9. WITH A LIL' HELP FROM… NABIKI
"…isn't it, Ranma ?"
Akane was now turned to him, waiting for his reply.
But there was none : the pigtailed boy simply kept on eating, grabbing some pickled vegetables from a small bow and chewing them distractedly.
"Ranma ?" repeated Soun.
Still nothing : the boy grabbed his mug of tea and sipped some, his eyes briefly catching sight of the calendar but then getting lost in the vague, apparently fixed on the wall… yet not really seeing it.
"RANMA !" screamed Genma, and that finally made the martial artist react…
…but not because he had realized they were calling his name : only because of the loudness of Genma's voice !
He turned to his father, surprise all over his features.
"Uh… sorry ? Is it me you're calling ?" he almost naively asked.
"Of course it's you, Son ! We've been calling you at least three times, didn't you hear us ?" the panda-man sternly said.
Ranma scratched his head, embarrassed.
"Well… to be honest… I heard 'Ranma', 2 or 3 times, but I… uh…"
"Yes ? Tell us, please." Soun encouraged him.
The teenager licked his lips, giving away his slight nervousness.
"In fact, I wasn't sure you had actually said 'Ranma'. So that's why I didn't react."
"But you said before that you had heard 'Ranma' 2 or 3 times…" pointed out Akane, but in a soft voice rather than on a sharp tone.
"I… I know… but in fact, I wasn't completely sure about it… eh eh…" he awkwardly justified himself, his laughter anything but natural…
Across from him, Nabiki narrowed her eyes… and her brain immediately began working quickly and efficiently.
But once she reached a conclusion, she decided to wait a bit before acting.
In the mean time, Akane touched her fiancé's arm, to draw his attention to her.
"Are you sure you're okay, Ranma ?"
"Yeah, I'm fine…"
She wasn't convinced – he hadn't been "fine" in a long time now – but decided not to ruin the mood around the table, and therefore came back to the first topic, the one she had asked him his opinion about (with him not reacting at all).
"As I was saying before, we could go to the fair next month. With my sisters, and Ryoga, if he's around. What do you think ?"
He smiled at her.
"I think that's a great idea !"
She smiled back.
"Well, I haven't been to a fair in quite some time. I might come as well."Soun remarked, before quickly adding : "That is, if my daughters are okay with me coming along…"
"Don't worry, Father : we will be glad to have you with us !" Kasumi ensured him.
There was a short moment of silence… and Nabiki decided that it might be the best time to check the validity of her deduction.
"So, tell me…" she began, staring at her future brother-in-law "…that's pretty cool, going to the fair all together, isn't it ?"
"Yup, definitely !" he approved, giving her a thumb up, and in that very moment, he really did look like himself, like the good old Ranma they all knew and had lived with for years… when he was still normal…
Nabiki discreetly took a deeper breath, knowing the decisive moment had come, and she asked the key question :
"Is Ranma looking forward to that fun time ?"
"But Nabiki, why do-"
"Please let him answer, Akane. You'll understand later." Then the second daughter repeated her question to the pigtailed boy.
The latter hesitated, before replying :
"I guess so…"
She raised a brow.
"You guess so ? You don't know if Ranma is excited about that nice occasion ?"
He felt unsure of himself, in that moment.
"Well, he certainly is. But why do you ask me ? You should ask him directly !"
Silence fell over them like a lead weight, as all realized what his reply implied.
"Do you know who Ranma is ?" Nabiki calmly asked him.
"Well…" he scratched his head. "It's… uh…" Looking around him, he noticed all eyes set on him… goggling eyes ! "It's…me ?"
"My son doesn't remember his name ! What a disgrace ! Shame on the Saotome legacy !" exclaimed Genma, tears of frustration at the corners of his eyes.
"Please calm down, Saotome, will you ? Getting all worked up about this won't help !" pertinently observed Soun, before turning to the confused boy : "Is that so ? You have forgotten that your name is Ranma ?"
"I…I'm sorry… One shouldn't forget his name… It's totally crazy, I know… but… I just… it's as if that name, Ranma, belonged to someone else. That's how I feel about it, when I hear it."
He glanced at Genma.
"You're my father, right ? If you are, just know that I apologize for… for not remembering who I am. I just can't help it. I wish I could recall, I sincerely wish… but…"
The panda-man, face down, arms crossed and eyes closed, frustration tears now rolling down his cheeks, was shaking his head, not believing what was happening, and feeling so ashamed about all this.
