The Amazon and the Moneylender: Episode 10, Part 2:
Visitations
Note: My own misgivings and some good C&C have
convinced me that the lemon scene of the original
version needed a severe rewrite...as such...I
did...don't expect a blow by blow again...I'm
moderately surprised that I allowed it the first time.
Clincal description leaves little room for emotion.
-------------------------------------------------------
"I'm home!" Akane called out as she entered the
house back from a jog. It was about a minute before
she realized that nobody was home except for her. The
house had that curious echoing sound, she sighed in
irritation as she started scanning the rooms. She
found a note in the room Ranma and his father shared.
"Nabiki asked me to walk her and my girl-side to
the Doc's."
Akane grumbled, but that had seemed the most
logical thing, and it was past time for Nabiki to
check in with Dr. Tofu. She peaked into the guest-room
Kodachi had been using and noticed the bed had not
been slept in. She didn't blame the girl for not
staying here after last night. Akane had no clue where
Kasumi had gone, but she found a rather long-winded
note in Genma's hand in the family room.
"We have embarked a journey of self-discovery in
such places of enlightenment that you young children
could not hope to experience." Akane quickly
translated it into the following. "We're hiding from
the psycho girl in a bar, we took the shogi board."
"Idiots," Akane growled. She heard the door open
and saw Kodachi cautiously walking into the house.
"Is everybody gone?" she asked.
"Yeah, boring isn't it," Akane muttered. "So where
were you last night?" Kodachi blushed.
"Nothing happened," she declared haughtily. "I just
wanted some quiet."
"I don't blame you," Akane said. "Though I could
use a little noise for the moment."
"Tendo-sensei," Akane sighed wistfully and turned
to Kodachi. "Can you teach me some more?"
"Sure, nothing else to do," Akane shrugged standing
up and heading for the dojo. Then in a half-joking
tone she added: "We can discuss the so-called men."
"Indeed." Kodachi nodded in agreement.
"I am NOT a magical compost!"
"Construct," Tofu corrected, as he finished taping
up Nabiki's ankle, it turned out that she had sprained
it. Needless to say, the middle Tendo was very
irritated at this.
"Whatever, I don't buy it, I have memories," Ranko
snapped. "I don't know about this drowned spring water
junk. I have to get back home for the trials! I'm
already behind on the training."
Ranma sat on the counter looking bored.
"I think you'll find that if you were to compare
your memories with Ranma that his are similar in
number of places."
"Has he ever been dropped in a pit of hungry cats
wrapped in�"
"Yes." The other three said at once.
"Used as a distraction so someone could escape a
pack of wolves?"
"Now that I don't�"
"It was a bear." Everybody looked at Ranma and
blinked. "And actually he was using the bear to get
away from me."
"Uh, huh," Nabiki said. "You need to explain to me
some day why you still hang around your father."
"That panda-man is your father!"
"Unfortunately so," he muttered.
"I'm sorry, hey!" she rubbed her arm and glared at
Dr. Tofu who was examining a small syringe of blood.
"What did you do that for?"
"I'm going to compare your and Ranma's blood," the
doctor answered. "Should prove interesting."
"Aren't you going to take a sample of his blood?"
Ranko pouted. Dr. Tofu absent-mindedly opened a fridge
near his counter and revealed rows of blood samples,
each of the local martial artists had a row of
samples.
"I've had plenty of earlier opportunities," he
looked to the two Saotomes thoughtfully. "I don't
think you need to stay here if you don't want to, but
perhaps you should stay close to Ranma or Akane for a
while."
"What do you mean by that," Ranko asked. "I can
take care of myself."
"Not compared to Ranma you can't," the Doctor
insisted. "I can tell by how you move, but other
people are going to assume that you are Ranma. Until
people figure out that you aren't, or until you get
some more training, you should probably watch your
step." Tofu sighed, he assumed that the non-Ranma half
of the girl was no where near as highly trained as
Ranma.
