Ranma 1/2
Altered Destinies: A scary thought
Chapter 15
It was a rare bright day for Nabiki. Well, for a while there bright days had come by the truck load for her, but lately they had been getting fewer, and fewer, making them a rare and valuable commodity. For now though, things were looking up. She'd managed to get a full night's sleep. A whole new set of clients had arrived at the school. And, best yet, Kasumi was moving out.
No more would Nabiki have to endure his presence. No more would she need to worry about any untimely discoveries. No, with Kasumi out of the house Nabiki could begin putting her life back on track. Sure, she still had school to contend with, but she was sure she could handle it. It was not that she didn't love her sister; quite to the contrary, that was the problem. Yes, it would be a much better situation with Kasumi not sleeping just down the hall from her.
The school day over, Nabiki set off to meet up with her crew. They should have those pictures Yotogi had given me developed by now, she thought with a pleasant sense of anticipation. With any luck they contained something interesting. With any real luck, they contained something profitable. That would make this already good day even better.
She found them, as usual, by the pool, both girls laughing hysterically. Definitely something good, she thought as she saw the sheaf of pictures in their hands. She joined them, an anticipatory smile on her lips.
"All right, what do you have that's so funny?" Nabiki asked. With visible difficulty the girls managed to calm their laughter down to muffled giggles.
"Boss, you're going to love this. Take a look," Yoko responded, handing over a stack of photos. Nabiki took one look, and smirked for a moment at the unexpected image, then, looking at the next picture, her normal reserve broke and she burst into loud laughter herself.
"Oh, this is great. Did you " Nabiki said, and Hinichi held up another stack of photos.
"Already made us copies, boss."
"Good, good," Nabiki said with a nod, and barely repressed a totally out of character giggle. She switched to the next photo, and burst out once again with laughter. "How many did she get?"
"Anybody that's anybody, even most of the newbies."
"Yes, I see," Nabiki acknowledged, flipping through the photos and stopping on one of Ranma. They'd been living with each other long enough that the image was really nothing new, but she was sure he'd break into a cold sweat if he caught a look at it. Not much was left to the imagination, despite the heavy steam clouding the shot. "She's got an excellent angle too."
"Yeah, no kidding. The girl has real talent. I can't... Be still my heart, he is so gorgeous," Hinichi said, stopping her quick scanning to admire one of the copies she was holding. "I'm going to need a shower myself, a cold one that is." Yoko looked over and `oo'ed in admiration herself at the picture.
Nabiki, curious at which boy could illicit that strong a reaction, took a peek and immediately paled. There was no steam blocking this shot, as was logical, considering the subject's present condition, and everything was out in plain view. Unheard to all but herself Nabiki moaned, "why me," and began estimating the time to the extinction of everything pleasant in her life.
After a second or two to recover from her initial shock, Nabiki quickly snatched the copies from her friend's hand. "Hey," both girls exclaimed in disappointment.
"That's my sis... cousin!" Nabiki exclaimed, involuntarily taking another peek at the photo, but quickly averting her eyes.
"Oh come on Nabiki! It's not like-"
"I don't want to hear it! I'm going to make good and sure these are never seen again!"
"Aw, but boss," the girls pleaded, but Nabiki turned her back on them and quickly walked off, taking the copies, and originals with her. After a moment they sighed in unison then Yoko looked to Hinichi and said, "she's no fun lately, you notice that?" Hinichi nodded her agreement.
XXXXX
Nabiki hadn't made it too far before Yotogi caught up with her, asking for her photos. Nabiki almost burst into a tirade at the girl, but having had a few minutes to calm down, managed to stifle that urge. Her friends were no doubt already wondering about her unusual reaction. Blowing up at a well paying customer would only cause them to wonder even more.
Fortunately they would likely chalk her present action up to Kaneda being family or something, but if she escalated the matter, they would start to wonder just why she was so concerned about a mere cousin. Ranma was almost family, and Akane definitely was. Yet she had never shown any reluctance to make money off of photos of them, some of them almost as embarrassing as these. No, the best thing to do was to let the matter die down. If anybody clued in... Nabiki shivered at the thought. So, reluctantly she handed over one set of photos and received her payment. Unfortunately, the image now locked firmly in her mind made her painfully aware that the money would not begin to cover the misery she was going to go through because of this little transaction.
Nabiki headed off to her locker to drop off her books, then she could properly dispose of the copies she still had. She had just opened her locker and begun putting in her books inside when the last person on Earth she wished to see called out.
"Nabiki, you're still here, good," Kaneda said as a he walked over.
Nabiki winced, then remembering what she had in her hand, quickly spun around to face Kaneda and hid the offending photos behind her back. "Ahh, hello Ka...neda." Nabiki stuttered out, her calm nowhere to be found.
"Are you all right?" Kaneda said in a worried tone, taking in Nabiki's pale sweating face.
"Fine! Fine, just fine. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, you just... It's not important. I meant to ask you if you could come over to the restaurant later."
Not today, not today, Nabiki thought in misery, the image in her mind starting to overlap on the person in front of her. "I... I can't make it. Sorry, I really can't."
"Oh," Kaneda said in a disappointed tone, "what are you up to tonight then?" He asked, swallowing his disappointment, and showing a genuine interest in Nabiki's plans.
You just had to ask, didn't you, Nabiki thought bitterly, and began racking her mind for an excuse, while at the same time staving off the thoughts trying to force themselves into her mind. "Well, I... I have to..." Nabiki began, finally compelled to break eye contact with Kaneda. To her immense dismay her eye caught on a photo lying on the floor just behind Kaneda. Worse, even though it was hard to make out, it was clearly from the collection she was holding behind her back, and worst yet, it was that one! She must have dropped it earlier without noticing. Nabiki couldn't help but moan in misery at the discovery.
"Are you sure you're okay " Kaneda began to ask, looking behind himself to see what Nabiki was looking at.
"I'M FINE!" Nabiki blurted out, regaining Kaneda's attention before he could see the photo. "I just have... a... a... date."
"Date?"
