Nabiki - New Horizons
Pt. 4 - Sodoshi's Revenge
by Uncle Fester
At sundown, the leaders of 12 shinobi clans gathered at the
entrance of the monk's cave. Most were clad in simple yukatas without
their clan markings. In spite of the importance of the occasion,
there was little discussion amongst the gathered, with one exception.
"So where is this 'promised one' of the prophecy?" Toshiro Tougo,
leader of the Clan of the Snow Fox bellowed. He and he alone came
dressed in traditional 'shadow warrior' attire. "This has all the
earmarks of another fiasco from that fool, Sato."
While traditionally equal in status to Tougo, the assembled
chiefs remained silent. Their powers had waned over the years while
those of the Snow Fox clan had grown. Few had the nerve to openly
confront the pompous Tougo.
"I see all have arrived," Master Sato observed as he entered the
clearing. Noting his old nemesis, Tougo, he added: "Even the high and
mighty have honored us with their presence."
"I wouldn't miss this for the world, Sato." The arrogant Tougo
snorted. "You're always good for an evening's entertainment. Bring
forth your 'promised one'."
Sato ignored the taunt and formally introduced Nabiki, Sodoshi,
and Akane. The girls stepped forward, eyeing the assembled with
suspicion.
"Girls?!" Tougo laughed. "You bring us mear girls? Ho, Sato.
You've outdone yourself this time." He held his stomach as he roared
with laughter. "What are *they* going to do? A tea ceremony?"
Ignoring his tormentor, Sato acknowledged the other shinobi
chiefs; honoring their presence as equals, bowing to each as called
their clan names.
"Who's your young pup, Sato?" Tougo taunted. "It would seem you
forgot his leash."
Ranma bristled at the suggestion. His body language clearly
indicated his willingness to deal with the Snow Fox clan chief
himself. Akane quickly restrained her fiance with a hand to his
shoulder. Still, Ranma glared at Tougo.
"Ranma Saotome is pledged in marriage to Akane Tendo, daughter of
the Cold Moon clan, and is therefore entitled to be here." Sato said
flatly.
"Very well, Sato," Tougo snorted with a wave of his hand in
Sato's direction. "Just get on with it."
Sato bowed slightly and turned to Nabiki.
"It is time, little one," he said while handing her a small
scroll he removed from his sash.
Nervously, she bowed politely and moved where he indicated her to
stand.
Nabiki looked first to Akane, who just smiled slightly and
nodded, then to Sodoshi who's eyes were fixed on the hated chief of
the Snow Fox clan. It was evident that she would like nothing better
than to pull her katana and deal with the evil Tougo immediately. It
was only out of respect for her clan sister, Nabiki, that she
restrained herself...but just barely.
All eyes turned to watch as Nabiki approached the blocked
entrance to the cave. She examined the rock surface of the blocking
wall and began to have doubts.
<This is solid rock. I see no 'entrance' here.> she protested in
her mind as she felt it's hard surface. <How am I supposed to open
this?>
[Simply read the scroll, little one.]
Nabiki glanced down at the small bit a parchment in her hand and
pursed her lips. She was putting a great deal of trust in Master
Sato's word. Embarrassment was a distinct possibility. Swallowing
hard, she stepped back and glared at the blocking wall of rock like it
was a personal affront.
Slowly, she opened the scroll and started to read out loud. The
poor light and ancient kanji characters slowed her speech so that
every word sounded dramatic and purposeful.
All eyes were watching the rock surface of the cave entrance,
expecting something dramatic to happen. When, Nabiki finished with
the scroll, silence prevailed for several seconds until it became
evident to all present that nothing happened. Evident to everyone,
that is, except Nabiki and her clan sisters.
"The way is now open." she said tiredly.
There was much exchanging of looks among the clans. Tougo,
however, was more animated.
"Fake!" he yelled, stepping between Nabiki and the cave entrance.
"You've brought all of us out here in the dead of night for a fake."
He was clearly reveling in Sato's apparent failure to fulfill the
prophecy. "I can't believe we have all been so taken in."
"But the way is open." Nabiki said looking between Tougo and the
cave entrance. "Can't you see it?"
Tougo quickly lost his joviality and began to vibrate with anger
as he drew his black katana. Stepping up to the rock wall, he shot
Sato an evil look. Sodoshi, instinctively, moved next to Nabiki, her
hand on the hilt of her own weapon. Her intent was clear; protect
clan sister Nabiki.
"Fake!" Tougo yelled again as he swung his blade to strike the
solid rock surface. The sound of metal striking rock echoed across
the valley below.
Nabiki shook her head. <What is going on? Can't they all see?
The entrance is clear.>
Holding her amulet in front of her, Nabiki slowly walked forward.
Sodoshi, following her clan sister's lead, pulled her own amulet out
from under her blouse and followed Nabiki. To the gathered clans, the
two girls seemed to walk through solid rock and disappear into the
side of the mountain.
This set off a mad scramble by all present. It must have been an
amazing sight to see the noble leaders of 12 shinobi clans as they
tried to simultaneously follow the girls into the cave; only to have a
solid rock surface halt their advance. To all but members of the Clan
of the Cold Moon, the entrance was still blocked. The effect on Tougo
was electric.
"We've been tricked!" he yelled brandishing his katana. He had
an audience and intended to make the most of it. "The Cold Moon Clan
will now have all the secrets of the cave to themselves. We have just
delivered to a vengeful clan the means to our own destruction. They
will use the powerful secrets of the cave to seek revenge on us all
for the 'blood hunts'."
He turned to Sato, gripping his katana in both hands, and glaring
at the old man. <No, Sato is too powerful.> he thought as his eyes
began darting amongst the gathered, finally stopping on a serious
looking Akane. <Yes, the girl.>
"We can only protect ourselves with a hostage." he hissed loudly,
looking at Akane. "With the youngest as our hostage, the rest of this
rebel clan will *have* to share the secrets." He pointed his katana at
Akane. "Or risk the girl's life."
Tougo's advance towards Akane was abruptly interrupted by Ranma
stepping in front of his fianc‚. Assuming a kamaeru posture,
signaling the figurative drawing of a line in the dirt, Ranma made it
clear that *no one* was going to hold Akane or anyone else hostage.
"Hold your blade, Tougo." Master Sato said in a commanding voice.
"There will be no blood this evening."
Tougo, once again, glared at the elder shinobi master before a
small smile creased his face. This was earlier than he planned, but
these things couldn't be helped. After all, he was a man of destiny.
With a sharp whistle, the surrounding woods seemed to come alive with
black clad warriors, all wearing the Snow Fox clan crest. As they
quickly took their positions, something horrible became evident; they
were all armed with various kinds of firearms.
"Tougo, you fool." Sato growled, returning the Snow Fox clan
leader's glare. "Modern weapons are forbidden by our codes, you know
that."
"Your codes." Tougo snorted as he approached Master Sato. "Your
precious codes have left you pathetic peasants weak and unworthy of
calling yourselves 'shinobi'." He sheathed his katana and accepted a
small caliber automatic handgun from one of his masked ninjas. "We
rule the shinobi now." He stopped almost toe-to-toe with Sato. "We
will assume the powers offered by the cave."
