A waitress popped out from behind the mechanical man. “Don’t mind the prop, it’s just to let us know we have customers. Like a bell over the door. Unfortunately, due to the owner’s perverse humor, it’s as likely to scare away paying customers as it is to get our attention.” She beckoned for them to follow her. Following the girl, Nabiki noticed that she wore coveralls like some kind of car mechanic. The name of the diner was embroidered into the back.
Showing them to a table, she reached into the large right pocket of her coverall with her right hand and began to remove a couple menus. “We offer a discount to those who has already bought something from the mall.”
Nabiki promptly removed the receipt for the tattoos from her purse and showed it to the girl. The waitress, without missing a beat, dropped the menus back into her right pocket and swiftly pulled two menus out of her left pocket. “Here you go. My name is Motoko. Can I start you two off with a drink?”
Nabiki accepted her menu, but raised an eyebrow. “What’s different about these menus?”
The waitress didn’t even bat an eyelash. “They show the discount already in the prices.” However, Nabiki was still suspicious.
“Do you have any tea?” Ranma didn’t bother to look in the menu’s drink section.
“Yes,” Motoko replied with a smile, “I’ll bring out a pot and two mugs then?”
Nabiki nodded her agreement. When the waitress left, the two diners opened their menu. Nabiki immediately noticed that all of the names related to mecha anime, somehow, but did little to reveal what each dish was.
“So,” Nabiki hesitantly began, “what looks good to you?”
“The Heero sandwich, and the Mazinger Zappetizer Combo. You?”
Nabiki looked at Ranma in wonder. “You picked something just like that? It doesn’t even say what comes on the sandwich or in the combo.”
“Well,” Ranma drawled out, “it all can’t be Tofu.” He smirked as Nabiki gave a groan of defeat.
The waitress showed up, carrying a teapot and mugs on a tray. “Here you folks go. Ready to order or do you need another minute?”
Ranma looked at Nabiki who shrugged. “I guess we’re as ready as we’re going to be,” she replied to the waitress.
“OK, then. What will you folks be having?”
Nabiki nodded to Ranma, indicating he should go first. “A Heero sub and the Mazinger Zappetizer for me, please.”
“And I’ll have the Getter Robo fried rice and Astro Boy soup.” Nabiki picked two items at random.
The waitress made note of their orders on her pad. “I’ll put the order right in. Enjoy your tea in the meantime.”
Silence fell on the table as the waitress left. Feeling awkward, Ranma thought he should say something. “I hope we find a way out soon. We might have to spend the night on a park bench at this rate.”
Nabiki fidgeted with her napkin. “Do you think there is a way out? Don’t answer that. Well, I have been having fun, so no hurry on leaving. Alright?” Nabiki sighed, reached over, and poured tea for Ranma and her. “How does it feel to be one year older?”
“I don’t know. I don’t feel any different. I don’t see anything changing in my life just because I have a birthday. Other than, maybe, pops and Tendo-san trying even harder to marry me off.”
Nabiki giggled. “They are rather single-minded about that, aren’t they. Though, I do have to admit it is nice to see father so lively. For the longest time after mom died, he just sat around and let life pass him by.” Nabiki’s expression softened to a far away gaze. Ranma, not knowing what to say, reached over and held her hands in his.
“What was it like for you when you left your mother for the training trip?” Ranma seldom talked about his early childhood, and Nabiki couldn’t help wonder how he might of turned out different if his mother had went along.
Ranma shrugged. “I don’t really have any specific memories of that time. I don’t know what it was first like. Those early years are in a fog. Things like playing with Ukyo I recall, but those times were very different from the rest. After eight, there is less of a fog, but it is all a blur. One day of training blends into the next and time loses meaning. If it wasn’t for Jusenkyo, the Amazons, and coming to Nerima, I might have forgotten my teenage years, being no different then the rest of my childhood.”
“So, you don’t recall if you missed your mom? Don’t remember if, after a couple days on the road, you threw a fit because you wanted your mommy? Do you know when you first thought your mom was dead?” Nabiki sipped at her tea, waiting for Ranma to answer.
“No, none of those. For the longest time, I simply just didn’t have a mom. I didn’t think about it much. Pops didn’t like me thinking about anything other the The Art. I don’t know, I guess some of the kids might of picked on me when I was younger. Though, they would of stop doing that after I beat them up good. Heh heh heh. I just ... didn’t have a mom. I never felt like I lost one if i never thought I had one to begin with. It is more like I found a mom, not lost one.” Ranma gazed off into the distance, memories of childhood running through his head.
“Didn’t you ever miss having one? I can’t imagine living life with the only person around being Uncle Genma.” Nabiki asked softly, busy trying to imagine what Ranma’s childhood would be like.
“Yeah, I’m sure I did. You know, when you see the other kids and what they got. But I always was told that the only thing I had in life was The Art, and if I wasn’t good at that then I wasn’t good for anything. Wanting what someone else has wouldn’t improve my lot in life. Well, pops didn’t quite say it that nicely, but that’s the gist of it.” Ranma shrugged. “But why are we talking like a pair of old people? Certainly the future is for the young, the past is for the old.”
Nabiki smiled at Ranma. “The future huh? OK, birthday boy, what do you see in your future?”
Ranma shrugged. “The Art, training, and being the best martial artist in the world.” Ranma took a sip from his tea.
Nabiki rolled her eyes. “What about work? College? Where do you see yourself five years from now?”