"What, are they blind or something?" Ranko blinked.
"Or do you still expect me to believe that magic water
stuff? Besides, I can handle myself. I don't care what
you think," She zipped quickly out of the room.
"I got it, I got it," Ranma said following after
her. Tofu turned to Nabiki and cupped his chin.
"I'm usually seeing Akane Tendo here," he said.
"Don't worry," Nabiki said, irritably stepping down
from the examination table and getting used to the
feel of a pair of crutches. "I don't have anything
going on that I need to do much for, and I won't be
initiating any new business." She started limping out
of the clinic. Dr. Tofu watched her with some concern,
Nabiki was much more passive than was normal for her.
Actually, resigned seemed to be a more appropriate
word.
"Nabiki," Kasumi called out as she saw her sister
walking back towards the dojo. The girl turned around
stiffly and blinked, her sister was upset about
something. Something other than the fact that Nabiki
was walking around instead of resting.
"Did Ukyou know what she was feeding me?"
"[We have things to discuss, Nabiki,]" Kasumi spoke
quickly in soft, sibilant tongue that seemed to pool
in the air. Nabiki's eyes popped wide and she scanned
the area for onlookers quickly.
"We don't speak that out in the open!" Nabiki
snapped. "What are you thinking?"
"Since you've returned," Kasumi continued calmly,
now that she had Nabiki's attention. "Since you left,
actually, you seem to have been on a mission of
self-destruction. I've been wondering why."
"Don't be stupid," Nabiki felt rather silly yelling
at her sister, especially knowing that Kasumi wouldn't
be rising to the bait. "I've had a run of severe bad
luck. That is all." Nabiki thought about trying to
ignore her sister and continue home, but that might
not have been a good idea.
"You're pining over Shampoo," Kasumi corrected,
with an upraised eyebrow.
"Just how much did I say last night," Nabiki
demanded icily.
"You predicted war and death," Kasumi said calmly.
"And said you loved Shampoo."
"That is my business," Nabiki snapped.
"Even if I did not disapprove, even if you weren't
killing yourself over this," Kasumi responded calmly.
"It is our business when the family's only adept
starts blurting family secrets and then fancying
herself capable of fighting a powerful martial artist,
With a knife no less."
"The mistake was in waking him up to ask
questions," Nabiki insisted. ~Not to mention that
aside from this last week, I haven't entered the
astral or worked the simplest spells since Mom died,
and if he was Kento Kage...well I was lucky either
way.~
"And what questions did you need to ask him."
Nabiki looked about again for watchers, using chi
sight to double check.
"I heard him use the name Kento Kage," Nabiki
whispered. Kasumi gasped in surprise, but quickly
recovered herself.
"Copycat Ken, whether he was the Traitor or not,"
Kasumi noted, not falling for the subject change. "Is
dead. It does not change things, you need to stop
dwelling on Shampoo, it isn't accomplishing anything."
"I know that," Nabiki said and laughed bitterly. "I
most definitely know that." She tried to ignore the
feeling of her sister's concerned stare at her back,
but couldn't quite do it. Kasumi might lack
viciousness, but she was tenacious, and she was as
protective of family as Nabiki or Akane.
"Hey, wait up!" The girl turned around and shouted
something Chinese that Ranma was certain was an
insult. "Why do I get stuck as the baby sitter?" he
wondered irritably. He put on a burst of speed to
catch up with the girl and then pass her.
"Get out of my way!" She launched an kick at his
head, which Ranma caught easily enough. She had
potential, though he had considered that obvious. She
was at least half him after all.
Ranko didn't stop there of course, launching into a
flurry of punches that would have worried when he had
first arrived in Nerima. As it was, he found them easy
to counter, and he was actually fairly bored, though
he hoped Ranko couldn't tell that. She gave up when
Ranma dodged a sweep by flipping over her. Then she
settled for merely shouting at him in a bizarre
mixture of Japanese and Chinese.
