Hey gang,

Wow...Part 26...Enough for one season of anime...

Really a historic chapter. I know you're impressed. I can hear both of you snoring!

;P

Anyway, read on and enjoy...^_~

The characters are borrowed, the settings are not...They're
real...Kinda...Anyway, I'm just borrowing Ranma and the cast. I'll put'm
back when I'm done...promise...

C&C is always welcome
gargoyle@glasscity.net
gargoyle9@hotmail.com
or
gargoyle4@hotmail.com
Flames, as always, will be filed in the round folder...

Salud!

***

"I know how you feel, Ranma."

The coach looked across the desk at the young man he silently
wished he could adopt. Ranma Saotome had a dejected and
disgusted look on his face and the coach didn't blame him.

"There's no way around it?"

"Nope," the coach sighed and passed a letter across the desk to the
boy, "As you can see, the principal reminded me in writing that I
couldn't have you in all three. If he hadn't said anything, them
maybe we could've done something. But now..."

Ranma closed his eyes and tried to focus. It took all his
concentration not to run to the principal's office and blow him
away. Slowly, the immediate anger died back, only leaving a dull
burn. The letter said that Ranma Saotome couldn't play in three
sports in one year. Two sports, fine, but not three.

"If it's any consolation, Ranma," the coach began, "I believe you'd
be better served trying out for the baseball team, instead of
basketball. With basketball, we've never had a really good team
and you'd be asked to carry too much of the load."

Ranma smiled slightly.

"You know I've never backed down from a challenge, coach-"

"Yeah," the coach snarled, "And I also seem to remember a very
stupid stunt at Homecoming! You will play baseball and you'll like
it! Now get back to class!"

Coach ripped the paper out of Ranma's hands and thumped it back
down to the desk. Ranma smirked at his fiery coach and closed the
door behind him on his way out. They were games, really. Games
that he played with his coach, who had a hard time letting his
emotions out. Games he'd play with Nabiki in the following days
and weeks. Ranma rubbed at his eyes. He felt tired. He just didn't
want to play those games anymore...

***

The All-Americans
By
Joshua Trujillo

Part 26 - Showdown

***

Sayuri looked at herself in the mirror in the restroom and smiled.
She'd tried a new diet and the results impressed her. She looked
thinner around the face and that's where she most wanted it to
happen. It was so hard trying to keep things together with Ukyou
that she didn't want anything to get between them. She didn't want
to give her any excuse. She felt someone enter the restroom and
stand next to her. A flick of the wrist against the chestnut hair told
her that it was Nabiki. Sayuri coughed slightly and moved to walk
out, but Nabiki blocked her way and slowly shook her head.

"No," she said softly, "I have some things to discuss with you,
Sayuri."

"I..." she actually felt danger coming from Nabiki, "I don't think
we should. I really have nothing to talk to you about."

Sayuri tried to change directions and go to Nabiki's right, but
found an arm as Nabiki planted her hand against the cool of the
restroom tiled wall.

"You will talk to me Sayuri," Nabiki hissed, "Or I'll reveal to
everyone the sordid, sick-assed relationship that you have with that
transvestite bitch, Ukyou."

"It's NOT sick! It's-"

"It's SICK!" Nabiki shouted back, "You two lesbians are tricking
everyone in school and it pisses me off! I should yell it to the
whole class whenever I get a chance!"

"Everyone knows..." Sayuri felt trapped and desperate, "At the
dance-"

"It was a masquerade, Sayuri," Nabiki lowered her tones again,
"Nobody really thought that Ukyou was a girl."

"Yeah...they..."

"You *know* they didn't..." Nabiki backed off slightly and folded
her arms against her chest, "I really hate to have to do this Sayuri,
but I need your help finding a few things out. You WILL help me,
or I'll tell everyone the truth. And this time, there won't be any
excuses holding that truth back."

Sayuri felt the tears welling up inside her, but she'd be damned if
she was going to let Nabiki know about them.

"Alright," she said as her voice wavered uncontrollably, "I'll find
out what you wanna know. But then you leave me and Ukyou
alone..."

Nabiki stroked her chin and allowed herself a moment of pleasure
at the abject horror she generated in the girl. This was fun.

"Maybe..." she finally said, "But I may need you again...For other
things...Later..."

Sayuri held back the tears as Nabiki left, but not for very long. She
cried for a few minutes and yelped slightly as she heard a door to a
stall open behind her. A familiar set of eyes peered out from the
depths of the restroom and Sayuri broke down again. Akane
stepped out and put her arm around the other girl. She didn't know
what to say for a couple minutes, but finally had an idea.