"And just how do you propose obtaining those secrets?" Sato
calmly asked.
"When your *children* return from the cave, we will take whatever
they have found." Tougo was acting even more smug than usual. His
plans were coming together exactly as he anticipated.
"Sodoshi is *very* good." Sato was playing out the string to see
just how mad Tougo was.
Tougo snapped his fingers and two ninjas assumed positions ten
feet from the cave entrance, their light automatic weapons leveled to
cover anyone exiting the cave.
"She had better be, Sato." Tougo's smirk was as close to a slap
as the clan chief dared.
Inside the cave, things were not much better. As the two girls
entered, the walls and ceiling began to glow bright amber, as if the
monk's ki was still present and lighting the way. Nabiki swallowed
hard as she approached a flattened rock in the center of the room.
Laying directly in the center of the rock's surface was another
scroll; the one they were there to get.
Both girls paused before the rock, silently staring at the
scroll. Nabiki gently picked it up, cradling it in her hands. It
felt surprisingly new and untouched by age.
"I want that scroll," Sodoshi growled, her eyes looking through
Nabiki's hands.
"What?" Nabiki asked in shocked surprise. Sodoshi had been
surprisingly cooperative up to this point, but the sight of a
potential weapon with which to strike her enemies was, apparently, too
much for her.
"I want that scroll," Sodoshi repeated as Nabiki quickly clutched
the scroll to her chest. "My family... my brother..." Her face began
to transform, once again, into the mask of hate Nabiki had seen back
in Hawaii. "I want my revenge!"
"Revenge?" Nabiki instinctively began backing away from her clan
sister. "Revenge is an unprofitable venture, Sodoshi."
"Nabiki," the older girl growled, her eyes burning with hatred.
"I *will* avenge my family."
Nabiki quickly ran out of room to retreat. With her back to the
cave wall, she clutched the scroll tighter and tried to reason with
her out of control clan sister.
"She who seeks revenge should start by digging two graves; one
for her intended victim and the other for herself."
"You quote Chinese nonsense, clan sister." Sodoshi halted her
advance. In spite of her contention to the contrary, Nabiki's words
appeared to have had their desired affect. Sodoshi seemed to be
struggling with her own convictions.
For several seconds, the two girls stared at each other; an
invisible battle of wills. Sodoshi wanted the means to avenge her
family and Nabiki was holding out for peace. Someone was going to
lose.
"Sodoshi, the only way for the prophecy to be fulfilled is for us
to use this scroll for peace." Nabiki held the scroll up in front of
her face, just out of Sodoshi's reach. "What about the shinobi code
of respect, loyalty, and honesty?"
"Honesty?!?" Sodoshi sounded incredulous. "I thought you were a
businesswoman. What do you know about honesty?"
"Sodoshi, I may have taken advantage of the weaknesses of others,
but I *never* cheated anyone in any of my business dealings." Nabiki
was glaring at her clan sister. There were many things you could
accuse Nabiki of and she wouldn't even raise an eyebrow, but her
honesty was something she prided herself on and any suggestion to the
contrary was guaranteed to draw a strong reaction. "My customers
*always* got what they paid for."
"I could just take it from you," Sodoshi noted as she clenched
and unclenched her fists.
"You will have to kill me first, clan sister," Nabiki tucked the
scroll into her blouse. "And I don't think even you are capable of
such a deed."
The impasse was reached. Nabiki was unwilling to hand over the
scroll and Sodoshi was unable to bring herself to physically attack
her only friend in the world.
----- * -----
Back at the Tendo home, the smell of Kasumi's cooking drifted up
to the room where Doctor Tofu was keeping his vigil over Jeff's
battered body. His mind drifted back to the night before when Kasumi
kept watch while he slept.
<Why can't I bring myself to tell her how I feel? Why do I
always lose myself to lunacy whenever I see her face?> he lamented
with a heavy sigh. <When this is all over, I must tend to my own
life.>
He stood, stretched and cast one last look at his patient. Jeff
Lawrence was breathing normally. Still in a coma, to be sure, but all
his vital signs were improving and the good doctor was hopeful for the
first time in the last 24 hours.
He was about to turn away, when Jeff's body began to glow amber
once again. Intrigued, Tofu stopped and stared as the glowing
increased to an almost incandescent level.
<This shouldn't be happening,> he thought as he approached the
bed. <Why would there be a massive outpouring of ki energy?>
Just as he reached Jeff's body, the glow abruptly flared and went
out. Frantically, he checked Jeff's vital signs. There were none.
For several seconds, Tofu stood dumbstruck.
"I... I don't believe this. He was doing well." Tofu said out
loud as he slumped to the floor. "He should have recovered."
He had lost patients before, but this one struck close to home.
Not since Mrs. Tendo, had a death so personally affected the doctor.
He may have been a newcomer but Jeff was like family to him.
Like an exhausted man, he leaned against the bed, closed his
eyes, and tried to think of just what he would tell the family... and
Nabiki.
-----*-----
The impasse in the cave was rapidly reaching its peak; the two
girls of the Cold Moon clan glaring at each other. Nabiki was no
martial artist and knew she could not match her clan sister, should
she decide to physically take the scroll. Sodoshi, shocked by
Nabiki's determined resistance, couldn't bring herself to harm her new
found friend.
A bright flash at the back of the cave startled both girls;
causing them to momentarily forget their clash of wills. As the amber
glow faded, a figure slowly took shape. Nabiki was the first to
recognize the ghostly figure.
"Jeff?" she asked in a shocked voice barely above a whisper.
Sodoshi slowly backed away, her hand on the hilt of her sword.
Her expression was that of a person who had just seen a ghost.
Jeff's apparition blinked and looked around slowly before fixing
his gaze on the startled Nabiki. For her part, Nabiki was torn
between running for her life and trying to sort out what Jeff's spirit
was doing in a cave so far from Nerima.
"Does this mean you're dead?" Sodoshi asked from the farthest
corner of the cave.
Jeff's spirit scratched himself and appeared to consider the
question for a few seconds before answering.
"I don't know," he began with a voice that sounded like it was
coming from the inside of a barrel. "I feel something binding me like
a long rubber band." The two girls exchanged confused glances.
"Either that, or it's the mother of all wedgies." He shifted his
position uncomfortably.
Nabiki and Sodoshi looked incredulously at the glowing spirit.
Neither felt brave enough to continue the conversation.
"Have you given the scroll to Sodoshi yet?" Jeff's spirit finally
asked.
Shaken out of her shock at the sight of her husband's spirit,
Nabiki hesitantly replied: "No, Jeff. She wants to use it for
revenge." She cast another wary glance at Sodoshi. "That's *not*
what it's for."
Sodoshi just bristled and started to advance on Nabiki again.
Jeff's voice caused her to freeze in her tracks.
"That's impossible, Nabs" Jeff's spirit laughed, using his pet
name for her. "There is nothing in the scroll that could be used for
such things." He chuckled again. "Give the scroll to your clan
sister. Trust me."
