On Sat, 23 Nov 2002 23:42:12 -0500 noirchloe <noirchloe@nyc.rr.com> wrote:
"Konatsu." Ukyou's {lipped : lips} formed the words, though no sound came
out. The {acidic : harsh : biting} flavor of salt made itself known in her mouth as she
tried to crawl along the floor. A heeled foot collided with her back {as
the breath was knocked out of it : and knocked the breath out of her}.
The chef strained to lift her head off the cement {ground :} and stare at the
nightmarish scene that was continued to {be played : play} out in front of her.
"Ranma. No." she sobbed as she watched the man she idolized kick
Konatsu in the gut again. The limp body of her employee and friend
showed no resistance and little reaction to the strike.
Her eyes {were suddenly opened : suddenly opened : popped open} and it took her a moment to realize she
was in her room. Breathing heavily into the morning chill, she felt the
sweat that covered her. She took a few deep breaths, trying to calm
her nerves. No matter how many times she had the same dream of the
past, it always traumatized her.
"You okay, {honey : Honey}?" Yuu asked. Concern was evident in his sleepy
voice.
"Just a bad dream," she {answer : answered} and forced a smile. "I really don't
remember much about it now. "
She yawned, and paid attention to the {searching : search} she was currently
doing. She had started yesterday searching for information on Ukyou.
She had already been searching for information for days, but that had
been a general {searches : search} on many people. When they decided on this
trip, she tightened her search parameters to Ukyou, her clan, and the
missing Konatsu.
She bristled at the condescending tone in his voice and skimmed more
of the announcement. "Her {husbands : husband is : husband's} a chef she hired five years ago.
He moved into her house."
There was nothing she could gain from responding, so she ignored him.
She checked one of her dummy drop sites, hoping it hadn't been
compromised and rejoiced when she had mail there. One of her
contacts, a person that didn't know her real identity, had been {taxed : tasked}
with providing her tax and other governmental information on Ukyou
in Kyoto.
She noted that {should : she} would have to wire some money to a certain
account, and it would probably consume the emergency money she had
kept from Kiyoshi. It wasn't an appealing situation and it wasn't her
top priority right now. Her top priority was pleasing the man that could
save her, if she could only find a way to make sure he'd try.
"You don't want to hear how Ukyou bought a house and restaurant ten
years ago for," she paused as she did the math in her {head," one- : head, "one-}
hundred and fifty million yen. With cash?" Nabiki asked smugly.
Ukyou manned the grill at her restaurant, Ucchan's. She had
deliberated on the name for what felt like months when she had first
returned to the area she had grown up in. She had contemplated the
question of if {: she} should open a shop at all; the emotional scars from those
last days in Nerima had been almost intolerable. Unfortunately, she
realized she had nothing else she could do. Her clan, already
suspicious of and upset about her recent return to Kyoto would have
never left her alone if she had continued acting as if the world had
ended.
Her father had predictable refused to speak with her when she had
returned home. She actually hadn't cared all that much {at : about} his reaction.
Ruin had been the only thing that trying to appease her father had
brought her. Eternal damnation was her lot in life from her lack of
strength. Her dreams saw to that.
Being abandoned when she was young had been rough. It had been
horrible at some moments, but she could look back at that situation and
believe she had done her best. The situation was horrible, and the
{Saotome's : Saotomes} actions had brought ruin to her. If she had just let it go
then. If she had the courage she felt now, then, she could have this
life without knowing her weakness had cost another, his.
"You okay, {hon : Hon}?"
Nabiki peered into the bustling restaurant. It was larger
than the 'Old' Ucchan's and was teeming with life. A row
of booths ran along either side wall. The ones that
occupied the left side had mini-grills on them, and were
built large enough for parties of twelve to cook their own
food. The other row of booths seemed perfect for smaller
groups, couples or friends, and didn't offer the option of
cooking for oneself. The remaining floor space was
occupied with tables and two circular grills. The d�cor
was light and cheerful. A few paintings adorned white and
sky-blue walls, while the wooden floor accentuated {what
must have been restaurant with a very homey feel to it : the homey feel}.
Nabiki failed to recognize the man deftly preparing orders
at one but the chef at the other was {no : none} other than the
person they sought: Ukyou. Nabiki spared a glance at.
Kiyoshi. Here, in front of Ucchan's, she had hoped to see
some flicker of recognition. Instead, dead eyes appraised
the environment. She had gotten used to calling him by
this new name, but when associating him with the past, she
sometimes slipped.