"You know Sayuri..." Akane said softly, "I think we can kill two
birds with one stone here..."

"I...huh?"

"Just an idea," Akane smiled, "Cheer up and let's get this plan in
motion."

***

The ball felt good in her hand. Ukyou dribbled once more behind
the three point arc, turned and shot. The ball sailed up and silently
through the net. Ukyou smiled and retrieved the ball. She hadn't
eaten lunch because she and Sayuri were going out to eat after
school. She shot the ball again and got a friendly bounce. She
scowled slightly. It was those extra thoughts going through her
head that made her almost miss. She heard a clapping behind her.
Ukyou turned to see Shampoo clapping and giving her a slight
smirk.

"What?" Ukyou felt dumb even asking.

"Aw nuthin'," Shampoo purred, "I was just admirin' your skills
with the ball..."

Shampoo gripped her hands behind her and swaggered slightly.
Ukyou noticed that Shampoo's skirt was slightly more mini than
normal and her pink, fluffy sweater slid tight across the lavender-
haired girl's chest. The tennis shoes with bobby socks were a nice,
schoolgirl kinda touch. Oddly enough, it didn't turn her on in the
least. Ukyou smiled at the thought.

"I've always been good with basketball and baseball and other
sports," Ukyou turned to the hoop again, "I don't know, it's just
something I do."

She shot the ball and watched as it met nothing but net.

"Ya know," Shampoo said, "I was really wonderin' what yer
relationship was with Sayuri...Bein' who ya'll are..."

Ukyou slowly dribbled the ball back.

"And whaddya mean by that?"

"Just wonderin', honey," Shampoo took the ball from her, "I just
wondered if ya really loved the gal."

Shampoo spotted up and arced the ball straight in. Ukyou smiled.
Brains, a body to die for, a fighter...She could understand what
Ranma saw in her. She also seemed to have a good heart too, and
Ukyou thought that was more important.

"Honestly Shampoo?" Ukyou passed the ball back to her, "I don't
know. There are so many conflicting emotions in me right now...I
don't really know."

"Well, if you HAD to say..."

Ukyou smiled and laughed slightly. She thought as Shampoo sank
another three.

"Yeah..." Ukyou said, "I'd say that I do."

She passed the ball back to Shampoo.

"And what's yer' relationship with Ranma?" Shampoo asked
quietly.

"We're...We're friends," Ukyou stuttered slightly.

"Well yeah, I'm friends with him too," Shampoo replied, "But I'd
boink him in a minute...And I think you would too..."

Ukyou looked around quickly as she blushed. She missed the ball
entirely, and didn't feel it as it bounced off her head. Did she
know? Had Ranma...? No, Ukyou decided that she wouldn't start
doubting him. That means that Ukyou had been showing him
more...affection. She'd have enough problems without this
southern fried bumpkin yelling it to the rafters. She crossed the
distance to Shampoo quickly as she fumed.

"Watch yer mouth, okay!" she hissed, "Not everyone went to the
dance!"

Shampoo laughed lightly and skipped back half a step.

"Don't worry, sweetie," she laughed again, "I made sure no one
was around..."

Ukyou sighed and hung her head.

"I LOVE teasin' you, ya know," Shampoo giggled, "Almost 's
much fun as teasin' Ranma."

"Shampoo...Is there a reason that you're tormenting me like this?"

"Naaaaaaaaaaaah," Shampoo laughed again, "Really Ukyou, I
promise not to tell 'cause Ranma gave me a second chance."

"A second chance?"

"Yeah," Shampoo sobered and ran a hand through her lavender
hair, "A second chance at bein' a friend. And I'm not gonna mess
that up...An' I was jus' wonderin' if we could be friends?"

A slow smile crawled across Ukyou's face.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Well..." Ukyou smiled as she reached out her hand, "Okay then..."

They smiled and shook each other's hand. Ukyou felt like things
were heading in the right direction for once and Shampoo felt like
another hurdle to being a friend to Ranma was passed. She hadn't
been sure she could be friends with anyone but Ranma, but
instantly felt silly for doubting. Ukyou had a good heart and that's
what mattered.

***

"Are you ready to do this?"

Daisuke took a breath and nodded.

"Why the wheelchair again?" Ranma asked.

"I guess there's a tear in my leg..." Daisuke breathed out, "I can
feel it near my knee. The doctor said that it'd take a couple months
to fully heal. I can go about on crutches and the doctors said that
I'll be able to do most stuff in about a week, which I don't
understand, but I just can't work it out too hard...Mom and Dad let
Hiroshi borrow my car so that he can drive me back and forth and
stuff. It also gives him a ride he can use with Yuka, so that's cool."