Date? Nabiki asked herself, wondering where her mind was. "Yeah, and I'm... kinda nervous, you know." Nabiki said, breaking into a short burst of genuine nervous laughter, if not for the reason she gave.
"Oh, well then... who's going out with you?" Kaneda asked, again showing a genuine interest in Nabiki's plans. Nabiki would have given anything for an indifferent sib right then. Why couldn't he be more like Ranma, dense as a brick, and totally uninterested about anyone else but himself?
What a tangled web we weave, Nabiki recited as she tried to come up with an answer to the new question. Come on, think Nabiki, think. By now she had broken out in a full fledged cold sweat. The harder she tried to purge the image from her mind, the more it solidified its presence.
Just then a boy with long brown hair held in pony tail, similar to Ranma's only longer, and dressed in a standard school uniform, walked up from an adjoining hall on his way to his locker. Nabiki recognized him from the class, one of the newbies. She was just about to dismiss his presence when he spotted the photo on the floor and reached down to pick it up.
"TSUBASA!" Nabiki called out, rushing forward, past Kaneda, and quickly relieving Tsubasa of the photo before he could get a good look. "I was looking for that, thanks." Nabiki whispered, placing the photo with the rest, and quickly hiding them as best she could behind her back as Kaneda approached.
"Tsubasa? I didn't know you two knew each other that well."
"Huh?" Both Nabiki and Tsubasa said in tandem.
"Well then, maybe you can both come to the restaurant for your date. We'll need to try our new menu on someone. That is, if you want to? It's free."
"Free food, sure!" Tsubasa answered enthusiastically then blinked in realization. "Date? Me and Nabiki?" He asked in confusion, looking over at Nabiki who could only smile nervously.
"Yeah, you remember Tsubasa, our date." Nabiki said, saying the last bit through clenched teeth.
"Oh yeah," Tsubasa said with a nod, but of course he didn't have a clue. He was not one to look a gift date in the mouth, however. If this good looking senior thought they had a date, he was not about to argue with her.
"Good then, I'll see you two later then?" Kaneda asked, looking at them expectantly. After a moment of hesitation Nabiki reluctantly nodded. "Wonderful." Kaneda enthused, before turning to leave. "I have to get going. See you at the restaurant. Bye." With one last wave of his hand he was gone, around the corner and out of sight.
Nabiki half heartedly waved in return then glared at Tsubasa, who smiled back innocently. After taking a second to calm herself, Nabiki returned to her locker, tossed the photos inside, and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and began writing. Once finished she put the pen inside, closed her locker and handed the paper to Tsubasa. "Here, that's the address. Be there on time, or else." With that, Nabiki marched off, barely holding on to enough of her composure to keep from crying in frustration.
Tsubasa watched her leave, then read the paper, and smiled in overwhelming joy. "I've been here barely 3 days and I got a date! This is awesome!" For a minute or two he stood there, savoring the idea, then a startled look crossed his face. "I got to get ready!" He said, rushing off in the same direction Kaneda had taken.
XXXXX
Nabiki paced back and forth, every now and then looking at her watch and muttering to herself. "Where is he? How long does it take him to get ready?"
It was not that she wanted to go with Tsubasa. It was just that she was pretty sure she did not want to go without him, or someone else, and at this late date there was no way she could rope someone else in for escort duty. Even now, the thought of being in the same room with Kasumi was doing things to her that she did not want to think about.
"Nabiki," a familiar voice said behind her, and she turned, ready to give Tsubasa a piece of her mind for keeping her waiting. Her words died in her throat as she took in the vision standing in front of her.
Tsubasa was wearing dark sunglasses, even though the day was cloudy. His hair was slicked back and tied tightly. A short sleeved shirt was draped rather loosely over his slender frame, and a sports coat of some sort was tossed casually over one shoulder. He had one cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth, and another tucked behind his ear. But, the thing that drew Nabiki's eyes, and made her cringe, was the elaborate, and very badly drawn tattoos that coiled from his wrists, up his arms, and under the sleeves of his shirt. As soon as Tsubasa saw Nabiki looking at him, he went into a pose, showing off his outfit with every indication of pride.
"Do you like it?" He asked. "I had to rush, because I didn't want to keep you waiting on our first date."
Stunned, Nabiki could only stare at him in disbelief, completely missing the implication of the words 'first date'. Then her eyes narrowed, and she took a step forward. Grabbing one of his arms, she vigorously rubbed at his tattoo with her thumb, and was rewarded by seeing the garishly colored lines blur and smear.
"A fake," she said, not without a little relief in her voice.
"I told you I had to rush." Tsubasa said, in a hurt tone of voice. "I didn't have time to let the makeup set properly, and now you've gone and spoiled it." He finished in an aggrieved tone, looking at the spot on his arm where Nabiki had damaged his rush job.
"Why?" Nabiki asked. "What ever possessed you to do this?" She paused, her mind flashing back to an interview with one Kitsune Maruda. There had been a lot of gobbly-gook in her information on Tsubasa. Nabiki had to distill down the essence of it herself. The facts seemed to be that Tsubasa was disassociated from reality, much like several of the other students in her class, but Tsubasa's particular method of dealing with his was disguises, something she had forgotten till this moment. She should be grateful; the younger boy could have shown up in a pig costume if he had decided it was appropriate, which reminded her.
"Why Yakusa? What ever possessed you to dress as a Yakusa?"
"Kitsune said..." Tsubasa began, but was halted when Nabiki held up a hand, the other hand she held to her head. This is going to be a long day, she thought as she rubbed her forehead. It had been amusing when she had learned Kitsune was spreading stories about her connections to organized crime. It did not seem nearly as funny now.
"Tsubasa," Nabiki said in a firm voice. "I have never been, and never will be associated with the Yakusa. I'm just a simple business woman. Got it?"
Tsubasa looked a little disappointed, but then his expression brightened and he laid a forefinger along side his nose and winked at Nabiki. "Got it," he said.
Nabiki sighed once again, but let it drop. She didn't have time for this. She wanted to make this quick. Into the restaurant, ooh and ahh at Kasumi's new residence, have a quick bite, and get out of there.
