A Changed Story
Section 3, Truth Find
Author's Notes: Okay, so it's midterm week and I am so sick I can't even breathe (nevertheless write). Maybe a few days of reading some good Ranma fiction over again will help me along. :)
Disclaimers: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.
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"...so then the jerk had the nerve, the nerve, to tell me that I was the one that was wrong. I mean if he hadn't been in the way, none of this would have happened!"
Ukyo leaned forward with bright eyes.
"So what did you do?"
Akane leaned back in her chair with a smug smile.
"I beat the living daylights out of him. I really hope I don't have to meet someone like that again."
The two companions sat in silence for awhile before Ukyo asked the dreaded question.
"So, is there a cure?"
Akane sighed.
"I don't know, Ucchan. I asked the guide and he told me 'not one that he was willing to tell me about'. So, here I am, stuck here with a stupid curse and poor Lynx turns into a freakin' animal just because of that-"
The brown-haired chef stood up.
"Where are you going?" Akane asked.
"Away from you," Ukyo replied. "If I hear about that 'pig-tailed jerk' one more time, I just may hunt him down myself."
"Well, you should. He deserves it," the blue-haired girl mumbled.
Ukyo's laugh echoed down the hallway.
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"First you leave without bothering to tell anyone and now this!" Ranko shouted through the phone.
Ranma looked uneasily at the bathroom mirror.
"Something...urgent came up. Can you send me the money or what?" he grumbled in discontent.
A screeching growl broke through one end of the phone.
"Are we really supposed to believe that stupid story you made up? Okay, so Nabiki dumped you. Big deal. Mom's been harping on us ever since you left; like I'm supposed to know where you went. Really!"
Ranma rolled his eyes. He had enough of this.
"Put Nami on the phone, Ranko," he told her.
Despite how mad she was, she was still his little sister and she always did what he told her to.
"Here, Nami," Ranma said. "Maybe you can put some sense into his head."
"Ranma?" came the uncertain voice of the oldest Saotome child.
"Hi, Nami," came the soft, little-brother voice.
Nami sighed. She knew him too well.
"You believe me, don't you Nami?" he pleaded. Nami sighed again before she spoke.
"Yes, I believe you, Ranma."
Ranko's outraged shout of "WHAT!" was suddenly cut short.
"Unfortunately," Nami continued. "I have had the displeasure of hearing about Jusenkyo. I imagine it's not that nice a place to be. Whatever possessed you to go there of all places?"
Ranma pouted (though Nami couldn't see him) and the fact that that pout made him look like Ranko all the more, made him stop.
"I don't know. I just went there and it happened. Now I look like Ranko," he told her sadly.
Nami laughed.
"What a horror that must be-" Nami began to say before the phone was snatched out of her hand.
"Listen, Ranma, I'm flying over there once I can sneak out. If you're lying...well, that curse won't be the worst thing that happened to you."
The phone went dead.
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The knock at the door was as familiar as the person behind it. Ono Tofu knew that knock like he knew the back of his mind. The good doctor smiled benignly at the old woman sitting in front of him and stood up.
"Well, take care, Honi-san and try to stay off that foot, okay?" he told her.
The old lady beamed at him and walked towards the door.
"Okay. Hello Kasumi dear," she greeted the young woman at the door before leaving.
"Hello Hino-san," the young girl replied. When the lady had left, she looked up and gave Tofu a tremulous smile.
"Can I come in?" she asked him.
He gave her a shaky smile, but nodded and gestured towards a chair. He could still remember when he had first moved his office here and met her for the first time. He couldn't even so much as talk to her then.
But things change...
Kasumi closed the door and took the seat gratefully. Tofu kneeled down in front of her.
"You want to talk?" he asked her like he always did.
"Yes. Thank you," she answered.
There is a silver lining in every cloud.
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"Are you okay?"
Nabiki looked up through drunken eyes. The bartender was a kid barely out of his teens with a dark mop of black hair and the most stupid bandanna. Fashion faux pas, darling. The thought had sprung lazily into her mind. His eyes shifted here and there as though he didn't really want to ask her that question but his conscience wouldn't allow him to just ignore her.
Too bad, kid, Nabiki thought. I need someone to hear my story for once and you're just all too willing.
"No. No! I'm drunk and alone and I have just burned my last bridge out of this hellhole. How's that for a conversation starter?" she questioned him, her voice slurred.
The boy sighed but sat down. He was a good person. How rare was that?
"So, tell me," he commanded and so she did.
Nabiki's vision blurred with burning liquid. It felt like acid.
"Oh geez," she groaned as she looked at the ceiling and the old fan there. "You know the Saotome family, kid?"
The boy seemed insulted.
"I'm not stupid," he informed her.