Ranma pulled the wheelchair out from the bed and wheeled
Daisuke toward the door. Daisuke felt a twinge of nervousness, but
swallowed it. There would be more twinges than he could handle
when he got back to class. Not to mention the amount of make-ups
he had before the midterms. He sighed. Ranma didn't have to
wheel his ass out, but Ranma had said he wanted to. At least
Daisuke really knew who his friends were. The nursing staff
waved at him as he passed and he waved back. They were all very
nice. Except for that strange nurse late at night. She was scary.
Ranma wheeled him into the elevator and Daisuke snickered as the
doors closed.

"What's so funny?" Ranma asked.

It was good to hear some laughter from Daisuke.

"Oh, nothing," he replied, "Just something your cousin said..."

"My cousin?"

"Yeah, Ranko," he said as he looked over his shoulder, "She came
and visited me last week. It was pretty cool, actually. Out of the
blue..."

"Ya' know," Ranma ventured, "She IS seeing someone."

"Oh I know," Daisuke knew Ranma was protective of her, "I
just...Here."

He handed Ranma a piece of paper. On it had his phone number
and address.

"And just what is *this* for?"

Ranma tried to hide his smile.

"Uh..." Daisuke began to sweat slightly, "I asked if I could talk to
her the next time she was in town. She really...helped me when she
visited."

"Helped, huh?" Ranma loved the tension, "And just HOW did she
*help* you? Maybe I should have a talk with her..."

"No!" Daisuke almost jumped out of seat as he tried to turn
around, "We just talked! Honestly-"

"Daisuke, it's okay," Ranma cut in, "She told me all about it, and
that's cool, okay? She told me she could help you and, well, I can't
stop her."

Daisuke sighed as he slumped in the chair.

"So you were just fooling with me?"

"Yup," Ranma chirped as the doors opened.

Daisuke's parents were the first to greet him, followed by Hiroshi,
who looked like he was going to cry. Yuka came next, who was
crying. Sayuri and Ukyou met him next and Ukyou gave him a
manly hug that looked painful. Sayuri was not as bubbly as
normal. Ranma shot a glance at Akane and found the youngest
sister almost expectant for some reason. Akane reached into her
pocket and took out a small package and handed it to Daisuke as
he wheeled himself over. He still seemed a little gun-shy, at least
to her, around other females (well, ones he knew about, at any rate)
and it looked like it took a supreme effort on his part not to flinch
when any of the women drew near. She silently bit back the angry
tears and promised him in her mind that they'd punish the person
that did this. Daisuke accepted the package, as it was from the
people at school. It wasn't much, but the little gold cross brought
tears to his eyes. She joined the rest of the group in the delight he
shared.

Akane sighed. Ryouga couldn't be at the hospital because of work,
which really sucked, but responsibilities were responsibilities.
Nabiki wasn't there either, but no one bothered to mention her out
loud. Everyone knew what everyone else thought of her and that
was that. Ranma wheeled Daisuke out to Daisuke's car (he was
nice enough to let Hiroshi borrow, but Akane really thought it was
his parent's prerogative) and helped the smaller boy in to the
passengers seat.

"Daisuke, you did real well with the girls back there," Ranma said
softly.

"Thanks," he replied, "They still kinda...I don't know. I just wish I
could trust'm, ya' know?"

Ranma nodded.

"Listen," Ranma began, "There are very few people in the world
that I trust, but the girls that I trust, I know you can trust too.
They're good people."

Daisuke thought about it for a moment and it seemed to make
sense. Ranma WAS one of the most secretive people he'd ever met
and if he trusted Akane, Yuka, Sayuri and Shampoo then so could
he. It was a place to start, anyway.

***

"This is where he lives?"

"Yes sir."

"Pest hole," the man lit a cigar, "Filthy pest hole."

"Yes sir."

The young woman shifted uncomfortably.

"There, there..." the man said, placing a hand on her knee, "You
know your value to me, and that's good, but don't overestimate
your replacability."

"Yes...Sir." she choked.

He leered at her for another minute, taking much pleasure at the
feel of her tight thigh under his hand. He withdrew the offending
appendage and took a long drag at the cigar. No sense pushing the
help too far, he'd need them later.

"Sir?"

The man looked across the limo to a young man. Almost
seventeen, good looking, great fighter and ruthless mind. Too bad
he had a thing for his personal bodyguard, the young brunette that
sat next to him.

"Yes, Mousse?"

"Um..." Mousse swallowed under the old man's gaze, "Is all this
really necessary? I mean, couldn't you just let me take this kid
out?"

