Conspiracies
The small cafe was in a peaceful district, far from the chaos that plagued Nerima and so many of Tokyo's other areas. So when a young couple walked in and sat down in a corner booth, nobody paid much attention to them besides the waitress. She hurried over to take their order and was surprised by the amount of food the two ordered, mostly dessert. They waited in silence until it arrived, carried by every waitress in the restaurant. This got a few strange looks, but other than that everybody minded their own business.
"Bottomless pit that you are, you may actually be capable of eating all that, but are you sure your wallet can withstand the strain?" Amusement colored the young man's voice.
"You're paying." The words were almost indecipherable through the giant spoonful of ice cream.
A single brow arched as the boy surveyed the contents of the table and then looked up at his companion. She was nearly hidden by the varied desserts; the only thing visible as she dove into her ice cream bowl was the top of her head.
The girl caught his expression as she surfaced for air. She paused, swallowing her mouthful, and pointed her spoon at him.
"You owe me after yesterday Stick-Boy. Big time."
Tatewaki Kuno smirked. "But my love, surely my glorious presence in your life has brought you great enjoyment ."
The girl glared at him. "The only thing I 'enjoyed' about yesterday was knocking you out of the district!" Her voice rose slightly at the end. The other patrons studiously ignored them. Nobody wanted to get involved in whatever was going on.
"You shouldn't play coy, my pigtailed goddess. It really doesn't suit such a pretty little girl as yourself." Condescension dripped from his voice, emphasizing 'pretty little girl.'
"Tsk tsk. Settle down boys." The interruption caused the redhead to freeze in the middle of reaching across the table with obviously murderous intentions. She turned slightly to view the two late arrivals.
"Indeed. A fight here would ruin all that delicious food." Kodachi slid in next to her brother but otherwise ignored him. "You don't mind sharing, do you?"
"Order your own. He's paying." the redhead dove back into her food.
Nabiki scanned the tabletop. "As much as I enjoy spending Kuno-baby's money, I don't think that there's enough room on the table for more food." She grabbed a piece of pie and leaned back into the booth. The redhead grumbled a little, but made no other protest.
For a while, the four were quiet, enjoying the selection of treats. The only sounds were the clink of dishes and the low murmur of other diners in the background. When they were done, the waitress dropped off the bill. There was a small delay before Kuno sighed and moved to the counter to pay. The three girls smirked and went outside.
When Kuno joined them, his wallet significantly lighter, the four strolled down the street. They walked in silence, not bothering to window shop or pay any attention to other passersby. Eventually, they entered a small park and angled towards a stand of trees. They paused for a moment and looked around. Reasonably assured no one else was paying any attention, the redhead pulled out a thermos.
Two boys and two girls picked their way through the hedge maze. It was an unusually complicated maze and few chose to venture into it. However, the four teenagers navigated the twists and turns with the ease of familiarity, finally emerging into a small plaza in the center of the maze. They sat down, the girls sharing a bench and each boy commandeering his own.
"So," Nabiki looked at each of her co-conspirators in turn, "how is Operation Taming the Shrew progressing?"
"What I wanna know," complained Ranma "is how I ever got into this nutty idea. And who came up with that stupid name anyway?"
"Brother-dearest. He got the whole idea from one of his beloved plays. Though the girl is far more of a harpy than a shrew." Kodachi's voice was mild. The girl in question wasn't there to be insulted and Kodachi knew none of the others would leap to her defense. "Don't we go over this every time? It's becoming a bore."
"We can hardly expect him to remember anything so complicated." Kuno's sneer was traditional. Though most of the animosity between him and Ranma was an act, like much of Kuno's insanity, he still enjoyed a good fight and it was a convenient way to let off steam.
Kuno stood as did Ranma, who was happily cracking his knuckles. The boys were almost evenly matched, a fact which would have startled a number of people. Eventually though, the scuffle ended with Ranma knocking Kuno to the ground and sitting on him.
"Well, I feel better." The cursed boy grinned triumphantly.
"Always happy to oblige." Grunted Kuno. "Now, if you would kindly get off me!" The two boys got up, dusted themselves off, and returned to their respective benches.
"If you two are quite done, we should finish this quickly. I have to get home in time to order take-out for dinner."
"Aw man, you mean the Tomboy's cooking again?" Ranma groaned. "Somebody put me outta my misery now. Please."
"Nabiki, my love, you will send her attempt over for me to analyze, won't you? Your sister's cooking has the most interesting effects. It would be a shame to waste her efforts."
