Nabiki’s eyes snapped open as her clock/radio activated and the opening of her favorite morning news show came on. Blearily, she focused on the time and groaned — the time was right, the opening musical number was right, but it sure didn’t feel like it should, even for her!
Slowly, the pageboy-styled Tendo sat up and dropped her head into her hands, elbows resting on her knees, and rubbed at her cheeks. She ached, like she hadn’t since she’d given up practicing the family Art along with Kasumi, and in places she’d never ached like this before. And why was she naked instead of dressed in her usual night-clothes? ... Then the memories of the previous day rolled over her, and she froze. Her?! And Ranma?! Twice?! She couldn’t even blame Ranma for it, like Akane did so often, not the way she’d ambushed him instead of the other way around. What on earth had possessed her? Wait, maybe it was a possession — maybe something used me to get at him. It wouldn’t be the first time someone’s targeted bystanders to make him jump. Whoever or whatever it was, I am so going to make it regret this ...
Then, as her shock settled and the burst of adrenaline echoed through her body, the feel of something wrong nagged at her, pulling her attention outward — something was out of place ... Then she had it, the opening music of the news program had been right, but the voice of the announcer was wrong. Instead of the usual joking, sardonic male voice she enjoyed so much there was a shaky, untrained female voice:
“... reports c-continue to come in of a wild day and night for Tokyo, with almost every male above pubescence driven to seek whatever partners of the opposite sex they could find for sex, with the same holding true for women above pubescence up through middle age. Whatever has caused this, it s-seems to have worn off by this morning. However, as best can be determined, similar outbreaks are occurring in every major city of Japan as well as some other major cities around the w-w-world. As well, reports are flooding currently severely understaffed police stations and emergency lines of deaths, primarily of men. Included among the dead is your u-u-sual morning h-h-h-host....” The unfamiliar woman making the announcement lost control, and for a moment her weeping was audible before her mike was cut and the station went to a commercial.
The middle Tendo sat and stared to the radio. All right, so it wasn’t a possession aimed at Ranma ... or at least, not only at Ranma.... Ranma! Dad! Jumping to her feet, Nabiki threw herself at her wardrobe, hastily dressed, and rushed out to check her sisters’ bedrooms, no one there, to the guest room—no Ranma, no Genma ... only one futon. Okay, so far, so good.
Down the stairs, nobody in Happosai’s room, good, and good riddance if we’re lucky, to the kitchen, Kasumi cleaning and cooking as usual ... Nabiki stuck her head in the doorway. “Kasumi, have you seen Dad or Ranma this morning?” Kasumi glanced over at her sister with a brittle parody of her normal serene smile and shook her head, and her younger sister headed toward their father’s bedroom, passing the empty family room — nobody there, either, nobody in the furo ... Where could everyone be? Then, remembering the missing futon — the dojo!
Nabiki darted out of the changing room, ran past the kitchen to the door to the covered pathway to the dojo, then froze at the sight of two blanket-covered girls on the lawn to the side of the pathway. Slowly she walked over, then sagged with relief as she saw that both her black-haired sister and the redheaded girl whose breast Akane was using as a pillow were breathing. Then Nabiki’s eyes narrowed. Okay, if they’re here on the grass, who’s using the futon?
Quietly approaching the door to the dojo, she peeked in, then smiled at the sight of Ryoga curled up in a blanket next to a sleepig Akari on the missing futon. Too bad I don’t have a camera with me, she thought, then noticed her camera on the tripod in front of the door. Make that a camera with unused memory. I suppose I could delete a few pictures to make room.... Tiptoeing over, she took the camera off its tripod and cycled through the pictures in its memory, only to freeze at the shots of a wet redhead in the dojo doorway with Ryoga visible behind her. What the ...
The bemused girl walked out of the dojo and gazed down at Akane and her fiancé sleeping on the lawn, then looked back at the dojo door, then after a moment shook her head. Something about that scene is not right, but figure it out later. First, there’s something else to take care of. After taking a few pictures of the pair on the lawn, she headed for the house.
A deeply worried Kasumi was rushing to clean up the dishes she hadn’t taken care of as usual the day before, making room for a late start on breakfast, thoughts of herself and a certain gorgeous hunk of a martial artist, and what they’d done — what she’d pushed them into doing — replaying over and over in her mind. What were we thinking? What was I thinking!? What is Akane going to think!?
Then her concentration was broken by the sound of a clearing throat and the household’s foundation looked up to find her middle sister leaning against the doorway with a sardonic grin on her face.
“Have fun with Ranma yesterday?” the brown-haired girl asked, and Kasumi gaped in shock — She knows! The aproned girl simply stood and stared at Nabiki, and the younger girl sobered and straightened up as tears began to spill down her sister’s cheeks, then walked over and awkwardly wrapped Kasumi in a hug. “I’m sorry, that didn’t come out right — it was supposed to be funny,” she said as Kasumi began to sob on her shoulder.
“B-but I did!” the older girl cried. “I — I seduced Ranma a-a-and betrayed Akane, and I don’t know why!”
“I do,” Nabiki said soothingly. “It wasn’t just you, it was all of us. I jumped Ranma, too, and a certain busty redhead is sleeping next to Akane out on the lawn, both wearing nothing but a blanket. And Ryoga’s in the dojo sleeping next to Akari. From what the news said this morning, whatever made us do that hit most everyone in Tokyo, so I think Akane will understand — this time. But Kasumi,” — Nabiki pushed back to arm’s length — “the same news report said an awful lot of men are waking up dead this morning.”
“Oh, my!” Kasumi gasped as her hands flew to her mouth. “Father? Uncle Genma?”
“I don’t know, big sis, neither of them are anywhere in the house or dojo — I just don’t know. They’re both in good shape for their age, but ... And I don’t know where to start looking to find out.” Nabiki glanced around at the mess of the kitchen, then gave her sister a weak grin. “Looks like you got a late start this morning. Would you like some help?”
Kasumi gave her a tremulous smile that failed to hide the worry in her eyes, and nodded. “Yes, I would. Can you finish cleaning up while I start breakfast?”
“Sure, big sis, no problem,” Nabiki said, trying, and mostly succeeding, at a reassuring smile, and the two sisters got to work side by side.
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(Posted Sun, 09 Aug 2009 03:43)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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