To Love a Koi
Chapter One
Two years later
It was raining. Of course, it seemed like it was always raining in Nerima. The showers would come and go at the most importunate time, transforming the numerous cursed martial artists that lived in this little ward of Tokyo. And those individuals would probably be in the middle of some fantastic, and usually very loud, adventure.
But for the last few days the neighborhood had been quiet and free of the fights and massive displays of ki energy. The people of Nerima would have celebrated the normalcy, but that would have been out of the ordinary and they didn't want to push their luck.
Even this particular shower was normal, caused by nothing more magical than a slow moving storm front moving in from the Pacific Ocean. Its origins could be traced back to a butterfly flapping its wings in Africa, but this story isn't about a butterfly.
Ranma Saotome stared out his bedroom window, strumming his fingers on the wooden table in boredom. He'd been sitting there for close to three hours now, only moving to glance at the slowly ticking clock hanging on the wall.
This had become a daily ritual, though he could barely sit still the first few days as he practically bounced in excitement. But as the weeks passed, Ranma's enthusiasm waned. He went from ecstatic to joyful to happy to OK to the completely bored state he was now in.
He was about six days from writing a letter of complaint, fueled by raw impatience. But before he could do anything that drastic his eyes lit up and he dove out the window. Unfortunately, he forgot to open it once again and Nabiki, hearing the crash, sighed and added an extra digit to the monthly repair budget.
The new mailman gasped in fear and surprise as a young woman landed gracefully in front of him and shouted.
"Katchu Tenshin Amaguriken!" Ranma's hands became a blur as she reached into the mailbag and checked every letter and package for her name, tossing away everything else. "Yes!" she shouted in glee, clutching the large manila envelope to her ample chest. Turning around, she ran back into the Tendo dojo, slamming the door behind her.
The mailman blinked a few times as the letters fell around him before he walked stiffly off the dojo property and promptly took off screaming into the streets.
Inside, Ranma bounced around giddily. "It's here! It's finally here!" Hearing the ruckus, the Tendo's and Mr. Saotome filtered into the living room and watched Ranma's dance for a few moments.
"Has it been six to eight weeks already?" Nabiki asked. "My, how the time flies, eh Ranma?"
"I'm just glad it's finally here," Akane said indifferently. "At least now he won't be moping around the house."
Nabiki poked her elbow lightly into her ribs. "Are you sure that's the only reason Akane? After all, now he'll be all man…"
Akane blushed furiously and balled her fists.
"Nabiki," Kasumi softly scolded. "Don't tease your sister."
The middle Tendo daughter rolled her eyes but kept quiet.
"So boy," Ranma's father said, putting an arm around her. "I've told you how much I love you, right?"
"Back off Pop," Ranma said, still smiling. "I'll share. I'm not the selfish one, remember?" She tore open the envelope and pulled out the neatly typed letter. Unfolding it, she began reading aloud.
"Dear Sir and/or Madam-"
"Ha!" Nabiki interjected.
Ranma shot her a dirty look and continued. "We regret to inform you that the item you ordered, Instant Spring of Drowned Man: Permanent Formula, is out of stock. We will ship it to you as soon as we get a new supply of the required magical reagents. Instant Spring of Drowned Man: Permanent Formula is made with unique, one of a kind, use-it-once-and-it's-gone-forever tm ingredients, so we'll have no trouble making you up a new batch. Please expect this delay to be no less than Eternity days.
However, as we at Jusenkyo Novelty Items value all of our customers, please accept the free gift that we have included with this letter. To receive a full refund of your order, please contact our customer support department by calling ."
Ranma finished, her eye twitching. When a full minute passed with no other movement on her part, Nabiki strolled up and grabbed the envelope from her prone hands. Reaching in, she pulled out a small paper packet and read the label, her face neutral. "Well what do you know; it's the permanent edition of an Instant Spring."
"Which one?" Akane asked curiously.
Nabiki couldn't hold it back anymore and burst out laughing. "Spring of Drowned Girl!"
Ranma screamed, clutching her red hair in frustration. With a growl, she dove at the packet Nabiki held.
Nabiki squeaked in surprise and dropped it, jumping back to a safe distance.
Pouncing on the fallen packet, Ranma wrapped it in her fists like she was strangling it. "Why-why-why-why-" she growled, punctuating each word with a punch to the small paper package. "Why can't I get a break?!"
"Ranma!" Akane said, jumping by his side. "Stop! You're soaking wet. If any of that gets on you…"
The redhead yelled and dropped the packet like it was acid. She sighed and closed her eyes, visibly calming down. "I'm going to go take a bath," she said softly as she dejectedly left the room with her head held low.
The rest of the family stood silently for a few moments before one by one they went back to what they were doing before the latest cure attempt had failed. Nabiki, however, stayed behind. After making sure no one was watching, she casually picked up the packet from the ground. Putting on her boots and grabbing the umbrella by the door, she silently exited into the rain.
The poor weather did little to dampen her mood as she thought of all the possibilities. "Hehe, a magic spring in my own backyard. I'll make a fortune," Nabiki said to herself excitedly, yen flashing before her eyes as she approached the pond behind the dojo.
She couldn't help giggling as she carefully opened the package and poured the powder into the small pool of water. But even as she did, something nagged at the back of her mind. She felt like she was forgetting something…
Her thoughts derailed when the water began churning violently and she glimpsed flashes of arms and legs in the white froth. And than she remembered. "Oh right; the fish…" she mumbled, backing away from the Koi pond.