CHAPTER TWO: MISTAKES
Thirteen Years Ago
Nabiki Tendou was pissed.
Today had been exceptionally shitty for the 19 year-old university fresher from Nerima Ward. The coffee-stained blouse that she could not save had been a rare, expensive personal reward. Her smart phone was trashed by river water and probably washed out to Tokyo Bay by now. She had a new 3rd degree burn wound over the left side of her chest and had vaso-vagaled out like a weakling when it happened. On top of all that, she lost nearly 50000 yen in revenue. Nothing had gone according to plan.
She urgently needed money right now. She no longer had her gossip network and the betting pool revenue streams from her high school days. Still, she intended to keep her promise, but she was running out of time. She needed to scramble to scavenge every last yen she could manage.
Going home for the Winter recess had been a mistake. This visit was her first one back since moving out the previous Spring to start at Komaba in Meguro Ward (1). Nothing had changed. The same pointless, endless charade of banal insanity continued to revolve around her younger sister Akane and her hapless arranged aqua-transexual fiancé Ranma Saotome. The same crazies also continued to hang off of their clueless coattails chasing delusions of consequentiality. Nabiki quickly remembered why she had been so eager to leave in the first place.
She had woken up before sunrise to see Takagi-san, the middle-aged lady who owned the coffee shop she used to frequent when she had still been a high school student. She planned to drop in before opening hour to present some new pieces and catch up on some neighborhood gossip.
Most people did not know, but Nabiki had picked up sketching and painting from her mother and kept up with these hobbies in secret for years. Akiko Taniguchi had been an unconventionally progressive and passionate woman, despite having married into the Tendou family for the most traditional of reasons. She was actually British Japanese, born in London and hailing from a fairly well-to-do ex-pat family. She had spent a good amount of her childhood in the cultured halls and classrooms of well known girl's boarding schools, becoming quite well versed in Western art and literature before eventually moving to Japan as a teenager.
Nabiki's maternal grandfather, having made his fortune abroad, needed the union with the old, venerable House of Tendou to cement the Taniguchi's status in more traditionally established Japanese circles. Despite Akiko's unwavering outward show of domestic contentment throughout Nabiki's childhood, she had always harbored private doubts about her mother's actual happiness or sense of fulfillment in her marriage. Even though Soun Tendou constantly professed his eternal, undying love even now for his now-departed wife, wholeheartedly believing that their marriage had ended up being a true love match after all, Nabiki knew that her father had always had a propensity to be a slave of his own melodramatic imagination. Westernized as Akiko was, she still remained Japanese enough to understand the value of her family's honor and had constantly extolled the primacy of family above all else to her daughters.
At the same time, Akiko had always emphasized that her daughters needed to know how to see and hear things for themselves as they were, not as they were told they were. She immersed her daughters as best she could in all of the Western literature and art she had studied at a young age. After her death, however, Kasumi and Akane found other interests. Nabiki alone had stuck with painting and drawing and her mother's other teachings. She was forever grateful that she had. The philosophical principles that Akiko had passed on to Nabiki through art had set her apart early on with tremendous advantage. As a bonus, Nabiki realised at some point that people were willing to pay for her expressive creations.
Takagi-san was one of those people. The woman liked to decorate her shop with works by local amateur artists, and she always offered prices that were more than fair. In addition to buying pieces, she used to allow Nabiki to display other works for sale in the shop.
Even better, Takagi-san respected Nabiki's desire to remain anonymous. She had worked hard to create the image of the cold-hearted, self-absorbed, mercenary Ice Queen of Furinkan High. The damage otherwise to her painstakingly crafted reputation would have been incalculable. She needed that image to protect her interests — especially growing up in a place like Nerima.
Carnage ambushed her when she came down to the kitchen to make her morning coffee. Scattered ingredients, utensils, and bowls littered the sink and countertops. Nabiki knew Kasumi would outright faint in horror at the sight of her ravaged domain. In the middle of this disastrous warzone stood their youngest sister Akane, evidently trying to prepare breakfast. Their poor sister had always been clueless and hopelessly bad at cooking.
