Any mystery fans out there?

;)
----------------
Did She Jump Or Was She Pushed?
by Mike Loader
Characters, backstory, and all rights pertaining to them or the use of
them belong to Takahashi Rumiko. Used without permission or notification.
No claim of ownership or proper use is made or should be inferred from
their appearance in this work. Please notify the author before storing or
reproducing this story in any other form than for personal use. Fnord.
----------------

	"You want to WHAT?"

	"Hire you," Ukyou repeated calmly, not batting an eye. "To 
find out what really happened."

	I shook my head. "First of all, I'm not a cop or a private 
investigator or anything. Second, I really don't want anything 
to do with all this. It depresses me, and there are enough 
things in life that depress me without adding this into it. 
Third, from what I've heard, there isn't anything to 
investigate."

	"Look, Daisuke, you've heard the rumors too. Don't pretend 
you haven't."

	I nodded glumly. "Ranma killed her. Shampoo killed her. 
Nabiki, Kuno, you... the only person who hasn't been named over 
lunch as a suspect is Kasumi." I had just come, in fact, from a 
round of gossip on that very topic. It had worn on my stomach, 
and so I had come to an empty table to finish eating in peace. 
Silly me.

	"Ranchan didn't kill anyone. Neither did I. But I think 
someone did, and I want you to find out who."

	"Why? She could have just..."

	"Look," Ukyou snapped, leaning forward a bit against the 
lunchroom table. "This stinks on ice. I knew Akane pretty well, 
and she wasn't the type!"

	Shrugging, I picked at my lunch. "She was pretty 
emotional, you know. It's possible that she could have killed 
herself, especially after that letter."

	"It's possible," she allowed reluctantly. Glancing around 
the cafeteria, she leaned forward once more, her voice 
lowering. "But I think she knew something about Ranchan 
vanishing like this. And someone killed her for it."

	"Who?" I asked, a bit curious. Either Ukyou was getting 
paranoid - possible, none of Ranma's harem had ever seemed 
vey stable - or maybe she really did have something.

	"I don't know, but... look, I was practically there when it 
happened. Nabiki had called me to let me know about the letter, 
and I ran right over... I could just see the dojo when there was 
a scream, and a thud, and, well..."

	"That was the end of Akane," I finished glumly.

	Ukyou nodded. "I ran into the garden, and there she was... 
broken neck, broken everything, blood everywhere. She landed 
right on the rocks."

	I sighed. "Damn shame, but it sounds like a suicide."

	"There was someone else on the roof, Daisuke. I'm 
positive I saw someone."

	She looked deadly serious, I thought. "You're saying 
someone pushed her?"

	"Yeah. And I don't think Ranma got sick of it all and left, 
like the so-called letter from him said. I think someone's 
either kidnapped or..." she swallowed, "or gotten rid of him, and 
Akane found out."

	"So why me?" I asked plainitively. "If you think she was 
murdered, go to the cops."

	"The cops don't know anything about us, they won't get 
anyone to talk, and they wouldn't believe me anyway. It has to 
be someone local."

	"So get Ryouga or..."

	"Ryouga couldn't detect the Tokyo Tower," Ukyou snorted. 
"Besides, he's a suspect. Quite frankly, Daisuke, you're the only 
one with the temperment for this, the knowledge of the 
involved parties, and no motive. It's you or no-one."

	I gave her a skeptical look. "And you're willing to pay 
me?"

	"Yeah. Half last month's profits. Any idea how much that 
is?"

	I admitted that I didn't. She told me.

	After I finished choking on my tea, I stared at her. "You 
do a good business."

	Ukyou grinned slightly. "I'm a good cook, and people 
around here have big appetites. Besides, a lot of it goes into 
the rent and day-to-day stuff." Her face fell, and she gave me a 
pleading look. "Look, if you want more money, I can get it from 
somewhere. But I need to know what happened to Ranchan, and I 
can't find out by myself. Some people think _I_ did it."

	That was certainly true. She'd been the leading suspect in 
the gossip a few minutes ago.

	I weighed it over in my mind. On the one hand, this was a 
very nasty bit of business. I'd always liked Akane... well, I had 
a bit of a thing for her, everyone did for a while... and having 
her just throw away her life like that gave me a sour feeling. 
The last thing I wanted to be doing was dwelling on the 
details.

