Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Chapter 18

"When you're stuck in square one..."

Thirty minutes later

The crowd was restless, voices arguing with one another and at the soldiers, for not being allowed out. A radioed order and half the soldiers left the gymnasium ten minutes after Nabiki's display. The light had vanished at about that time.

The girl in question was being stared at by many people, though her family kept any onlookers that, just looking. Lime had already appeared to bring her in, so him hiding now was pointless. He stood near to Nabiki, and growled at angry glares. He mellowed somewhat when Kasumi sat next his charge, especially since she offered him some tea. He blushed manically and managed to keep his request for gropage from automatically leaving his lips.

"I know that I saw him, sis..." She restated for the fifth time.

"Well, as long as you're sure... I did only ask once." Kasumi felt her own sweatdrop vanish. "There's no way to check what's happening though..."

Nabiki nodded quickly, and then paused. "Wait a sec... There is..." She looked up at the tiger man. "Lime." He bent down so he could hear her better, not that he needed to. "Get Sarutoru here, and get him to follow you in stealth form."

Lime frowned for a moment and nodded. He jogged off to where he left the other two at their empty room, and returned a minute later.

Nabiki smirked at Lime's shadow; she could tell it wasn't normal by the subtle quivering and ripples that dotted the surface. "Sarutoru, I have a mission for you, get to the source and find out anything you come across, get samples of anything that seems odd, and report back to me."

As if a pebble fell into the black inky pool, circular rings of water passed from the centre of the shadow. It began to subtly move from other heavy shadows, eventually reaching the soldiers at the door, before it slipped away beneath the door to the outside and disappeared.

Nabiki sighed. "I know that he's probably gone by now... But there's still a chance he's stayed there." Very unlikely though...

Lime shrugged. "Well, I'm sure that the monkey can do his job well enough..."

"I hope so..."

Thirty minutes later

Nabiki looked to her sister. "Kasumi, are you okay?"

The serene look didn't waver. "Yes, I've just noticed how bright it is outside."

So focused on waiting fro news from Sarutoru, Nabiki didn't realise that the light that beamed into the gymnasium was permanent, and of real sunlight.

"What...? But that means..."

A subtle prodding from beneath her awoke her fully. Her shadow was now much darker. Nabiki smirked. "I'm going to go for a walk, Kasumi, tell daddy that I'm not running away, I'll just be over with my friends."

She nodded back. "Okay, have fun, Nabiki!"

Nabiki walked off with Lime in tow, as he led her to the area which they reserved for themselves. Soon they arrived; a cross-legged Monlon sat in the middle, holding the box in her lap.

"Nabiki, how are you?" She opened her eyes and they settled on the Tendo. "I hear Lime went out to save you."

Nabiki flushed a little, though the reason for that reaction evaded her. "Maybe I went a little overboard... I saw Ranma, and then I went a little wild..."

Monlon chuckled. "I can understand that, you have been searching for him for this long..."

Nabiki shook her head of her temporary insanity. "Anyway, I asked Sarutoru to look for something." She angled her back and downwards. "What have you got for us?"

The shadow slurped away from Nabiki, and morphed into a standing figure, arms slightly hanging from the front, and colour restored Sarutoru to his full glory. "I immediately headed for the direction that all the soldiers ran to. In my shadow form I was able to reach there first as the winds were still strong." He paused. "It was centred on a small park, or what used to be one. There was a deep trench throughout, from the outskirts circling around to the middle."

Nabiki swallowed hard. "A spiral..."

Sarutoru agreed. "Yes, and very hot too, the earth in that trench was burnt beyond belief, but only those parts, the rest of the grass wasn't affected." He coughed once. "I could sense the winds dying down, and the army moving in, so I got to work quickly." He pulled out two containers, one vial and another pouch made of leather. "There were the only materials I could find at the end of my investigation. I managed to disappear before the scout team arrived."

Nabiki took the pouch and opened it up; her heart skipped a beat at what lay inside. "Is this..." Sarutoru said nothing but closed his eyes momentarily. She pulled out the strips of material from the bag. "Red silk... Black cotton..." The tears that shore off the clothing were harsh. "Was Ranma attacked by someone? Why are these bits of his clothes around...?"

