[Episode 200443] [Episode 200443]Nabiki mentally groaned as she woke up, finding her arms arranged in such a way she was hugging herself just below her breasts, a funny taste in her mouth and on the floor in a dimly-lit padded room, like those you’d find in an insane asylum. Her eyesight also seemed to be reduced. She couldn’t see more than a few centimetres in front of her.
'What the… Where am I? I've never woken up like this before,' she wondered groggily, as she attempted to do her usual stretches to work out all the kinks in her stiff limbs... But to her horror, her arms wouldn't budge from where they were! That detail woke her fully up. She attempted to call out for help, but all that came out of her mouth was a muffled series of sounds... This new detail made her panic and she started frantically struggling to free her arms, with little success. As she was squirming around on the floor trying to loosen the restraint on her arms, she heard the faint sound of chains clinking from somewhere. But she couldn’t tell where exactly, due to her reduced field of vision.
Finally, she just ran out of steam and just laid there, the hollow gasping sound echoing in her ears as she gulped in fresh air through her mouth. This indicated that whatever was gagging her; it had a tube through the middle to allow her breath normally. Her nostrils were also completely clear of any obstructions, but it was obvious that she wouldn’t be able to get free. As her breathing slowly started to return to a more regular rhythm, Nabiki took stock of the situation. ‘Well, this is just great! I’m nearly totally blind; gagged and my arms are bound in front of me with no way to get loose… How did I get into this mess? Oh yeah,’ she mentally sighed; ‘now I remember… Trying to find out why Ranma has been acting so strange recently! On reflection, this may not have been one of my better ideas,’ her thoughts trailed off as she reflected on how she ended up in this mess…
It had been just over three months after the whole Saffron affair and failed wedding attempt... In the aftermath right after the wedding, Nokoda had expressed a desire to spend some’ long-overdue quality time' with her son without any of the usual interruptions of Nerima! Unless it was an extreme emergency that required his skills, she and Ranma were not to be disturbed... Everyone had quickly agreed to this, seeing that Nokoda was in no mood for arguments with anyone. Where she and Ranma would be living while they were spending time together was to be kept secret for the next few months, as she had put it: “One house destroyed by you girls was quite enough, thank you!” She had already rented a large apartment somewhere in Juuban, for just her and Ranma. Genma could remain with the Tendos for a while, but he had to pull his weight and not just lounge about. Much to Nabiki's annoyance, Nokoda hadn't left any trails for her to follow, so she had been as clueless as the rest of them to Ranma's location! Nokoda had said both she and Ranma would be staying at the apartment with her until the end of the school year with Ranma still attending school in Nerima during the day, but returning back to the flat at night. Also, until further notice, all engagements were to be put on hold. All the fiancées thought this a little unfair, but reluctantly accepted this. Each of them thought that, given enough time away from their rivals, Ranma would pick them.
At first, the daily routine had gone on as normal for everyone. But a month into the new system, Ranma had started to act very strange (for him at least)... Firstly, he stopped sleeping in class and started actually paying attention to what was being taught. Then his grades started to increase in leaps and bounds. He had always just barely scraped through his exams with just the bare minimum needed to pass before this, but now he was scoring near perfect marks in everything. Both Akane and Ukyou were surprised at this new work ethic of his, to say the least… The next odd thing that had happened was he paid off all the tabs he had racked up at both the Cat Café and Ukyou’s restaurant in full, along with a bonus. After he had done that, he didn't stop by them anymore for lunch or even a meal, but always brought something from home! He had also taken to using his brains instead of his fists to beat Kuno. Whenever Kuno tried to jump him, Ranma would ask him something like “If thunder is a sound, how can it be coloured blue?” Then while Kuno was processing the question, which always took him a while to do, Ranma would just walk by him and get to his class on time. Speaking of which, he had started to arrive early every morning.
