, and now she’s ringing
Death’s doorbell. Ranma is trying to save her by putting on some pretty
earrings and pretending to be Nabiki so that he give
Nabiki a complete ki transfusion without it being rejected. Seems farfetched,
but Ranma and Nabiki have more in common than one might suspect...
~~~~~[BEGIN]~~~~~
“Boy,
I’ve seen through all your schemes.
Poor boy,
You’re just a bag of empty dreams.
Oh boy,
I’ve been nasty, you’ve been kind.
You’ve sold your soul, but I still got mine
And I got you covered.”
-Biff
Rose fr. I Got You Covered.
~~~~~*~~~~~
“So I’m really Ranma, and in order to save my real self I
have to participate in this ki transfusion?” Nabiki asked. It was kind of hard to
take, but seeing herself on the table as a police officer tried to resuscitate
her... and the red pigtail she was sporting complete with black T-shirt and
Chinese pants did a lot to convince her.
“Yes, we don’t have much time” Tofu said tersely.
Nabiki nodded slowly. Whole swatches of her memory were
gone. She knew for instance her mother was dead, but not how, or even what her
name was. She knew she was Akane and Kasumi’s sister, but she couldn’t remember
either of them younger than they were now.
Except Akane. She
seemed to remember Akane at five or so, but the memory was indistinct. She
thought of Ranma, of when she first saw him. Of all the times she helped him
out...She never made it easy for him of course, but she respected him after a
fact. Ranma had earned that respect. Nabiki had done a lot to harm Ranma too,
but the boy survived it all and saved her little sister several times.
Sometimes she had the feeling she respected Ranma more than anyone else in her
family, which was odd because she didn’t even really like him all that much. He
was just fun to tease. All her respect amounted to was that she rarely bet
against him and enlisted his aid upon occasion. Compared to what Akane did to
him this morning though...
A jolt passed through Nabiki. She wasn’t sure what it was
but she knew it was a memory. A memory of something terrible she did in the
past that she tried desperately to forget...
But if she was Ranma...Whose memory was it? How could she
remember even what she did? How much of herself was
real? Tofu said the other Nabiki had been driving a motorcycle after all and
Nabiki couldn’t remember even owning one... An image flashed in her mind of
eyes. Sad, angry, dark eyes...It was from this morning, but she couldn’t tell
for a moment whether it was her eyes looking into Ranma’s, or Ranma’s looking
into hers.
Nabiki swallowed, “Okay...what do I have to do?”
Tofu took Nabiki to a bed that he had moved right next
to...the other Nabiki’s bed so that they touched end to end. “Lay down here, your
cosmic consciousness centers need to be close together.”
Nabiki did as Doctor Tofu asked. If she looked up now, laying down, she could see the top of her own head. Thinking
about it, it made sense. The crown chakra, located on the top of the head, was
supposed to govern identity, of who a person is to themselves and the universe.
Maybe that was what Tofu was talking about with the cosmic consciousness
centers. Nabiki frowned. She should have known that already. She was a master
yogi.
Nabiki mentally slapped herself. She was Ranma. Ranma had
probably trained in yoga some time but then abandoned it for other things. And
of course he knew about Nabiki because he had caught her in the dojo that one
time, performing a difficult asana. But Nabiki couldn’t imagine abandoning
yoga. Couldn’t imagine a life without meditation.
Or could she?
Nabiki was perfectly willing to admit at this point that
she was certifiably insane, but she was still Nabiki. She simply could not let
go of that. And she would not. Not until this mess was cleared up anyway.
“Okay now, reach up and touch Nabiki’s temples with your
fingers.”
Tofu could be so irritating at times...It was like he
always said the wrong thing...on purpose. Letting it pass Nabiki closed her
eyes, reached both hands up and after hitting ears and hairline she found the
temples.
“You can stop now, Kawagami-san. If this doesn’t
work...it won’t matter.” Tofu addressed the police officer. Who then
reluctantly left the other Nabiki’s side. “Okay...now I’m
going to have to press a few pressure points to start the flow of ki. You will
feel very disoriented for a bit, but you must not
panic okay?”
“I understand.”
“And, Ranma, if you’re listening in there...I just want
you to know that whatever happens...As far as I’m concerned this proves you are
a man among men.”
Nabiki smirked, yes she was definitely going to have to
clear Ranma’s debts after he saved her life, but she was sure she could still
find a way to milk him later. And of course since she really WAS Ranma, he must
know it as well as her...Nabiki frowned. She hoped this would get settled soon.
It was all just too strange.
Nabiki felt Tofu press a few spots on her arms and
throat...and things started to get even stranger.
~~~~~*~~~~~
“That
irresponsible, inconsiderate, idiotic, no good, perverted JERK!” Akane slammed
her fist down on her desk.
It
was lunchtime and Sayuri and Yuka were eating their lunches around Akane in the
classroom. “What did he do this time?” Yuka asked politely while exchanging
glances with Sayuri.
It
was an innocent question, but it was exactly what Akane had been trying to
avoid all morning. What DID Ranma do? Why could she not spend five minutes with
him without blowing up? “I don’t know,” she said in a small voice.
“What?”
Sayuri asked, surprised. “Come on he had to have done SOMETHING to get you this
upset!”
“It’s
nothing...or maybe it’s everything. Damn it why isn’t he HERE!”
“Okay
Akane, just tell us what happened, maybe that will help you feel better.” Yuka
suggested, Sayuri nodding her on.
Akane
looked at her friends, “I’m sorry you guys, I know you have your own problems.
It’s not right for me to unload on you all the time.”
“Oh
that’s alright, Akane I don’t mind.” Yuka said.
“Heh
yeah,” Sayuri smirked, “Besides your problems are MUCH more interesting.”
“That’s
right! Just yesterday I couldn’t find my book bag and I was so stressed! And
then I thought ‘well at least I don’t have an aquatransexual babe magnet for a
boyfriend’ and you know what? I felt SO much better!” Yuka agreed.
“He
is NOT my boyfriend.”
“Whatever!”
Sayuri and Yuka said in chorus and then erupted into laughter.
Akane
couldn’t help smiling.
“Behold!”
Yuka said as she stood up and gestured to Akane’s face, “Amateresu has come out
of her cave! Let us rejoice!”
Akane
found herself giggling. “Yuka stop! You sound like Kuno!”
Yuka
pointed a finger at Akane in mock challenge. “You take that back right now,
Tendo!”
“ Akane, I think
what Yuka is trying to say is ‘Forsooth! Speakest
thou not this slander, woman!’”
They
all started giggling at this. When they were through Akane sighed still
smiling. “Thanks you guys...I needed a good laugh
today.”