"Put on your coat," she snapped out. Walking past Tsubasa, she turned around the corner and headed for the restaurant. She did not look back to see if he was following, but she could hear him stumbling along behind, trying to slip into his jacket while keeping up with her rapid strides.
Reaching the restaurant she walked through the door, and came to a stop in surprise. She had visited Kasumi's new home the day before, along with the rest of the family, and while it had been clean, it had been a half hearted type of clean, suitable for viewing by prospective buyers, but nothing special. Now it fairly gleamed, everywhere Nabiki looked the wood and fixtures were bright and lustrous.
The reason was easily apparent. Directly across from Nabiki, and facing away from her, Kaneda was on his hands and knees scrubbing away at the floor and right beside him, softly singing to herself in contentment, was Shampoo.
For a second, Nabiki watched the play of muscles so attractively displayed in front of her, and then swallowed convulsively as another recently viewed image overlaid the one in front of her. She wrenched her gaze away from her sister's current form, and toward the other group of cleaners who were busily working away, making the restaurant sparkle from their efforts.
Akane was washing a table with such vigor Nabiki wondered if it would survive the treatment, not that Akane was mad or anything. It was just that Akane tended to do most things at full bore. They were averaging about two cutting boards a week for a while before Aunty got her to calm down while doing the vegetable preparation, which was about all they dared let her do. Near Akane, a rather disgruntled Ranma was scrubbing walls. The reason for Ranma doing much despised woman's work, his mother, was working along side her pride and joy, and keeping an eye on him to make sure he was not slacking off. Obviously he was still not completely out of debt for sneaking his fur ball into the house, and then taking advantage of the situation with C chan to keep her. Even said fur ball was helping out. As Nabiki watched, Ryouko picked a brush out of a nearby bucket, and carried it over to Nodoka, who gave her a pat on the head before resuming her work.
"Hey," Nabiki called out, "who do you have to know to get some service around here?" All the activity in the restaurant came to a halt, as every one turned to look at her. Kaneda jumped to his feet, and looked at her in surprise.
"Nabiki, you're here already?" He turned and looked at the clock, and grimaced. "Oh my, is that the time? I'm afraid I lost track of everything." He walked over behind the kitchen divider, while talking to Shampoo. "Shampoo, why don't you show Nabiki and... Is Tsubasa here?" Kaneda asked, looking behind Nabiki. Just then, an out of breath Tsubasa, who had finally had to stop to get his too tight jacket on, showed up at the door. "Oh, there he is. Shampoo would you show Nabiki and Tsubasa to a table while I get the stove going."
Shampoo bounced over to them, causing Tsubasa to stare, eyes wide in appreciation, and earning himself an elbow in the ribs from Nabiki. "You come this way please. Shampoo show you to very good table." Then she frowned and spoke to someone behind Nabiki. "Shampoo sorry, no open yet, just family. You come back later, yes?"
Looking behind herself, Nabiki saw Makoto Kino, the new girl at school, and, unless her sources were wrong, and they almost never were, Kasumi's and Shampoo's new roommate. Obviously Kasumi had neglected to inform Shampoo of that fact. Makoto quickly rectified that lapse.
"That's all right, I'm not a customer. I'm going to be living here with Mr. Tendo."
Shampoo's friendly demeanor dropped away, replaced by confusion. "Shampoo no understand. Mr. Tendo not live here. He have home other side of town." She looked the tall girl in front of her up and down. "You young, what you want with old man? You no find young one?"
It was Makoto's turn to look nonplused, but her expression was nothing compared to Kaneda's as he hurried across the room. He had obviously not been expecting Makoto, and was looking quite distressed at her arrival. Unless Nabiki missed her guess, he had been waiting for just the right time to break the news to Shampoo. Now fate had thrown that idea right out the window.
"Shampoo, I'm sorry. I should have let you know earlier. This is Makoto Kino from my class at school. She's going to be staying here with us for a while. She's going to be sharing your room." He looked over at Makoto, and said, "I thought you weren't moving in till tomorrow?"
"I'm not, I just thought I'd come and check the place out, and see if maybe you needed a little help getting it ready."
"Actually, we're almost finished. I had a lot more help then I expected. I just have to make a dinner for Nabiki and her date. Then, I'll be closing up for the night."
Nabiki, seeing a chance to end the evening early said, "that's all right Kaneda. I won't keep you, and Tsubasa and I have plans for the evening."
"We do?"
"Oh, what?"
Tsubasa and Kaneda said simultaneously. Nabiki thought furiously, looking around the room for inspiration, she spotted Akane's gym bag by the door, her skates leaning against it.
"Skating, we're going skating."
"Really?" Akane said, from where she was putting away some cleaning supplies. "I was going to the sport center to meet Kodachi myself." Her face suddenly brightened. "Hey, why don't we all go? We could make a party out of it, to celebrate Kaneda's new home, and grand opening."
Ranma, whose ears had pricked up at the mention of Kodachi, quickly said he was in. Kaneda would have demurred, saying that there was still a little bit more to do, but Nodoka told him to go, she would close up for him. As soon as Kaneda agreed, Makoto said, "Sounds like fun, count me in."
Shampoo took a look at Makoto, and noted the look on her face as she stared at Kaneda, and glowered. "Shampoo come too," she grated out, her displeasure so obvious, even Kaneda noticed, and looked at her with a worried frown.
XXXXX
While the others gathered their things and got ready to go, Shampoo stood by the door with an angry frown on her face. When Kaneda had told her that they were going to be moving into a place of their own, her stomach had flopped. It had been so sudden; Kaneda had given every indication that he had no interest in making their marriage work, now they were to set up their own household.
It had come so suddenly, she had not been sure of just how she felt. That she had feeling for Kaneda could not be denied, but those were from before, before she had discovered the truth. The thought of living alone with Kaneda had filled her with anxiety. That anxiety had been muted only slightly by the discovery that she would not be sharing Kaneda's bed, but would have her own room. Under the anxiety, however, was a feeling of excitement that finally, maybe, just maybe, Kaneda had decided to accept his situation, and Shampoo would regain the husband she had lost that morning so long ago.