Nabiki looked incredulously at Jeff's spirit as it seemed to
float gently over the small ledge at the far end of the cave. The
ledge once served the monk as a bed.
"Give the scroll to Sodoshi?" Nabiki looked at her husband's
spirit out of the corner of her eyes.
"Yes," he replied pleasantly. Too pleasantly, if you asked
Nabiki.
"Very well, Jeff-chan," Nabiki gulped as she started to hold the
scroll out to Sodoshi. "But only because you say so."
Eagerly, Sodoshi snatched the scroll from her clan sister and
scurried across the cave to read her 'prize'.
"I hope you know what you're doing." Nabiki muttered as she
watched her clan sister's reaction.
"It'll be fine," Jeff's spirit replied as it looked like it was
trying to sit down and cross its legs. "The prophecy clearly spoke of
restoring peace to your clan. A rampaging Sodoshi would *not* restore
peace. Therefore, for her to use the scroll for evil purposes could
not possibly be part of the prophecy." He sounded confident. Nabiki
gulped hard and hoped he was right.
"Read it out loud, Sodoshi." Jeff's spirit cheerfully suggested.
"Do you need more light?" The spirit waived his arm and the cave
seemed to glow more brightly over the older clan member.
Sodoshi gently unrolled the scroll. It's condition hardly showed
its 400 year age. In fact, it handled and felt like something that
was produced only yesterday. Suspiciously, Sodoshi shot Jeff's spirit
an angry look.
"Sodoshi, you expected a magical scroll that would give you the
gift of invincibility," Jeff's spirit taunted. "What did you expect
of a magical scroll? Something that would crumble at your very touch?
That wouldn't be very magical now would it?"
The older clan warrior scowled at Jeff's spirit but continued to
unroll the scroll. Turning to read, she stared at the words,
absorbing each as if it were a gift from the gods themselves. They
were surprisingly easy to read, considering their age.
"Struggle breeds more struggle." Sodoshi stopped and glared at
Nabiki. It was as if Nabiki, herself, had written this section. With
a small gulp, Sodoshi returned to reading the scroll.
"The accomplished warrior is a man of profound peace; taking up
the brush with as much fervor as he once did the sword."
For several seconds, the room was deathly quiet. The bright glow
over Sodoshi seemed to fade slowly back to its normal level. Sodoshi,
frantically looked through the scroll again, her mouth silently
mouthing the words as she read them.
"No!" she whimpered. "This can't be the real scroll." She
started to rummage around the cave looking for another scroll.
"It's the real thing, all right." Jeff's spirit replied as he
looked between the clan sisters. "Don't you understand?" His gaze
was fixed on Sodoshi now. "The whole thing has been a fool's errand.
Everything in that scroll is already understood by every shinobi
everywhere."
"But the secret..." Sodoshi pleaded.
"Is already known." Nabiki finished. She was beginning to see
what the prophecy was all about. It wasn't about revenge or hatred.
When the monk first visited the shinobi clans, he arrived at the start
of the 'blood hunts'. Nabiki's clan was to be exterminated for its
role in the shogun's war. Knowing that no people could possibly
survive harboring hatred of their own, the monk devised a plan. He
believed the shinobi would regain their senses and make peace on their
own. But they needed an incentive; something to have peace for. So
he fashioned a prophecy, left the message on a scroll for future
generations, and slipped over the boundary between worlds to protect
that message until the prophecy was to be fulfilled. When the
conditions were right, the cave would be opened and the shinobi people
would be given the chance to bind their wounds and renew their purpose
in the world.
It had been all so cleaver. The feud, the prophecy, the
forgiveness. Nabiki marveled at the cleverness of such a plan. She
envied the monk's abilities. He would have made a wonderful business
partner.
"Do you understand now, Sodoshi?" Jeff's sprit asked softly.
"It's what fueled the monk's teachings. It's about forgiveness and
love. It's about the return of one clan to the shinobi family. It's
about peace."
Sodoshi froze, staring at Jeff's spirit, her mouth moving in
silent protest. It was all true and she knew it. Slowly, she
collapsed against the cave wall, her eyes beginning to water out of
frustration.
"Looks like I've gotta go now, Nabs," Jeff said as his spirit
began to fade. "Take care of yourself. I'm not sure...." his voice
seemed to fade faster than his vision but his message seemed to
indicate a permanent separation was occurring.
"Jeff!" Nabiki yelled, her panic rising as she stepped towards
where her husband's spirit once glowed. "Don't go."
In seconds, the spirit of Jeff Lawrence faded from view. Gone.
Nabiki hugged her body like she had a sudden chill.
"Thank you, Jeff-chan," Nabiki whispered as she stared at the
wall where Jeff's spirit had been. "I love you."
Certain she just witnessed the passing of her husband, Nabiki
fought her tears as she turned and slapped the cave wall in anger.
Staring at the hard rock surface, she gathered herself and began to
rebuild her protective emotional cocoon. Never again. She would
never let *anyone* get that close to her again.
-----*-----
Doctor Tofu examined Jeff's lifeless body one last time before
leaving to report his failure to the family. He was still in shock
over the suddenness of Jeff's demise. He didn't know Jeff very well,
having only met him once before their wedding, but knowing how much he
meant to Nabiki, that was good enough. If he could capture the heart
of someone like Nabiki Tendo, he must have been someone special.
With a ragged sigh, Tofu stood up and started for the door.
Sadly, he tried to prepare the words he would use when conveying the
bad news to the Tendos. At the door, he stopped and looked back at
the body.
"I suppose a miracle is out of the question." he said lightly as
he cast a pleading look at the ceiling.
To his surprise, Jeff's body spasmed, arched his back, and did a
strong inhale. With more hope than expectation, Doctor Tofu rushed to
Jeff's side and quickly checked his vital signs. For the most part,
they were normal.
"I don't understand." Tofu stared at the now living Jeff
Lawrence. "Incredible. This must be one of those medical miracles
I've heard so much about," he mumbled. "I must write down everything
that happened while it's still fresh in my mind." He ambled over to
the desk and quickly began writing on his little pad. "Amazing. Dead
one minute and breathing normally the next. I *must* remember the
'miracle' bit next time."
-----*-----
In the cave, the sounds of two females softly crying cast a
somber pall over the great discovery of the monk's secret scroll.
Sodoshi, last shadow warrior of the Clan of the Cold Moon, was
mourning the lost opportunity to avenge the deaths of her family.
Nabiki, certain the departure of Jeff's spirit marked his passing into
the afterlife, grieved for her departed husband.
"I hope you're happy, Sodoshi," Nabiki angrily sniffed, wiping
her eyes of their tears. "You've got the sorrow you've wanted."
Sodoshi shook her head. "What difference does it make. We're
all dead now." She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around
her legs, hugging them to her scarred body. "They'll finish us for
sure."
"We're not dead, Sodoshi." Nabiki bitterly observed. "The 'blood
hunt' is over." She paused looking at the place where Jeff's spirit
was only moments before.