Sarutoru shrugged. "I cannot tell if there was a fight or not, the area was too devastated to get a full ki reading. The snow in the park evaporated fast from the heat, taking away any traces." He passed the vial over to her. "This may change things however..."

This time, Nabiki paled. Blood... Ranma's blood...? The liquid in the vial was dark red, with flecks of dirt floating about inside.

"My collection methods are vastly greater than anything in the modern world. By absorbing the blood into my shadow form, I can gather it into one place specifically, and leave no sign of it existing there. There are some impurities, but I was working at top speed, they can easily be filtered out at a later date."

"Where did you get this?" Nabiki shook the tube of blood.

"Around the edge of the spiral, there was a large splash, followed by some fall off drops from the point of impact."

"Impact?" Monlon asked, curious.

"The large blood spatter was from a very high fall, the remaining blood was from someone walking away."

Nabiki held her hand over her mouth. "R-Ranma was injured that badly?"

Lime, quiet until now, spoke up. "I saw what little you saw. A fall from that height would be painful, and dangerous. With the high winds and low visibility, many factors affect landing."

Nabiki shook her head. "No, even if he was blind and deaf, Ranma would be able to land, even in the middle of a tornado... Something must've happened to him..." But... Maybe Ranma can't survive something like that... Am I overestimating his abilities?

"Perhaps..." Sarutoru didn't elaborate further. "However, all we have to go on are these two things, some of his clothing, and most likely his blood..." Sarutoru was about to sit down before he raised a finger. "That's right; there was one other item..."

Nabiki lay back in the chairs they had. "Go ahead..."

"In the middle of the spiral there was a post, on the top of which was a chain attached to a cord of some kind. The end of the cord had a clip, but nothing else."

Nabiki scratched her chin. "That's weird... Just something else to wonder about I guess..."

"The final thing, which you will probably find out any minute now, the clouds have gone, and the weather has returned to normal."

"I see..." Nabiki looked up. Kasumi was right... The sun is out... "No more snow problems here then..."

A high pitched squeal echoed across the gym, causing some people to cover their ears. "Sorry about that..." A voice spoke out from the speakers high above the people, via the internal intercom. "This is Major Nobu. As you know, we are charged with relocating you to a new area for habitation. However, following the unusual disturbances that occurred an hour ago, the area of Nerima appears to have lost the heavy cloud, and the snow has stopped. As of this moment, you are free to return to your homes. We will be monitoring the situation closely and if any sign of the blizzard returns, we will inform you accordingly. Be warned that the streets are still icy and -"

"So, that's it then..." Nabiki smiled, feeling it was safe to ignore the rest of the message. "Nerima isn't in danger any more; the snow's gone for good."

"How can you be so sure?" Monlon asked.

"I just know..." Nabiki gave a wan smile back. "If there's anything I've learned it's to trust my instincts. Ranma made something huge; I doubt he did it for no reason. It was probably to kill the clouds."

Lime was dumbfounded. "What, you really think he did that!"

"Yes, I'm positive..." Nabiki stretched her arms over and behind her head.

The commotion around them grew as people began gathering their hastily packed bags and preparing to leave.

"Well, looks like I'm about to go home now, if you want you can escort me with my family, though I'd rather avoid too many questions about why you're with me."

Monlon and Sarutoru, the only two who hadn't been spotted by the Tendo's or any of the other martial artists nodded to themselves. "We'll be at a distance." Monlon began. "As you said, our presence would be a little disturbing. Lime here will be close to you as he's already known to be in the area."

Nabiki cocked her head to one side, thinking about the choice. "Okay, sounds like a good plan. I'll meet up with you two outside, I'm sure you'll be able to see me." Grabbing Lime's hand, she pulled him away. "Come on! Daddy's probably crying about me again..."

Lime let himself he dragged, the heavenly expression on his red face unnoticed by Nabiki.

An hour later
Behind the Tendo home

"Okay, I've dropped my bags off in my room; I think I'll stay here a bit before I go on looking."

"So that means we can stay with you until then?" Lime was already nodding eagerly.

