Eric: Ohhhhh its been sooooooooooooooo long since we've done any
reviewing
Sarah: ages.
Eric: works kept my busy?
Sarah: no lies now.
Eric: Umm writing my next masterpiece
Sarah: *taps foot*
Eric: laziness?
Sarah: bravo... how does it feel to come clean?
-----Original Message-----
From: Gary Kleppe <KLEPPE@execpc.com>
To: ffml@fanfic.com <ffml@fanfic.com>
Date: Monday, February 09, 1998 12:08 PM
Subject: [FFML] [Ranma][Fanfic] Hearts and Minds Preulde 9 - Kasumi and
Nabiki: Someday
HEARTS AND MINDS PRELUDE NINE
Eric: well its only been about three months since the last one.
Sarah: you should not gripe about deadlines.
TENDO KASUMI AND NABIKI: SOMEDAY
Sarah: someday... over the rainbow...
Eric: Thats somewhere.
Sarah: theres a star...
Eric: Stop that.
Sarah: Someday... out there... somebody waiting for me.
Eric: STOP THAT...
We flashed back and looked at what some of the characters had
been doing in the intervening years. Nabiki had left Japan to go to
business school in the US. Ryoga married Akari, with help from an aged
shinto priestess/sorceress by the name of Kaede. Ranma married Akane,
and soon after, Cologne passed away of natural causes. Kaede revealed
her intent to teach her art to one of the Nerima bunch, and surprised
everyone by choosing Kasumi.
Sarah: oh my.
______
The UCF building towered high above downtown Philadelphia.
Eric: heeeeeeeeeeeey. wait a second here.... Philadelphia? I dont
recall anything that actually towers in philadelphia.
Sarah: shut up... at long last philly gets mentioned in a fic.
Dim: think of the tourism.
Tourists stood outside in the early morning summer heat, queued up like
snacks in a vending machine, waiting patiently for their chance to ride
to the top of the tallest structure in the world -- surpassing even
Eric: wow. Why would someone build something that big in Philly?
Sarah: it must tower over everything.
Eric: the concept boggles my mind.
Sarah: at last someone builds something in our lovely hometown.
Chicago's Sears Tower. Built only four years ago, the building was the
brainchild of Joseph R. Kane, the well-known country music aficionado
Eric: *ponder* country music and Philly?
and CEO of the UCF corporation. Kane had persuaded the city council to
help finance his company's headquarters, on the grounds that it would
add prestige to the city's reputation.
Sarah: the city has a reputation?
Eric: perhaps its an attempt to make a good reputation. *sniffs* it
brings a tear to my eye to see Philly so graced.
Sarah: maybe they'll mention King of Prussia.
Eric: or Manayunk! or Conshohocken! or Bryn Mawr! or Valley Forge!
Tendo Nabiki walked past the line of people, paying little
attention to the noisy hubbub of their conversation, pulling open one
of
the doors reserved for employees only. She moved steadily across the
brightly-colored tile floor, towards the special elevator at the far
side of the building that allowed access to the upper floors.
Eric: and over here we have some evil thieves intent on taking over the
building and its up to Nabiki to save the day.
Sarah: Pay Hard
The usual guard sat at the security desk in front of the
elevator. "Mornin', Ms. Tendo," he said. Nabiki scrawled her signature
into the daily log. UCF's money-making activities included, in addition
to anything else one might care to name, the design and manufacture of
military weapons systems. Consequently, the company had to keep track
at
all times of who entered and left.
Eric: wow someone big finally took notice of Philly.
"Morning," Nabiki replied as she touched the pad to call the
elevator.
Sarah: humph the privileges of wealth.
"Hope you have a good day upstairs, ma'am." The guards that
worked down here actually had no idea what went on up in the executive
offices, nor did they ever really seem to care. Nabiki sometimes joked
to herself that she could be plotting the domination of the world
upstairs, and all they would want to know would be whether they'd still
get paid.
Eric: ohhh great and arrogance. have I ever mentioned how much i
despise the business elite.
Sarah: at least on 3million occasions.
The elevator doors swooshed open, and Nabiki entered, touching
the button for her floor. The doors slid closed, and the car rapidly
rose toward the top. Much like she herself had done. She knew that a
lot
of people on the in-between floors resented the fact that she -- an
Asian woman
Eric: with strangely large eyes
in her twenties who had only a few years experience with the
company -- was in a job superior to theirs.
Sarah: ahh of course no resentment should be expected.
Eric: nope she earned her way.
Sarah: at least theres no nepotism involved.
