Name: Anne Packrat
E-mail: annepackrat@hotmail.com

Ranma 1/2 created by Rumiko Takahashi and copyrighted by
a bunch of companies like Viz Video and Kitty Films. Eat
at Joe's.

Note: I don't like calling this a dark fic, but it is
somewhat depressing, okay?

A-ko & B-ko's Demolition Company Presents:

Introspections - The Price

-...- = thoughts of a character

Nabiki got up and softly tiptoed toward the kitchen
in order to get a midnight snack. She noticed light coming
from under her little sister's room. Nabiki sighed. -She's
probably crying again. Not that I blame her...- She shook
her head. -It's been nearly a month since he died, yet it
still feels like it just happened.- The glow from under the
door illuminated the duck-shaped nameplate. Engraved on it
was the name of her little sister, Akane.

Suddenly Nabiki stopped dead in her tracks. She'd
heard a sound come from Akane's room, a sound that made her
blood run cold. -That sounded like... no... it couldn't
be...- She put her ear up against the door. Dimly, she
heard soft crying, and what sounded like metal on leather.
-Oh, God! That is!- It sounded like a knife being drawn!

Nabiki threw open the door. "Akane! What the hell
are you doing?!" she yelled. She stopped in the doorway
when the image before her confirmed her worst fears. Akane
sat at her desk, a knife poised above her heart. Her face
was red with tears, and a discarded sake bottle lay on the
desk. -Oh, God, she's drunk!- Nabiki thought, -Why now all
of a sudden?-

The older girl rushed to her sister's side and
grabbed the knife. Nabiki looked it over carefully then
put the knife aside. Akane broke down and clutched at her
sister. Nabiki looked down at her in alarm. -Crud! I'm
no good at being comforting.- "Um, maybe I should go get
Kasumi..." In response, Akane clutched tighter. -Um, okay
now what do I do?-

Nabiki sank to her knees with Akane following.
The stink of alcohol on her sister's breath made Nabiki
dizzy. -Jeez, she must have drank a couple bottles! I
hope it wasn't expensive sake...- She squelched that line
of thought. -I shouldn't worry about that at a time like
this! My sister was ready to kill herself! It must be
about Ranma's death, but why now...?-

"Akane?" Nabiki asked gently. Akane looked up at
her through tear-streaked eyes. "What's wrong? Is it
Ranma?" A strangled cry answered her. Nabiki held her
sister tightly and looked around the room. Her eyes fell
on the wall calendar. The date was circled in red marker.
-Why does that date seem so familiar? Is it an aniversary
of some kind? What happened today?- Nabiki searched her
memory, and then sighed. -It was three years ago today,
that we first met Ranma...- Nabiki pulled her sister
closer. -No wonder she's upset.- After a few minutes
Akane's sobs lessened. "Akane?" Nabiki said again, "Do
you want to talk?"

Akane nodded, and pulled away. She leaned back
and hugged her knees to her chest. "He's gone, he's
really gone..." she muttered softly.

Nabiki frowned. "Look, Akane, it's been a month
now. You have to get over it." Akane shook her head
violently and began to cry again. Nabiki sighed. Her
sister could be very stubborn, especially when it came to
Ranma. "I'm sure that where ever he is now, he's happy.
He was good person, (if a bit of a jerk) and he loved you."
Akane broke into new tears. Nabiki bit her lip. -I give
up! Blackmail, corporate takeovers, loansharking, that
stuff's easy, but a troubled sister is to hard for me to
handle!-

Nabiki took a deep breath and rallied her wits.
"Akane, Ranma, he...." Akane interrupted her.

"I never got to tell him how I felt," she said
softly, "I was always too stubborn." She cried harder,
and began to shake.

Nabiki went over to her sister and hugged her
again. "Oh, Akane, he knew you loved him. He always
knew it in his heart." -God, I sound like Kasumi!-
Akane looked up at her sister, "Really?"

Nabiki nodded. "He sacrificed himself to save
you. It was his choice. Do you think he'd have
distracted the demon if he wasn't willing to pay the
price?"

Akane glanced at her sister skeptically. "Trust
me, sis," Nabiki said, smiling, "I'm the one that
knows all about prices and money, right?"

Slowly Akane nodded and sat up. Nabiki's smile
widened and she patted Akane on the shoulder. "Maybe you
should get some sleep," Nabiki said as she noticed her
sister yawning, "But promise me that if you feel like this
again you'll come talk to me or Kasumi, okay?"

"I promise," Akane said hoarsely. She got into
bed. Nabiki stayed until she was sure her sister was
asleep. Then she quietly slipped out of the room, taking
the bottle and knife with her. When she reached the
hallway, she leaned against the wall and took a deep
breath. "Whew, that was close," she muttered to herself.
She lifted the sake bottle and read the label. -Hmmm...
It is the cheap kind. It's still strong stuff though.-
She grinned mirthlessly. -Akane's going to have one hell
of a hangover in the morning.-

After returning the bottle to the liquor cabinet,
Nabiki paused in the hallway. She examined the knife
closely. -Hmm... This looks expensive. Maybe I could
sell it....- She twisted the weapon around. The dim
moonlight fell on a few drops of blood that were the
blade. Nabiki looked the weapon over carefully and
dropped then it into a trashcan. -No,- she thought -Some
things aren't worth the price.-

#########################################################

Okay I'm going to talk to you here without any of
the Ranma cast intervening. I have a feeling that I'm
going to get a lot of mail about my portrayal of Nabiki
in this fic. Let me just state that this is *my*
interpretation of what I've seen and read. I feel there's
much more to Nabiki than just greed, and I think she truly
does love her sisters, even if she doesn't express it that
much. This holds true for Akane as well, and for any
characters that I write about.

Second I just want to comment briefly on the
Introspections series in general. Anyone who read
Ukyou's Introspections story (Rest in Peace, Ranchan)
may have noticed that Ramma was dead in both of them.
This is by no means going be normal for this series. The
Introspections series itself is just a loose collection
of stories with each story focusing on one character and
perhaps revealing a different side of that character. The
fact is that if Ranma died it would affect everyone in the
series greatly. This is a great tool for me to use to
explore various character's emotions. Again this will not
occur in every Introspections story In Akane's for example
Ranma is (unfortunately for Akane) alive and well. In case
you're wondering, Akane's story is the next one coming.

Generic Author's Notes - Thanks to Rumiko Takahashi
for creating such wonderful characters. Thanks to Mike and
Todd for introducing me to Ranma and anime. Thanks to the
other Knights of the Anime 'Round (Sirs Ryoga, Ranma,
Fireball the 13th, Sanjiyan, Reaper, and Collin) Thanks to
my friends who just want to be mentioned in one of my
fanfics: Robin, Nicole, Josh, Josh Sal., Jason, Kath, Jake,
Brian, Ross, Mark Jasmen, and um... I think that's everyone.
And thanks to you for reading.

Send comments and whatnot to annepackrat@hotmail.com. My
fanfics are available at my homepage of
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/8094 .

-Anne "Lady Akane" Packrat 3/1/97
(annepackrat@hotmail.com)