No, this is *NOT* a "ranma-stuck-in-girl-form" fic. In fact, Ranma himself
doesn't even show up in it. Enjoy (I hope).
* * *
Just a Girl
A Ranma 1/2 fanfic, by Ronny Hedin (thark@mangakai.org)
Chapter 1/?
* * *
"Well," Nabiki said with a slight frown, "I'm Nabiki Tendou. Went to
Amaosa Junior High before coming here, like some of the rest of you. Don't
know if I really have any hobbies." The girl paused briefly, shrugging.
"Listening to music, watching TV, much the same as anyone else really.
Hope we'll get along well for the three years to come." Flashing a slight,
courteous smile, she sat down again.
She had chosen the seating in the front window-side corner because it was
normally inconspicuous - not in the back rows among those considered lazy
and inattentive, yet not in the center with the studious elite and the
brown-nosers that wanted attention. Now, however, it had made her the
first in class to introduce herself, and this annoyed the girl slightly;
she'd lost the chance to gauge the others' presentations before carefully
crafting one of her own.
As she returned to her chair, allowing the boy seated next in the row to
rise, Nabiki looked out over of the rest of the class. Nothing remarkable
enough to catch her attention her at a cursory inspection; just your
average collection of girls and boys, with uniforms well-pressed, properly
buttoned up and generally impeccable at least for the first day of school.
She knew, however, that even if she didn't go looking for them on her own,
opportunities for profit would soon appear, when the stiffness of the
first few days disappeared and people relaxed into their normal selves
again.
One student sat down and another rose in swift succession, Nabiki's
relaxed stance setting a pattern that helped calm some of the more
high-strung and nervous students in the class. Idly, she committed names
and faces to her memory, almost subconsciously weighing everyone's high
and low points against each other - something that now came automatically
to Nabiki's well-oiled mind, not requiring any noticeable mental effort.
Of course, even if it had, she wouldn't have minded the distraction
provided by judging the various male prospects; a little diversion Nabiki
tended to enjoy greatly. No real attention-grabbers, but then, with every
collar buttoned and every head meticulously combed, she couldn't reliably
tell good from bad yet.
When the boy in the far corner of the classroom sat down, she had already
stifled more than one yawn; the break had been far too short, and having
to get up early every morning again didn't quite agree with the middle
Tendou daughter's lifestyle.
* * *
For the previous three years, Nabiki had shared the first stretch of the
way home with two of her classmates; by chance, the location of Furinkan
High didn't cause this particular habit to change, though her two best
friends from Amaosa were now in different classes from hers.
"What a shame!" Fujie exclaimed with a sigh. "I hoped we'd still be in the
same class." The short but cuite girl pouted slightly, making her look
more like a twelve-year-old than a high school student; the twin braids
she divided her hair into only strengthened the impression. Sometimes
Nabiki wondered if she wasn't trying to look younger than her age on
purpose, though her friend always denied this when accused.
Hanako shrugged. "Don't make such a big deal out of it, Fu. You know we
can't always be together. Besides, our schedules are mostly the same, so
it's not like we'll never see each other again." It wouldn't really have
come as much of a surprise even to the casual observer that the mostly
average-looking girl, with hair neatly trimmed precisely at shoulder
height, tended to serve as the voice of reason amongst the three.
Nabiki smiled at her friends. She hadn't met them until they had happened
to end up in the same class at Amaosa, but Hanako and Fujie had been
together since preschool, and as far as she knew, they'd been each other's
antipodes even back them. "You two will never change," she said with a
casual grin, well aware that they both resented the accusation.
"So," Fujie said, changing topic, "What club do you think you'll join,
Nabiki? Maybe we could be in the same one?"
"Club?" Nabiki indicated her confusion by raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah!" As always, the short girl made obvious her excitement about the
prospect by nodding fervently. "You know, a club. There's such a wide
variety of them here, I don't know which one to join."
Nabiki shrugged. "I wasn't really planning to join one at *all*. You know
I don't have any special interests, so it just seems like a lot of work
for nothing, having to go to meetings and stuff."
Hanako giggled. "Trust you not to spend any more effort than what is
absolutely necessary." She smiled at her friends, letting them know she
didn't mean any insult with it. "But really, Nabiki, are you sure? If
you're not in a club, you'll be so outside everything."
