Part Four

Snafu's Notes: Good News! The story is not dead. I had actually lost the taste to write this, which is why I haven't updated it. But I was inspired to write again after finishing Mortal Kombat: Consequences.

Tendou Home – following Yuni's departure.

"Young lady, I am very disappointed in you," Soun said, looking down on Nabiki. "What where you thinking when you made such a deal with that woman?"

"Unlike you," his middle child shot back, "I've been doing everything to make sure we have a roof over our heads." She pointed at Genma, who had an icepack on his jaw. "I told you that you should have thrown him out or have him work for his room and board. Honor means crap when you have the threat of being homeless hanging over your head."

She also left out the payments she made to Samara in the past. Since then, the sex tape with Kasumi was not the only thing Samara had over Nabiki's head. When she tried to set up a racket in order to pay for her tuition to Waseda by selling answers to the exams, Samara caught wind of it and demanded that she handed over half of the profits.

It was the first time that Nabiki had stood up to Samara and refused.

Days later, an anonymous tip came in in regards to stolen exam answers, and Nabiki was mentioned by name. Despite being careful, the university officials found the missing exam answers on her person and inside her dorm. Despite Nabiki's claims that they had been planted on her and inside her dorm (which surprisingly, was true), she was expelled from Waseda altogether. This time, the stain of disgrace would follow her, as she was now blacklisted from attending any university in Japan.

But Samara was not finished, as she has decided that Nabiki had no more use for her, and promptly cut her off, seizing full control of Nabiki's rackets. Samara was now the new Queen of Nerima, and a more benevolent one than Nabiki. Nabiki could not go to the police, as she and the rest of her family were on their shit list for her past transgressions.

With her rackets now under Samara's full control, Nabiki had no source of income for herself and her family, which is why she proposed the catering service. Things had been going well, but they were still in the red, due to Genma and Soun's pub crawls using the revenue generated from the catering service.

That was two years ago. Samara had long since graduated from Waseda, with honors. Mari had also graduated from Fuurinkan High, and was in her second year at the Tokyo University Of The Arts on a scholarship. But before heading for Hawaii on a business internship at a software firm, Samara had given the town of Nerima a gift. She had dissolved all of Nabiki's rackets and cancelled out their debts.

With Samara gone, Nabiki had began to rebuild her lost kingdom, the Ice Queen of Nerima returning with a vengeance. In less than six months, Nabiki had half of Nerima under her control.

Nabiki would not get the chance to get the other half, as it was already under control by the Suzuhara brothers. Hiroyuki Suzuhara was the younger of the Suzuhara brothers, and his wife, Yumi, owned a popular teahouse in Nerima. His elder brother, Eikichi, was the muscle to his elder brother's brains, and ran a motorcycle shop on the outskirts of the town. Not to say that Hiroyuki wasn't willing to get his hands dirty when the occasion called for it.

Unlike Nabiki, whose methods involve blackmail and extortion, the Suzuharas were loan sharks. It took only one past incident in which one of their marks was sent to the hospital for Nerima to realize that paying the Suzuharas what they were owed would not only keep them happy, but out of the hospital. However, if one was unable to pay, then their home or business was turned over to the brothers as payment, and they would end up working for them until the debt was cleared.

The Suzuhara brothers also were the former leaders of a violent bozosuku with Yakuza connections, as their uncle was the oyabun of an influential Yakuza clan. The only reason why they gave Nerima a wide berth was because of the super-powered martial artists there. The Suzuhara brothers were on friendly terms with the Kazahanas, as their uncle were friends with Hayate Kazahana.

The Suzuhara brothers had dismissed Nabiki as a threat, due to Samara humbling her. They were more than willing to leave her alone. But Nabiki had, in Hiroyuki's words, 'gotten too big for britches,' when she made the critical mistake of attempting to extort money from his wife, threatening to bring down the health inspectors on her teahouse if she refused to comply.

But that wasn't the only grievance that the Suzuharas had with Nabiki. Around the same time, Akane had challenged an old acquaintance of theirs from their old bozosuku days. Nabiki, both seeing an opportunity and to preserve Akane's health, formed a betting pool and used her remaining loyal henchwomen to drug the other fighter's water. Akane had soundly beaten the opponent, and proclaimed her superiority as Nerima's best martial artist. Nabiki had made her bet on Akane, and had won a lot of money.