"We have nothing to fight back with." Sodoshi looked at her clan
sister with narrowed eyes. She was a warrior. Her whole life was
fighting. She had faced long odds before but sitting in a strange
cave lit by the ki of a long dead monk and holding a scroll that was
supposed to have given her invincibility but only proved worthless,
she suddenly felt powerless, helpless, and doomed.
Nabiki went to sit next to her clan sister. Misery loves
company.
"What are we supposed to do with this?" Sodoshi finally asked
holding the monk's scroll like it was a worthless piece of paper.
Carefully, Nabiki took the scroll and turned it over several
times in her hands. She tried to rationalize in her own mind how this
little piece of rolled up paper could cause so much misery. She
couldn't make herself believe it was all worth the trouble. It was
the worst business deal she had ever been involved in. It's price was
too high and it's worth negligible.
"I guess we should take it to Master Sato," Nabiki tiredly said.
She really didn't care anymore.
With great effort, Nabiki staggered to her feet and stood looking
at the seemingly blocked entrance to the cave. She fingered her clan
amulet, her mind still on Jeff's spirit. He was trying to tell her
something when he disappeared. What was it?
"You go ahead," Sodoshi buried her face in her knees. "I have no
reason to leave. I've nowhere to go."
Something in the way Sodoshi said that sent a chill up Nabiki's
spine. She was losing friends and family at an unacceptable rate.
Nabiki turned to look at her clan sister. She looked smaller, more
vulnerable than any time Nabiki had ever seen her.
"You're not staying here," It was more of a statement than a
question. Inside, Nabiki abruptly stopped rebuilding her wall. There
was one more person she *wanted* to let in. She didn't know why, but
there was something in his older girl that touched Nabiki deeply.
Sodoshi's body seemed to shudder as she took a deep breath.
"Didn't you hear me?" Sodoshi moaned into her legs. "I have no
reason to leave." The older girl shuddered again. "If I go out
there, it'll start all over again. The killing. The running. I'm
sick of it all."
"You're going to give up?" Nabiki's voice was shock tinged with
anger. Nabiki had been bested before in business and life.
Sometimes, that defeat had been expensive, financially or emotionally,
but she had *never* considered giving up. It was simply not in her
nature. To see someone as strong and capable as Sodoshi blubbering
and willing to surrender angered her. "You're better than this,
Sodoshi."
"Nabiki, I've lost everything. Mother, father, brother, all
gone. I've no home to go to. I've got no one waiting for me out
there except those who want me dead." Sodoshi looked seriously at
Nabiki. It was clear that she was resolved to remain where she was.
Nabiki took a deep breath and let it out slowly before
proceeding.
"I won't let you give up, Sodoshi." Nabiki said looking away
from the older girl. "If you won't leave for yourself..." She paused
and turned to look at her clan sister. "Do it for me."
Sodoshi grimaced and looked at the Nabiki, unsure of what to say.
"Don't look at me like that. You heard what I said."
"I don't understand," Sodoshi began. "I've cursed you. I've
tormented you. I've hated you. Still you refuse to hate me in
return. Why?"
"Maybe it's because you and I are so much alike." Nabiki forced
a smile. "I don't have very many friends out there either. I guess,
outside of my family..." Her voice trailed off as she thought of
Jeff. "Look, if it's a place to stay, you can move in with me and my
family. We've got room."
"I don't take charity, Nabiki." Sodoshi looked hurt at the offer.
"Charity?" Nabiki snorted. "I'll work your butt day and night.
Can you cook?"
"A little."
"Clean?"
"I suppose."
"How about doing a little teaching in the dojo? It's just
sitting there doing nothing. About time we started getting some
income off of that building." Nabiki must have been a good saleswoman
because Sodoshi began to look interested.
"You mean, after all I've done, you'd do this for me?" Sodoshi
looked questionably at her clan sister.
"Like I said, I don't have that many friends out there." Nabiki
smiled again, this time it looked genuine. "Sometimes... sometimes, I
need someone to talk to who's not family."
Sodoshi pondered Nabiki's offer. A twinge of pain from her
misshapen stomach reminded her of something.
"I doubt I will be able to help you much in the dojo, clan
sister." She ran her hand over the area just below her rib cage. "I
don't have the endurance necessary."
Nabiki chuckled painfully. "Sodoshi, I have enough money to get
you the best doctors in the world. If anything can be done... well,
let's just say we'll get you fixed up."
"A home. No more pain. Being around people again." Sodoshi
thought through her answer out loud. "You make it sound pretty good,
clan sister."
"Just 'sister', Sodoshi. I'm afraid the clan is dead."
Sodoshi nodded sadly and started to get up. It really looked
like the Clan of the Cold Moon was finished.
"Let's take that 'treasure' out to the old man." Sodoshi pointed
to the monk's scroll in Nabiki's hand and forced a small chuckle. "At
least, *he'll* have something to celebrate this evening."
"You know, Louie. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful
friendship." Nabiki did her best Bogart while putting an arm around
the older girl's waist.
"Casablanca, right?"
"You like old movies too?"
"Love em."
"This could turn out better than I expected." The two girls
started for the cave entrance.
They might have walked right into the Snow Fox clan's trap had
not Nabiki suddenly jerked to a stop, her head up, her warning senses
practically screaming.
"Trouble." she said flatly.
"Tougo." Sodoshi spit out the name as her hand instinctively went
to the hilt of the sword on her back.
In a voice that practically boomed in their heads, they heard
Master Sato's voice: [Wait for help.]
Slowly, the two girls backed away from the cave entrance.
"Wait? Wait for who? Wait for what? How long?" Nabiki asked
out loud, all the time trying to establish some kind of two way
communication with Sato. It was clearly far beyond her abilities.
Her questions went unanswered.
-----*-----
Things had deteriorated outside. Tougo was growing impatient.
"Get the explosives." He yelled grabbing one of his ninjas by the
collar and shoving him back towards the woods. "If the children
refuse to return to us on their own, we'll 'encourage' them to leave
their little hiding hole."
Master Sato sadly shook his head and crossed his arms.
"The time has come." he mumbled closing his eyes and
concentrating.
The leaders of the other clans followed suit, crossing their arms
and closing their eyes.
For several minutes, nothing seemed to happen. Akane and Ranma
began to think the old man had simply given up; resigning himself and
the rest of the shinobi to whatever was to come. Neither had the
slightest hint of the horror that was to come.
Akane was the first to see it. And what she did see caused her
to think her sight was at fault. Small patches of waxy light clinging
to the trees slowly oozed into pools just outside the clearing. And
from those center cores of concentrated glow, tendrils of mist lazily
curled out, as a many-armed sea creature might allow its appendages to
float in the water which supported it. Tendrils crossed, met, and
thickened. There was a growing river of eerie light which spread,
again resembling a sea wave licking out into the clearing. And where
it touched, unlike the wave, it did not retreat, but lapped on. Was
it really happening? Akane could not be sure. It glowed in a sickly
gray-green color and grew, slowly at first, then faster as it
approached the clearing. If it was real, there was a purpose behind
it.
