I do not own Ranma ½
Nabiki had woken up that morning as she normally did, to the sounds of domestic tranquility inside the house, and the sounds of mortal combat in the backyard. She sighed heavily in frustration, it was far too early in the morning, and her bed was too soft and warm. She was quite loathe to leave it. But time waits for no man or woman, and time was money.
So Nabiki dragged herself out of bed because the rules of society had arbitrarily chosen to start school at an ungodly hour. As she made her way to the bathroom, Nabiki engaged in one of her favorite day dreams, of a time in the not too distant future when she would be wealthy enough to sleep in for as long as she desired, and if anyone had a problem with that, well too bad.
Nabiki mechanically went through her normal morning routine, cleaning herself, dressing herself in her school uniform, gathering her homework and other school essentials, and sitting down to breakfast with the rest of the family.
It wasn't until she was picking at her light breakfast that Nabiki fully woke up. With the return of her faculties, the problem she had been struggling with the previous night returned as well. For the first time in years, Nabiki's daily profits had been down. Her revenue had fallen by roughly 20% in a single day. After only the barest brush with the issue, Nabiki had quickly arrived at the obvious answer to what was responsible for her loss, or rather whom.
The previous day, Nabiki had not sold a single rumor, picture, or piece of information to her number one client, Tatewaki. She hadn't even been able to coax any free food from the normally delusional idiot. Figuring out that he had been the reason why her profits were lower than expected was easy. What had plagued her the previous night, and continued to the next morning, was not how her profits had been lost, but why.
Why had Tatewaki changed his behavior? Every single day for the past few years Tatewaki had been her most loyal customer. For him to have abruptly stopped doing business with her for no apparent reason was strange. Nabiki didn't particularly like strangeness, it was hard to accurately forecast and she already had enough chaos in her life without it affecting her profit margin.
She had wracked her brain in an attempt to find an explanation for Tatewaki's actions, or rather lack of actions, but had failed to think of a single rumor or physical action to account for them. There was the matter of his father being rushed to the hospital, but judging from the animosity Tatewaki had demonstrated for his father previously, Nabiki didn't think it likely that was the cause for Tatewaki's strange change. So far her favorite theory was that the blow Ranma had dealt Tatewaki that morning had addled the boy's already disturbed mind.
After all, he had begun to act strangely once he regained consciousness. Nabiki blushed momentarily when she recalled the enthusiastic embrace Tatewaki had given her immediately after he had woken up. But she quickly dismissed it from her mind, since Tatewaki had likely been dreaming of her sister or Ranma and had confused them with her.
After that event in the nurse's office however, Tatewaki had seemed to be even more strange than usual. First actively seeking out his father voluntarily, and then returning to class in a dazed state of mind. She had checked with several sources after school and had found out that throughout the entire day Tatewaki had not communicated with another student. He had silently sat through class, then equally as silently, he had left school; going in the opposite direction of his estate. He had even failed to put in a cursory appearance at the Kendo club, something he usually accomplished no matter how injured and otherwise occupied he was.
Nabiki had not been able to reach any definite conclusions and was still pondering Tatewaki's actions, when she glanced at the clock on the wall which indicated that it was slightly past the time she normally left for school. She gave a perfunctory thanks to Kasumi for breakfast, then without a word to the rest of the family, gathered her school bag and made her way out the door.
Her trip to school was in every way normal. She met her friends/associates at their usual location. They talked about the usual subjects of clothes, boys, and the proper amortization rate for short term loans. They paused briefly at the local drug store where she picked up the developed pictures she had dropped off the previous afternoon; sadly one of the few fixed costs her operation suffered from. Then, as normal, they arrived at school after the majority of the students who came to actually learn, but before the rush of students who were merely counting the days until graduation.
Nabiki and her friends separated after the shoe lockers, not only did they attend separate classes, but by dividing forces, they would be able to cover more ground to settle various business deals such as the small time loan sharking, the various betting pools, and the selling of various items, the bulk of which was photographs.
Leaving such menial tasks to her friends, Nabiki made her way to her class, intent on getting set up and ready for when Tatewaki appeared. Depending upon the situation, she was ready to either resume business as usual, or to demand answers to why he suddenly had changed.
Opening the door to the classroom however, Nabiki was confronted by a possibility she had never considered. Tatewaki was already in his seat, seemingly waiting for class to start in a somewhat bored manner, wearing the school's uniform.