Big mistake.

The Suzuharas discovered through a friend of theirs in the hospital, that their buddy had been drugged. Through their contact with the police force, they discovered that the persons responsible had done so on Nabiki's orders.

The Suzuhara brothers' reaction was instant. Within days, Nabiki's henchwomen had vanished. Days later, Akane herself had been kidnapped. The police were of no help when Soun and Nabiki had reported Akane's disappearance, seeing as how they once were under Nabiki's thumb and was forced to look the other way when it came to Akane's repeated assaults on the male gender.

Then, Nabiki herself was abducted.


[Flashback]

Inside what was the Nekohanten, some months earlier.

Stripped down to her undergarments (as her camera and tape recorder had been confiscated and destroyed), and blindfolded, Nabiki had been hauled to what was once the Nekohanten, now an empty building.

Waiting for her, were the Suzuhara brothers, Eikichi and Hiroyuki, the former standing behind and to the side of his brother, who was seated at a table, which was placed in the middle of the dining area. On Hiroyuki's left, was a TV.

The two brothers watched as Nabiki was forced into a chair placed in front of them, her breasts bouncing within her bra as she was forcibly seated. A nod from Hiroyuki and the blindfold was removed from Nabiki's eyes. She recognized the Nekohanten almost instantly, but wisely kept her mouth shut, given that she was surrounded by nine heavily-muscled men.

Nabiki looked at the two brothers. While the elder had a cross look on his face, the younger took a sip of his tea before speaking.

"Ambition. In this business, that's what it comes down to: ambition," Hiroyuki began. He then caught himself. "No...let me rephrase that. Limitation is a much better choice. And there's the importance of knowing your own limitations, Miss Tendou."

"..." If looks could kill, then Hiroyuki would be atomized by Nabiki's Ice Queen glare.

"Take Samara Kazahana, for example," Hiroyuki said. "She built her reputation as an information broker, a Kazahana specialty. But she became even more famous when she took over your rackets, and later dissolved them when she left for America. But she knew where her limits are. She knew who not to piss off."

Nabiki's blood ran cold as one of the men handed Eikichi a Beretta pistol. The elder Suzuhara pulled the slide back, Nabiki seeing that there was a bullet loaded into the chamber. He then stepped forward and placed the gun on the table, just out of reach. This was followed by a hiltless tanto...and a pair of gambling dice.

"Focus, Miss Tendou," Hiroyuki said. "Don't mind my brother for the moment." He took another sip of the tea. "I pride myself on being a...reasonable man. Some consider me to be even ambitious. My brother prefers to use his fists to get his point across. But I digress. In this business, Miss Tendou, you have to take things one step at a time. Unfortunately, by my reckoning, you and your sister really should have been some fucking steps from a meeting like this."

"We know that it was you who not only drugged our man's water prior to the match," Eikichi began, "but you crossed the line when you tried to blackmail my sister-in-law."

Despite her predicament, Nabiki smirked. "So you know about that, huh? I made a lot of money that day. You're just sore losers."

Nabiki's smirk soon disappeared when Eikichi tossed several photos down on the table. Nabiki could make out the Tendou compound in one of the photos, followed by photos of her father and Genma playing shogi in the other one. Nabiki also saw photos of Kasumi picking up groceries in the market, Akane jogging, and herself speaking to several of her underlings.

"You're not the only one who has connections in Nerima, y'know," Hiroyuki noted. "How else did I discover your treachery when it came to your sister's match?"

"You probably noticed that your underlings have vanished," Eikichi continued. "They're our guests...and they were very forthcoming with information in regards to you ordering the drinking water to be spiked, not to mention your attempts at blackmail in regards to Yumi."

"Once they confessed, we gave them a choice," Hiroyuki said. "The gun, the knife, or roll the dice. They all chose the dice. I guess I kinda forgot to mention that when they chose the dice, the number they rolled would be the number of guys they had sex with before shipping them off to the brothels in Tokyo and Osaka."

