Previous chapters can be found here:
http://www.geocities.com/zorukonotsu/TK.html
Fic should follow.
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Thyself Known
Ch. 4: Neon Green
By Zorknot
DISCLAIMER: Ranma � and its characters all belong to
Takahashi Rumiko and her cohorts. The voices in my
head made me do it.
WHAT HAS COME BEFORE: Ranma had a semi-lucid dream
that caused the trigger of his curse to change. Now
he�s a girl when he feels girlie. He also changes his
personalities to deal with whatever situation hits
him. After having a major argument with Akane,
injuring Happosai, almost raping Shampoo while in the
Nekoken, and attempting to seduce Dr. Tofu, all in
the space of some four hours, Ranma�s extremely
unstable. Tofu has a solution, but can Ranma be
convinced to pierce his ears and wear a pair of
pretty earrings? It�s not exactly going well for
anyone else either. Nabiki for one is getting eerie
d�j� vu from the whole mess...
~~~~~[BEGIN]~~~~~
�But before help comes, slowly, imperceptibly at
first, the entire consciousness of Phaedrus begins to
come apart... to dissolve and fade away. Then
gradually he no longer wonders what will happen next.
He knows what will happen next, and tears flow for
his family and for himself and for this world.�
-Robert M. Pirsig Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance.
Nabiki left her home wearing her blue school
uniform and carrying her satchel. The satchel
contained her laptop, her graphing calculator, and an
abacus as well as the requisite notebooks, pencils
and papers. Whenever possible she liked to use her
abacus because it kept her mind sharp, and it kept
her more valuable equipment from being seen by people
who would be inclined to steal it.
This was not of course her only deterrent. Her
computer had been stolen a grand total of twice. The
first time was by a senior who had later found his
little prank had caused him to be re-registered at
Furinkan as a Freshman girl named Aima Horu. (Only in
Nerima, where one�s appearance did not necessarily
indicate one�s sex was this possible.) He had to
change two of his classes and he was effectively
barred from sports for a year before he was able to
fix the problem. Also back then the uniform rule was
more strictly enforced...
Nabiki could have bought four laptops from the
money she got from the betting pools that year.
The other time the laptop was stolen by a girl
in Nabiki�s own class who had wanted revenge for
losing a fair bet.
Akane made lunch the next day.
Nabiki made the switch.
When the girl came back to school again after a
week of recuperating she gave the laptop back to
Nabiki without saying a word. No one had stolen
anything from Nabiki since.
She took her time walking away from the place
she had lived her entire life. She was feeling
introspective and she wasn�t at all worried about
being late. Sooner than she would like, she would
have to move away. Away from the problems of Furinkan.
Away from the complex life of Ranma Saotome. Away
from the warm blanket of her mother�s influence that
hung around the house even so many years since her
death. It was so comforting one minute, but then so
stifling the next.
Her mother was dead. On days like today she
wished she wasn�t. On days like today she wished it
was someone else�s job to make sense of everything,
because right now, Nabiki had no idea what was going
on.
Nabiki sighed as she approached the Tomo
residence, the second house along the road. No, she
thought, that isn�t true. I know exactly what�s going
on. At least part of it.
Four or five minutes ago, hurricane Akane and
typhoon Ranma had left for school, leaving Nabiki and
the others to contemplate the aftermath. Nabiki�s
thoughts at that moment had been first that it was
rather silly for Ranma to go to school, but then she
thought back, and remembered how strange Happosai had
acted, the mind control, him telling her she was
�scary enough as it is� and how it didn�t seem like a
joke. Then she remembered Ranma and how cold the
redhead�s expression was. How it reminded her of a
different face. One she saw in the bathroom one
horrible night. Directly in front of her and above
the sink....
She had left the house and now she was here,
walking to the Tomos� garage. When she got there,
Nabiki knocked on the aluminum slats of the garage
door. She smiled slightly at the irony. Ranma and
Akane were martial artists. Even Akane could, if she
so chose, try out for the Olympics and no doubt place
in almost any event... except of course swimming.
Nabiki, on the other hand, was not an athlete. And
yet even though Ranma and Akane ran as fast as they
could to get to school on time every morning, Nabiki
always got there before them.
The garage door opened, revealing a highly
modified neon green Model G Honda moped. Next to it
was a more traditional red and black Yamaha
motorcycle. The motorcycle belonged to Nabiki�s
friend and compatriot, Hoko Tomo. The moped...was
Nabiki�s. Both bikes sat next to a slightly
discolored space in the floor where the Tomo car was
kept when it wasn�t being used.
To Nabiki�s mild surprise the person who had
opened up the garage door was not Hoko, but her
mother.
�Good morning, Nabiki-chan,� Tomo-san greeted
with a slight bow of her head as she released her
finger from the button on the right wall that opened
the door.
�Good morning, Tomo-san.� Nabiki bowed deeper
to show respect, however she could never bring
herself to take her eyes off anyone...something she
retained from her childhood long ago, when she still
practiced the Art. Her friends and associates
sometimes remarked that this was unsettling. �Is
there anything wrong?�
�Nothing to worry about... Just...Hoko-chan has
a fever this morning so she can�t go to school. I
called Tofu�s office but the message said he was
closed for the day. I hope he opens again soon... I
just don�t trust those hospital doctors.� Hoko�s
mother was wearing a flowery house dress and slippers.
Even though the days were pleasantly warm now, the
mornings could still be chilly. A slight draft
whispered through Tomo-san�s dress and made her grab
her bare and suddenly goose pimpled arms.
She was an attractive woman in a motherly sort
of way. Right now, however Nabiki felt like she could
count all the years on the middle-aged woman�s face.
�Well, tell her I hope she gets better soon.� Nabiki
walked to her moped and lifted the helmet off the
back. Nabiki looked back at Hoko�s mother staring
outside and rubbing her arms. �It�s probably just the
temperature change. I know a few people, they always
get sick around this time.�
Tomo-san turned her head back toward Nabiki as
if surprised, �Yes. Yes, you�re probably right.
People get sick all the time. It�s nothing to worry
about.� Tomo-san smiled weakly, and turned back away.
Nabiki nodded hesitantly and put her helmet on.