Now, all her happiness had turned to ashes. She glared in hatred at this girl who had placed herself between Shampoo and her man. The gangly top heavy little tramp could not take her eyes off of Kaneda, and Shampoo felt her anger grow at the thought of sharing a room with this little...
"Shampoo?" Kaneda said.
Shampoo blinked in surprise. She had been so intent on Makoto, she had completely missed seeing Kaneda approaching her.
Seeing he had Shampoo's attention, Kaneda continued. "Makoto does not know about us. I'd appreciate it if you would not mention the fact that we're married. It could lead to too many complications later, when I regain my proper form." He smiled at her sincerely. In the face of that smile, Shampoo, much against her natural inclination, found herself agreeing to keep their marriage a secret.
Once Kaneda turned away however, Shampoo found her anger returning, threefold. How dare he! Did he expect her to stand idly by while he basked in the adoration of that, that... "Oohhh," she exclaimed in exasperation. Much as she would like to, she could not bring herself to believe Kaneda was doing anything of the sort. It was clear to any observer that the too tall school girl was infatuated with him, but it was equally clear that Kaneda had not a clue as to the facts. How anyone could be so observant and capable in so many ways, and be so clueless in matters of the heart was beyond her.
Well, if that top heavy little trollop thought she was going to get anywhere with Kaneda, she was sadly mistaken. Shampoo would see to that. As she was making her vow, the rest of the people in the restaurant, with the exception of Nodoka, were approaching the door. Shampoo stepped aside to let them pass, and then fell into step beside Kaneda as they made their way toward wherever they were going. The other girl started to take up a position on Kaneda's other side, but at Shampoo's glare, she backed off, and moved forward to talk with Akane.
Makoto fought to keep from looking back at Kaneda, a troubled look on her face. That purple haired girl had obviously felt she was trespassing. Normally that would have been enough to back off Makoto. Despite her slightly obsessive behavior, she was no home wrecker. But she had to wonder, Mr. Tendo... Kaneda, surely he wouldn't have agreed to let her come and live with him and share a room with his girlfriend, not without mentioning the relationship to her. No, Makoto decided, she must just be infatuated with him and was trying to drive off the competition. Well, in that case, he was fair game. So, let the games begin.
XXXXX
As the group of young people walked into the Arena, Nabiki spied salvation in the form of her two underlings, Yoko and Hinichi. They were sitting at the rink side dining area, spying out the talent on the rink. Currently their attention was on a very tall brown haired boy who was surrounded by a flock of younger girls.
Giving a sigh of relief she turned to Tsubasa and said, "Sorry, we're going to have to cut this short. I need to discuss business with my partners." Nabiki schooled her face carefully and got in a dig at Tsubasa at the same time. "If you hadn't taken so long we could have had a longer time together. But as it is, I'm afraid you'd be bored stiff. We're just going to be discussing facts and figures. Why don't you go and enjoy yourself with the others?"
Tsubasa looked disappointed, but then he looked at her with a determined expression. "No, that's all right. I'll stay with you. Nothing you do could be boring to me."
Nabiki blinked and started to sweat. Darn, can't this guy take a hint, she thought to herself. She was over a barrel. If she made a scene, Kaneda would almost certainly come over and try and patch things up, and she did not want that. So, she put the best expression she could manage on her face and said, "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you!"
Nabiki turned and made her way over to the two girls, not without a little trepidation. They were not going to be happy to have her interrupt their time off. She knew that unlike her, they were in it for the fun as much as the money. Nabiki made it worth their while in both regards to subordinate themselves to her. If she started to bore them, they'd strike out on their own, no matter how much money she offered. The last thing she needed was to have her carefully built infrastructure at school start coming apart along with all her other problems.
Well, there was one solution. Get them to work on something they would enjoy. As she came up to their table, they looked up at her and she said, "This is Tsubasa. Now, tell me who the big guy is, and how can we make some money off of him."
XXXXX
While Nabiki had been dealing with her problems, the others had spread out. Akane had headed straight for the ice. Ranma had gone looking for Kodachi, and Mako had headed for the rental office to get a pair of skates. This was an opportunity to shine in Kaneda's eyes. She was an excellent skater, and she looked good on the ice. Meanwhile, Kaneda had seated the sulking Shampoo and gone off to get some refreshments.
A short time later Kaneda returned to his table at rink side with a tray full of drinks and sat across from Shampoo, who's mood hadn't much improved. Kaneda passed her one of the drinks, but she ignored it. "Come on Shampoo, must you be like this?"
"Shampoo thought just suppose be us," Shampoo said, miffed.
Kaneda frowned. Obviously Shampoo was still caught up in having this so called marriage work out. He had to make her understand, but without alienating her. He had enough trouble facing Cologne. Facing off with Shampoo as well would make his prospects of getting out of this minimal at best. Beyond that, he really didn't like the thought of having her against him. "Look, Shampoo, Makoto needs a place a stay, and she's really interested in the restaurant business. It's not like we'll have no time together." Kaneda frowned again at the choice of words. It didn't exactly bring to mind the image he wanted to project.
Shampoo took no notice, and continued staring off at the various people skating on the rink. Her expression particularly darkened when Makoto passed into her vision. Kaneda was about to speak up to distract her when Akane come off the ice and walked over. "Why aren't you out skating Kaneda?"
"Well, I... haven't been skating in years."
"It's not that hard. Come on," Akane continued, pulling Kaneda to his feet, and directing him to the skate rental booth.
"What about Shampoo?"
Akane looked back at the Amazon then shook her head. "If she wants to mope about then let her," Akane said quietly, so as not to be heard by the party in question. "She's not your responsibility. Now, come on."
"I..." Kaneda began to protest once again, but after taking another look back, gave into Akane's directions. "All right then." After getting his skates on, Kaneda headed out onto the ice with Akane's help, and despite that nearly fell on his face. He managed to recover with a little help then cautiously began a slow circle of the rink to get his balance back. After several minutes Kaneda finally had enough confidence to skate off on his own. Before too long, he was actually beginning to enjoy himself for once, the recent troubles out of mind for the moment.