Eikichi pulled out a second set of photos and tossed them down to Nabiki, whose eyes widened in horror as she recognized the women in the photos as her most loyal henchwomen, naked, covered in sweat and other bodily fluids, as they 'serviced' the men in the photos.

"Aika was the lucky one," the elder Suzuhara continued. "She rolled 2. Keiko, on the other hand, rolled a twelve."

"Goes to show that you really don't care for your underlings, Miss Tendou," Hiroyuki said, picking up a remote control. "A boss gruntles the disgruntled. While it's too late for your friends, you can save your sister."

Pointing it at the TV, Hiroyuki pressed the power button. Nabiki's eyes widened in horror as she recognized the bound girl in the video, also stripped down to her bra and panties, also blindfolded, as her sister.

Standing behind Akane, was twelve men, arms folded, wearing nothing but a pair of underwear.

"The most important thing in life is family," Hiroyuki noted. "Samara realized this and used it to keep you in line. Now, you must make the choice, Miss Tendou: either pay back the money you had stolen with interest...or roll the dice, and watch as Akane pay with a fate worse than death. Of course, we'll shoot her up with enough aphrodisiac to drop a rhino. Failure to do either, and I'll roll the dice, only when I do it, Akane will pay for your arrogance twice over."

"You can't get away with this!" Nabiki shouted. "I'll have the police on your asses for this!"

In any case, Hiroyuki sounded amused. He produced his cellphone, activated the speakerphone, and called a number. After several rings, there was an answer.

"Detective Takeda."

Nabiki's eyes widened. Takeda was one of the detectives in the Nerima police force whom she had dirt on in the past. Now, he was in cahoots with the Suzuharas.

"Detective Takeda, this is Hiroyuki Suzuhara."

"What can I do for you, Mr. Suzuhara?"

"I have a question for you. If I was, shall we say, threatened by a wannabe extortionist, what should I do?"

"Mr. Suzuhara, you do whatever you deem necessary."

The gun was now in Hirouki's hand and aimed at Nabiki's forehead. He pulled the hammer back with his thumb as he continued to speak. "Uh-huh, and what if I was to kill her where she sat?"

Nabiki's blood once again, ran cold at Takeda's response. It would be ruled as justifiable homicide, Mr. Suzuhara."

This time, it was Eikichi who spoke. "What if her name happened to be Nabiki Tendou?"

"In that case, I would send some of my men to come and dispose of the body."

"Last question. What should be done in regards to Akane Tendou?" Hiroyuki asked.

"I suggest that you make it look like an accident."

"Thank you, Detective, and good day." With his other hand, Hiroyuki ended the call, and lowered the gun. "This is how it's going to play out, Miss Tendou. Nerima is no longer yours. It belongs to the Suzuhara. You should be happy that we're giving you a bit of leeway with this meeting."

"Choose, and choose wisely," Eikichi said. "Pay what you owe to us...or watch as our friends party with your sister." He pointed to the pictures of her underlings. "And as you can see...we don't bluff."

"When we're done with Akane..." Hiroyuki paused to pick up the photograph of Kasumi and slowly waved it in Nabiki's face. "Kasumi will be next. Hayate told me about how he had fucked her after she was dumped by Dr. Ono. While I am happily married to Yumi, she understands why I do what I do. I take no pleasure in doing this, Miss Tendou, but you forced our hand." He turned the photo and looked at Kasumi. "She does have a nice body on her, doesn't she?"

"That she does," his brother said, enjoying watching Nabiki squirm. When Nabiki failed to make a decision, Eikichi swiped the dice from the table and produced a wooden cup from a nearby table. He dropped the dice in and began to shake the cup. "Guess you were wrong, brother. She's more than willing to sell out her family..."

"Stop! Please! Don't hurt Akane!"

Nabiki's shout stopped Eikichi from shaking the cup.

"I'll do it," Nabiki surrendered. "I'll pay."

Eikichi set the cup down. "Good girl."

"The money that you won...you owe us three times over with interest," Hiroyuki announced.

"I don't have that kind of money!" Nabiki objected.