Sayuri
gave a concerned look, “Yeah, no problem, Akane...so why were you so upset at
Ranma?”
Akane
sighed. “Its not really him...Ranma’s an idiot
sometimes, but really he’s nice enough when he wants to be.”
“Well
than what is it?” Yuka asked. She had just finished her bento and now she
folded her hand in front of her and sat up, her long brown hair framing a face
of undivided attention.
Akane
hated it when Yuka did that. “Its not him its...her.”
“What?”
Sayuri asked around a bite of rice before swallowing it.
“Ranma’s girl side.” Akane
took a drink of her soda. “Before...it wasn’t a big deal, but now his mother’s
been coming over more often... sometimes for whole weeks and...well...it frustrates me.”
“Is
it just that he has to act like a girl?” Sayuri asked.
“No...it’s not that really...”
“Is
it how he treats his mother?” Yuka asked.
Akane
hesitated. “Th- that’s part of it.
But I understand that sort of. I mean...I would do almost anything to see Mom
again...but I don’t think I could actually kill myself. Sometimes I wonder though...anyway
I don’t think Auntie Saotome would make him do that, but Ranma’s father does.
Ranma’s actually tried to tell his mother a few times and Uncle stopped
him...Sometimes I forget how complicated it all is...Sometimes I wonder what
I’d really do. I don’t really blame Ranma for acting like a girl when his
mother’s around...but...it’s just...he’s too good at it!”
“Honey,
are you SURE he’s not gay?” Sayuri asked, “I mean let’s review here: he looks
great, he doesn’t respond well to come ons, he
worries about his clothes, he can’t stand a messy room AND he cross
dresses...color me ignorant but that sounds like a fag to me.” Sayuri counted
the points of on her fingers as she sat with her legs crossed in a laid back
slouch that somehow came off as attractive. Not that Akane would think she was
attractive...
Akane
shook her head free of the thought. “I told you, Sayuri, he’s not gay. We’ve
had...moments.”
“Moments.” Sayuri
repeated.
“Come
on, I told you!”
“All
I remember is once he held your hand and a few times he ALMOST was going to
kiss you. That hardly seems like clinching proof to me.”
“He
said I had a cute smile...”
“Akane,”
Sayuri patted Akane’s hand, “lots of gay guys say things like that.”
Akane
sighed, “I’m beginning to think maybe you’re right.”
“Oh
this is great!” Yuka laughed breaking out of her “proper” mode. “You two should
start a gay boyfriend club, get shirts made up!”
“Shut
up, Yuka. Shiunji may have been gay, but he was much better
boyfriend material than that slob you’re into now, what’s his name? Haisetsubutsu?”
“It’s
Haisei Tsubasa, and he’s
not a slob! He’s...rugged.” Yuka countered. “He’s really smart too...he’s just
working as an auto mechanic now so he can get enough money for college.”
“He
sounds like fine boyfriend material to me, Yuka.” Akane assured.
“Thank
you, Akane,” Yuka smiled proudly giving Sayuri a “there, you see?” look.
“Hmph. Probably just a line he fed you to get into your
pants...” Sayuri grumbled.
“Sayuri! That
wasn’t very nice!” Akane admonished.
“It’s okay, Akane. She’s just jealous is all.”
Yuka stuck her tongue out at Sayuri.
“So
Akane, you were saying about Ranma?” Sayuri said, pointedly changing the
subject.
“He
just makes me so angry...This morning...he cooked breakfast, so Kasumi could
have a break...which would have been fine, but he was so happy about it. His
father said it was okay and he was smiling and singing and carrying on...As if
he actually liked cooking.”
“Lots
of men cook, Akane. Lots of women can’t. That’s not really anything to worry
about.” Yuka asserted as some of her stiffness returned.
Akane
sighed. “I wish you were there today, Yuka, I might not of
blown up like I did...”
“Um...Akane,
honey...there’s no stopping you when you blow up,” Sayuri said, “ You’re like a
typhoon, we all just have to board up the windows and hope for the best.”
“I’m
not that bad am I?” Akane asked.
“Yes,”
Yuka nodded, “Yes, you are.”
Akane
looked at her friends’ earnest faces and sighed. “I guess you’re right. I went
too far this time though.”
“What
did you do?” Yuka asked.
“I
called him a ‘girly girl’ over and over. I even made up a haiku. And then later
on, when he was acting like a cat I wouldn’t pet him or even let him walk with me.”
Akane looked at her hands around the drink can sadly.
Sayuri
looked at Yuka. Yuka looked at Sayuri. Then the two girls burst into laughter.
“It’s
not funny!” Akane protested.
“Yes
it is!” Sayuri laughed.
“You
bet! I wish I HAD been there...just to see the look on Ranma’s face!” Yuka
agreed. “What was the haiku? You HAVE to tell us.”
“Um
it was...you’re a girly girl, such a girly girly
girl, even when you’re male.” Akane said smiling a little now.
“That
is SO inspired, Akane. You should be a poet!” Yuka quipped.
“It’s about time you did something about that freaky cat
problem of his too.” Sayuri added.
“Okay, you guys, I see what you mean, but this is really
serious! Ranma was really hurt by it!”
“Oh come on, Akane, he can’t have taken it serious!
Besides, so you used a weakness against him, isn’t that just like Anything
Goes?” Sayuri asked.
“All joking aside, Akane, Ranma does have some major
problems,” Yuka said, “On top of that, you have the whole fiancée thing hanging
over your head...I think maybe what you really need is a break. Some time away
from him to think things over. My family’s going to the beach this weekend,
maybe you could come too. Sayuri is coming of course. She practically lives
with us as it is!”
“Hey, there’s nothing to do at my house!”
“Yeah yeah, my heart bleeds for
you. Really.” Yuka waved off Sayuri, “So what do you
say, Akane? You want to come? You know my father deals with this stuff all the
time anyway.”
“I don’t need a shrink,” Akane asserted.
“Don’t be silly,” Yuka said, “EVERYBODY needs a shrink.”
“Heh, well...I’ll think about it.” Akane said.
“Okay. Tomorrow’s a half day, we leave right after
school. Just let me know by then.”
“Come on Akane! It’ll be fun! You probably won’t even SEE
Yuka’s dodgy old dad.” Sayuri pushed.
A little girl came in with a satchel and set it on the
desk. Everyone hurried to their desks.
“Hinako-sensei’s here, you guys... you’re not going to
tell anybody anything I said about Ranma are you?” Akane stage whispered.
“Oh Akane, it’s going to get out some time anyway,” Yuka
said, “You can’t control rumor.”