The other girl nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, Nabiki, you gotta be in
*some* club. It's, like, tradition and stuff! Come on! Don't be a bore!"
"No, we wouldn't want *that*, now would we?" Nabiki giggled at her
friend's somewhat over-abundant energy, still not convinced. "I don't
know..."
"Don't worry about it, Nabiki." Hanako placed a hand on her
shoulder. "From what I've understood, all the clubs will be presenting
themselves in the big hall during lunch tomorrow, so it's not like you
have to decide already or anything."
* * *
"So, Nabiki," Kasumi asked as she set the bowls down for her waiting
sisters, "how was your first day at Furinkan High? I didn't have time to
ask you yesterday."
Nabiki shrugged. "Nothing special, really. Just introductions and stuff.
'sides, you go there as well, sis. Heck, you seem to be somewhat of a
celebrity at Furinkan High." She leaned back and yawned. "Man, I wish
mornings didn't have to be so damn *early*."
"Just looking out for my little sister." Kasumi smiled warmly at her,
like only she could, and it was clear she meant what she said. "Well, I'm
sure you'll like it. And maybe you should stop staying up so late." A
playful wink accompanied the last sentence.
"Yes, yes, honored big sister," Nabiki droned in response, a smirk on her
lips betraying her serious tone of voice.
"Anyway," their younger sister said, "I still don't get it, sis. Why are
you just going to Furinkan? With your brains, you could've easily gone to
some high-status private school, and I'm sure father would be glad to pay.
If you tried you might even eventually go to the big one." They all knew
she referred to Tokyo University; the country's most well-renowned
institute, whose graduates tended to end up in the government
administration or top company positions.
"Heh. I'm glad you have such confidence in me, sis," Nabiki replied.
"Seriously, though, why would I? I'd just have to spend all my energy
studying and working hard, and you know that's not my style." She yawned
theatrically. "No, I much prefer having as much fun as possible, thank
you."
"Well, it's your loss." Akane shrugged.
Then their father arrived at the table, and the rest of the meal passed by
mostly in silence, as was usually the case in the Tendou household.
* * *
Nabiki would've been ever more annoyed over having to be the first to
present herself if she'd have known the seating was only temporary; the
very next morning, the class was rearranged randomly, and the draw awarded
her a place roughly in the middle of the classroom.
She sighed as the math teacher droned on. Not that she had any real
problems *understanding*, considering that she was well above the level of
most of the class, just... You'd think they'd be cut some slack at least
for the first days - but no.
Obviously, though, not all of them were having as hard a time getting back
into rhythm again as Nabiki was; the boy in the seat next to her - she
remember he had presented himself as Isoshi - seemed quite attentive, and
showed no signs of tiredness or boredom. Nabiki couldn't quite decide
whether to be impressed or hate him for it; he was cute enough, without
looking like the over-serious type. In fact, judging by his unbuttoned
collar and long, flowing hair, she'd never have thought him one of the
brighter boys, which weighed in favor of the former, yet...
She shook her head, trying to focus her attention back on the lecture. No
matter how much she prided herself on her ability to judge books by their
covers - a skill it seemed few people realized the true value of - there
were better ways of getting to know people.
Class continued, and continued, and continued, and then continued some
more, before it finally came to an end, the incredibly dull teacher not
even giving the class a smile before he marched out, allowing them a few
moments of mental rest before his successor arrived. History, Nabiki
noted with a tired sigh; math might be boring, but at least she could
recognize that it had its uses.
Isoshi, who'd been writing the solution to a problem on the blackboard
just before the bell rang, sank back into his seat, and Nabiki had to
admire his work; neat and clean handwriting that would make any girl
jealous, and an impeccable solution. She turned to flash him a smile.
"Pretty good at this, aren't you?"
He smiled meekly, scratching the back of his head. "I guess you could say
that. Nothing impressive really." A few strands of his long hair fell
forwards, into his field of vision, and he absently brushed them off.
Nabiki didn't have anything against false modesty as such, but if he
wasn't going to conceal it any better, he might as well have taken a
bragging attitude about it.
"If you say so," she told him, continuing the conversation. "Say, you went
to Kinshou, right? That's close to here, isn't it?"
Isoshi nodded. "Um, yeah. I guess..." For a moment, he seemed nervous,
letting the sentence waver, but it soon disappeared, and the confident
smile appearing on his lips made Nabiki wonder if it had just been her
imagination. "It's just a block from Furinkan. I had quite a bit to walk
anyway, though, so it's not really like I choose this school because it
was close to me. It just seemed a like nice enough place, if a bit
chaotic, and not as strict as most."