"Well, you better come up with it, and soon," Hiroyuki said. "You have three days. Come to the teahouse when you do. Just to be sure that you play nice, Akane will continue to enjoy our company. You have three days. Try anything funny, and your entire family will pay the price."

The blindfold was back on Nabiki's eyes and she was hauled out of the room.

[End Flashback]

It was because of this, Nabiki was forced to make a deal with the devil. Said devil happened to be Yuni Kurosawa. Nabiki had heard of her through one of her loyal employees, and Nabiki borrowed the money to pay for Akane's ransom. The ransom had been paid and Akane was released. But now...

"You should have let me fight that half-breed bitch," Akane said, not noticing her father flinching slightly. "We don't need Ranma to save our home."

"We do," Nabiki said. "As much as it pains me to say this, we need Saotome."

"But I thought he dropped his father's name and took his mother's last name," Kasumi said as she finished tending to Akane's injuries. "And Nodoka made it clear. Neither Uncle Saotome nor us can get in contact with him."

The incident with the Suzuhara brothers had left Nabiki with two remaining henchwomen who had been out of town when Nabiki raised the ire of Shin and Hiroyuki, and thus were spared their wrath. They had been keeping tabs on Ranma these past six years, but it wasn't easy.

Ranma had spent a year in physical rehab, rebuilding his strength. But what had enraged Genma was that Ranma had unlearned the Anything Goes style (but retained the aerial combat aspect of it) in favor of Akido and Kyokushin Karate. Had it not been for the threat of death from the Mamiya and that the cops and the Yakusa were looking for him, Genma would had tried to beat some sense into his son.

It would appear that the Saotome style of Anything Goes would die with Genma.

"We wouldn't be in this mess if you two idiots didn't steal the money I was going to give to Yuni," Nabiki snarled at the older men. "I borrowed that money to pay off the Suzuhara brothers when they kidnapped Akane. They found out that I rigged her match and threatened to have her gang-raped if I didn't payback the money I had stolen."

Akane snorted. "I would have beaten those perverts. I am the best martial artist in Nerima. I proved that when I caved in Ranma's skull."

Nabiki slowly turned to her younger sister. "You...are...a...joke. You claim to be a martial artist, yet all you do is jog and break bricks. Oh, and you're also a kidnap magnet."

"Like you're the one to talk, Nabiki! Who was it that had sicced the fiancees and the rest of the Wrecking Crew on Ranma when he didn't want to be your personal cash cow? That was you!" her sister retorted, poking her finger into Nabiki's chest. "And who was the one acting all smug to Nodoka, all but admitting it to her as to who was responsible for Ranma's assault? That was you!"

"And who is the reason that you're not in jail because you tried to attack Mari Kazahana out of wounded pride?" Nabiki retorted. "That was me! And who was the main reason why you wasn't fucked to death on orders of the Suzuhara brothers? It was me! I had the chance to regain all of Nerima after Kazahana had left, and you took that from me!"

SLAP.

Nabiki's head rocked to the side, her cheek bearing a red handprint from Akane striking her.

"You don't care for your family at all," Akane snarled. "You're a damn fraud." She turned and stormed from the room, ignoring Soun's shouts for her to come back and apologize.

Kasumi placed one hand on Nabiki's shoulder. "She's under stress, Nabiki. We all are. Just try and focus on getting Ranma to come back and help us."

Nabiki nodded. But she promised that once this was all over, Akane would pay for slapping her.

&^%

Later...

Nabiki had her contacts were working overtime in trying to locate Ranma. Following his rehab, Ranma had taken remedial courses and was able to graduate from high school. He then gained a degree in Physical Education from Mizunoikan University. So far, all she got was that the former Saotome was running a popular martial arts gym in Tokyo, but she lacked a home address.

Nabiki had skipped dinner, and for good reason. She was still angry with Akane, but her sister did raise some validpoints. It had been the former Ice Queen whose wounded pride had led her family down this path...although it was far easier to admit it to herself.

Although it was six years ago, Nabiki remembered that day when Ranma finally had enough. It had been some time since the failed wedding, and with all of the crap he had to deal with on a daily basis from the fiancees (Akane included) to the rivals, Ranma had finally reached the breaking point.