She got her keys out of her book bag and sat on the
bike. She kicked the kickstand back. She paused for a
moment. �I�ll check by Dr. Tofu�s after school today
if you want...�
Tomo-san gave a small nod
Nabiki put the keys in and revved the engine.
She rolled out of the garage and looked back once
more at Hoko�s mom. She lifted a hand for goodbye and
Tomo-san absently followed suit. Then Nabiki sped
away as the garage door started to whir slowly closed.
Nabiki always had a knack for reading people.
It was glaringly obvious to her that Tomo-san was, in
fact, extremely worried. A part of her wanted to make
Hoko�s mom feel better, but what could she say? It
was just a cold? It didn�t mean anything? There were
enough life-threatening diseases out there that
started out as colds that there was no way she could
be sure that was true. And Nabiki couldn�t tell
Hoko�s mom that...Even if part of her wanted to see
her cry, wanted to see the terror and sorrow in her
eyes. Even if part of her wanted Hoko to get sick and
die so she wouldn�t have to worry about her anymore...
No, the overriding feeling was that it was none
of her business. Best to distance herself from it.
Think about something else.
So Nabiki just let the cool morning wind
refresh her as she sped down the road. Every now and
then her uniform skirt would flip up, revealing the
short shorts Nabiki wore underneath. Nabiki smiled.
Somehow she had managed to keep her obsession secret
far longer than she had thought possible. Nabiki
loved secrets and the bike was a big one.
There was more to it than that though.
Nabiki increased her speed as she reached a
busy street. Soon she was generating a lot of wind
and dodging vehicles and pedestrians like Pac-man on
speed. Many colorful expletives were uttered at her,
but if Nabiki heard them at all, they were distorted
by a massive Doppler effect.
On a bike the world spun differently.
Navigating through the obstructions presented Nabiki
with a fresh onslaught of problems that had nothing
to do with normal life...and everything to do with it.
Sometimes when it looked like she was going to take a
heavy loss in the betting pool or in the stocks she
imagined herself on the street riding...and suddenly
she would know exactly what to do.
Nabiki accelerated. The Model G was the
cheapest bike she could find. As her business
extended outside Furinkan High to other parts of
Tokyo, she needed a mode of transport. As the money
started pouring in, she bought parts for the bike and
modified it. Right now the speedometer was showing
about 150kmh. This was a good cruising speed. Just
enough to provide Nabiki with a challenge.
*
When he saw the neon green blur, Kawagami Hiro
revved up the engine of his police motorcycle, spat
out a wad of gum and put his silver sunglasses on
with his left hand. There was no way she was going to
escape him this time. She was fast, but she had to
slow down sooner or later. He would catch this crazy
bitch once and for all. He kicked back his kick stand
and sped out on to the street, becoming a loud black
and white blur of movement. Hiro flicked on his
lights almost as an after thought as he pursued his
prey.
*
Nabiki saw the cop in her shaking mirror and
smiled. The man was pathetic. He had been trying to
catch her for two weeks now, but it was always the
same story. She would lose him, and she would still
arrive at her destination with time to spare. In
front of her, two large trucks loomed, side by side,
stopped at the red light. Without giving the
situation a second thought, she passed on their right,
merged into the leftward moving traffic, u-turned
into the rightward moving traffic and turned left
onto her original street. She knew Number 542,
safety freak that he was, would stop at the light
until the traffic died down. She sped through the
relatively stationary vehicles a little more
leisurely now, only going about 120 kilometers per
hour or so. She loved this. In fact, there was only
one thing Nabiki loved more�
*
Hiro cursed at the scooter as it sped away. The
four dollar signs on the license plate seemed to be
laughing at him. Fortunately the light turned green
only a second or two after the girl completed her
little stunt. Hiro smiled. No, she wasn�t going to
slip by this time.
*
Of course the modifications weren�t the only
reason Nabiki could go so fast. She was also a damned
good driver. Hoko had introduced Nabiki to the
motorbike world and her friend was amazed at how
easily Nabiki took to it. Nabiki didn�t have any
explanation except that her hand eye coordination was
still pretty good from her training. The coordination
exercises had begun almost immediately after she was
born, and that sort of thing doesn�t go away. She
didn�t mention this to Hoko though. The last thing
she needed was everyone thinking she knew martial
arts. She had enough trouble explaining the dojo. The
cars in front of Nabiki stopped. She drove onto the
side walk and dodged past a few people before hitting
the road again. She was a little worried about Ranma�
*
Hiro stared at what the girl did. How could
anyone be so disrespectful of other people? How could
she risk so many lives? How could she show such
disregard for the Law?! How could she be so
amazing�.? Hiro shook his head free of that last
thought. The girl, whoever she was, was an accident
waiting to happen. She had to be brought down. Hiro
didn�t deny that he would take great pleasure in THAT.
He followed as best he could without endangering any
innocents�
*
Ranma had reminded Nabiki so much of herself
this morning. What she saw in his eyes� it made her
remember that terrible time after mother died and
before she found her second love. She was obsessed
with money and even at the fragile age of ten, she
was planning the family budget and making small time
business transactions. Nabiki was a genius by most
standards, and she often took pride in that, but as a
genius she found few friends and so had to harden
herself against the world.
Nabiki saw that 542 was gaining on her. She
slowed down just enough and made a sharp left turn
into a long alley way.
As dumpsters and fire escapes whizzed past her,
Nabiki thought of how fast her so-called childhood
had passed her by. Nabiki smiled, melancholy at the
few happy moments, when Daddy wasn�t so bad, or when
one of her schemes paid off better than expected. She
was just starting then, though and most of her
attempts to make money were massive failures.
Akane grew increasingly intolerable. She seemed
to lord it over Nabiki that she was a martial artist
and that Nabiki was not, even though she knew that
Nabiki had quit along with Kasumi after Mom died.
Nabiki grimaced. She knew a lot of people.
Associates she dealt with during business
transactions... Many of them would tell her the short
version of their life story in a vain attempt to gain
sympathy. What struck Nabiki about the majority of
these stories was how the transition from childhood
to adulthood could be so smooth. Nabiki saw the dead
end of the alley approaching her and she prepared for
it as she thought about how her childhood ended. She
knew the precise moment when it did...