Slithering along the ground like a serpent, a single tentacle of
gray-green fog slowly approached the gathered shinobi. Soon other
tentacles emerged from the ground, from the trees, from nature itself.
Joining, pooling, then separating again, the fog began to take
fantastic shapes that would last for only a moment, then dissolve back
into formlessness. Throughout it all, it kept growing and advancing,
relentlessly towards the gathered. Akane instinctively recoiled from
the malevolent sight before her, her foot moving slowly to step away.
[Stand still, child.] Sato's voice boomed a warning in her head.
[Stand still, least you be judged.]
Akane didn't know what he meant by that but felt unprepared to
test its veracity. Trembling slightly, Akane Tendo waited the fog's
arrival.
The first of the black clad ninjas to feel the touch of the fog
reacted as if an unearthly beast had just grabbed him. As a single
tentacle of mist crawled over his foot and started to climb his leg,
he suddenly screamed in terror. Frantically, he emptied his pistol
into the fog, all the time retreating across the clearing in panic.
Akane froze in place watching as one after another of the Snow Fox
clan screamed and ran. Some she saw. Some she only heard, their
voices sounding inhuman as they screamed in mindless, unheeding
terror. Whatever was in the fog, the ninjas feared more than death
itself. All around the clearing, gunshots could be heard as Snow Fox
clan ninjas fought the unseen terror, battling for their lives.
Directly behind Akane, a ninja screamed and fired wildly into the
woods; his shots causing Akane to flinch and cringe. As the ninja
scrambled in terror for escape, his body collided with hers, knocking
her to the ground. On hands and knees, she tried to freeze, hoping
her unintentional indiscretion would go unnoticed. She was wrong.
From all directions, thick serpents of malevolent mist converged
on the frightened girl. The first tentacle slithered across her bare
leg. Its touch felt cold, slimy on her skin; like that of a dead
creature. The rest of the fog was quick to follow. Like the smoke of
a forest fire, the fog formed a misty blanket that covered her face.
She inhaled its sickly odor and fought back a wave of nausea. Like
the inside of a tomb, this was the deadly breath of un-life.
Instantly, her mind was flooded with images; memories of events in her
life. None of them pleasant. Her body shook and her head snapped
back as she relived every painful episode. Akane's face grimaced with
pain as her childhood flashed past; her mother's death, her reaction,
her hate, her anguish. Tears began to roll down her cheeks as the
weight of her past deeds pressed down on her. As if the dead were
trying to claim the living, Akane felt like her body was being pressed
into the earth, undead hands gripping her with icy fingers. In a
panic, her fingers clawed at the grass; trying, in desperation, to
prevent her soul from being stolen. Her breathing became labored,
broken with sobs for the things she had done in the past and
regretted.
Then came the images of Ranma. These hurt more than any other.
Every insult, every remembered act of violence against him became a
blow that stabbed at her, bringing gasps of pain and sobs of
repentance. Every scene of her anger towards her fiance brought
flashes of pain that seemed to explode in her chest and radiate up
through her head, causing her head to slam into the ground with every
flash. She heard someone whimper and begin to beg for forgiveness.
Akane felt pity for the poor girl, she must have been in agony. More
stabs of pain and she recognized the voice as hers; she was almost
screaming in pain, begging for Ranma to forgive her, begging for
control of her soul that was being ripped out of her chest.
Ranma, having instinctively moved to protect his fiance, found
himself undergoing the same painful trial. Quickly, the mist moved in
and he felt the cold fingers of death grasp his throat and drag him to
the ground. His body spasming only a meter from his Akane. Vivid
images of his mother, his deceit of her, his treatment of Akane, his
torment of Ryoga flashed past his eyes as if they were happening
simultaneously. He grabbed his head and screamed Akane's name into
the soft grass, his tears mixing with the early morning dew. He saw
the betrayal of the trusting Ukyou, the rejection of the infatuated
Shampoo, the deceit of the lustful Kodachi and felt their pain
magnified and directed inwardly, tearing at his heart. But most of
all, he saw the hurt expression of Akane. He heard every word and saw
every careless action. His shame and remorse tore at him; violently
ripping out what pride and stubberness he had left. He too, begged
for forgiveness, sobbing for the first time since his childhood, his
voice rising to blot out the screams around him.
As quickly as it began, it was over. Akane and Ranma lay within
arms reach of each other, their eyes locked, their bodies still
trembling from the aftershocks of their ordeal. Volumes wordlessly
passed between them, their lips moving silently, their eyes fighting
their tears. They had survived judgement but were changed forever by
the experience.
With the last of his strength, Ranma pushed himself up onto his
knees and reached of Akane. Gasping for breath, he tried to speak the
most pure thougth he held closest to his heart.
"Akane, I...I...love..."
He never finished. He saw Akane's eyes go wide and her mouth try
to form her words of warning. The blow caused him to see stars for a
second before his world turned black.
What Akane saw struck terror in her like nothing before. This
one attacked with viciousness beyond even that of the fog. With eyes
that burned with rage, fear, and hate, Toshiro Tougo reached out and
grabbed Akane by the collar. With almost inhuman strength, he yanked
the youngest member of the Cold Moon clan to her feet and drug her
towards the cave entrance. Akane caught a glimpse of Ranma, face down
and unconscious on the grass. She tried to wrest herself free, but
her strength was no match for the leader of the Snow Fox clan.
Spinning her around to face him, Tougo delivered a slap to Akane's
face that made her head ring. She cried out in pain and tasted her
own blood.
"Open the cave!" he commanded, spinning her back around and
wrapping a powerful arm across her chest, pinning her arms to his
body. His fingers dug painfully into her bicep. The cold lethality
of the muzzle of his pistol pressed angrily into the space behind her
ear.
"Open the cave now!" His scream was that of an out of control
human. Akane felt her strength ebbing, her control slipping, her life
approaching its terminus.
More fog began slithering across the grass towards the pair.
Tougo saw it coming and spun himself and the girl around to face its
advance.
"I'll kill her!" he screamed at the tentacles of fog as he backed
towards the cave entrance, dragging the helpless Akane with him.
"Stay away or I'll kill the girl!"
Remarkably, it seemed to work. The fog hesitated, its form
changing and weaving slowly as if it were straining against a leash.
"Hah! I've beaten your monster. I've beaten you all!" he crowed
insanely. "I'm the master here! I rule the shinobi! I..." His last
boast was suddenly cut short, his eyes growing wide, his voice reduced
to a pitiful gasp.
Sensing her chance at freedom, Akane summoned her remaining
strength and drove her elbow sharply into the older man's chest. His
grip broken, she dove free and rolled painfully across the grass
towards her only hope, her love, her eternal protector; Ranma Saotome.
She fully expected to hear a shot and feel the sting of a bullet. Her
only thought was to be as near Ranma as possible when it came. She
need not have worried.
Toshiro Tougo staggered away from the cave entrance, his mouth
foaming with blood and forming silent oaths of hate. Slowly, he
turned towards the cave entrance, revealing a black tanto protruding
from his back. Emerging from the cave, her black katana poised to
strike, its razor sharp edge gleaming in the cold moonlight, Sodoshi
Tanaka advanced in a manner that centuries of samurai would have
admired. Tougo caught sight of his assailant and froze in fear.
