Oh, stop it! Nabiki leaned back against the cinderblock wall,
crossing her arms at her chest and staring into space. Her little sister
simply could not be a mutant, and that was that! Things like that just
didn't happen to her family!
Then what about Mom?
Nabiki flinched, wishing that her mind would shut the hell up. She
had once thought that the loss of a loved one would never happen to her. Her
mother's death had disproved that in a hurry.
But this is different!
Yeah? How?
Well, Akane isn't going to die, for starters!
You don't know that, either.
GO GET STUFFED!
Nabiki missed the sound of the outer doors sliding open, yet a sky
blue dress caught her eye. She whipped her head toward the entrance, relief
flooding her as she recognized Akane standing right in the lobby. Her
younger sister looked harried, disoriented even as she glanced around the
small lobby area.
"AKANE!"
Akane started at the sound of Nabiki's voice, dread and hope rising
within her at the sight of her older sister charging toward her with a
completely out of character look of relief on her face.
Akane felt heartened as Nabiki slid to a stop in front of her, a
wide grin on her face. The grin faded quickly, replaced with her usual calm
facade before she began firing off questions.
"Where were you?"
"I was... out for a walk." Akane heard the doors slide open again, a
breath of cool air whispering against the nape of her neck.
"Come over here, Akane," Nabiki whispered, nodding her head toward a
corner of the lobby.
"I can't."
"What?"
"I'm going to see how Ranma is doing."
"I thought you didn't care about Ranma," Nabiki replied with a smirk.
"I don't! It's just that... well... he's been hurt... and..."
"Akane."
Akane froze at the tone in Nabiki's voice, authoritave and firm. She
had hardly ever heard her sister use that voice, and red flags went up in
Akane's brain. Something was amiss here, and she had a feeling she had
walked right in the middle of it.
"Yeah?"
"Did you do it?"
"I... I'm going to see Ranma, now."
Nabiki watched as Akane walked toward the elevators on the far end
of the lobby, for a moment seeing her as she had been ten years ago. A
little rambunxious girl who got into too many scrapes.
She was responsible. Oh, no, she really was.
Once more Nabiki found herself stumbling around in the dark, unsure
of what to do or think. The only thing she could do was follow Akane, and
hope to God that somehow this would all work out.
==========================================
Akane slowly opened the door to Ranma's room, anxiety twisting her
intestines in knots. Did they know? They were bound to have heard all sorts
of stories by now, news travelling rather quickly in Nerima Ward. Would they
believe any of it?
Swallowing her fear, Akane slid into the cramped room. Nabiki
followed behind as Soun, Kasumi, and Genma turned their heads toward her.
"Akane!" Soun exclaimed, remaining beside Genma.
"Is Ranma okay?" She gazed at his unmoving form, the blanket
covering him to his chin. Several tubes ran from his arms to bags of clear
liquid suspended on racks beside him, with wires connecting various
electrodes to the machines near the bed. A clear tube ran beneath his nose,
doubtlessly carrying oxygen into his airways. Akane couldn't bear to see him
like that, especially knowing that she was the cause.
"He will recover, Akane," Genma answered, suspicion clear in his
voice. The elder man's beady eyes glared at her from behind his glasses as
if she were an alien life form.
"What happened?" Kasumi asked.
"I don't know. One second, Ranma's okay, and the next..."
"That's not what we heard," Genma growled, hostility open in his
gaze. Akane felt her skin bake from the heat of his glare, the accusation
plain. They had heard, and the thought the same. Akane had never felt so
alone in her entire life.
"Saotome! Enough!" Soun barked.
"Akane," Kasumi said in her gentlest voice, "did..."
"NO! IT'S NOT MY FAULT!"
The power built up yet again, begging for the release Akane was
powerless to deny. The twin halogen lights above burst like overripe melons,
sparks flying from the array of monitoring equipment to which Ranma was
connected.
The rush faded, leaving everyone stunned in the aftermath. The room
had been plunged into darkness and complete silence, yet Akane could still
feel the eyes upon her. Four sets bored into her soul, accusing her, hating
her, leaving her spirit flayed.
Akane barely made it out the door before the tears started, charging
past the oncoming orderlies and doctors that were rushing into Ranma's room.
============================================
Isao Tanemura watched with sympathy as Akane collapsed to her knees
between two parked cars, a keening wail escaping her lips. He felt the tears
sting his own eyes at the sight, recalling how his own revelation had went.
It was never an easy thing for a family to discover that one of their
children was a mutant. The inability for the others to accept it was always
painful and traumatic, and it appeared that for Akane it had been no different.
"They... they hate me."
What could he say to that? Yes, Akane, they DO hate you now? From
now on, you are no longer Soun Tendo's daughter? He wanted to say it, yet
relented. The realization would sink in further on its own without help from
him.
"That's what it's like for mutants. It was like that for me, too."
"But I don't WANT TO BE A MUTANT!"
"Neither did I, at first," Isao replied, crouching down beside her.
"In time, I realized what a gift it really was."
"Gift? You call this a GIFT?!"
"Yes, Akane, it is a gift. A wonderful gift."
"It's a curse!" she shouted.
"Akane!"
Isao looked up from the crying girl on the asphalt, seeing the other
one he had seen in the lobby running toward them. He searched through Taki's
information, matching the face with the name of Nabiki Tendo. The middle
child, and a real mercenary to boot.
Akane's heart clenched when she heard Nabiki's shout, the urge to
get up and run almost overpowering her. She heard the sound of Nabiki's
sneakers slapping the pavement grow louder, wishing that she could just
shrivel up and die somewhere.
"Akane..."
"Leave her alone," Isao's voice said from the ether.
"You stay out of this... hey, who the hell are you anyway?!"
"His name is Isao," Akane answered, pulling herself to her knees.
"Akane! You know this guy?"
"I met him in the park earlier tonight," she replied weakly as she
brought her eyes up to Nabiki's face.
"Akane, this is no time for your interest in men to pick up!"
"It's not like that," Akane and Isao said in unison.
"Then what IS it like?" Nabiki glared daggers at the man named Isao,
attempting to determine what his game was.
"I'm here to help," he replied cooly, returning her glare with equal
measure.
"Is that right?" Nabiki was not impressed. Akane finds out about
some weird powers she has, and this guy shows up the same day? Something
really wrong was happening here.
"Yes, it is."
"Nabiki, stop it!"
"Hang on, Akane, I don't trust this guy."
"I don't blame you," Isao said, "but the issue of your trust is not
important here."
"I'd say it bloody well is!"
Isao was quickly growing tired of the arguement with Nabiki Tendo,
the desire to simply freeze her solid a rather seductive one.
"Listen here, Nabiki..."
"And how do you know my name?"
"Nevermind that. I'm here to help Akane, and nothing you say will
stop me."
"What about Akane, then?"
"That's a different story."
"Okay, then, now for the main question. Why?"
"Because I'm a mutant as well."
The silence stretched between the three for what felt like an
eternity of seconds, not a soul daring to break it. Isao saw a look of
surprised fear flutter across Nabiki's features before dissolving into calm.
"You're... a mutant?"
"Do you need a demonstration?"
"ISAO! Stop!" Isao and Nabiki turned their heads to Akane, who was
standing beneath the glow of one of the many parking lights. Her dress was
stained with grease and dirt, tears having left evident tracks on her face.
"I... I just want to go home..."
=====================================
Okay, here's the first part. I set this VERY early in the series, to
better differentiate between martial arts and mutant powers. However, I do
plan to explain the differences in more detail in later parts.
Thanks for reading!
Knight Writer.