Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Chapter 20

"Is this it? The end of the rainbow?"

One second later

A hand reached down from the smoke. "Are you okay?"

Nabiki narrowed her eyes. This isn't Ranma... She moved away from him and stood up under her own power. "Who are you?"

"Perhaps I should show myself then...?" The man remarked sarcastically. A sudden wind towards him was generated, as Nabiki gasped, again trying to defend herself with her arms. However, nothing happened, and she could now see a crescent blade heading up towards the sky, sucking away all the smoke with it.

I see... He created a vacuum blade... "So, you must be Ryu Kumon..."

The man nodded. "That's me..." He looked at the girl curiously. "Hey, I know you..." he held his head, thinking hard before clicking his fingers. "That's it; you're from the Tendo Dojo, aren't you?"

"Yep, I'm Nabiki Tendo." She bowed lightly. "Pleased to meet you."

"Ah..." He blushed slightly, returning it. "Same to you."

"Were you in town around two days ago?" Her thumb was pointing in the general direction she came from.

Ryu sat down on a log near the fire. "Yeah, I needed some supplies that you can't get in the forest... Why?"

Nabiki joined him and sat opposite on another log. She slapped her face in disgust. How could I have been so stupid? That man couldn't even read the price tags of his own products! Let alone looking at a photo... She looked up at Ryu and saw him staring her, puzzled. Still, in his own way, he does look a bit like Ranma, without the pigtail...

"Oh, no reason..." She answered him. "Case of mistaken identity." She looked about the campsite. "Looks like you've been here for a while, setting up a home here?"

"Nah..." He laughed it off. "Nothing so grand, I'm just earning a living in the town, working in the fields."

"You're becoming a farmer?" Nabiki scoffed. "I thought you'd do something with martial arts..."

"I haven't forgotten that." His voice was cold. "I'm practising every day when I finish work. Why do you think there's a random clearing in the middle of these trees?"

Nabiki stopped smiling and looked at the ground. He's right; the soil hasn't been exposed to the sun for a long while... and there's some loose earth in certain places...

"You mean... You made this?"

Ryu stared at her with a bit of malice. "I never had the time before to bury my father honourably, the least I can do is get him a grave marker and maybe some shrine blessings." He turned away and faced his tent. "That's why I'm working."

Nabiki lost her buoyant mood. Ouch, that must hurt... She got up and looked at the fire, which had mostly extinguished itself from the vacuum he created earlier. Picking up some dry leaves and another small log, she threw them inside and smiled again as the bark caught some of the flame. She sat back.

"My apologies, Ryu." She stared at his back. "I didn't know you had a reason for working... I just imagined you would work in something better than farming."

He head raised a little, but his voice was still down. "I don't think there's anything out there for someone like me..."

"Oh?" Nabiki smirked. "I can think of plenty of places where your skills would come in handy."

His head tilted to the left sharply, then he hopped up, turning around in midair and sat in his original position, facing Nabiki.

"Could you please tell me them, I'd like any ideas..." His eager face and renewed fervour cheered Nabiki up, though she knew that his intentions for the money were for a solemn purpose.

Can't any of these knucklehead use their brains every now and then?

"Well, the most obvious choice is building and construction." She cocked her head wryly. From what Akane told me, he did hurt Ranma in one punch more than even Ryoga... "Now, you may be good at ploughing the fields, but with your massive strength you could probably pick up iron girders. What foreman wouldn't want someone like that?"

He scratched his head. "I guess you're right, I never thought about it like that." His face clouded over. "Maybe if I work there I can do a proper job on making homes, not like what those cowboy's did to our dojo..."

Uh oh, he's getting depressed again. "Look, I know that your dad died, but you have to get over it. Get a ceremony done for him and move on, otherwise you'll be missing many things..."

Ryu smiled a bit. "Yeah, I guess you're right, ever since I finished sorting out my revenge, I can relax."

"Good..." Nabiki felt something off inside herself, but wasn't sure why his comment bothered her. "You could also do a good job in demolition, what with that Yama-senken of yours..." She looked away, as if saying something she shouldn't have. "Sorry, I forgot you had sealed that away..."

His mouth moved, about to say something, before he looked up, a fake innocence blanketing his expression.

Wait a minute... She narrowed her eyes. "Some honour you have... You used the Umi-senken just now, didn't you? What happened to your oath?"

"Hey! My honour is fine!" He stood up, his face red with anger. "I have not broken the promise I made to Genma!"