Before him stood the last shadow warrior of the Clan of the Cold Moon.
Why Sodoshi didn't immediately strike will never be known.
Perhaps she was savoring the moment. Perhaps she was hearing Nabiki's
voice in her head warning her about revenge. Whatever the cause,
Sodoshi stood poised like a samurai within easy striking distance of
her most hated foe.
It didn't last long. Like a crash of lightning, Sodoshi struck.
"For my brother!" she screamed while delivering her blow. A shot
rang out and Toshiro Tougo received payment in full for his years of
treachery.
Several seconds passed as Sodoshi finished her cut, ending in the
traditional pose of a victorious swordsman, her blade finishing near
her leg, her deformed body still square to her target. The spirits of
every samurai who ever aspired to the perfect cut must have smiled at
the sight of Sodoshi Tanaka that night.
Slowly, Tougo's body slid into two bloody pieces, neatly sliced
from the base of his neck to his opposite hip. Flesh, muscle, and
bone had been cleanly cut in a single blow. For centuries, samurai
practiced such a blow; few ever accomplished such perfection.
Sodoshi held her pose for several more seconds before her body,
trembled and sank to the soft grass, mortally wounded. Even in death,
the evil Tougo was able to inflict suffering. The shot came from his
pistol and pierced Sodoshi's chest near her heart.
Screaming her clan sister's name, Nabiki emerged from the cave
fast enough to catch the collapsing Sodoshi before her body finished
its final fall. The two awkwardly collapsed to the ground. Cradling
the older girl's head in her lap, Nabiki frantically searched for
something to save her clan sister's life but the rapidly spreading
stain on Sodoshi's blouse confirmed that nothing could help the girl.
She was paying the same price as countless warriors before her. She
was dying a warrior's death; struck down in combat, fighting to her
last breath for her clan, her people, her family.
Akane, seeing Sodoshi's fall, crawled painfully over to her side
and took the older girl's free hand in her own. It felt cold as death
even as Sodoshi clung to life.
"I told you." Sodoshi gurgled, bloody foam mixing with her
breath. "I told you I'd get...my revenge."
Nabiki could only nod weakly. Her whole world seemed to be
crashing down around her. First her husband, now her best friend -
perhaps her only true friend in the world, lay dying in her arms.
Sodoshi rummaged clumsily under her blouse with her free hand and
produced her amulet. With her remaining strength, she snapped the
cord that held it around her neck and handed it to Nabiki. Swallowing
hard, Nabiki accepted the amulet from Sodoshi's blood stained fingers.
"Give it...give it to your child, clan...clan sister," Sodoshi
croaked.
<Child? What child?> Nabiki thought in confusion. <What is she
talking about?>
"I will, oneechan Sodoshi." Nabiki finally promised making sure
to replace the formal 'clan sister' with the more appropriate term for
someone who had truly become her sister.
Akane clutched Sodoshi's hand to her chest, bowed her head and
wept openly. Only hours before, she had been prepared to fight the
older girl as an enemy. Now she mourned the girl's passing as if it
were Nabiki or Kasumi.
"Tell imouto Akane of... of our people... our clan." Sodoshi
coughed up more blood. Her time was rapidly approaching. "She... she
has the makings of a good warrior." Sodoshi's eyes looked at the
sobbing Akane. "She has the blood. She has the... the heart of a
warrior."
Nabiki agreed and wiped Sodoshi's mouth free of the bloody foam.
"Nabiki," Sodoshi whimpered loudly, her voice sounding of panic,
her eyes wide with fright. " Where are you? Don't let me die alone.
Hold me."
Nabiki clutched the dying girl to her and rocked slowly,
soothingly.
"I'm here, Sodoshi. I'll always be here." Nabiki's eyes screwed
tightly shut, tears falling on Sodoshi's dark hair.
Both girls felt Sodoshi shudder and heard her gasp for the last
time. Sodoshi Tanaka, last shadow warrior of the Cold Moon clan,
passed over, leaving behind her painfully misshapen body and her new
family. Nabiki continued to rock Sodoshi's body, talking in soothing
tones, like a mother comforting a frightened child. Her words were
more for her own comfort than Sodoshi's. Nabiki felt more alone than
any time in her life.
Neither girl saw Ranma stagger to his feet, rubbing the back of
his head or the stirrings of Master Sato and the other clan leaders.
They had remained in their trance throughout the ordeal, carefully
protected from the effects of the fog. No members of the Snow Fox
clan remained in the clearing. Some had crawled off and died of
fright in the woods. Others would be found days later, still
wandering mindlessly; forever to live enslaved in the bodies of the
insane.
The first rays of sunlight were beginning to lighten the eastern
sky. Sunrise would be in less than an hour. The night of the cold
moon was almost over. Access to the cave would be sealed once again;
never to be reopened.
As Ranma fell to his knees next to Akane, he stared at Sodoshi's
face with mixed respect and fear. As a trained martial artist, he had
been taught about death and how to prepare for it. But he had never
imagined someone could look into the face of death as many times as
Sodoshi did and still fight on. His shoulders sagged with humility.
Nabiki gently laid Sodoshi's head on the soft grass and folded
her arms across the dead girl's body.
"Ranma, pick her up and follow me," she said in a voice that
strongly suggested that any reluctance would not be tolerated.
Wearily, Ranma complied. With Akane's help, he struggled to pick
up a girl who weighed almost as much as himself. Nabiki placed
Sodoshi's amulet back in her hand, picked up the dead girl's katana
and started for the cave entrance.
As the pair passed through the entrance, Akane stopped short and
waited respectfully. Sodoshi was right when she said she would never
leave the cave. It was going to become her tomb and her shrine.
"Place her over there," Nabiki directed, pointing to the ledge
where Jeff's spirit had appeared.
With some difficulty, Ranma complied and stepped back, his eyes
scanning the cave's interior, looking for ghosts of long dead monks.
Nabiki removed Sodoshi's amulet and placed it in the pocket of
her skirt. Tearing a section of her sleeve free, she gently wiped the
remaining blood from the dead girl's mouth, then arranged the girl's
long hair to cover the bloody spot where Tougo's bullet had entered.
Satisfied she had done the best she could, she placed the black katana
along the girl's body, its hilt in her right hand, and gently folded
Sodoshi's left hand around the monk's scroll.
"Thank you, sister," Nabiki whispered as she bent over to kiss
Sodoshi's cheek. "I'll never forget you."
Stepping back a few feet to join Ranma, the pair bowed deeply to
Sodoshi's body and turned to leave.
<The monk's scroll has a better guardian now.> she thought with
some satisfaction.
Just before exiting, Nabiki stopped and looked back. The cave
seemed darker, much of the monk's ki having drained away. She
couldn't be sure but she thought she saw Sodoshi's spirit standing
proudly, arms crossed, looking every inch the shadow warrior she was.
