However, there were plenty of people that he knew that were not in there with him. Just in considering those that had lived immediately around him, plenty of people were missing, and he needed to know that they were okay. To think that Shampoo, Ukyo, his mother, and the others were... gone was impossible for him right then, as he hadn't seen the bodies.
And there was one person that he knew that he was expected to save, even in his own estimation.
"Great, this is fun and all, but can't we check this place out a bit faster," the pigtailed boy grumbled.
Mitsuru raised a brow at him. "Excuse me?"
"Don'tcha think that we're just passin' the time here? I mean, it ain't like we're findin' anythin' just chattin' like this."
"And there is some sort of immediate need to go racing off?"
"Well... duh!" he grunted. "Sooner or later, we'll haveta find the way outta here, unless ya wanna live in this base for the rest of your life. But I don't."
"I doubt that anyone wants to stay here. But why should we rush into what is certainly going to be a mess, with dangers we don't know about?"
"Akane is out there! She was supposedta go ta Mount Fuji with her friends!"
"This isn't meant to be cruel, but she might not be... might not have survived. You did hear that the volcanos are active again," the redhead reminded him.
"And she might have gotten through it. We can't know until we go out and look! She might be in danger, and if we're just sittin' on our hands, how can we know where ta go ta help her?!"
"She might not even need our help, and it might be worse to do something and cause her more trouble when we don't know what the real problem she has is."
"But we can't know what ta do until we try!" the pigtailed boy insisted.
"Still...."
Nabiki put a hand on the other girl's shoulder and shook her head. "Hold back, and leave this to me."
"You want to talk to him?"
"Something like that."
"If you wish...."
"Maybe you can see, Nabiki. Don't you realize what's going on? We're wasting time that we can actually...." Ranma babbled on... until Nabiki smacked him across the face as hard as she could manage. Pressing a hand against his stinging cheek, he stared at the girl that he thought he knew. "Nabiki...."
"Put a cork in it, Saotome. And stop panicking, would you?" the middle Tendo daughter grumbled as she massaged her aching hand.
"You can't abandon her...."
"What? Like how she abandoned us?!"
"She...."
"She left us behind to go traipsing off with her little friends, leaving her family and fiance alone in our house! Stop feeling sorry for an idiot who picked where she'd end up!" Nabiki snapped, her gaze growing hard and cold.
"It's just... I'm supposedta protect her."
Blowing out a breath that actually managed to muss her bangs, the brunette sighed. "And I understand it. But she was the one who went to Fuji on her own. On top of that, that damned place is a mountain! How are you supposed to help her when you don't know where exactly she is?"
"I could find her...."
"Sure. But could you fix her up afterwards?"
The pigtailed boy blinked at the short haired girl. "Huh?"
"You just going to run out there without supplies? Might be fun to starve before you found her. Or you could always leave the medicine behind, in case she's sick. Maybe she's got a broken leg, or burns from lava. Could even be that she's choking on gases."
"I guess...."
"But do know what? All of that means that you'd have to get to her right now, and there is no way that you'd reach her in time. Beyond getting out of here, you'd have to travel all the way there, and that ain't happening, buddy. Not that easily, and time would be of the essence. If my little sister needs that sort of help, she needs it right now, and you can't reach her in time to give it to her."
Slumping down against a wall, Ranma slid to sit on the floor. "I just gotta do somethin'! She's always counted on me, and now.... I'm just useless! What can I do? Sit here like a lump? Everyone's always waited for me ta lead the charge, and I'm the only one left."
"Ranma...."
"Don'tcha see. My mom, our dads.... The guys at school.... They ain't here! Ucchan, and Shampoo.... Hell, even Kodachi and her crazy brother are out there, sufferin' through this mess, and I'm just lazin' away!"
"Stop beating yourself over it. Don't you realize that you've got an important role now?" Nabiki reminded him.
"As what? A punchline?"
"No, the future. Remember, we're safe for the moment, and we have both supplies, and a place to work from. Once we know what we can do, we can go out to fix things. If they have survived so far, they can get through it long enough for us to help them."
"Great. I'm good for later. What 'bout now? What do I got for now?"
"You have me. I'll be here for you," Nabiki murmured to him, kneeling down and awkwardly putting her arms around him in a loose hug.
Mitsuru watched as he pressed his face into Nabiki's shoulder and held her close to him, while:
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(Posted Mon, 12 Jan 2009 03:51)
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