"Oh?" She could already see him sweating in fear. "What about your promise to Ranma?"

"R-Ranma?" His cheeks twitched. "Who's that?"

Nope, not real this time. "You can't fool me, Kumon. I can see it in your eyes. You know Ranma Saotome, and not only that, you remember him, and that's what matters."

"I do not know him!" He folded his arms. "I have no idea of who you're talking about."

"Come now..." Nabiki waved her dismissal of his statement. "Don't be coy; I know you're holding out on me. Ranma erased everyone's memory of him in Nerima, but somehow I got out of it." She looked at him dead on. "From what I can gather, you've met him since then, and he told you something, right?"

Ryu peeked his eye open and sighed, slumping onto his makeshift seat. "Yeah, you're right... We did meet a while ago, must've been a couple of months now..."

Nabiki's eyebrow bounced up for a moment. "And, why did you meet him?"

He grinned a tad evilly. "It was by accident. He, or rather she, met me in the forest. I was still cutting down some trees when Ranma ran into me. She was riding some weird staff…"

His blush made it apparent that certain assets belonging to Ranma were unintentionally fondled by him. Nabiki didn't feel like teasing him about that, only replaying what he said. Sounds like the Kinjakan… "So, how many beatings did you get?"

Ryu at this point frowned. "That's the thing, she - I mean he - didn't, Ranma passed out."

"Passed out?" Nabiki also quirked her eyes. "That's strange, he couldn't been that tired from the trip, nor hurt from the fall..."

"Ranma was bleeding, and bad, that's why." Ryu sighed. "After I picked him up I saw loads of cuts on the hands, and a big wound in the stomach area. I carried Ranma to my tent and made him lie down inside, putting some bandages on the cuts and then ran into town to get some more first aid stuff for the stomach."

"Wow..." Nabiki bit her lip. That must have been just after he was there in Nerima... He didn't even stop to heal himself... "Did you manage to seal up the cut or whatever that was on the stomach?"

Ryu nodded. "Yes, it was just a very bad bruise that had opened out and blood was leaking, the whole stomach even p-part of the upper chest area had the bruise..."

So, Ranma landed on the front, and didn't even break the fall... "Thank you for taking care of Ranma, I don't think he ever went to treat himself after what happened in Nerima..."

"Did he cause the Nerima Miracle?"

"Nerima Miracle? What the hell is that?"

"The strange storm which was a combination of tornado, solar flare activity and lightning that got rid of the snow. That's what they're calling it on the news." He looked up. "Did he do that?"

Nabiki nodded sadly. "Yeah, that was him... I saw him fall from the sky, and all that I found later was blood..." Ryu was silent. "What happened when Ranma woke up?"

"That was the weird part..." He scratched his head. "He almost ran away, like he was afraid... I told him that everything was okay and that there was nothing to worry about. Once Ranma calmed down and looked at the bandages, he relaxed." He took in a few breaths to continue. "I helped him out of the tent and we sat by the fire together. Ranma was not well, so I insisted that he eat something... He was even having trouble holding the fork..."

This time, Nabiki couldn't hold back her laughter. "So, you decided to help out the helpless little girl by feeding her back to health, yeah?"

Ryu blushed madly. "It wasn't like that, and you know it!" He wiped the sweat off his face and grew serious. "Ranma hadn't said a word by now, then he spoke. He thanked me for the bandages. His voice was all sore, like he was having trouble to breath."

"The ribs... Ranma probably hurt them bad on the landing..."

Ryu agreed. "The bruises would show that. Anyway, Ranma said he was going to leave, but I stopped him, said that he should wait at least a week before moving any more in that condition."

Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "How did he take it?"

"He thought about it, looking around the place as if paranoid, then lay back on the ground." Ryu shrugged. "We spent a week here together, I left for work each day and was still surprised that Ranma didn't leave without my knowing... We didn't talk much at all..." He grinned. "He even caught some rabbits on the last day so we'd eat better."

Nabiki smiled. "That's good to hear." She leaned in closer. "Did Ranma speak to you at all about what happened in Nerima?"

"Not until the last day, she checked her cuts and stomach wound and saw the skin healed up just fine, then told me everything." He looked at Nabiki. "The wedding, the plan, and the leaving." Nabiki sat there quietly. "She made me swear on my honour never to tell anyone in Nerima about her."

"I take it you weren't too happy with that." She smirked.

"Why do you say that?" His face mimicked hers.