Nabiki grinned. "I hear you, I hear you."
The door to the classroom slowly opened, producing a slight squeak, and
Nabiki had to hurry to reach for her books and look to the front as the
teacher - a wrinkled old man obviously close to his retirement - walked in
with slow, cautious steps.
* * *
As per tradition, when she left for lunch, Nabiki's two friends were
waiting for her outside the classroom. She stretched her arms tiredly as
she turned to address them. "So, guys, how's your day been so far?"
"Better than yours, judging by the yawn you're desperately trying to
contain," Hanako told her with a wink.
Nabiki snorted. "Give me a break. Unlike you, not everyone's a morning
person."
"Aww, don't fight, you two," Fujie said jokingly. "Say, Nabiki, notice any
cute guys in your class yet?"
They smiled; trust *her* to bring that up. Nabiki paused until her friend
was just on the verge of saying something again, then nodded in the
direction of the boy that had just left the classroom and walked past
them, grinning at her friends. "Oh, it's too early to give any definite
answers yet, but the class isn't entirely without interesting prospects."
Fujie raised an eyebrow. "Didn't know you went for long-haired guys."
"That's because the only boys with long hair at Amaosa were the ones too
lazy to cut it, Fu," Hanako told her. "At least that guy seemed well-kept
enough, even if I'm not terribly impressed."
"Well..." Fujie hesitated. "I guess. I've given up hope on the boys in
our class already, though - they all seem just sooo immature."
"You sound like my little sister," Nabiki told her friend with a snort.
Fujie, however, payed her no heed. "I've heard of this upperclassman
though. I don't remember his name - Hi or Ha something - but everyone says
he's totally dreamy, and mature, and nice. Now *that*'s my type."
Hanako grinned at her. "Must've been hell for you last year when we were
at the top, Fu - no older boys in school to dream about."
Sharing a laugh, the three walked off.
* * *
Lunches devoured, and the usual displays of jealousy regarding a
certain somebody's big sister's cooking over with, the girls reconvened
in the main hall. There, lined up, each of the various student clubs had
their own separate display intended to attract potential members, and
club members with varying degrees of enthusiasm eagerly waved around
lists to sign up.
It didn't take someone as perceptive as Nabiki to notice that the clubs
had been arranged - either by a higher order or by unspoken agreement -
according to status level, with the more obscure clubs having to content
with the corners where nobody payed them much attention.
"Eww," Fujie said, looking at one of the unfortunate groups of students
forced into the corner, despite rather impressive posters that they'd
obviously spent a lot of energy on. "Anime and Science Fiction
club," she read. "What geeks. Sure don't wanna join *that* club."
Nabiki nodded with a slight smile. Not that she disagreed with her
friend's assessment - heaven forbid - but that sort of people did tend to
have useful talents and skills, if you knew how to make use of them
easily, and she made a point out of memorizing their faces before hurrying
along.
"Those guys aren't the worst, from what I've heard," Hanako said in
passing. "Supposedly, there's a real shadowy magical studies and occult
research club; they must be over on the other end."
*That*, on the other hand, Nabiki could see little benefit from, and she
snorted. Morons. Herself, she preferred to trust in the powers of logical
reasoning.
Eventually, Hanako stopped. "Tennis club." She smiled.
The boy standing next to the big sign, a clipboard with a name-list held
ready, stepped up to them. "So, you girls interested in joining? I'll
admit, the club didn't have much success last year, but we're still among
the more popular clubs here at Furinkan."
He flashed them a slight smile that might have worked if he'd been
handsome enough to pull it off, but as it was, it just served to make
Nabiki and Fujie snicker quietly, much to the poor charmer-wannabe's
disappointment. Hanako, however, didn't mind much, and reached for the
pen he offered her. "Come on, you guys, let's be in the same club!"
Nabiki shook her head. "No thanks. I wasted enough of my valuable
free time on boring sports when we were in tennis club together first year
at Amaosa, and you know it. Not my thing."
Fujie clucked her tongue at her friend's display of laziness, yet didn't
sign the list, while Hanako sighed. "Honestly, Nabiki, if I hadn't been
to your place and seen it for myself, I'd never have believed that you're
the daughter of some martial arts family. Then again, I could say the
same for your father, and he's supposed to be the master."