The old man grabbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. His mind
was ruthless, but none too cunning. Happosai lowered his hand and
looked at it. It was old and withered, just like the rest of him. And
it was covered in blood. Just like the rest of him. Oh,
metaphorically, of course. No sense in messing up the back of a
perfectly good limo.

"Mousse, my dear boy, do you think that if I wanted Ranma, or
any one of his miserable siblings-in-law dead, I could?" Happosai
said.

"Yes, sir," Mousse nodded vigorously, "I have no doubt about
that."

"Then don't you think I have a bigger plan in store?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good boy," Happi sneered, "You're learning. He's learning, isn't
he Hinako?"

Happosai leaned over in the seat and calmly caressed the inside of
her thigh.

"Yes-" she breathed in sharply at his touch but remained otherwise
calm, "-sir."

Happosai leaned back and sneered as he took another drag on the
cigar. His personal bodyguard, Hinako Ninomiya, adjusted her
skirt back down to its modest above-the-knee styling and tried not
to vomit. He repulsed her and they both knew it, but she needed
the money too bad and he *had* indeed cured her of her disease
when no one else could. That meant she owed him and Happi
knew all the ways that she could repay. Hinako brushed back her
long, dark chestnut hair from her shoulder and took a breath, the
effect of which drew silence from both men in the car. She
supposed, to herself, there would be worse things in the world than
being trapped in the body of a sixteen-year-old brunette bombshell,
nevermind she was actually thirty-five. Everyone owed Happosai
something, she more than usual.

Happosai wanted the limo to stop at a certain small building on the
outskirts of the downtown area. Of course, the downtown area was
small enough to spit across, but that was neither here nor there.
The limo came to a halt and soon after, the door came open.
Hinako got a hand out, as well as Happosai and Mousse followed.
Happi glared at the building, squinting through eyes that Hinako
thought couldn't squint further. It was like adding wrinkles to a
raisin. Finally, he brought his hands together in a clap that was
louder than it should have been and Happi put his hands on his
hips.

"Yes," he said quietly, "This'll do just fine..."

Hinako glanced over to Mousse, who shrugged his shoulders.

***

Two weeks. It had been two whole weeks since they brought
Daisuke back from the hospital. Two whole weeks and nothing bad
had happened. Well, except for that alien abduction in a town
about twenty miles south, but you couldn't blame that on Ranma,
could you? Nah. Akane raked back and forth. The leaves had
mostly fallen out of the two trees in the backyard. Kasumi was
home for the weekend and she'd brought Tofu with her. Akane
supposed that it was about time, but mom gave them no end of
torment for the thing, especially when she realized that Ryouga
and Tofu were related. Kinda. Tofu had just begun his last two
years of residency and it was hard on the both of them, so any time
they had was precious. Nodoka and Akane both realized what
bringing him home to meet them must have entailed.

Rakerakerake. The trees were huge. Here long before the house
was built, they overshadowed the yard and most of the area around
either side of the house, but not the house itself. As a kid, Akane
had broken her leg when she fell out of one of them. It wasn't her
last climb, but she'd learned her lesson. Rakerakerake. Ranma was
raking too. The other part of the yard. He seemed preoccupied with
something. It hadn't gotten any better between he and Nabiki.
She'd practically lived in her room and while Ranma came down
for food, his social agenda never strayed far from his room either.
Though she thought he still got out more. Rakerakerake. Akane
stopped and took a whiff of the clean, crisp air. November had set
in during the last week and they were expecting snow by the first
of December. Perhaps even a white Christmas. That'd be nice. The
smell from the kitchen was wonderful too. Good 'ole Yankee Pot
roast. Veges and mashed potatoes and gravy. Good stuff. Akane
smiled to herself and raked a little faster. Their pile grew in the
center of the yard and it would take both of them to get it to the
compost heap.

"I love the change in the season, Ranma," she said idly, "I don't
know. It's just nice..."

"It's interesting," he replied, "Not what I'm used to, but
interesting."

"What are you used to? Doesn't it snow and get cold in Denver?"

"Yeah, but not like this..." he stopped raking and thought,
"Actually what happens is you go to bed and it's just big flakes, the
next morning you wake up and there's five feet of snow on the
ground."

"Wow."

"Now, in the desert, it can get pretty cold every night," he said as
he raked, "Of course, once the sun comes up it warms right back
up again but you've gotta be careful."

