Detective: Manipulation!
AN: ja… me again… at my first Ranma attempt. Nothing in this story is mine, except for the OC's, plotlines, ect…. Wait. Why do I Disclaim anything? has its own Disclaimer so I don't need to do that! Oh well…
Sil: Shut up. Its fun. Oh yeah, Acte there also thinks this is the first ever Detective Conan/Case closed and Ranma ½ crossover.
A: HEY! It's not my fault!
Sil: If you want to counter that claim just bug Acte over there.
A: I'll tell Aegis!
Sil: Anyway, the whole fic is in the western naming convention, I.E, Ranma Saotome instead of Saotome Ranma
"Speech, Japanese"
- Other languages -
'thoughts'
Detective: Manipulation!
Chapter one: Case one: Japan the Ripper, File one: Back in Black
D:Manipulation.CH1
It was so long after he had disappeared. Was it three years now? She didn't know. She was alone. again.
She needed him... now three years after he had disappeared, she realized that her facade that fooled everyone was still a facade. She herself believed that mask to be her true self... but no, it wasn't.
All thanks to that one boy... no, Man. Thanks to him she realized that the ice queen still had a liquid center.
She... developed feelings for him. No matter what horrendous thing she did, he still bounced back and was civil. He charmed his way into her heart, without even trying. He was there for her... and now she would be for him.
But it didn't matter anymore. Officially pronounced dead. Today. Three years after he went missing. Ranma Saotome: friend, foe, and family.
Everyone felt the effect of his disappearance. Three years ago Akane lost touch with the world for a while; Ryoga not to far behind her. Shampoo and Mousse each changed in different ways, it was hard to tell with them. Ukyo was devastated, and for an odd reason, so were cologne and Happosai. It seemed that their worlds revolved around Ranma, as an adversary, friend, or student. Without him, the daily Nermian chaos faded... but was not forgotten. Occasionally some martial artists or random person that has heard of him would wander into town, only to leave dejectedly when they realized that Ranma was presumed dead.
Yet some stayed. Out of countless ones that moved on, there was one woman who came looking for Ranma one year after he went missing. This mystery woman was a relative of the old lady that saved Ranma from the Neko-ken. As a formidable martial artist, she wished to adopt Ranma despite being single. It was heartbreaking to see this attractive and jovial female break into tears upon hearing the news about Ranma's presumed death. Yet she found a reason to stay. One can say "It is all Ranma's Fault!"
Even in presumed death Ranma worked wonders, as after meeting and getting to know this amazing woman, Soun soon saw the writing on the wall, and changed for the better. He now was at least, if not more, of a man than he ever was.
Thinking back to their wedding, Nabiki fondly remembered the moment of happiness among the sea of sorrow that these three years has become.
The woman, ironically named Koneko, also found a kindred soul in Kasumi. It was not a moment too soon. When Ranma left, Kasumi started to revert into a shell, throwing whatever she had into her studies at the college and her family, but thanks to this amazing woman, she once again had a happy, fulfilling life.
Genma and Nodoka... well, Genma and Nodoka were saddened, but they dare not show it. But walk past that house on that street that emanates lonely ki, and you can still hear the occasional sob, and the frequent hitting of flesh on wood.
The Kuno's were another strange point. The Terrible Trio were driven further into insanity, if possible. It seemed that the only thing keeping them from getting worse was to have an adversary to obsess about...
But that didn't matter. What mattered was that He was gone. That was all. The loneliness, despite her newfound friends, the ache was there. She new it was not friendship that would constantly hurt like this when broken off, but something stronger. They say "Third times the charm". She tried two different approaches to find him. And now, she is not even trying anymore. She would save that last chance.
Three years... such a long time. She once thought that she would go to a good college when she got out of high school... like Tokyo U.
Yet she didn't. Instead, she sacrificed her college fund to allow Kasumi to become more than the housewife she acquiesced to become.
His disappearance triggered such a metamorphosis... not even she herself can describe how far it went.