Ranma had hung his head, but as he felt a hand laid on his arm, he took it back up and turned it to the right.
Akane, of course.
Her supporting gaze implied that she would support him no matter what, that she was there for him and that he should remain hopeful.
He tried to smile… he really tried… but all he could offer was a part-sad part-upset pout.
-/-
The following Saturday, Nabiki proposed Akane to go to the skating rink with her. Akane replied that her friends were going and had proposed her to come along, yet she had refused, first because she had to watch over Ranma, and second because she wasn't in the mood for it : she had become depressed by her beloved's growing issue.
The second daughter put her hand on the shoulder of the third one.
"Akane, I understand your feelings and respect them. But I honestly think that's precisely why you should come : because you're feeling low lately, and need to take your mind off these worries. Ranma can come with us, of course, but you need to take a bit of time for yourself, once in a while : you can't be trying to solve problems all the time, that's too much of a burden. It's good to think about the others, and even put them first, but you also have to not forget about yourself and your own mental balance, as well as physical well-being."
Akane goggled at her sister.
"Since when have you become so wise, Nabiki ? And it's kind of strange to hear you speak about putting the others first… no offense intended, eh !"
The bobcut girl smiled.
"None taken, mind you. I'm no longer selfish and no longer greedy. I have given up opportunism and moneymaking or getting invited by others : I realized I had been vain and hollow, and immensely selfish, disrespecting others big time as I took advantage of them. I came to despise myself for that, and changed my behaviour… and it was about time !" A brief pause. "So… how about going with me to the skating rink ? Me and Ranma, alright ?"
"With pleasure. And well done for admitting your wrongs and making the necessary changes in your life : that doesn't go without saying, bad habits being very hard to get rid of… but when you succeed, that's a great victory !"
"What are you two talking about, mmmmh ?" asked the pigtailed boy as he slowly got downstairs.
"Ranma, would you like to go ice-skating ?" Akane proposed him, hoping he would accept.
He took a thoughtful expression.
"Ice-skating ?"
"You put shoes equipped with blades below, and with that on your feet, you can skate on the ice…" explained the former greedy brunette.
"Skate…"
"Slide. You can slide on the ice. So, are you interested ?" his officious sister-in-law asked him.
"Sure, why not ? I don't have anyfrigging special to do anywet." the forgetful boy answered.
Both girls knew that correcting him might well be useless, as he would take note of his mistakes… and make the same 1 or 2 days later.
-/-
Upon arrival, Nabiki said she didn't want to go ice-skating for the moment and paid the rental of Akane's blades – she had to insist, because the younger one wanted to stay with her fiancé and let her older sister have all the fun - then smiled as she saw her sister's friends spot her and come to her, the three of them then skating together.
And for the first time in weeks, Akane enjoyed herself and briefly forgot about her worries… although she did occasionally cast a look at Ranma, who was observing her from the side.
"She's doing bretty well. And I'm glad she can have some fun : she looked really sad these past days…" he said, but without looking at the brunette by his side, his eyes instead remaining stuck on the black-haired teen on the ice.
"She's very worried for you, Ranma-kun. The most worried in the family. She loves you, and that's why she's so anxious about your memory issues. So much, actually, that she got kinda depressed about it. I was concerned for her and decided I should do something for her… something to distract her for a while, take her mind off her worries. That's why I invited her here, and I'm glad she can finally loosen up some, have a lil' fun. She badly needed it."
He closed his eyes for a short moment, and when he reopened them…
"Did you say… did you say that she loves me ? Or did I just imagine it ?"
Nabiki grinned at him.
"Ranma-kun, I'm very happy when you manage to remember things. And especially happy when these are important things. In this case, it's extremely important : yes, Akane loves you, sincerely, and is therefore anguished by your condition. She cares a lot for you, and will do all she can to help you… to save you !"
"Akane… I wish I could recall her name, since she loves me so much. But given my memory problems, I might well forget it soon… and I'm sad about that. I don't care so much about forgetting the rest, but the people I love and who love me… that's tifferent. That's the most important, and to think that they could all be erased from my mind one day…"
His head dropped and he stared at the ice in silence.
Nabiki thought he might shed some tears, but didn't see any come out.
She got closer to him and put a hand on his back.