"No... Nabiki drawled, as if talking to a child. Better let him down gently... "I think it's time you all went back home. I'm here now, safe and sound, and if I go travelling again, I shouldn't be leaving Japan."

Sarutoru and Monlon nodded, accepting the reason as it was, their own judgement figuring out that there was little reason for them to remain there.

Lime however, had a reason.

"Are you sure?" His eyes grew large. "There might be new enemies... Wild animals... Or worse!"

Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Care to share what those 'worse' things may be?"

"Ah... Uh..." Lime faltered. "I-I don't know... Something, there has to be something..."

She tapped him on the shoulder. "Look, I'm flattered and all, but this has to end now. I've already put you in trouble with Herb for having you stay with me since Nekonron -"

"Th-that doesn't matter!" He held a fist up in front of him. "I'll happily take his beatings to be with you longer!"

She shook her head slowly, tsking to herself. "Lime, you've got to understand that this is important to me, I have to keep on searching for Ranma."

His head fell a bit. "Why?" He looked up, tears streaming down his face. "You've never told me why! Is he so much more special than me!"

His shout reverberated throughout the air, as nearby birds fluttered away from the disturbance.

Nabiki thought for a long minute. "I... I don't know, why, honestly." Her smile was neither mocking nor fake, just true. "It's been bugging me for a while now. First I thought it was because he escaped from under my nose, and left his obligations behind. When I found out that there were no obligations left, my goal drifted to finding him, because I was the only one who knew him from all those who he lived around daily. Then I found his false grave... I almost gave up then, but I carried on. To find where he was, I had to meet people Ranma met, and beat, and also learn about him on the way." She paused, breathing a few times from her memory dump. "Now, I'm looking for him, for answers. I won't rest until then..."

Lime stood back, surprised by how candid she was. "You're not going to give up on him, are you?"

The context of his question wasn't expanded upon, but she responded to it. "No, I'm not." She stared at Lime. "Do you finally understand now? Have you got someone you'd walk to the ends of the earth for, even if they didn't want to be found?"

Lime edged his eyes away and nodded sullenly. He looked back at Nabiki to see her smiling at him directly.

"Like I've told you before, you're not my type. However... There's no reason we can't still be friends for life. What do you say to that? We can even meet each other when we're 'in the neighbourhood'."

Lime brightened up considerably, nodding vigorously. He furrowed his brow at seeing Nabiki hold up one finger.

"I like you Lime, so tell you what, I'll allow you to hug me, but just once, okay?"

His expression changed to gleeful, then serious. Uh-oh... His arms went around her, and he began to squeeze, making it last longer.

It took around ten minutes for Monlon and Sarutoru to pry his fingers off her now bruised shoulders. Cringing at her injuries, and shadows of the old wounds from her recent scuffle, she sighed. "Guess, I deserved that..." She gestured him over, and he walked over, afraid. She cupped her hand to his ear. "Hope you are gentler with the woman you finally meet." He blushed. "Keep an eye out for Monlon in China, without her lute she's pretty much without her weapons, and she's too proud to admit that. Make sure she remains safe." A subtle wink and he nodded obediently.

Sarutoru bowed to her. "I hope you succeed in your search. I'll inform Prince Toma of your current progress, should you wish to let him know of when you find Ranma Saotome."

"Thank, Sarutoru." Nabiki made a polite bow back.

Monlon strode up to Nabiki and smiled. "I wish you luck, Ranma seems like a good man, although he is..." Her words trailed off as she though of something.

Nabiki finished the line for her. "... A bit of a jerk, egotistical, loud-mouthed, inconsiderate, rude, and arrogant to top it all off." They both laughed in a female fashion, as both Sarutoru and Lime scratched their heads comically. "But there's one thing he's good in, being honest. He can't lie to save his life, or even his honour. Whenever he speaks about something on his mind, as naive as it may be, it's the complete and utter truth to him. That is a rare quality in any person..."

Monlon nodded with her eyes closed, probably reliving something in her past. Her expression grew warmer. "Take care of yourself; I and Lord Kirin will be interested to know how you fared in your travels."