When she entered the room, Tatewaki turned and their eyes met. Nabiki's steps faltered for a moment. His eyes were neither fever bright, as they were whenever he wanted something from her, nor cold and distant, as they were when he wanted nothing to do wither her. Instead they were cool and appraising, somehow appearing more sane than usual.
Nabiki quickly began to walk forward again, ignoring the fact that Tatewaki had thrown off her normal morning routine. She quickly made it to her desk, and for the next few minutes staunchly ignored the boy while she emptied her school bag and made a show of arranging her belongings to her liking.
It was only after she had firmly established her aloofness that Nabiki discretely turned back to regard Tatewaki. She found him staring back at her, with a strangely muted questioning gaze. It was as if he was unsure if he wanted something from her, but thought it likely.
Their eyes held each other for a few moments, then abruptly Tatewaki tore his gaze away to regard one of the bulletin boards hung on the wall of the classroom. This left Nabiki regarding Tatewaki in profile.
It was a sight that Nabiki hadn't seen since freshman year, Tatewaki silently sitting at his desk, wearing western clothes and without his idiotic expression betraying his attempt at plotting. He could even pass for a normal student, a handsome one at that; until he opened his mouth and revealed his true nature at least.
Nabiki had regained her composure, and decided that it was time to find out why Tatewaki was acting so strangely. So smiling coyly, she leaned over in Tatewaki's direction and said, "So Kuno-baby, I have a nice new batch of photos, some of my finest work yet, if I do say so myself." She leaned in even closer and lowered her voice. "I even have a few of the more risqué variety."
Tatewaki regarded her with a slightly conflicted expression as he replied, "I'm afraid that I've come to the realization that my fixation upon your wares is as unproductive as it is probably unhealthy. With that in mind, I have come to the decision that I will no longer be a customer of yours."
Nabiki reeled back in surprise and took a moment to marshal her thoughts. Then with a disingenuous smile Nabiki responded, "That seems to be a drastic decision on your part, can I ask you why?"
Tatewaki turned away from Nabiki, and absently fixed his gaze on a cluster of students at the front of the room. The classroom was roughly halfway full, but there was an invisible buffer zone around the area Tatewaki and Nabiki were sitting in, created by the other student's desire to avoid either Tatewaki's insanity or Nabiki's ruthlessness. Due to this expanse of empty desks, Tatewaki and Nabiki had no fear of being eavesdropped upon.
He haltingly began to speak. "I've been ruminating of late upon both my actions, as well as my reasons for those actions. And I have found that both my actions and their reasons have been questionable to say the least. I've acted dishonorably, and duplicitously. My only consolation is that perhaps it is not too late for me to change, for me to become something better than what I have been."
Nabiki was shocked at the drastic change which had come over Tatewaki, aside from his penchant to transform simple sentences into Shakespearian monologues; he seemed to be thinking about his actions logically, in an almost sane manner.
"So you've come to the realization that polygamy is illegal to say the least." She said, still somewhat stunned, merely trying to continue the conversation. She had long ago learned that when off balance, it was not only best to appear not to be, but to try and force the other party into a similar state.
Tatewaki turned back to Nabiki and smiled a tired and sad smile. "Something of that nature," he said, "although that is not the full extent of my revelations." His eyes once more left Nabiki's, and he seemed to be staring at something in the distance but without seeing it. He continued, "In regard to my love life, it being what it is, I find myself in the position, not so much of having to decide between my love for your sister or my love for the pig tailed girl, but rather if I truly feel love for either of them.
"I must face the fact that I belong to the more bestial half of humanity, that of the male sex. As such, I fear that I might have let my baser lusts confuse me. After all both your sister and the pig tailed girl are alluring in their own ways. It is likely that in my recent state of mind I confused my physical attraction for them with the more noble sentiment of love.
"Even then I encounter difficulty, for what is love? I don't think I know. I do know that without love, life is … painful, cold, and lonely. Maybe in my rush to alleviate my suffering I latched onto the attractions I felt out of desperation. Such a basis for a relationship can only lead to ruin, and indeed in ruin is how I feel my current life is in. Tell me truthfully, does either Akane or the pig tailed girl regard me with any soft feelings at all? Don't bother answering; I know the impact of my actions. So now I need to determine if I love either of them enough to try and rebuild our relation to the point where I could woo them, or if it would be better to turn my attention to another. "
Nabiki interrupted him, shocked at the amount of introspection Tatewaki was exhibiting. "You mean that because it would be too hard to get a date with Akane or the pig tailed girl, that you're just going to throw in the hat and find someone easier?"