"Anyway," she went on. "Ranma, you know Ranma Saotome? Well, I was engaged to him-"
The bartender gave a low whistle.
"Wow..." was all he said.
Nabiki gave a disgusted snort.
"Yeah. We all wanted to keep it hush-hush. You know what I did a few weeks ago? You want to know what I did? I made the most stupid decision of my life. I broke off the engagement. Oh geez! All that money!" she cried and leaned her head on the bar.
The kid was smarter than he looked.
"It wasn't about the money, was it?" he suggested.
"No..." the girl sobbed. "It was about my one-way ticket, non-refundable. It's like standing in the middle of nowhere all your life and here comes this bus, with air-conditioning, that offers to take you to paradise and you say 'NO'! Oh, Nabiki Nabiki Nabiki, when did you get so stupid?"
The boy looked hopeless.
"I'm sure your family-"
"Nooooo..." Nabiki droned as she stumbled up. "Oh no. I'm not going back there. I'll starve before I'll go back there. I'll be okay. Everything will be okay. There are plenty more ways of getting money. That's what I'll do. I'll go back to the crappy motel and get a good night's rest. Everything will be fine in the morning."
With that, the poor girl stumbled out of the bar.
Ryoga looked after her helplessly.
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"Nabiki, you little bitch, get back here," the voice screeched.
The little girl ran and ran. She dodged through the broken halls and continued running. Where was she going? She didn't know. She just had to get away from HER.
"You broke my favorite vase, you little-"
"No, mama, it wasn't Nabiki's fault. I - I broke it and-"
There was a loud cracking sound and the hard thump of a small body hitting the wooden floor could be heard. Nabiki's mind screamed in guilt. I'm so sorry, Kasumi, she cried but did not stop running. She had no false hopes in her little body of anyone saving her. She had known since the beginning that there was only Kasumi and Akane and Akane was too little to do anything herself.
She managed to get outside when she saw the light hit the shadows under the dojo. Maybe if she could just...
Once she reached the dojo floor, Nabiki noticed the pair of glittering baby eyes already under there.
"Nabiki-chan," a soft voice whispered. The middle child groaned but ran off. She wasn't going to force Akane out of her hiding place and into the danger. No matter how selfish she was (or thought she was) she was not that cruel.
Maybe if she could just-
A hand grabbed her collar and yanked her back.
"Got you now, Nabiki" a voice hissed.
Nabiki screamed.
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"It's not fair!"
The girl's scream of outrage bounced off the marble walls.
"Please try to be quiet, Ranko-chan," the other twin said from under her glasses.
"Sorry Roki, but it isn't! How does she expect us to save Ranma if she cuts off our money supply? Really! Mom can be so...ugh sometimes," the redhead continued to rant.
"Great use of adjectives," Roki commented.
Nami sighed at her younger sister's childish behavior.
"Mother's attending a banquet that will benefit the family greatly, Ranko. You must have patience," she said.
Ranko scowled.
"Ah, shut up, Nami!"
The oldest Saotome frowned and sat down but said nothing.
Ranko threw her arms up in the air.
"That's it," she proclaimed as she promptly marched to her large closet. "I don't need mom's money anyway. I'm going to make sure that my brother's okay after that money-hungry bitch-"
"Ranko!" came the exclaimed cry.
"Nami!" came the mimic. Clothes were rapidly being piled into the bag. Roki slowly put down her book and started to pack her own clothes.
"Roki!" Nami cried out again in shock.
Roki just looked at her older sister patiently.
"Someone has to watch out for her," she said.
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Ukyo hummed as she carried the bag of groceries down the street. It was a bright morning and she had decided to do the shopping for today (even if it was Akane's turn). Maybe I'll just sit down awhile to enjoy the scenery. I mean, Akane isn't even awake yet, and with that thought she sat down on a bench-
"Ow! Hey, watch it!" a voice squealed from under the lump of newspapers. Ukyo jumped up and looked down at the disheveled red-headed girl who had just sat up.
"Did you sleep there all night?" the chef asked in wonderment. The girl was too young to be a bum and she looked fairly clean.
"Yeah, so?" the redhead mumbled as she moved the newspapers and her legs off the bench.
Ukyo sat down.
"It's not like I can go home," the redhead added.
Deja vu, Ukyo thought.
"Why not, sug?" the chef questioned. The redheaded girl looked suspicious for a second before leaning back nonchalantly on the bench.
"I'm out of money," she answered. "It's hard to do anything without money or food."
I did it before...
"Why don't you come stay with me and my friend then? We have a spare room and we can give you a job in our restaurant-"
Ukyo wasn't even finished when the other jumped up enthusiastically.
"Really? Thanks!" she yelled.
"No problem..." Ukyo answered hesitantly.
I really got to stop doing this...
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