Nabiki yawned mightily as she walked down the sidewalk toward Furinkan High School, and Akane glanced at her older sister, her eyes sharpening as she noticed Nabiki’s bleary expression, bags under her eyes, the exhausted slouch and plodding walk of the normally energetic girl. “Nabiki, you okay?” she asked concernedly.
“Oh, you’re finally rejoining the real world?” Nabiki asked, eyebrow rising in surprise at the younger sister that had barely noticed anything outside of her own head ever since Ranma’s call the previous afternoon, and the good and bad news he had to tell them — Kuno’s Wish would fade in time, but it would be years and he couldn’t return before then.
Akane blushed. “Just been wondering about what that idiot’s up to without us to watch over him, that’s all,” she asserted breezily. “And don’t change the subject, you look terrible. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Nabiki replied. “Just been having a little trouble sleeping the last few nights, that’s all.” Who’d think that in this day and age, news would move so slow? she thought, fighting the urge to snarl as she reflected that once again, television had lied — police investigations moved a lot slower than on the TV shows. Then she sighed as Akane accepted her answer and seemed to just fade out again, thoughts turning inward. Nabiki had hoped that with Ranma calling home again his fiancée would come out of her funk, but if anything it was worse than before.
Then the pair turned through the gates onto the school grounds and the Ice Queen of Furinkan High felt her heart freeze in truth at the sight before them. “Akane, eyes forward, now!” she hissed urgently even as she scrabbled at her school bag. Video camera, where is it?!
“What?” Akane asked irritably as she glanced up. Looking toward the school entrance, her step faltered at the sight of a mob of boys in various sports uniforms and carrying the tools of their chosen games. For the first time since the week Ranma had arrived in Nerima, the Hentai Horde had reformed.
A shout went up from the Horde at the sight of the two girls. Even as Nabiki pulled her video camera out her bag, she winced at the answering shriek of outrage from her younger sister as Akane dropped her own bag and charged at the fast-approaching mob. Discarding her bag, Nabiki ran to the side and brought up the camera just as Akane slammed into the Horde. The middle Tendo paled as the boys’ shouts turned to screams of pain and fright, but kept the camera steady as the mob exploded in all directions, those still able racing away in panic, the rest lying unconscious wherever Akane’s blows had tossed them or moaning as they cradled broken bones. A panting Akane stood in the epicenter, fists clenched.
“Such fire!” came the voice that was quickly becoming the most hated sound in Nabiki’s world, and she stopped recording as she turned to face Upperclassman Tatewaki Kuno with a savage grin. “Such passion!” the tall Kendoist continued, his handheld bokken resting on a shoulder. “Surely the malign influence of the accursed Saotome has —” And then Akane was on him, her expression calm with anger gone cold, the Hammer glowing red in her hands, and Kuno was frantically backpedaling as he parried swing after swing coming in fast enough that Nabiki could barely see them.
Damn, she’s gotten faster, she might actually take him! Nabiki thought as she jolted into a run toward the dueling pair. “Akane, enough!” she shouted as she came up behind them, and grabbed an arm with both hands when Akane glanced towards her. “Kuno, get out of here, now, or I let her go!” she shouted at her classmate.
“I see the foul sorcerer’s influence continues unabated,” Kuno said, straightening from his crouch. “I shall seek for a way to break the spell, even as I did with my pigtailed goddess that he has so foully stolen away in my moment of triumph.” With that, he turned and stalked toward the school entrance even as behind him Akane tossed Nabiki about in an attempt to shake her off.
“Let go of me! I’ll —” she shouted before Nabiki slapped a hand across her mouth.
“No threats,” Nabiki urgently whispered, “not after what you just did to the Horde.” Akane froze, and slowly turned both of them around so she could see behind them, her eyes widening at the sight. Nabiki could feel her starting to shake and released her.
As Akane dropped to her knees, Yuka and Sayuri ran up from where they had watched everything at a safe distance. “Sayuri, call emergency and then get the school nurse,” Nabiki snapped before the newcomers had a chance to say anything. “Yuka, you have some first aid training, right?” Yuka nodded even as Sayuri pulled out her cell phone. “Good, you’re with me. We need to check the unconscious ones.” Then, when Yuka simply stared at her, added forcefully, “Move!”
