Chapter 53 Information Gathering
"Oh my, hello again," Kasumi said.
Tofu asked, "What's the matter, Taro?"
"This guy was with two others bothering Kasumi at the college. If I hadn't stumbled on them, I'm not sure what might have happened," Taro replied.
"It wasn't what it looked like," the man stammered, "We were just inviting her to a party."
"I'm supposed to believe that?" Taro asked, "What kind of fool do you take me for?"
Tofu began to grow angry only to see Kasumi walk over and hold his arm. "Husband, let them go please. They truly did no harm, and Taro has punished them severely enough," Kasumi asked.
Tofu glanced at the young man standing next to him, and said, "It looks like you came to the wrong place for treatment. Take your friends and get out of here before I lose my temper."
The young man gulped and fled out the door, leaving his two friends behind.
"I think you scared him, dear," Kasumi said, her eyes dancing with mirth.
Tofu grinned at her and said, "Since nothing happened thanks to Taro, I really wouldn't have done anything to him. But he didn't need to know that." He walked back into the exam room, and suddenly two men came stumbling out. They blanched as they saw Taro and edged around him and out the door.
Kasumi asked, "How's married life?"
Taro grinned and said, "It's better than I thought it would be, Kasumi. Shampoo is amazing, and very, very affectionate."
"Why don't you two come by the house for dinner, and you can tell us all about the wedding?" Tofu suggested.
Taro replied, "That works for me. I'll ask Shampoo, but if you don't hear differently, we'll be there."
Ukyo smiled at her mother-in-law as she walked down the stairs at the Hibiki residence. "Good morning, Mom," Ukyo said.
"Hello, daughter," Mrs. Hibiki replied, "Where's your husband?"
"He's sleeping still. Can I help you fix breakfast?" Ukyo asked.
Mrs. Hibiki smiled and said, "Of course, dear. That will also give us time to get to know each other better. I really want to know the girl who managed to steal my Ryoga's heart."
Ukyo blushed and said, "Well, there's really nothing special about me."
"Dearie, I find that hard to believe," Mrs. Hibiki replied, with a gentle smile, "It's not every girl who can own a restaurant at your age, and still stay in school. That takes great strength and determination."
Ukyo blushed even redder and said, softly, "Thank you for that. I'm glad you've been so accepting of us. Ryoga is real lucky having you for a mother."
Now it was her mother-in-law's turn to blush. "I just wish we didn't have this family curse. It kept us apart a lot once Ryoga turned twelve and it began affecting him. Before then, at least, I only had to worry about my wandering off and getting lost, but so long as I stayed in the house, Checkers and her mother would always keep us together," she replied.
"Why do you have the curse?" Ukyo asked, worried, "Is it going to affect me?"
Mrs. Hibiki chuckled and replied, "No, it only affects Hibikis. You married into the family; you weren't born into it."
"So you were a Hibiki before you married Ryoga's father?" Ukyo asked.
"Yes, my husband and I are cousins, we share the same great-grandparents," the older woman replied, "So poor Ryoga has the curse from both of us. It means he really has to be careful, or he can get lost walking between two rooms. So long as I have something to look at, I can get where I need to."
Ryoga came stumbling down the stairs, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. They lit up when he saw his wife standing there talking to his mother, and he rushed over to give her a good morning kiss.
After a few seconds, Ukyo pulled away, and said, "If you want more than that, you'll need to wait until after breakfast. We were just about to go into the kitchen and start cooking."
The three of them went into the kitchen, where the two women quickly began to prepare breakfast.
Nabiki finished reading the report that her chief aide had handed her at the beginning of the lunch period. "So it was Kaede Nimura who started the rumors about Ukyo. Wasn't she in the group of girls that ran around with tongues hanging out over the boys in the kendo club?" she mused, half to herself, as she digested what she had read. She looked at her aide and asked, "As far as I know, she barely knows Ukyo. What else were you able to find out about her?"
"She has a boyfriend, who goes to another high school in the area. His father works for Kuonji Foods here in Tokyo," the girl replied.
"That must be the connection," Nabiki said. She rubbed her chin, pondering her next actions now that she knew where things started. "Bring her to me, I want to find out whose idea it was to blacken Ukyo's name," Nabiki said. She chuckled for a moment and then she smiled a sharklike grin and said, "From now on, she has no friends. Make sure everyone who is friendly with her knows that she has crossed me. And it wouldn't hurt to remind them that Ranma is Ukyo's brother by adoption, and that she's MY sister-in-law, because of that."