"Listen, Ranko," he shook his head, irritably.
"Could you try to calm down and pick one language,
preferably Japanese?"
"I'm real!"
"I couldn't guess," Ranma growled.
"You know what I mean," she sat on the roof he had
finally caught up to her on, and pouted. "If he's
right then all my memories are wrong, but I know they
aren't!"
"Idiot! You can't always know that," Ranma snapped,
thinking about the nightmare lands again. "Take a
moment to look yourself over."
"You are a pervert!"
"Just do it," Ranma sighed.
"Why?"
"Any scars, or blemishes?" he asked.
"Yeah, right here�" she blinked at blank flesh.
"Must have healed, well there's always this�the
spear�I know the spear has to�" She tipped up her
shirt corner, not noticing Ranma blush and look away.
"What happened to me?!"
"Newborns don't got scars," Ranma said. "Not
usually anyway."
"I'm seventeen years old thank you!"
"Haven't you noticed that some of your memories
don't make sense?" Ranma asked. "Like the mongols with
the Okinawan accent."
"That could happen," she whined, Ranma looked at
her reproachfully. "This isn't fair!" She started
crying, and Ranma reluctantly let her lean on his
shoulder, cautiously looking about for Akane.
Unnoticed by either a small form dropped out of the
green shadows of a tree and padded carefully away.
"Master Kuno will want to hear of this," the
whisper carried only a small distance before dying
away.
Shampoo waited until after closing time, when
Cologne was going to sleep. It wouldn't do for her
great-grandma to catch her. She would be suspicious at
least, and if she guessed the truth, would have been
furious. Shampoo was not going to allow her to trick
Nabiki though. When an amazon was dishonored they were
exiled and expected to go on a quest to regain their
honor. The Japanese had this curious little tradition
called seppuku, and while she doubted Nabiki would
ever do something like that, she didn't want to take
the chance.
Besides, since Nabiki had gotten back she hadn't
done more than speak a few sentences to the girl. She
had still been a little mad, of course, but hadn't
gotten much of a chance to vocalize it. Nabiki had
been avoiding her, she knew it, but she didn't know
why. When Shampoo had seen Nabiki, the Tendo was
hardly her normal self. Shampoo wanted the dryly
sarcastic girl back, and Nabiki's current behavior was
scaring her.
As the lights started dying out in the Tendo dojo,
Shampoo moved. When she wanted to, the girl could move
with absurd stealth, she didn't have to break down
walls to get into places. But it annoyed Akane. The
window opened quietly and Shampoo stepped in, and then
goggled at all the charms around the room.
"How anyone sleep in here?" she asked.
"They actually very relaxing." Shampoo turned to
see Nabiki sitting up on her bed, looking at Shampoo
quietly. "Why are you here Shampoo?"
"You okay?" the amazon asked. Shampoo darted in
close and reached out to gingerly remove the bandage
on Nabiki's face. She nodded satisfactorily. "Healing
nice, not much of a scar." Nabiki couldn't think
straight, Shampoo was right there with her, and she
could think of was how it was an impossible dream.
"Lock the door," she managed to get out. "You don't
want my family seeing you in here." Shampoo stood up
and shrugged before walking to Nabiki's door and
placing the deadlocks in place. She glanced at the
crutches and flinched inwardly, this most recent
injury had been for Shampoo's benefit, even if it
hadn't come out the way Nabiki had intended.
"Shampoo warn you," Nabiki looked up. "Great
grandma say have to kill red-haired girl."
"I see," Nabiki sighed quietly. "Why are you
telling me this."
"Great-grandma want make girl seem to be threat,"
Shampoo said. "Then you help us kill her." Nabiki was
aghast, trick her to aid in murder! How dare that old
crone.
"And how do you feel about this," Nabiki asked.