She surprised the younger girl by hugging her briefly. Nabiki returned it to same extent.

Lime moved in fast once they broke up, but his planted into Nabiki's hand. "No way Lime, I think one hug is all I can take from you today."

Not disheartened in the slightest, he pulled back. "Tell me when you've found him, so that I can come and visit you!"

Oh boy... "Okay, but you'd better be with Herb; my Messenger can only reach him at the palace."

"No problem, I'll be near him at all times!" He beat his chest proudly.

Let's see if he can keep his hands off his 'princess'...

"Good, my last order for all of you, go home. Monlon needs to return the shipping boat, so go to Togenkyo first, then Nekonron, and finally the Musk." She smirked, and then frowned after a few moments. "Well, what are you waiting for? Get to it!"

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Lime saluted once, and ran off in the wrong direction. Monlon muttered something blue under her breath, as Sarutoru chased after him.

Nabiki left the empty land lot chuckling all the way.

Five minutes later
Tendo Home

"I'll get it!"

Nabiki cried, and ran for the door. Pulling it open, she saw a somewhat miffed person standing there.

"Well, if it isn't Taro, our not-so-friendly Jusenkyo cursed victim."

"Grr..." His head bore and anger cross. "Don't test my patience Nabiki Tendo..." He breathed hard and looked at her. "I'm here to speak to Happosai. Is he in?"

Nabiki nodded. "Yes, he's upstairs. I'll bring him down for you. Please wait here for a moment." She walked off. I had to sacrifice some underwear and bras to keep him around. The little perv... "Oh Happosai?"

"What is it? Have you more treats for me!" He sounded delighted, as he looked up from his recently ironed items.

"Well, if you follow me, you'll know in a few seconds."

She ran off down the steps, knowing that he was bound after her in no time, trying to enjoy his fun as long as possible. The wrinkled man halted suddenly at the figure in the doorway, and his ki started to flare up around him.

"So, this is my treat? A chance to fight?" His eyes centred on Pantyhose. "What waters have you cursed yourself with this time?"

Fighting back the urge to beat his head senseless, Taro stared into the man's eyes. "I would like you to come with me peacefully, so that I can change my name." His face twitched and he bowed down on his knees, arms on the floor in front of him. "Please, Happosai."

"Well now, I don- I mean, since you asked so nicely, how can someone like me refuse?" Happosai thrust his arms at his hips. "I accept. Just give me some time to pack some food." With that, the Grandmaster left the entrance hallway, to a stunned twosome.

"W-Wow..." Pantyhose returned to his full height. "I didn't believe that would work for me..." He jumped up fro joy. "Yes! I'm finally going to get my name changed!"

Nabiki closed her jaw. That must have been some powerful incense, if it makes Happosai turn nice... I'm glad I didn't go through that... She thought of herself for a moment. What was my suggestion, I wonder?

"Oh my, is there a guest?"

Nabiki turned to see her sister returning from the kitchen, clutching a knife and towel between her hands. A fleeting moment of fear passed through her.

"Nabiki, you should welcome the guest inside." She looked up to his face and saw who it was. "Is that Pantyhose Taro-san?"

The man in question growled mildly to himself, allowing the anger cross to simmer away. He opened his eyes to see Kasumi a few inches from his face, her eyes hard set.

"That's right; you were the boy who scarred my little sister. That reminds me... I owe you a lesson in how to treat a woman."

Her hands moved too fast for anyone to react in time. Nabiki held out a futile gesture, throwing out her own arms forward and making the short jump, to prevent the bloodshed.

"Me!" She poked him in the forehead, leaving a little mark of blanching skin where the fingernail rapped the surface.

Nabiki face faulted into the wooden floorboards, her hands now forming warding gestures.

"Don't hurt any girls like that again." Kasumi said, before stepping back and away, drying the knife as she went.

Pantyhose stood there, his fear multiplied from the hidden meaning behind her remark, and he began to burn up, not wanting to suffer another reprimand from her again. He bowed three times, saying 'Sorry' each time. Nabiki almost wanted to laugh, but felt that it would ruin the impact.