...It was the moment when she took the gun.
Nabiki sped toward the dead end, but instead of
slowing down, she increased her speed, and just a
meter before she reached it, she veered right. Her
front wheel went up a broken piece of furniture a
homeless man was using as a lean-to, and farther up
onto the side of the alley way. Nabiki was fully
horizontal to the ground for a moment. Then, just
before the front wheel reached the face of the
building that marked the dead end, Nabiki ollied the
neon green Model G away from the wall and turned the
wheel to a precise angle, hitting the face of the
building at just the right vector so that the bike
would roll down instead of crashing. She sped down
the building for a split second before she hit the
street again with a bone rattling jolt, followed soon
after by a jarring thud as the back end of the bike
hit the ground.
All this took maybe a second, and she had lost
only a little speed.
*
Hiro, having followed the girl into the alley
was extremely surprised when she passed him from the
opposite direction at such a speed. He didn�t know
what he saw when the crazy girl had reached the dead
end. He knew what he THOUGHT he saw, but THAT was
impossible. Stunned and frustrated, he couldn�t help
feeling a little embarrassed that his own turn around
wasn�t nearly as graceful. In his surprise he tried
to do a U-turn. He ended up falling over and skidding
along the pavement a meter or so. He was pretty sure
his clothes were ruined and his left side was at
least severely bruised.
�Itte.� He murmured managing to capture
feelings of anger, defeat, and outright pain in the
two syllables.
Suddenly he smiled. He had gotten a good look
at the driver finally. That wasn�t just any ugly blue
dress she was wearing... That was a Furinkan High
uniform.
Now if this were any normal speeder, Hiro would
radio headquarters and tell them where she was headed
so that she could be arrested, but this wasn�t just a
one time thing. She had managed to practically
disappear again and again. She out maneuvered him so
fast that he couldn�t even give her position over the
mic. Hiro was the fastest biker on the force. His
reputation was on the line.
This was personal.
Hiro picked himself and his motorcycle up and
checked himself. No major injuries, though he�d feel
like hell tomorrow. It was amazing really that he
hadn�t suffered more. He revved the bike�s engine
again, it sounded good. His favorite sunglasses had
fallen off and now lay cracked on the ground. Hiro
sighed, and put his second pair on, these were just
as over sized as the others but were only darkly
tinted as opposed to silvered. That girl would PAY!
He drove out of the alley, and down the road at a
normal, sane person�s pace. He stopped at a public
phone. He put his card in and dialed.
�Hey, Ryu, ya there? Listen I�ve got a favor to
ask... Oh nothin� much, I just want you to organize a
few things when I give a signal...� After Hiro
finished explaining what he wanted he drove to
Furinkan high school, purposely taking his time. He
found a nice shady area where he could see all the
traffic in and out and waited.
~~~~~*~~~~~
Nabiki liked school well enough, but the actual
getting taught part of it could get tedious at times.
She generally kept to the back of the class so she
could plan out her business transactions without the
teacher knowing.
First period was history, a class Nabiki could
ace fairly easily as long as she didn�t pay any
attention to the teacher and read the book. If she
paid any attention to the teacher, the whole thing
got muddied up because the fool kept getting the
names and dates wrong. Today though, after parking
her bike and meeting some associates before the bell,
she had sat down in History and couldn�t bring
herself to work on her ledger.
�Now what we�re going to talk about today is
very important to remember class,� Omo-sensei began,
�Today we�re going to talk about World War Two.�
�Now who can tell me what day �Pac-man� was
dropped on Hiroshima?�
A girl in the front raised her hand. She always
raised her hand.
�Yes, Juri, what�s the answer.�
�My name is Arisu, sensei�
�Ah, so it is. So what date was �Riddle ploy�
dropped on Hiroshima?�
�You mean �Little boy?��
�Yes, what was the date of that great tragedy
in Okinawa?�
�Um, Okinawa, sir?�
�No, that�s incorrect. Anybody?�
The other students knew by now not to try to
answer.
Sometimes Arisu would leave the classroom
crying.
�I�m saddened by this generation�s lack of
national pride. This is an important time. The
Germans devastated two of our cities with their
nuclear families! Trillions died!�
Nabiki watched all this from the back room as
if it was an absurd dream. It was sad, Oma-sensei
actually knew more about history than almost anyone,
but while he could write it down just fine, if he had
to speak, everything went out the window. Once
someone suggested he could try singing. That had
worked, but he had such an awful voice he had to stop.
It sounded about as bad as Akane�s cooking tasted.
Nuclear families...Nabiki had been in one once.
It was hard to imagine now. She could still remember
Mom. She could still remember being a kid. But she
couldn�t remember how the politics of it had worked.
What had Akane done when she wasn�t the only martial
artist? What had Kasumi done when Mom was the one
that cooked? What had Daddy done when Mom was still
there? As Nabiki tried to put it together in her mind
Oma-sensei equivocated to the class until the bell
for second period sounded, breaking Nabiki�s reverie.
Second period was first semester Calculus .
Normally Nabiki was more active in this class. She
knew Calculus already, but she found a certain joy in
solving problems and getting them right. But today
she could barely pay attention.
�Nabiki?� Anguru-sensei jolted Nabiki out of
her woolgathering.
�Sorry, sensei, what was the question again?�
�When you take the derivative of a tangent line,
what do you get.�
Nabiki frowned. This was a pretty simple
question. �A slope, a constant rate of change.�
�Right so what do you need to draw the line?�
�A point. Specifically, the point where the
tangent line touches the graph of the function.�
�Thank you. You may go back to your dreams of
world domination now.�
The other five people in the room chuckled.
Furinkan High was not all that big on academia.
What WAS the point? Why was Nabiki feeling so
off today? It was Ranma of course. He was the
function. And the point....that look in his
eyes...that look of deadness...That�s what was
pulling Nabiki along this tangent. She didn�t want to
remember the day she had seen that look before. She
didn�t want to, but she knew...she had to.
Nabiki got up from her chair. The teacher
nearly dropped her chalk in surprise. Without even
excusing herself, Nabiki left the room. She stopped
by her locker to retrieve her shoes and after a
moments hesitation, she but her satchel in as well.
