Umbrella of Lies

Chapter 4: Good Night

……….

……….

Nabiki Tendo stared out the window with an uncharacteristically sad expression on her face. Kuno couldn't fathom why. A waiter pushed a cart of delicate cakes to the table. Nabiki shook her head, and the waiter wheeled the cart away.

"This is the first time, Nabiki Tendo, I have ever seen you pass an opportunity to spend someone else's money," Kuno said. "Pray tell, what's wrong?"

She sighed. "Kuno-baby…."

A waiter put the bill near Kuno's arm.

He forgot Nabiki then, as his gaze fell upon the paper. It was a bill to make a man's blood run cold, a bill that could lay waste to towns. A bill that might conquer a lesser man than Kuno—and Nabiki had run it up in one night. Kuno dug for his wallet. Truly, Nabiki had no scruples when it came to money.

He paid the bill at the front of the restaurant, taking solace that the date was now halfway over. Soon, he would be rid of her. He looked for Nabiki, and found that she was waiting for the elevator and that she was still despondent. Perhaps she felt guilty for imposing such a fine on him. But then again, no—this was Nabiki, after all.

"Very well, vile mercenary, where to next?" Kuno said. "I have memorized your schedule for the evening, and I believe after dinner we were to depart for the movies."

"No," Nabiki said.

"Am I mistaken? Was it shopping then?"

"I'm not in the mood."

"Nabiki Tendo, are you unwell?"

She shook her head. "Do you know why I asked you on a date, Kuno-baby?"

"Of course I do," Kuno said. "You wished to indulge your every taste and every whim, to revel in the arms of luxury at my expense."

"I asked you because I liked you," Nabiki said. "And I wanted you to like me back."

There was a light ding. The door of the elevator opened, and Nabiki stepped in. Her movement was subdued, and when she faced him, her gaze did not quite meet his, but fell to the floor, a faint blush at her cheeks. Kuno was rooted to the ground. Nabiki Tendo was in love with him?

The elevator dinged again, and Kuno sprang forth, lest the moving doors cut him off. Once inside, he crossed his arms. Nabiki Tendo was in love with him? Were it any other maiden, Kuno would not have doubted it. But this was Nabiki. Surely, surely, it must be a trick.

"You say you love me, and yet there is no sense to your words," Kuno said. "The restaurant you chose, the food you ordered—all were of the most expensive kind. It is clear what you wanted."

"I like nice things," she said. "It was nothing you couldn't afford." Nabiki put a finger to one of the elevator's mirrored walls. "It was such a beautiful restaurant. I thought we would have a perfect night together. The foolish dream of a young girl's heart." She closed her eyes. "But it's no use."

"Was the date unsatisfactory?" Kuno said. "Was the location not to your liking or perhaps the food not prepared to your taste?"

"You don't understand at all," Nabiki said. "You think I'm cold, but I'm a girl—I have feelings. How was I supposed to feel when all evening long my date was in the arms of another woman? Or man."

Kuno flushed. "If you're referring to that villain, Saotome—"

"And you couldn't say one kind thing to me," she said. "You called me vile. You insulted me." Tears sprung to her eyes. "You didn't have to be so mean—a frozen look from you is enough to pierce my heart."

Now, Kuno was completely confused. "You're saying…I was unsatisfactory?"

"I'm saying, it was a mistake to try and make you to love me," Nabiki said.

The elevator door opened and Nabiki walked out.

"Goodbye, Kuno-baby," she said.

"Nabiki, wait."

She turned around.

"I understand," Kuno said, "how bitter your disappointment must be, that you could not win the love of such a fine specimen as myself…."

He paused. He realized he was waiting for her to laugh, for her to make some cynical comment, for her to unleash a new plot of blackmail upon him. But she did not. Nabiki's gaze was as soft and innocent as a doe's.

It unsettled him.

Kuno shook himself. "Be that as it may," he resumed, "there is still an unresolved matter between us. That is to say, the photographs."

Tears quenched Nabiki's eyes.

"You've broken my heart," she said. "Good night!"

Her tears caught the light and glimmered like crystal. Her hair flew from her face with a swish. She put a hand to her face and fled the room. Like the heroine of a television drama; the perfect image of a sensitive young woman scorned by the man she loved.

But this was Nabiki Tendo. That was not who she was.

……….

Nabiki had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing. What a great performance. One of her best. Once Kuno thought she was in love with him, she'd have him eating out of the palm of her hand.

She hailed a taxi. "Nerima, please," she told the driver and gave him the address.

The front door of the hotel burst open, and Kuno came running after her. Exactly as planned. He was striking, in his black suit, under the parking lot lights. If you didn't know him, you might think he looked like one of those action heroes, tall, dark, and handsome. He had a look of intensity on his face. You could be fooled into thinking he was strong, serious young man, if you didn't know him.

Nabiki got inside the taxi. Slowly. She let him catch her.

"Nabiki Tendo, we must talk," Kuno said.

"If you want to talk to me, you can talk inside the cab," she said. "I'm going home."

He hesitated. He stepped in and took a seat near her. He looked as happy as a hostage with a gun to his head. Not exactly as she'd planned.

"What did you want to talk about?" she said.