Nabiki snorted derisively, choosing not to comment, as Fujie hurried to
strike up a conversation with the girl taking up names for the next
club. They eyed the posters - really just simple collages of photos from
training sessions and matches - and Nabiki shook her head at her
friend. "Rhythmic gymnastics? Honestly, Hanako, she's even worse than
you."
Hanako grinned. "You don't know *how* bad, either. Apparently, the club
here isn't just rhythmic gymnastics, it's some weird martial arts rhythmic
gymnastics thing, and of course, Fujie got all fired up as soon as she
heard that."
Nabiki groaned. Indeed, their mutual friend had a tendency to romanticize
martial arts, despite never having done any of her own. She still
remembered how excited Fujie got when she first saw the Tendou dojo, and
how disappointed she was in Nabiki for "ignoring her rightful heritage",
as the short girl had put it.
Two out of the three having already made their choice, they continued down
the hall, stopping to comment on the various different clubs, until
finally somewhere just past the middle, one caught Nabiki's interest.
"Movie club? That sounds like it might be worth a try." The advertising
consisted mainly of various movie posters, so it seemed like a safe bet
that "movie" in this case meant *watching*.
The girl with the list smiled at her, and as Nabiki jotted her name down,
she spotted Isoshi's just above hers.
* * *
An afternoon of simple but boring classes floated past without leaving
much of an impression. Finally, the final bell rung, signaling that
another day of studies was over and the students would be allowed a brief
respite from their education.
Taking her time to gather her things and get ready, Nabiki eventually
arrived outside the classroom, finding her two friends very much not
present. This caused the girl to raise an eyebrow in confusion briefly,
until she remembered about the club activities starting that
afternoon.
One problem remained, though; she couldn't quite recall just *where* these
were supposed to be held - in fact, she hadn't even bothered to
check. Scanning the corridor, however, she soon spotted a solution, in the
form of Isoshi walking down the hall with somewhat hurried steps.
The boy turned to look as he heard her footsteps approach, and slowed his
pace to let her catch up, a somewhat confused look in his eyes.
"Hey." Nabiki raised her right hand in greeting. "You're going to the
movie club meeting too, right?"
Isoshi nodded. "How'd you know?"
"Oh, just a lucky guess." Nabiki smiled innocently.
"Well, it should be this way, I think." Isoshi scratched the back of his
head. "I'm sure the meeting was in room B4, and that's right next to the
library."
She shrugged. "Sounds all right to me. Well, we better hurry before they
start the meeting without us."
* * *
A quick peek through the door confirmed that this was at least the right
room for *a* meeting, if not necessarily the right one, and as Nabiki took
a confident step into the room, she spotted the club name on the black
board.
Thus, she took a seat, and Isoshi, who for some reason had slowed down
slightly as they neared to the door to let her pass, followed slightly
behind, sitting down on the chair next to hers.
Apparently, they'd come just in time, as the girl seated next to Nabiki
handed her a list of names, and the two each put a check-mark next to
theirs, handing it along.
The list soon completed its circular journey, and the older boy at the
front of the room picked it up, looking it over briefly. "Seems we're all
accounted for, except for president Hiroka."
One of the girls seated near the front - from her somewhat more mature
appearance, Nabiki guessed that she was a senior - nodded. "He said
he had some other important duties today."
The boy shrugged. "Well, that can't be helped, I guess. Anyway, let's
start, shall we?"
A series of boring formalities followed; secretary this, cashier that,
and so on, and so forth. These things were part of the reason why Nabiki
hadn't been interested in joining a club, and she tuned it out, hoping
that nobody felt they needed her input on things.
Eventually, though, it drew to a close, and the boy at the front rose from
his seat again. "OK, with that over with, maybe we should get on with what
we're really here for. Issu, if you would?"
Another boy, to his right, spoke up. "Oh, yeah, I forgot to bring the
projector."
"No problem." The first boy scanned the room, his eyes eventually stopping
on Nabiki; whether by chance or for some other reason, she couldn't
tell. "You, underclassman, go to the storage room and fetch the
projector. Oh, and while your at it, get my bag; I forgot it in the
classroom next door."
Nabiki just stared at him. "Why should I?"
This startled the boy, who clearly hadn't expected her to talk back, and
it took him a few seconds to respond, not as much in anger as in
confusion. "Because I'm telling you so!"