“Yeah and there isn’t anything to worry about.” Sayuri
added, “I mean, it’s not like Ranma’s Nabiki!”
Akane swallowed, but said nothing.
Just then a voice came over the school intercom. “Tendo
Akane, please meet with the assistant principal in the main office...Tendo
Akane, please meet with the assistant principal in the main office.”
Akane gathered her things, bowed to Hinako-sensei and
left the class. She suddenly felt a sickening pang of guilt...like she had just
stepped in a small puppy. As she walked, the feeling festered and mutated into
a general feeling of impending doom. She hadn’t told her friends the whole
story. She hadn’t really understood it all herself. Ranma was having trouble
with his curse, and despite what her friends said, she
knew deep down that she had messed up big time.
~~~~~*~~~~~
Tofu put down the receiver of the black radial telephone
as Nabiki, the real Nabiki, walked unsteadily in the room. “I just finished
phoning your father and your school. Your sister and the rest of your family
should know the basics of what happened by now.”
“Tell me, Doctor...What exactly are the basics of what happened?” Nabiki asked.
“You got in a car accident...Ranma saved your life, and
you are both now here at the clinic. Is that satisfactory?”
Nabiki gave a small smile, “That’s fine. I’m mostly still
trying to get my bearings, but I appreciate your discretion. I suppose no one’s
come by about the bike?”
“The bike?”
“My motorcycle. I was driving a
motorcycle. It’s rather important to me. I’d ask about the woman and the baby,
but I already talked with them in the other room.” Nabiki paused as she
recalled her conversation with them. “You have a lot of interesting cases,
don’t you Tofu-sensei?”
“Yes...I’ve gained something of a reputation among my
colleagues. They’ve started to send special cases to me.”
“So, you ought to be rich by the time you marry my sister
huh?” Nabiki smirked, “You do plan on proposing soon, don’t you?”
“Yes, w-well, she s-s-says she
w-wants to w-wait...” Tofu replied, pulling at his collar and smiling
nervously.
Nabiki frowned. “I’m going to have to talk to her it
seems. All she told me this morning was that you guys didn’t get
back...till...late.” Nabiki stopped herself and shook her head. When had she
talked to Kasumi?
“I’m a little surprised to see you up already.” Tofu
said, changing the subject. “How are you feeling?”
“My arm aches a bit...and I could really use a change of
clothes, but otherwise I’m fine...I think.” Feeling the cold wetness in her
underpants, Nabiki wished she could emphasize the need to change more without
risking embarrassment.
“Here,” Tofu picked up a brown piece of clothing and
handed it to Nabiki. “It’s just some gi pants that got a shrunk a little in the
wash. You may want to ask Happosai for a pair of panties though.” Tofu smiled.
This was precisely why Nabiki didn’t want to have a
serious relationship with the man. Sure he was a hunk and a doctor, but for
that comment alone, Nabiki figured Kasumi could have him.
“Is
there something else?” Tofu asked still smiling after Nabiki took the pants.
Nabiki sighed. “I don’t know whether this is important...but
I thought it best to ask you. I’m seeing auras... all the time. I used to only
be able to do that after an intense yoga session and only very faintly even
then. Now...its very distinct.”
Tofu nodded slowly his smile disappearing. “Nabiki, you
were clinically dead for a short while there...it’s not unheard of to gain a
greater psychic affinity after such a thing....but there’s something
else...isn’t there.”
Nabiki
nodded. “Sometimes...my thoughts are a little...unclear. It’s like I’m thinking
two things at once...I think I may have gotten some of Ranma’s memories
somehow...but everything is very vague, so I can’t be sure if it’s that
or...something else.”
Now Tofu could be delivering a eulogy. “I’ll have to do
some tests. I won’t lie to you, there’s a good chance there was some...damage,
but my guess is it’s as you say. No one knows what the soul is exactly but we
do know that ki has an awful lot to do with it. Most memories wouldn’t be
transferred. Ranma didn’t download into you or anything. But certain key
moments in his life that formed the facet of himself that was like you, some
memories of things that you and he might have done similarly... as well as some
things that are ingrained into his being...”
“What sort of... things?”
“It’s hard to say. Off hand I wouldn’t be surprised if
you picked up some martial arts skill. That’s something I saw in all of his
personalities. You must remember, Nabiki, you came very close. Some parts of
you may be lost entirely...”
Nabiki took a breath, not bothering to hide her fear.
Tofu put his hand on her shoulder, “Or maybe nothing was
lost. All I’m saying is that you can’t take things for granted. Just be glad
you’re alive, and that no one else was hurt.”
Nabiki looked up and gave Tofu a faint smile, “Thank you,
Doctor. I don’t like to be in debt to anyone, and you’ve already helped us
out...”
Tofu lowered his eyes and put a hand up, silencing
Nabiki, “You owe me nothing. Your family... I owe more to your family than I
can ever repay.”
“What are you talking about?”
Tofu had a sad look on his face and for a moment he
looked much older than his twenty-five years of age. He stared blankly at a
wall and said, “The migration...some say it never ends...” Looking back to
Nabiki he smiled softly, “Enjoy yourself, Nabiki. Things are going to get a lot
worse.”
“Riiight,” Nabiki said warily
as she tried to make some sense out of what Tofu had just said, “I’m still a
little groggy I think...Whatever the case, you may have a debt to the family,
but there are personal debts too...All I’m saying is if there’s anything I can
do for you sometime, I’m your girl. And I won’t make you buy me things
beforehand, I swear.”
“Heh, I should hope not. My mother still talks about that
little debacle.” Tofu seemed to go to a far away place again for awhile but he
snapped back to reality with a smile. “Get some rest. Don’t try to leave
though...there’s a young police officer who’s very keen on arresting you for
some reason.”
“I think I can handle him.” Nabiki smiled mischievously.
“I’ll wait till my family gets here though. Oh...one other thing...a friend of
mine, Tomo Hoko is feeling ill. Her mother is worried about her. It’s probably
nothing serious, but if you get a chance you might call her.”
“I will. Thank you, Nabiki.”
Nabiki nodded and left Tofu’s office, feeling a little
better now. Actually she felt a lot better, refreshed almost. It was as if by
surviving that crash she had passed some sort of test and now everything was
going to be okay.
She went to the bathroom and changed out of her short
shorts and underwear and into the worn out brown pants. She still wore her
uniform dress. Looking in the mirror the pants under the dress looked almost
stylish. Almost.
She had to talk to Ranma. She had to find out somehow
just how much her was different. And why Ranma was
able to act so much like her that even her own body couldn’t tell the
difference. Suddenly Nabiki remembered that moment earlier that morning when
they had locked eyes, and instead of thinking of the gun...there was something
else...