As Kasumi walked into the family room, Nabiki looked up from where she knelt at the table. “How’s little sis?” she asked.
Kasumi sighed as she knelt by her sister. “She’s badly shaken. The tea I gave her should help her sleep. Where’s Father?”
“Hiding in his room, where else?” Nabiki replied bitterly.
Kasumi grimaced, but didn’t reprove her sister for her disrespect. Instead, she asked, “So, how much trouble are we in?”
“Serious trouble, big sis, but not the type you’re probably thinking of,” Nabiki said, slumping. “Legally, we’re covered. I turned over a copy of the video I recorded to the police, between that and testimony from the students about how this is a resumption rather than a first time, and with none of the Horde dead — a special miracle, that — they shouldn’t press charges, against Akane at least. And with the copy I kept clearly showing the Horde attacking her, we shouldn’t need to worry about lawsuits from the parents of the injured students.”
“Then what is the problem?” Kasumi asked, confused.
“The problem is Kuno,” Nabiki growled. “After I pulled Akane off him, he threatened to find a way to ‘break the spell’ he thinks Saotome’s cast on her. And with his pile of money, he probably will — he found the Wishing Sword, after all. Of course, since there’s no spell who knows what it’ll do?”
“Oh, my!” Kasumi’s hands flew to her mouth, and she stared at Nabiki in shock. “This is terrible! Akane can’t stay here!”
“Agreed,” Nabiki said with a sigh. “But it’s going to be tough to get her out of here, too — at least, unfollowed. Kuno seems to have learned something from Ranma’s disappearance, I think we’re being watched and nobody owes me a favor big enough to deal with that.” Suddenly she stiffened, eyes losing focus, then broke out in a broad grin. “But we aren’t the only people involved, and there’s people that might think they owe Ranma a big one.”
Tokyo Super Squad headquarters, how may we help you?” Maki carefully suppressed a yawn as she took the next call in the queue. She had thought when she had landed a job handling incoming calls for the public phone number of the premier superhero team in all Japan that she was looking at the most exciting job of her life, sending the team word of their lifesaving missions. The truth had turned our very much otherwise. She had understood the good public relations in having a line open to the public. She had even understood that her job would consist of sorting the wheat from the chaff. What she hadn’t understood was just how much chaff there would be. Then she noticed that the latest call was coming in from a pay phone, and straightened in her seat.
“This is Tendo Nabiki, and I’m calling about the Stanson sisters case, specifically what happened a few days ago in Hudson City. I need to speak with one of the Squad. Pass on the names Saotome Genma and Saotome Ranma, and if they want to follow up have them contact me.”
“I will pass on your request immediately,” Maki responded quickly, her lassitude vanishing at the mention of the murdered Americans. “I see you are calling from a pay phone, how are we to contact you?”
“Have whoever responds call my cell phone, and say that he’s Yuuta-san calling about the pictures. Then I can call back from a pay phone to make arrangements.”
Maki’s eyebrow quirked at the odd arrangement, but she readily took down the cell number and again assured her caller that she would promptly pass on her request.
“Tendo Nabiki?”
The pageboy-haired girl sitting at a table in the middle of an empty food court turned at the question, fighting to suppress her fear at the sight of the strange man and woman approaching her. Damn, it looks like Kuno’s thugs have found me, I thought I wasn’t being followed, she thought to herself as she put on her Ice Queen persona. “Yes, I’m Tendo Nabiki,” she said coldly. “And you are ... ?”
“We’re here about a phone call you made earlier,” the young brown-haired woman said.
Nabiki froze, then stared intently at her. “Chrysanthemum?” she finally asked, and the woman nodded as her companion chuckled.
“It never ceases to amaze me what you can do with a change of clothes, hairstyle and makeup — I have to use my powers to come close,” he said.