Because of him... she is more afraid than ever to get attached. Yet, she was even more afraid of being alone. Gone was the Ice queen, cold to everyone. She was the Snowflake, beautiful, friendly, yet also cool. She let no one get close enough to do damage... but still was everyone's friend.
It did not stop there. Over the course of her last year at Furnikan High, her shady exploits gave way to more legal things, like the few civil cases she took on as a high school lawyer and detective for some friends' families.
She won them all. It was a great feeling, being there to help defend the innocent and lock away the guilty. Maybe this is why Ranma promised to protect the weak. Maybe she was becoming more like Ranma by helping people. Maybe that is why she started this thing up...
Yet, for some reason when asked, she can never procure a reason.
And so, hearing the door open and a client come in, she turns her head away from the window.
But only after she takes her eyes off a sign surrounded by falling leaves that held the words:
"Tendo Detective Agency and Legal Advisory."
...ElSeTiMe&ElSeWhErE...
A Night Earlier, During Night-time Police Patrols, Something Strange Happened.
A filthy, bleeding, and beaten kid staggers out of an alley, only to run into a uniformed police…girl?
"Watch where you're going!" the policewoman yelled out… only to stop and look at the bruised boy. He couldn't be older than 8. He needed help, and soon. Gripping her hand onto his arm, she started to think…
Officer Yumi Miyamoto was not having a good day. An officer of Division One of the Tokyo Metropolitan area police, life in the Beika prefecture no longer seemed as good as it once was when certain things happen. Certain things like the almost certain failure of her very precious "pet project", the getting together of her friends, Officers Wataru Takagi and Miwako Sato. Why did those two have to be so thick! And why did they have to be so lovable?
Not only was her pet project suffering from the very subjects that it involved, the rest of the department seemed dead set on breaking the two up! And what's with Mr. "Elite-team" Shiratori questioning her motives? Takagi and Sato BELONGED together! Takagi a more open version of … Jinpei Matsuda, the only other man that managed to touch Miwako's heart. WHY COULDN'T THE REST OF THE DEPARTMENT SEE THAT THE DUO BELONGED TOGETHER? Pff… Men. Stupid idiots, all of them. So what if Sato was the only female inspector in their division?
To make matters worse her boss was threatening to dock her pay by 10 if she did not go on double NIGHT patrols because of her "excessive partying"! ARGH! She just wanted to have a little fun on the job, no harm was done or meant to be done! And then she runs into THIS kid! What a drag! … wait…
As she stood consumed by her thoughts and mental rant, the boy broke out of her grasp and tried to run away.
'That boy is STRONG and FAST!' thought Yumi as tried to catch up.
Yet as she pursued after him, she realized that he wasn't that bright. She could easily manipulate him to go where she wanted him to go!
After much pointless following and experimenting how she could manipulate him, she begun to tire out. Luckily, an idea worked its way into her head. She chased him so that he would enter a cul-de-sac of sorts, and just stopped and waited for the inevitable to happen.
And it did. The outsmarted boy ran into her for the SECOND time of the day as he completed a lap around a walled off warehouse. This time, Yumi was ready. She quickly handcuffed the child to herself and dragged him back to the patrol car and proceeded to take him to the station.
'What kind of boy is this?' were Yumi's thoughts. She couldn't believe how fast he could run, and while injured! Could he be… from Nermia? Nah, not possible! That was at least 10 kilometers from Beika! And how did he get so bruised and battered? The more she thought, the more questions popped up.
So engrossed in her own thoughts and task, she was oblivious to the glowing aura that manifested around that child.
...TeNdOdEtEcTiVeAgEnCy...
Piercingly sharp eyes watched a mysterious figure as it entered the office.
"Hello, and welcome to the Tendo Detective Office. Our legal services are currently… unavailable" said Nabiki as she greeted her mysterious client.
"If you are here with a detective case for me, come and sit down. If you desire advice on legal issues, you'll have to wait for 6 months" 'once I finally finish that stupid law school' the former ice queen added silently.