She should be back before school was out.
She left Furinkan and its betting pools and
social circles. She found her bike, put her helmet on,
and took off. She needed the bike right now. The
sense of freedom. The speed. Most of all though, she
needed the privacy.
*
Hiro had thought he would have to wait until
school was out. He had been just about ready to go
buy something to eat for lunch when the green demon
chick came tearing out of the school grounds like a
bat out of hell. �Hey hey, playin� hooky on top of it
all... this gets better�n better.� He smiled and
picked up the mic from it�s cradle. �Anyone out there
wanna make a quick buck?� That was the signal. Hiro
would probably catch hell for using police
frequencies for something like that but it would be
worth it if he could catch this girl and find out
what the hell her problem was. He wondered idly what
her name was...He frowned, not that it fucking
mattered. He gunned the engine violently and took off
after the Model G.
*
Nabiki sped along the road. She had to start at
the beginning. The memory was too raw to just go
right into it. She thought about the end of her
childhood, the gun.
At fifteen, Nabiki was starting to get into
more dangerous deals, and she was spending more and
more time in the...shadier parts of Tokyo. She had a
paid bodyguard by the name of Ichiro she had follow
her. He was extremely large for an Asian and until
that day she hadn�t had any major problems. That day
though something had gone wrong. Just before she and
Ichiro got to the meeting point she heard gun shots...
Her contact then came running, his eyes wide.
�Quick, take this! I�ll pay you back later!�
and he threw something at Nabiki, which she caught.
It was a gun.
The man had owed Nabiki money and was meeting
her to pay her back. Apparently he also owed the
Yakuza money. Through some freakish stroke of luck he
had escaped them by taking the leader�s gun. Nabiki
never found out more than that. She had decided she
wanted no more dealings with the man.
The reasoning behind keeping the gun seemed so
clear to her at the time. She felt that Akane was
right, she wasn�t a martial artist, and so she needed
some form of protection. Japan had strict gun laws,
but she could still practice shooting in the sewers
under Tokyo with bullets bought through the black
market. She had gotten quite good, and she enjoyed it,
but she hadn�t realized how much she had lost.
She hadn�t realized until the day that Akane
threatened her.
It was really stupid. Akane wanted to go see a
movie with her friends only she didn�t have any money.
She asked Nabiki for some but Nabiki said, rightly,
that they didn�t have enough. This was before the
massive windfall Nabiki experienced when Kuno issued
his challenge... and funds were EXTREMELY tight. She
had already had to fire Ichiro, and she was very
close to pawning some of the security equipment she
had invested in over the years. Then Akane said, half
jokingly, that she could just take the money from
Nabiki by force if she wanted to.
Nabiki loved her sisters and father, but even
with them, she was cold as ice when money or
something equally serious was concerned. And the mere
idea that Akane, could THINK that she could do such a
thing�it awakened something dark in Nabiki�and she
pulled out her gun.
Nabiki grew aware of a sound. A rhythmic
�whump�ing sound that seemed to be following her,
getting closer. It reminded her of the sound of her
heart that day, when she held the gun pointed at
Akane�s forehead and she saw the fear in her sister�s
eyes...
Nabiki realized with a shake of her head that
the sound was not from her memory but was above her.
She looked up. �A helicopter?� The craft was almost
right on top of her, big as a house. In Nabiki�s
shock, she failed to see the car in front of her�
until it was too late.
Nabiki tried to swerve and do a wheelie at the
same time, but her body knew before she did that this
maneuver wouldn�t work. She launched herself on to
the side walk and watched her bike speed up the low
frame of a car and spin into the air. She noted its
trajectory as coldly as she had noted the sweat
rolling down Akane�s temple. It was headed spinning
toward a woman and her baby.
A darkness she had lived with for two years now
wanted the bike to make contact, to cause DAMAGE, to
DESTROY. It was the same darkness that made Nabiki
cock the pistol� that made her finger grow tighter
against the cool trigger of the loaded gun.
She had wanted Akane to die then. She CRAVED it.
She NEEDED to see blood seep from a wound that would
never heal. But she loved her sister. She didn�t want
to see her hurt. She didn�t want to see anybody hurt.
No. NO! �NOOOOOOOOOO!�
Nabiki felt some burning thing tear from her
just before the concrete slammed into her shoulder.
*
Hiro came onto the scene just in time to catch
the accident. He saw the girl jump from the bike. He
saw the bike spinning toward the lady with the baby.
It was going to hit them. It couldn�t have been more
than five centimeters away from the woman�s face and
then�the girl screamed �No!� and...for just the
slightest of moments, Hiro could swear the girl
flashed a bright green before hitting the ground
jarringly. Hiro was distracted but when he heard the
sound of scrap metal hitting the pavement he looked
back. Some how the bike had been blown to bits, none
of the pieces falling near the woman and baby, who
looked completely unharmed.
Hiro was not new to Nerima. He�d heard stories
from the other cops about the martial artists in the
area, but he hadn�t paid much attention. He figured
that their warnings didn�t pertain to his area of
influence. What good were martial arts when you had
to rely on a machine? Now he wondered�
*
Nabiki felt completely drained, and she seemed
to be bathing in pain. When her eyes were open all
she could see was colored dots, so she closed them.
She remembered... If Kasumi had not been there Akane
would be dead. Just at the moment when the pressure
on the trigger would have sent a bullet flying
through Akane�s precious head� Kasumi had said
something completely disarming.
�I really wish you two would stop fighting so
much,� she said.
In Nabiki�s warped state of mind she almost
shot Kasumi instead. Didn�t she understand the
seriousness of the situation? She was about to murder
her sister! This wasn�t just a childish spat!
Then Nabiki went over what she had just thought.
It WAS just a childish spat, and Nabiki was
about to murder her sister because SHE didn�t
understand the seriousness of the situation!
The tears started coming then, tears she hadn�t
realized she had been holding. Tears for her mother,
but mostly tears for herself, for losing her
innocence, for almost losing so much more.
An hour or so later, Nabiki was in the bathroom.
