Disclaimer: All characters depicted in this fan fiction are the property of their respective creators, Rumiko Takahashi, the creator of Ranma 1/2, and Yoshitoshi ABe, of the crew for Haibane Renmei. These characters are used without permission and the story written here is for the enjoyment of all, and not to be used for obtaining monetary gain or other illegal uses. I hope it is enjoyed, and please do not try to sue me. I have to write this at a public computer anyway.
"..." speech
Thoughts
"Feather Nabiki, to help guide your future, as a fellow Haibane, I give you this halo." With tongs in hand, Hikari pulled out another halo from the mold and set it on Nabiki's head. A collective gasp from the four other Haibane girls, (Reki giving her the benefit of the doubt) showed their belief that the halo wouldn't stick. Nabiki was perturbed at this, since the halo stuck with no problem.
"What? Surprised that a Haibane with black wings can wear a halo on her head?"
A great deal of head shaking told her they'd rather not argue again. After a moment in which Ranma moved to sit next to Nabiki, the other Haibane lined up and bowed to the new pair.
"Welcome to Old Home."
Haibane Ranma
"Thanks for having us," Ranma bowed his head in response. Nabiki also bowed her head and muttered something resembling a thank you. "So, what do we do now?"
Reki smiled at the pair. "Well, since we were prepared for this event, we have all managed to get some time off from our jobs for it. Well, all except for me, but then my job is never really done around here anyway, thanks to those little brats." The look on her face beguiled the fact that she really did enjoy taking care of the Young Feathers.
I've seen a look like that many times before, I'm sure of it. Ranma looked at Reki with curious eyes. "What is it that you do here?"
Nabiki added her two cents to the question. "Yeah, what kind of job would you have that is never completed? I doubt I could stand to have a job like that."
"Reki helps take care of the Young Feathers by cooking and helping the House Mother teach them the basics in school." Nabiki's gaze swung over to Kuu, who spoke up in answer to the questioning pair. As was often the case, Kuu was smiling brightly, knowing that she was able to answer the questions of these two exciting new haibane.
"So you all have jobs? What do you do?"
Hikari took this moment to explain the work that the haibane do. After all, they had all day available to spend with the two New Feathers, Ranma and Nabiki. "Well, I work at one of the bakeries in town. It's the oldest one, and the only bakery that allow the haibane to work for them, but it is very fun."
"Yeah, and Hikari is very good with coming up with new ideas for pancakes too, right Hikari?" Kuu said with a smirk. Rakka sported a pout on her face and gave Hikari a disapproving look.
"Heh heh heh..." With eyebrows curved up nervously, Hikari allowed an appropriately shamed sweat drop. "Anyways, Nemu has a job too; she works for the city library."
Rakka's frown turned to a smile in remembrance of her experience there. "The library is filled with so many books; I don't think anyone has ever read them all. There are some that talk about the origins of the world too! No one really knows if they are true though." Rakka sighed wistfully, having seemingly forgotten that she was not alone. Since she continued to stare at some invisible bug on the ceiling, Hikari continued again.
"Kana here works for a clock maker, which is funny since she is rarely on time. Almost makes you wonder why he keeps her there."
"Hey! I am not late that often! I'm usually right on time," Kana finished with a smug smile, irritated at having her tardiness in question by her peers.
"You are always in a rush to get there everyday though, Kana. Even Rakka who was with you recently said you were late getting there. She even said you seemed quite proud of it."
"Rakka!" Kana frowned at the shy haibane, who was still observing the ceiling rafters. "Besides, I wasn't proud of being late, I was proud that my watch was telling the correct time."
Desiring to break up an argument he could see coming, Ranma interjected a question in hopes to change the subject. "So what about you, Kuu? Do you work too? You seem too young to have a job."
"Oh I do little jobs here and there for people. Mostly I help clean up places, though recently I've been working at a café bussing tables and such." Kuu's grin was still there and was becoming catching if Ranma's face was any indicator.
"So what kind of pay do you get at these jobs? Pretty good I hope, and what kind of money do people use? What are the different rates of it?" Nabiki's interest in the conversation was only built up at the prospect of getting some cash to get better clothes. She did not want to stay in this white robe any longer than she had to.
"The haibane are forbidden to earn money for their work. Instead we keep track of what we make in these." Reki answered, pulling out her Haibane Notebook. She held it out for Nabiki to view. It had a reddish brown cover with some silver metal coverings over the corners and part of the outer edges. On the front was a picture of what looked like a T with the arms angled down a bit and longer, with a little type of fringe or claw-like quality at the ends of the arms. There was a small halo above that, making the picture appear to be a person standing with their arms out and hands open with a halo above their bowed head. Well, if the person was really thin. Below that, written in a recognizable Japanese was the words, 'Haibane Notebook of the Haibane Renmei'. Below that still was written in a smaller vertical oval was the name "Reki". Nabiki's horrified look told Reki that she wouldn't be examining it herself.