"We will help you, no matter what ! Not just Akane, but all of us : we'll support you and do all we can to make it a less unpleasant experience than it could be. I don't think there's a way to reverse that… that kind of curse, but at least you're not alone to face this. We're all with you, Ranma-kun !"
"Thank you…uh…"
"Nabiki"
"…Nabiki ! Sorry for not remembering your name…"
"No big deal. And you're welcome." she replied, a gentle smile on her lips.
"Nabiki !"
Both turned to the right.
"It's your turn. Go skate some !"
"Nah, I'm fine, Akane. I'll let you do it some more."
"Come on, you came here to skate as well, so please !"
"Really, Akane, I -"
But as her sister insisted, the brunette gave in and went skating. And as she did, she thought that the reason why her younger sis' wanted her to skate was maybe because she was willing to spend some time with Ranma as well. That she didn't want to remain away from him for too long.
"Would you like to try later, Ranma ?" she asked him.
"Try… what ?"
"Try skating. I could help you."
He let out an awkward laughter.
"Honestly, if I got on these, I would fall in no time. I'm sure I wouldn't be able to keep standing on these things."
"Sure ?" she teased him with a nice smile.
He smiled back, and that warmed her heart… so much.
She loved it when he was happy, even for a short time.
-/-
"You look quite pleased !" remarked the pigtailed teenager.
"I am. It was really cool. But… there's only one thing I regret : it's that you couldn't skate, Ranma. Nabiki and I enjoyed ourselves on the ice, but you alas didn't, and I'm a tad disappointed because of this…"
"Oh, it's not so important. I would have fallen on and on, if I had tried. Better not. I'm glad you had fun : that's essunctial for me !"
None of the girls made any remark, getting gradually jaded about his errors and well aware that correcting him meant reminding him of his shortcomings… and would probably prove vain in the long run, as he would likely forget the same thing again quite soon.
"And I'm happy that you are both happy about each other's happiness ! Woopsy, did I make that too complicated, maybe ?" exclaimed Nabiki, and she stuck out her tongue, one eye closed, hand behind her head, in the typical sheepish-funny gesture.
She had actually uttered that twisted sentence on purpose, to amuse them.
And it worked : while Akane did burst out laughing, Ranma at first blinked at her… before chuckling, although that sounded somewhat forced, as if he wasn't quite certain if it was funny indeed yet feeling he should follow suite and imitate Akane.
Happy moments of life… so precious… so rare… so brief… all reasons to cherish them.
But happiness can alas be quickly gone, and that happened at next crossroad, when Ranma, oblivious of the red light on for pedestrians, didn't stop on the side of the street, with the girls, and ended up on the road, just when…
"RANMA !"
-/-
Dr. Tofu raised his head and straightened his glasses, before looking at both anxious girls.
"So… Doctor… is it broken ?" hesitantly asked Akane, dreading the answer.
"Fortunately not. But that's because, as you told me, the driver braked just in time. Had he been going at normal speed, his leg would have been fractured for sure."
The good doctor turned to his young patient, lying silently there and looking at them in turn as they spoke, as if he didn't dare to speak (possibly to avoid uttering another sentence that would give away his memory loss).
"You were very lucky on that one, Ranma ! But you should be very careful next time, before crossing the street…"
"I know, I know, Doc…" replied the pigtailed teenager, rubbing a hand over his tired face. "I think I forgot to check the… the… that green and red light, shaped like a human, that helps to cross a street…"
"Ah, the pedestrian signal ? You were in a hurry and forgot to look at it, that's it ?"
"Well, I…"
Ranma stopped there and looked at the girls.
"He forgot that he had to check that signal before crossing a street…" explained Nabiki, arms crossed, yet looking concerned rather than upset or sulking. "Isn't that true, Ranma-kun ?"
He rubbed his temple.
"I… maybe… I can't really remember…"
Dr. Tofu sighed.
"There's no improvement at all, right ? About your memory, I mean ?"
The boy's "reply" was to look away, unease mixed with annoyance.
Therefore did the practitioner and family friend turn again to the 2 sisters.
"It's worsening, Doctor. He even recently forgot his own identity, and we sometimes have to call him more than just once to make him react and realize HE is Ranma. And his mastery of language i-"
"I don't wanna hear it anymore !" cut the troubled teenager.
She eyed him, biting her lip, her heart heavy with regrets and sadness.
