Nabiki knocked on the door to her youngest sister’s room. “Minako? It’s me, Nabiki.”
“Come in.”
“I hope I’m not bothering you….”
“Don’t worry about it — it’s only homework.”
Nabiki had to resist the urge to roll her eyes as Minako once again displayed her decidedly non-studious tendencies towards academic pursuits; not only did know from past experience that any attempts to object would likely be fruitless, she didn’t want to get distracted from her original purpose. “I, uh, saw Ranma heading into the dojo while you were in there. Anything interesting happen?”
“Why? You want to be his fiancée?”
“What? No, that’s not what I meant — I mean, we hardly know him. I’m just… curious, that’s all.”
Now, Minako Tendo’s skill at schoolwork may not have been particularly spectacular, and she may have had a tendency to mangle idioms, but she certainly wasn’t stupid. After all, they say experience is the best teacher, and the blonde girl had fourteen years of experience with her sister. When Nabiki started talking evasively like that, experience had taught her that it usually meant she wasn’t trying to get information, but was either trying to confirm one of her suspicions or catch someone in an outright lie. “You already know what happened in there, don’t you?”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because you’re obviously trying to steer the conversation that way.”
“Well, if we both know, what’s to keep us from speaking openly?”
“Nabiki, I really don’t want to play your little games, alright?”
Her older sister sighed. “For someone with such an exuberant personality, you really know how to suck the fun out of a conversation, you know that? Fine, I’ll admit it: I followed Ranma to the dojo to make sure he didn’t try anything perverted, and I saw the whole magical girl deal. I’ve also already talked to Ranma and Mr. Cat—”
“His name’s Artemis.”
“Whatever. As I was saying, I’ve talked to the two of them about this, and they’ve told me what they can about this whole Princess of Venus deal.”
“Oh… and, uh, what about it?”
“Well, first off, I’m still not entirely certain they aren’t just creeps who want to get you into that skimpy schoolgirl outfit, but Ranma seemed to genuinely believe everything he said when I talked to him — either that, or he’s a really good actor. But that’s beside the point, really. I just want to make sure you’re really willing to go through with this.”
“Why does it matter?”
“Why? Because you haven’t even known him for a day, and already you’ve agreed to help him fight demons! Is it really worth it to risk your life for someone you don’t know?”
“But… I’m not risking it for him, I’m risking my life for everyone!”
“Do you even know what you’re going to be doing?”
“Um, no, but…”
“But what?”
Minako sighed. “Look, Nabiki, this might be hard to understand for someone like you who reasons everything out before making a decision, but I… I know they’re telling the truth. And I don’t mean that I think they’re telling the truth, or that I want them to be telling the truth — I… I just somehow know it. Though I suppose you’ll just assume that they’ve brainwashed me or something like that….”
It was Nabiki’s turn to sigh. “No… it’s not that. It’s just that I don’t want you to get hurt, that’s all. I mean, you’re my sister, and the thought of you going out there and fighting who-knows-what… well, it just makes me uncomfortable, I guess.”
Having been exposed to the rare sight of her unflappable, witty sister fumbling over words due to her emotions, Minako got up from her bed and walked over to Nabiki, hugging her. “It’s alright,” she said. “I know that you’re worried about me, and it’s not like I can blame you. But this… this is really my chance to do something that matters, you know? I mean, it’s not like I can protect people by playing volleyball — well, unless there’s some sort of school of Martial Arts Volleyball in the area….”
“You really do want to do this, don’t you?”
“I think so… I mean, if they’re right, and I really am the only one who can do this — well, I sort of have to give them the benefit of a doubt, right?”
“I suppose,” Nabiki said in resignation. “And don’t worry, I won’t tell Dad — something like this would probably give him a heart attack, anyway. But I’m not just going to act as a cover for you all the time; not until I see some more proof, anyway.”
“That’s enough for now, I think.”
“Look, Just promise me that you’ll be careful, okay?”
“I will.”
“And if, by chance, the Cat-Boy really is doing this just to ogle you…”
“…I’ll boot him out of the frying pan in a blaze of glory,” Minako finished for her.
“Uh, right.”
From her post at the Time Gates, Pluto breathed a massive sigh of relief. It looked like her policy of non-intervention was still working — though she’d been sorely tempted to try and exert some influence (overtly or otherwise) on Soun Tendo’s second daughter. She knew, of course, that it wasn’t going to get any easier: trying to decide when her involvement in a series of events was truly needed seemed to be getting more and more difficult as the Princess’s reawakening approached, and likely as not, that difficulty would not decrease afterwards.
Still, she couldn’t let the stress get to her — if she took the easy way out (which, in the long run, was neither easy nor a way out) and tried to actively exert her will on the chronology, she’d end up like the other Time Guardians: corrupted, dishonorable, and a threat to humanity. And this Pluto was hell-bent on making sure that history did not remember her in those terms. Fortunately for her, though, it looked like she’d be able to take a slight breather: with Nabiki’s agreement not to interfere, it looked like Ranma and Artemis would be able to handle things until the Dark Kingdom made its move.
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(Posted Sun, 03 Dec 2006 04:00)
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