"So you don't get paid for your work here? Why are you doing it then?"
"It's not like that. The amount we would earn is written in the books and then we use that amount when we need something and pay with a strip from the notebook with the amount on it."
Nabiki thought curiously at this. So, what is to stop anyone from putting in more than they earned from their work? Hmm... I'll have to see how this one works in the real situation.
"Speaking of spending, why don't we go into town and get you two some clothes? I'm sure you don't want to stay in those rags," Kuu offered. It would be nice to get them out into some fresh air and it would help dry their wings anyway.
"I don't know about that, Kuu," Nemu said. "Remember, they might not be up to that yet. They aren't even fully healed from yesterday." Kuu looked up at Nemu disappointed but conceded. Ranma, however, agreed with Kuu's idea.
"I feel just fine. I'm sure something like a walk is no sweat for me. Let's do it! I don't want to stay cooped up inside anyway."
After a little discussion, the favor went to Kuu and Ranma.
"Oh WOW! Look at this!" came a voice from the doorway. Standing there gawking at the only boy in the room were three Young Feathers, one was pointing at Ranma. More specifically, at his wings, since Ranma himself wasn't visible through the other girls in the room. As if to emphasize the focus of their attention, Ranma's wings twitched violently at the sudden outburst.
"Whoa! They're huge! How did they get to be so big?" said the little girl haibane at the door.
Reki slapped her forehead in frustration. No matter what I do I can never get them to stop being so damn curious that they ignore the signs. "Hana, Shorta and Daiku. Why can't they ever leave me alone," Reki muttered. "What are you three doing here!"
Even the loud and scary Reki was not enough to make the three run, for the strength of their curiosity was much greater as they looked at the huge wings coming from one of the two on the cot. Each had their own thoughts as to whom they belonged to.
"Which one has the huge monster wings?" Shorta asked excitedly to no one in particular.
"It's the guy from the courtyard cocoon of course," Daiku replied.
"No way, it's got to be the girl from the northern cocoon!" Hana said in a huff.
Sighing with defeat, Reki stepped aside to reveal Ranma to the three, knowing that she wasn't going to easily get them to leave this alone. After all, nothing would have gotten herself to let it be without knowing either. As she expected, the three quickly shut their mouths as they looked at the boy sporting the huge wings. Unfortunately for Ranma, they also decided to show their welcome to him in the form of a group dog-pile. The pile didn't last long though, as Shorta caught sight of a few black feathers in his face. While still in the middle of the small wrestle with Ranma, Shorta's eyes followed the black feathers until he found its' source. They were connected to the shoulder blades of the girl he had found yesterday just out of the cocoon on the north side of Old Home. Ranma was immediately given respite.
"Aaaaaugh!" Shorta bolted for the door in a panic, flinging Daiku off him as well, having been in between him and Hana in the pile. Shorta pointed at Nabiki with a shaking arm. "M-m-m-monster!" Hana looked up at the target of Shorta's fear and paled. She shrieked and also bolted from the room. Nabiki looked at the last of the three Young Feathers and sighed with irritation. Daiku was still dazed from the impromptu flight. So, not having seen Nabiki, he staggered to the door to follow his fleeing friends.
"Oh I can see going into town would be REALLY fun." Not even Ranma missed the sarcasm in Nabiki's voice.
"I don't think it will be that bad, Nabiki," Ranma said sympathetically. "After all, they are just kids and I'm sure the adults in town will be better about it."
Nabiki gave him a look that said without doubt, 'Are you stupid?' "Ranma, you may remember some things from before you hatched, but I'm sure that the grown-ups in town will not be as understanding as the girls here because they aren't one of us anyway. It's more likely that they will react much worse. Go into town? Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to pass."
Kuu looked at Nabiki thoughtfully. Then, sneaking up behind her, Kuu plucked a small feather from Nabiki's left wing. With a yelp, Nabiki glared at the younger girl and spat out, "What was that for!"
"I'm going to pick out some clothes for you, but since you don't have your own notebook yet, I'll need to pay for it with a feather of yours. I'll also put your name down for you. Do you have any preference?"
"I don't care, as long as I'm out of these rags," Nabiki said bitterly. "I'm sure I can find things to do around here, so I'll be fine."
Reki took this as an opportunity to cop out of going to town, since she didn't really want to go either. She also wanted to talk to her about her wings. "I'll stay with you. We can work on getting you settled into a room, since this is the guest room. Most of the rooms here in Old Home aren't being used, so you'll have many to choose from. Some will need more work than others though."
"Well that sounds good to me, so let's do it!" Ranma was quite enthusiastic, and jumped up with excitement. However, with the size of his wings and the sudden movement, the white robe he wore could no longer take the stress, and the bindings in the back came loose, causing the garment to be removed from its host and drop to the floor.