She shrugged. "Do it yourself."
He sputtered, giving her an angry glare, but eventually decided to give
up, and focused on another young boy. "You there, go get the projector."
The boy nodded, adding a polite bow as he rose from the chair, and hurried
off without hesitating for a second.
* * *
Nabiki never really thought twice about the incident, but apparently, that
made her the only one. The next day, on the way to her first morning
class, she happened to run into the boy who'd been running the meeting -
she'd managed to figure out his name was Seiki - and he stopped her with a
hand on her shoulder and a sharp, angry glare.
The glare didn't really bother her much, thought obviously it had been
intended to. The hand, however, did. Nabiki thought about snapping about
it, but changed her mind; even acknowledging it would be like granting
part of the victory.
"You," Seiki sneered. "I don't like your attitude, underclassman Tendou.
We have enough disruptive elements in this school already."
"I don't care much for yours, either," she felt like telling him, but
simply shrugged.
"Look, we decided to give you one more chance. You're still welcome
tomorrow, at the next meeting, but if you don't fix that attitude of
yours, you're out."
He walked off with a snort, and Nabiki shrugged disinterestedly,
continuing on her way.
* * *
As usual, Nabiki met up with her two friends during their next shared
break, and naturally, the conversion turned to their respective club
experiences.
"So," Fujie finished, "what do you think?"
Hanako shook her head. "Sounds like a real nut-house."
"Indeed. So you'll probably fit in perfectly."
The short girl pouted. "Well, what about you, Nabiki?"
"Oh, I don't know." She shrugged. "The movie was OK and all, but I'm not
sure if I'm gonna bother to go again. The seniors seemed to be real
assholes."
"Really?" Hanako questioned. "How so?"
"Well, one of the guys treated me like I was some errand girl, and then
got all upset when I wouldn't have any of it." She snorted. "I sure ain't
going to run anyone's errands without incentive."
Briefly, near the other end of the corridor, she noticed a tall boy
speaking to a somewhat shorter one. The short boy listened attentively,
accepted a stack off papers the taller one gave him, then bowed politely,
walking off with hurried steps. Nabiki snorted derisively at the exchange,
but filed it off in her memory for further reference. The rest of the
conformist wimps around here might be different, but... "I for one
won't take that sort of shit from anyone unless there's a very good
reason."
Her friends eyed her confusedly. "What did you say?"
"Oh, nothing." Nabiki had the sense to act somewhat embarrassed about her
lapse.
"Well, anyway, really, Nabiki," Fujie said, "shouldn't you give it
at least one more chance? You never know, might even enjoy it, and it
would be so ... I dunno, *wrong* to go through high school without taking
part of some club."
"Besides, I don't see why you're upset about it. They're the older
students, we're the younger students - isn't it natural that we take care
of the menial duties? They've got enough to worry about anyway, with
entrance exams and all."
Nabiki sniffed, but diplomatically refrained from giving her friend a
piece of her mind. "Well, we'll see. Maybe I will show up after all. It's
not like I've got anything to lose."
* * *
And indeed, at the end of the following day, Nabiki chose to go to the
next movie club meeting, reluctant though she was; perhaps she might have
decided otherwise, had not Isoshi asked her after class if she was coming
along.
Nabiki couldn't quite read - from his tone or from his facial expression -
the reasons underlying the question. If it had been somewhat later into
the term, or if they had known each other somewhat better, she would've
written it of as normal classmate friendliness, but now, she wasn't sure,
and it annoyed her; it meant she couldn't tell what his attitude towards
her was. Nothing in his cheerful smile suggested that he would be nervous
of going there alone, yet she couldn't find anything to suggest that he
had any special interest in her.
Reluctantly - Nabiki Tendou liked having her world under control - she
left the musings behind for the moment, and opened the door. They stepped
in, Nabiki first.
This time, another senior stood leaned against the desk, and Nabiki could
only presume that he was the president Hiroka who'd been missing at the
previous meeting. In fact, the boy was quite handsome, definitely the type
Fujie would swoon over - quite possibly even the very one she'd been
gossiping about the other day.
Hiroka raised an eyebrow as they entered, looked her over briefly, then
flashed her a warm smile that Nabiki imagined might make some of the more
impressionable junior girls blush; she wasn't quite as easily swayed
herself, but still smiled back before she took a seat near the far corner
of the room.