There was no question that she had earned her position; the
company had the profits to prove it. Still, many of them constantly
kept
their eyes on her, just waiting for her to slip up. That wasn't going
to
happen. She couldn't let it. There was a dream at stake, her vision of
a
time when things would be better.
Eric: great her VISION... I dislike her already.
Sarah: oh you hate everyone whose higher than you.
She exited the elevator and walked down the paneled corridor
toward her office, all the while going over in her mind the various
projects that would be needing her attention, thinking of every
different contingency that might arise. It was rare that anything could
happen around UCF without Nabiki having planned for it.
"Why, hello, Nabiki!"
Nabiki's briefcase clattered to the ground as she gaped in
disbelief at who was in her office. She rushed forward to hug her
sister. "Kasumi? How-- how did you get here?"
Eric: Oooo Celebrities come to Philadelphia!
Sarah: quick grab the camera.
Eric: maybe they'll go shopping at King of Prussia!
"I came to visit my sister, silly!" She smiled warmly as she
Eric: In Philly!
embraced Nabiki.
"This is great! We haven't seen each other since... how long?
Cologne's funeral, wasn't it? Tell me what you've been doing!"
Sarah: i've been planning on making Philly a city that has something
aside from a really large mall near a really large park.
Eric: now it also has a really large tower!
"I've been studying under Kaede-sensei. I'm sorry I haven't had
much time to write."
Sarah: but i've been sending you telepathic messages, havent you gotten
any of them?
"Oh yeah." Nabiki stepped back and looked at her older sister.
Her hair was a bit longer than before, but in the same style, passing
neatly through a bow and spreading out over her back like a cloak. She
wore a light summer dress with a flower pattern. She still had the same
radiant smile. But something seemed different. Maybe it was her eyes.
They had a depth to them, as if the Kasumi that Nabiki was seeing was
only the tip of a very deep iceberg.
Sarah: of course this would mean that she was no longer the Ultimate
Male Fantasy.
Eric: You're still stuck on that after 3 months.
Sarah: its always been a thorn in my side
"Everything in the world around us is inhabited by spirits; this
chair, your desk, this building -- all of them are, in a sense, alive.
We can communicate with spirits, and channel their energies if they're
willing. The spirits have power. We don't."
Sarah: great! Looks like I have to get to work soon. All sorts of evil
spirits around... Must Destroy.... grrr. Thanks alot for bringing evil
spirits to Philly.
Eric: sounds suspiciously like the force
Nabiki stared blankly, not knowing whether to believe or not.
Eric: thank you scully.
Sarah: Ripley's BELIEVE IT or not. Starring your host the blank
staring; Nabiki Tendo.
"Maybe someday you'll understand. It was certainly strange to me
at first! Anyway, look at you. Vice President already! How wonderful!"
Eric: ahhh you're a layman, let me see if i can explain this to you in
technical terms.
"Thanks! They had to promote me when I threatened to switch to
another company."
Sarah: its just as good as blackmail
"Goodness, you must really be valuable to them! What is it that
you do here, if it's okay for me to ask?"
"Basically, I'm the company's 'designated problem solver.' When
Eric: you have an assistant named Guido who dresses in a black Armani
suit and looks intimidating.
Sarah: he solves some of our more uhhhh "sticky" problems.
any of our division heads has a situation he can't handle by himself,
it
gets dumped in my lap. Fortunately, I've been able to assemble some
pretty good staff." She leaned back in her chair. "How long can you
stay
in town? There's a lot of sights to see."
Sarah: Really?!? lets see theres valley forge, THE MALL, Independence
Hall, THE MALL.
Eric: I know i know! Nabiki is actually a gambling addict and is
planning on taking Kasumi down to Atlantic City and seeing if she work
some of her mojo magic on the casinos.
"Not long, I'm afraid. Back home, Ranma and his old friends are
meeting to go to China. I need to join them, but I decided to visit you
first!"
"Oh yeah, Akane called yesterday and told me a little about it."
A new military dictatorship controlled parts of China. The Amazons
expected to be attacked. "I've got some time off saved up. I'll see
what
Eric: ahh a hint into whats going on. *ponder* the amazones are going
to be attacked? by tanks and stuff.... and they expect a group of wacky
martial artists to save em.
Sarah: works for me.
Eric: yep.
I can do about joining you over there. Nothing I like better than
vacationing in a war zone!" Nabiki grinned. "Besides, Ranma and friends
are going to need a cooler head to keep them out of trouble." Though
she
was loath to admit it, the thought of losing any of the old gang made
her sad. They were a link to a time when things were, if not better, at
least a lot simpler.