Oh shit. Ranma instinctively shot to the corner of the room, unintentionally leaving the garment where it lay. He raised his arms defensively, not really thinking of modesty, but preparing to be on the receiving end of a very painful blow, all the while stammering out apologies. The damage had been done, however, and many loud shrieks came from those present.
A red handprint stung on his face as Ranma walked with Rakka, Kuu, Nemu, Hikari and Kana toward the town of Glie. Ranma was now redressed in a brown dingy robe, which had its wing-slits cut through the top to accommodate his oversized wings. The girls still sported small blushes on their faces, and Ranma couldn't look them in the eyes.
Flashback
While Ranma was redressing in a small storage closet attached to the guest room, the girls were talking among themselves. The fact that Ranma was a boy that wasn't a Young Feather in a Haibane Nest that had never before had one was a fact that hadn't really hit them before the unwanted display a moment ago. Why a boy had hatched here and not at Abandoned Factory was really a great surprise when they thought about it. A New Feather male had never been hatched in Old Home as far as anyone knew. The whispering wasn't lost on Nabiki, who was also listening in, not having been nearly as stunned as the other girls. Stunned yes, just not as much. Ranma walked back in to the others, a bright red handprint becoming more and more pronounced on the left side of his face.
"Funny. For some reason I thought for sure I was going to get hit with something much harder, like the table," he commented as he took a chair and sat backwards on it, facing the bed the others had moved to. A shattering crash behind him told him that he had knocked over the vase of flowers that was on the table. Ranma sighed. "I'll get it."
The girls giggled a little at Ranma's misfortune. "With his wings so big though, it kinda makes him a bit klutzy indoors, huh?" one of the girls whispered. Ranma wasn't sure, hut he suspected that it was Kana. He finished cleaning up the mess and sat back down.
"So, um, Ranma," Rakka started, a very guilty blush on her face. "Does it still sting?" At his nod, she continued. "Um, I had closed my eyes. Who was it that slapped you?" Rakka knew she had a hand in it.
"Judging by the number of times I was struck in the same spot, I'd say every one of you had a turn." Ranma's expression wasn't one you'd have thought was only a few minutes ago totally ecstatic for going to town.
End Flashback
Ranma's thoughts were interrupted while he walked when he noticed Kuu running circles around him as they went. He smiled at the energetic girl. Of all of them, she seemed to be the first to recover, either having forgotten the show or gotten over the embarrassment of it. Before he could stick his foot in his mouth about it though, he was saved by a most unlikely hero as his stomach made known its displeasure. The rumbling was enough to scare a few birds out of the field to his left. Kuu giggled.
"I think big brother Ranma is hungry! Let's go get something to eat first when we get to town." Kuu's smile was as bright as ever, and was enough to get the others out of their blushing state.
"'Big brother Ranma?'" Nemu asked.
"Well yeah, he's with us in Old Home, and he's older than I am. It's like I've got a big brother for the first time!"
Hikari smiled at this. It's nice that Kuu can get so easily attached to him. I'm sure he will be fun to watch. Kuu might give him a headache though, if she tries to imitate him. Thinking of it though, she hasn't done that in a while. "Well, that makes perfect sense. I'm not sure I'd call him big brother myself though. He might be younger than I, so I'll just call him Ranma."
The group walked on, chatting about little things. Most of it was about the town and what they do at their jobs, and answering Ranma's few questions. It wasn't long before the town was in view. Ranma started growing a little apprehensive as the town got closer and closer. He wasn't at all worried that people might react badly at his large wings after what Nabiki had said. Nope. Not at all.
Entering the town, the group made their own subtle impression. Most who entered or exited the town went by cart or on occasion a scooter. When the haibane enter on foot, it often brings a little attention their way. With Ranma in the group, the attention was a bit greater than usual, as those who would normally smile and wave actually got up and approached him. There were many who stayed where they were though, figuring they'd catch the news from the grapevine later. Those who did approach had many questions about the new haibane with the enormous wings. After all, something so new, and in the opinions of some, so bizarre was going to be the talk of the town for the next few days at least. Information was not forthcoming to the townspeople though. Most of their questions were questions the haibane had themselves, so it wasn't long before the people let them be and went back to their lives.
They'd been walking for only a few minutes before Ranma's stomach gave them a reminder of their previous plans. Laughing again, the girls led an embarrassed Ranma into the nearby café to order some lunch.
"You must really be hungry, big brother Ranma. You haven't eaten since you hatched and that was yesterday afternoon." Kuu's words were confirmed as another rumble came from Ranma's stomach. She giggled and bounced up to the counter to order some food.
"So, I really gotta endure this whole 'big brother' thing, huh?"
"Aw, come on, Ranma. It isn't that bad," Hikari sympathized. "Kuu is really sweet, and you'll like her as a little sister."