"Good morning, Oneechan! I thought I'd make you and everyone else something special since you're back," Akane explained with a bright smile. She proudly declared that she was trying out some new recipes for beginners that she had found online.
Nabiki masked her discomfort by replying with an excessively cheerful morning greeting. She had neither the desire nor the time to spend imprisoned between her bed and the commode. Her mind raced to cobble together an excuse for not staying. She babbled something about appreciating Akane's thoughtfulness but not wanting to take food away from Ranma and the rest of the family. Besides, she was on a diet and had already arranged to meet a friend.
While stumbling through her excuse, she inconspicuously rescued her coffee machine from the ongoing storm and carried it to the farthest possible end of the counter. She forced her hands to stop shaking as she rushed to prep the machine as fast as she could manage. The brew cycle lasted forever. Finally, with her precious black elixir secured in a thermos, she bolted for the front door, pausing only to slip on her coat and shoes and sling over her shoulder the tube carrier with the pieces she planned to show at the shop.
Because of her rushed escape, she made it to the familiar foot bridge traversing the river a few blocks down from the cafe just as the low set Winter sun was cresting the horizon. She decided to stop, sip her coffee, and admire the fiery streaks of red and gold angling in against the Earth. The light cut mysterious, intriguing shadows between the shops and homes around her. In her mind's eye, she could readily see the tableau laid out appealingly on a canvas. Thinking herself alone with no one to see, she afforded herself a secret, contented smile.
A shrill, livid scream suddenly ripped through the cool, morning tranquility.
"RANMA NO BAKA!"
Her younger sister.
Before Nabiki could react, a heavy blow struck hard against her left shoulder, causing her to stumble forward. The scalding contents of her thermos splattered down her top. She hissed fiercely in pain.
Another shout followed seconds after, this one a bellowing male voice.
"RANMA! HOW DARE YOU MISTREAT AKANE! PREPARE TO DIE!"
Ranma's Saotome's eternally hopeless self-declared martial arts rival Ryoga Hibiki.
Looking up, Nabiki made out the outline of an ominous looking projectile coming directly at her face. In horror, she reached deep into her memories for what remained of her father's old self-preservation lessons. Though she would never be a martial artist, she still proved athletic enough in her own right to throw her body out of the way with a few centimeters of clearance between the object's path and her eyes.
Her landing, however, was outright shit. Her body slammed down hard against the unforgiving pavement. The shoulder strap of her carrier tube broke. Her phone and thermos flew out of her hands. She could only watch helplessly as all three objects tumbled over the side rail into the icy water coursing beneath the bridge.
The inputs into her brain quickly became too overwhelming to process. Her arms and legs felt hot and heavy. A deafening roar rushed up in her ears. The edges of her vision collapsed in on themselves as her consciousness faded into nothingness.
# # # # #
As Nabiki came around, she felt like her head would fall off her shoulders. Another part of her registered that her entire body burned with pain.
"Fuck…!"
The money along with the promise she had made were almost certainly all lost causes now. "Non-combatant" or whatever nonsensical category she fell into in these crazies' minds, who was she to think that her safety had ever been assured in the midst of a constant warzone like Nerima.
Screw all of these spoiled, bratty, self-centered, thoughtless, resident assholes: her sister; that clueless self-righteous bandanna-pig asshole; and, of course, Ranma Saotome, that arrogant, inane, vacuous, transsexual future brother-in-law of hers. They all deserved to part with every last yen she had squeezed out of each one of them over the years and more. Better people could do better things for the world with all the gifts and blessings those stupid, spoiled kids never even appreciated they had.
Adding insult to injury, Akane's annoying, tear-streaked face was the first thing that came into focus as Nabiki finally forced her eyes open.
"Come to finish me off?" Nabiki grumbled as she fought to sit up and take her first look at the damage.
She was back home in her own bed. She had been changed to a set of flannel pajamas. Her left arm had been placed in a sling to immobilize the shoulder, and a velcro brace had been strapped around her left wrist. The left side of her chest had been dressed with large strips of gauze held up by wrap-around bandages. Dr. Tofu, the long-time family doctor, clearly had already been by the house.