Akane smirked at Ranma. He and Ryouga were so alike and yet so
vastly different. They were both tough and showed everyone an
exterior of 'manly'. Yet, get them alone and relaxed and you begin
to see them as they really were. Ryouga wasn't as closed as he used
to be, and she was entirely proud that she was the one that brought
him out. Ranma was the same way, but through different
circumstances. By himself, he didn't seem so sure of himself either.
On some things, yeah, but not on the really important ones. Like
his plans after High School. And then there was his curse, which
Ryouga didn't have and that made a severe difference. She sighed
and began to rake again. The back door opened. Ukyou and Sayuri
stepped out onto the back porch and closed the door behind them.
Ranma and Akane stopped raking as the two girls crossed the yard.

"What's going on?" Akane asked.

"Not much," Sayuri pipped, "We were having lunch in town when
this REAL cute guy came in-"

"Hey!"

"Oh..." Sayuri winced sheepishly, "Ukyou's jealous...Anyway, he
gave us flyers for this new club in town."

"I am NOT jealous," Ukyou grumbled as she handed a bright
orange flyer to Ranma.

Ranma grinned as he looked over the flyer; Club Wango-z-Tango.
There was a subtitle to it, too.

"-It's the whole f'n show?-" Akane asked as she read the subtitle
from her flyer.

"Yeah, apparently a big fan of ECW," Ukyou said as she took the
flyer back from Ranma.

"Okay, what about it then?" he asked.

"We wanna go tonight," Sayuri said, "The guy that gave these to us
said that for the first weekend, couples get in free. Why don't you
and Ryouga come with us?"

Akane thought that Sayuri still looked apprehensive, but that was
probably Nabiki's fault.

"What am I, chopped liver?" Ranma asked.

"Yes," Akane shot at him, "Besides, Ryouga's at work again. I
know he has to because of a contract, but he's WAY too loyal..."

"That's a good thing, I suppose," Ukyou chimed in.

"Is this a club for everyone, or just adults or what?" he asked.

"The guy said that it was gonna be a teen club since there's no
college crowd around," Sayuri said.

"Makes sense," Akane said, "We've got to finish with the leaves
and then dinner should be ready. I should ask Kasumi if you can
stay for dinner-"

"No need," Ukyou said, "She asked us before we came back here.
Good thing too 'cause it smells great."

"So, you two should just go," Sayuri said, "I mean, Ranma's not
dating anybody, but I don't think you can ask for a better date for
the night."

"I can," Ukyou joked.

"Hey!"

"Oh Ranma, just hush," Akane sighed, "I guess it's okay if we go. I
mean, Ryouga'll trust you more after this...And it's free."

Ranma smirked slightly.

"Yeah..." his smirk bloomed to a smile, "I guess it's time for
something different. Aaaaaaaaaaand...I promise to be good, okay
Akane?"

Akane huffed and shuffled her feet, obviously bothered by the
thought of spending a night with Ranma, even if it was social.

"Ranma," she said softly, "Ryouga is VERY important to me. You
promise to be good?"

"Akane..." he sputtered, "What the Hell?"

"Please Ranma," she dropped her rake and folded her hands in
front of her, "Just promise me. Okay?"

Ranma began to sweat, but cleared his throat.

"Okay Akane. I promise," he said, "Look, why don't you head on
in and get cleaned up. I'll finish up back here. By the time I get
done, you should be done and then we all can get something to eat
before heading out."

"Oooo," Ukyou pinched his cheek, "You so smart!"

The three girls laughed as they headed inside. Ranma shook his
head and chuckled at the thought. At least tonight wouldn't be so
bad-

He looked up at the window that overlooked the backyard. The
curtain fluttered slightly as it closed. He smirked to himself. Some
people just never learned and he had a bad feeling that it was
quickly coming to a head, no matter the quietness of the past
couple weeks.

***

The club itself was quite chic. Whoever ran the club certainly
knew about the zoning restrictions on noise in Earnest. The
building sat between two more, apparently abandoned, buildings
which Ranma supposed cut down on some of the noise. Ranma
was the last one out of Ukyou's Mustang and he looked up at the
gaudy building. Three huge letters on the front, blinking in time to
the music inside.

W...z...TWzT...W...

And so on. Kind of hypnotic, or nauseating, all things depending.
Ukyou and Sayuri had worn what they had arrived at the house in.
Akane had on a tight, black turtleneck with a yellow vest. Ranma
smirked at the color combination and wondered if that was a
message to keep his damned hands off. Ranma had put on a nice
shirt, but decided that jeans would do for a first night. It wasn't like
he was trying to impress anyone, and anyway, he just wanted to
have a good time. They had gotten to the club a little early and the
line formed quickly behind them. The flyers had done their job
and, to Ranma, it looked like everyone in the city-Akane grabbed
his arm and she had a worried look on her face

"Ranma, what if Toma shows up here?"

The four of them exchanged glances.