Little sister. That's kinda nice; I don't think I've ever had a little sister. Then again, I don't think I've ever had any siblings, but I can't be sure since my memories are so badly shattered.
"I've ordered us some sandwiches everybody! Hey Ranma, since you are new, the owner said you could have as much as you can eat, so feel free! You can pay him with a feather for now. Just try not to knock anything over," Kuu teased.
"Yeah, very funny, sis." Sis... It feels nice to say that. I think I can fit in easily in this kind of family. Ranma chose a sandwich and dug in with a gusto he didn't know he had.
65 sandwiches and a call to the bakery and butcher later, Ranma bowed humbly to the café's owner. "I'm so sorry; it was just all so good I couldn't help it. Thank you very much though." Ranma thought for a moment. The owner looked at him with despair. How was he even going to break even today, let alone make profit? "Well, I'm sorry it isn't much, but take this until I get my notebook."
With that, Ranma braced himself and grabbed one of the feathers from his wings. Just before he pulled, Nemu took his hand and moved it to another feather. "Don't pull one of your pinion feathers. They don't grow back." Ranma nodded and yanked out a very large feather from his wings. Biting back the pain, he handed the feather to the owner and bowed his thanks again before signing some paper. Afterward the group headed out.
"Wow, big brother Ranma, you eat a lot! You'll need to work hard if you are going to eat that much every day." The other girls nodded in agreement to Kuu's statement.
"I just hope that feather of yours will cover it. The Haibane Renmei will collect it because they cover the costs of these expenses until you have your notebook," Nemu said. Ranma looked at her and then thought about it. Oh boy. I'm toast. I bet I'm going to owe my soul if this is my normal eating habit. I hope it's just because I hadn't eaten in so long.
Kuu led the group next to the clothing store where they had taken Rakka not many days ago. It was facing a small alley, and looked dirty and run down. The inside didn't really look much better. The owner was listening to some music from a headset attached to a small radio. Upon seeing the haibane enter, he rolled his eyes and removed the headset. The shopkeeper was a young man about his mid to late twenties, with a scruffy goatee.
"Welcome in. What brings you here to-" the man stopped, having seen Ranma struggle through the doorway. Once he was in all the way his wings snapped open in all their glory and Ranma winced in pain and frustration. The movement had put his right wing into a bunch of shirts hanging from a rack and his left wing knocked down a stack of pants atop a countertop. Ranma bowed in apology.
"Sorry, I'll get it." Geez, this is so frustrating. That little girl Hana made controlling your own wings look easy, why can't I keep them from knocking things around? Maybe it just takes some time. Ranma moved to pick up the fallen clothing, which snapped the store owner out of his daze.
"Ahh. Well, you must be new; I know I've never seen you in my store before." He turned to grab a box of used clothing and placed them on the table. "So, what is his story? I've never seen a haibane like him, let alone with you from that place you call Old Home. All the boys I've seen come from the abandoned factory the other side of town."
"He's new, hatched yesterday. We don't really know why his wings are so big." Hikari looked at the box of clothes, then up to the shopkeeper. "There were two actually, but the other one didn't feel up to coming, so can I pick out one for her?"
"Another boy?"
"No, this one is a girl. She didn't feel comfortable coming to town yet. Maybe she's shy." Hikari didn't want to straight out lie to anyone, so she found it easy to say Nabiki was just shy since she didn't really know if she was or not.
"Yeah sure, but you'll need to sign for her, and only if you have one of her feathers."
"Okay, I have one."
Ranma and Hikari both set about the task of selecting some clothing for Nabiki. Upon asking him, Hikari learned that Ranma didn't remember much about what kind of clothes Nabiki liked. It didn't really surprise her, but it couldn't hurt to ask. They eventually settled on a pair of blue jeans and a smart looking collared shirt with a pocket over the left breast. Embroidered on the pocket were a small golden halo and the words 'Heaven bound'.
Ranma looked around a bit longer for his own outfit. It wasn't more than another five minutes until he found one he liked. It seemed familiar and comfortable to him. On the end of one rack in the far corner of the little shop were a red, sleeveless, Chinese silk shirt, and a pair of black pants that went with them. He picked them up and took them to the counter to pay.
"Hey, you've got good taste. It's a shirt like mine." Kana praised Ranma's choice of clothing.
"Yeah yeah, feathers please," the shopkeeper coughed. Ranma signed the pad of paper then passed it to Hikari to sign. After Ranma handed a feather to the man, Hikari set the raven black feather Kuu had on the table. The man looked at it before taking it hesitantly. "Well, whatever. Weird things come my way on occasion."
The man looked at Ranma again. Hmm... Regular wing slits aren't going to work without him ripping the shirt. It looks like they found a way around it though, so I'll adapt to it. Besides, even though this outfit is used, it's still in great condition, and silk is very difficult to work with. "Okay, turn around for a second. I need to see how this is going to work for you."