Eric: simpler? SIMPLER?
Sarah: my god, whats her life like now.
Eric: hey wait a sec... Nabiki in Philly.... Woo hooo... here's my big
chance! Sure she's not Ukyou or Kiyone or Nanami but hey! she works!
"I'm sure they'll benefit a lot from your strategies!"
Sarah: you see what Nabiki will plan is to buy out the dictatorship....
by buying the people.
Nabiki glanced at the appointment screen on her computer. "Um,
Kasumi... I hate to do this, but if I'm going to be able to go to
China,
there's a lot of things I need to finish first."
"That's all right. I haven't been to the United States before.
I'd like to take a look around!"
Eric: I wonder where they built this mythical tower.
"Be careful, Kasumi. You don't speak English, and some of the
neighborhoods around here are pretty rough."
Sarah: thats right dont head into south philly...
Eric: *shiver* got lost there once.... *brrr*
"Oh, don't worry. Why don't we meet for lunch at noon. I saw a
nice little park a few blocks down the street from here. I'll bring
0some
food and we can have a picnic!"
Eric: theres a park in downtown philly?
Sarah: theres wissahickon park but thats no where near... *ponder*
fairmont? nah... humm independence plaza is but thats not exactly
downtown.
"Kasumi, you don't have to cook here. You're a guest. I know
some really great restaurants...."
Eric: boy philly sure can change in the future.
"Oh, come on, it'll be fun! Remember when you were a little
girl? You always wanted to do something like this!"
Sarah and Eric: *scream* transition! *and slowly fade away.*
______
*strange interlude snipped*
Eric and Sarah: *blink* what was that about?
Sarah: too show that maybe nabiki felt a little neglected?
______
"I remember that." Nabiki felt embarrassed by the memory of the
whiny little kid that had been her. "Okay, if you--" Nabiki turned
around. The chair was empty. Her sister had disappeared, as if she had
never been there.
Sarah: ahh great astral projection...
Part of her hoped that Kasumi would stay gone. The eldest Tendo
sister had always been a bit inscrutable. She usually seemed blissfully
oblivious, but every now and then something would slip through, some
Eric: sounding vaguely like this goddess.
clue that maybe she paid more attention to what went on around her than
anyone thought. Still, as long as she stayed in her kitchen, it hadn't
mattered. Now it was a different story. She was a completely
unpredictable element, and Nabiki didn't like that. It put the dream at
risk.
Sarah: joy nabiki is all selfish now.
She turned back to her computer screen. There were a lot of
things to take care of before meeting Kasumi for lunch.
______
Nabiki arrived at the park, about five minutes early. Not much
of a park, really; just a fountain and statue with some picnic tables
and a few trees, extending over the space of two city blocks,
surrounded
by tall skyscrapers on all sides. But it would do.
Eric and Sarah: *boggle*
Sarah: what? humm... you do realize that the philly skyscraper area is
pretty small. Roughly only 5 or 6 buildings that are of any prominence
and no plans for anything bigger.
*snip*
______
The tiny, unnamed temple stood atop a small hill at the end of a
dirt road. A dense woods stretched out behind it, while farmland
surrounded it on the other sides. The simple stone building lacked any
of the ornateness of the temples Kasumi had seen back in Tokyo; it
could
have been mistaken for a farmhouse.
Kasumi walked up the gently sloped path, toward her new home. It
was a pleasant place, but no one lived there other than her and
Kaede-sensei, and she often missed having more people around. So, as
she
would sometimes do, she had just taken a walk through the countryside
and talked with some of the local farmers.
Sarah: mmmm help you i can... yes.
Kaede had been teaching her the way of the Kami for the last
month and a half. Now it was time once again for her daily lesson. She
found her teacher in the living room. "Good afternoon, sensei! It's a
beautiful day outside!"
"Hello, Kasumi," Kaede said as Kasumi sat on the floor next to
her. "Did you enjoy your walk?"
"Oh my, yes! The farmers are such nice people. I told them about
my family and the people in my old neighborhood. I don't think they
believed me."
Eric: well perhaps they're even now forming the old witch burning
committee.
Kaede chuckled. "Well, you did know some pretty unbelievable
people."
Sarah: c'mon this is japan.... everyone is unbelievable... theres that
alien girl, that demon dog fellow. that guy who lives with a goddess,
that alien girl and the alien princess....
"Yes, I really can't blame them. Though they did take a
particular interest when I described Hibiki Ryoga. Strange."
Sarah: did they have a pig on their town council? Large boar perhaps?