Chrysanthemum shrugged. “That’s why I don’t mind having a public identity,” she tossed off lightly. “I’m not really that beautiful — not without special help and my costume to add the glamour of fame.”
Nabiki glanced back and forth between the two, then focused on the man. “You’d be Zodiac, then,” she said.
“Correct,” he replied. “May we sit down?”
“Of course,” Nabiki said coolly, though blushing as she waved them to the seats across from her.
“So,” Chrysanthemum said as the two took their seats. “I assume this is about your sister?” Chuckling at the stunned expression Nabiki was unable to keep off her face, she continued, “I already knew of the Saotomes, I put Genma-san on our emergency contact list —”
“Serious emergency contact list,” Zodiac added, and his companion elbowed him in the side.
“Be respectful of the dead,” she chided. “He may have been a thief and a glutton, but he would have stepped up to the plate if we needed him — and you can’t fault the way he died.”
“No, I can’t, sorry,” an abashed Zodiac agreed, and Chrysanthemum turned back to Nabiki.
“As I was saying, I already knew about the Saotomes and even a little of what was happening in Nerima.”
“Of course, you’re a martial artist,” Nabiki said in dawning realization.
“Right, though purists like the Saotomes might consider my use of mystical powers something of a cheat. I may not be as active in the martial arts community since I joined the team, but I still have contacts,” Chrysanthemum nodded. “So when your call came in, I pulled what records I could to update myself and got the police report on this morning’s brawl at Furinkan High. Why don’t you fill us in on what the police don’t know?”
“ ... and that’s when I decided to call you,” Nabiki finished, her heart sinking at the uncomfortable looks on the faces of the two superheroes.
“Great, another budding supervillain with more money than he knows what to do with,” Zodiac muttered.
“Nabiki-san, you aren’t asking us to deal with Kuno, are you?” Chrysanthemum hesitantly asked. “Because if so, we can’t help you. He hasn’t actually done anything illegal — at least that we could prove in court, the justice system doesn’t deal well with geasses and spells, yet. And we can’t keep watch on him waiting for him to act, either, that could have us accused of stalking and harassment, and his family has some of the best lawyers in the country on retainer.”
Okay, Plan B. “No, nothing like that,” Nabiki assured them. “What I need are two things, a new legal identity for Akane and whatever she needs to live in America, and a way to break free of Kuno’s watchers. Oh, and a plane ticket to Hudson City. Surely the nation’s honor in the Stanson sisters mess covers this?”
The two superheroes exchanged glances. “Breaking her free of Kuno’s spies is easy enough,” Zodiac opined and, glancing around the currently empty food court, abruptly shifted into a mirror image of Akane, clothes and all, and back. “But I don’t know about the legal identity. Chrysanthemum, you’re the team’s Executive Officer, what do you say?”
Chrysanthemum slowly nodded. “I think we can probably swing it. As Nabiki-san says, it’s a matter of the nation’s honor.” Shooting a sharp look back over at the middle Tendo, she asked, “Do you really believe that?”
Nabiki hesitated, but under the older woman’s searching gaze finally shrugged even as she fought back a smirk. Careful, now is not the time to let them know what you think of the showboaters. “No, not really, I’m too practical to believe in honor, at least that way,” she said quietly. “But I thought you would, and that’s what matters.”
Chrysanthemum nodded. “True. Very well, I’ll set things up and we’ll give you a call. Same method of contact?”
“Sure,” Nabiki agreed. “Just use a different person so the voice isn’t the same, and ... Ishio-san for the name.”
Chrysanthemum and Zodiac nodded their agreement, and rose to leave. “Just don’t do anything to draw Kuno’s attention to you instead of your sister,” Zodiac warned.
“Not a problem, I’ll go right on being my usual mercenary self,” Nabiki assured them, and with an exchange of farewells the two superheroes strode away. Nabiki watched them go, then glanced at her watch. Ranma will have called already, I’ll have to wait until this evening to call back. Mustn’t make it too late, though, or they might have already left for the morning — I suppose Ranma won’t mind an early wakeup call if Akane’s involved.
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(Posted Thu, 18 Nov 2010 06:12)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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