"Yes, Nabiki-san," the girl replied, "What should we do about her boyfriend?"
"If he doesn't go to school here, there's not much we can do right now," Nabiki said, "So leave him alone. Though, I wonder if we…" She grimaced and said, "No, I won't stoop that low, and besides it would cost too much to hire a kunoichi."
Nabiki waited and soon, her aide returned with a tall, slender girl, about her own age. There was a defiant look in her eyes as she arrived.
"Please join me, Kaede," Nabiki said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
The girl reluctantly sat down next to Nabiki.
"I suppose you're wondering why I asked you to speak to me," Nabiki said.
Kaede began to squirm under Nabiki's gaze. "Yeah, I guess so. It's not like I've done anything," Kaede replied.
"Well, it's come to my attention that someone has been spreading some ugly rumors about a dear friend of mine. Rumors without a shred of truth in them. Don't you hate when that happens?" Nabiki said.
Kaede began to pale.
"Ukyo Hibiki is a good friend of mine. In fact, she's more-or-less my sister-in-law," Nabiki said, coldly, "So that makes her family."
"I didn't know," Kaede stammered, "I was just doing a favor for my boyfriend's uncle. He told me to say those things."
"And why would he want you to do that?" Nabiki asked.
"I don't know, he didn't tell me, but he said it was more important than I knew to do it," the girl replied.
"Who is he?" Nabiki asked.
"Mr. Masumoto, the new manager of the local Kuonji Holding Company office here in Tokyo," Kaede replied.
"Well, isn't that interesting," Nabiki said. She thought for a moment and then said, "I think it might be in your best interest if you found a new school to go to. I think you'll find that this school will be much less friendly."
"Please, I beg you, don't do that!" Kaede said, tears beginning to fall, "My mother will be so mad at me if I have to find another school with just one more year to finish."
Nabiki said coldly, "You should have thought of that before you tried to hurt Ukyo. Why should I show you any mercy?"
"Haven't you ever done something stupid because you were in love?" Kaede wailed.
Nabiki narrowed her eyes and growled, "I'll think about it. Now get out of here."
Kaede quickly jumped up and fled the area.
"Leave her alone for now. She's given me something to think about," Nabiki said. 'So did Masumoto do this on his own, or was he told to by Ukyo's father,' Nabiki wondered, 'I need to find out before I tell any of this to Ukyo or Ryoga. There's no telling what he would do, and it would break Ukyo's heart even more if her father was involved.' Her eyes lit up and she asked, "How many restaurants in the area are owned or managed by Kuonji?"
"I don't know. I can find out," Shinobu replied.
"Just find out the names of the restaurants. Then I think it's time that we start a boycott. Pass the word around," Nabiki ordered, "I don't know how much that will hurt, but it's a start."
Nabiki walked out of the gate, lost in thought, as she pondered her next move. 'Why would Hojo have her start those rumors?' she wondered to herself, 'Since Kuonji has already dropped Ukyo from the clan roll, why would it matter? It doesn't make a lot of sense.'
Suddenly, a hand came out of nowhere and she found herself pulled into a nearby doorway. She felt a light kiss on the back of her neck, and she spun to see her fiancé, with a silly grin on his face. She reached up and pulled his head toward and gave him a much more intimate kiss. Once they parted, she growled, "Where've you been, Mousse?"
"The old ghoul had me off on a mission," Mousse said, apologetically, "It came up so quick she wouldn't let me say goodbye. She said she would let you know. I guess she forgot."
"Then I guess you're forgiven. I missed you," she said, "The last several days have been lonely."
Mousse chuckled and replied, "I missed you, too." He pulled her into a tight hug, and asked, "So when are we going to set a date and make an honest man of me?"
She grinned and replied, "Well, I don't know. Maybe we should wait until I'm out of college first."
He growled at her, and said, "That's not funny, Nabiki. You and I both know that we don't want to wait that long. I want to be able to go to sleep and wake up with you the next morning."
"Let's talk about that while you're buying me some ice cream," Nabiki teased.
"Mercenary, aren't you?" he teased back, as he reached for her hand. They entwined their fingers as the headed toward the ice cream parlor.
"And you love me for it, don't you?" she said happily.
Mousse chuckled for a moment and then asked, "What had you so pensive before? I really shouldn't have been able to sneak up on you as easy as I did. You're usually much more aware of what's going on around you than that."
She frowned slightly and replied, "There were some ugly rumors being floated around about Ukyo. Ranma asked me to help him track them down, and I finally found out today who started them. It was a girl who has a connection to the Kuonji company. Kaede was told by the local manager to smear Ukyo's name and I was trying to figure out why."