For a minute, he didn't seem to hear her. The taxi started moving, and Kuno stared out the window, at the cars and the dark billboards passing by. Lost in his own little world, as always. But when he did look at Nabiki at last, his eyes seemed surprisingly clear.

"I know what games you play with men's heart," Kuno said. "I've seen you do it often enough. I don't pretend to know why you play such a game with me, but I've no wish to be fooled. Can you not sell me the photographs, that we might end this charade?"

Where in the world did that come from?

Nabiki had faced suspicion before—not a lot, boys were too gullible—but this was Kuno. Kuno, of all people! It didn't take a lot to convince him a girl was in love with him.

Nabiki pulled on her wounded maiden act. "It hurts me when you say—"

He frowned and she stopped.

Okay, so she was acting out of character and he knew it. She shrugged. She supposed even Kuno could be perceptive from time to time. Who'd have thought.

Nabiki pulled a clump of photos from her purse. "Well, if you really want to buy them," she said. "1000 yen for the set."

"Only 1000 yen?"

"I'm a woman in love," Nabiki said. "So I'll offer you a discount."

Kuno looked at her suspiciously. He handed her the money and studied the photographs, as though trying to detect a flaw in them.

"You have not stashed away extra copies with which to blackmail me?" he said. "You have not deceived me, Nabiki Tendo? These are all of them?"

"Oh yes," she said. "Everything but the negatives."

The taxi stopped, and Nabiki stepped out.

"He'll pay the tab," she told the driver.

Kuno crashed out of the taxi, trying to withdraw his sword and hold onto the photos all at once. A big melodramatic, stick-waving production.

"I must have the negatives, too."

"That wasn't part of our deal."

"I would not leave the negatives in your cunning hands, Nabiki Tendo," Kuno said. "Who knows for what evil purposes you may use them."

"Why Kuno-baby, don't you trust me?" she said.

"Have you ever given me reason to?"

Nabiki laughed. "All right, I'll sell you the negatives. After our second date. What say, tomorrow morning, around 10:00."

"Another date!" Kuno said.

"And this time, I want to have fun," Nabiki said. "If you're going to start fights and be grabbing the nearest girl you see, I'll call the whole thing off. And then it will be no deal, Kuno-baby. I won't bring my sister," she added as an afterthought.

"Most wanton of women," Kuno said, thrashing his sword. "What have I done to you that you must lay torment upon torment on me? Why do you torture me so?"

"I told you. I like you."

He froze, his limbs stuck at awkward angles. His eyes budged, his mouth hung open. He was gaping at her like a goldfish. Nabiki smiled. He was so funny.

"Good night, Kuno-baby," she said.

……….

Nabiki headed into the house. Or what was left of it. Kasumi hadn't been kidding when she said Shampoo had been tearing the place apart. Half the walls were now propped up with spare boards. Nabiki shook her head. She was easy going, but she got tired of having to come home and see their property in ruins. They had little enough to begin with.

"You're back," Kasumi said.

"Mm-hm," Nabiki said.

Akane was in the living room, drinking tea and watching a game show on T.V. She was wearing her pajamas. It looked the night was over for her.

"Where's Ranma?" Nabiki said.

"Who knows?" Akane huffed. "It's not like I care where that jerk goes."

So he was still on his date with Shampoo. Or perhaps in the emergency room. At any rate, not here. Nabiki hunted under the table for some souvenir cakes Ryoga had brought. She unwrapped one and accepted a cup of tea from Kasumi.

"So, how did your date tonight go?" Kasumi said.

"As well as could be expected," Nabiki said. "We're going out again."

"You're what?" Akane said.

"Yep. Tomorrow morning."

"Well, isn't that nice," Kasumi said. "He seems like a very interesting young man."

"Oh, yes. Interesting all right." Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Never a dull moment with Kuno-baby around."

"But why did you say yes?" Akane said.

Nabiki decided not to correct Akane, that she had asked him—or rather told him—to go out with her. For the second time, too. She took a sip of tea.

"Well," Nabiki said, "it wasn't like we had much of a first date. Half of it was just you and Ranma fighting."

Akane blushed. "But then, that means you really wanted to go out with him? You really like him? Kuno?"

Good grief, wasn't this perfect. Kuno, who was supposed to think she was in love with him, hadn't fallen for her act at all, while her own sister, who should have known better, thought she was in love with the goofball.

"Of course I like him," Nabiki said. "He's my favorite customer." She popped the rest of the cake in her mouth and pushed aside her cup of tea. "I'm going to take a bath."

That night, before she went to bed, Nabiki found herself looking through her old yearbook from junior high. Kuno had been in her class, so his picture was there, too—in fact, it was the only photo she had of him. His face was still boyish. He wasn't quite so tall. She'd had a crush on him back then, before he met Akane—and Ranma—and went insane.

Nabiki shut the yearbook and put it away. No use dwelling on the past. She had to be alert tomorrow. Kuno had called her on her acting. She hadn't expected that. She wasn't going to be able to coast through it like she thought.

Nabiki turned off the lights. She found, to her surprise, she was a little excited about her date tomorrow. It was going to be quite a challenge.

……….

Note: Generally, 100 yen equals 1 dollar, so 1000 yen is about 10 bucks.