"Oh don't worry; I'm sure we can cut the wing slits on our own." Hikari's smile was genuine, and she was sure she'd do an acceptable job.
"I don't think so. This isn't cotton or linen you are working with. Besides, I did this last time, might as well do it for all you new haibane." With that, the man tailored the back to allow the wings to rest on top and then button the tops together with an extra flap of silk underneath them. The process took almost 30 minutes to finish, but was still pretty quick, and very well done. After Ranma was changed in a room the shopkeeper supplied, the group bowed in thanks and left.
"Lets head back home, it's getting close to supper time and I'm sure Nabiki would like to try on her new clothes." Kuu smiled happily, oblivious to the nervous laughter coming from the other girls at the thought of Nabiki.
Earlier at Old Home
Nabiki sat on the bed in the guest room thinking. So much had happened in such a short time, and she was trying to piece it together and calm herself from the panic she was still feeling inside and desperately trying not to show. She felt better after the welcoming from the girls of Old Home, but she was still freaked out by the total loss of memories from her past experiences. It was a lot to take in. Feeling like she would never be able to rebuild any kind of life she had before even if she could remember it, Nabiki heaved a heavy sigh and flopped backward on the bed.
"How are you feeling, really," Reki asked, breaking the silence. She knew that this had to be hard for the new haibane. Her own experiences when she first hatched so long ago were very rough. She had an idea how the Young Feathers would behave around Nabiki's raven wings. When she was younger her wings had black spots on them and many of the others around then were afraid of her. Not all of them though, and for that she was grateful. "It must really be feeling rough for you. I'm sure in many places black wings are not welcomed with much warmth, and this place is no exception. If you'd like, I have something that can help though."
"Unless it can give me memories, make my wings white or end my existence totally, it won't help." Nabiki sighed again in resignation.
"It won't help you remember, but it can make your wings gray," Reki offered.
Nabiki thought about this for a few minutes. It seemed like a good idea, but by now everyone in Old Home had to know that there was a girl with black wings living here now. What would be the point in trying to hide it? "Nah, that's okay. I'll just have to deal with things as they come. I am sure I can find a way to plan ahead and come out okay." A few more minutes of silence passed before Nabiki spoke up again. "Reki?"
"Yes?"
"Why did my wings come in black instead of gray like everyone else's?"
Reki paused for a moment, picking out the best way to word her answer. "It is said that the haibane who are born with black in their wings are Sinbound Haibane. The Sinbound are those haibane who will never find peace. Their dreams are nightmares, and when their Day of Flight comes, they will not be ready. What happens to them after that, no one knows. No one knows what happens to any haibane after their Day of Flight, but it is certain it isn't pleasant for the Sinbound."
"So basically, I'm going to go through hell while I'm here, and then go to hell?"
"That's one way to put it."
"Great. Just great."
"But you aren't alone. I too was born Sinbound. That is why I know as much."
Nabiki sat up with surprise etched on her face. I'm not sure how much more I can take. "But why are my wings black? What did I do to deserve black wings?"
Reki sighed empathically. She herself wasn't sure of this one, so she went on what she knew. "It is said that it has something to do with who you were, but no one really knows. It's more likely that is said because people are afraid of the Sinbound. As if our sin would become theirs. That is why I dye my wings. I couldn't take the way people treated me."
"Reki, how long have you been a haibane?"
"Hmm... I'm not sure. I was a Young Feather when I hatched, and I haven't been one for around seven years. The only person who is here now that was here when I hatched was the House Mother. I suppose that is why everyone assumes I should be the leader, and why they give me a hard time."
Over seven years. I hope my Day of Flight comes sooner than that. I don't want to have to be in hell's waiting room forever. Wait... What does that mean? "Reki, what is this 'Day of Flight'?"
"The Day of Flight comes when it is time for a Haibane to leave their nest. They go out into the Western Woods usually. What happens beyond that is not really known. We only know that the haibane will go beyond the Wall on that day."
"The Wall?"
"Yes. There is a wall that surrounds this place. There is a lot of area, but it is all surrounded by walls and no one is allowed to go outside them except for the Toga, a group who come in regularly to trade with the town. No one here knows anything of the Outside. The haibane are forbidden from going near the wall, and are never to touch it."
"Why? What will happen if we do?"
"The haibane who touches the wall will die."
This shook Nabiki up again hard. So I'm a prisoner. Held captive in a place I've never known and my memories are taken from me. I know no one and no one knows me. What did I ever do to deserve such a fate? Unable to take anymore, Nabiki started to cry. Reki comforted her and soon had a large damp area on her shirt as the sobbing girl let out all her frustrations at the events that removed her world and gave her one she wasn't sure she could take. Reki knew what it was like. She had her moment like this long ago.