But none of these changes was the thing that had really freaked out the fiancées! Shampoo had tried to hug him as usual on the first Friday after the new system was introduced. Akane had nearly whipped out her mallet on reflex to hit him for that act, but what happened next had stunned everyone that saw it. Ranma just simply went and sidestepped Shampoo’s attempt! This had never happened before and everyone who saw it thought it was one of the seven signs of the Apocalypse. Shampoo had seemed especially shocked…
Nabiki hadn’t been too put out by his new behaviour, well not at first anyway. People had placing new bets on just how Ranma would behave that day or the method he’d trick Kuno with. Her profits had started to pick up again, from the slump they had gone into before the failed wedding. But even she had been taken totally by surprise when Ranma had requested to take the advancement exam to the graduating class of that year. That put him in the same class as she was. This event was at the start of the second month of his new work ethic. Miss Hinako had protested at this, saying he wasn’t old enough. But he had taken out a birth certificate that stated that he was actually one year older than what Genma had put him down as when he first had been enrolled. And when Principal Kuno had tried to interfere with the process, Ranma had threatened to report him to the school inspectors for unfair student harassment. That had quickly stopped Principal Kuno’s interference. Not only had Ranma passed the test, but he was already up to speed with all the new subjects…
Nabiki was now very curious to learn more about Ranma. This wasn’t the way he had acted before, while he was staying with the Tendos. This new side of him had made him into an unknown quantity to her. And if there was one thing that she both hated and was intrigued by, it was not having all the answers about someone. This was especially true, if she had thought she had that person all figured out, but the facts she had gathered actually turned out to false. She had attempted to answer these questions by engaging him in casual conversation, hoping to catch him out and make him reveal the location of where he was living. But Ranma managed to turn these conversations into a verbal spar. Nabiki actually started to enjoy these battles of wits; it was rare that people who knew of her reputation actually attempted to match wits with her. And not only that, but he actually managed to get the better of her at times. Even when she thought had caught him out; he managed not to give up the prize she was seeking. But that didn’t deter Nabiki; she was relishing this new challenge.
There now seemed to be little or no trace of the dumb jock Ranma had always made himself out to be to everyone he knew…Even Kasumi had commented that he seemed different, when they had met in the market three weeks after he moved out. None of the girls had any idea about which side of Ranma they had seen was his true face. Finally, Nabiki had gathered all the girls together, baring Kodachi since none of them had wanted to deal with her ego and she wasn’t officially a fiancée anyway. Nabiki had proposed a plan, that all of the girls present should try to tail him on the last day of the summer exams. The reason for this was that the results of the final exams wouldn’t be released to the students for several months, so it would be their last chance for a while to find the flat and get to the bottom of Ranma’s odd behaviour recently. Kasumi at first wasn’t too keen on spying on Ranma, not wanting to break the promise they had made to Nokoda, but she eventually agreed. Even she was curious for answers...
The rest of the meeting was spent making plans on how to follow him: who would cover which routes to Juuban, a disguise for Shampoo to help her blend into the crowds better and an emergency signal if one of them got into trouble. Nabiki then gave each of the girls a walkie-talkie all tuned to the same frequency so they could stay in contact. They also worked out an excuse for each of them to get the same time off. On the Monday before the plan was due to start, Kasumi had told the fathers that she’d gotten a letter from an old school friend. They had been living in Kyoto, but recently moved back to Tokyo and the Juuban area. The friend had invited her to visit that week-end, to catch up on what they had been doing for the past few years. She would make enough frozen dinners to last them both a few days, just in case she ended up staying a few days.
Ukyou wouldn’t open the restaurant that week. She had explained it to Konstau as being too busy with exams. Akane would be going on a shopping trip to buy a birthday present for Yuka. Shampoo had managed to get the weekend off, but she would have to make some deliveries for the first half of that Friday. Fortunately, Elder Cologne didn't suspect her true motives for time off, buying her excuse of wanting to get a bit of personal training done on the outskirts of town... Nabiki's cover story was that she would be going to a magna signing of her favourite author at the Juuban bookstore. This was actually happening, so it was the best cover.
And so on Friday, the 31st of May, at half two in the afternoon, the operation began. As Ranma left the school, Shampoo followed him on her delivery bike while keeping at a safe distance to avoid both normal and Ki detection. It was easy enough for her to keep him in sight; he was just walking along on the ground normally. From what she could tell, he was going to take the train back to Juuban. He also seemed to be looking around him a lot, with his face looking like he was deep in thought. Shampoo had radioed in with her report along with a warning that Ranma may know he was being followed. Both Nabiki and Kasumi then took over for the train ride, since Shampoo still had four more deliveries to make before she was done for the day. She would meet up with the rest of the group later on. Kasumi, who was lucky enough to get a seat in the same compartment as Ranma, noted that he seemed to be reading something, but couldn’t get any closer without blowing her cover.