Her reflection hovered over the sink. Once again she
felt the need to destroy, to obliterate. But this
time the barrel of the gun was in her mouth. The look
that she saw in her eyes, the eyes of her reflection,
made her feel the need even more. It was like a
feedback loop of depression and hate. Nabiki was
maybe five seconds away from pulling the trigger when
she heard Kasumi�s steps as she entered the open
doorway. It was almost funny...she had stopped
putting pressure on the trigger because of a vague
thought that Kasumi would disapprove of the action.
The gun was still in her mouth, though, until Kasumi
spoke.
She had hesitated for a second, and then, in a
voice that seemed full of compassion and
understanding�asked if Nabiki wanted some tea.
It was out of the blue�completely unexpected.
But suddenly instead of having the inevitability of
the barrel of a 9mm, Nabiki was given a choice
between a bullet in the brain and tea.
Nabiki chose tea.
No one ever mentioned it. Daddy probably never
even knew about it, and for the most part the whole
incident was forgotten, but it was a wake up call for
Nabiki. She sold the gun, ended almost all of her
black market dealings, and vowed to rely solely on
her camera from then on. Nabiki hadn�t yet completely
enmeshed herself into the criminal element or she
would not have been able to get out at all. As it
was it was close. Way too close...
Back home, Akane never threatened Nabiki with
violence again, and Nabiki never again mistook
Kasumi�s overly positive attitude for air headedness,
but other than that things fell into the same pattern
they had before. Nabiki never forgot the look in her
eyes that night though. She still had nightmares from
time to time, and those dark feelings, that wish for
death...it never completely left her. It was there,
waiting for a moment of weakness. But Nabiki fought
it. She fought it for two years, and while it
remained, she had grown stronger.
Nabiki�s last thought before losing
consciousness from fatigue and a rising awareness of
pain� was about driving the Model G. There was only
one thing she loved more�her family. And it seemed
Ranma had somehow managed to weasel himself into that
group.
Damn him. Nabiki smiled... and passed out.
~~~~~*~~~~~
Sitting on the outside porch in his gi,
watching the morning sun glint off the koi pond,
Genma wondered about his wife.
He missed her right now. The years of their
time together held many quiet moments like this one,
except she was by Genma�s side or maybe in the
kitchen cooking, or maybe asleep a few meters away.
Now�now she was separated from him by half an entire
city and all because of a question.
Was Ranma a man among men?
Had Genma been thinking, he would have asked
just what Nodoka had meant by that before signing the
contract. Genma hadn�t been thinking though. Thinking
was never Genma�s strong point. Even if he had been
doing an awful lot of it recently.
He knew exactly what �man among men� meant now.
It was odd, but Genma couldn�t remember why it
was he had agreed to the contract. The story he would
tell was that he needed to get Ranma away from his
mother�s coddling, but that wasn�t it really. As nice
as Nodoka was, she could be very stern, and if
anything Ranma would have been better off if she was
around.
In fact, Genma didn�t remember much of his
marriage with Nodoka at all. Just little things, like
the taste of her cooking, and that when he was with
her, he was happy.
He needed her.
It was time for this charade to end.
Genma stood up and walked into the family room
through the engawa entrance. He picked up the
receiver to the black telephone and punched the
numbers that he�d punched almost every day since
living with the Tendos.
�Hello? Who, may I ask, is calling?� The woman
on the other end asked.
�It�s me.� Genma answered.
�Why Mr. Panda! How good of you to call!�
Genma smiled in spite of himself. Nodoka could
always make him laugh.
~~~~~*~~~~~
�What the hell is that?� Ranma asked. Tofu was
wielding some sort of weird gun-like thing and
approaching her menacingly.
�It�s for your own good, Ranma,� Tofu smiled.
The expression was somewhat strained, though. If
Ranma didn�t get her ears pierced she would never
leave. Tofu liked Ranma fine, but he wasn�t sure even
he could stand Ranma LIVING with him. It was a lucky
thing that he happened to have some ear piercing
equipment handy. Now if Ranma would just sit still�
�Like hell it is! You get that thing outta my
face before I rearrange yours!�
�Please don�t make this difficult, Ranma. This
will do a much better job of piercing your ears than
anything else. The equipment is sterile, and there�s
only a little pain�� Tofu stepped closer to Ranma.
The ear piercing gun poised about half a meter from
her ear. His ear. He had changed sexes again.
�I, Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of
Anything Goes Martial Arts�accept your challenge.�
This is great! Ranma thought. I�m a man again AND I
get to fight Tofu!. Ranma knew Tofu was good�it was
time to find out HOW good.
Tofu noted Ranma�s change with clinical
curiosity. It meant several things. Ranma felt most
like a man when he was fighting, for one. This was
understandable. What was interesting was that Ranma
did not change until the moment before he accepted
Tofu�s �challenge.� His feeling of manhood was NOT
related to fighting in and of itself�it was something
else�something deeper. Something perhaps to do with
the pride he had of himself and his school, but that
wasn�t quite it either� Tofu, lost in thought, almost
forgot to block Ranma�s kick.
Ranma quickly reassessed Tofu�s abilities. It
looked like he was barely paying attention! He
followed up with some high speed punches and kicks,
but Tofu blocked or dodged them all while wearing a
placid, thoughtful expression on his face. How could
he BE this good? At this rate, Ranma would have to
move the fight outside or risk damaging the clinic.
There was still one thing he could try though�
When was Ranma a girl? Tofu tried to remember
when it was Ranma had changed� He was upset about
Akane�He said he ran away�Then he started crying. It
was when he started crying. Yes�but why? It couldn�t
just be crying that caused him to change. WHY was he
crying? Akane didn�t love him. Hmmm� maybe that�s it.
After Tofu blocked Ranma�s Chestnut Fist, Tofu
decided to experiment��You know, it�s tough, but just
because Akane doesn�t love you, it�s not the end of
the world.�
Ranma collected his jaw from the floor after
having one of his strongest attacks so easily blocked.
�You leave Akane outta this!� Ranma forgot for a
moment where he was and let his anger guide him. He
threw the fastest Amaguriken he had ever managed
while male. One punch made it through Tofu�s defenses.
But that was it.