"I'm sorry, Oneechan," Akane said, bowing her head low in shame. "It's just that stupid Ranma — "
"Akane!" Nabiki barked, cutting her sister off. She could not stand the old, tired refrain that she knew was about to follow. "For once, can you just swallow some responsibility without excuses? How many times have we been over this shit before? You're ridiculously spoiled and have a nasty anger management problem. Grow up and change before someone actually gets hurt around here. Someone who actually matters."
"Oneechan! Don't say that! You matter!"
"Oh please. Other than incidentally being your sister, I barely register to you and your wrecking crew entourage."
Nabiki tried to swing her legs over the side of the bed and stand up. A wave of dizziness struck as she did. An ignominious thud rang out as she collapsed to the floor, loud enough to draw attention from the whole house. She knew because the footsteps of the herd began thundering up the stairs and toward her room.
"Oneechan!"
"Don't touch me! You've done enough!" Nabiki hissed as Akane approached her.
"My daughter!" Soun Tendou cried out in a panic as he barged in, nearly tearing the door off its hinges. Kasumi and the Saotomes piled in behind him.
"Stop it, Nabiki!" Kasumi said as she knelt on the floor and hugged her sister. "You're hurt!"
"Everyone get out of here!" Nabiki hissed hotly through her gritted teeth. "Just everyone get out!"
Kasumi backed her up by throwing a look at the rest of the family that permitted no argument. Akane, their father, and the Saotomes sheepishly left in quick succession. Nabiki was grateful.
"I can't stay here, Kasumi," Nabiki said once they were alone. "This shit is too much for me. I'm going back to Meguro."
"Language, Nabiki!" a horrified Kasumi scolded. As usual when the two sisters were alone, her unnatural facade of unflappable serenity faded away.
"Fine," Nabiki growled. "Fuck!" she spat instead in English, their mother's real first language.
Akiko had insisted that her daughters learn it too (2). Its open use in their home had gradually faded in the years since their mother's passing, particularly since Soun Tendou had no clue what his daughters were saying when they conversed in the language. Of course, Nabiki, always pragmatic and forward-thinking, had kept up with speaking on her own. She had made a special point of keeping up with the choice words in particular.
"I still understand that too," Kasumi commented disapprovingly.
"Fine," Nabiki said, giving up and switching back to Japanese. "It's true though. I need to go back."
"You should rest," Kasumi insisted as she started to help Nabiki back up onto the bed. "We can talk more tomorrow."
"No! I mean to be out of here today!"
"Nabiki, please calm – "
She could no longer restrain the actual thoughts burning at the tip of her tongue. "Mom would be appalled by this shit!"
"So you just want to walk out on us…?!"
Nabiki winced, unable to hold her stern expression in the face of the panicked sadness in Kasumi's suddenly downcast eyes. Family truly had always been the heart of Akiko's values, the center of her entire world. Even as the free and self-assured independent spirit that Nabiki was, she could not conceive of defying their dead mother's memory when Kasumi put things that way. With a resigned sigh, Nabiki reaffirmed to her older sister that she had no intention of abandoning anyone or anything.
"Still, no matter what, Akane needs to grow up at some point and assume responsibility for her actions. We never help by making excuses for her. Like I told her, she needs to change before someone actually gets hurt. That goes for you-know-who too. Whether I'm here or not is irrelevant. Maybe my leaving like this might even make a constructive impression on someone that there's a real problem here."
"Okay, yes, we have problems – "
"Thank you for finally admitting that – "
"But what family doesn't. Be careful what you wish for, Nabiki," Kasumi admonished quietly.
"Hey! What exactly do you think I'm asking for?"
"I'm not sure," Kasumi conceded. "I just know that perfection is the enemy of great, and change isn't always good. We've both been through enough to know that."
"I'm not asking for 'perfect' or anything extraordinary. Just something better than this pointlessly overblown fucking insanity," Nabiki grumbled with a frown.
"Nabiki!"