	Then again, Ukyou was offering me a great deal of money 
just to ask a few questions. And it seemed to really mean a lot 
to her. And I had a bit of a thing for Ukyou too, and with Ranma 
gone she was free...

	Oh, hell. I hate it when my baser nature leads me to do 
the right thing.

	"Alright, I'll do it. Just for a day or two, though, and if I 
get the feeling that it was just an accident I'm gonna back off. 
Okay?"

	"Yeah," she said, smiling slightly in relief. "Thanks, 
Daisuke."

	"Right," I said, melting a bit under the smile. "I guess I 
might as well start with you. Notice anything odd about Ranma 
or Akane before this happened?"

	Ukyou nodded. "They'd been spending a lot of time 
together, and in the day or two leading up to things, Akane 
seemed almost nervous at times. I thought they were just 
studying for a big test, or had some sort of challenge... now, 
I'm not sure. Ranchan stopped by the day before he vanished, 
without Akane... he was talking a lot about old times. Seemed 
almost sad, in a way."

	"That sorta fits in with the official story," I pointed out. 
"Maybe he wanted to say goodbye before running away, and 
Akane suspected that he was leaving and was getting nervous 
about it."

	"It still doesn't make any sense that she'd just kill 
herself," Ukyou said tiredly. "Look, so the Tendos find a note 
one morning from Ranma, saying that he's sick of the fiancees 
and is gone for good. I saw the note; maybe it was Ranchan's 
writing, and maybe it wasn't. The first thing Akane'd do would 
be to check with me and Shampoo, angry as hell, to make sure 
one of us hadn't run off with him. She didn't. I didn't even see 
her once that day. Now, after hunting us down, what do you 
think she'd do?"

	"Track down Ranma would be my guess," I said.

	"Exactly," Ukyou said, slapping the table with the flat of 
her hand. "That's what I'd do. That's what Shampoo'd do. And it's 
what Akane's done every time Ranma's gone charging off 
somewhere by himself."

	"So why aren't you two doing it now?" I asked. I liked 
Ukyou, but if someone had killed Akane, my employer was still 
a good suspect.

	Ukyou spread her hands helplessly, shoulders slumping a 
bit. "And if I find him? What am I supposed to say? 'Hi Ranma, 
Akane just commited suicide over you, want a date?' No, if all 
that happened was that he just left, there's.. there's no use in 
going after him now."

	It crossed my mind that Ukyou's surety that Akane had 
been murdered might be coming from a need to tell herself that  
Ranma hadn't just run off. Since I valued my health, I didn't say 
so out loud.

	"What do you remember about the night Akane died?" I 
asked instead.

	"I was going over to the Tendo house... Nabiki had just 
called me and told me about the note... and I was almost to the 
dojo when I heard this weird noise from the roof."

	I blinked. "Weird noise?"

	"Yeah, like someone gargling, or trying to make a funny 
noise with their throat. I guess it could have been Akane, but I 
don't know why she'd be making that kind of sound."

	"Maybe someone was strangling her?"

	"No, that sounds different."

	I almost asked how she knew before thinking better of it. 
"So there was a weird noise from the roof.."

	"And then I see something fall, and there was this weird, 
gutteral scream from whatever was falling, and then there 
was this thud..." Ukyou stopped, closed her eyes and shuddered. 
"I ran over, and there was Akane lying on the rocks. Blood 
everywhere, and the way her neck was at..."

	"Argh," I commented.

	"Yeah. I keep having nightmares about it. Anyway, I 
glanced up at the roof, and I saw someone leaving it. So I went 
and pounded on the door, and Nabiki and Kasumi came out and 
took over."

	"How'd they look?"

	"Kasumi fainted. When she woke up, she just kept 
repeating 'Oh my' over and over, but she didn't get hysterical or 
anything. Nabiki... well... she looked almost like she was 
sleepwalking. Had this real funny look on her face... I don't 
know if I'd call it grief. She stared at the body a lot, and kept 
sorta shrugging at it."