XXXXX
Shampoo watched this from the side, watched as Kaneda seemingly forgot her, more interested in Makoto's various feats of skill that impressed nearly everyone there. Show off, Shampoo thought in anger, but her bitterness gradually changed to dejection. Finally she turned her eyes to the table top, unwilling to watch the scene any longer. I should be out there, she thought. She looked back up, and quickly remembered exactly why she wasn't. Put her one on one with this blasted girl. Challenge her to a race, or even a swim. Anything, but skating.
She'd never been skating in her whole life. Next to that show off she'd look like a completely incompetent fool. Shampoo eyed the girl as she rushed to Kaneda's rescue after another near fall, and wished she could go out there and give her a good beating. Yet, she was still sitting here, watching. Every time a thought came near to pushing her to act, her mind shied away, instead content with just thinking about it.
XXXXX
Back out on the rink Kaneda was feeling relaxed for once. Sure, this didn't solve anything, but his troubles were out of his mind for the moment. His reprieve didn't last long. One quick glance reminded him of Shampoo present mood, and it drained most of the recently built up energy right out of him.
Akane was also looking, taking note of the shifting moods of her sister. She looked back over at Shampoo with a glare. "Why can't she be miserable on her own time?" Akane asked as she stopped next to Ranma, who had finally joined them on the ice. Ranma looked at her quizzically, forcing Akane to elaborate. "Shampoo, she's sitting there moping and dragging Kasumi down with her."
Ranma shrugged, and turned his attention to Shampoo as well. "Well, she is stuck in a marriage with a woman. Like you would be happy."
Akane scowled, but then countered, "Doesn't stop her from trying to force this marriage on Kasumi, does it?"
"No, I suppose not," Ranma consented. "Not much we can do about it right now though."
Akane turned her glare on Ranma. "Geez Ranma, don't you care at all about how Kasumi feels?"
"Of course I do," Ranma countered. "But what do you expect me to do about it? I don't have a magical cure up my sleeve you know." Akane nodded in reluctant agreement. "Look, all you need to do is get Kasumi's mind off of Shampoo, so why don't you go distract Shampoo then? Get her doing something so she doesn't have time to mope." Ranma suggested. Akane turned back to look at the Amazon in consideration then nodded.
XXXXX
Shampoo was suddenly shocked out of her stupor when a pair of skates dropped down on the table in front of her with a loud clatter. She looked up to see Akane frowning at her. "What you want?" Shampoo asked, looking back at the rink.
"Put those on." Akane ordered much to Shampoo's surprise. When Shampoo didn't instantly react, Akane grabbed the skates back up, and took the seat next to Shampoo. "Look, if you want to feel sorry for yourself, fine, but you're ruining Kasumi's mood at the same time and that's not fine. Now, you can either put these on, and try to relax, or I'll sit here pestering you. So, which will it be?"
Shampoo scowled, infuriated at being ordered around. Her fist balled up, but she let it relax after a second. Akane was now family and it would do her no good to attack her. Plus, she had to admit, she was sitting around like a lump. She took a long look at the skates, then back out at Kaneda. With a determined look, she finally grabbed the skates off of her sister in law and began putting them on. Akane nodded in satisfaction, and waited till Shampoo was finished. "Have you ever skated before?" Akane asked, and Shampoo shook her head in response. "Okay then, I'll help."
Getting to her feet, Akane lead Shampoo out to the ice, and had almost identical results as she had with Kaneda's first try. "This is stupid," Shampoo mumbled, looking around to ensure her slip hadn't been seen.
"Wait until you get the hang of it, then you can call it stupid," Akane commented, and continued leading Shampoo onto the ice.
XXXXX
Across the rink, immersed in a crowd of women, Mikado Sanzenin was considering his present tally. Hmmm, 998. Just two more and I'll make the thousand mark, he thought with a smile. Problem was he had exhausted all the girls... Well, all the decent ones that is. The man of his caliber had to have some standards. What he really needed was someone fresh. He needed someone who was vulnerable, and most importantly, beautiful.
He didn't have to look very long before several prospects skated into view. One was skating about like an accomplished master, pulling off double axles like they were child's play. She certainly had the looks, and she was new, but not really vulnerable. However, there was a certain other two, one less accomplished, although still fair, and the other barely able to stand on her own. The last one fit the bill perfectly, and given a little work he could probably get both, maybe even all three, but that was probably pushing it. Besides, there was always tomorrow. Best to start small then work on getting the other two. Now all he needed was a little accident...
Mikado eyed the other skaters for someone appropriate, and one particular boy, obviously an amateur, looked just right. With a smile Mikado excused himself from his fan club and skated leisurely off, his demeanor perfectly innocent.
XXXXX
"Oh, there he goes. I told you he'd try for her," Yoko said with a nod. "How much do you want to bet he'll use some unfortunate shmuck as a distraction?"
"Nothing, thank you," Nabiki replied. "Question is: what do you think his chances are?"
Hinichi and Yoko examined their target in detail, considering, while Nabiki sat back sipping at her drink that Tsubasa had just gotten for her. His attention was also now on the ice, in an apparent attempt to try and add something to the discussion. Wasn't much chance at that. Yoko and Hinichi were probably the best observers around, save herself.
"An Amazon, not exactly in the best of moods, I say she clobbers him before he even gets close." Hinichi finally concluded, but Yoko shook her head in disagreement.
"No, she's got other targets for her anger right now. Looks like she's got an interest in your cousin Nabiki? What's up with that anyway?"
"Unfortunately private family business, but you're warm," Nabiki replied.
"Well, then I say she'll might just go along with him as long as he doesn't get too fresh. Mikado's not a total idiot. He'll keep it low key for the first few minutes, playing on her lack luster skating ability to try and win her confidence."
"Really?" Tsubasa asked, intrigued.
"Oh yeah, just look at her. She's just dying to get some of Kaneda's attention. Jealousy is a lovely technique. Of course, it counts on the subject being interested..." Yoko said, giving Nabiki a questioning look, but Nabiki gave no reply. "Well, anyway, that probably will only last till he tries something serious, at which time he's a goner."
Hinichi pointed out to the ice. "Oh, here he goes..."