"I'm sorry, Ranma… I wish so badly that I could help you more…"
He gave a weak smile.
"It's ok, you do what you can, Akiko. Thank you for that. But I don't wanna listen to the list of things that I can't do anymore. I don't need that."
"Akiko ?" asked the doctor, but then he got it. "Oh… I understand…" He looked at that girl who once was infatuated with him, years ago, and felt bad for her. "I'm sorry, Akane."
She clenched her fists, head down, repressing her tears.
"I've learned to live with it. My name isn't that important." She raised back her head. "But I want to be here for you, Ranma, and do the utmost for you. That's what really matters. I want to support you and take care of you."
Her voice was wavering, and that prompted Nabiki to put her arm around her sister's shoulders.
"It will be alright, Akane. And I'll help the best I can. Ranma-kun is a good person and I'll help him… help you both…"
Akane, eyes now all shiny, smiled at her sister and squeezed her hand.
"Thanks…"
"Yes, thank you, Nabiki. Not only Ranma, but also Akane, need constant support now. It will be difficult for them… well, for your whole family !" the doctor pointed out.
Ranma observed that brunette with the bobcut hair, and it seemed to him that she had once been pretty despicable, for some reason he couldn't remember, yet she had now changed for the best.
"Thanks a bunch… Nabiki ? Thank for acting… uh… gemerously ? You're a good person too."
Despite the mistake and hesitations, that went straight to the heart of the short-haired girl, and she realized that she had indeed improved in her life.
And that realization made her even more determined to help the ones she loved, and that she should never have taken advantage of…
"We won't let you down, Ranma-kun. No matter how bad things will get… I will be there for you, and for Akane. I can't do much, but I'll do my best to offer you my help. I sincerely hope there'll be a solution for you at some point."
-/-
Ranma's leg wasn't broken, but he was still limping badly, hence did Dr. Tofu lend him a pair of crutches to go home. In fact, the girls had offered him to lean on them, his arms around their necks, yet he had categorically refused : they had already done enough for him, he had to do some things by himself, and he was a man, after all, so he could use strength to move around.
But the man and his strength didn't remain for very long : as he was trying to quickly step aside – or rather "crutch aside" – in order to avoid a boy biking in the most reckless way, one of his crutches landed in a puddle, in front of a shop that had just been moped… and the crutch slipped !
The gender-switcher tried to regain his balance but failed, and collapsed near the entrance of the shop, right where a bucket of dirty water was waiting to be emptied !
The owner hurried outside and apologized to the red-haired - and now wet-haired - beauty, raising a brow when she told him it wasn't a troblem…
"Damn, his language mistakes are getting worse… I hope he won't start expressing himself in some kind of gibberish, or else we won't be able to communicate with him at all !" Nabiki whispered in Akane's ear.
"Mmmmmh ?" a perplexed Ranma let out as she vaguely heard the muttering and cast them a curious glance.
"Uh… nothing… we were just saying that you had been pretty unlucky on this one !" quickly lied the sliest* of the Tendo siblings.
*sliest : I've looked up the superlative of 'sly' and found both 'sliest' AND 'slyest' ! So I'm not sure which spelling is right or is the most common…
"Win some, lo-"
But the blue-eyed female stopped, clearly puzzled.
"My voice ! What happened to my voice ?"
Then she looked down and began poking her breasts.
"WHAT ?! I turned into a GIRL ?!"
Nabiki let out a long deep sigh and exchanged a tired look with Akane.
That memory loss was really becoming difficult to handle…
-/-
Once they were back home, Akane advised the redhead to take a shower or a bath, since the bucket's water, that had changed her gender, was very dirty. She asked her if she needed help, because of her sore leg, yet Ranma told her it would be okay, she would manage.
As for her, she decided to go do some homework, and Nabiki chose to help Kasumi prepare dinner… something she never did before, being not only selfish but also lazy, but that she had decided to regularly do, now that she had become helpful and even generous with others.
Ryoga, who had returned from one of his training sessions, God knows where in town, was playing shogi against Genma : both fathers, feeling the need to change a bit their routine, had decided to teach the Bandana Boy the rules of shogi and have him play against each of them in turn. And the piglet-boy wasn't doing bad for the moment.
Akane later came downstairs, just in time to see Ranma enter the living room, still using the crutches.
But something was off.
How come he didn't…
She rushed after the injured one and saw the pigtailed martial artist "crutch" around the table.