"I believe that would be everyone, yes?" Hiroka looked through his papers
and nodded to himself. "Well, as some of you may already have guessed,
I'm Hiroka Ichirou, the current president of this club, and I hope we'll
all have a good time together this upcoming year. I'm sure you all had
enough of boring formalities yesterday, while I was unfortunately unable
to attend, so let's get right onto what we're here for, shall we?"
He smiled warmly at the audience in general, though Nabiki couldn't quite
shake the feeling that it was mostly for *her* benefit... especially when,
just before leaving his position at the front for a seat near the middle
of the room, he briefly locked eyes with her, letting his remarkably clear
blue eyes - an oddity that startled her, and etched the incident firmly
into her memory - look straight into hers for several seconds.
Nabiki wondered if anyone had seen, but could find no evidence that such
was the case; she failed to notice Isoshi sigh and look into his own
folded hands.
* * *
"So," Hanako asked as their trio headed into the dining hall, "you went to
the second club meeting yesterday, right? How'd it go?"
"Fine, I guess. At least nobody pestered me this time so I guess I might
keep going."
Nabiki flashed her friends a conspiratorial smile, causing them to eye
her suspiciously.
"What are you smiling about? Something happen?" Fujie, as Nabiki well
knew, couldn't stand being kept in the dark.
"Oh, nothing. Just... you might even consider changing clubs, I think,
Fujie."
By now, the short girl was almost jumping in place; the intended
effect. "What, what, what?"
"Let's just say I believe I've located that hunky upperclassman you were
gossiping about the other day."
"It's not faaaaaaaair!" Fujie protested.
Nabiki grinned. "Anyway, let's sit down here." They had walked quite a bit
into the dining hall and reached one of the middle tables, where Isoshi
sat, alone. The two friends raised their eyebrows, but Nabiki smiled
innocently - a smile that from her had caused people to remark about
wolves and sheep and such things on occasion - and they sat down; it
didn't escape either friend's notice that Nabiki chose the seat opposite
to the shy boy's, and she immediately started looking through her bag for
something.
Soon, Nabiki pulled out a math textbook, and dropped it against the table
to catch Isoshi's attention. She grinned at him as he looked
up. "Hey," she said, "you're pretty good at this, right? Could you help me
look at some problems I've had trouble with?"
Fujie and Hanako looked at each other, shaking their heads. No matter how
gifted their friend was at the topic, she'd still jump at a chance to let
someone else do the job... though of course, they didn't entirely discount
the possibility that said trouble might - if not entirely then at least to
a large part - very well be fictional.
The boy launched into a lengthy, enthusiastical explanation when she
indicated the troublesome spot, and Nabiki nodded regularly to confirm her
understanding. "Oh, I see," she said eventually, as he finished that
particular problem. "You're pretty good at this stuff; you must spend
quite a bit of time studying..."
"Not really," Isoshi told her, rubbing his nose - a habit she'd noted him
falling to several times in class. "I guess it's just somewhat of a
talent."
Nabiki grinned; precisely the answer she'd expected. Nodding, she turned a
few pages in the book, but before she could bring to his attention the
next problematic spot, the boy looked up slightly, and suddenly hurried
toss down the last of his milk. "Um, well, I hope that helped," he told
her. "I'm finished now, so, uh, I guess I'll be going."
She soon realized what had caused Isoshi's hurry, as the movie-club
president, who'd apparently been nearing the table from the other side,
soon took the vacated seat, without showing any signs of realizing that it
was his very presence that had caused it to become free. "Hiroka," Nabiki
observed, glaring at him as she grabbed the book and stuffed it into her
bad with a huff; she wouldn't have any real trouble with the material, but
if Hiroka hadn't showed up, she might've avoided having to expend even
that effort.
The boy coughed, raising an eyebrow. "Upperclassman Hiroka please, dear
Nabiki," he said, and didn't seem to notice her cold tone. "I wonder what
troubled Kimura so; he seemed in an awful hurry to leave."
"Whatever," she told him dryly. She had to grant, though, the he was a
good actor; had she not known better, she might easily have believed his
words to be sincere.
Either blissfully unaware of her thoughts, or purposefully ignoring them,
Hiroka lazily took a few bites out of his food, and smiled winningly at
her, causing Fujie some distress as the short girl's mind tried to decide
whether to be impressed or grumble about the unfairness of it all.