Nabiki had gotten a seat in a separate compartment. While she was there, she had overheard these two guys talking about an exclusive new club that had just opened. No-one knew what it was like inside, since it was members only and the clientele wouldn't talk to reporters. Nabiki quickly noted down the address. She had wanted to learn more, but it was her stop next. Both Akane and Ukyou met up with both her and Kasumi upon their arrival at the station. They had been finished much earlier than Ranma and Nabiki, due to not having as many exams and no other business to take care of. This had allowed them to catch an earlier train and scout out possible areas for the flat. So far, they hadn’t found it. The four of them then tailed him to a nearby café where he met with his mother. His mother was pleased to see him and they had hugged each other, then sat down to order. After a brief meal by both of them, Nokoda had handed Ranma something that had totally shocked him. They then started whispering quietly. Unfortunately, none of the girls could make out what the object was and Nabiki hadn't brought a directional microphone to listen in on their whispers. After that, the two split up, with Nokoda telling Ranma to meet at the agreed place in three hours.
The girls had also separated. Kasumi would be following Nokoda, while keeping at a safe distance. Akane, Ukyou and Shampoo, who had just arrived, would tail Ranma and make sure that they weren't seen. Nabiki would go and get both the magna and Yuka's present, so as to confirm both Akane's story and her own. They would radio a report every half hour until they met up again. And if something was wrong, they'd call SOS and their location to the other. For the first hour and a half everything was okay, but Kasumi then missed the next two check-in times.
Nabiki had suddenly gotten a bad feeling about this and quickly met up with the others after finishing her shopping, figuring that it be better to stick together. As the time for Ranma and Nokoda to meet up again came closer and they continued to follow Ranma, Nabiki realized that he was getting very close to the new club she had heard about. It turned out to be quite a posh-looking place with a doorman standing watch. Ranma had walked right up to the doorman. He flashed what appeared to be an invitation to the doorman and walked in. The girls paused, not sure of what to do now, since they didn’t have an invite...
After a brief group huddle, they decided to let Nabiki take the lead and try to bluff their way in. But, as they neared the door, they had heard a very familiar laugh! It was Kodachi, who was wielding one of her usual weapons... “Looks like she used Sasuke to listen in on our plan and decided to follow us,” Nabiki groaned, only now realising the major flaw in the planning session, they hadn't made sure that Sasuke wasn't listening in! Since Kasumi had been distracted due to her helping plan out the operation, she hadn't detected him snooping around. She usually had a sense for when he was around. But that still didn't explain where Kasumi had gotten to.
Akane had jumped the gun and thought Kodachi was to blame for Kasumi's disapppearance. The ensuing melee had soon got out of control, with both Ukyou and Shampoo getting pulled into it. The doorman had quickly called for backup stating a 'Code Purple', which was promptly responded to by the club... The response unit turned out to be equipped like a full-blown SWAT team. 'I didn't know that the Juuban area even had trained professionals to deal with martial artists here...' Nabiki thought in wonder. They had read the situation in an instant and used sleeping gas to pacify the girls. Since Nabiki had been too close to the action, she too got hit by the gas. Her last clear memories before she had blacked out, was one of the men ordering for them to taken inside. The others were to be taken to the high security lock-down, whereas she was to be brought to the observation sector. Then everything had gone dark and when she woke up she was here.
Just then, Nabiki heard a sound of a lift arriving on that floor, quickly followed by footsteps coming down the corridor outside the room she was in. From the sound of it, one person seemed to be a female in high heels, the other was male. She strained to hear the conversation of the new arrivals. All she could make out was that the female wanted to collect Nabiki. And from the way the other person was acting deferent to her, she was not some-one to be messed with. The door opened, and the guard and the new arrivals walked in. Nabiki tried to make out what they looked like with what her currently limited vision allowed. The man was a big tough looking guy; he wouldn’t have looked out of place in a Yakuza-run operation and the female…
Nabiki’s jaw would have dropped, if she could have moved it, at the sight that greeted her. ‘Ranma, no it can’t be him… Can it?’ she thought. But it was. He, no she at the moment, was dressed in clothes that were so out of character for either form; Nabiki probably wouldn’t have recognized him at all. Only the fact that Ranma had knelt down close to check on her well-being, gave his identity away. As he did so, she’d seen his bright crystal blue eyes which never changed in either form. Nabiki started to attempt to grunt out a question, but Ranma put his finger to his lips, cutting Nabiki off. In a very low voice, so the guard wouldn’t hear him, he whispered: “Not here or now! I’ll explain everything later in my room here, I promise. For now I need you to co-operate with me, no matter how much you might dislike it… I’ll try not to degrade you too badly, but we need to keep up appearances.”