XXXXX
Kaneda was finally back in semi high spirits, and silently thanking Akane. Today had turned out fairly well after all. Now if only- His thought was cut off abruptly, when a sudden bump from behind sent him reeling off balance, right toward Akane and Shampoo. He barely had time to call out a warning before he smashed directly into Akane, sending both her and himself to the ice. Shampoo, meanwhile, was sent sliding backwards.
Shampoo wind milled her arms desperately to keep her balance. Of course, being occupied with that meant she'd didn't have the concentration to spare on stopping her uncontrolled slid. Fortunately that proved unnecessary, as she was brought to a sudden halt and found herself held by a strange boy, who was smiling at her.
"You seemed to be having some difficulty," he said, lifting her off the ice and into his arms. "I hope that you are well."
Shampoo looked the boy in the face, momentarily caught up in his smile. "Shampoo fine," she said after a couple seconds, and then, finally noticing her present position, released herself from his grip and dropped to the ice, where she once more slipped and fell onto her behind. She snarled silently to herself in frustration, imagining just what kind of an embarrassing display she was putting on, but then found the boy taking her by the hand and helping her back to her feet.
"There now, you really shouldn't feel embarrassed. Ice skating is like any other skill, it takes time to learn, and a few bumps. Perhaps you would allow me the honor of instructing you in some of the finer points of skating," he continued, never for an instant losing his smile, but Shampoo felt something was a bit off here. Her suspicions were tossed aside at seeing Makoto at Kaneda's side once more, helping him to regain his footing. The effort seemed to involve a lot more close contact then Shampoo felt was really called for. She felt a wave of jealousy flood over herself.
"Okay," She responded, looking back at the boy. His eyes seemed to gleam with the response and he started leading her around the ice.
XXXXX
"See, what did I tell you," Yoko said in triumph.
"Lucky guess," Hinichi countered. "Not like this is doing us much good anyway. Hey, do you think Kaneda would beat him in a fight?"
Nabiki shook her head. "Kaneda's a darn good martial artist, but a lousy skater. He'd probably lose unless Mikado is stupid enough to fight him off the ice. Of course, my cousin would probably never start a fight deliberately... Oh, ready your books girls because we just may have a real fight on our hands," Nabiki said, spotting a particular girl entering the rink side area.
XXXXX
Across the way Ranma had skated over to lend a hand, and he and Makoto were helping Akane and Kaneda back to their feet. "Where's Shampoo?" Kaneda asked with some concern, scanning the crowd on the ice.
"That jerk who knocked into you is with her," Makoto said, pointing out the pair at the other end of the rink. "I bet he did it on purpose too. Some people can be so low." She looked back at Kaneda and noticed him staring at the pair intently for a moment. "Do you know him or something?"
Kaneda broke the look and addressed Mako, "No, I-"
"Hey, Akane, isn't that the guy that was with Azusa at the Vet's?" Ranma asked.
Akane took a long look then nodded. "Yes, I think you're right. Maybe he's her brother... Speaking of the party in question," Akane said, spotting Azusa skating up to the pair. Azusa jumped into the air, and smashed Mikado across the head with a fist as she passed, knocking him to the ice. Without the added support Shampoo soon followed. Azusa then spun around and moved in to confront Shampoo.
Seeing this Kaneda skated off to intervene, while Ranma just glared at Azusa. "Akane, go over there and hit her for me," he said after a second.
"What? Why should I? It was your dog. You do it."
Ranma considered then shook his head. "I don't hit girls... as much as I'd like to in this case." He let out a low growl then skated slowly after Kaneda. "But I can give her a piece of my mind."
"Careful, you don't have a lot to spare," Akane called after him.
"Ha, ha, very funny," Ranma said dryly in reply.
"What did she do to his dog?" Makoto asked, and Akane started explaining as events unfolded before them.
XXXXX
"Where is Azusa's Charolette you mean girl?" Azusa demanded of Shampoo who was still prone on the ice. "Azusa wants her back."
"Was not your dog. Go away, before get hurt." Shampoo shot back, but realized she was not quite in the position to make threats. Azusa was no less aware of this, and giggled.
"You hurt Azusa!" She said derisively, "Azusa doesn't think so, not this time. You can't even stand up. Maybe Azusa should show you how to really skate." She said, and began circling around Shampoo like a shark, making Shampoo all the more angry at her predicament.
Before anything could happen though Kaneda arrived and placed himself between Azusa and Shampoo. Azusa stopped and briefly glared at Kaneda for interfering. "Who are you?" Azusa asked then examined him more intently. "You were there too, weren't you? You mean people, stealing Azusa's little Charolette. Azusa wants her back!"
"Hey you, you're the one that stole her, not us!" Ranma yelled as he came up.
"Azusa did no such thing. Azusa just answered your ad."
"Yeah, and you expect me to believe she was your pet? Yeah, right."
Mikado, now recovered, was the next to come in, going behind Kaneda to snatch up Shampoo. Kaneda looked behind him to see what was going on and Azusa took advantage of this, quickly knocking one of Kaneda's feet out from under him, and then as she was racing after her partner, elbowing Kaneda in the abdomen as he fell for good measure. Ranma rushed to his side to help.
"Why that little..." He growled out while helping Kaneda back to his feet.
XXXXX
"My dearest apologies for the interruption. My partner-" Mikado began to say, bringing the surprised Shampoo in uncomfortably close, when Azusa cut in, grabbing him by the hair.
"Mikey! How could you? She and her nasty friends stole Azusa's Charolette, and she even hit poor Azusa. She's a mean girl!"
"Not like I haven't thought about doing the same thing a few times," Mikado mumbled, pulling his hair free of Azusa's grasp, not noticing Shampoo's eyes narrowing angrily at being held so close. "Do you mind, I'm trying-" He began before stopping Shampoo's fist with his face.
Shampoo managed to maintain her footing this time as Mikado crumpled to the ground, and turned on Azusa, fury in her eyes. This was really too much. First that blasted girl at the restaurant barging in where she wasn't wanted, and then Shampoo being forced to look like a fool on these stupid skates, and finally that jerk getting fresh with her. Well, she needed to blow off some steam, and Azusa had just offered herself up.