Hesitantly, the covered figure slowly crossed the room and sat down at Nabiki's desk. Nabiki noted that the client was obviously female. A wide brimmed sun-hat covered the client's head, a pair of sunglasses covered her eyes and an unseasonable scarf hid the rest of her face. Yet on closer inspection, a few wisps of blonde hair and a corner of her milky white ear betrayed the origin of the woman. She was obviously a gajin, a foreigner. This theory was reinforced by the purse and clothing the client wore; Hermes was a French brand of purses, and the coat was in a distinct Italian style.
"My name is… Sofie Lauria, and I'm from the United States. I… I can trust you, right" said the covered figure, with a thickly accented voice partially muffled by her scarf.
Nabiki, thinking that this person only had some trust issues, decided to use an old trick she new. Mindless reassurance. Sure came in handy when she was hunting for secrets…
"-Yes of course you can trust me. I am an honest detective. And one does not 'bite the hand that feeds', right?-"
Shocked by Nabiki's use of English, Sofie quickly switched to her native language, silently thanking the fates that this detective knew English.
"- I currently am in… a tight spot. I currently stay at the Beika Hotel -" said the young woman as she removed her scarf, sunglasses and hat, allowing her to communicate with the cool and calculating detective. "- You see… there has been a murder, and the police and hotel administrators are trying to keep quiet about it -"
"What? A murder? When? Where? Details?" Nabiki asked in a panic, unknowingly switching back into Japanese.
"Hahaha… - it has been said that in times of great panic and anger one switches back to their native tongue, no? I am sorry, but I don't know Japanese too well, just the basics. I can't understand you when you speak so fast -" answered the now smiling lady.
Nabiki took a moment to compose herself, and during this time her eyes and mind automatically took notes on her client. She was not too tall, maybe 165 cm, and had a slim athletic figure. Her eyes were hazel, and they fit well on her milky white almond-shaped face. Her hair, pulled back into an easily disguised bun, was definitely blonde and was also very fine. As a whole, the girl in front of Nabiki could not be older than 20, just around her own age.
This client also emanated a sense of familiarity that Nabiki could not place, like a face that was remembered yet without a name. But now was not the time. Nabiki was a professional and this woman was her employer now. It was back to business. Back to the old Ice Queen's game.
"- Sorry, the news of the murder shocked me -" the fledging detective replied. "- I am glad my English skills were the top in my class, as now I can helps you better. I just wanted the time, location, and details of the murder -"
As Nabiki finished her sentence, she noticed a forming smirk fade back into a grim line. Oh… she screwed up her verb conjugation again. Ignoring what she considered to be an extremely stupid mistake, she listened to her client's story.
"- Well… the time was last night, sometime after 10:00, that's when I fell asleep; the location was a room on the same floor as mine, the thirteenth floor, the room number is 1331- "answered the lady. "-the main concern of mine is that… well, there was a message left behind… and I didn't know what it said until I asked a police officer -"
Instantly intrigued, Nabiki quickly asked, "- and what was the message that would make a person lose faith in the police? -"
"Foreigners shall Die" whispered the distraught girl in Japanese. "-I didn't know any word in that message other than Gajin, and so I further asked the policeman what it meant in English. He looked at me funny and told me what it meant again along with the comment 'Hide, you might be next'-"
"-But that's not the whole story, -" accused Nabiki. "- Why is it that your breasts are bound? It is a practice more common in Japan than the United States.-"
"-How did you know?-" the young woman replied with a gasp.
Smirking at the question, Nabiki supplied her verdict. "-The way you moved made you seem like you were in pain, also you quickly moved your purse when it hit your chest right after you winced, indicating that the cause of your pain was from your chest, and you are too young to have heart problems-"
"-Well, there is one more piece of the puzzle… the person who was killed was my friend… another girl… the police concluded that she was … that she was… that she was raped… then… then partially butchered like in those tales of… of… Jack….-" Unable to speak any longer, the girl burst into tears.
Confronted with her crying client, Nabiki displayed another trait that she inherited from Ranma… a soft spot for crying girls. She quickly rushed over to Sofie's side and whispered comforting words to her.
