"The Only Game That Made Me Happy"
A Ranma/Poison Honor side story, by Nuki Mouse.
(" " encloses speech, encloses thoughts.)
The dark haired girl laid on her own bed, her eyes red from crying and her pillow wet from tears. She had been soul searching, examining her life and found herself lacking. Just when did I become such a cold-hearted bitch? she asked herself. All I care about is money...
I guess it started with "Uncle," she remembered, on the day her mother left home for the last time.
It was 11 years ago, at night when a young girl awoke from a nightmare and cried out for her mommy, mommy who didn't come, who no longer COULD come. Her onee-chan came instead, parroting the words of comfort she remembered their mother telling her.
"I WANT MOMMY! NOT YOU!" She remembered yelling, fighting off her sister's attempts to hug and comfort her. Her onee-chan finally gave up and returned to her own room, leaving the little girl crying quietly into her pillow. Just like I'm doing tonight.
That was when our "Game" started, a lonely old man and a scared little girl. Soon it was the only game that made me happy....
After her onee-chan left, she remembered sobbing out "Mommy, why won't you come? Don't you love me anymore?" remembered being so sad and unhappy.
Then a voice spoke to her, "You little cutie, I'm sure your mother still loves you, she will always love you, but you must be strong now and not cry."
She looked over and saw a funny little man crouched in her window. She had seen him before, visiting her daddy late at night and knew her mommy didn't like him. Mommy had told her he was a "bad" man and not to talk to him and to stay away from him, but she needed to talk to someone.
"But she won't come! She must hate me!" the little girl cried.
"Your mommy can't come right, but I know she wishes she could" he answered her.
"BUT W-H-Y...!" she all but screamed out.
"Shish!, not so loud!" he told her. The funny little man cocked his head, as if listening, and after a minute or two, he entered her room, dragging a big bag behind him. "If you promise to be quiet, I'll tell you."
The little girl sat up cross-leg in her bed, pulling her pink "Hello Kitty" nightie over her knees and then clasp her hands over her mouth, least she talk too loud. Her eyes were wide open as she look trustingly at the man.
"You know you mommy has been ill a lot, don't you" he asked her. The little girl slowly nodded, her hands still covering her mouth.
"Well, there are a lot of nice doctors trying to help make her well again, but they can't be with her all the time while she lived here, so your mommy had to go live with them, at the big white building near your school," he told her.
She slowly removed her hands and whispered "You mean the hosa..., hosspitta...,"
"Yes, the hos-pit-al" he replied, interrupting her, saying it extra slow and clearly so the girl could learn it.
"Will..., will... she ever come back and live here again?" she asked fighting back her tears.
He could not help but smile when the kawaii little girl suddenly clasp her hands back over her mouth, remembering she had to be quiet. But then his expression turned grim and serious.
"Sweetie, I won't lie to you, I don't know." He told her, watching the tears start to stream down her face. "But YOU can go visit her, everyday!"
"Noww?" she pleaded from behind her hands, her eyes big and round with hope.
"No, not now" he said, smiling at her again. "I'm sure your daddy will take you in the morning. Now it's time for you to get in bed."
"But I amm inn bedd..." she mumbled out, hands still over her mouth.
"I SAID in bed, not On it" he mock scolded her, with a chuckle. She was so cute he could not resist reaching out and tickling her.
The little girl giggled, falling to her side as she tried to fend off the darting hands. but then one of them touched her on a place her mommy and daddy told her no one should touch. She suddenly felt funny and went tense, clutching her arms over her chest and groin, a frighten, hurt look now in her eyes.
The man pulled his hands back as if burnt. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"
The tears started falling again from the scared little girl's eye and she started sobbing out "NO, NO, N...!"
"Sishhh..., not so loud! I'm sorry, I really am!" he pleaded with her. "I can't promise..., but if you forgive me, I'll try to never touch you like that again. Please I'll, I'll give you some... some..." his voice trailed, realizing it made him sound like he was paying her off.
The little girl study the face of the funny man, and saw a genuine look of hurt and remorse in his eyes as he pleaded with her. "All right... if you give me some candy!" Suddenly the funny little seem to glow red, as if angry, and it scared her again.
"Has anyone every asked to..., to..., look or TOUCH you there, for candy? he demanded of the girl.
"N... n... no..." the frighten little girl stuttered out.
"GOOD!" he answer and the glow disappeared as quickly as it came. "There some... 'bad' men around, that like, um... touching little girls. They'll offer you things and lie to you, to... see and touch you THERE, but you should never let them, it's bad!" he continued. "Even if it's some one you know, unless your mommy or daddy is with you and says it's OK, understand?"
The little girl nodded her head, showing she fully understood him. She quietly added "I was hungry, I just wanted some candy..."
"I don't have..." he started to say, trying to think, "AHH! Heres something better than candy" pulling his hand out of his pocket. In it was several 50 yen coins, which he promptly dropped one by one into her hands.
The girls eyes lit up, she might only be 7 but she knew what yen were, people gave you things for yen, all kinds of things! The funny little man was right, they're better than candy! She quietly looked at the coins, wondering if she could believe him. Something about this felt wrong like she was being rewarded for being 'touched.'
"Mommy told me YOU liked touching little girls, that YOU might give me things to... to... um." she looked at him accusingly. "and to never trust you, that your a..., a..., a BIG FAT LIAR!" She summed it up.
"Well your mommy was both right and wrong, but I only like touching BIG girls." he said, reaching out and closing her little fist around the coins. He saw the calculated look the girl gave him. "A LOT bigger than you! This is just my way of saying I'm sorry, um..., um...?" He tried to recall the little girl's name. "What is your name?" He finally gave up and asked her.
"My mommy also told me not to give out my name to strangers" the little girl stated bluntly, still not sure if she should trust him.
"Your mommy's right, you shouldn't GIVE away anything" He smiled once again at the little girl. "But I'll not a stranger, I'm your daddy's sensei. But tell ya what I'll do, I'll pay you for it" he said, dropping a few more coins into her hands.
Her face lit up, and a broad grin graced her face " 'Biki! you can call me 'Biki!"
"Ok, NA-biki" He replied, remembering the girls full name. "Would you like to know mine?"
Nabiki's head bobbed up and down. "Yeah!" she sang out.
"100 yen" He said holding out his hand. He saw the puzzled look on her face. "Come on, 'Biki, YOU didn't expect me to tell you for FREE?" he asked her in mock seriousness.
The little girl's face also became serious as she thought about it. "50 yen!" she bid back, holding a coin out to him.
"Deal!" He replied, with a light hearted laugh, snatching up the coin "You can call me... 'Uncle Happi'"
The 18 year old Nabiki sighed and rolled over on her bed. Yes, that is when it started. It was just a game at first, "Uncle Happi" would ask a question, then we would bargain on the price. I must of impressed him, for he came back many times, sometimes to talk, sometimes to teach, sometimes just to play 'our' game.
Nabiki felt the tears running down her cheeks again. Six months later, when my mommy..., when mother died, it was the only game that made me happy.
End Part One
[PS, yes I know that Happosai was still trapped in the cave when Nabiki was 7, but for my "Poisoned Honor" story, he wasn't. But he stayed clear of Nerima, and the Saotomes, save for his late night visits to Nabiki and occasionally Soun, until Ranma arrived.]