Tatewaki quickly and sternly captured Nabiki's eyes. He looked fiercely determined when he responded, "That is not my intent at all. I just think that perhaps the relationships I have had in the past, if you could call them that, were not based upon true love. Because of this, perhaps there's someone else out there, someone with whom I could fall in love with, and they I."
Nabiki's world view was in danger of falling around her in ruins. Obviously the real Tatewaki had been taken by aliens. They had replaced him with a boy who looked like Tatewaki, talked like Tatewaki, but was seemingly intelligent without the drawback of being eccentrically insane. She was saved from having to respond by the arrival of the first teacher of the day.
The classroom had filled while the two had been talking, and now the start of the school day was upon them. Some of the students had been disappointed by the lack of early morning entertainment in the form of a display of martial prowess, or at least disparity between Ranma and Tatewaki, but this disappointment was soon lost under the monotonous weight of the education system.
As the morning waned on through lecture after mind numbing lecture, Nabiki surreptitiously stole several glances at Kuno. She was shocked; Tatewaki seemed to have experienced an epiphany so groundbreaking that his entire world view had shifted. Unless he just as quickly changed back, her best customer had just vanished overnight.
Nabiki was nothing if not a businesswoman, and one of the first lessons in business is that every change, every new situation, brought with it new opportunities for profit. It was merely a matter of being intelligent enough to spot the changes and opportunities presented, and then create a new venture to meet the new needs of the environment.
The first thing she needed to do was to figure out what had had changed in her environment. So far it appeared the only new variable was Tatewaki, but his change was drastic enough to potentially cause a ripple effect which needed to be taken into account. It seemed that Tatewaki was no longer interested in purchasing pictures, or chasing Akane, or possibly even continuing his rivalry with Ranma.
Instead, Tatewaki seemed to be more inwardly focused, and not even in a narcissistic manner. No, he seemed to actually be trying to delve into his own psyche, trying to fully understand who he was. A week earlier, Nabiki would have thought that particular journey would have lasted all of about five minutes and the width and depth of Tatewaki's inner workings would have been fully understood. But seeing the new Tatewaki made her reconsider her opinion of him.
It was as if he had discovered religion or something. Which was not really good news; for the most part people who either became this introspective, or who were serious about religion, were not known for spending extravagantly.
Certainly it would be possible to continue operating with only 80% of the market open to her, but Nabiki felt that the loss of customers was an admission of failure. The loss of a customer as important of Tatewaki, well that was just a personal affront.
Nabiki continued to muse on the problem Tatewaki had presented her with as the morning ended and the lunch period began. At the sound of the lunch bell, Tatewaki dropped his tired and disinterested visage he had worn all morning, and was off like a shot.
Nabiki considered following after him, to try and glean some more information as well as a way to make money from him. However she was quickly waylaid by potential customers who wished to ascertain the validity of some rumors which were floating around; the same rumors likely planted by Nabiki's associates earlier in the morning. Although there were a few people who were observant enough to comment and question Nabiki on Tatewaki's unusual behavior. He had gone the entire morning without bursting into spontaneous vengeful monologue, which struck some of the students as strange.
Although she only knew a small portion of the story, Nabiki remained sphinx-like and collected their money. She gave them general and vague answers which confirmed whatever it was they suspected, without actually answering their questions. Her reputation as the most informed person at the school was enough to blind the other students to the fact that she didn't really know anything.
As she concluded the last of her business and was preparing to unwrap her lunch, she glanced out the window and noticed Tatewaki off by himself in the schoolyard, apparently talking to a tree. Nabiki stared for a moment, then the leaves of the tree rustled and a small branch fell to the ground. A branch with arms and legs. Nabiki smiled to herself, Sasuke might be a master of camouflage, but of stealth? Not so much.
Nabiki began to pick at her lunch. She appreciated the wonderful flavors which were the hallmark of a Kasumi meal, but was worried about breaking the new diet she had just started the previous week. The cakes, parfaits, and other sweets which Nabiki enjoyed so much, sadly came at a price. Just in the past month alone she had gained an entire kilogram. She sighed; it was just so difficult to be both beautiful and smart.