"So," Hiroka said when he'd finished his meal, "I was wondering, would you
care to go on a date with me tonight?"
*That* boldness caught even the supposedly unflappable Nabiki by surprise,
and she had to think it over briefly, before eventually shrugging. "OK, I
guess."
"Great!" Hiroka smiled brightly. "I'll stop by your house at eight
o'clock tonight to pick you up."
Message delivered, he rose, and walked off again, heading for the exit
with confident steps.
Nabiki's two friends looked at her with eyes like saucers, and Fujie hit
her hand onto the table as soon as she managed to get over the worst
shock. "Nabiki!" she exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell us? I had no idea the
guy was that interested in you!"
"That makes two of us," Nabiki replied. "Well, three, unless Hanako
has some psychic powers she hasn't told us about."
"You seemed to accept it easy enough for someone who's been known to
decline such invitations," Hanako noted.
"Well, I don't know." Nabiki shrugged. "I guess if I had said no you
would've never forgiven me for missing the chance, would you, Fujie?"
The short girl nodded fervently. "You didn't go out even once in Junior
High, and now the coolest guy in school asks you out - it's just not
fair!"
* * *
The Tendou family ate their dinner in relative silence, each pondering
their own respective problems (and the secrets behind Kasumi's excellent
cooking).
"Hey Dad," Nabiki said, interrupting the father's meal. "You know, I *am*
in high school now. Don't you think I might need a somewhat higher
allowance?"
Souun crossed his arms, choosing, for once, to take a firm stand. "I'm
sorry, Nabiki, but you know quite well how the family finances are. I just
can't afford giving you more."
"Maybe it would help if you tried to get a job?" Akane suggested, then
quickly regretted it, hurrying to retract her statement as tears appeared
in his eyes. "Sorry, sorry, you know I didn't mean it, Daddy."
Nabiki sighed to herself. If she couldn't wrest more money out of her
father, she'd better find some good prospects in school soon. _Sheesh, a
young girl shouldn't have to go to this much trouble just for some pocket
money._
She allowed a few more minutes before delivering the bomb. "Oh, I almost
forgot, I'm going on a date tonight."
This time, the flood from their father was inevitable. "Nabiki! My little
girl! Are you serious? Can't you think it over again? There's the... I
mean, who knows what might happen..."
The younger sister seemed to agree. "Honestly, sis, it's probably just
some creep that wants to take advantage of you, and you don't even know
how to defend yourself."
Nabiki grinned. "Really, dear little sister, shouldn't you have outgrown
the 'all boys are icky'-phase by now?"
"Hmph." Akane snorted. "It's not *my* fault they're all scum. Not
like... um..."
"Like who?" Nabiki smiled innocently.
"Yes, Akane," Kasumi asked curiously, "like who?"
The youngest Tendou sister fidgeted nervously. "Oh, nobody in particular,
forget I even said that..."
Their father sobbed some more, but now that he had lost most of his
resolve, no one paid him much attention.
* * *
By the time eight o'clock rolled around, Nabiki had decided to go with the
flow, and thus now wore a simple purplish dress that, while not exactly
elegant or stylish, was at least an improvement on the casual clothes she
usually wore at home. As a final touch, she applied a barely noticeable
touch of makeup, after having consulted the wisdom of her older sister.
Thus, when the front door bell rang, she still managed to give that
slightly unprepared and unfinished impression, and while she walked down
the stairs - feeling no particular need to hurry - her father rushed to
open the door and get a first look at the young man whom he no doubt
suspected would attempt to molest his "poor baby daughter".
On the other side of that door, he found a young man with an almost noble
appearance; broad shoulders, a simple yet elegant suit, well-trimmed hair
combed neatly but not too neatly to the side, and a reserved smile. With
his arms folded behind his back, he bowed slightly towards the Tendou
patriarch. "I'm here for Nabiki Tendou...?"
Having seen the boy in person obviously changed Souun's admittedly easily
swayed mind, and as the man turned around to fetch his middle daughter,
tears already forming in his eyes as he mumbled something vaguely
incoherent.
The girl in question just came around the corner, ignoring her father to
let the man drift off into his private dream-land. She nodded at Hiroka,
and they set off, the boy making sure they walked elbow-in-elbow; Nabiki
pondered this for a moment, but decided not to protest.