"Look, Oneechan," she went on, ignoring the look on Kasumi's face. "Life is short. Honor agreement or not, those two have to either move forward or move on."
"You have a talent for always making things sound so simple."
"Because it is simple. Too bad not everyone can be as smart as you and I."
"That's not what I'm trying to say. This has nothing to do with being smart. I'm your sister. Akane is too. You and her are not as different as you think. It's not hard at all for me to imagine Akane behaving and sounding exactly like you if your positions were reversed."
"Oneechan!" Nabiki chortled.
Kasumi's mind clearly wanted to run wild again with the idea that her younger sisters were Irish twins.
"I would never allow myself to end up in Akane's position. I don't let feelings cloud my judgment, and I don't have an anger management problem. Most of all, I don't leave decisions that should've been made yesterday sitting around for tomorrow."
"Be careful about what you say, Nabiki," Kasumi repeated, fixing the younger girl with the full weight of a very pointed and unamused stare. "I mean it. From a distance, things are always simple. The grass is always greener on the other side. The playing field always looks far more obvious to all of the spectators than the players."
Nabiki sighed in exasperation. "Maybe, maybe not. I love you dearly, Oneechan, but this discussion is moot either way."
# # # # #
When Nabiki returned to Komaba that evening, her dorm, like the rest of the campus, was deserted. Roughly a week still remained in the recess. En route, she ducked into a convenience store next to Meguro station to grab an onigiri, a pack of karaage balls, a pair of canned coffees, and a bottle of OTC ibuprofen. Her chest burn continued to itch and throb beneath the bandages concealed under her top. Her back also ached from standing. She had an unexpectedly long night ahead of her.
On her way out of Nerima, she had called on Takagi-san to apologize for failing to show up that morning.
"Nonsense, Nabiki-chan!" the lady said warmly as she stepped around her counter. She assured Nabiki that she did not need to worry; they had known one another long enough for the old lady to surmise that Nabiki must have had a good reason for not coming. "You obviously had a bad morning," she noted, eyeing the sling supporting Nabiki's left arm.
"Not the best."
Takagi-san helped Nabiki to a seat at one of the tables, brought over a cup of coffee, and took up the other seat at the opposite end of the table.
"Still, Nabiki-chan, I am very much in need of a nice piece for that space," the lady said, pointing to the open-faced brick wall above the hearth. It faced out against large west-facing windows set in the far wall. Low-set red and gold streaks from the early setting Winter sun filtered in, recapitulating the pretty light that had defined the tableau Nabiki had been admiring that morning before her unfortunate misadventure.
"Tell you what," Takagi-san said after a moment of thought. "I know the timeframe is short and that you may not be feeling your best, but if you're up for it, we may be able to still move forward with a deal. Could you get me something, say, by midday tomorrow? Nothing too fancy or overly complex. In fact, more on the Minimalist side would do quite nicely."
Nabiki politely accepted the unexpected offer with her usual outwardly cool and reserved business demeanor. Inside, however, she was giddy with renewed hope and elation. Not for the first time, she wondered if Takagi-san was on to her. Regardless, the answer to that question was immaterial. At the end of the day, she would still be able to keep her promise.
She took the train back to Komaba with renewed energy and purpose, her body's protests easily drowned out in the background by adrenaline.
As she carded herself into her residence hall, the sight of the silent and empty atrium lobby made her even more excited. She rushed up to her room to dump her stuff, throw some pills into her mouth, and retrieve a blank canvas and materials. With her left shoulder immobilized and the wrist of her dominant hand in a brace, she really needed every single minute that she could squeeze out of the night.
# # # # #
CHAPTER NOTES:
(1) The Komaba undergraduate campus in Tokyo's Meguro Ward is 1 of 5 campuses of The University of Tokyo (Todai), which is widely considered the most prestigious and selective University in Japan. Todai is the only University in Japan where undergraduates have two years of a general curriculum before choosing a specialized field of study. Among the University's alumni, faculty, and researchers, there have been 17 prime ministers, 18 Nobel laureates, 4 Pritzker laureates, and a Fields Medalist.
(2) The detail about English will become relevant later in my story.
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