�Ooof!� Okay, it wasn�t Akane that made Ranma
change. And Ranma was extremely talented. Tofu had
been training all his life for twenty six years and
Ranma was only 17. Nine years of extra experience and
still the kid managed to get a good hit in. Tofu
decided he wouldn�t hold back QUITE so much. The arm
of his free hand seemed to become a solid funnel with
indistinct edges as he performed his own high speed
maneuver, hitting Ranma�s chest with his two fingers
with just enough force to bruise. Then,
simultaneously he lightly front kicked him back onto
the examination table.
�Ow.� Ranma said.
So what was it that made Ranma change? Maybe
feeling weak? That he was somehow afraid of Akane and
that made him change? It was a long shot but Tofu was
willing to try it. �Ranma, you seem to be
overreacting a bit. It�s just a small hole in your
ears�There�s nothing to be scared about.�
�I ain�t scared!� Ranma yelled back...then he
relaxed. This was Tofu, and Ranma was not going to
pull an Akane and pretend he could beat him in a fair
fight. It would take some massive training first.
Tofu was just trying to help. Maybe if he shared a
little emotional stuff Tofu would show him a few
moves �Well�maybe I am scared a little. Not about the
pain. It just seems like everyone�s tryin� ta turn me
inta some stinkin� girl��
Ranma had remained male through the confession.
Tofu didn�t understand. What could possibly be the
trigger? Maybe it was just some sort of strange form
of suggestion? Maybe Ranma turned female when he
THOUGHT she was female? Tofu was grasping at straws
now, but it was important to find out now, and not be
surprised later. �I�um�just hit a pressure point that
will make you unable to turn male again�after you
change.�
The color went out of Ranma�s face. This had to
be one of Tofu�s jokes right? That weird sense of
humor of his? He made an attempt at a smile �Heh that
was good, doc�almost got me there��
�Um�it�s not a joke� Tofu grimaced. Technically
it wasn�t a joke. It just wasn�t the truth either.
�ARGHH! Why can�t you people realize that I
don�t WANT my decisions made for me?�
Tofu felt real bad, he just thanked the gods
that he HADN�T hit any such pressure point. Ranma
hadn�t changed form. He had to end the ruse�
�Well I had enough of it you hear?! ENOUGH!�
Ranma got back into a fighting stance. Tofu had
betrayed him. And while he might not stand a chance
in a fair fight, she was no longer interested in
fighting fair. �I�m going to KILL YOU!�
Before Tofu knew it, he was looking at the
floor of his bedroom from a unique perspective. He
had just enough time to notice that the insulation
could use some refurbishing, when his head was pulled
back through the floor and he was thrown into the
wall, �into� being a highly accurate preposition. It
seemed that 9 years of extra experience or no, the
only reason why Ranma was unable to beat Tofu before
was that he had been held in check by the same thing
that made him feel like a man�his sense of self worth,
honor, and morality. �Calm down Ranma, I didn�t hit
any pressure points. I just had to see what would
make you change.�
�You mean you were just playing with me??? TOFU
NO BAKA!� Ranma hit Tofu over the head with a mallet
she got from�somewhere. Ranma stared at it for a
while until it winked out of existence. Where did it
come from? Where did it go?
�Where did YOU come from, Cotton-eyed Joe?�
Tofu asked the coat rack in a bit of a daze from the
repeated blows to the head. His glasses had left his
head somewhere between the wall and the ceiling.
There was a knocking from the door �Oh my! I
wonder who that could be!� Ranma wondered out loud as
she walked to the door.
�K-K-Kasumi! When did you get here?�
�Oh Tofu, you�re so silly!� Ranma said, then
opened the door.
A woman looking about thirtyish and carrying a
baby greeted her. �You must be Ranma?�
Ranma nodded her head slowly. She WAS Ranma�not
big sister Kasumi.
�I�ve heard a lot about you�Is Dr. Tofu in?�
Ranma glanced over at the good doctor doing the
cha cha with the coat rack. �Well, yes and no� You
can talk to him if you want, but he�s a little
disoriented right now. May I ask what your name is?�
�Yamashita Niburi, please go easy on me.
Kasumi-chan isn�t here is she?�
�No, it�s nothing like that. Tofu-sensei and I
had a minor altercation, and I�m afraid I went a
little too far. Who�s the little one? He�s very
cute!�
�You don�t sound like the Ranma I�ve heard
about. He�s supposed to be very crude and, so sorry,
masculine.� Oddly, Yamashita seemed to hold the baby
tighter, but gave no other indication that she had
heard Ranma�s comment.
�Oh, that�s just my father�s influence. I�m
getting better. I still revert to the old me from
time to time though. No matter what anyone says, I�m
really a woman.� Ranma ignored the woman�s stunned
expression; she was used to it after all. She
realized Mrs. Yamashita was still standing outside
�Come inside, I�m sure Tofu-sensei won�t mind!�
Yamashita entered, taking her shoes off at the
genkan. She wondered what her friend would think
about what Ranma had said. That was a thought for a
different time though. �Nabiki-chan will be here
shortly, she had an accident. You might be a help
actually.�
�Nabiki-neechan had an accident? That doesn�t
sound like her much at all.�
�So sorry, but I don�t think you know her as
well as you think, Ranma-chan.�
*
Hiro watched as the door to the Tofu clinic
opened, admitting the woman and her baby. He wasn�t
quite sure why he was here. Tendo Nabiki, that was
the lunatic�s name, was put on a stretcher and
carried into an ambulance. The woman who almost got
hit by the motor scooter, a Mrs. Yamashita, far from
making any complaints, had actually insisted that
Nabiki be taken here for reasons she didn�t care to
discuss. The paramedics agreed, it was close by after
all and Nabiki�s injuries weren�t that serious. They
were mainly dispatched as a precaution anyway.
He looked at his watch. Some twenty minutes had
passed since the actual accident. Most of that was
spent waiting for the ambulance and driving behind it
as, even with its emergency lights flashing, it�s
bulk wouldn�t allow it to drive at even half Nabiki�s
previous speed, and because it wasn�t an emergency
and it was getting close to lunch time, it was
actually amazing it didn�t take longer. It would have
been quicker to walk!