	I frowned. Nabiki was a pretty cold customer, but you'd 
expect something more than that, some tears or shock... then 
again, maybe that was Nabiki's version of shock. "What about 
the parents?"

	"Soun's in America on a business trip, and Genma just 
stood around and looked solemn."

	"You know, I wouldn't put much past Ranma's father..."

	Ukyou gave a snort of disgust. "Neither would I, but 
whoever I saw on the roof was definitely _not_ Genma. Not 
unless he suddenly lost a lot of bulk. Plus, the fat bastard has 
no motive."

	"That we know of," I pointed out.

	"I guess," she admitted. "Anyway, that's about all I know."

	"Okay," I told her, picking up my tray and standing. "I'll 
let you know if I find anything. Or if I don't find anything."

	She smiled. "Thanks, Daisuke."

	"You can thank me with that cash you mentioned," I told 
her. "But you're welcome anyways."

***

	"It was a great tragedy," Genma told me grimly.

	I nodded, for once agreeing with him. "I don't suppose you 
know how it happened?"

	He spread his hands. "I'm afraid I was away most of the 
day. I work at Doctor Ono's."

	Hmm. "Did you notice anything odd that morning? Had 
Ranma left yet?"

	Genma shifted. "He was still home, and I did notice 
something. He and Akane were talking... and both of them 
seemed very highly focused. Akane seemed almost afraid, 
certainly nervous, and my son... well, I'm not sure. In 
retrospect, I'm afraid she was pleading for him not to leave. I 
left for work, and by the time I returned poor Akane was dead."

	I nodded. "How about eariler in the week? Has anyone 
been acting suspicious?"

	"Yes," he said bluntly. "My son had been sneaking off to 
meet someone. I think a girl. I was concerned about it. Akane 
seemed to be acting oddly too, and so, for that matter, was 
Ukyou... on edge, a bit distracted. But no, the truly suspicious 
person was Ryouga."

	"Ryouga?"

	"Yes. When I arrived home, I saw him across the street, 
watching then wrap Akane's body. He had a very strange look on 
his face."

	Interesting. "By the way, where were you when Akane 
died?"

	He blinked. "I don't know, exactly. I think I would have 
just been leaving Doctor Ono's."

***

	"Oh dear."

	Yeah, this was about what I had expected from Kasumi. 
"It's sorta important."

	Kasumi frowned slightly, wiping a bit at her eyes. I supposed she
was taking things as well as could be expected - she wasn't breaking down 
in tears or anything - but she still looked very, very upset. Disturbed. 
Kasumi looking disturbed is almost equivalent to a nervous breakdown 
from anyone else.

	She gave a slight shrug. "I don't know if I should talk 
about it."

	"It's very important, Kasumi-san. There have been all 
sorts of rumors flying around, about why or if she jumped..."

	Sighing, Kasumi shook her head. "She shouldn't have done 
it. It was very inconsiderate, and it just wasn't right... I can 
see why she did it, but it still just wasn't right... I don't think 
Ranma would be very pleased, and neither would..." She stopped, 
looked a bit embarrassed, and shrugged. "Talking about it won't 
really help any, will it? What's done is done."

	"I suppose not." 

	She went back to her cleaning, and I headed off to find 
the other surviving Tendo sister. Nabiki, at least, would 
probably feed me a much more complex and interesting lie.

***

	"Rumors? And I haven't even started any of them. Imagine 
that."

	I shrugged. "It looks awfully suspicious, Nabiki. People 
just want to know the truth."

	She shrugged narrow, elegant shoulders. "Good. I'll have it 
for sale on Monday." She didn't look nearly as upset as Kasumi, although
there was a bit of a wild, raw edge under her sarcasm that wasn't usually there.
Grief or guilt?

	"Not this time. A lot of the rumors say you killed her, and 
I don't think people will put as much stock in your word as they 
usually do." Actually, Nabiki wasn't that high on the school 
whodunit list - but she might not know that. And selling news 
on the death of her little sister sure wasn't going to raise her 
stature much.

	"Me? Kill Akane?" She snorted, and tossed her head in 
disgust. "First of all, it was suicide. Akane was always 
overemotional, and I spent all afternoon listening to her wail 
about how she couldn't stand to live without Ranma." She 
gestured towards a chair. "Take a seat, if you like."