"It isn't as bad as it seems. You just need to cheer up. Forget about what it means and try to live life here as happily as you can. That's what I do. And if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm not far away. Now come on. Let's help find you a room and get you settled in. Besides, you won't want people talking about how you are sharing a room with a boy your age, right?"
This sobered Nabiki a little, and though still sniffling a little, she nodded and dressed in a drab brown robe like Ranma's had been before he left for town. After checking a few rooms and replacing the door of one when it fell inside, Nabiki finally chose a room on the north side, three doors from Reki's room, facing the north. Preparing and cleaning the room took the better part of the afternoon and when it was all over both were dusty and hot with sweat.
"Its fitting you chose this room, you know. Just below your window is where you cocoon was," Reki said with a little fatigue. She looked around the now clean room. The floor was made of some cold stone that while a bit age-worn was still in good condition. There was a bed on the west side of it that had once been beautiful brass, but like the floor also showed many signs of wear, and was now more comfortable looking than fashionable. The sheets had been removed to be washed. There was one window in the middle of the northern wall, and it was bare, having no curtain. A small writing desk was on the east side. The desk was made of a red colored wood that had no finish on it. There was a large sheet of leather covering most of the surface to provide some smoothness to write on so as to keep the papers from ripping while you wrote. A matching chair stood in front of the desk. A small closet was in the southern wall across from the bed and next to the door.
The two girls, satisfied with the cleanliness of the room, left to gather Nabiki's things from the guest room so she could move in and get better settled. By things, Nabiki meant anything from the guest room that she thought she could use to help give her room more life. Since nothing really suited her fancy though, she stepped out onto the balcony to get some fresh air.
Looking down, Nabiki spotted a man wearing dark robes and a mask fiddling with something at the Southeast exit. She watched curiously before calling Reki out to her.
"Hey Reki, who is that?"
Reki peered over the side to the man walking out. "Oh, that man was from the Haibane Renmei. He's probably come with a message and some new supplies for Ranma and you. Let's go take a look." Reki turned and headed out the door with Nabiki in tow.
"So who are the Haibane Renmei, Reki?"
"The Haibane Renmei, or Charcoal Feather Federation look out for the haibane. It is because of them that we are able to live with the townspeople and earn our keep. The have a temple several miles from here that you will probably have been summoned to. There you'll meet with the Communicator. He'll probably lecture you about something, but I wouldn't worry. He's like that."
"Kinda like Taskmasters?"
"Oh not at all. Think of it more like a councilor who also looks out for our needs. I guess they are kind of like a father too, since they lay down the rules for us. It works out for the best in the end."
By this point in the conversation both girls had reached the table and board at the southeastern entrance. Sure enough, hanging on the announcement board was a summons for Nabiki and Ranma to the Temple. A small note said that the two of them should come together with one of the haibane to return the halo molds as well.
"Oh hey, your name plates are here also," Reki said pointing to two small boards with Ranma and Nabiki's names on them, hanging from some pegs on the wall with the others. "You use these so people know if you are here or not. White means you are here..." Reki pulled off Nabiki's plate and flipped it over showing her name in red. "Red means you aren't."
"Simple but effective," Nabiki said appreciatively. She then looked down at the table. "These then must be our Haibane Notebooks." Nabiki picked up the one with her name on it and looked through it. A loud clattering from behind her caused them both to turn around. Crouched on the ground gathering up some crayons and paper onto a metal tray was the House Mother.
The House Mother was an older lady, with gray hair tied up in a tight bun behind her head. Her clothes were mostly gray and had fringe on the cuffs and neck, giving her that grandmother look. Maybe great-grandmother looks. Her eyes though said she still had much life within her and from what Nabiki could see, probably quite a stubborn streak. By the look of the cobblestones nearby, Nabiki surmised the woman had tripped over one that jutted up a bit.
"Are you okay?" Reki asked as she moved over to help the older woman to her feet. Just as Nabiki thought, the lady shrugged off the offer to help her up.
"I am not as frail as I look, I can still move around just as easily as you can." The woman then noticed Nabiki walking over. She spared a glance at her raven wings then nodded. "Ah, you must be the new girl I've been hearing about. What is your name?"
"I've been named Nabiki," she answered.
"Nabiki, eh? Well Nabiki, you behave yourself and don't cause any trouble and we'll have no problems alright?"
To say Nabiki was shocked was an understatement. Her expression however hid her shock perfectly. She waved it off. "No problem."
"Good. Well I've got to finish getting this back to the classroom. Don't forget, Reki, I expect you back in there tomorrow."
Reki sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know."
Watching the woman depart, Nabiki leaned over to Reki. "That went over much better than I thought it would. Maybe Ranma is right and people won't care much about my black wings."
