Chapter 3
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Okay,
I know this chapter is a bit short but I wanted to post it!
Waaaaaaahhhh! If you don't like it then write your own!
Ps. I don't own Ranma1/2 or any of the characters. Blah blah. So if you wan't to sue me, go ahead! I'll just have to call up some of my lawyer friends in hell and take all your money!
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In the back of my mind I was irked at how quickly I'd given away so much money. But at the moment it didn't matter, I got two pics of Ranma-chan and they were perfect. Once I got home I pinned them up against the wall in my room. I kinda felt a bit like a pervert for buying the photos, it reminded me of those girls in the movies that developed an unhealthy obsession over some boy. I shook my head clear of the thoughts and proceeded into the 'temporary dojo' to practice some more.
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Nabiki sat at her desk going over the pictures one of her people had taken yesterday. This Ukyou person was starting to intrigue her... she seemed to mostly shrouded in mystery. All she could find out was the girl's current address and some information from forms in the school database. Nothing else, no birth certificate, no nothing. 'I think it's time I pay this 'Ukyou' a visit.', she thought to herself as she threw the photos to the desk, revealing them to be of Ukyou, dressed in a black outfit in a martial arts stance. In the second photo there was only a blackish blur. Nabiki wasn't all that negligent on martial arts... she knew skill when she saw it.
She dressed up in some casual clothes and headed out, calling over her shoulder "I'm going out to eat! Iterasai!"
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I was sweating profusely from my workout when I heard a knock at the door. 'Who?', I wondered. 'Shampoo wouldn't be here, she's still working...' When I opened the door I was surprised to find Nabiki there. "Hello, Biki...", I said with a confused frown. 'What's she doing here?' "I need to talk to you Ukyou-san." I smiled at her strained politeness, "No need for that, just call me Ukyou. Would you like to come in?", I asked as I stood to the side. She bowed politely and walked inside, taking a seat at the unused counter. I noticed her eyes glancing around the bare room. "Uh, I don't have many possesions.", I said, sweating somewhat at her inspection. "If I'd know you'd be coming I'd have cleaned up some and I wouldn't be smelling like sweat now, sorry." "No, it's my fault.", she said politely. I sweated even more. I quickly went into the kitchen and grabbed some bags and a cloth. I returned and quickly wiped the counter clean and turned on the table-top stove. At the time, it just felt right to cook, I always cooked when I was really nervous... it calmed me down a bit.
As I cooked Nabiki started talking. "Just who are you Ukyou-s-, uh Ukyou?..." "You'll have to rephrase that Biki." "Uh, Where are you from?" "...A small town some ways away." "You grow up there?" I paused… She was trying to sponge the info off me that I'd deliberately hidden from her, "Let's just get to the point. How I'm connected to your newest houseguests, right?" It was Nabiki's turn to sweat, she'd wanted to be blunt and wring the information out of the girl but seeing her in that black gi was intimidating and she seemed to carry herself with an aura of power and confidence. "Um, yeah, I suppose that's one of the things I wanted to know." "Okay then, how will you pay for this information? Cash, credit or other?" "Huh?", said Nabiki, unsure of how to handle the strange situation. " sigh How about you get me some cute pics of Ranma as payment? Mmm?" "O-okay, I can do that?... so how are you connected to the Saotomes?" "Okay, I suppose you want me to start from the beginning... When I was a little girl, my dad and I had a cart with which was used to sell okonamiyaki… I met Ranma when he started stealing what we'd cooked, right off the grill. Well, the rivalry aside, we became good friends. The only problem is he abandoned me when I needed him most… I-I suppose some part of me blamed him but for the most part I blamed his father, Genma." I paused for a second but Nabiki prompted me to continue. "I don't know if you managed to gather any information on me but if you check public records, you'll find that Genma is my legal guardian, though I wasn't adopted into their family. I was engaged to Ranma and they were given my cart as drowry." "Dowry? As in wedding gift?", asked Nabiki. I nodded. "Yes… unfortunately they disappeared with it and I never saw them again… I've been on the road ever since, hunting for them… I finally ran across them again about a week ago in China and tracked them here.", I said, a bit saddened. I finished the okonamiyaki and placed on in front of Nabiki.
"So Genma engaged you to Ranma, stole your wedding gift and abandoned you on the side of the road!", asked Nabiki. "That's the basics of it, yes." "How old were you?" "Enough of that, what do you think of the okonamiyaki?", I asked changing the subject. I didn't want to talk of my first few days on the road. They were things better left buried in the sands of time. "So you came to Nerima to marry Ranma?" "NO!", I cried with a deep blush appearing on my face, " cough Please don't misunderstand me. I don't want to do anything to hurt your family. It's just that... I-", I bit my lip at the thoughts running through my mind. 'Am I really falling for Ranma? Or am I just being stupid… I'm still a guy… somewhat… right?', I pondered to myself, 'I think I really am falling for Ranma... Hey, cheer up Ukyou, at least she makes a cute girl as well.' I allowed myself a small pained smile at the thought. 'I am Ukyou Kuonji. The girl who grew up on the road. The person from my previous life is just a memory now anyway…', I decided.