Nabiki approached and watched with amusement as
Kiyoshi attempted to detangle himself. The pair had
ended up with her skirt flipped up, displaying a sexy pair
of red thong panties through fishnet stockings. Kiyoshi
was stammering an apology and his movement were jerky
as he covered the woman's {private : privates}. Nabiki glanced at the
woman's face, which had a delightfully smug cast to it.
"NO," Kiyoshi blurted as he jumped to his feet as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, this had the unintended effect of flipping the woman's
skirt up again, giving all around a view of her {precious box : underwear}.
"Hello?" He listened intently {to the one who had called him :} while a
deep frown formed on his face.
It had been an {imaginable : incredible : unimaginable} amount of time in coming, but finally it was
here. The blight on his family was going to be removed {in : on} paper, even
if it had been {effective : effectively} removed before. This last bit was a crowning
moment in his efforts. Now, all that needed to be done was the last
frayed string needed to be sewn back into the fabric or pulled.
Apparently, that was happening in Kyoto.
Ukyou walked up {her walkway : to her house}, determined to bare her soul. She was
scared. The secret had been kept a secret to protect her from her shame,
but the events of the day had determined her current course of
action. She wouldn't. couldn't let this sit between her and Yuu. She
refused to live a lie, letting him believe she was better than she
was. He had to see her for who she was, bloodied hands and soul.
"Everyone calm down," the female voice said. Ukyou strained to
remember, both the female and the {make's : male's} voice had sounded familiar.
"Close the dogs in that room, Nabiki," the {make : male} voice said. Ukyou
went rigid when the name was mentioned. The audible click of a
closing door was heard moments later.
The weight that was pressing down on Ukyou was removed and she
scurried away as she turned and caught sight of Nabiki standing in front
of the study door, a sad smile on her face and another person. She
softly muttered, "Ranma," before her vision became blurred and she
{feinted : fainted}.
I think that's a real faint, not a feint.
Nabiki stood from the chair she had been sitting in and took a deep
breath. Silence had descended upon the room after the outburst. She
wasn't prepared for this reaction or {: the} negative emotions Ukyou had
displayed. The other woman's actions sent her mind whirling, and kept
her from processing the information clearly.
Yuu, who had been quietly supportive of his spouse, sprang at Kiyoshi.
The move was easily dodged by the target, and Nabiki said thanks that
he hadn't fired {yet : again}.
"Yuu, stop. I'm alright." Ukyou's voice stopped all movement in the
room, except Kiyoshi. He moved slightly away from both husband and
wife as Yuu ran {toward : to : towards} the chef.
All {head : heads} in the room whipped towards Kiyoshi. Nabiki's head swam
as she tried to process the information. Konatsu was dead. She never
even thought much of the weird boy dressed as {: a} girl ninja. She had only
met him once or twice, ignoring him as just another one of the weird
people that seem to infect the lives of her family.
Ukyou took a deep breath. Water could be seen trickling from the
corners of her eyes. She sniffled, "when we entered that warehouse, we
were jumped. We fought, but there were about a dozen of them. I got
knocked around a bit and Konatsu was trying to protect me. They
{: were} dressed in black, and the room was dark. When it was over, someone
had me pinned to ground, and Konatsu was on his back, unconscious."
Ukyou stopped speaking and looked down at the {ground : floor}. The room
stood silent and Nabiki took a moment to look at Yuu. Ukyou's
husband looked distraught and Nabiki wondered if he had known about
any of this before tonight.
"They won't tell {me? : me.} You don't exist in the history they've provided
for me," Kiyoshi said calmly. His clear eyes met Ukyou's fiery stare.
"Let's go," he said, and moved towards the back of the house. Nabiki
glanced at the couple before trailing after {the other man : him}.
Kiyoshi stopped and looked around. A frown formed on his face as his
eyes narrowed. "Wait. {No meet : Meet} me at the train station. Go quickly!"
He said as he ran across the street.
Ukyou {scream : screamed into her gag}. This couldn't be happening. She had lied to Ranma
and Kiyoshi before. It had been easier than telling the truth. It was
easier than admitting it to herself.
Ukyou barely noticed the tears falling freely from her face as the blade
was {remove : removed} from sight.
"Let's go. He was the last of them," she turned to see Kiyoshi offering
her a hand up. She took it with little thought and stood.
I guess that means Kiyoshi killed the woman that killed Ukyou. I wonder if
he even tried to stop her before she killed Ukyou. If he had, he might at
least have been able to pump Ukyou for more honest answers. He might have
been too late to save Nabiki then though.