"Your techniques were unsealed, so you got Ranma's permission to use them."

"Yeah, but at a cost..." Ryu looked to his right, thinking about what he was told. "I'm not allowed to call them the Umi-senken, nor the Yama-senken. I also have to change the moves so that they're different to the one that Genma practises..." He looked back at Nabiki. "Ranma didn't mind me using them, but it was only because Genma remembers me that I have to be careful."

"Then Ranma left you?"

"Yes, she gave me back the bandages and went off that way on that unicycle thing, and I haven't seen her since."

Nabiki followed the line of where he indicated and quickly looked at her compass. Yep, that's in a Northerly direction alright... She played the conversation back in her mind and noticed a few irregularities.

"Why do you flick between using 'him' and 'her' all the time?"

Ryu sat back and looked up at the treetops. "In all the time we spent together, Ranma never used hot water to bring him back to normal. I asked him once but he said there was no point. I left it at that..."

"I see... Thanks for telling me..." Nabiki looked around the clearing. "So, you probably used your new Yama-senken to get rid of more trees, huh?"

"Yeah, I haven't thought of a new name for that school, same with the Umi-senken, move names will be easy to make up, but I need an overall one for the actual disciplines..."

"Hmm..." She pondered over ideas in her head. "Yama-senken and Umi-senken are direct opposites, one is direct and hard, the other subtle and soft..." She looked up. "I can't think of anything right now, but you need to come up with some complementary names, and make them catchy too." She grinned. "That way people will remember the style easier."

"Heh..." Ryu stood up and walked over to the kettle. "I suppose you're right. Would you like some tea?"

She looked around. "Is it safe? Those men are still around us..."

"Oh, don't worry about them, I knocked them out and dumped them in town, though I think throwing them that far may be a bad idea... You can also tell me about how you got that nasty scar on your forehead…"

"Okay, I'd love some Ceylon tea, if you have any. And be ready, it's a long story…"

Thirty minutes later

"So, got any new thoughts on where I could work? Construction is okay, but I feel I could do more..."

Nabiki took a look at his appearance. He still wore the bandanna, though his large fringe covered up most of it. His standard camouflage outfit was there, and held himself in a self-assured manner. His grin grew cocky. "What? Checking me out?"

She hmphed. "Hardly..." She chuckled at his ego deflating somewhat. "I just thought, you have the Umi-senken, why don't you use it to steal money from a bank? The cameras won't pick up your presence, all you need to do is get into the vault and make it out without forcing anything open."

"No way!" He stormed, pacing around in circles. "My honour would be stained forever, how can I get blessings for my father with tainted money?"

"Perfect!" Nabiki clapped her hands together. "I was just testing your reaction. You'd be a good policeman."

"A policeman?"

"Yeah, I heard the way you dealt with those guys, and they had guns. You'd be perfect. You have huge strength for breaking up fights, and maybe for the quieter patrols, you could get in and disable anyone with weapons, without a single fatality." She shook her head. "In fact, you'd be incredibly useful as a special forces officer, one trained for risky missions." She got up and sat next to him, nudging him. "Imagine what this would do for your reputation."

His eyes glowed a little, a semblance of hope returning to them. He looked at his clothes. "I never realised... All this time I've worn these combat trousers, and always dreamed of helping people somehow, but..." He clenched his hands. "With my fists..."

Nabiki nodded. "A dojo is a useful way of doing that, but as a soldier, or counter-terrorist, you can do more."

Ryu looked at her. "Thank you... I think I've finally found my vocation now... I can see myself happy doing that..." He grabbed her hands. "How can I repay you?"

She looked down at his grip. "Letting me go would be the first thing." He did so quickly, as if she burned him. She smiled. "The second would be to accompany me to the nearest bullet train station, I don't want to run into Anji again, not without a guard at least." She winked at him.

He didn't blush this time, only beamed with pride. "Of course! I'd be happy to!" He picked up her suitcase and slung it over his shoulder without noticing the weight of it.

Nabiki sighed. Great, another convert... Still, I guess that I give good advice at times...

Twenty minutes later
Train station

"Thanks for carrying that." Nabiki patted her suitcase stood next to her. "It was hell dragging it from my crappy hotel through the trees..."

"No problem..."

Ryu was acknowledging her, but also keeping an eye out of the local area. She could sense that he sent out ki feelers to detect the types of aura around him, perhaps to search for hostile intentions. Yep, he'll be perfect...