Looking at her, Reki replied, "I wouldn't count on it. That old lady has been here for so long I don't think anything could surprise her anymore. And speaking of Ranma..." Reki glanced over Nabiki's shoulder. "...here he comes now. It looks like they are back from town."
"Hey Nabiki!" Ranma smiled and waved to her as his group walked through the arch to the courtyard. Kuu grabbed his shirt from behind and turned him to the message board on the wall.
"You've gotten a summons from the Haibane Renmei, Ranma! Looks like it's for tomorrow. And here's your notebook and name plate." Kuu gave a quick explanation to Ranma about the name plate and handed the remaining notebook to him. Nabiki wasn't paying attention to those things. Hmm... Odd, but those clothes look so natural on him it's like they were made just for him. Maybe he used to wear them all the time, or maybe I'm just imagining it. He wears it well though.
"Yeah, you all just missed him. He dropped them off a few minutes ago. Did you remember to pick up some clothes for me as well?" Nabiki asked.
"You bet, Nabiki. We weren't sure of your size though, so we gave it our best shot at picking it. I hope it fits." Ranma grinned and handed over a bundle of clothes to her. "The guy at the shop said we could only have one new outfit. All the rest of what we get has to be used clothes."
"Yeah, and half the time he doesn't clean or sort them before putting them on the table for us to look through. Some of them are still pretty decent though," Hikari put in.
Kana also decided to comment on this. "It's like Nemu says. The guy is a cheapskate. But hey, sometimes we get lucky with some good stuff."
Nabiki looked again at the small bundle in her hands, this time a little apprehensively. So we get people's scraps? Great. I'm going to have to go next time so I can be sure not to get something old and ragged.
Kuu danced about the group joyful of the events of the day. "Hey, let's get you changed and talk all about town with you, Nabiki! It was really fun, and I'm sure you want to get out of the robe right? To the guest room!" And with that Kuu took off to the eastern building, holding her arms out as if she could fly with them. Ranma laughed and followed with the rest of the group.
In the guest room the girls and Ranma were talking excitedly about their trip to town with Reki. Nabiki was in the storage closet changing. Rakka had opted to help her into her new clothes, as it wasn't all that easy the first few times getting your wings into their slits. After a few minutes Rakka came out and announced Nabiki's entrance with her new clothes. With a sweeping bow she stepped aside and Nabiki entered the room. The outfit fit her just as well as Ranma's fit him, and hugged her curves nicely. With the jeans, the little halo on the pocket and her raven wings, the overall effect gave Nabiki a sassy look.
"I'm very surprised it fits so well, even though I wasn't there to try it on. Thank you." Nabiki gave a small bow in appreciation. As she bowed her wings spread out to the side with the bow, giving the gesture a little more grace. A jumble of comments and compliments came from the girls at the table as Nabiki found herself a seat with them.
"I'm going to get some drinks for us, I'll be right back," Rakka turned and left to get some cool punch for them. The others smiled appreciatively and continued to chatter among themselves.
"So Nabiki, what did you do all day?" Kuu asked the raven winged haibane.
"Reki and I talked for a while and then we cleaned up a room for me. I also met the House Mother."
"That old grouch is always giving Reki a hard time," Kana laughed. "She take you well?"
"It was weird; she didn't react badly at all to my black wings. She basically just told me to keep my nose clean."
Ranma gave Nabiki a funny look. "Your face looks fine, Nabiki. Why would she worry about something like that?"
While the other girls laughed at the comment, Nabiki gave him a flat look. The boy HAD to be trying to be funny or something, right? With the confused look on his face, however, she could tell he was not trying to be funny. Nabiki mentally slapped her forehead.
"It's an expression, Ranma. She meant for me to not get into trouble."
Ranma thought about that for a moment, and then as though the light came on, he slapped his fist on his palm in realization. This only caused the girls to laugh harder. Understanding that he became the butt of a joke, Ranma gave a little pout and crossed his arms. Just then, Rakka returned holding a tray with a pitcher of cool punch and some glasses.
"I'm back! I hope you like the puuuwaaugh!"
Rakka tripped over her feet, sending the contents of the tray flying at the girls seated at the table. Time seemed to slow down as the cold liquid flew through the air and doused Ranma and Nemu with its sugary goodness. Ranma felt a strangely familiar tingle and twisting motions from within and looked down at himself. Time resumed its speed to normal, though from reactions it seemed as though time stopped completely. Seated where Ranma had once been was now a shorter, busty red-headed girl wearing his clothes. Her wings dripped purple from the beverage that had been spilt on her. Once again the first person to recover was Kana.
"WHAT THE HELL!"
"Hmm," Ranma mumbled, "I'd say I knew I was forgetting something, but that wouldn't work because I didn't know I had forgotten it, though I did know I had forgotten lots of things - oh this is hurting my head." Flashes of memories came back up into Ranma's mind. "I hope this will come out of my clothes."