"-don't worry, I'll help you. We can get the police to help you. I know lots of martial artists, in fact I come from a family of them. I can bring you to some self defense lessons later too. Also, I know kung fu!-" Nabiki told the girl, hoping her parting joke would cheer the crying client up. And it did.
In between sniffles, Sofie expressed her gratitude "- Thank… thank you. I… I really … I really appreciate your help. Its just so… so terrifying!-"
Nabiki, having had concerns about the very thing herself, understood the stress, pain, and terror her client was going through. After all, what girl did not fear being raped? It was a common fear, a fear she learned to control early in her career. She was happy that she took up her father and Koneko's offer of a few martial arts classes. In her line of work, one needed to protect oneself.
While her schooling in the arts covered the whole gamut, her focus was mainly defensive. Judo, Aikido, and Tai Chi composed of over 80 percent of her martial arts repertoire; a repertoire that was focused on the properties of water. Judo was sudden like steam, Aikido was solid like ice, and Tai Chi was fluid like water. The remaining 20 percent of her repertoire was offensive, coming from arts such as Kempo, Wu Shu, and Tae Kwon Do. A few martial arts classes do wonders to one's self esteem, and to one's confidence. She knew that it was crucial for Sofie to rebuild that lost confidence and security because of the horrendous crime. She could finally help another person like Ranma helped her.
"-alright Sofie, you were really brave to come to me with such a dastardly crime. I will definitely help you as much as I can!-" Nabiki's determination was quite evident in her voice. "-Your Culprit will feel his will Yield to the Power of the Laws of Heaven and Nature!-"
Taken aback by this fiery declaration, Sofie could only wish to herself that she could be as confident, secure, and professional as this detective.
"-So, first thing's first. Let's go Shopping!-"
And so, Sofie got introduced to her first Japanese Cultural Item: The Face-fault; Step one: start high. Step two: plant your face into the ground. Have a nice day. Well… as nice of a day you can have with your head stuck in a 10 cm deep crater…
Oh well… as they say, Too bad, too sad, boo-hoo…
...D:ManipulationChapter1...
Something was wrong. Even a rookie officer could tell you that, and Yumi was NOT a rookie. Something really bad happened. Her police radio was flooded with incoming messages, some cutting each other off, yet others overlapping and drowning each other out. Some were in a gajin language, some in frantic Japanese. It was big; whatever happened.
Soon it just became too much, the noise annoyed her to the point of no return. Against her better judgment, she turned off her radio. From experience she knew that it was impossible for Base to contact her in such a situation, so she could always blame the static and background noise. She could finally relax and maybe even eat that special chocolate that she stashed away for moments like these… chocolate…
"Why'd ya turn off da radio?"
Quickly snapping out of her fantasy, she realized that the kid was still in her front seat. Just a kid. Nothing too bad… wait. He was supposed to be in the back seat!
"HOW DID YOU GET HERE?" she screamed in surprise.
"Ya know, it's really easy to get into da front seat, especially after ya took off my handcuffs for me and walked away." The kid just smirked holding out his unchained hands.
"Oh… Yeah… that's right." Looking a bit embarrassed, the female officer didn't know what to say at the moment. She didn't realize that she was so scatterbrained lately. Maybe Megure had a reason to threaten her to shape up…
"Hey, what kind of chocolate is this?" exclaimed the child, his steel blue eyes adopting a strange glint as he held on to a bar of chocolate.
"Huh, what? HEY, GIVE ME THAT!" was Yumi's only answer. That candy bar must not be her special one… or ELSE!
Reluctantly, the young child handed over the chocolate bar. Luckily, the wrapper was red, not gold and silver. She realized that it was a HI-MILK bar she bought not long ago.
"So… what is it?" the young boy inquired.
"That's HI-MILK, a milk chocolate in which they add extra milk." Answered Yumi, adopting a calmer expression. "Here, you can eat it if you want to."
"Really? Cool! Thanks!" the now happy kid almost shouted, as he opened the wrapper and proceeded to wolf down the candy bar.