A feeling of intense rage, of
injustice, of animal bloodlust. Poised over a fallen
man in a dingy white gi and deep red gashes in his side, five seconds away from
separating the head from the body and perhaps sucking the blood for the
protein. Knowing that all that needed to be done was stand up, regain humanity, but not being able to. A young child...far away but close enough to hear with heightened
senses. Words of accusation, raised with a
small arm and index finger to an older man. “That’s him! That’s the man who
stole my kitty!” And suddenly the only thought is “Not in front of the child.” Because childhood is suddenly something just as small and far away.
And then tears, and running no... bounding
away. On all fours for hours, in the cold, bleeding naked
from so many small cuts and scrapes. Finally
collapsing in the arms of an elderly woman. Hoping that somehow what was
done could be undone, that childhood could be restored, that all that happened
could have happened to someone else, something else, and slowly... finding the
strength to forget.
Nabiki’s eyes went wide and she staggered back at the
sudden vivid vision. She knew it was Ranma’s memory. It had to be. But it happened
to her all the same.
Ranma
had demons just as nasty, maybe even nastier than her own, and unlike her, he
kept them tightly locked away for years. Nabiki felt the darkness, the cold
darkness, and she knew what it wanted.
It
wanted revenge.
~~~~~*~~~~~
Shampoo woke up in the grassy bank of the canal. For a
few moments she didn’t know why she was there. And then she remembered.
It was the Nekoken.
Shampoo
had learned Ranma’s ultimate secret technique, the technique that even her
great grandmother could not defeat. She was now, in effect, the strongest
warrior not just of her generation, but of the entire village. She wouldn’t be
jumping for glee anytime soon, though.
Something
stank about it all. It reeked of
Now
Shampoo knew.
Shampoo
stopped herself. It all seemed unbelievable. But why else was the elder here?
Just to make a mockery of herself and Shampoo, failing every attempt to bring
back Shampoo’s husband? The old hag was many things, but she was not a baffoon.
And unlike Shampoo, she had experience. She had to know what she was doing.
Shampoo
had to accept it. Either everything from getting the curse on had been
meticulously planned out by
If
And
who knows, if it had worked maybe Shampoo would have been happy.
But
it hadn’t. Ranma’s curse changed somehow. And Shampoo knew now why she hadn’t
been able to move on and forget Ranma after getting cursed as punishment. She
knew why her infatuation had grown, mutated, festered into an obsession. It was
lust. Animal lust.
Shampoo
shook her head. She loved Ranma. Whatever the cause, she knew in her heart that
was true.
The
cause WAS important though. Ranma was at least partially a cat. That was why
she had wanted him initially. Even now she wanted him like that. To come to
her, claws outstretched...eyes glowing blue against the backlight. She needed
it like the worst drug imaginable...
And
that was why she could never be with him. Not now that she knew. She spent too
long resisting those urges to succumb to them now. And if she did she’d be
doing exactly what
But
she couldn’t get away. She was an Amazon and as an Amazon she was bound to
Ranma until either he or Shampoo died. As an Amazon she had to respect her
elder, and follow her orders. As an Amazon she had to keep working at the cat
café alongside a man that made her sick for as long as
It
was all a lie. All the pride she had was unfounded. All the respect she had
gained an illusion to mollify her and mold her into what the elders deemed
worthy. All that Shampoo had ever wanted was respect. But respect was just the
carrot used to entice her forward. To make her travel across
The
energy that Shampoo felt as she dug her claws into Ranma’s back and the
red-head became a cat...it was so powerful, so intoxicating... That was the
beginning of the end it so many ways. A part of Shampoo had always suspected
Maybe
Shampoo was oversimplifying. Maybe she was half-crazed from almost being raped
by someone she loved because they had the mind of a feline. But it seemed so
clear now. All this time she had taken such pride in being an Amazon, but it
was being an Amazon that kept her from all the things she ever wanted.
Shampoo
suddenly felt sick. She wanted desperately to find some reason, any reason to
believe what she was taught all her life. She tried to think of the good
things, the training, the knowledge, the friends, but she never had any
friends,
Redundancy. As much
as she avoided it, if she had gotten desperate enough she would have gone to
Mousse, who at least would stick around afterwards, who she at least knew.
Shampoo fought back bile at the thought. That would be Hell. Still, even if
Mousse was a back up stag, Shampoo would miss him. There were times when he
wasn’t so bad and in a way he was like an extremely annoying kid brother...
Shampoo
took a shuddering breath as she realized that she had already made her
decision.
“Today,”
Shampoo swore to the horizon, “Shampoo...no longer Amazon.” She reached to her
side, to the small dagger she always kept there. She took a fist of her hair,
held it over her head, and swiped through it. She threw the hair to the ground.
It fell in a heap of shining purple like some beautiful creature now dead.
Shampoo stared at it for a moment, and then threw her knife into it so that it
quivered, stuck in the ground. “Bie Liao, Great Grandmother,” She sneered and headed off to
enact a plan still forming in her head.
~~~~~*~~~~~
Kuonji
Ukyo sat in Hinako-sensei’s English class looking out the window and thinking.
Hinako was coloring in a Walt-Disney book, and eating pocky, while most of the
students diligently contemplated their American comic books. Any learning that
went on in the class was purely accidental.
Ukyo was tired and depressed.
Ranma
wasn’t there today. She had seen Akane talking to her friends. She seemed upset
about something. Ukyo halfway considered asking the girl what it was, but she
didn’t really feel like having the inevitable battle that would ensue. Just
before class she was called to the office. Ukyo hoped she wouldn’t return for
some time.
She had only four hours of sleep, if that. She had spent
a large part of her time in bed tossing and turning and trying to find out some
way she could get Ranma to look at her as more than a friend...with out risking
losing him as a friend. The truth of the matter was that she was woefully
unprepared for love in her life right now. For half her life she lived as a
boy. Planning her revenge, preparing her mind and body for
her next meeting with Ranma and his father. Then all of a sudden...pow, love. He called her cute. He
was still the same little boy she played with so long ago, and not at all the
demon she imagined.
This
was nothing new now of course. Still, she was clueless as to what to do. Before
coming to Nerima the protocol as she understood it was to ask somebody out, see
if you liked them and go on from there. But Ukyo already KNEW she liked Ranma
and, being his fiancée already, she was in the two most awkward moments in a
relationship at the same time. She was at her wits end, trying anything that
came to mind. She found herself following Akane’s and Shampoo’s lead,
alternatively hanging on Ranma and beating him up. It wasn’t what she wanted.