Mousse's eyes glowed with anger for a moment and then he said, his voice cold, "Let me help. She's a very kind girl, and doesn't deserve to be hurt. It was bad enough that her father disowned her."
"Fortunately, Auntie Nodoka has a big heart. She didn't hesitate for a minute to add her to the Saotome clan," Nabiki replied absently. She squeezed his hand affectionately and said, "Maybe you can help. Do you have any access to truth potions?"
"Sure, Cologne has some at the embassy, or Shampoo can brew them up. She's pretty good with a spice box," Mousse replied, "Why?"
"I thought we might pay a visit to see Mr. Masumoto. I want to know whether he was doing this on his own, or because Ukyo's father told him to," Nabiki replied.
"In that case, I think we're going in the wrong direction," Mousse said, "The Nekohaten is that way."
"Oh no, you're not getting out of buying me some ice cream that easily," Nabiki retorted.
Shampoo's eyes lit up as her husband entered the café, and she ran to him, flinging her arms around him, to the obvious dismay of the male customers in the room.
Taro laughed and said, "Looks like you missed me."
"This is the longest we've been apart since we've been married. Of course I missed you," Shampoo said with a pout.
"We've been invited to dinner at the Tendo's. I said we'd come unless something came up," Taro said.
"I'd like to go, I know they want to hear about the wedding," Shampoo said.
"Good. I got all registered for class at the college, so I'll start tomorrow," Taro said.
Ranma was walking hand-in-hand with Akane, heading toward the dojo, after a reasonably trying day at school. As they neared their brother-in-law's clinic, they saw Tofu dancing down the street with his skeleton, Betty.
Ranma turned to Akane and asked, "What on earth is that about?"
"Well, that used to happen every time he talked to Kasumi," Akane replied, "Did you notice, his glasses fogged up too."
"Hm, then I wonder what set him off like that?" Ranma asked.
Akane shrugged her shoulders, distracting her husband for a moment with the interesting motion beneath her blouse. "I haven't got a clue," she replied.
"Sorry, that was kind of a rhetorical question," he said, "I guess I'd better track him down before he hurts someone." Ranma took off running after Tofu. 'He hasn't acted like this since he started dating Kasumi,' Ranma thought as he ran. Fortunately, since Tofu was busy twirling down the sidewalk waltzing with Betty, he hadn't gotten very far. "Hey, Doc," Ranma called, "It looks like Betty's getting tired. Maybe you ought to sit out this dance."
Tofu glanced around at Ranma; his glasses fogged, and asked, "Why Ranma, fancy meeting you here? Doesn't Betty look wonderful tonight?"
Ranma chuckled and replied, "Well, actually she looks like she's wasting away to nothing. I'd say skin and bones, if it wasn't such a bad pun." He reached out and pressed a point on the back of the older man's neck.
Tofu suddenly blinked and asked in surprise, "What am I doing here?"
"Don't have a clue, Doc. All I know is that you and Betty were out here dancing," Ranma replied, "It's been a while since you've done that."
Tofu grinned hugely and said, "We need to get home. Kasumi needs me."
"You're weirding me out here, Doc. But let's go," Ranma said as the two of them headed off to the house.
The extended family was all gathered around the table in the family room waiting for Kasumi and Nodoka to bring in the meal. Tofu was sitting there, with a dazed look in his eyes, which was beginning to concern Soun.
Nodoka walked in from the kitchen carrying a large tray of food, including a large selection of sushi, primarily salmon and spicy tuna rolls. She set her burden down on the table and then walked over to the liquor cabinet and brought out the bottle of good saké as well as cups for everyone. She set the bottle and the cups down next to her just as Kasumi brought in the rest of the food; bowls of miso soup and teriyaki chicken yakatori, and empty bowls for the rice that was warming in the rice cooker. The two of them handed out the bowls of soup, and then dished out the rice. Then they passed around the sushi bowls, with wasabi and pickled ginger for those that liked their food just a bit spicy.
Nabiki raised her eyebrow and said, "This must be a special occasion. The sushi alone is very expensive."
Kasumi smiled mysteriously and replied, "It is a bit of a special occasion, sis." She poured saké for everyone but her and handed the cups around the table, pouring a cup of green tea for herself. She looked at Tofu for a moment, and then he clasped her hand. "Daddy, you're going to be a grandfather. I suspected I might be, and went to the clinic on campus the other day to find out. They confirmed it for me today," Kasumi said softly. She smiled at Taro and said, "That's why I was a little spaced out today when you ran into me at school."
