Interesting Times

By socchan

Epilogue: Curiosity and Its Consequences

Nabiki sat up in the vast space and looked around. "Where am I?" she asked, frowning.

"You are between worlds." A smooth, feminine voice answered. "The world of the living and the world of the dead." Nabiki looked up to see a rather tall woman with a cat's ears and tail, creamy skin, and dark hair and eyes. She smiled slightly, revealing long canines.

"Who are you?"

"I am Curiosity." The woman replied, a twinkle in her eye. "And I see that even in death you have not lost your connection to me. I am glad of that."

"Thanks, but…" Nabiki tried to think of what to say. "Why am I here, anyway?"

Curiosity chuckled. "Humans always were fun. You are here because there is a Wish left unfulfilled."

Nabiki frowned. "The red one? Why would that make any difference?"

"Because, my dear," Curiosity said, "it wanted you to fulfill it. It wanted this to the extent that it would let you make a wish on it, and be fulfilled that way. In short," Curiosity leaned in close, "this Wish found its purpose in you, in trying to prevent history from repeating itself. This Wish is going to spend its energy bringing you back to life, because you still have things you need to do."

A scene appeared in the blackness, a picture of Nabiki's friends leaning over her still catlike body, trying to assess what should be done. As if following her will, the 'window' zoomed in and focused on one face in particular. "Kuno," Nabiki breathed, tears stinging at her eyes at the look of absolute desolation on his face.

"That's right," Curiosity told her, softly. "Kuno. The red Wish is very much tied into love, and feels that you need to survive for him. Are you willing to let it heal you and bring you back to life?"

Nabiki nodded. "Yes, I am."

Curiosity smiled with the same smug air as a cat. "Good. I would hate to see all this work go to waste." She made a motion in the air with her hand, and Nabiki began to dematerialize.

A thought struck Nabiki as she was fading out. "Hey," she said to Curiosity, "If Curiosity killed the cat, how come I'm getting a second chance?"

Curiosity chuckled ruefully. "My dear Nabiki," she said, sagely, "There's a reason cats have nine lives…" That was the last thing Nabiki heard before she vanished from the place between worlds.

"…do you think we should do with her?"

"Notify her family, first. They'll definitely need to know."

The first thing Nabiki noticed, aside from the darkness and the muffled ache in her chest, was the sound of people talking. People… Nabiki thought, absently. I can do that… She set her analytical mind to work as she tried to make sense of the world around her. Lesse here… The first voice is that guy with the wolf… The second one is Carmella.

"What should be done with the Wishes?" Ah, Ryonen.

"I'm not sure." Carmella again. I wonder if they even realize I'm not dead any more.

Nabiki strained her senses, and found a warm presence beside her. Someone was holding her hand as if it were made of glass. Something warm and wet plopped down on her cheek, and cut through the grime as gravity pulled it downward. Nabiki frowned inside. Whoever it is is crying…

Then came the whisper. It was soft and fragile, but Nabiki clung to it, relished it as evidence that she was, indeed, alive. "Nabiki…" Kuno whispered, mournfully. Nabiki took her cue, and dragged her eyelids open.

"You rang?" Nabiki rasped, vocal cords already unstable from the short time she'd been un-living.

Kuno's eyes widened in shock, and all conversation halted. "Nabiki…?" Kuno asked, afraid and hopeful all at once.

"It ain't the Pope."

"Oh my God, Nabiki, are you alright?" Carmella was at her side n an instant, checking her over.

Nabiki winced a bit. "Under the circumstances, I'd say I'm doing just peachy." Her eyes landed on the unfamiliar boy. "I never caught your name…"

"I'm Charlie." He said, with a false Shakespearean bow. Nabiki smiled, the action reminding her of Kuno.

"He's from a couple years in the future." Carmella explained. "Paradoxically, he's also in America, learning to control his new… gifts."

"Ah. Okay." Nabiki nodded. "I hope you don't mind if I just lie here a bit. I'm kinda tired, and it's been a long night, if you know what I mean."

"Of course." Carmella said. "Just one thing."

"What's that?"

"We all knew you were dead. Not that I'm unhappy or anything, but how is this possible?"

Nabiki smirked a bit, and tried to snuggle closer to Kuno without causing too much pain. Seeing her predicament, Kuno shifted and rested her head in his lap. "You know 'curiosity killed the cat'?"

"Yes," Carmella said.

Nabiki's smirk grew wider, a gentle touch to it that few would recognize as she gazed contentedly into Kuno's eyes. "Well, satisfaction brought it back."

End Interesting Times. Sort-of.

=^-,-^=

Jeez… you people didn't really think I'd let Nabiki stay dead, did you? I mean, not even JadeWing is that cruel…

I planned this from the very beginning. I did a lot of planning, but it was very loose, so details in the story changed as I actually wrote them down. I admit it, I'm a sucker for happy endings. I'm even happier with good endings, though, so I hope this one fit into both categories.

Inspiration for this story comes from many sources. The fic Putting Your Heart In the Right Place, the author's name I have completely forgotten at the moment; various bits and pieces by metroanime in which Nabiki is turned into a catgirl; the fic Catalyst by Jaelle; Ryoga getting his sense of direction was inspired by Lost Days Lamenting Lost Days by ashes2ashes; and Carmella and her shop were quite likely inspired by Bruce Coville. I'm sorry if I've gotten any information wrong. I have no idea where the rest of it came from, other than my friend frequently replying to 'Curiosity Killed the Cat' in the above manner one too many times.

Things you may have noticed: The colors of the Wishes go backwards from highest frequency to lowest. This is one of the things I planned that actually stayed intact. I layed out the order in which the Wishes were received and by whom on the top of page six of the hard copy, and there it remains. I also never named Carmella's shop. This may be because I didn't feel it needed a name, or because I was just lazy. Whatever the reason, it's too late to change it now.

Things I felt were bad about this fic: Carmella was this close to being over-used. Maybe she already was. Any closer and people would have seen her as a Self-Insert. And maybe they'd have been right, I don't know. I certainly didn't intend her to be one. Also, I'm not particularly happy with how I portrayed Ryoga, but I suppose I can make up for that should I ever write that sequel.

Lastly, it's time to hand out the thanks. I'd like to thank you, the reader, for putting up with this fic, though I imagine the frequent updates helped. I'd like to thank my reviewers, particularly Paru-chan for requesting something that I hadn't already done, Weeping Willow for being so enthusiastic, and BlazeStryker simply for reviewing. I'd also like to thank Sailor Veggie and Sailor Anime (I got it right this time!) for being the first to put me on their favorites list. It touched me, it really did. I'd like to thank all my friends at the Guestbook who stopped to read and review, even though they didn't have any idea who or what Ranma was. And lastly, I'd like to thank Teo, fellow author and friend, for encouraging me to post this thing in the first place.

I'm all choked up now. I'm going to go ahead and post this thing before I start crying. Don't forget to read the Extra!

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ is property of Rumiko Takahashi, and therefore, not mine. I make no claim of it, and this piece of fan fiction is written purely for entertainment, not for money. The Cat's Wishes and Cursed Whisker powder are my concepts, and Carmella is my character, so you'd better ask before using them—or at least give me some credit. Thanks much!

--socchan