Kasumi returned a few seconds later, a glass of tea in her hands. "I'm sorry about earlier, I shouldn't have overreacted. Please accept this tea as a peace offering between us." She bowed politely.

Pantyhose muttered a 'Thank You' before gulping down the hot tea in quick bursts. He felt his throat heat up, and he looked down at his glass in mild horror.

Nabiki leaned in and muttered casually. "Poison from her would be too easy. Watch yourself. Always be kind and nice to her, and nothing will happen."

His cocky and arrogant grin resurfaced. "Are you sure...?"

Nabiki nodded. "Don't try anything either, or else there'll be hell to pay."

His manner relaxed greatly, and he folded his arms. "Whatever..." His smirk died halfway when he saw Kasumi smiling at him obliviously.

Happosai had arrived, his bag of swag now filled with food and essentials for the journey. "Let's hurry then! Transform fast before the army around here sees you, and head high up, we can use the dusk to our advantage!"

Nodding, Pantyhose stepped outside and frowned at the lack of nearby water. Kasumi also joined them, with a bucket of water in her hands.

"I think you'll need this."

"Th-thank you..." He frowned for a second. "... Kasumi."

She was still smiling. "You're welcome, Pantyhose Taro-san."

"For now, call me Taro, my weird name will change soon."

"What's weird about it?" She asked as an aside to Nabiki, as he poured the water over himself, and allowed the change to tear his clothing apart. Happosai climbed onto his back, and grabbed on to two of the tentacles.

"Go on! Up!" The old man shouted.

Pantyhose obliged, and flew.

"Bye!" Kasumi waved. "Good luck with your new name!"

The monster paused in mid air as he heard her, and sheepishly waved back after several seconds of thought, his dark brown fur hiding the blush on his cheeks.

"You idiot!" Happosai cried out. "Keep moving!"

The shouts and subsequent shooting sounds lasted for a few minutes, as the two vanished into the night.

One week later

Nabiki smirked to herself, causing a few people on the street, some previous victims of her, to shirk away. I think now's about the right time for it...

She placed a hand on her satchel, with the sample of cooled blood and torn bits of clothing in it. I only have one chance now... And it's a long shot as well...

She looked up to the sky, a vibrant blue for the time of year. I was right, the bad weather has gone, now it's back to normal. She looked at the street sign to check she was on the right path, and went on. She rubbed her shoulder. Damn, I swear that it still hurts... Lime really crushed me that time...

She jingled the cash in her pocket, a payback from her new bets she left for Natsuko, involving Ryoga, Akane and Kuno. It went well for a week, before Ryoga disappeared, lost from Nerima. And arriving at Kirin's palace... She looked at the numbers on the homes and found the right house. Ringing the bell she waited.

All my chickens in one basket... As she asked to see her friend, the two sickly looking parents were delighted and ushered her in. She made her way upstairs and burst into the person's room without knocking.

"Wh-Who is it...?" The boy froze in horror. "No... It can't be you, you left!"

"Yes, I did..." She raised her eyebrow in amusement at his discomfort, and as he brought his weapons to bear. "But I'm back, for how long depends on your answers."

A flurry of movement and she caught the little stake in between her index and middle finger, then flicking it back to the boy, surprised at how it embedded itself into his propped up pillow, scant inches from his face. Whoops, didn't mean to go that far... Oh well, never mind...

She crawled up onto his bed and gave a malicious smirk, revelling in his pure fear.

"You have a debt to pay, Hikaru Gosunkugi."

---
Author's Notes

Yes, I have seen Dead Man's Chest, that line was too good to pass up.

I actually had Pantyhose a bit more docile in this section, even afraid of Kasumi, but after doing my usual 'read from the character's POV', I noted that he was far too arrogant to be constantly fearful of any person too long. Then again, he's afraid of Nabiki... Perhaps I made him too subservient to her...

So, Lime's gone, and with him the rest of the N(abiki)WC. It was fun writing three people who rarely a look in edgeways at being in stories, so it was both a challenge and unique to me. I'm wondering if my interpretation of them has changed your own impressions of how they can be used. If even one person likes the personality behind the name, then I feel that I have succeeded.

Two more chapters to go, the end is in sight...

- J