All
she wanted was what they had before...everything went wrong. She wanted to spar
with him in the dojo every morning before he taught a class,
and then fire up the grill so the students wouldn’t leave hungry. And then
maybe Ranma would help her serve people in the restaurant after teaching. Maybe
they’d challenge each other on who could cook the best and fastest Okonomiyaki,
and of course Ranma would be faster, but Ukyou’s would be better and no one
would really be able to decide. And they’d smile and kiss and say playfully
“I’ll beat you next time!”
Sometimes
Ukyo envisioned whole days of married life with Ranma, sometimes she thought of
what she’d name the children, of what they would teach them. Sometimes she
imagined old friends visiting. Sometimes she envisioned new adventures side by
side with Ranma against terrible odds. Sometimes...sometimes she just thought
of the glorious sex.
But
never in any of these visions did Ukyo ever figure out HOW to get there. Even without
the other fiancées it would be difficult, but with them...
The
thing Ukyo kept coming back to was that she should be patient. That she should
just try to be the best friend she could be, and then things might just
progress naturally. But it was so hard. Ukyo was so worried that if she didn’t
do something, she would end up with nothing. That time was running out...That
things weren’t falling into place, but falling apart. She hated what all this
was doing to Ranma. She hated what it was doing to her. But she couldn’t see
anyway around it. Not if she wanted any chance of being with the man she loved.
In
short, Ukyo was tired and depressed.
Looking
out of the window forlornly as she was, Ukyo was the first to see Shampoo
running toward the school, sporting an awful haircut. She still was rather
surprised however when Shampoo jumped through the window and the wall and into
the classroom. Then she remembered. “Oh. It’s Shampoo. I forgot.”
“How
does she do that!” A student asked as the dust
settled.
“Yeah! This is
the third floor!” remarked another.
“UKYO!” Shampoo
yelled pointing a bonbori at the girl in boy’s clothing. “You rival, yes? You
fight now, yes?”
Ukyo
wasn’t sure what surprised her more, that Shampoo was picking a fight with her,
apparently for the hell of it, or that she actually said her name and not
“spatula girl” or “boy-girl” or “finger licker”
“Hey!”
Ukyo said finally, “you actually said my name!”
“DELINQUENTS!”
a figure rose from behind the rubble. Her eyes shown with the manic glare of
one too many candy bars. The silhouette quivered with the petulance of all the
terrible two’s condensed and trapped in the body of a ten-year-old. “HAPPO
GO-EN SA-“
Ukyo
ran for the opening that Shampoo had made and made a break for it. The jump wasn’t
anything for a roof hopper like herself. And while she
didn’t feel like fighting, a fight sounded a whole lot better than having her
chi sucked out of her.
She
landed and kept running toward the baseball field. Looking behind her, she
confirmed that Shampoo had followed her out of the school. “What do you want?”
Ukyo yelled back at the purple-headed crazy girl.
“First
we fight, then we talk!” Shampoo yelled. “Is important. Find more secret place for
fight yes?”
Ukyo
slowed down to an even trot sensing she was no longer in any immediate danger.
Shampoo caught up to her quickly. “We’ll go to that abandoned lot by the canal
okay?”
Shampoo
nodded. “Is good.”
“What
happened to your hair, Sugar? Did you get in a fight with Ryoga?”
Shampoo
shook her head. “Pig boy no get close if try.”
Ukyo
nodded. Ryoga’s bandannas were easy enough to dodge, usually. Even if he did get over the “don’t hit girls” shtick that he had
worse than even Ranma. “Is this about Ranchan?” Ukyo asked as she ran at
a steady pace beside the other girl.
Shampoo
said nothing for a good minute, and then at the bend in the road right before
the lot she said, “Is about Ranma, and no is about Ranma. Shampoo need to
think. Need to fight too.”
Another
bit of strangeness: Shampoo said “Ranma” and not “Airen.” Ukyo had the distinct
impression that once again, something major had happened and she was the last
to know. “Why can’t you just tell, me what’s going on, Shampoo? You better not
be trying some kind of ‘kiss of death’ crap on me.”
“No
kiss. Is fight between womans, not Amazon and outsider.” Shampoo assured and jumped over the chain link
fence surrounding the lot.
Ukyo
followed and made
a cursory glance to get a hold on her situation. The lot was fairly typical.
The grass was long, colored a dusty light brown-green, and fell on the ground
in wispy tufts. There were some large stones in the ground and of course that
meant pebbles. Looking down, Ukyo found that the ground still had some muddy
patches from the rain yesterday.
Ukyo
smiled. This was going to be fun.
“We
here,” Shampoo declared, “Now we fight.” She leaped into the air holding her
twin bonbori wide while keeping a knee up to guard her torso. Ukyo watched her
until she reached the height of her jump. Shampoo made herself into a ball
bringing the bonbori to her chest and started a forward summersault. Ukyo
stepped back a few steps.
Shampoo
spun faster, bringing the heads of her bonbori crashing down on the head of her
opponent...only her opponent wasn’t there. Ukyo jumped, using Shampoos neck as
a springboard and twisted in the air tossing some twenty spatula shuriken at
purple-haired girl.
Shampoo
had already turned around and dodged and batted away the spatulas easily then
ran and jumped for a flying sidekick, hoping to catch Ukyo in the solar plexus.
“Why you insult Shampoo with dumb spatula attack?” She yelled in midair.
Ukyo
took her giant spatula and slammed it down on Shampoo’s foot, sending the
Chinese girl into a tumble. Ukyo then let the momentum send the spatula down to
the ground where it stuck in the mud, almost halfway up the flat section.
“That’s why,” Ukyo explained simply.
Shampoo
rolled into the fall and was back on her feet right away, still holding her
bonbori. Ukyo could see that Shampoo now favored her left foot, but she knew it
wasn’t a major injury. Shampoo nodded comprehension. The spatula-shuriken were mainly a diversionary tactic used to allow Ukyo to grab
her larger weapon. Although there was always the chance Ukyo’d
get lucky.
Shampoo
began to advance again...
Ukyo
focused. She gripped the handle of the giant spatula tightly feeling its
nature, making it one with her body. She cleared her mind of all thought. There
was only Okonomiyaki, and the customer she was to serve...
Shampoo
ran towards Ukyo, but her motion seemed much slower now. Ukyo sent her ki
through the spatula into the soft muddy ground. First there was the batter...it
must be the correct consistency or the Okonomiyaki would come out flawed. Ukyo
coaxed the mud into being softer, more cohesive. more
clay-like...
