Michael Won <skeezy5@geocities.com>
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Birthdays - Nabiki
     by skeezy5

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Ranma 1 / 2 etc. all belong to Rumiko Takahashi
"Ill Met By Starlight" belongs to Susan Doenime and Mike Loader
     -Quoted with permission.

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     "Yes, one Turkish coffee and one Viennese coffee please."  The
waitress quickly scribbled down the order and walked over to the
counter.  It wasnt quite on her level, Nabiki thought, but it would
do.  After all, she just needed to kill a few minutes here.  Still, a
colleague had recommended the place, and there must be a good reason
why he liked the place so much, no?
     Maybe not, Nabiki thought sourly, watching the young waitress
make her rounds.  A child, no, barely a young woman, she looked like
she couldnt be a day over sixteen.  Quite pretty and definitely
charming, but most of all, she was vibrant, full of life in the way
that most of the post-Event children were.  It was as if their lives
burned even more brightly to fill in the gaps left by all those who
had departed  Much in the way that Ranma had back brought so much life
to the Tendo household
     Nabiki brought out her laptop and began checking her mail.  Her
professional box was flooded as usual, but her personal box had a few
messages, much to her surprise.  The pointer hovered over the personal
box for a second but quickly slid over to the professional box.  After
all, it was business before pleasure, no?
     She was too busy checking her mail when the waitress came over,
that she merely mumbled out a thanks without looking up as the girl put
down her drinks came.  A final approval form for building the new plant
in Brazil.  A request for more resources allocated to the R&D lab in
Nuremberg.  The final list of candidates to head the European division.
Feh, as if they ever did anything except follow her orders.
     It wasnt until she looked up a few moments later to grab her
drinks that she finally noticed it.  What she saw caught her so much
by surprise, the rest of the cafi turned to glance at her when she
started laughing aloud.  Oh, it was rich, most definitely rich, she
supposed.  Quickly, she suppressed her laughter, sweeping the room with
her cool gaze, informing the other patrons that whatever she was
laughing at was a private matter and none of their business.
     The subject of her laughter sat silently on the table,
patiently waiting for her.  Slowly, she reached out and grabbed the cup
of Turkish coffee, which had been set across from her, and brought it
next to the cup of Viennese, which had been set in front of her.  It
reminded her of something shed read once, Ill met by Starlight.
After so many years, she still knew it by heart, modified to fit
herself, of course

          The waitress knew the look on her face. She'd seen
     it several times before. She was waiting for someone,
     someone male, and she was desperately hoping he'd show.
     But knowing he probably wouldn't.
          Yeah, she'd read this story before, and knew how
     the ending went. A pity.  Stories really should have happy
     endings.
          But, she mused, you have to follow the script they
     give you. And my part of the script is to walk over and ask
     her if she'd like to order. This will bring her pain at being
     reminded that no-one is with her, and if the guy shows up, it
     would be rude to have ordered. So she will decline, and I'll
     walk off, and the whole routine will have made both of us
     that much more older and grayer.

     No wonder the girl had looked so surprised when shed ordered,
Nabiki mused.  Did she really have that look on her face?  My, her
control must be slipping.  The mighty Ice Queen of the business
world, pitied by a little waitress girl  She laughed again, this
time silently.  After all, it was these little surprises that life
slipped you which kept it all amusing and worth the effort.
     Switching cups, Nabiki sipped on her Viennese coffee,
absentmindedly closing away her professional mail and opening her
personal mailbox.  The first item popped up.  Furinkan High School
proudly announces the reunion for the class of...
     Now those had been the days.  Nabiki leaned back, taking another
sip.  Struggling to make ends meet while saving enough to get herself
and her sisters through college  She had done that much and better.  Of