Struck by the cute actions of the boy, Yumi could only smile. He really wasn't as bad as she thought! Oops… looks like she needed to pay attention to the road more: the light ahead of her just turned red.
Coasting to a stop, Yumi looked at the boy, only to realize that he stopped eating.
"Hey, what's up?" The young woman asked, puzzled by the sudden stop in eating.
The boy looked up and into her eyes, giving her an electric jolt. Then to her amazement, he broke off a sizable piece of the chocolate and offered it to her.
"Here, try some!" the child said happily.
Yumi thanked the boy and accepted the chocolate; after all, chocolate would be nice at a time like this.
"Thanks for the chocolate Police-san" said the young boy.
"No problem" replied Yumi as she once again started to cruise down the street, toward the police station.
Struck by the realization that she did not even know his name, she decided to find out.
"Hey, gaki, what's your name?"
An uncertain expression soon replaced "Um… um… um.."
Mistaking the boy to have amnesia, she said "don't worry if you don't remember your name… Many people tend to forget sometimes. But if you still can't remember, there are doctors who can help you. They are especially trained to help people who can't remember things. And there are many… oops! Looks like the light's about to go green! "
With the light in front of her now green Yumi concentrated on the road, totally missing the wild search the boy was leading in the car. Rapidly grabbing random things then discarding them, none of the action caught Yumi's attention. This was probably because it had just started to rain during the previous conversation, and the young Miyamoto must realized it.
"I got a name… you can call me…" at this, the boy finally fixated on a certain object. "You can call me … Meiji"
Oblivious to the frantic search for a name "Meiji" just had, Yumi's attention was held on tightly by the now semi-frozen rain falling to the ground, courtesy of the freezing temperatures outside.
Once she registered the now-dubbed "Meiji"'s reply, she realized that she should reply with her own name, she did.
"Alright Meiji. You can call me Miyamoto Yumi-Neesan" replied the road-focused officer.
Nothing else was said, or heard, other than the occasional "snap" of chocolate.
Time went by, and soon Officer Yumi was parking her car in the police station's parking lot.
"Alright Meiji, we're here… I'm going to bring you to the medical ward before I hand in my report for my patrol ok?" the young lady said with a small smile.
Meiji just looked at her and replied "ok…" as he got out of the car.
Seeing that Meiji was already outside, Yumi quickly stepped out of the car and locked the doors. As she escorted Meiji to the medical ward, his hand somehow found hers. It was a cute sight, a young woman running with a child in tow, both getting wet from the rain. If only Yumi wasn't in uniform and Meiji covered with wounds.
As the two drenched people approached the entrance of the station, a candy wrapper drifted in the wind.
On it were the words:
Meiji
HI-MILK chocolate bar
AN:
Ok... wow... that... was a lot... for just an idea...
anyway, "Nabiki" means "to bend or yield to a power" aka Manipulate. a good trait in a detective.
But even better is that "tendo" is "laws of heaven and nature"... you get what I'm hinting at?
Meiji is another play on words. It means "Explicitly State" or "Specifications". It is also the name of the company that makes Japanese chocolates. It is the Japanese equivalent of Hersheys.
Anyway, this chapter is right in the fall before the winter where Eisuke disappears. In the Ranma verse, it is over 3 years after the failed wedding (that never happened) in this story, Genma and Soun had a little more honor and intelligence to force this upon Ranma and Akane. Akane did remember that Ranma said "I love You" and their relationship was good…. Until he disappeared.
When he disappeared, they found a pool of blood… a very large pool, and some bullet casings near the place he was scene last.
ICPO means Interpol.
New AN: Ok… I decided to lengthen the chapter and move some scenes into chapter two. I hope this isn't as "rushed" as it was last time.
Also, I "seem" to add in tons of references to who is saying what. I like doing that, as when I just see plain dialogue without words like "Person A said, Person B replied" ect., I can't tell who's saying what. If you think this is just superfluous, sorry, it's just my style of writing.