Shampoo
stepped into a spin, most likely a kick followed by a swing of the bonbori,
Ukyo surmised. The customer would want something hard and constricting. Ukyo
hefted the spatula and the mud stuck like taffy to its end. Just as the hook
kick passed through the air Ukyo’s head occupied only moments before, Ukyo
brought the taffy-like mud in an arc, covering Shampoos arms, torso and upper
thigh. Just as it made contact the mud hardened into rock. Shampoo spun crazily
and fell down rather jarringly.
Another satisfied customer.
Ukyo
smiled. She had been practicing with mud as a combat batter for some time now.
That was the first time she was ever able to use it against an opponent in
combat though. She still preferred real Okonomiyaki batter, but one point Ranma
had driven home time and time again was the need for adaptability. Still, she
had thought Shampoo would last longer than that.
“Ow!” Shampoo exclaimed, “How Ukyo do that?”
“I
trained for years battling the waves of the ocean. I can deflect or attract
anything that has water in it, as long as I use my spatula, and I concentrate
deeply enough.”
Shampoo
nodded sadly. “Ukyo win this time. Is only because Shampoo not train serious for too too long.
Shampoo COULD beat...”
“Here, Sugar, I’ll let you out of there.” Ukyo
concentrated and tapped the mass of rock around Shampoo with her spatula. The
rock crumbled away from the Chinese girl. Shampoo sat up and rubbed her ankle
pensively. “Now what is all this about? I thought you trained all the time with
your great grandmother?”
Shampoo
snapped her eyes to Ukyo, and for a second, Ukyo wondered if Shampoo was going
to attack again. Then Shampoo lowered her eyes to the ground. “Old Ghoul not train Shampoo. Only train Ranma and Pig Boy. Tell Shampoo
‘clean restaurant’, ‘make delivery’ Tell Shampoo is punishment. Shampoo obey
because is Elder and relative. Shampoo fool. Shampoo
train herself in off times, but no is enough.”
A
growing excitement filled Ukyo. Maybe she had more of a chance with Ranma! If Shampoo was this weak...
“Shampoo
see Ukyo think of Ranma now. Is good. Shampoo like
Ukyo more than violent girl. Ukyo be best match yes?”
And
now Ukyo was confused. “Is this some trick of yours? You
trying to make me go against Akane maybe?”
Shampoo
shook her head. Ukyo had never seen the girl so down. “Shampoo have big problem
with Ranma. Sha-...I...can’t love him. No can be
Airen.”
“I
don’t understand...I thought your rules said you had to be...”
Shampoo
stood up. “I break rules! Shampoo no longer Amazon. Shampoo lied to all life,
just find out. Need to fight to see if true what Sh...I
think. I need help. I need training. I need learn Japanese more better. I need
job... I need new life.”
Ukyo couldn’t believe what she was hearing!
This changed everything! She had a chance now! But Ukyo couldn’t be completely
happy. It was true she’d drop Shampoo in a heartbeat if it meant she could be
with Ranma, but now that she was out of the picture...Shampoo and she had
always had an uneasy friendship of sorts. And now...there was still Akane to
deal with, but it was as if Shampoo practically handed her Ranma! Before she
even realized it, she found herself hugging the former Amazon tightly. “Don’t
worry, Sugar. This will work out.”
Shampoo
stiffened, but gradually she returned the hug. “It long time...You very much
like mans sometimes, but you strong warrior.”
Ukyo
released Shampoo. Ukyo was shocked to see moisture on the girl’s cheeks. This
was serious shit she was getting herself into. “Shampoo, honey, I’m going to
help you, but I need to know why you’re doing this. I mean for all I know you
could be under some charm or something...”
Shampoo
wiped her tears away quickly and swallowed. “Old ghoul train, but not in way
Shampoo think. Shampoo curse very bad. Have very much
trouble during...blood time...”
“Oh gods!” Ukyo had
never put it together...cats go into heat! That would be terrible!
Shampoo
nodded, “Many cats come. I fight off. Night after night.”
“But...why
don’t you just use some of that waterproof soap of yours?”
“Is very rare and expensive.”
“Yeah,
but wouldn’t
Shampoo
gritted her teeth. “Hag no care. Something happen she
say is punishment. She here for Ranma.”
“What
do you mean, sugar?”
“She
want Ranma as Amazon. Make good babies.” Shampoo’s
hands were shaking fists, her knuckles bone white. “Today Ranma become like
cat. Just like other cats. He try to...” Shampoo
shuddered.
Ukyo
got the picture. “What did you do?”
“Shampoo
fight off...just like other cats. Shampoo become like cat to fight off... Old
ghoul find way to teach Nekoken.”
And
here Ukyo was starting to think of
Shampoo
nodded.
Ukyo’s
eyes drifted to Shampoo’s hair. It hung ragged along the nape of the neck.
Shampoo’s long bangs on either side of her face still there. It looked
terrible, like someone had just hacked through it with a knife...It all made
dreadful sense now. Except for one thing... “What would you have done if you
beat me?”
Shampoo
made eye contact for a moment and then stared off into the distance. “I need to
train. You strongest womans here I know. I hear
battle with Ranma much longer than Shampoo’s. No believe it before, now do. If
I beat you, I probably go to someone else. Need to know level. Need to find
good training partner. But even if beat, I still ask for help. You have
restaurant, no delivery. I want see Cat Café go bye bye.”
Ukyo
shared an evil smile with her new ally. This was getting better and better.
“What do you plan on doing about
“First train. Train
hard.”
“Yeah, and then what, Sugar?”
Shampoo
clenched her fists again. Her eyes looked dead and risen...filled with cold
darkness.
“After
training,” Shampoo said, “I kill.”
~~~~~*~~~~~
Nabiki found Ranma in the waiting room talking to the
Yamashitas about their peculiar predicament. He was male and he sprawled
languidly on the couch like seats as he talked to the woman in the plain brown
kimono and her baby/husband.
She studied them for awhile from the doorway, marveling
at how their auras shown now. Ranma’s was a deep aqua blue...Mrs. Yamashita was
a warm yet orderly brown. Her baby/husband glowed a
dark orange. As distinct as the auras
were, Nabiki could still see things through them without difficulty. The colors
were really more of a suggestion than a reality. Nabiki returned her gaze to
Ranma. Notably absent were the butterfly earrings he was supposed to be
wearing...the Thyself Known? Nabiki winced mentally. Another
Ranma memory. They were supposed to keep Ranma from going crazy or
something.
At first it seemed to be the same old Ranma, his
trademark awkward casualness readily apparent. But then he started talking...