Tofu's eyes glazed over again, but this time Ranma was waiting for it. He reached around and pressed the calming shiatsu point in the back of Tofu's neck, while the rest of the room, with the exception of Nodoka, erupted with words of congratulation. Nodoka simply smiled happily and then looked pointedly at her son and daughter-in-law, as if to say, "Where's MY grandchild?"
Ranma ignored her, while Akane blushed prettily. Ranma clapped Tofu on the back and said, "Congratulations to the two of you."
Akane reached over and hugged her sister, and then lightly kissed Tofu's cheek.
Soun, of course, began to cry tears of joy and happiness, mixed with sorrow for the fact that his beloved Kimiko was not here to share the good news. Hinako looked at him and smiled happily, knowing that the man that she loved had finally heard the news that he had been waiting for a long time to hear, that his clan would continue.
Genko looked at her brother and lisped, "That's nice, but can we eat now?"
"Yes, dear, we can eat now," Nodoka said fondly.
'Just like Pop, all he can think about is his stomach,' Ranma thought.
Shampoo looked at Kasumi a bit wistfully, thinking about how she wanted to start a family of her own. Many girls her age back home in the village were already mothers, and she was sure that a child of hers and Taro's would grow up to be a leader of the village.
Soun dried his tears and said, tremulously, "Thank you for that wonderful news, darling Kasumi." He glanced over briefly at Hinako, who nodded. "It appears that we have two reasons to celebrate tonight. As you know, Hinako and I have been dating now for several months, and we have become extremely close. Earlier this day, I asked Hinako to give me the honor of becoming my wife, and she graciously said yes," he said, as Hinako squeezed his hand in comfort.
The room erupted in pandemonium, as everyone tried to speak at once. Ranma yelled, "HUSH!"
The room quieted down, and Ranma turned to Soun and Hinako and said, "That's wonderful news, Dad, Hinako. I can't think of anything that could top that. Doc and Kasumi having a child and you two getting together, it's wonderful."
Akane giggled and said, "I agree. This is one of the best days I can remember."
Hinako said, "I love your father very much girls. And I want to thank Ranma and Akane for making this day possible."
Nabiki said softly, "Welcome to our family, Hinako. Take good care of Dad for us."
"I'll do my best, Nabiki," Hinako replied.
The next day found Nabiki and Mousse at the Kuonji Holding Company offices. Nabiki was talking to the receptionist, saying, "I'd like to see Mr. Masumoto, please. My name is Nabiki Tendo."
The receptionist picked up the telephone and dialed. A moment later she said, "There is a Miss Nabiki Tendo here to see you." She listened for a moment and said, "Mr. Masumoto is tied up in a meeting all day, and won't be available."
Nabiki said, frostily, "Tell him he can either talk to me, or the press. How would it sound if they came to ask about how your company was slandering a friend of mine?"
The receptionist spoke quickly into the handset again, and said, "It appears that his meeting just broke up. Please go right in."
"Thank you for your assistance," Mousse said politely. Mousse and Nabiki walked through the door and into the inner office, where they found Mr. Masumoto rising from his desk.
"Thank you for seeing me after all, Mr. Masumoto," Nabiki said, "As I told your receptionist, I am Nabiki Tendo, and this is my associate Mousse of the Joketsuzoku, a member of the Chinese Embassy."
Masumoto's eyes widened as he bowed in greeting. "I have heard many things about you Miss Tendo. It is indeed a pleasure to meet someone of your eminence, Mr. Mousse."
"Shall we get down to business?" Nabiki asked, a slight frown on her face
"Please, join me for some tea," Masumoto suggested, a slight drop of sweat showing on his forehead.
Nabiki bowed her head graciously and said, "That would be nice." She exchanged a quick glance with Mousse who nodded slightly.
Masumoto poured three cups of tea and handed one each to Nabiki and Mousse.
Nabiki said, pointing to the large photograph on the desk to one side, "That's a pretty girl. Is that your daughter?"
Masumoto turned slightly and replied, "No, actually that is my grandniece. I don't get to see her very often."
Mousse sipped his tea, and nodded slightly to Nabiki. "This is a very nice tea," he said, "Where is it from? I can't quite decide."
"It's a house brand, a version of Ceylon Breakfast Tea, that our founder discovered a long time ago," Masumoto replied as he took a sip of his tea.