* * *
Nabiki considered the prices on the menu, and Hiroka's magnanimous
insistence that she could order whatever she wanted and needn't worry
about the costs, as he would cover those. Granted that Nabiki had quite a
slim waist, and thus didn't exactly look like a big eater, but at a classy
restaurant like this, the high prices meant he wouldn't have come off
cheap even if she *hadn't* been able to pack away quite a bit more than
one might guess at a glance.
Thus, it was with an inward smile that Nabiki proceeded to order lobster,
and then carefully instruct the waiter about the increased size of her
meal. _If I had realized dates were this profitable, I would've accepted
some offers long ago,_ she thought to herself.
Hiroka raised an eyebrow, though it was hard to tell whether this
indicated displeasure or just curiosity. "You have a healthy appetite,
Nabiki dear."
"I guess I do," she replied dryly, choosing to ignore the somewhat
over-familiar way in which he addressed her. "If the cost is a problem, I
could change the order."
"Oh, I meant nothing of the sort," he assured her with a friendly
smile. "Merely making an observation."
Some idle conversation followed as they first waited for the meal to
arrive and then slowly proceeded to eat it. Other than being
somewhat over-familiar, Hiroka's manners were impeccable. Truth to be
told, however, Nabiki didn't find the pointless, empty chatter very
interesting, and would probably have tried to get the whole thing over
with as quickly as possible if she hadn't at least found the attention
flattering.
As meal draw to a close and she had been picking at the remains on her
plate for a moment, however, Nabiki felt no desire to prolong the date any
longer, and wiped her mouth slightly with a napkin before speaking. "Well,
are we finished, then?"
Hiroka shrugged. "I guess," he said, raising his hand slightly to catch
the waiter's attention.
Soon, Hiroka received the bill; judging by what glimpses Nabiki managed to
get of the inside of his wallet, it was in no way a minor expense for him,
but he still paid it without showing any signs of being bothered by the
amount.
* * *
A short walk later, they arrived outside the gates of the Tendou dojo,
where a short pause ensued. Nabiki had intended to proceed right in, but
judging by the look on Hiroka's face, the boy had other intentions.
And indeed, he soon put a hand on her shoulder, looking right down into
her eyes. A girl somewhat less strong of will might have been affected by
his deep, blue eyes, but Nabiki mainly found the boy's presumptuousness
annoying, and showed her displeasure by bending her head slightly to the
right.
Obviously, however, Hiroka wasn't the sort to take no for an answer. "Now,
now, Nabiki dear," he said, placing his other hand against her cheek to
turn her back into a more suitable angle.
If Nabiki hadn't been irritated before, she certainly was now; she might
actually have given in had he not insisted so, but trying to force Nabiki
Tendou into something she had clearly demonstrated she didn't desire was
one thing she wouldn't forgive.
Shaking her upper body slightly, she confirmed that Hiroka was indeed as
strong as his firmly (but not exaggeratedly) muscular body implied, and
he held her shoulder tightly as his heading gradually moved closer to
hers.
However, while Nabiki had never displayed much interested in the family
art, and certainly lacked her younger sister's brutish strength, her sharp
wits were all she needed to fight dirty long enough to escape the unwanted
attention... Hiroka had little choice but to bend over in pain, clutching
at his nether regions, as Nabiki walked off unconcernedly, reentering her
home.
* * *
AUTHOR'S NOTES
--------------
All C&C appreciated, etc etc. Takahashi Rumiko created some of the
characters, settings and concepts used in this story - in other words, all
the interesting ones - and did a better job of it than I ever could; I am
eternally grateful for the joy her works have brought me.
The original idea was a Nabiki-in-college fic, but it never quite managed
to take off, and then I realized it would work better as it is now, and
the extra twists I needed to get going popped up.
My take on Nabiki might be somewhat different from fanfic cliche, but this
*is* my perception of what lies behind her behavior in the manga (if not
fully - there's still some slight changes to occur within the story to
make her the Nabiki we know). Still, if you disagree, or of course if she
or any of the other characters seem internally inconsistent, don't hesitate
to tell me.
Not quite sure how long this will run; a couple of chapters, but not too
many.
---
Ronny Hedin, thark@mangakai.org, http://i99ronhe.island.liu.se/
"Baka baka, minna baka." -Hoshino Ruri, Nadesico
"How embarrassing to be human." -Kurt Vonnegut