She looked back out the window to find Sasuke nowhere in sight, and Tatewaki walking back towards the school with a thoughtfully depressed face. Then she saw Ranma, who for some reason or another was racing across the schoolyard looking behind him, paying no attention to what or who was in front of him.
Ranma crashed into Tatewaki, sending both boys to the ground. Ranma immediately sprang up, and then seeing who he had run into, prepared himself for the conflict which was sure to follow. Tatewaki however climbed to his feet much more slowly, with seemingly no ill intentions regarding Ranma.
Tatewaki seemed undecided for a moment, and then cast a glance around the semi-populated area they were standing in, taking in the crowd of students around them, who seemed to be expecting the two to erupt into violence at any moment. Instead Tatewaki leaned in towards Ranma and said something. Ranma seemed stunned and it was several seconds before he replied. Tatewaki then said something in return and indicated the roof of Furinkan High with another glance at the other students peopling the yard. Ranma seemed to agree, then he turned and spied the rapidly approaching form of Akane and bounded off. Tatewaki watched first Ranma leave, and then Akane run by him without so much as a nod of acknowledgement, before trudging solemnly back into the school.
Nabiki raised her eyebrow at the new development. Ranma and Tatewaki speaking civilly, without either's pride or stupidity resulting in an altercation? Tatewaki not gushing over her younger sister? Surly the apocalypse was soon approaching. But there didn't seem to be any atmospheric anomaly marking the event, such as pigs flying, at least so far as Nabiki could tell.
A few minutes later Tatewaki reentered the classroom, even more morose than he had left it, he returned to his seat without a further word to anyone. Nabiki was tempted to strike up a conversation in order to find out what exactly had caused his worsening of mood, but was thwarted when the bell signaling the end of the lunch period rang a few moments later.
The rest of the school day passed as uneventfully as the first half. However, while Tatewaki had opened his books and seemed to be following along with the lessons in the morning, that afternoon he took no notes, opened no books, and seemed to be unfocusedly staring at some point to the left of the blackboard. If it had been any other student, the teachers would have immediately pounced on them for their inattention. But Tatewaki as a special case, he did well on his tests and other assignments with little to no visible effort, and often when he was called upon, he would began spouting nonsensical drivel which had nothing to do with the lesson being taught. So, as long as Tatewaki remained silent, the teachers could care less what he was doing.
Nabiki meanwhile took notes in her clean and clear script, answered questions when asked, and was an all around model student. Throughout the afternoon though, the back of her mind was occupied with the Tatewaki situation. Obviously he had set up an appointment with Ranma, Nabiki hoped, for her schedule's sake that it was right after school, so she would be able to eavesdrop and hopefully glean some new insight.
The afternoon, like all things, eventually ended. There was an anarchic rush to the door as the students not in a club used the last bell of the day as the signal to start the race back home. Neither Tatewaki nor Nabiki was in this initial rush usually, and today was no exception. Nabiki began to transact some minor business deals with people who should have known better, while keeping an eye on Tatewaki.
The boy in question waited a few minutes for the noise of the crowd in the outer hall to dissipate before he stood from his desk. As usual he didn't bother to collect his school books or his bag, but instead just pushed in his chair and made his way out the door.
Nabiki waited a few moments, or in her mind, several long minutes before hastily and almost rudely interrupting the people clustered around her desk, telling them she had a sudden and pressing engagement. She rapidly and haphazardly threw her schoolwork into her bag, not bothering to see if it was the correct pages or not. She then rushed out of the classroom just in time to see the sedately retreating back of Tatewaki as he turned the corner from the hallway into the stairway.
Trying to act both normal and stealthy, Nabiki made her own way down the hall, ignoring the questioning looks she received as she stopped at the corner and covertly looked around it. Tatewaki was nowhere in sight, but having been witness to the exchange at lunch, Nabiki was willing to bet that he had gone up the stairs rather than down. He seemed to have indicated the roof to Ranma, and this was the only stairwell which had roof access.