[I still don't believe the scroll, Nabiki.] Sodoshi's voice
lightheartedly echoed in Nabiki's head. Nabiki smiled painfully and
shook her head. [I will *not* go away. I will always be there to
protect you, sister Nabiki.] With a satisfied nod, Nabiki left the
cave for the last time.
Outside, she and Ranma were met by Master Sato and the clan
chiefs. They were besieged with a barrage of questions.
"Where is the secret of the cave?"
"It was only an old scroll."
"Where is it?"
"With its new guardian."
"Didn't you read it? What did it say?"
"I have no idea. Sodoshi Tanaka was the only person to read it."
Nabiki looked Master Sato in the eyes as she answered. It was only a
partial truth, something the master could usually see through
immediately. But something had happened to Nabiki in the cave.
Perhaps she now had Sodoshi's power to shield her mind from Sato.
Maybe he already knew the truth. In any case, he just returned her
stare for a few moments before nodding and looking at the ground.
"Pity about the scroll." He said in measured tones. "But I
suspect we all know the truth about its contents." He looked around at
the gathered clan leaders. "This is no Grand Council of the Elders,
but I suspect we can all agree that Sodoshi Tanaka *must* be the last
shinobi to die at the hands of a brother. The survival of each of us
depends on our brothers. We must never again permit a 'blood hunt'."
General agreement murmured its way through the group. Satisfied,
Sato bowed to the clan leaders and started walking towards his
village; Nabiki, Akane and Ranma following.
Out of ear shot of the rest, Sato felt comfortable enough to
speak.
"The illusions of the elders can be quite real. The evil ones
suffered at their own hands" Sato mused out loud.
"Was that what we saw? Illusions?" Akane asked timidly.
"You can't play thug all over Japan and not store up in the
subconscious a fine line of private fears and remembered enemies. The
elders just provided the means for releasing those and they simply
raised their own devils to order." Sato explained as he leaned on his
staff. "Very effective, I believe."
Akane and Ranma shuddered as they remembered their own
experiences with the fog. Their 'minor' sins were enough to push each
to the edge of madness. The crimes of the Snow Fox clan must have
been severe indeed.
"You did well, little one." Sato said tiredly. "All of you did
well. Even the Chinese kid."
"I'm Japanese..." Ranma wearily retorted.
"You need a haircut too, kid."
Ranma's response was cut off by Akane's giggling. He looked at
her as she bumped into him, her face was swollen from Tougo's blow and
dirty from the 'trial', her clothes were a mess, but she never looked
lovelier to him. Ordinarily, he would have made some crack about her
clumsiness. But the urge was no longer there. Something else was
occupying that spot. Something he felt sure he would like better.
Tentatively, he put his arm around her shoulders. Still
giggling, Akane covered her mouth with a hand and rolled her head over
to rest her cheek on his shoulder. Her giggling dissolved into tears
of relief. It was over.
"Ranma, take me home." she asked softly between sobs.
In response, Ranma just tightened his arm in a gentle hug. It
had been a long night.
Halfway down the hill, Sato noticed Nabiki's silence.
"He lives, you know," Sato said nonchalantly.
"What?" Nabiki abruptly drew to a stop, staring at the old man.
"What did you say?" She started to run to catch up.
"I told you he would live. After all, I trained him." Sato's
face creased with a tiny smile.
Nabiki was speechless but exhibited all the emotions of someone
now in a hurry to get home. Jeff...alive. Two words that removed her
own blanket of darkness and made the morning something joyful.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Nabiki demanded.
"I did, little one. But you refused to listen." Sato answered
without missing a step.
Nabiki paused on the path, speechless, her mind a whirl of
emotions. For the life of her, she couldn't remember hearing Master
Sato tell her about Jeff's recovery.
"You must have breakfast in my village before your journey home."
Sato said, sounding more like a village grandfather than a powerful
shinobi master. "Besides, my granddaughter is an excellent cook."
Nabiki and the others jerked to a halt again.
"She survived?" Nabiki asked, surprise spreading happily over her
face.
"Of course. I told you she would." Sato answered, continuing to
negotiate the path to his village. "Honestly, little one. You must
pay more attention to what I am telling you."
The three teens looked at each other with surprise.
<I'm going to kill him.> Nabiki thought vacantly.
"I heard that!" Sato's voice came from somewhere up ahead. "We
still need to work on your mental discipline, little one."
Akane and Ranma snickered together like two children as they
followed the master down the trail. Nabiki paused for only a moment,
giving her 'look' in the general direction Sato had taken, before
following.
-----*-----
Two weeks later, Jeff was well enough to be sitting up in bed.
Nabiki was sitting on the edge of the bed, patiently feeding him
Kasumi's curry. She was enjoying the feeling of being in control.
Sometimes, she would hold the spoon up to his mouth only to pull it
slowly away, making Jeff lunge for his food.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Jeff remarked between bites.
"Yup. I like being in charge." Nabiki replied with a grin.
"I found *that* out our wedding night." he mumbled loud enough to
be heard.
Dr. Tofu and Ranma stopped their discussion and stared, wide eyed
at Jeff and Nabiki.
Nabiki set her jaw and gave Jeff her strongest look of warning.
Such things were between a husband and wife - only.
"One thing still concerns me, Jeff." Tofu noted like a professor.
"You say you don't remember anything after the attack." Jeff nodded.
"Even when you were...well, dead?"
"Look, doc, if you're hoping for a 'near death experience' or
something, forget it. I don't remember a thing after seeing those
beautiful brown eyes."
Nabiki remembered that night and how she and Sato's granddaughter
examined Jeff just after the attack. When speaking of beautiful eyes,
surely he meant her's.
"Of course that's all I could see because of the mask..."
Nabiki responded by shoving the next spoonful as far back in
Jeff's mouth as she could. He immediately began to choke on the
curry. Frantically, he grabbed for a glass of water that was next to
the bed. Nabiki beat him to it and held it away at arms length. All
Jeff could do is choke and make weak grabs for the glass. Dr. Tofu
jumped in and began pounding on Jeff's back, trying to dislodge
whatever was choking him.
"Nabiki!" Tofu chastised.
"Oh, all right." She handed the glass to Jeff.
"You know, Nabiki, you've been more touchy than usual since you
got back from the cave." Tofu switched to rubbing Jeff's back and
applying pressure points to help clear his throat.
Nabiki just shrugged her shoulders. "Things just seem to set me
off more now. I guess I'm still upset about Sodoshi."
Moments later, after Jeff recovered, Nabiki resumed her feeding;
more carefully this time. Dr. Tofu and Ranma stood together
discussing the latest news.
"I read that the police have ruled the deaths at the cave as a
fight between members of the Show Fox clan over control of their
business empire." Ranma said with a small smile.
"It's a pity so many had to die," Tofu lamented softly. "Shinobi
wars have never been known for their civility."
Jeff swallowed another spoonful of curry and added: "I hear the
government appointed an interim director for the company until its
assets can be liquidated. Some bargains to be had there." He
contemplated adding some former Snow Fox clan Japanese companies to
his already massive holdings. Nabiki's little smile indicated she,
too, was thinking acquisition.