Rubbing his chin, Ranma gave thought to an answer, but only for a moment. “For the longest time I went were pops pointed me. I had to learn that what I wanted didn’t matter. I always wanted to be a police officer. I could use The Art to protect people and get paid for it. I never mentioned it before, though. No one ever asked me what I wanted to do, nor cared to listen. Pops expected me to be obedient. I don’t think he ever thought about police work. I don’t even know what he thought about my future. When I was little and would asked him, he’d always say that a martial artist’s focus was on the here and now and to let him worry about stuff like that. I always figured pops wanted me to teach or something. Maybe fight in tournaments. I don’t know. Now, I know that marrying a Tendo fits into his plans, but not how. I don’t know what’s so important he couldn’t wait another ten years for a wedding.” Ranma sighed. Focusing on Nabiki, again, he continued, “I think I could juggle being a cop by day and sensei by night. During the day, kids are at school and people are at work. Who would I teach then? And, I could teach the other officers as well. Police have to learn from somewhere. But - I don’t know ... what college would I go to? Not like anyone has ever told me. Move around enough, and you don’t have enough time to get to know the school guidance counselor before they start writing you off as street sweeper. So I don’t know where I’ll be in five years. Living with pops, one didn’t know where they’d be in five months time. I never learned how to plan that far in advance. I never had to. I just ... I just don’t know. Sorry Nabs, I’m sure you were expecting more. You seem to have a good idea what your going to be doing with your life. Must be nice to have security.”
Nabiki shook her head and patted Ranma’s hand. “I understand. But it is never to late, remember that. First, you have to live for yourself. You said earlier, you’d like to create something for once. To build up instead of tearing down. Well, your father is not going anywhere for the time being. Why not try some of that planning now. If you find something you’d like to try, try it. Feel like creating something, do so. Don’t tell too many people. The ones in your life are likely to talk you out of anything, to kill your inspiration. For no other reason than what you want to do would bear them no profit or advantage. Or, maybe, they just don’t understand. Face it, the folks of Nerima like to shove things into their own narrow view of the world. If it is something they wouldn’t do, then why should someone else. They just wouldn’t see the point. And your father, especially, would prefer you to only do the things for The Art or things that would promote a union of the schools, which is also for The Art, I suppose. So, just do it. Painting class, songwriting, write your autobiography, go find out what it takes to join the Police, work for a detective or investigator, write mysteries, or anything that catches your fancy. Then when you figured out what you want to do with your life, you can figure out how to go about doing it.”
Ranma looked on sadly. “How long could I try something before someone shows up looking to start a fight? How long before people decide I’m more trouble then I’m worth? I only know one thing, traveling around to improve in The Art. What if that is meant to be my life?”
“If that is what makes you happy, then nothing wrong with doing just that.” Nabiki sipped at her tea.
“But that is just it. I don’t know of anything else, so I don’t know if something else would make me happier or not. Maybe I’m not happy, just ill informed.” Ranma sighed and drained his tea mug. “More tea?” He asked as he lifted the teapot.
“Sure.” Nabiki quietly processed what Ranma told her as he busied himself pouring tea in her mug and his. As Ranma placed the pot back down, the waitress approached their table.
“I got your Zappetizers and your soup. Here you go.” She smiled at them as she placed their orders in front of them. “Can I get you anything, more tea?”
“No thanks,” Nabiki answered. “We’re all set.”
With gusto driven by an empty stomach, both began to devour their first course.
Across the courtyard, sitting unnoticed on top of Khan’s Mongolian Hoard and watching the two, was a familiar goddess.
“You know your not suppose to interfere, right?” Came a deep voice from next to her right shoulder.
The goddess didn’t startle, nor did she turn to look at who addressed her. She kept her eyes on the couple. “I’m not interfering. What gave you that idea?”
“So, Nabiki suddenly feels the need to buy Ranma a present on her own? I wonder what you’ll have her get for him? Probably something worth its weight in trouble,” The deep voice accused her.
The goddess gave a snort. “She was already leaning in that direction, I just tipped her, is all. And whatever she gets is going to be up to her. I just think he deserves something, it is his birthday after all. You know how important that is for the mortals. And, also, do you honestly think the fathers or the fiancées are going to think to buy him anything? The way they act, it’s all about what Ranma can give them, not the other way around. Anyways, if I was to give him something, it would come in the mail. And probably do something different depending on who stole it and what their feelings for Ranma were at the moment.” The goddess gave a giggle, thinking of the kinds of tailored curses she could hand out.
The deep voice groaned. “You know that’s not allowed. Even if they invited us all to meddle in their lives.”
“What about you?” The goddess asked after a moments thought. “Not going to get him anything? He is your great great gran-”
“NO! Don’t say it. You know perfectly well we’re not related, not even remotely. He’s not even an avatar, cleric, or priest of mine. Plus, if he was to come from one of us, wouldn’t it make more sense if it was-”
“And you know better then that, yourself,” the goddess cut him off. “He’s not an avatar for chaos. It is not chaos that swirls in his wake. It is bad luck and Murphy’s law. Whatever can go wrong for Ranma will go wrong and at the worst possible moment. His curse is as much about inopportune timing as it is about changing forms. Simply put, Ranma’s fate abhors boredom.”
The voice hummed a couple bars of a tuneless phrase. “Well, he does lead an excitement filled life. But I always thought that he seems to personally prove that the chaos of the universe tends towards a maximum. He seems to be an agent of entropy, there is more then bad luck and poor timing at work here.”
It was the goddess’s turn to contemplate the other’s words. “Well, the question still stands. What are you intending on gifting the young man?” A snort was all the reply she got. “What is that suppose to mean?”
“It means that you know very well we can’t interfere. They're Toltiir’s for now, and we need to let his bid play out first. Just let them be, he gets into enough trouble without any help.”
“My thoughts exactly, which is why I’m just watching.” Another snort of disbelief was the response. “No, really, I am.”
“And Nabiki?”
“She just needed a little help. And, I am curious what she would get him on her own. Now shush and let us watch.”
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(Posted Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:36)
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