"Strange indeed. Anyway...." Kaede brushed her long gray hair
back over her shoulder. "Today I'm going to start you on the next phase
of your training. You're going to project your consciousness into the
spirit world."
Eric: great, she has to let go her concious self.
"Goodness, do you think I'm ready for that?"
Kaede smiled. "We won't know until you try."
Sarah: do or do not, there is no try. boy this woman can take a few
lessons from Yoda.
Eric and Sarah: HMPH.
______
*Snip as Kasumi heads into the light*
______
"Mommy, are you really here?"
"Of course I am, Kasumi-chan. I've been with you all the time,
helping you as much as I could. I'm so glad I can finally talk with you
again. I'm so proud of you. So proud of the way you kept our family
together after I had to go."
"I know, Mommy. But I'm tired."
"I know you are, dear. And I'm sorry. But you can't rest yet."
"Why?"
"Because Akane and her friends will be depending on you soon.
They'll have a very hard, very dangerous job to do. They won't be able
to do it without you."
"NO! I don't wanna!"
"Kasumi...."
"I wanna stay here with you, Mommy!"
"No. This place is not for you. Not now. Please try to
understand. You know how good Akane and her friends are at fighting?"
"Yes."
"They're better than almost anyone in the whole world. Why do
you think that is?"
"I don't know."
"It's what you might call destiny. Like a blessing by the Kami.
Because very soon, the Kami are going to need people like them."
"Oh."
"But they can't do it alone. Just fighting won't be enough. It's
like sewing clothes, Kasumi. No matter how good your fabric is, you
need
thread to keep it together. Right?"
"Yes."
"Someone needs to be the thread that binds Akane and her friends
together. It has to be a grown-up woman. It has to be you, Kasumi."
"Mommy...."
"You could stay here with me and be a little girl. But then
nobody will be able to help Akane. The things that only you can do
simply won't get done. Do you understand?"
Tendo Kasumi closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they
looked down on an adult woman. "Yes, Mother. I won't disappoint you."
Eric: ahh the inklings of destiny. As if the coming fight was truly
necessary and foretold.
Sarah: *ponder* there is something vaguely disturbing about this line,
its almost as if Kasumi isnt all into doing this, its not a choice she
seems wanting to accept and in a strangely odd way its seems like shes
still helping out as a robot, robbed in a way of choice.
______
Nabiki scooped more food onto her plate. "This is great food,
Kasumi! The best I've had in a long time!"
"I'm so glad you like it!" Kasumi beamed. "It's such a gorgeous
day, too!"
"Yeah, the weather's really nice today! Not too hot, not too
cold."
*Aaarrrgh!* Nabiki screamed silently to herself. After years of
having to play Tendo Nabiki, Terror of the Business World, she finally
had some time to spend alone with Kasumi. Kasumi, who she didn't have
to
put on any act around. Kasumi, who was probably closer to her than
anyone else on the planet -- though admittedly that wasn't saying much.
So why the hell couldn't she think of anything to talk about besides
dumb little things like the weather?
Eric: cuz the weathers never nice in Philly?
It was strange, the way she had felt when she left Nerima for
the United States. Nabiki loved her family. She couldn't wait to get
away from them.
Sarah: a problem with dichotemy there. eh Nabiki?
Everyone in her home had become so predictable. You just knew
when you got up in the morning that you'd see Ranma and Genma fighting
over food. You knew that later, Ranma would insult Akane, and she'd
whonk him over the head for it. Kasumi was no different; you knew that
every time you came home, she'd smile at you and greet you as if you'd
been gone for three years instead of twenty minutes. Nabiki was almost
sure that if she had stayed there, the same thing would've happened to
her: Doing and saying the same things over and over, every day, not
even
seeming to remember that she'd done them before. A person might as well
be dead.
Eric: boy she is arrogant.
______
"So we see," droned the Econ 120 professor, "that the net profit
margin computed for company C in our example calculates to a loss of
sixty-nine million dollars. Clearly, this is not one that we would do
well to acquire for our company."
From the fourth row of the lecture hall, Nabiki raised a hand.
"Excuse me, but I don't understand why that is."
"Well, you see, Miss, our goal as company officers is to
maximize the difference between gross income and..."
"Yes, yes. But if we were to purchase this company, we'd be able
to claim a net operating loss deduction on its past losses, thereby
reducing our own tax bills for years to come! It sounds like it would
be
a gold mine!"
The professor cleared his throat. "Um, yes, that's a very
relevant point. Thank you." The other students spoke to each other in
confused murmurs. Some of them asked whether this would be on the test.
Eric: oh great like all college students. Humph stereo type.
*snip*
On to Part Two!