"Nabs, I'm really getting full now," Jeff waived his arm in front
of his face. Nabiki continued to stir the curry, all the time staring
absently at the bowl. She was busy plotting her own acquisition
strategies.
Akane's knock at the open door drew their attention. She was
carrying a tray of what looked like tiny donuts without the holes.
Ranma reacted like a man who just saw a bomb.
"I felt so good today that I decided to bake something for Jeff-san," she chirped as she entered the room.
Ranma quickly looked at Jeff, his head a blur trying to warn Jeff
not to eat whatever Akane was offering.
Nabiki continued to stir the curry while looking concerned back
and forth between Jeff and Akane. She was caught on the horns of a
dilemma. On one hand, she didn't want to embarrass or offend her
sister in front of Jeff. On the other hand, she just got Jeff back
and didn't feel like hauling him to the hospital to get his stomach
pumped.
Jeff, sensing something was wrong but arriving at exactly the
wrong conclusion, figured he better try some of Akane's cooking least
he offend her. He gingerly plucked one of the baked goods off of the
tray and sniffed at it.
"Hmm, smells good." he commented. This caused Dr. Tofu to take
one as well. Nabiki still looked skeptical and Ranma backed slowly
into the corner of the room.
Jeff bit freely into the light brown treat and began to chew.
Tofu followed suit. Nabiki grimaced and Akane beamed.
"Chewy," Jeff finally concluded.
"Yes, very chewy," Tofu agreed.
"Akane, just what *are* these?" Nabiki finally gave in to her
curiosity and risked the wrath of her younger sister.
"Well," Akane blushed slightly. "They were supposed to be
cookies." Jeff and Tofu suddenly stopped chewing. Ranma covered his
mouth and looked on in horror. "Kasumi bought me some of that cookie
mix that you just cut off into little chunks and bake. Well, I didn't
want to make cookies. I wanted to make muffins."
"So..." Nabiki prompted.
"So, I just cut larger chunks and placed them in a muffin pan."
<That would explain why the middle isn't baked. I'm eating raw
cookie dough.> Jeff thought while trying to smile Akane's way.
"Ah, Akane-chan," Tofu began while looking into his 'muffin'.
"Just what are these brown things in the middle?"
"Oh, those." Akane blushed again. "I wanted to add raisins but
couldn't find any. So, I just added whatever I could find."
Jeff looked inside his own 'muffin' and saw something red with a
white lower case 'm' on it. With a mental sigh, he thought: <Well, it
could have been worse considering all the things she *could* have put
in here.>
"Do you *really* like them?" Akane asked anxiously.
Jeff and Tofu exchanged nervous glances.
"Absolutely,"
"Without a doubt,"
Akane squealed with joy. "Finally, I've baked something everyone
likes! I've got to tell Kasumi." Akane quickly disappeared, only the
sounds of her running feet heading downstairs to indicate her passing.
For several seconds, the only sounds in the room were two
intrepid 'muffin' tasters chewing...and chewing...and chewing...
Finally, figuring they had suffered enough, Nabiki took pity on
them. Reaching behind her, she grabbed her little trash can and held
it out. The sounds of two 'muffins' impacting the bottom of the trash
can signaled the end of Akane's baking experiment for the day.
"Ranma," Tofu began while trying to pry a section of Akane's bake
goods from between his teeth. "Remind me to give you some herbs I
have down at the clinic. They won't make her cooking taste any better
but they'll blunt some of its toxicity."
Ranma just blinked and sighed in relief. He avoided having to
sample Akane's cooking or offending her at the same time. This had
all the makings of a good day.
"So, what are you going to do with Sodoshi's amulet, Nabs?" Jeff
tried to change the subject.
Nabiki just shrugged and pulled the blood stained trinket from
the pocket of her slacks.
"Beats me," she mused. "She told me to give it to my child."
"Your what?" Jeff blinked.
"That's what *I* thought when she said it." Nabiki snorted as she
shook her head. "*I'm* never going to have a kid. I hate kids."
Jeff's mind wandered back to Hawaii and the honeymoon. Something
in what Nabiki just said was nagging at him. He closed his eyes and
relived the wedding night scene in his mind, with predictable results.
When he got to the part where they... His eyes sprung open, he sat
bolt upright and swallowed hard. His reaction was broad enough to be
noticed by everyone in the room.
"What's the matter, Jeff?" Nabiki looked at her husband with
concern.
"Yes, are you alright?" Tofu approached apprehensively. He
feared Jeff was suffering a relapse of the blow that almost killed
him.
"No, I'm fine." Jeff waived his hand slightly. "It's just
something Nabiki said."
Nabiki crossed her arms and looked at her husband out of the
corners of her eyes; the kind of look she usually gave him when
challenging him to continue.
"You remember our honeymoon?" he began.
"Yes..."
"You remember all the..." Jeff rolled his hand like he was
prompting Nabiki. "The... you know." He glanced nervously at Ranma
and Tofu.
"Yes..."
"Well...." Jeff swallowed hard before continuing. "We weren't
very careful." There, it was out.
"Is *that* all you're worried about?" Nabiki looked relieved.
"Well, sure. I mean, that *is* how babies get made." Jeff
pressed his point. Tofu seemed to lean closer as he figured out just
where this conversation was going. Ranma looked like someone who
preferred to be somewhere else.
"I have to think of everything, don't I." Nabiki flapped her
arms and rolled her eyes. "Oh, all right. I've been taking 'those
pills'."
"Pills?" Tofu asked pointedly.
"Yeah, you know, the ones so you don't get pregnant." Nabiki
looked embarrassed that she had to explain this to anyone.
"Where did you get these 'pills', Nabiki. They're illegal in
Japan, you know." Tofu was speaking seriously and clinically now.
Nabiki looked embarrassed, glancing between Jeff and Tofu.
"I got them from a doctor in Hawaii."
"Did he tell you all about them; the dangers, the dosage and
all?"
Nabiki just waived her hand at Tofu and looked disgusted.
"He was speaking in English and talked really fast." she said
with a blush. "I didn't want to look stupid so I just nodded to
everything he said. Really, you guys, it's not all that difficult.
All I have to do is take one each morning."
Jeff and Tofu exchanged worried glances. Outside of the side
effects problems that the Japanese government had determined were
unsafe for their female population, there was a specific procedure to
taking these pills that had to be followed precisely to be effective.
"Ah, Nabs. Just when *did* you start taking these pills?" Jeff
cocked his head.
Nabiki disgustedly picked up the curry bowl and started for the
door. "Don't worry, Jeffrey. I started taking them the morning we
got married. Honestly, if I had to depend on you, I'd already be
pregnant. Now, if you're through with the interrogation and the
curry, I'll take the bowl down to be washed." With that, she
disappeared down the hall.
Jeff and Tofu looked at each other and rolled their eyes in
unison.
"You know what this means." Tofu asked with a knowing smile.
"What? What? What does it mean?" Ranma anxiously asked. He had
overheard the whole thing and was getting the education of his life.
"Doc, do you know a good obstetrician?" Jeff rested his cheek on
his fist. "I've got the feeling we're going to need one."