	I did, shoving an empty animal cage out of the way. "Have 
a rabbit?"

	"Used to. Passed on a few weeks back. Used up all my 
tears on the little thing... at least it had more sense than to 
throw itself off a roof."

	This was pretty cold even for Nabiki, I thought with a bit 
of disgust. "So why else should I believe you didn't kill Akane? 
Obviously sisterly affection isn't a factor."

	She shot me a very unpleasant look, and again I saw 
something that might have been Nabiki grieving, and might 
have been her thinking of her guilt... "We don't all bawl and 
scream and throw hysterical fits, asshole. But as for why... 
look, let's armwrestle."

	I stared at her in puzzlement as she positioned her arm 
on the edge of her desk. "Uh..."

	"C'mon, Daisuke."

	Wondering if the shock had driven Nabiki over the edge, I 
complied, gripping her hand, bracing my arm, and pushing. I felt 
her struggle for a few seconds, and then I forced her hand down 
to the desk.

	Nabiki winced, and lifted her hand. "There. If _you_ can 
overpower me, exactly how the hell am I supposed to have 
killed Akane? If I punched her with all my strength, I think all 
that'd happen is that Akane would blink and I'd break my arm. If 
you think I pushed her, well, I'd have to tackle her to do it. And 
even then, she'd have to be off balance to begin with, and she'd 
probably just throw or chop me instead. I mean, jeez, she's an 
expert martial artist, and I have trouble lifting heavy objects."

	"You have a point," I admitted. "So where were you when 
it happened?"

	"Me? I was up in my room. Heard her fall, then heard 
Ukyou outside screaming."

	"You didn't hear anyone else up on the roof? Or see 
anyone?"

	"No. I had other things on my mind at the time. Like my 
dead little sister." She sighed. "Look, it was suicide, and I don't 
really feel like talking about it any more. So are you about 
ready to leave?"

	"Yeah," I said. "Just one last thing. This note of Ranma's..."

	"Got it right here." She rummaged around in a drawer, 
produced a letter, and handed to me.

	//Gotta leave. Sorry. Fiancees too violent, wouldn't 
understand. Tell them I'm sorry. Won't be back for a long time, 
if ever.

	-Ranma//

	It was in what looked like Ranma's handwriting. And 
Ranma had a very, er, distinctive writing style. If this was a 
forgery, it was a good one.

	I handed it back to her. "Thanks."

	"No problem. Now go away."

***

	"What you want?"

	"Just want to ask a few questions about the death of 
Tendo Akane," I told her.

	Shampoo swallowed. "That not good thing."

	I nodded. "Who do you think did it?"

	"Not know. Not Shampoo."

	Hmm. "You have no idea at all who killed her?"

	"Not know," she said, far too casually. "Maybe was 
Spatula Girl."

	"You're lying through your teeth," I told her pleasantly.

	She looked at me with a mixture of surprise and 
resignation, and then slumped. "Look, Shampoo no kill Akane. 
Not know who did."

	"But you seem pretty sure that she was killed," I told her, 
the fake, cynical smile still in place. Nabiki would have been 
proud. "Everyone else I've spoken too has been at least thinking 
that it might be suicide, which is what supposedly happened. 
So why do you seem so sure it was murder?"

	She sighed, glanced around, and then leaned over towards 
me. "Great-grandmother get package from China a month ago, 
sell it to someone. Not know who. But days ago, when word 
come that violent girl dead, great-grandmother look surprised, 
then thoughtful, then glance at where package had been. And 
she say to self, 'Never thought it be used like that. Colder than 
I had thought.'"

	I sucked in my breath. "So your great-grandmother knows 
who killed Akane."

	"No. I don't."

	Shampoo and I each jumped about three feet in the air. 
Cologne chuckled, and hopped up onto the table.

	"Is _this_ what you've been so squeamish about, child? 
No, you misunderstood."

	The purple-haired girl stared at her ancestor with a 
mixture of fear and indignation. "But Shampoo hear..."

	"You heard me muttering about the news that Fang Chow 
used the Heart of Destiny to do something interesting back 
home. Nothing to do with this unpleasant business."