"Ranma, how come you're still in your female form ?" she asked.
The braided teen rested on her crutches, perplexed.
"My female form ?"
Akane felt her patience level start to sink.
"Yes, your female form ! You turned into a girl before, and after having a hot bath, you were supposed to turn back into a guy ! So why are you still a girl and not a boy ? Did you forget to take your bath ?"
"No no, I did. It was so relaxing… Just what I needed."
"It was a hot bath, right ? Not a cold one ?"
Ranma laughed heartily.
"Of course a hot bath ! Who would be crazy enough to take cold baths, eh ?!" she answered on an amused tone, as she put her crutches aside and awkwardly sat down at her table spot.
"But you splashed your face with cold water after, then ?" insisted a clearly nonplussed Akane.
"No, I didn't. There's no reason I would do that."
The third Tendo shut her eyes and briefly pinched the bridge of her nose.
"You didn't get in contact with cold water after your bath ? At all ?" she asked the redhead, her voice louder than before, giving away her growing upset.
"Please, Akane, calm d-" started Ryoga…
…but the glare he got in return ruined his attempt to have her calm down, and he got all silent.
"Ranma-chan, did you use cold water or got splashed with cold water after getting out of your bath ?" calmly asked Nabiki, taking the lead in order to allow her sister to take a short break and "let off some steam".
"No, not at all. I just got dressed, took… these things here…" she pointed to the back with her thumb, where the crutches were "…and got here. No cold water at all. But what's your point with this ?"
"As if you didn't know cold water turns you from boy to girl !" yelled an irritated Genma, clearly angry at his child's "memory shortcomings".
"Calm down, Saotome, will you !" demanded Soun, before turning to the now slightly worried red-haired teen. "Ranma, what we don't understand is that you turned back into a boy in that hot bath, yet you're a girl again… despite your not being in contact with cold water. That's not normal indeed !"
The pigtailed female shook her head.
"I don't remember turning back into a boy in that bath…"
"That's because you forgot that you did, dear Ranma…" intervened Kasumi.
But the redhead shook her head with more determination.
"I'm pretty sure I didn't change gender recently !"
"But that's impossible !" screamed Genma, who then gritted his teeth and curled his hands into fists.
"Wait a minute, please !" Nabiki asked him, before addressing her friend again. "You're saying that you remained a girl while having your hot bath ? That's it ?"
She got a vigorous nod in return.
"But how can that be possible, if it's true ?" Ryoga wondered aloud.
Nabiki narrowed her eyes, and after a brief moment of reflection, she got up, walked around the table, grabbed the kettle as she passed by Kasumi and stopped right beside Ranma.
Tilting the kettle over the pigtailed head, she let a small hot cascade drench the red hair…
…which remained red !
-/-
You understand what that means, don't you ? And the good fans that you are probably now think about a certain scene of the Herb arc, in which Ranma is sitting in hot water… in her female form, and totally puzzled at her NOT changing gender ! Well, I didn't imagine this part here in relation to that scene, I had it in mind already and only later did I realize the similarity between both.
Now, how come this is happening ? Has it got something to do with Ranma's memory loss ? A side/collateral effect ? You'll soon know, but you'll see that said memory loss is more complex than it seems… Did I ever mention I have a twisted mind ? **V-sign**
In this chappy, you have noticed my "improvement" of Nabiki's character. That change of hers was already present in my previous fic', THE TIDE'S TURNING, in which Nabiki helps Ranma and reveals to her and Akane that she lost a dear friend of hers because of her own selfishness, opportunism and manipulation. In both the manga and anime, she's pretty greedy, takes advantage of others (getting invited, offered food and gifts, aso.) and is very opportunistic, even blackmailing Ranma in some cases. Honestly, I'm not fond of her nature, and decided to change it in my stories, to make her a more likeable character, choosing to help others and even being generous (she financially helped Ranma, to a great extent, in THE TIDE'S TURNING, and might also lend a "paying hand" in this story, later on… you'll see… ;D)
Also essential is Ranma's loss of control regarding language. Because this jeopardizes her communication with others, should it worsen on and on. And someone who is no longer able to communicate is in an extremely bad situation, eh !
Ok, that will be it for now. And sorry for the bit of delay : I should have tried harder to find some time to write this onward… my bad ! ^^'
Wish you all the best, taKare, be as happy as you can possibly be… and read you soon !
Léo