"I, um, don't know, Akane," he replied, "I mean, it would be a
perfect trap..."

Ranma let it go.

"We'll just have to keep an eye out," Ukyou said, "And pray that
he's still gonna stay away."

The line moved quickly. Ranma looked over the man at the door.
Quite fit and a little bit taller than Ranma, he had long, straight,
black hair tied behind him. He wore a black suit that made him
look like a Mib, but it seemed to suit him well, no pun intended, of
course. Ukyou and Sayuri came next and the two of them gave the
suit pause. He thought for a moment and then let them in. Akane
threaded her arm into Ranma's as a gesture that they were a couple
and he nodded, allowing them to pass. In the main foyer Ranma
threw a glance over his shoulder at the suit and could have sworn
that the man was checking him out. Maybe it was Ranma's butt. He
always knew he had a nice ass, but geez...

***

"Akane, sugah! Over here!"

Akane looked across the crowd and saw a familiar flash of
lavender. She grabbed Ranma and pointed toward the far table.
Ranma nodded and grabbed at Ukyou, who took Sayuri in turn.
Shampoo had timed her shout to the music and was just able to get
out a message before being drowned out again. She jumped out of
her seat and rushed to give Ranma a hug. Hiroshi, Yuka and
Daisuke were already at the table.

"How'd ya' get in, honey?" she shouted to Ranma.

"I came with Akane..." he waited as a loud part passed, "It was the
only way to get in."

"Yeah, I did the same thing with Daisuke."

"I don't mind being used that way," Daisuke said as the music died,
"I mean, you trust her, right?"

"Yeah, I do," Ranma smiled, "But I think you kinda used each
other to get in."

Shampoo hopped back to Daisuke's side and cuddled up to him.
She threw her head back and put a hand on her forehead.

"Oh," she sighed, "Aye am over*come* by bein' used..."

"Should he apply mouth-to-mouth?" Ukyou grinned.

"Don't even think about it, sugah."

Everyone, even Daisuke, laughed at the scene and Ranma felt
better about the situation. It had only been two weeks since they
brought him home. He'd made great recovery, but still Ranma felt
that the mental recovery would take longer. Akane took her seat
next to Ranma and she coyly smiled his way. So long as she had
fun...Ranma scanned the crowd for more faces that he knew. Most
of Earnest High was there, but so far, no Toma. That was a good
thing. Ranma eased back in his seat and began to listen to the
music. It was an eclectic mix, certainly in the tastes of the youth of
Earnest. Sure, there was some techno-dance-something or other,
but there were a good many eighties tunes in there as well as a
couple of metal songs. A good eighties song cued up and Yuka
pulled Hiroshi to the dance area, which was adjacent to their table.
The lights and bass pumped to the beat and Shampoo coaxed
Daisuke to the dance floor, but promised to take it easy on him
because of his leg, and was soon followed by Ukyou and Sayuri.
Akane nudged Ranma as the next song began and Ranma
reluctantly agreed.

The dance floor was spacious. Ranma thought that was one of the
best things he liked about the new place. There was actually space
to move. Of course, most of the eyes in the room were either glued
to Ranma or Shampoo. Both being trained in martial arts, they
moved in ways that most people couldn't, or in Shampoo's case,
wouldn't. Three songs later, many were taking breaks for sake of
thirst, but Ranma and Shampoo just kept going. Sayuri sighed. As
much as she might be for Ukyou, she wasn't the Energizer Bunny
on the dance floor. She leaned against the back wall near the table
and sipped through, pants of breath, her Cherry Coke. She felt a
tap at her shoulder and, expecting Ukyou, turned. She felt a chill of
fear as Nabiki raised an eyebrow at her. Nabiki leaned in close
enough to be heard above the din.

"Keep dancing and follow me."

And what choice did Sayuri have? When the reaper knocks, one
must answer...

***

The songs had gone more techno for their tastes and the group had
once again sat down for a round of beverages. Ukyou looked
around and Sayuri came up from her left. The young brunette
looked deathly pale and Ukyou feared that she might have picked
up a bug. She touched Sayuri's arm and she smiled weakly in
return and indicated her stomach. She took her seat next to Ukyou
and tried not to look sick, but failed. Akane leaned over to Ukyou.

"Is Sayuri okay? She looks sick."

"I think she just danced too much," Ukyou said, "I'm feeling a little
ill myself. Haven't danced this hard in a while..."