	"So you say," I told her with as much force as I could 
manage.

	Two beady, ancient eyes fixed on me, and I swallowed. 
"So I say. But, since you don't believe me... Shampoo, you 
clearly believe I would help kill someone, which is correct. But 
would I break a fifth-degree oath?"

	Shampoo looked shocked. "Never!"

	"Very well. I swear by the souls of every ancestor back 
to the beginning of time that I did not assist, so far as I 
currently know, in the murder of Tendo Akane, nor did I provide 
anyone with anything that might be used in such a murder. In 
fact, I very seriously doubt that anyone has been murdered at 
all. So I swear." She gave a dry chuckle. "Good enough for you?"

	Shampoo nodded, looking chastened. "Yes, great-
grandmother."

	"Good. You children are too eager to see things where 
there's nothing. Ranma left, and Akane, excitable girl that she 
was, killed herself. Shampoo and I will shortly be leaving as 
well, back to China. We've wasted more time here than I like. 
Good day."

	She hopped off, and Shampoo shrugged. "There. Really 
_is_ nothing."

	I frowned. Shampoo seemed clearly relieved. "From what 
I've heard, your great-grandmother has lied before..."

	"Oh yes, lie is fine by Amazon way. But she just give 
oath. Fifth-degree oath, on ancestors. No Amazon, not worst 
villain in history, _ever_ tell lie in that oath."

	I sighed. Something was going on here, I felt, but what I 
could be...

	"Where were you the night Akane died?"

	"Was home cleaning Nekohanten. Mousse there too, can 
vouch."

	I didn't point out that Mousse had been known to mistake 
coatracks for her. "Okay. Thanks."

***

	"I SHALL FIND THE VILLAIN AND SLAY HIM!"

	I winced. "Who, Upperclassman?"

	Kuno glared at me. "The base murderer, Saotome Ranma!"

	Gee, I thought sourly, hadn't seen this coming. "Why do 
you think Ranma killed her?"

	"She was in love with me, good Daisuke, and the 
blackguard was jealous. He killed her from poisonous spite!"

	Yeah, this was a waste of time. "But you don't actually 
have any proof?"

	He brandished his bokken melodramatically. "But I do! I 
overheard him plan poor Akane's demise!"

	Hmmm.... "Really?" I asked. "I don't suppose you 
remember..."

	"I have written down the fiend's words as he spoke." Kuno 
rummaged in a pocket, withdrew a piece of paper, and handed it 
to me.

	//What I heard!!!

		Ranma: Yeah, I've thought about it. It's the only way.

		Second Villain speaks. Who???

		Ranma: Yeah. I'll need help, covering things up. Last 
		thing I want is to get caught. They'd kill me for 
		this. Don't blame em. I wish it were different.

		Second Villain speaks again.

		Ranma: Oh, you'll get what I promised. We'll both be 
		happy.

		Villain speaks again.

		Ranma: Oh, don't worry about Akane. _I'll_ take care 
		of Akane. If anyone's going to do it, it's going to be 
		me.

		Villain speaks again.

		Ranma: I don't like it. But it's the only way. I have 
		no choice.

	"The fiends departed before I could confront them, so I 
recorded their words. I shall present them to the authorities at 
the proper time."

	I stared. "You really heard that?"

	"Do you doubt my word?" Thunder rumbled ominously in 
the distance.

	"Oh no! No! Never!" I hastily scribbled a copy in my 
notebook, and then handed the paper back to the fuming Kuno. 
"By the way, do you remember where you were the night Akane 
died?"

	"I do not recall," Kuno said stiffly.

	"Okay, Upperclassman. Thanks."

***

	"AHAHhAhAHhAHAhAHAHAHahA!"

	I winced. "Is that a yes or a no?"

	Kodachi smiled charmingly. "It is a perhaps. I do not know 
for certain who killed that little witch; maybe she really did 
kill herself. But I suspect my dear Ranma-sama did, to remove 
her from our way."

	I kept myself from chuckling. "Really? Why's that?"

	"Because we were in love, and the harridan kept making a 
bother of herself."

	I made a skeptical noise in my throat. "Er, I never really 
noticed..."

