Ranma didn't know how to reply. It was too much to take. Having already lost all aspects of her manhood, _she_ now learned that Kasumi would make her into a murderer, going against one of the most important rules of being a martial artist. And from the tone of Nabiki's reply, there was nothing she could do about it.
A sudden thought came upon her mind about her mistress.
"Nabiki, Akane," she said, calling the two sisters, "Mistress... she's your sister?" Seeing them nod, she went on. "Then why? Why would she do something like this to the both of you?"
Both girls seemed to share a moment of complete revulsion, the strongest emotion Ranma had seen so far in any of the three, before Nabiki answered.
"I probably should start from the beginning. When we were young, it was just us three and our mother living together. We never met our father and have no idea if he's even alive now. As soon as we were able to understand, mother started to teach us about her way of life, emphasizing on how important it is to pass down her teachings.
"Kasumi, she was always our mother's favorite, able to learn anything that was taught on the fly. Mother paid more attention to her than either of us and gave Kasumi special treatment, teaching her techniques which we couldn't even think about learning at that time. I... I was actually jealous of my older sister back then!"
Taking a deep breath, Nabiki mentally forced herself from spilling the tears which threatened to cloud her eyes. She felt Akane massage her shoulders in hopes of comforting her.
"Maybe mother had intended to have all three of her daughters to run this together, but that didn't matter in the end. She had passed away before that could take place. There's no doubt in my mind that Kasumi had killed her through poison."
Looking grimly at Ranma, Nabiki said, "And you know what? I'm glad that she did it. I'd rather go through this tenfold than to have turned into the type of monster that Kasumi became. And... mother deserved it, for what she must have done to Kasumi to make her that way.
"There was a time when Kasumi was one of the nicest people out there -- it'd be almost impossible to compare the one from my childhood to this woman. She was always helpful to others, especially to her sisters, hoping that we would improve and become as good as her. One might think that she was doing it just for her own purposes, but I don't believe that for even a second. Sometimes I think that the real Kasumi is hidden deep within. One of these days I hope I can see her again."
This time Nabiki allowed the tears to fall, closing her eyes while crying. Feeling a pair of arms enclose her, she opened them and saw Ranma.
(Posted Thu, 02 Jan 2003 06:15)
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