Akane nodded in agreement, but decided to keep an eye on Sayuri.
Something didn't *feel* right. Ranma sat down hard next to Akane
and wiped at his forehead. He smiled, but his smile dissolved as a
certain person approached the table. All eyes turned to Nabiki as
she stood there. She smiled. She liked being the center of attention,
perhaps not for this specific thing, but nonetheless. She walked
slowly to Ranma and folded her arms in front of her. Sayuri
jumped from her seat and put an arm on the girl.

"Please Nabiki..." Sayuri shouted, "Please don't do this! I'm
begging you-"

Nabiki threw her arm off and sneered. Sayuri began to cry and
Ukyou held her, wanting to know what the Hell all this was about.
She figured she'd just wait, though. It looked like whatever Nabiki
was brewing was being served. And Ranma'd get the first cup...

"It's time this ended between you and me, Ranma," she said, "It's
time you learned your place."

"And I s'pose that you'll teach me?" he grinned, "Nabiki,
please...You'll only embarrass yourself."

Akane took a sharp breath. Ranma really didn't seem all that
concerned and she'd never seen Nabiki this confident. Whatever
her sister had done, she was supremely confident that it would
break Ranma, and yet there he sat, grinning at her in defiance.
Akane took a sip of her lemon spritzer and tried to breathe in the
tense air.

"Follow me back to the pool tables," Nabiki half turned, "We can
reasonably talk there."

Nabiki turned back to an area off the main floor and walked slowly
toward it. The pool tables were there. Ranma supposed it wouldn't
be as loud. Too bad she did it out in public...He would be willing
to keep things secret, but, if this is the way she wanted it...She'd
get it.

***

Ranma sat down at the table beyond the pool tables and tried to
admire the decor. It was difficult in the bad lighting, but it looked
like the owners had wanted a place that seemed seedy. They
succeeded. Nabiki probably arranged to have things back here
since there weren't any of the regulars playing pool. Ranma began
to snicker, but caught himself. No sense in showing his hand
unless she made him.

"Okay bitch-boy, here's the long and skinny..." Nabiki said as the
others surrounded Ranma around the table, "Our dear Sayuri is
very VERY good at finding things out. She's found out things that
I thought you would have hidden...I just...I'm very impressed with
her ability. Now, I may use her in the future, but for now, she's free
to do what she will..."

Ranma looked over to Sayuri, who was still in the midst of a full
out bawl.

"You see, she found out that our dear cousin, Ranko," Nabiki
pulled the contents of a large envelope out onto the table, "Did
some illegal nude modeling back in her younger, hastier years."

Hiroshi picked up a picture lying near.

"At least she eats her vegetables..." he tried to say quietly.

Ranma shot him a dark look as Nabiki laughed out loud.

"Indeed she does," she rifled through the pics, "You should see this
one!"

Hiroshi fainted. Yuka yipped as Daisuke caught him. Ranma
ripped the picture from her hand and flipped it over on the table.
Her mirth died down and settled to a leering smirk.

"And since dear Ranko comes to visit," Nabiki jeered, "I'm sure
she'll be happy to know that the authorities from the state she took
these in would be more than happy to prosecute her and everyone
involved for child porn...Not so confident now, are you, you
arrogant son-of-a-bitch..."

Nabiki laughed lightly at the shock of the crowd. She had him. She
HAD him. All she had to do was hit the closer and it would be
done. He'd HAVE to either move or submit to her demands.
Elation rippled contented sighs through her; it was SUCH a good
day. Ranma's smirk had died on his lips, but the delighted light
hadn't died. Whatever he had planned wasn't squashed fully...Well,
she'd take care of that.

"And..." Nabiki leaned forward, "Everyone in Earnest and at the
High school would be, I think, more than delighted to know the
true identity of this mysterious cousin of yours...Wouldn't they?"

She leaned back in her chair and smiled. If she had a cigar, she
would've lit it. Well, perhaps she wouldn't as she didn't like
smoking until after sex, but this was almost as good. Ranma felt
the blood rising to his face and he'd be damned if he was going to
let Nabiki know that she'd won a concession on his part. He
thought he HAD got all those photos, but damn if they weren't still
out there. He'd have to talk to Hikaru about that. He looked up as
he felt a shaking hand light on his shoulder. It was Sayuri. She
hadn't stopped crying, but tried to talk through it anyway.

"Ranma..." she sobbed, "Please...Please forgive me. I-I didn't
wanna do it..."

Ranma smiled a knowing smile and took her hand. Sayuri knelt
next to him and gave Ranma a hug, crying fully on his shoulder.
He tried to soothe her and eventually helped Ukyou pull her back
to her feet.

"Don't worry Sayuri," he said, "I completely understand."