"Sure thing Kodachi. Just remember, I get royalties on anything you sell." Kodachi smiled and kissed her lover on the cheek, snuggling closer to the other girl as she leaned over. Both boys rolled their eyes but, wisely, held their tongues.
"Anyways, after yesterday's venture with the 'pigtailed one,' I believe it is time to return my attentions to my 'fierce tigress.' I shall endeavor to lavish her with assurances of my love."
Ranma twitched. "You might wanna stock up on pain-killers. The Tomboy's even more mallet-happy than normal. And I still don't get how this is supposed to work. Pushing her buttons like this just makes her worse."
"Well, nothing else has helped. Maybe Kuno-baby's insane plan will."
"I resent that."
Ranma ignored Kuno's interjection. "All I'm saying is you've been working on this since before I got here and I don't see any improvement."
"You're using big words today Saotome. Did you bring a dictionary with you to sneak peeks at?" Kuno swiftly transferred his irritation at Nabiki's criticism over to a more easily provoked target.
Ranma glared at Kuno and started to rise. Kuno reached for his bokken.
"That is enough! Or I'll sic Mr. Turtle on you. Both of you." Kodachi glared at each combatant in turn, making sure her point was made. When their scowls faded into sulky pouts, she continued. " Brother, even you have to admit that this is a very strange plan." Kuno's face twitched slightly, revealing a brief expression of chagrin.
Nabiki shook her head. "But it is working. While you may not be in a position to notice such, Ranma, Akane has been getting better. Her martial arts have drastically improved, she's taking fewer shortcuts, and, excepting you two, she is beginning to be more patient with people. Besides, you promised to help train Akane to be a more worthy heir to the Tendo school. This isn't any crazier than most of your father's training methods. And it's the only way to get you out of the engagement." Nabiki arched an eyebrow at Ranma and received a reluctant nod in turn.
"S'ppose so. But you guys ain't the ones getting whacked around by that mallet of hers. Even Kuno doesn't get hit nearly as often as me." Ranma was absent-mindedly rubbing his side where he had been smacked earlier in the day. In fact, that particular bruise-inducing hit had been his transportation to this district. If nothing else, Akane's upper-body strength was definitely increasing.
"True Saotome, but I have to face you as well as her." Kuno wasn't about to let Ranma be the only martyr around.
"Maybe, but I pull my punches and you get to fake being knocked out after one hit." Kuno conceded the point with a grimace and a nod. Kodachi, having noticed Ranma's tender treatment of his side, produced some homemade painkillers and handed them to the boy. He looked at them doubtfully for a moment, but downed them quickly when he noticed her beginning to glare at him. As the pain in his ribs subsided he flashed an apologetic look at her, followed by a grateful grin. She moved back over to her bench and sat down besides Nabiki once again. Then she nudged her partner with her elbow.
"I'm sorry Ranma. We know you're the one taking the brunt of all this, and we do appreciate it." Nabiki's voice was quiet and she allowed a hint of feeling to seep through. "Kodachi and I are always very grateful for all the support you've given us. I'll back you up on the food issue tonight. I'll just add it to your tab. At a discount." She looked vaguely uncomfortable with this, but didn't back down.
Ranma looked up, surprised. Then his mouth quirked into a small smile, devoid of most of his usual cockiness. "Thanks. I could use all the help I can get. And you're helping a lot, with those plans to get Ucchan and Shampoo off my back too."
"Mmmm. Shampoo has a thing for Taro anyway and getting Ukyo and Mousse together should be child's play. Besides, I'll be sure to extract full payment from each of them for my efforts." Her smile turned predatory.
"Oh Nabiki," cooed Kodachi, "I love it when you're mercenary." She was rubbing her body up against the other girl, who smirked,
Kuno cleared his throat. "Right. I do believe that would be our cue to depart, Saotome."
The two boys hurried out of the small garden and separated at the entrance to the maze. Kuno headed home to plan the least painful route of attack on Akane for the next morning. If he came up to her from the wrong angle, he'd smash into the wall, gaining numerous bruises and a possible concussion. Contractors in Nerima used very strong materials.
Ranma, after a moment's thought, angled towards Tofu's office. He'd get the Doc to check out his side and grab whatever he could to preemptively counter-act Akane's cooking.
Nabiki and Kodachi remained heavily involved in their own activities in the relative privacy of the maze garden.