Nabiki sat calmly watching the emotions play across my face as she ate the okonamiyaki. 'This is really good!', she thought. 'I could almost compare it to Kasumi's cooking!' "I-I think I need some time alone now.", I said softly, my head spinning a bit at my revelations. "I'm going upstairs to take a bath. Please let yourself out when you're done and Nabiki… Don't mention any of this to Ranma or his father, okay?", without waiting for confirmation I headed upstairs.
Nabiki's hawk eyes scanned the room and finally settled on the katana behind the counter. She frowned a bit and took out her camera, taking a quick snap of it before finishing her food and leaving the place, she took one last worried glance at the stairs before she was gone.
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Nabiki sat at her desk, studying the photo she had in her hand under a magnifying glass. She'd already taken the liberty to post the photo on the internet and ask for information from anyone who knew anything of it. She still couldn't find anything at all on Ukyou's past but what she'd been told was placed in a file on her computer for future reference. 'This… Ukyou seems to be quite and interesting person…', she mused to herself. 'She's a puzzle that needs to be solved and if there's one thing I like it's puzzles.', she smiled to herself. 'First I have to have a little talk with the younger of the freeloaders.', she thought as she placed photo down and headed out of her room. She never did notice the shadow at her window, and she was already gone by the time it opened the window and entered the room without a sound. The dark shape tiptoed over to the photo and picked it up, quickly tucking it away before glancing around the room one last time and disappearing in a flash of light.
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As Nabiki walked down the corridor towards the guestroom where she suspected Ranma would be the hallway suddenly lit up with a flash and there was a loud crash. She spun around, to see the light fading from her room and she rushed back, only to find her room in shambles. "What the!"
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I was lying in my bed, pondering my recent revelation. I sighed lightly. 'I suppose there are just some things that can't be helped. This situation seems kinda similar to events in my past life.', I thought to myself, 'Falling for her had changed my whole outlook on life. Before I met her I was an arrogant and anger prone jerk but she changed me just by existing. I would've done anything for her… If she'd asked me to die for her, I would have done so gladly without hesitation. We became friends and were together for over a year when I finally asked her out officially. She must have been in shock or something because in a second she turned on me and humiliated me in front of a crowd of people. She betrayed me… She drove the metaphorical knife deep into my exposed heart and tore my insides to sherds.' I was scared… what if Ranma rejected me in the same way… What if I got hurt again? I was already starting to fall for him. But what would all this lead to?… I finally went to bed after an hours worth of moody ponderings, without reaching any real conclusion. But not before letting loose a loud sneeze.
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The dark figure moved through the night, finally coming upon his destination. He bowed down to the figure on the throne before him, presenting the picture for inspection. A hand reached out of the shadows on the throne and took it up for inspection.
"Mmm. What's this?" "It's something I found of interest I found in Tendo Nabiki's room, my liege." "So you did."
The figure scrutinized the picture and then sighed. "Would somebody turn on the blasted lights! I can't see a thing!" The room was suddenly lit brightly.
Kuno looked down at his ninja. "You may go." Sasuke quickly jumped to his feet and scurried out of the room. Kuno looked down at the photo. "Why the sudden interest in swords, Nabiki?", pondered Kuno.
His eyes suddenly widened. "No! It can't be! Sasuke! Bring my books!" Kuno waited for a moment, tapping his feet. A grating could be heard coming down the corridor. Sasuke huffed and puffed as he pushed the bookcase into the room. "Here you are, my liege.", he said as he promptly passed out on the floor. "Thank you Sasuke." Kuno moved over to the bookcase and quickly put on a pair of spectacles. "Mmm… Ah ha! Here it is.", he cried as he took a book out. He quickly paged through it. "Here we go.", he said as he opened the book up on a page. "Ahh… 'The Yokai-hiryu, presented to the Kounji clan during the Meiji era.' Bah! This is of no consequence to me." He said and was about to throw the book away when the next paragraph caught his eye. "Wha?... 'This sword is said to hold great power to it's holder. Though it has not been proven for the Kounji clan refused to wield it's power.' I could use this information.", mused Kuno. "But how?" For the rest of the night Kuno stood there pondering how he could use what he'd just read, fortunately for us his brain refused to work at that moment.