	Kodachi, looking smug, handed me a piece of paper.

		//Dear,

		After tonight, it'll all be over. I still can't believe 
I'm going to do this. I'll come for you when it's time.

		I love you. I never thought I'd say it; frankly you 
used to scare the hell out of me. But I love you. I had feelings 
for another, we've talked about that, but I love you more than I 
ever could her. 

		I get a queasy sort of feeling, thinking about what 
needs to be done. But our love is worth it.

		-Ranma//

	The handwriting was Ranma's. Good lord.

	"We've been lovers for some time," Kodachi told me, 
smiling. "We were careful not to be too clear.. but I think Akane 
knew. She was poking her nose where it didn't belong, dogging 
Ranma-sama's footsteps, suspicious. So it was needed, you 
see, to remove her."

	I swallowed. "Why are you telling me this?"

	She grinned at me, mad and triumphant. "Why not? You'll 
never prove a thing."

	I nodded faintly. "Not that it matters, but where were you 
the night Akane died?"

	"I was taking a stroll. On the rooftops. I do believe I 
heard the scream as she fell... a pity I didn't have a good view 
of it."

	I nodded, swallowed again, and left. This was looking 
ugly.

***

	"Go away."

	I wished to hell that I could. Glancing around the side of 
the boulder, I watched Ryouga's aura carefully. He ground 
around where he was sitting was burnt, and he was glowing 
like the sun.

	"I just want to ask you a few questions," I yelled. "Do you 
know anything about Akane's death?"

	For a while he said nothing. "I heard that that bastard 
Ranma left, and she killed herself over it."

	"That's what the word is," I said neutrally. "Did you 
notice anything... odd... about either of them up to that day?"

	He shrugged. "Ranma gave me a note to give to Kodachi, 
which I did. I thought it was a bit odd. And Akane..." his voice 
broke a bit. "Poor Akane... I knew something was bothering her 
lately, but I never guessed... I never thought she'd kill herself..."

	I frowned. "Have you seen anything at all odd, anyone 
acting funny?"

	He shrugged. "Ukyou, with her trying to talk to Ranma all 
the time... she does that anyway, but there was an edge to it 
this time, almost as if she was desperate. Maybe she knew he 
was leaving too."

	"Okay. Where were you the night Akane died?"

	"I was... I was... oh, I don't know... I wandered past, later... 
I saw the body... her neck..."

	I watched as his aura flared, and ran. The force of the 
full Shishi Hokodan sent me stumbling seconds later. Ryouga 
was clearly even less happy with things than I was.

***

	So that was everyone.

	I retreated back to my room, put some Richard Thompson 
on the stereo, and thought.

	So many questions.

	Who killed Akane? Or did she just commit suicide? What 
was the deal with Ranma and Kodachi's affair? Cologne's 
denial? Why had Ukyou, who had hired me, been so attached to 
Ranma in the last days? Who had Ranma been talking to? Or had 
Kuno made the whole conversation up?

	And the big question.

	Did she jump or was she pushed?

	I thought about it for a few hours. I called Hiroshi, and 
bounced questions off him. I dredged up every story, every 
adventure, every enemy that Ranma and Akane had ever told me 
about, and I thought about their behavior the last few days.

	Did she jump or was she pushed?

	And then it slid into place.

	I shook my head in wonder, and started making the phone 
calls. I was going to want everyone there when I revealed what 
had happened.

	I shuddered. This wasn't pretty. Not at all.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Answer to be posted in a day or two. Speculation welcome. ;)
-------------------------------------------------------------

 She was there one minute
 And then she was gone the next
 Lying in a pool of herself
 With a twisted neck

 Oh she fell from the roof to the ground
 There was glass lying all around
 She was broken in a hundred pieces
 When her body was found

 She crossed a lot of people
 Some she called friends
 She thought she'd live forever
 But forever always ends

 Did she jump or was she pushed?

 She used to have style, oh she used
 To have style and she used it
 And they say it turned bad when
 The truth came round and she refused it

 They found some fingerprints
 Right around her throat
 They didn't find no killer
 And they didn't find no note

 Did she jump or was she pushed?
 Did she jump or was she pushed?
 - Richard Thompson