The announcement over the speakers declared that the next train was arriving. Nabiki held out her hand in a Western fashion.

"Well, good luck in your new job."

He accepted it and shook hands with her. "Thanks, you really helped me out."

She broke off the contact. "It was nothing, really." She paused at the loud roar of the train slowing passed. "Make sure you replant some trees there, okay? If you need to contact me, send a letter to my sister Kasumi, at the Tendo Dojo."

"Will do."

He lifted her suitcase and placed it inside the train. Nabiki pressed the button to close the door, and it hissed shut. She waved at him from the doorway, his confident expression reflected back. At the train pulled off, she watched the land pass by from the door, until she wanted to find her seat. However, she saw the ugly visage of Anji, having just got out of a car outside the station. He distinctly pointed at her, shouting something inaudible, before being lost in the urban sprawl.

She stored her suitcase in the lockers beside the door, and found her seat by the window.

I don't think I've seen the last of him...

One month later
Misawa

Ugh, not again... Nabiki rubbed at her leg. Those bastards hit hard... She pulled out some surgical spirit and dabbed at her bloody leg, a patch of skin was bruised and parts of it broken. At least he missed me mostly, still, a baseball bat hurts a lot... I can't believe Anji notified 'Him'...

Wrapping it up in another bandage, she tested her weight on it, and found that she would still walk, but with a slight limp. Maybe I need to invest in a gun now, of all things... She looked over at the key to her room. I hope this place too isn't owned by them... Of all people I don't think I can get away from 'That Man'...

She looked at the map of Misawa, large areas circled in black, then crossed out in red. Very few blocks were coloured blue.

The usual sources were more helpful... Apart from the futile quest to find a store that saw Ranma, she also attended other places, namely fighting arenas. Several months ago, someone has been dressed up in completely by a cloak, and fought in many fights, winning each one by knockout or submission. No one has seen the person's face, nor the real face. Since Tokyo there have been sightings in most cities of this fighter. Even now people can't get a description of what the person looks like, or what moves he or she uses.

She circled the recent blue marking. This was the last sighting, about eight weeks ago.

She placed a large black outline around the final area of Misawa, the south-western portion.

Now to search the last area...

She gathered her belongings into her bag, and left the room without a word.

Two days later

Nabiki breathed a sigh of relief. No attacks yet, maybe they don't know where I am yet... She looked to the edge of the city limits, the lake reflecting the sunlight behind. Past this point would be where the countryside begins, I have to look around more... She saw a small area similar to the street where the Nekohanten was, with a series of small shops selling various items. A brief sense of nostalgia brought her back to reality. No, this isn't Nerima... But it does have the same feel...

She cast her eyes over the citizens, and saw that most were happy and carefree. Some children were playing with masks, and there were streamers hanging from most shop fronts across the street itself. Maybe there's a festival coming up? Passing by the children, she walked into a small store, like most others she'd been to, selling little necessities one might need.

"Excuse me?" She asked the hunched over person behind the counter.

"Yes?" The figure stood up, though she was no taller than Nabiki. "How can I help you, young lady?"

Nabiki grit her teeth. Why is it these places are constantly owned by old people? Do the Gods hate me or what?

"Hello." She bowed politely. "I was wondering if I could ask your help, I'm looking for two friends of mine who've gone missing. I was hoping if you've seen either one of them..."

She held out the two photos and the woman took them. She squinted at them and spoke up after a moment.

"Sorry deary, just let me take out my glasses."

Removing her bifocal lenses, she placed the thin frame on her nose and scrutinised the images, lingering over the female photo the longest.

"I can't say if I've seen the boy, but the girl looks like someone who comes in here every few days..." She gave them back. "I think she came by last week to pick up some women's things."

W-Women's things! Nabiki blanched. This has to be another false lead. Everyone's seen people who look like Ranma, but each time it turned out to be a mistake...

"Okay, thank you for your time."

Nabiki left the store and looked out towards the street.

Better start the questioning...

The next day
West of Lake Ogawara

Nabiki was hiking up the hill, at small path between the blades of grass distinguishable against the moonlight. Her footsteps were squelching on the loose earth from the recent shower.

Her inquiries had been quite successful.

Well, most people didn't know exactly what the person looked like, but at least a dozen people saw her run off toward this direction... She grinned. Thank goodness I found out what was in this direction, some abandoned house when the owners died years ago. She felt for the reassuring throwing weapons that she kept in her bag. If the person is some squatter, they won't be happy I'm barging in like this, so I'll use them to run.