Nabiki slowly made her way up the stairs, not wishing to be caught and questioned by Tatewaki. She quickly came to the metal door leading to the roof of the school. In most schools the door to the roof was kept locked so that students didn't decide to do something rash after receiving a poor grade, something which the school might be liable for. Furinkan nominally followed this guideline, but some enterprising student had unlocked the door with their foot years previously, leaving the door warped and ill fitting in its frame. Nabiki hoped that the resulting hole would be large enough for her to eavesdrop without anyone detecting her presence. She settled herself against the wall next to the broken door, the conversation outside seemingly already having started.
"… a trap Ranma. I'm not here to fight you, just to talk." Said Tatewaki.
"Talk? What do we have to talk about Kuno? I've told you time and again that I'm not an evil wizard or whatever and Akane and the pig tailed girl aren't under my spell. What else is there to talk about besides the fact that you're delusional?"
Tatewaki sighed and Nabiki could hear his footsteps fade as they moved towards the perimeter of the roof. "That is just it," Tatewaki replied, "I've come to the conclusion that perhaps my view was clouded by my desires in the past."
Ranma snorted, but otherwise didn't interrupt.
"Our first meeting was not under the most optimal conditions to endear us to each other."
"Huh? " Ranma interjected.
Tatewaki sighed again before retrying. "What I mean to say, is that I think we got off to a bad start. And I think that the majority of the blame for that rests with me."
Ranma broke in once more, "Yeah, you were acting like a real jerk. A delusional, self centered jerk really."
Nabiki could almost hear Tatewaki's teeth grind together as he replied, "Listen you, I'm trying to say …"
"I've been listening, and so far all I've gotten is that when we met you were a jerk, since then you've been a jerk, and now …"
Tatewaki interrupted, almost on the point of shouting, "What I'm trying to say is that I was an idiot in the past, and I don't want to be an idiot in the future!" Tatewaki quickly continued, but in a quieter voice, "When we first met I behaved poorly, I was trying to act noble and chivalrous, but somehow twisted those sentiments into a mockery of what they actually were. I demonized you because … because you were the first person to ever have defeated me. I thought that somehow you had cheated, despite all evidence to the contrary; I felt in my heart that I could never be beaten.
"In spite of your continued idiocy and provocation, I feel that I have unfairly considered you my adversary. I know that you are the betrothed of Akane Tendo, and I know that you have some sort of relationship with the pig tailed girl. However I will no longer hold these relationships unfavorably against you. So long, of course, as they are honorable."
Nabiki heard Tatewaki's steps grow louder as he approached the doorway again, she was nearly ready to bolt before they stopped a few feet away. "Ranma, I don't want you to be an enemy. I have found that I have enough both internally and externally without artificially creating anymore. I know that it is too sudden, and too far of a stretch for us to become the best of friends. You no doubt think this is some sort of scheme. But I tell you it is not. I would just like to have one person on this planet who does not hate me."
Ranma's tone was much less antagonistic when he replied, "Kuno, in your own right you are a pretty good fighter. And I know how it feels to have more enemies than friends. I'd like it if you really mean what you say about us not being enemies anymore. But I thought that you hated me because of Akane."
Tatewaki was silent for a few moments. "I did hate you," he said, "because you suddenly appeared and seemingly had what I thought I wanted. However I've come to the realization that perhaps I was wrong or misguided in what I thought it was I wanted. Maybe I don't love Akane Tendo or the pig tailed girl, or maybe I love them. I don't know right now. But when I do know, when I know for sure who it is I love and why, I think I will move heaven and Earth in order to be with them."
"Well that's all well and good," Ranma responded, "but I'm pretty sure that you might as well just rule out the pig tailed girl."
"Why should I do that?"
Ranma's nervousness was apparent as he stammered, "Well … uh …"
Nabiki decided to take the opportunity and leave. She had gotten what she had come for, and it would not do to be found out eavesdropping. She was supposed to be an all knowing person, not one who would stoop to such measures.
She quickly made her way down the stairs, finding only a few scattered students still in the hallways and not either on their way home or sequestered in a club room. She changed her shoes at the shoe lockers, and then made her way out of school.
She pondered to herself about the Tatewaki issue; it seemed that his primary concern was whether or not he was truly in love with either Akane or the pig tailed girl. The inkling of an idea which could become the basis of a plan began to grow in Nabiki's mind.
It's difficult to write dialogue for three different personalities. On another note, I just rewatched Michael Radford's interpretation of Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" and I must say that Al Pacino was the best Shylock I've ever seen. Jeremy Irons is no slouch as Antonio either.