“So,
you’re telling me there’s an honest to goodness fountain of youth in a cave
somewhere here in
“Yeth.” The baby in the woman’s arms nodded, “Ith
in Hokaido actually. I had to dig thlough
a hot thpling to find it. Got a
little too much on me. Doctol Tofu theemth to think he can acthelelate
my ag’ing, but ith going to
be difficult.” Mr. Yamashita, having no teeth and a somewhat underdeveloped
tongue, had a lisp that was more of a gurgling wet sound and a ridiculously
high voice. You could try not to laugh, but it was best to get it over with
early on rather than let it burst out all at once. Nabiki had talked with the
man before, but she still had to smile a bit.
“But
what’s stopping other people from falling in?” Ranma asked.
“My
men blew it up aftel I...tlang’ed...got
youngel I mean. I would have liked to thtudy it mole but I didn’t have muth
thay in the mattel.” The
baby grimaced.
“Come
now, Ichiro, we wouldn’t want that sort of thing to get to the public would
we?” Mrs. Yamashita chided.
“Thtop patlonithing
me woman! Jutht
because I look like a baby doethn’t mean you can tleat me like one!”
“Oh”
Mrs. Yamashita said matter of factly, “I suppose you
can feed yourself from now on then?”
“Thatth not what I meant!”
“Ahem.”
Nabiki interrupted, smirking from the doorway.
“Hey, Firefly!” Ranma
called, “It’s good to see you up!”
Nabiki
stiffened. She hadn’t been called that for more than a decade... “Ranchan...we
need to...talk.” The weirdness level just refused to go down. Nabiki hadn’t
intended to say “Ranchan” it just...came out. She saw Ranma stiffen in much the
same way she had.
“Right.” Ranma
swallowed.
Mrs.
Yamashita got up without further provocation and bowed to them both, “I’m glad
to see you’re both well. I will see if Tofu sensei is ready for us.”
“Thank
you Yamashita-san” Ranma and Nabiki said at the same time.
When
the Yamashita’s were gone, Nabiki waited a minute, and then asked, “The log of
‘a’ plus the log of ‘b’ equals what?”
“The log of ‘a’ times ‘b?’”
Ranma answered.
“That
is SO unfair.” Nabiki commented.
Ranma
responded by throwing a punch to Nabiki’s midsection...which she easily dodged.
“No...THAT is unfair.” Ranma countered.
Nabiki
sighed. She supposed she’d have to concede the point. Ten years of intense
training and she got most of it in about an hour.
“This is too damn weird.” Ranma said.
Nabiki nodded. “I think we need to figure out exactly how
much we know about each other, before we both go nuts.”
“Um...I know about the gun.”
“Yes...and I know you almost killed your father.”
“What? What are you talking about? I never...” Nabiki saw
Ranma’s aura darken and could see he was reliving the whole thing in his mind.
Ranma’s fists clenched. “Damn. SHIT!”
“Calm down. You didn’t kill him did you? You’re not a
murderer. So you’re not going to kill my little sister either.”
Ranma looked at the ground for a bit, with crazed eyes.
“I still want to. I can’t get it out of my head. I want to wring her
neck...tear her to pieces...”
“It doesn’t look like the relationship is working out all that well,” Nabiki noted
“Heh, yeah you could say that.” Ranma leaned back,
sighing. “I just wish I could stop thinking about her.”
“Freudian slip there, Ranchan?”
“Yeah.
I think I know what you mean. I kind of love her, and I kind of hate her at the
same time.” Ranma said.
Nabiki blinked. Ranma said he loved Akane! But the way he
said it...it wasn’t the kind of love that you marry someone over. “I know how
you feel, believe me.” Nabiki sat down on the sofa.
“I believe it.” Ranma said sitting down himself. “How did you get over it?”
“I got even.”
“What
do you mean?”
Before
Nabiki knew it she answered him. “Any time I felt like killing someone I took a
piece of paper and listed all the things they did to me, and I figured out ways
to get them back. The trick is planning. The more planning you do the better
you feel afterwards, no matter what it is you actually do to the person.”
“I’ll have to try that.” Ranma smiled mischievously. “How
did you get even with Akane?”
Nabiki thinned her lips. “The gun pretty much did it for
me. She was scared to go near me for months. I got some satisfaction from that
I have to say. Still, it mostly just made me feel so lousy...”
“Right.” Ranma smiled slightly,
“My vote’s for plan B”
“Speaking of psychotic behavior...aren’t you supposed to
be wearing those earrings?”
Ranma’s hand went to his ear reflexively. “I don’t know.
They just fell out when I woke up. I think I’m actually less screwed up than I
was this morning, believe it or not. Maybe I don’t need them any more. I got
them in my pocket though, just in case.”
“Have you tried just wearing them around your neck or
something? Do they have to be in your ear?”
Ranma shook his head, “I haven’t tried, but I don’t think
that will work. I think they need to be in contact with my blood or
something...Besides it’s not that big a deal. I’ve got this weird memory of
going to the mall by myself to get my ears pierced...missing my mother.”
Nabiki recalled the moment just as Ranma mentioned it.
Juxtaposed with it was a scene of a tournament, of Genma yelling at her after
she lost a battle and not having anyone say it was okay... “What do you remember
about your mother?” She said suddenly. It had been in the back of her mind
since he had called her Firefly.
“You mean growing up? Not much. Just recently I remember
she used to call me Ranchan, just like Ukyo and well, just like you did a little
while ago. I think I thought my name actually WAS Ranchan at one time. I don’t
know...its all foggy. Is it the same with you and
Firefly?”
“Y-yes...”
“It suits you, you know. When I tried to punch you just
now, your aura flared up...it was bright green. Not like Ryoga’s puke green.
It’s like you’re sad and happy all at the same time.”
“Well that’s more or less how I feel most of the time I
suppose. Once you accept the fact that the world isn’t going to give you
exactly what you want, you can start to have fun with it.” Nabiki scratched her
temple and sighed. “My mother...she used to call me that. Firefly.”
“Why?”
“Well,
there was this one night...It was in the summer and Mom and I were watching the
fireflies from the porch. Akane was just a baby then. Kasumi was at a friends house...it was just me and Mom.” Nabiki glanced at
Ranma. Why did she trust him so much?
“So what happened?” Ranma asked.
Nabiki
shook her head free of the weirdness and continued her story. “We turned all
the lights off in the house and we just watched the fireflies blinking on and
off randomly. I remember I caught one and showed it to her. She wanted me to
release it, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to keep it forever. Then she said
she could get a jar and I could put as many as I could catch in it and keep it
in my room. I was so excited, but then she raised her finger and said ‘But if
you put them in a jar, they’ll die by the next day, and you won’t ever see them again.’
“ I was
maybe three at the time, I couldn’t have known what she was talking about. But
somehow I understood what she said and I let the firefly go. She hugged me then
and asked why I wanted to keep the firefly. ‘Because it glows pretty’ I said or
something similar.