[Flashback]

Six years earlier...

"And where do you think you're going, boy?" Genma demanded as Ranma walked past him with a knapsack and a travel bag.

"What does it look like? I'm leaving. I'm done with this whole engagement!" Ranma snapped back.

"You're not leaving here, boy! Honor demands that you marry Akane and unite the schools!" Genma rebuked.

"Then if 'uniting the schools' mean so much to you, divorce Mom and marry the tomboy," Ranma sniped. "I'm done being her human punching bag."

When Genma tried to reach out and grab Ranma, the pigtailed martial artist reversed the move and flung him into the koi pond. When Genma rose as a panda, Ranma booted the shogi board at him. Instant knockout.

Soun, for his part, remained silent.

"You're not leaving here, Saotome," Nabiki said, having watched this exchange in silence. "You still owe me for the wedding."

"You mean the wedding you wrecked by calling the fiancees and the rivals?" Ranma shot back. "Your fault. Not mine."

"Call it what you like. You're still not leaving here, Ranma. Don't forget that I still got tons of dirt on you," Nabiki threatened.

Ranma wasn't intimidated. "I...don't...care. You wanna make my life hell? Go ahead! It can't be any worse than it already is. The only way you're gonna stop me is if you kill me, Tendou, and that's not a line not even you're willing to cross. Now fuck off. I'm leaving this hellhole."

Nabiki saw that he was serious. "Okay...wait. What's it worth to you? Everyone has a price. What's yours in order to make you stay here? Half of what I bring in for your photoshoots? Name it, anything you want."

"You could offer me all of the money in the Bank of Tokyo and it wouldn't be enough," Ranma replied. "I'm done. I'm finished. Find another whipping boy and cash cow."

When Ranma reached the door, Nabiki brought her Ice Queen persona to bear. "Don't you go out that door, Ranma. You take one single step out of this house, the hell I'll bring down upon you pale as to what you've been though."

Ranma wasn't convinced. "Do your worst. But if you do, it will come back on you and your family ten times what you will try and do to me."

He slammed the door behind him.

[End Flashback]

'I should had just dropped it right then and there,' Nabiki thought. 'If I had, then we wouldn't be in this mess.'

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She turned to the door. "Yes?"

"It's Kasumi. I brought you dinner."

"Come in."

Kasumi entered the room, holding a tray with the evening meal. She set it down on the dresser and took a seat on the bed. "Any luck?"

"I got a lead on Saotome," Nabiki replied. "He owns a gym in Tokyo. No home address, though." Nabiki ran her fingers through her hair. "I know...about the one-night stand you had with Hayate Kazahana."

If Kasumi was surprised, she didn't show it.

"Samara held it over my head. She blackmailed me into handing over my rackets in exchange for Akane's release from jail," Nabiki continued. "She had video of you and Hayate having sex. If I didn't accept her demands, then she'd release the video."

"So am I to blame?"

Nabiki shook her head. "I blame Tofuu for putting you in that situation. How was you to know that the man you fucked was Samara's uncle?"

"And I take it that Samara's the reason why you're blacklisted from attending university?"

Nabiki nodded. "Despite what Akane says, everything I did...I did it for the family, to make sure that we had a roof over our heads."

"And Ranma?"

Nabiki sighed. "That was out of wounded pride. Looking back...I had no idea as to how things would play out. Had I known that Happousai would use the moxibustion point on Ranma..."

"It's too late for regrets," Kasumi said. "Just focus on trying to find Ranma. I'll be back in an hour to pick up the dishes."

Nabiki nodded and Kasumi left her in her room. Before Nabiki could eat her dinner, her cellphone vibrated, signalling that she had a text message. Without thinking, Nabiki picked up her phone and checked the message.

It was from Yuni herself.

I almost forgot to mention that you have a deadline in procuring Ranma Saotome. You have one week. Please don't dawdle.

The headache from earlier was starting to return. Nabiki realized that she needed to find Ranma, and fast.

And hopefully, he doesn't hold a grudge over what had happened to him all those years earlier.