"Shampoo not face half-breed in match," Shampoo
noted. "She face Ranma." Nabiki looked down at her
feet where they set against the floor. That horrible
blank look came across her face before it passed below
Shampoo's sight. Then the girl's shoulders started to
shake quietly, Shampoo cautiously moved forward and
bent to look in her face, she immediately stood
straight up again. Nabiki was crying!?
"I made a total mess of things Shampoo," she
whimpered. "Everything is wrong. You and Akane are
going to die fighting over Ranma, I know it." Shampoo
sat down on the bed next to the weeping girl, and
gingerly reached arm around her to pat her back.
"You fix many things," Shampoo insisted. This
wasn't good, seeing her friend like this, it almost
seemed to physically hurt. Like when Nabiki blamed
herself for Kuno attacking Ukyou, though that was just
a shadow of the present situation. She kept thinking
back to that daydream, with a brightly smirking
Nabiki, full of confidence and fire. That image had
been stuck in her mind.
"Only what I broke in the first place," Nabiki
sighed. "I should stick to money. Money doesn't have a
life to�" Shampoo turned Nabiki to face her and the
Tendo girl stopped talking as she turned to look at
Shampoo. Those purple eyes that caught her once before
were filled with intense worry as Shampoo carefully
brushed some of the bangs away from Nabiki's face.
"Shampoo?"
The amazon moved in and kissed the shocked
moneylender. Nabiki was too surprised at first to
respond, but as Shampoo pull her full body in she
began to understand that it was really happening.
After several moments they broke off and stared at
each other in surprise, Nabiki still firmly in
Shampoo's embrace. Shampoo blinked as she realized
that the kiss wasn't near enough for her now.
"We have to be quiet," Shampoo said softly as
Nabiki just nodded. She hesistantly reached her arms
around Shampoo, still half-expecting this to be a
dream. The Japanese girl initiated her own kiss,
closing her eyes to focus on the feel and the taste.
The scents of ramen spices, incense and the tang of
blood mixed as she inhaled them.
Shampoo hesitated when Nabiki didn't resist being
lowered to the bed. The yielding confused her, she
expected Nabiki to be domineering. Everything she
knew about Nabiki told her the girl liked to be in
control, and this fading seemed strange.
"You hurt?" Shampoo asked cautiously, pulling away.
Nabiki arched her eyebrow in her usual "what do you
think" manner, and reached back up to gently encircle
Shampoo's head in her arms, and assuage her doubts
with another kiss. Shampoo pushed downward again,
hesitantly as she tried to figure out why Nabiki was
acting so oddly.
Nabiki was no less confused. Shampoo refused to be
led. She was having to draw the girl out more than
she thought would be necessary. Every time she
thought Shampoo was taking the lead, the amazon
hesitated. It was strange, quite unlike what she
expected.
Hands and lips roamed, and eyes met momentarily.
Each regarded the other with the same unasked for
inquiry. ~Why are you holding back?~ Both decided to
change tactics, still thinking in terms of plan and
counter.
Restraint remained, as Shampoo carefully avoided
aggravating Nabiki's injuries. This mildly frustrated
the Tendo, who found herself prevented from doing
everything she wanted to. Both were trying to keep as
quiet as possible, worried about discovery.
Which of the two gave in first was too close to
call. Perhaps Nabiki stopped trying to lead Shampoo
on. Maybe Shampoo gave up trying to figure out
Nabiki. At some point they merely tossed out whatever
strategies they had in mind. Slowly they started
responding to each other, rather than their own
expectations. Pressure of one kind faded into
another, and the pressure built. Until, finally
paired screams died in a shared embrace.
Then the two girls wearily fell back on Nabiki's
bed, staring at each other in sweat-coated awe. They
didn't even fight the exhaustion that pulled them
gently down to sleep, in each other's arms.
=====
"Caffeinated Kender? What's that, a berserk spell?" -
Tribble, Kender Warrior of the Celestial Kingdom
Signed
He of Too Many Names (Thrythlind/Thryth/Luke/Hyperbole/Pika/Pooka)
http://members.aol.com/thrythlind/snake.html
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