all her accomplishments in the business world, none still filled her
with as much pride as this one.   Granted, Kasumis decision not to go
to college had lightened up the burden, and when Ranma had arrived, he
had been almost a gold mine...
     Ranma and Akane.  A few quick taps brought up the pictures.  The
two of them sitting on a park bench, chatting with each other while
eating ice cream.  The two of them at a fair, this time both as girls,
Akane "holding" the prizes Ranma had won... "Not on a date", of course.
The picture of Ranma kissing Akane while under the influence of the
neko-ken.  Another one, of them at the Kolhoz ice-skating rink, as Ranma

proclaimed to the whole arena that Akane was his fiancee.  That
very first picture where Akane is bringing down a boken across Ranmas
head  The words escaped her mouth in a quite whisper, "For posteritys
sake..."
     She idly wondered for a few seconds how things would have turned
out - had she been the one engaged to Ranma - but quickly dropped the
thought.  No, it most definitely would not have worked out.  Besides,
Ranma and Akane had made a very cute couple.  And a happy one, if only
for a short time...  She recalled those few sweet days of love between
the two, before Ranma had finally gone off for the fight he wouldnt
come back from
     Nabiki put down her half-empty cup of Viennese coffee and switched
over to the cup of Turkish coffee.  Its bitter taste was accentuated
even more by sweetness of the Viennese coffee, the memory of which still

danced across her tongue.  Nabiki silently cursed under her breath.
That fool, Ranma, had gone off to that fight, knowing that he couldnt
win, that he would die no matter what happened.  And in turn, he had
ended up saving many of their lives.  Sure, The Event still happened,
but many had survived thanks to him.
     There had been some who had wished they hadnt, though.  Those who
had lost their loved ones. Those who had suffered just a bit too much.
Some had killed themselves quickly.  Others had withered away like
neglected flowers.  Like her sister, Akane had.
     Nabiki shook her head.  Still, they had been in love  Love...  It
was still a strange word to her, much as it had been since her mothers
death.  She had built her little fortress around her heart back then and

had rarely left it.   For a while, those around her had hoped much for
something between her and Kuno-chan, no, Tatewaki-san, but that had
never blossomed to love.  In the end, he had wanted her to be his wife,
the mother of his children, and to stand in his shadow.  Nabiki smirked.

Standing in the shadows of others was definitely not Nabiki Tendos
style.
     She deleted the reunion notice and clicked on the next item,  from
Kasumi...
     "Dear Nabiki-chan.  Happy birthday..."  Oh right, it was her
birthday.  She berated herself, having always prided herself for not
forgetting important details.  Thirty-six years old...  Was she really
that old?  God, how quickly time passed.  She glanced over at the front
window of the shop, admiring her ghostlike reflection.  Not bad for a
thirty-six year old, she thought, not bad at all.  She could probably
still catch a man, having maintained her figure carefully over the
years.  She smiled back at her reflection, laughing off the idea.
     Still, it made her glad that somebody had remembered her birthday.
Good old Kasumi, always looking out for her little sisters, on top of
her father, husband, and children...
     Nabiki felt a twinge of jealousy, but quickly suppressed it,
laughing at herself even harder.  Here she was, the most successful
woman in the recorded history of man, the third richest person in Japan,

and she was jealous of a simple house wife.  Jealous, because her own
life did not know love, while here sisters was filled with it.  Jealous

of her sister, for being happy...
     No!  That wasnt true.  She knew what love was.  She had loved her
sisters.  Shed loved her father.  And they had loved her.  She wasnt
alone!  Really, she wasnt!  There was no reason for her to be jealous.
It wasnt too late for her.  She could still...
     Her pager began vibrating, shattering the emptiness within her.
She quickly shut her notebook, and put it back in her briefcase.
     Time to leave her idle dreams.
     Time to get back to business.

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[Author's Commentary]

    This is my first real post, though not the first Ranma fanfic that
I've attmpted to write.  This was mostly for practice, since I havent
written anything substantial for two years.  Might as well get some
practice before I plunge into it, no?  C&C welcome, if you want to
bother