Nabiki frowned slightly. He wasn't perturbed by this apparent
betrayal by Sayuri. Hell, he wasn't even fazed. It was like he
expected it and had...Nabiki choked down a fear and plowed
ahead. Nabiki looked from person to person around the table and
smiled slightly. Everyone was suitably shocked at the
announcements, which was her intent. Ukyou probably wanted her
head, but Sayuri would keep that bitch in line. She jerked back as
Akane slammed both hands on her tabletop, which rocked under
the pressure. She lowered her head and sighed.

"No..." a tear dropped to the table, "No MORE Nabiki! I won't
allow you to blackmail anyone! I heard you that day in the
bathroom blackmailing Sayuri into helping you do your dirty work
and I won't have it!"

Ukyou leapt at Nabiki and Shampoo caught her before she made it.
Daisuke, Hiroshi and Yuka struggled to get her back to a chair as
Sayuri followed. But Ukyou jumped forward to the table next to
Ranma.

"I'm sick of this!" Ukyou shouted, "And I don't care WHO knows
anymore!"

Ukyou pulled the front of her shirt open, popping a couple buttons
off in the process. Underneath were bandages. A wrapping. Ukyou
reached to one side and tore the wrapping loose, revealing a pair
of, at least in Ranma's estimation, perfect breasts. Daisuke turned
green and Hiroshi fainted again. Sayuri tired to pull Ukyou's shirt
closed, but had little success as Ukyou just held Sayuri to her.

"I am a woman and I love Sayuri and GOD DAMN you Nabiki...I
don't care anymore..." Ukyou huffed dangerously, "I'm tired of
hiding this. I'm tired of acting like the love that Sayuri and I share
is wrong or bad. And I'm sick of you. So, don't even think of using
Sayuri for your games anymore. I'd rather die than let you hurt her,
you bitch."

Nabiki sneered slightly. She hadn't thought that Ukyou would have
the, pardon the expression, balls to admit it openly and Nabiki
thought that she might have underestimated what was between the
two lesbians. She still had one ace in that area, but now wasn't the
time to use it...

"I told everyone what gender I was at the dance, Nabiki," Ukyou
tried to button her shirt again, "There's nothing more to hide.
Ever."

Ranma smirked as he sat back in his chair. He knew that she may
have got some stuff, but not the real damning stuff and that was
good. He'd have to talk to Hikaru about that too, but that was later.
He let out a short bark of a laugh that got everyone's attention.
Nabiki raised an eyebrow at him and Ranma reached into his back
pocket. He hadn't wanted to do this, but she really left him no
choice. Perhaps it was good to get it out in the open...Just like she
said...

"You see," Ranma said, "Ranko isn't the only exhibitionist in the
Tendo-Saotome family-"

He felt a hard grip at his shoulder. Akane glared down at him,
wide-eyed. He smirked and shook his head. Ranma unfolded a
smaller envelope and took out some prints he'd made and spread
them on top of his Ranko photos. They were computer print outs
and several were a little grainy, but one unmistakably showed
Nabiki. On her bed. Masturbating. Nabiki's mouth dropped at the
sight of them and her face began to grow red. The pictures showed
everything. Nabiki in her room, in the shower and several other
shots that left Akane wondering what else Ranma had seen. She
shook her head even though she helped Ranma place the cameras,
but she hadn't expected them to be *this* clear...All were
obviously from hidden cameras and all were nudes. Nabiki began
to shake with rage.

"Stalemate," Ranma said as quietly as he could, "You inform the
authorities and I take you down with me."

"It's over, Nabiki," Akane said as she pulled Nabiki from her seat,
"And it's over because *I* say it's over."

The youngest Tendo-Saotome pulled her hand back, but Ranma
stopped her from swinging away.

"No Akane," he said, "What I've done has gotten her to stop, and
that's what I wanted. Nabiki, I still love you as family because
that's what you are, but enough is enough."

Akane dropped her sister back to her seat and Nabiki came down
from her adrenaline high. The prospect of being bitch slapped by
Akane had been enough to make her think twice about the whole
idea. Ranma gathered up all the pictures and took them with him as
he, and the rest of them, left. Tears came easier since they had
gone. He had gotten the better of her again and this time, there was
nothing she could do. Nabiki slammed her fists on the table
impotently. There was simply nothing she could do...

Yet.

"No, little sister. Not yet. Enough isn't enough yet," she seethed,
"Though he's right. Stalemate."

***

Joshua "Gargoyle" Trujillo
"Stone Cold Protector of the Righteous"
"Owner of The Anime Bar & Grille - Eager Beavers!"

Come visit The Anime Bar & Grille!
Now with two locations!
http://www.geocities.com/mythos_9/americanmain.html
and
http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/museum/1275/taa.html

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