“‘And
you’d like to glow pretty too wouldn’t you?’ she asked. I giggled and said yes.
She went inside the house and came out with a flashlight. ‘I bet with this
you’ll be the prettiest little firefly there is.’ she said. And she told me to
try talking to them and had me run out among them with the flashlight flicking
it on and off at them.
“I
was pretty sure Mom was joking and I got tired of it pretty quick. I sat down
on the step next to mom just thinking about fireflies and if maybe I should get
a jar after all. I was flicking the flashlight on and off out of boredom for
awhile and then my Mom says ‘LOOK!’ I didn’t see
anything. I turned the flashlight on to see what she was talking about and I
swear every single firefly glowed. I turned off the flashlight to see them
better and they stopped.
“I
kept turning the flashlight on and off and the kept glowing with the flashlight
for almost five minutes before I tried leaving the light on and they went back
to their own rhythms. It was like they were dancing with me or something...I
don’t know to this day whether I actually made them blink like that or if it
was some odd fluke. I was never able to make it happen again.”
“Wow. So maybe you WERE talking to them huh?” Ranma
enthused.
“Sometimes I like to think I was,” Nabiki said still halfway
in another time in place. “Other times I like to think that it was just
something beautiful that happened for no reason. Either way I never forgot it.
Sometimes I think some part of me is still shining flashlights at the
fireflies, trying to get them to dance.”
They were both silent for awhile. Nabiki couldn’t believe
she had just told all of that...to Ranma! But he had already been in her head.
He had already gone through all her defenses. And...it
felt good.
“Nabiki?” Ranma’s deep blue eyes
asked her.
“What is it, Ranma?” Nabiki breathed.
And suddenly she and Ranma were kissing. Nabiki was
kissing Saotome Ranma!
Her
arms drifted up and down Ranma’s back over the hard muscles under the silk
Chinese shirt. Ranma’s hands slid up her thigh, found her rear and squeezed.
Nabiki moaned, breaking there kiss...Then suddenly her eyes went wide. She
pushed Ranma away and sat slumped in her seat, her face flushed. “This can’t be
happening...” she muttered.
“Nabiki,
I’ve never felt like this for anyone before. I’m sorry...I don’t know what came
over me...”
And
suddenly Nabiki and Ranma were kissing again. Their tongues were battling each
other...their hands went all over each others bodies. Soon Nabiki was on top of
Ranma on the couch, her hands unconsciously trying to take the black t-shirt
off of Ranma...
“Ahem.”
Nabiki jumped off Ranma and looked up, startled at the
man standing above them.
It was Officer 542, aka Kawagami Hiro.
“Ma’am, this is a public place. Please show some
decorum.” Officer Kawagami said coldly. He shoved some papers under Nabiki’s
nose. “I got you on speeding and twelve counts of reckless endangerment. Your
driver’s license is revoked until the hearing which will be in three weeks.
Have a nice day.”
Nabiki took the papers dumbly and Kawagami turned around
and left the room. His aura betrayed his crisp manner though. Nabiki wondered
how someone she didn’t even know all that well could be so jealous of her.
“Crap,” Nabiki said with a sigh, “I can’t keep in touch
with my contacts if I can’t drive.”
Ranma’s
arm went around her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Firefly, we’ll think of
something. Maybe you can move the hearing up earlier or something.”
“Doubtful.
Still, I guess it’s worth a try. I’m supposed to meet someone in Itabashi ward
tomorrow, though.”
“Not a problem,” Ranma assured. “I can get you there in
about half an hour. You’ve got me working for you now.”
“Oh, and how do you figure you can do that?” Itabashi was the
ward neighboring Nerima, but it took a good twenty minutes to get there by
motorbike and that was in light traffic.
In
response Ranma turned into a girl and smiled cutely up at Nabiki. “Tickets for
two please,” she said making a “v” with the fingers of her left hand. “I looove trains!...” Ranma turned back into a boy. “Shall I go
on?” he smiled.
Nabiki
smiled back, shaking her head. She supposed she should have been surprised that
Ranma was able to change at will, or that he had thought of a solution to her
problem before she had, but it seemed more like this was a more real Ranma than
the one before, a Ranma she respected, even admired. She didn’t completely like
this feeling of not being in control, but there was something nice about it. Comforting. She leaned into Ranma, grabbing his hand with
hers. “I don’t know how this is going to turn out, Ranchan. Something tells me
this isn’t going to last...but right now I don’t care. Just...if you’re going
to go insane again could you give me a few days?”
Ranma
was silent for a while. “Nabiki, it’s not over... Tofu called it a migration
and at first I laughed at him...but now...I can feel it more. It’s like I’m not
in the right place within myself, like things are shifting into place. But I know
right now that at least this part of me wants to be with you. And that isn’t
going to change.”
Nabiki
almost started kissing Ranma again. But she turned her head back away before it
happened. “Still...we need to take things slow. If something unforeseen happens
we might need to stop...”
“So,
casual sex is out of the question?” Ranma quipped.
Nabiki
smirked. “Now I KNOW that was me just then. There is no way you could have ever
put ‘sex’ and ‘casual’ in the same sentence before.”
“You’d be surprised...” Ranma said looking away.
Nabiki nudged Ranma in the ribs. “You’re being enigmatic,
stop it!”
Ranma
turned and smiled tiredly at Nabiki. “I tried to seduce doctor Tofu.”
“Oh...you too huh?
That man is one sexy bastard.”
Ranma
hugged Nabiki closer. “Heh one thing for sure, I’m definitely moving the
engagement to you. I know neither of us wants an engagement, but I think we can
keep our fathers from doing anything too stupid. Much better than I could with
Akane anyway.”
“Okay,
Ranma, but just for the record, I don’t like it, and if this is some kind of
spell and we both wake up, you’re going to owe me big time...” Nabiki smiled,
“I just thought of something.”
“What?”
“Moving
the engagement to me would be the perfect revenge to have on Akane.”
Ranma
slapped his fist against the palm of his other hand. “That’s right! The bitch’ll blow a gasket! And if she thinks I’ll let her hit
me with a mallet when I’m not even engaged to her...”
Nabiki
put a finger to Ranma’s mouth. “Down, boy. Remember,
she’s my little sister. You’re angry with her right now. That’s okay. We’ll get
her back. She deserves it. But we’re not going to kill her... We’re just going
to make her dance.”
~~~~~[END]~~~~~
It gets weirder.
Thanks go to Aondehafka,
Edward, and OlympicHam for the help, as well as Me,
whoever Me is.
Any mistakes are my own.
If you see any, let me
know.
Feedback greatly
appreciated.