"My name is Kirijo," said the redhead, flipping back her hair and looking considerably less disheveled. "Mitsuru Kirijo."
"Kirijo?" asked Nabiki. "Oh, like the Kirijo group?"
"Something like that," said the redhead. "You coming in?"
"So, how did you know Ranma?" asked Nabiki, taking in the girl's appearance.
"I met him years ago, while he was on his training journey," said Kirijo. "I found out he was staying at the Tendo Dojo in Nerima and wanted to see if the rumors were true."
"You engaged to him?" asked Nabiki.
"No," said Mitsuru with a smirk. "Not engaged. Though that might have... benefits."
"No?" asked Nabiki. "Then why?"
"A mistake that many have made over the centuries if one studies history," said Kirijo. "'It seemed like a good idea at the time.' While it did allow me to ascertain about certain rumors, I hadn't planned on this level of personal involvement. Speaking of which, I don't suppose you've found my panties anywhere?"
"Uh, no," said Nabiki. "I was just looking around. I couldn't get any information otherwise."
"Did you use the keyboard?" asked Kirijo.
"'Keyboard'?" asked Nabiki. "WHAT keyboard?"
Mitsuru walked to the screen displaying the message and pulled on a section of the bottom border. That slid out revealing an old-style computer keyboard.
"How did you know it was there?" asked Nabiki.
"You could see the grip and the sliders if you had an idea of what to look for," said Mitsuru as she pulled a stool closer. "Let's see, now."
"Wait a minute, I don't even know where we are!" began Nabiki.
"It's simple enough," said Mitsuru, as she tapped away. "This facility began its life as an extensive fallout shelter back in the 1950s, it has been significantly extended and developed as other crises were determined to exist."
"Yeah, that's what the screen said," began Nabiki. "There's no way this could be built in Japan though. We get too many earthquakes."
"Other than that, we're in the American Southwest, in an area that is tectonically quite stable," said Mitsuru as she continued. "I'm thinking that maybe Kansas or Missouri."
"You're familiar with that part of the world?" asked Nabiki.
"I'm a college student," said Mitsuru. "My last year of high school was a bit stressful but still had a fair amount of information to be gleaned."
"Well, you certainly didn't go to Furinkan," said Nabiki. "So what does this computer tell you?"
"This is Habitat 4, which is essentially the equivelant of a buried skyscraper," said Mitsuru. "Which itself means there are at least three others - though they might not be active. Block C, level 24 - so at least twenty four 'floors' to each building. Corridor D. Since we can determine that the technology is regularly updated and replaced here, some of the items are quite old."
"Such as a keyboard apparently made in the early 80s," pointed out Nabiki.
"Or a clock made in 1952," responded Mitsuru, inclining her head towards an old wind-up alarm clock on a nightstand.
"What makes you think we're in the USA?" asked Nabiki, that point bothering her.
"The language that most of the items have on them is English," said Mitsuru. "There is also... this."
Nabiki stared at the travel pamphlet apparently left behind. "A travel brochure for some place called 'Wichita'?"
"D'ya two mind not being so... oh right," said a sleepy-sounding Ranma before prying Kasumi's arms off of him.
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(Posted Wed, 17 Oct 2007 00:52)
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