Nabiki nodded once, to show she understood and then started to look more closely at Ranma while he/she turned around to the guard and started barking out orders. He was wearing his red hair out of the usual pigtail he usually kept it in. It was done up in the same style that his mother usually had her hair done. His face was covered by a black butterfly-shaped mask, which covered the top half of his face. He was also wearing a pair of long black latex opera gloves with a small belt tied around the top of each glove, to prevent it from falling down. On each wrist, a spiked bracelet was tightly fastened. The black latex thigh-high shoes with high heels he was wearing had a bit of lacework stitching on the outside of the legs, leaving some of his thigh visible through the boot. His torso and breasts were contained in a top which just barely covered everything, with lacing in front to connect the two halves of the top and a pair of chains that came from a spiked collar to the two halves. Much to Nabiki’s astonishment, he was also wearing a skimpy G-string. ‘Ok, now I know something major is up here… Ranma would never wear anything like that, even if it was for a disguise, in Nerima,’ Nabiki noted with shock. She began to wonder just what in the world she had let herself in for by agreeing to what Ranma wanted.
Nabiki’s musings was then interrupted by Ranma kneeling in front of her again. In his hands, he was holding an open dog collar. It had an attached pet tag of a red stallion, rearing on its hind legs. She goggled at this sight, but remembering his promise, she shifted her head, letting him fasten the collar around her neck without a struggle. Ranma then helped her up; all the while the sound of chains clinking grew louder. Nabiki felt a little unsteady on her feet at first, but soon recovered. Looking down at her feet, she discovered that sound of chains she had been hearing was due to a pair of ankle cuffs fastened onto both legs. She was also wearing some high heels of her own.
Trying some experimental steps to check the length of chain, she found that she could now only take small length strides, any further and she’d overbalance. She then heard a small click and realized that Ranma had attached a leash to her collar while she was distracted. “Come along then slave, we don’t have all day,” Ranma said in a gentle but no-nonsense tone while giving a gentle tug of the leash. Nabiki started to follow him meekly, completely dumbfounded at how natural it seemed for Ranma to be doing something like this. 'Look at him; he's walking along with total confidence... Not his usual cocky arrogance, but a well seasoned belief in him-self. What in the world has he been up to for the last three months?' she pondered.
As they left out of the room, Nabiki stumbled a little at the doorway due to the chain on between her ankles snagging on something. Fortunately, Ranma had expected this possibility and he steadied her while she regained her balance. She could feel the lust-filled gaze of the guard on her body and shivered, not liking it at all. Ranma noticed this and after checking Nabiki was okay, he turned around to the guard, releasing a small amount of his battle aura. “I don't like when your security people attack our expected guests. Red Queen and I had been expecting them to arrive today and we would have collected them at the door, but you had to jump some of them without permission! Luckily for you, Red Queen has already brought the rest of them to our room along with the one guest you didn't attack. I volunteered to pick up our last guest here since the other three were so all close together. As for the intruder looking for Red Queen, leave her be... 'The “intruder” has to be Kodachi, but how did Ranma and Nokoda know that we would be coming today? We took great care to cover our tracks. This is really getting weird,' Nabiki wondered.
“But of course, Mistress Ruby… We didn’t know that they were your guests! It won’t happen again, I promise…” The guard spluttered out, scared witless at the aura Ranma was putting out. Nabiki just stared at Ranma, eyes wide under the mask: 'This ought to be a very interesting explanation indeed, Ranma...' The guard started to stammer out another feeble apology, but Ranma raised his hand to cut him off before he started.
“Save it. I'll let it go, but just this once... Now call the lift down and make it snappy,” he barked out in such a harsh tone, Nabiki couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the guard... But only a little bit, he had deserved it after all. As they walked towards the lift, Nabiki saw that there was a security desk in front of it. Ranma signed off on a list, that he had collected her, reclaimed her clothes and purchases that the guard had placed into a locker and used a DNA scanner to confirm his identity. That was all she had time to see, as the lift arrived just then. She and Ranma quickly got in. Ranma pressed the button for the forty-fifth floor. The doors closed and the lift started moving. Ranma now sagged a little in relief: “Man, I'm glad that's over! I hate going down there... That guard is such a pervert, he makes my skin crawl. Umm, Nabiki you feeling okay?” he trailed off, seeing her staring at her reflection in the mirror. She couldn't quite believe what she was seeing and feeling. In fact she felt...
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(Posted Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:23)
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