Shampoo pointed an accusing finger at the figure skater. "Azusa Shiritori, prepare to meet your maker!" Shampoo blinked at the words, not having said a one of them, and then she was once again knocked to the ice as the real culprit rushed by, giant battle spatula at the ready. Azusa was caught equally off guard by the new attacker, and barely managed to dodge as Ukyo brought down her spatula for an attack. It was a good thing too, for where the spatula impacted, not only the ice cracked and shattered, but the concrete below it too.
"Who are you?" Azusa shouted in surprise, and not without a little fear, as she retreated to a safe distance, but Ukyo replied only with another attack. Azusa dodged this one as well, and began to retreat once more with Ukyo in hot pursuit.
"All right! Go get that brat Ukyo!" Ranma cheered as the others skated over.
"What does Ukyo have against Azusa?" Akane asked, pulling Shampoo up straight.
"Beats me, but I'm lov'in it!" Ranma replied, and continued to cheer on Ukyo.
"What Azusa ever do to you?" Azusa shouted over her shoulder, avoiding another downward slice from Ukyo spatula, some fear showing through her usual girlishly happy expression.
"Never mind that! Stand still!" Ukyo yelled out angrily after another swing and miss. She had been doing a fairly good job of keeping her footing, but finally the slick surface got the better of her and she slid to the ground and into the boards, barely managing to keep her hat on in the collision. Azusa took the momentary reprieve to stand up Mikado and hide behind him.
"Mikey, you have to save Azusa from that crazy girl," Azusa pleaded, shaking her partner frantically.
"What? What? What's going on?" Mikado asked, trying to clear out the cobwebs, then took in his partner's attacker. "Well, well, well, I seem to be having real luck today."
"Get out of the way if you know what's good for you." Ukyo ordered as she approached.
"Now, now, perhaps we can work this out like calm-"
"Shut up!" Ukyo said in exasperation. "I got a score to settle with your girlfriend, so move it!"
"Girlfriend? Oh please, she is but my partner. However, being my partner I cannot allow you to hurt her," Mikado replied, saying the last without much enthusiasm.
"Come on man! Get the hell out of the way!" Ranma said, skating up next to Ukyo, causing her to finally notice his presence and radically shift from infuriated to nervous. "It's no business of yours."
"Ah, but it is. Perhaps if you would tell me of the wrong she has done you."
"I... Well..." Ukyo began, but fortunately Ranma spoke up.
"That little brat not only stole my dog, and drugged her, but she also dyed her fur PINK! She deserves what she gets!"
"Ah... Yeah!" Ukyo added, some of her anger returning.
Azusa regained some of her composure, and came out from behind her partner. "That was Azusa's little Charolette. You give her back to Azusa!"
"Like hell lady!" Ranma snapped back. "If you weren't a girl..."
"Azusa is not afraid of you." Azusa said then stuck out her tongue, causing Ranma and Ukyo to ball up their fists.
Mikado held up his hands in a peacemaking gesture, but clearly wasn't much moved by Ranma's accusation. "A great tragedy indeed, but what is done is done." Ranma growled at the dismissal and started skating in a circle to keep himself from attacking. Ukyo was far less reserved.
"I'll show you what's done!" Ukyo shouted, raising her battle spatula for an attack but Azusa quickly lost her nerve and once again retreated behind Mikado. "Stop using him as your shield, you coward! Get out here and face me!"
Azusa vigorously shook her head, and pleaded with her partner. "Mikey!"
"All right, all right," Mikado moaned out then addressed Ukyo. "Well miss, if you insist on a battle, then perhaps you would be willing to make a formal challenge to meet us in a Martial Arts Figure Skating match."
Ukyo growled out in frustration. "Whatever, let's get on with it!"
"Wait, this is paired skating. You'll need a partner."
Ukyo slammed her spatula onto the ice in annoyance, then without looking shot her hand out to the side to grab Ranma. "He'll be my partner. Now, let's go!"
"This is to be a formal duel. We'll have it in one week's time at Kolholz highschool. Agreed?"
"Yeah, yeah, fine." Ukyo reluctantly agreed. She really wanted to take out her frustrations right now, but she'd just have to wait.
"Very well then... Hmm, perhaps we should have a prize."
"Prize! What do we need some stupid prize for?"
"Well, a duel is really meaningless without some kind of prize for the victor. You name what you want, and we shall name what we want. Fair?"
Ukyo glared at the pair for a long moment then grinned evilly. "Fair." Ukyo quickly produced an okonomiyaki, wrote her demands, and tossed it to Mikado. "That's what I want."
Mikado scanned the script, raising an eyebrow at the end then tossed it over his shoulder into an unsuspecting spectator's face before Azusa could see. "Very well, but if we win, then you must grant me a kiss."
Ukyo withdrew slightly at the idea. "Kiss?"
"Why yes. A kiss from such a fine young woman as yourself would be worth more than any mere possession."
Ukyo frowned, but finally nodded. "Yeah, whatever, fine, a kiss."
"What about Azusa's little Charolette?" Azusa interjected.
"Isn't it that other-" Mikado began to explain.
"Charolette!"
"Fine, fine, and the dog too," Mikado added.
This time Ukyo had to consider hard. Being stuck with that nutcase would be a living hell. But, then again, there was no way she was going to lose, and she so wanted her prize. And besides, she could promise to give herself, but that did not mean she had to stay afterwards. "All right."
Mikado was a little surprised at the answer, but then nodded. "Good, then it's settled. We will meet again in one week. Till then." With that Mikado turned and skated off, Azusa following close behind him.
"Just you wait." Ukyo muttered, then turned to her partner, and nearly had puppies. Instead of Ranma, she had somehow managed to grab Kaneda, who was now sheepishly smiling at her. Ukyo quickly released her grip and started yelling. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"I didn't do anything," Kaneda protested. "I was just coming up to stop the fight when you grabbed me. Honest."