"Now what was that you were telling my receptionist?" he asked after they had a chance to savor the tea properly.
"As you probably know, I am partners with a young girl named Ukyo Hibiki, once of the Kuonji clan, now of the Saotome clan," Nabiki began.
"Yes, I was aware that you were partners with that person who we no longer name," Masumoto replied, his eyes beginning to glaze over.
"Ah, very good. Recently, a series of vile rumors were spread around Furinkan High School about her, and I was able to track the source to a girl named Kaede. When I talked to her, she informed me that she was directed to do so by her boyfriend's uncle. That person of course is you."
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," Masumoto began.
"Did you tell Kaede to spread those lies about Ukyo?" Mousse asked.
"Y-yes," Masumoto replied.
"Did you do that on your own?" Ukyo asked.
Masumoto replied, in a monotone, "Yes, I did."
"Why?" Mousse asked.
"Because she hurt Mr. Kuonji. He was no longer the same man after he found out that she had betrayed him," Masumoto replied, "He began staring at the window in his office, and refused to do anything. This company is my life and it was being destroyed because of what that girl did to her father."
"So Kuonji knows nothing of this?" Nabiki asked.
Masumoto laughed and said, "He hasn't crawled out of the bottle he fell into. We've been trying to keep the business afloat but without him, eventually it will fail."
Nabiki sighed in relief, and said, "What was this betrayal that Ukyo allegedly did?"
"I really don't know the details, but it had something to do with not fulfilling a vow of honor concerning someone named Saotome," Masumoto replied.
"Where can I find Kuonji?" Mousse asked.
Masumoto replied, "He is at his home in Osaka, at least that is the last word I had." His eyes closed and he began to snore.
"Thank you for your time, we'll see ourselves out," Nabiki said, as the two of them stood.
Author's Notes: Thanks for the many reviews on this story, in spite of its infrequency of update. As always, comments and criticisms are welcome. I truly enjoy reading all of them, and I'm glad that so many people seem to like this tale. Specific comments are below.
Nairojam: Well, actually it is the three of them chasing after Genko Saotome, but otherwise yes.
Dimitri Platabo: This actually is my second story after Ranma's Decision. I guess there are some elements in common, I don't always go back and reread the other stories while I'm working on the current one, so the same ideas will crop up. As to Genko beating Ranma, well, maybe.
Steven: If you haven't already found them, I have three other stories on Just click on my user name and it will list them.
Neongene: So long as I can keep the ideas fresh, I'll continue with this story. It is a bit harder to write at the moment than Second Time Around. Apparently my muse is much more interested in that one.
Shinigami: Ask and it shall be answered. And I guess you forget, Nabiki is with Mousse. Not that I've made a real big deal about that relationship. They seem to keep it low-key.
SlickECBD: Yes, the curse was locked by the Chiisuiton, but that's not why the full-body cat's tongue no longer has an effect. I'll get to that in a later chapter when it becomes important, but it is related to the fact that she's now six instead of early forties.
TheWhiteMonk: The three figures that appeared at the end of the previous chapter are Herb and his/her two goons. They'll pop up again shortly. Don't know about Saffron. I can't quite decide how I want to write that story.
Wonderbee31: Thanks, and yes, it's nice to see them get real close. I enjoyed writing the scene with his mother. His parents never seem to show up much, so I wanted a chance for that to change. As to Genma remembering more of his past, well, maybe. It was Nodoka that performed the technique after all, and she's not an expert.
Sonic 1: I probably won't go that route in this story, but more than likely will go that way in Second Time Around. Thanks for the names of the techniques, that will save me a lot of research for when I get there.
Neon-ronin: I think this chapter might explain why Kasumi was a bit spacy. She did just find out she was pregnant after all, and that tends to make most married couples a bit spaced out for a while. As far as Ryoga, the only problem I have now is deciding where the young couple should live. After all, wouldn't it be nice to have a live in babysitter, but then what young couple wants to live with the mother. Decisions, decisions.
Innortal: I think this chapter should alleviate that concern. Ukyo won't inherit the curse, it's strictly a Hibiki descendant issue. Kasumi wouldn't let me beat up the three guys, sorry. You know how gentle she can be.
Dragon Man 180: Sorry, Kasumi wouldn't let me beat them up. VBG.
Kickaha: Same as above. I think Taro has a soft spot for women, though I need to read the story with the girl who felled in the spring of drowned statue, forgot her name, to see how he treated her. He does generally come across as a lone wolf, but now that he's married and has a 'better' name, his chip on the shoulder might disappear.