As she nearer the clearing, she grew more tired. Phew, this is hard work... She noticed the way the ascent grew meant that the moon was hidden by the hill in front of her, the lake vanishing too. Still, another few minutes of this, and it will all be over...

Finally, the path ended on the clearing, and the house could be seen. It looked old, the wood having grown old and dark with age. However certain portions of it were new, refurbished. The windows were still cracked, but the shutters seemed to be restored. The house even had an odd chimney on the top.

Nabiki breathed out slowly, taking in the sight. Doesn't look like much... She approached the house, leaving her bag where it was as she was already tired. Walking on the soft and dryer earth was soothing after the slippery harder rocks and stones on the path.

Looking forwards, she saw the door was slightly ajar, and light was pouring out onto the land in front of it. However, she didn't need to knock, as by now she saw something that made her heart stop.

The way Nabiki was standing resulted in the moon showing the full outline of the house chimney. It was an odd shape, partially because of the person leaning against it, facing away from her, staring at the lunar surface. A long thin bundle was sticking out of the person at a steep angle; she assumed the figure was holding on to it.

The only part that was illuminated in colour was the red hair and pigtail.

"Ranma..."

She took an involuntary step back and managed to crack the only twig in the clearing, which made a loud snap in the quiet of the night.

The person sharply turned her head and jumped off the roof to land softly in front of the bright doorway.

"Who's there!" She cried, getting into a battle stance.

Nabiki held a hand to her mouth and felt her legs quiver and give way beneath her. That voice... She fell to her knees, her arms shaking.

"Ranma... It's really you..." Her throat suddenly felt dry, and her croaky voice couldn't be cleared. She stood up shakily. "I've finally found you..."

The red-haired girl widened her eyes. "N-Nabiki?" The surprise was painfully evident in Ranma's voice. She moved towards the Tendo, the light now passing over her, once seen daily, features, removing all doubt. "Wh-What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

Nabiki could see that the Saotome honour blade was strapped to her back, still in its bundle wrapping. "I... I don't know why I'm here..." The loss of words to her did not come easy; she was struggling to make a single long coherent sentence. "I found you mostly through clues, and lots of luck."

Ranma looked down and only now Nabiki noticed that, nestled in the crook of one of his arms, was a small doll. Ranma was gently cradling it and even stroking it now and then. Doll? No... The light passed over it as the redhead shifted to the side. It's more like a... a teddy bear? She gasped. No... It's... It's the one from the festival! The brown fur seemed to be a little tattered, but it was still in good condition, the black buttons and stitched X for a nose were the only other distinguishing marks.

"That's a shame..." Nabiki snapped her eyes up sharply at Ranma's resigned tone. "I... I was supposed to leave without anyone remembering..." She sighed and tucked the teddy into her top, the head sticking out from the collar beneath her neck. "I have no other choice..."

Ranma flashed her hands behind and pulled out a small squeezable bottle and comb. Nabiki recognised the stance, and backpedalled.

"W-Wait… You're not going to…"

Ranma face crumpled, and her blue eyes grew moister. "I'm sorry about this…" She moved one step closer.

"No! Please hear me out!" Nabiki pleaded, her tears of joy now ones of fear and sadness.

Ranma's expression faltered at seeing the tears fly in midair. Closing her own pair, she flickered away from vision, the wind growing silent all around Nabiki.

"No…" This Umi-senken is powerful… She turned around constantly, but couldn't sense his lack of ki and sound, since the whole area was like that. "Please… Give me a chance…"

The sound returned with a rush, and she felt shampoo and the fingers of the comb running through her hair at an impossible speed. Several pressure points against her skin were pressed during this time.

Her eyesight wavered, and her eyelids were now heavier, and Nabiki knew this would be the last moment she would have awake.

"R-Ranma…" Her eyes were almost shut, the tears collecting at the glands. "I… I…"

Nevertheless, she spoke no more.

For her eyes had closed…

---
Author's Notes

Hmm, I wonder how I should end this? Perhaps I shouldn't release the next chapter, and just leave you hanging in the air on this note…

Nah, I'll just let you know that so far, the next one will be by far the longest one you have seen, currently it stands at 14 pages, and is still growing fast. I know you all love/hate my cliffhangers, and so far, this should be the ultimate worst one you can imagine.

P.S. Misawa is in North Japan, near Aomori (and no, I haven't been there).

Next chapter should be done in a few days. Till then, enjoy reading.

- J