Ukyo cast a glance at the others, who shrugged, then looked down at the ice in anger. "Great, just bloody great." She muttered once more then looked back up at her new partner. "Just... Just... Stay out of this. This is my fight, and I swear if you mess it up, I'll... I'll..."
"I won't, I promise." Kaneda quickly said, raising his hands to ward off Ukyo's anger. Ukyo glared at him for a moment longer then turned and stalked off the rink, or at least tried to. She ended up looking a little like an offended penguin as she gingerly made her way off the slippery ice. Just as she left the ice Kaneda shouted. "Do you even know how to skate?" Ukyo winced, but continued off without answering. "Oh dear."
"Ah, would someone mind telling me why the hell Ukyo agreed to give away Ryouko!" Ranma asked in a loud voice. "She's not hers." Kaneda looked at Ranma, considering how to respond, but the topic of conversation was sharply changed when a pair of arms wrapped around Kaneda neck from behind.
"Darling, it's so wonderful to see you!" Kodachi gushed and she hugged Kaneda in close from behind.
Although there were a variety of various reactions to this, Ranma's was the most pronounced. "Kodachi, what do you think you're doing?"
"Oh, Ranma, you're here too." Kodachi droned out with a frown, then smiled and hugged Kaneda, who was noticeably disturbed by this, even tighter. "I'm just saying hello to my new boyfriend."
"I am not-" Kaneda began, grabbing hold of Kodachi's arms and removing himself from her hold, but got drowned out by Ranma.
"BOYFRIEND? But, she... she's a girl!" Ranma blurted out, not thinking.
"Idiot," Akane mumbled, as this information gained Ranma some very odd looks from both Kodachi and Makoto.
"Girl? What kind of a fool are you Ranma?" Kodachi asked. "I had thought you at least knew the difference between boys and girls by now."
"Yeah, what are you talking about?" Makoto added, casting an angry glance Kodachi's way.
Ranma opened his mouth to explain, but his brain finally kicked into gear to inform him of a slight difficulty when it came to proof. He struggled to recover, but finally sighed in frustration. "Oh, never mind," he said, then skated off.
"Sometimes he can be such a fool. Now, Kaneda, where were we?" Kodachi said.
"No where. I thought I told you... Where's Shampoo?" Kaneda asked, looking frantically around for the Amazon. He spotted her angrily taking off her skates and marching out of the rink, passing by Nabiki and her friends who were busy counting money recently gained from various people rink side much to Tsubasa's amazement. "Shampoo, wait!" Kaneda called out, but once more found Kodachi draped all over him.
"Oh, don't worry about her darling. Besides, we have so much to tell one and other."
"Kodachi, let go!" Kaneda pleaded, again trying to release himself from her embrace but encountered more resistance this time. Makoto watched this with a confused expression that changed to a slight scowl as she witnessed Kaneda's efforts to free himself.
Shampoo paid no mind to Kaneda's cry. She knew if she stayed a moment longer she would make a fool of herself. To fight over a man was bad enough. To fight over a man who was not even a man was worse, but to fight over someone and lose because you were so out of control that you gave up all the advantage to your opponent was the mark of a fool.
She had no chance of winning in this setting. Not in anything less then a death match, and mad as she was, she knew that was not truly an option here. Later she would discuss his actions with Kaneda. Like it or not, he was her husband, and a husband did not humiliate his wife in public. She would also make time to discuss appropriate behavior with Kodachi. She smiled to herself. If she was not looking forward to the confrontation with Kaneda, she most definitely was looking forward to the one with Kodachi.
XXXXX
Outside the rink, and on the way back to the Tendos', Ukyo was slowly beating her head against the broad surface of her giant spatula. Why did these things always happen to her? She was doomed. She knew it. Kasumi simply couldn't be trusted. No doubt he'd sabotage the match, engineer it so Ukyo was trapped into giving that jerk his stupid kiss, and then was obliged to give herself over to the wacko for God knows what kind of treatment. Knowing Kasumi, he'd also make it look all perfectly innocent, and get off without any blame, as usual. Then there was the fact she'd never skated before in her whole life. Yep, she was doomed.
"You really shouldn't do that. It's not good for your head," an old woman's voice said from Ukyo's side, causing her to stop her self inflicted beating and look to the side, to see Cologne balanced on her staff a few feet away.
"What do you want?"
"I want many things, but only a few concern you. I've been keeping a careful watch of the Tendos, and son-in-law, and have seen a couple things, if you know what I mean." Ukyo immediately paled at the implication. Cologne smiled. "Fear not, I have no intention of revealing your little secret. If you are interested in the boy, that is your concern. Mine is Kasumi Tendo, and his marriage to my great granddaughter."
"Okay, what about it?" Ukyo asked, relieved but suspicious.
"You made a certain promise I believe, to keep Kasumi as he is."
"Yes I did."
"Well, if you were sincere about that promise I may have use for you."
Ukyo scowled. "Look... what should I call you?"
"Cologne will do."
"Cologne, look, I'm not someone's lackey, you got that? I don't care if our interests are the same-"
"You misunderstand me. I do not wish for you to serve me. I wish merely an exchange of sorts. You supply your efforts to ensure Kasumi stays a man, and I shall provide you with a little training to make that easier."
Ukyo interest suddenly peaked. "Training?"
"Yes, I know a few tricks that might help you. As I see it, you're almost as good as he is."
"I am-" Ukyo began to reply in anger, but Cologne cut off the protest.
"Yes, yes, but in any case, with my training you will have a definite edge on him. Isn't that what you want?"
Ukyo felt suddenly giddy with excitement. This was just too good to be true. She'd finally be able to get that parasite for good, and prove that she was better. Finally there would be no doubt about who was the superior. Even this stupid skating match would be hers to win. And, on top of that, she would get Kasumi away from Ranma for good. "I think you have yourself a deal."
End Chapter 15
Hmmm, I'm not sure where I fished up those names for Nabiki's friends. I've been trying to correct naming errors as I go along, but unfortunately I can't confirm these names are correct which leads me to suspect these two were never named and I just made some names up. However, if anyone could point me to a source for their names that would be great but don't get Nabiki's friends confused with Akane's friends.
Okay, this is the end, stop reading.