Still, Hiro hadn�t actually realized that he
was following the ambulance until it had stopped. It
was only when the paramedics brought Nabiki out in
the stretcher that he could say what it was he hoped
to accomplish by being here. He wanted to know what
the hell he had seen, and�he still had to give Nabiki
a proper arrest. Smiling, he popped a stick of
cinnamon gum into his mouth and followed Nabiki�s
stretcher into the Tofu clinic.
*
When Ranma saw Nabiki she knew that Yamashita-
san was right. She didn�t know Nabiki that well at
all. From the look of her dislocated shoulder and
broken arm, she had taken a fall at a pretty high
velocity. And when Ranma checked her aura�she could
only see a faint sparkling here and there. �She�s
almost completely drained of ki!�
Yamashita-san nodded. �I brought her over here
as soon as I could. �
This kind of ki depletion didn�t happen unless
you used an awful lot of it. It also meant that,
despite appearances, Nabiki could very well die. Tofu
needed to wake up SOON. Ranma hurried over to him.
�Tofu-sensei you need to snap out of it okay? Nabiki-
neechan is here and she needs your help.�
Tofu brought himself out of his stupor and
noted his current situation. He didn�t have his
glasses on but he could see well enough as long as he
didn�t need to read or apply any exact pressure
points. Two paramedics were waiting for him patiently
around a girl in a stretcher�Nabiki. Ranma was there
still, so she hadn�t run off. He saw Mrs. Yamashita
and bowed. �Good morning Yamashita-san how are you
today?�
�Okay.�
�Good to hear. And how is Mr. Yamashita?� Tofu
asked with a smile indicating the baby.
�As good as he can be considering he�s more
than thirty years younger than he ought to be.�
Yamashita-san replied tersely. �So sorry, but Nabiki-
chan needs your attention more than I do at the
moment.�
Tofu then saw Nabiki. Her ki was almost
completely gone! Tofu hadn�t seen a case this severe
in years! He�d have to look in a manual and perform a
few precise pressure points�damn. Tofu addressed the
two paramedics that came in with Nabiki. �Either of
you know anything about ki deprivation?�
�Hmm� is that like when you can�t get into your
car?� The one on the left asked earnestly.
�Nah�I think its when one of the notes on a
piano is missing.�
�Never mind,� Tofu said wearily, �You two might
as well go.� Tofu saw a police officer come in after
they left. �What are you doing here?�
�I�m here to arrest her, sir,� Hiro said around
the wad of gum in his mouth �I�ll just wait until she
wakes up if that�s okay.�
�Fine. Whatever. Ranma?�
�Yes, Tofu-sensei?�
�Go to my library and find a book titled
�Deforestation of the Japanese Wilderness� Also, see
if you can find my glasses. Hurry.�
Ranma did as Tofu asked. She knew the
seriousness of Nabiki�s situation. Luckily all of
Tofu�s books were ordered by title and Ranma was able
to find the book after only a minute or so of
searching. He pulled it out of the shelf and ran back
to where Nabiki lay, stopping briefly to pick Tofu�s
glasses off the floor. �Here ya go, doc. How is she
lookin�?�
Tofu did a quick double take at Ranma�s change
back to male form and then quickly put his slightly
bent glasses on and opened the book. �She has a
chance now...�
�Doc, how�s that book gonna help?�
�Ah... ki...it means �tree� as well as
spiritual energy. Deforestation, ki
deprivation...it�s a sort of pun...Okay here it is!�
Tofu looked over Nabiki again and grimaced. �She�s
fading fast... I hope there�s still time.� He picked
up Nabiki�s limp arms and crossed the wrists over a
specific spot on her fore head. It was probably
aggravating the broken right arm but it was necessary.
�Doc... her third eye�s a little higher...�
�Yes, you�re right...� Tofu moved Nabiki�s
wrists a half centimeter higher. �Ranma...could you
hold her wrists like this? Don�t let them move from
position. Also...you seem to see the aura
clearer...you�re going to have to be my eyes. She�s
very faint.�
�Uh...sure,� and Ranma did as Tofu asked.
Tofu gently grasped Nabiki�s ankles and,
turning the girl�s lower body so that her knees bent
to one side, he pressed them to her rear. Luckily the
girl was surprisingly flexible, most likely from Yoga
Tofu surmised. It would explain how she would be able
to release so much ki without showing much skill in
the Art. Holding Nabiki�s ankles in position with his
right hand he placed his left a little below the
navel then he paused. �Ranma...can you see the center
of the prostatic plexus?�
�Huh?�
�Her water chakra... can you see it?� Normally
Tofu could find its exact location without difficulty,
but the aura was so weak...
�Um yeah. It�s ...it�s just a little lower than
where you�re at.� Ranma watched the doctor move his
hand slowly downward until the palm was right at the
spot. �Yeah that�s it right there. You tryin ta make
her pee herself or something?� Ranma asked confused
and quite a bit worried.
�Let me know if her breathing becomes
irregular.�
�Right...sure thing...�Ranma swallowed.
Tofu focused and sent a measure of ki through
his arm out of his hand and into Nabiki�s water
chakra. He allowed himself a grimace as the girl did,
in fact, wet herself. It would have happened anyway.
Hopefully though the small amount of ki he gave
Nabiki would jumpstart her and he�d feel her ki
flowing back toward him. The arms and legs served to
loop the ki flow back and keep as little of the
energy from escaping as possible... Tofu stopped. It
wasn�t working.
�Uh...Doc?�
�What is it Ranma?�
�You told me to tell ya if her breath got
irregular?�
�Yes?�
�Well, she kinda stopped breathing. Is that
bad?�
Tofu�s eyes went wide. �Ranma...do you know
CPR?�
Ranma shook his head.
�I need to find some way to get her ki back
but she�s not going to make it unless...� Tofu was
hit by the look on the martial artist�s face. He was
pale, his eyes wide and moist with threatening tears.
Ranma was afraid.
*
Ranma wasn�t the only one. Hiro watched
everything with amusement until the pigtailed guy
said the Tendo girl wasn�t breathing. He was shocked
at first. The girl just had a few broken bones...why
would she stop breathing? The doctor had kept going
on about trees and spiritual energy, and he supposed
it had something to do with that blast she let
out...must of over-exerted her or something...served
her right...but he really didn�t understand what was
going on.
