And so Ryoga vanished from Nerima for about approximately more or less six hundred four thousand eight hundred seconds. Or, one week.
"What did you do to him, Ranma?" Nabiki asked, dialing her contacts one by one. It was time to set up the 'time of duel' bets.
Not that she remembered what she was doing once Ranma finished his insane bread feud story.
Akane shook her head. "And I thought Furinkan was weird."
"It is," chorused her sisters. Kasumi shuddered, remembering their long lost principal.
"Anyway, Ranma," Nabiki asked in that cool tone that made people want to leave the room, "what was that crack about 'am I happy?' Is there something I should know?"
Ranma stiffened and turned around. Sure enough, the common room had been evacuated of spectators. The power of The Ice Queen was terrifying. "Well, you'd know it already, wouldn't you?"
Nabiki's lip quirked. True, her empathic ability could answer Ranma's question of happiness easily, but she was more worried about Ranma's perception of Ranma than her own. "Why don't you tell me? Why do you think you aren't happy?"
Eh, it's almost sunset. Ranma stood up and took Nabiki by the hand. A gentle tug and she had his fiancee in his arms. A moment later they were on the roof and she was letting Nabiki stand on her own.
Nabiki wasn't entirely sure she could stand. Ranma had demonstrated his roofhopping, but taking her with him...woo what a rush. "Ranma?"
Ranma walked over to a specific spot on the roof. Nabiki noticed that the roofwork had discolored slightly, and sure enough that was exactly where Ranma sat, lying back to look at the stars. He must spend hours up here every night, she realized. A warm throb filled her when she realized he was directly over her room. Smiling, she cleaned off a bit of roof and snuggled against him.
"So?" she pressed.
Ranma sighed and looked out over the sunset. "What does it mean to be happy?"
Nabiki blinked. "Eh?"
Ranma gestured at the sky. "Out in the wilderness, y'can climb a tree and see colors at twilight an' stars more brilliant than ya could ever see in the city. That's happiness, Nabs. Pops took care of me when I was sick or hurt. There was happiness there, too. But now...I dunno what I got."
Nabiki smiled gently. "You have me," she offered. She was rewarded when Ranma pulsed with a bit of joy and drew her closer.
"Yeah, yeah I do. But it's not the same thing. It's...more. An' you an' Mom were sayin' and feelin' all those things about Pops...an' I'm not sure what happiness is supposed ta feel like."
Nabiki frowned and looked at Ranma. "You really do care about him, don't you?"
Ranma just looked at the sky, seeking the first star of the night. "He's a fat dumb greedy bastard, but he took me with him, trained me, taught me as best he knew. Whatever his faults, I have to respect that."
Nabiki bit back her own opinion of what respect Genma deserved and thought about what Ranma said. Slowly she nodded. "You're right. He screwed up royally, and we'll be paying the dividends of it, but you're right."
"We'll just have to make sure he gets stuck with the bill," Ranma said gently.
Nabiki smiled evilly. "Oh, I think we can make sure he pays for whatever happens." She sighed happily. "And this is a very pretty sky."
Which is when a raincloud formed over Ranma's head, thundered once, rained on him, now her, and dissipated over the course of about three seconds. "Oh come on!"
Nabiki blinked at the sudden display of Jusenkyo power. "The way of the martial artist is fraught with peril," she intoned in a credible impersonation of Soun.
Ranma couldn't hold back the grin, crossed her arms, and nodded twice. "Mm. Mm." Smiling she moved so Nabiki could gather her clothes, then she gathered Nabiki and calmly flew her off the roof, into the house, up the stairs, and into her room.
"We should call a priest, Saotome-kun."
"Mmmm. But wouldn't a priest want to exorcize the boy?"
The two patriarchs closed their eyes, crossed their arms, and hummed to themselves deep in thought.
Of course, both were silently taking the opportunity to "adjust" the board as well.
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(Posted Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:30)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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