"Who cares! What the hell happened to you!" Kana was more than visibly upset, and it looked as though the other girls were beginning to recover. The rest of the questions came out in a jumbled mess. Still staring though was Nabiki. Images were flashing through her head as well.
A scared girl with red hair A confident Ranma standing over a defeated boy with brown hair and some kind of wooden stick A story of a training trip a valley filled with pools with bamboo poles sticking out of it
"It's a curse," both Nabiki and Ranma said at the same time. This silenced the others, who were looking at one or the other of the two newest haibane.
"A curse? I would have expected Nabiki to have one, but not you," Kana bit back. Nabiki took offense to this, but kept it to herself for now. "Explain this."
"Well, I don't remember how it happened, but from what I can remember, I turn into a girl when I get hit with cold water, and hot water turns me back. I guess it isn't just water though." Ranma sighed as she continued to look down at her returning developments.
"But you don't know why you have it?" It was more of a statement than a question from Kana. Nabiki recovered and chose to put in her piece.
"It was from a valley filled with many cursed pools." Seeing she had everyone's attention, she continued from what little she could recall. Ranma fell in when he was out training. It wasn't long after that that we met. That must be why he knew me." This is strange. Why am I starting to remember things about my past? I wish I could remember more, but I just can't. What was my family like? Hmm... Maybe I'll remember more if I stay near Ranma.
Nemu stood up, calmly walked over to a sink and grabbed a towel to dry herself off. She took one of the glasses on the floor and filled it with some hot water and gave it to Ranma before handing him the towel as well. "The water should help get all the punch out too if your quick."
"Thanks, Nemu." Ranma triggered the change back and toweled off. "Well, I guess this explains why I was hatched here, huh?"
"And just how did you come to that conclusion?" Kana asked, still upset.
"Well," Nabiki interjected, "He's half girl and half boy, so why not?"
Kana turned on her. "He should have been born in abandoned factory anyway, that nest is co-ed. Oh I give up. Who am I to say what should be anyway, no one really knows even why we exist." With that, Kana turned and left the room.
Reki watched the moody haibane depart, and then decided it would be best to let the two new haibane alone for a while. It seemed as though this experience was sparking memories that should have been completely forgotten, and she wasn't about to take their chance to remember more away. Maybe something good would come from it. So, gathering the other girls, Reki left the two alone to talk.
"Ranma?" Nabiki said hesitantly.
"Nabiki. You remember me a little now too, huh?"
"Yes, but I don't remember much. I remember you were a confident fighter before, and that you trained hard every day. I don't recall much else. But I think if we are around each other enough, we might both remember more."
"Sounds good to me. So, uh, what were you and Reki talking about while we were gone to town?"
Nabiki thought about this. She didn't want to confide in him that she was Sinbound, that wound was still too fresh to her, and she had the feeling that Ranma would probably dwell on it too much, so she left that part out and simply stated, "Oh nothing of great interest. Just idle chit-chat and she told me about this place and answered some questions about what life will be like here. She doesn't seem to think highly of the Haibane Renmei, but I think it's just her opinion."
"Ahh. I see." Ranma stretched out a bit. The stresses of the day were starting to get to him. His day was very full and for someone who was still recovering from his ordeal, he was becoming quite tired. He closed his eyes and relished in the feeling as his back muscles unwound a little. A dull thud caught his attention and he opened his eyes.
Nabiki had taken the stresses of the day much harder than Ranma had, and her body finally gave out. She fell to the floor exhausted, shaking a little from the weariness her body was experiencing. Ranma quickly moved to her side on the floor.
"Nabiki! Are you okay?"
"Y-yes, Ranma. I guess my day was harder on me than yours was."
"Well, we are both still healing from a big change in our bodies," Ranma said, then muttered under his breath, 'three for me', and continued. "It's no surprise we are both so tired." He looked back at Nabiki who didn't respond. Upon closer inspection, he determined Nabiki had passed out. Since he didn't know which room was hers now, he picked her up and laid her out on the large bed. Pulling the covers over her, Ranma looked at the girl now peacefully sleeping on her side. He's a connection to my past. I don't know what happened to cause us to be here, but I will be your friend, and will protect you as best I can. Sleep well, Nabiki.
Ranma moved the cot to the balcony outside and with a blanket of his own curled up on his side facing Nabiki and fell into a blissful slumber.
Author's Notes:
Thank you for being patient. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I realized how difficult it was to write these, but I am enjoying it greatly. I'd like to thank those of you who commented on my work and gave me your 'two cents'. I hope to hear from more of you as to how I'm doing. Well, Nabiki is starting to calm down a bit and get used to the fact that she is living a new life. In the next chapter we will be looking at the Summons to the Temple, as well as the beginnings of some strange dreams. See you next time, I'll try to get this next one out sooner.