Not breathing...needing CPR...THAT he
understood all too well. Watching your father die of
a heart attack at the age of five, while the
paramedics took their sweet time getting to him, and
not knowing what to do, feeling so damned
USELESS...That did a lot to change a man. Hiro never
made it to med school, but he sure as hell knew CPR
now and he wasn�t about to let someone else die. Not
on his watch.
Not thinking a second longer, he rushed to the
doctor�s side. �I know CPR. Leave her to me.� The
doctor nodded and Hiro checked the Tendo girl�s
pulse...it wasn�t there. He shook her once just to be
sure, but there was no response. He felt along the
ribcage and used his fingers to find the right place
to press. Taking a breath, he took off his sunglasses,
put them in his breast pocket, swallowed his gum, and
started resuscitating.
*
Tofu gritted his teeth as he tried once again
to jumpstart Nabiki�s ki production. This wasn�t good.
If the CPR didn�t make Nabiki start breathing again
her ki wouldn�t be able to regenerate itself...
�Doc, what do we do now?� Ranma asked over
Nabiki�s head.
�I don�t know Ranma. This is the most serious
case I�ve seen...the only other way that Nabiki can
be revived is through a full ki transfusion and
that�s impossible...�
�What do you mean it�s impossible?�
�The only documented case of a ki transfusion
ever working was between two identical twins. The ki
has to be very similar or else the body rejects it.
The technique I use only uses a little ki and even
that would fail completely if the ki�s paths weren�t
blocked. To attempt a full transfusion...not only
would it probably fail, there�s a good chance the
donor would die... as well as anyone else in the
room.�
Ranma looked down for a moment before he
brightened... �Doc...a part of me is just like Nabiki
ain�t it? What if I change over to her, then the
transfusion thingie should work right?�
Tofu frowned � Hmm...maybe...but you don�t have
Nabiki�s personality, you only have your
interpretation of Nabiki�s personality...and we�ve
already determined there�s quite a lot that we don�t
know about her.�
�We gotta try right?� Ranma countered. Ranma
concentrated for a moment, sweat pouring down his
brow. He frowned. �DAMMIT! I can�t change into her!
Its gotta be on accident or something!� And then his
eyes met Tofu�s. �Doc...you ever think that maybe
life is just a little TOO convenient?�
Tofu just gave Ranma a look of incomprehension
as the pigtailed boy ran to the counter by the other
patient bed. Ranma picked up the earrings. The
Saiserefu Noon. The artifact of Thyself Known.
Ranma touched the end of the hook of on of the
earrings with his forefinger, drawing blood. �Aw crap.
This is really gonna hurt.� Closing his eyes, he
pulled out the lobe of his right ear and stabbed it
with an earring.
It did hurt. And after the initial pain came a
pins and needles sensation that spread throughout
Ranma�s body. He felt another pain in his left
earlobe and another wave of pins and needles and,
feeling with his left hand, he confirmed that the
other earring had gone in quite on its own. Like a
rush of wind, voices started a ruckus in his head. He
recognized some...his father, Ukyo, Ryoga, Akane,
others he didn�t understand, others he knew all too
well. It was almost too much. He would have passed
out from the mere effort of making sense of it all,
but he had a purpose. He focused. �I need to be
Nabiki....Tendo Nabiki. I...Tendo Nabiki...I...need
to....I...Nabiki...I...am...I am Tendo Nabiki!�
Tendo Nabiki was very confused.
~~~~~*~~~~~
�I thought you said all the phones were
tapped?� Nodoka said on the other end.
�They are, No-chan, but I think Nabiki already
knows you know about me� I wish I could tell you
where Ranma is��
�NO! There�s still a chance. We can�t lose
hope!�
�Nodoka�It�s been more than a decade! And Ra-
Ranko�she�s hurting. And she�s changing No-chan, and
I don�t like what she�s changing into. She needs a
mother. Not an aunt.�
�Genma�if I�adopt her, then she�s going to know
I know about you. Do you realize how that will make
her feel?�
�Betrayed, used�I know it will be hard, but
I�ve gone through it before. It has to be better than
this. Besides maybe this is just the push he�she
needs.�
�You know we can�t talk like that, Genma, it
might break the contract!�
Genma was silent for a long time before
responding. �I�m�beginning to think we should just
forget about the contract.�
Genma couldn�t even hear Nodoka breathe in the
pause before she spoke. �Genma�I understand how you
feel, and I haven�t seen what you�ve seen, so I�ll
forgive you just this once, but you even MENTION that
possibility again�I love you Genny-kun�please� don�t
make me hate you.�
�No-chan I�I love you too. Please consider it�
Ran�ko can�t take more of this. I can�t take much
more of this.�
�Genma�� There were tears in Nodoka�s voice. In
twenty-two years of marriage that was the first time
Genma had ever said that he loved her. �I�ll
come�tomorrow. I�ll stay for the weekend. You have to
be the one to tell her though.�
�Alright. I hope�we can be a family again
soon.�
�I hope so too, Genma. Until then,�
�Until then.� Genma hung up. He hated this. He
hated doing this to his child. But it was something
that had to be done. Just like the Nekoken, just like
Jusenkyo. By the end of this weekend, Ranma would
have to make a choice. Boy or girl, honor or love...
Death or life.
~~~~~[END]~~~~~
AN: The next chapter was originally going to be part
of this one, but I generally like to keep my chapters
close to twenty pages long and was going way past
that limit. Anyway if it seems a little incomplete
that�s why.
Nabiki driving a motorcycle may be a little OOC but I
just couldn�t get the idea out of my head. It sprang
from wondering why you never see any scenes in the
anime of Nabiki walking to school and why she is so
insistent on not walking with Ranma and Akane in the
first episode. And of course Nabiki does have a
�helmet� hairstyle...
Thanks goes to Nemesis Zero, Aondehafka, and Figment for their
helpful comments.
Any mistakes are mine alone.
Feedback greatly appreciated.
Zorukonotsu@yahoo.com
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