[Episode 40276] [Episode 40276]Ranma let her. She knew it. He knew it. Then after a while, once he decided she'd done so pretty well, he asked "What's the starefest about, Miss..?"
Nabiki mentally slapped herself over this, she shoulda KNOWN that Ranma wouldn't remember the past, as it wasn't true anymore, Heck she's probably the only one that did.. **Oh, Hell!** To cover her shock (did a pretty good job too, but not enough as you'll see), Nabiki bowed smoothly and introduced herself formerly. "I am Tendo Nabiki, it's a pleasure to make your acquintance."
Ranma, without smirking, one might add, said calmly "The honor is mine, but I fear you were not totally forthright." "Nani?" "Yes, I'm not a egomaniac about it, but being raised by a Armsmaster, one learns skills, including observation. You called me by name before, so there's something going on. Tell me."
Nabiki was mortified inside. Trust the fates to manage to provide Ranma that same talent for seeing all about him, and this time back it up with social skill! "It's a.. complex story. I think you can handle it, Ranma, but there are a few thingsI have to confirm, and.."
Just about then, they reached the Saotome residence.. It was as it had been before the place was demolished in the previous timeline, more proof that Nabiki was the only one unchanged.. and this just added to the acid roiling about in her gut. She had a BAD feeling that things didn't all change for the better--they never do, really.
When they reached the gateway, it was opened by a young redheaded lady, looking remarkably like Nodoka in facial features, but with that spectacular rack Nabiki recalled on the now-gone Ranma-Chan. The disturbing thing was the ankle brace on one leg.. and the fact that the loveliness before them was minus a left hand, and in fact her left arm ended at the Elbow.
The lass smiled, with a memory of pain past in her eyes, as she looked directly and in friendly fashion to Nabiki. "Hey, girlfriend! You didn't have to come over without calling, you know YOU'RE welcome here, Kasumi too if they ever let her outta that kitchen."
Nabiki was now almost certain that whatever the reasons for Genma's total absence here and Akane's distinct LACK of inclusion in the invite, it was not gonna be pretty.. and Niether would Ranma's reaction, from the feel of angry energies over her shoulder.
Her worries were sidetracked a moment as Ranko, this obviously being her, looked past Nabiki and smiled far more joyfully, it being like a sunbeam in terms of how the moods about that spot brightened. "Ranma! You made it? Great! I imagine you and Nabiki already met?" He blushed a bit, obviously he was a bit derailed by the handicap, but not surprised, he must've heard from her what the injuries were.. "Yeah, she was at the park, and I was in need of final directions, so.."
Nabiki noted he did NOT blurt out his observations on Nabiki's foreknowledge. This Ranma had tact, it seemed. "Is your mother home, Ranko? I need to talk with her, and the both of you, it's pretty important, really.."
As Ranma noted the inference and silently nodded to Nabiki his understanding, Ranko cheerily said "Aw, work has her by the throat again, as soon as she's done with putting it to bed, she'll be home. Maybe a hour." Nabiki knew media lingo, so she just nodded, wondering if it was TV news or a Newspaper, if the latter, she'd likely be a Editor from the way Ranko spoke of her doing it instead of helping another do so.
The hour went fairly quickly, though, as Ranma spoke of things to Ranko he'd only mentioned a few parts of Online, and Ranko did likewise.. although the information itself was at times disturbing:
"There's only Brittany and..?" "Yes, the Earth's Werecheetahs are almost totally extinct, but there are others, in a distant place, my adoptive Mom hails from those parts, though she's not Were, herself." "You don't say? Well, I can understand near-extinction.. if it weren't for Nabiki here, I'd not have lived past my 16th birthday, and thanks to the therapy she's virtually hocked her Family Dojo to have me undergo, I'll be topflight--minus the wing, of course--in a matter of a month or two. Still, my Martial Arts is strictly for self-defense now, not as a sensei... Thank Kami!"
Nabiki couldn't let this one pass, even if she KNEW she'd be hard-pressed not to vomit off what she expected was coming.. "Well, it's a shame, many could have learned a lot from you, if.." Ranko snorted, a kinder, but very very familiar snort nonetheless. "If Akane hadn't jumped to conclusions, as you warned me, and destroyed my arm, broken my ankle in 3 places? Bad as he was, that Pops hadn't done worse to me by then was a miracle, the fuckwit, and he surely would have after if that hadn't happened. STOP blaming yourself, tell Kas-chan that too, ya hear?"
Nabiki's heart broke at that point. It may not have been planned, but HER wish had caused all this, and she had the feeling the worst was yet to come.. "When Saotome Nodoka returns, and I explain everything, you may wish to retract that. If so.. I won't dodge, on my Honor (assuming I have the right to claim any)." "Nabiki, what on Earth's gotten into you, you KNOW--"
Ranma's gently masculine voice interrupted. "No, let it lie, Ranko. Nabiki, i may not be my father, but I can see you are very perturbed. You tell us what's got you so worked up, in your own time. That acceptable, Ranko?" "Hai. Nabiki is the reason I survived.. I wish she and Kas-chan gave themselves credit for their help and good will over the past 3 years."
That was too much, but just as Nabiki was gonna shoot down the friendship she felt so unworthy of, another voice came into the tea room. "Oh, you have guests? ..Nabiki, you've done the best you can, relax already! and you would be..?" "Diggers Ranma, Ma'am, You are Nodoka?" "Yes, I am. You're so Manly, so polite! I can see why my daughter's so taken with.." "MOM!!!"
Nabiki felt like a bug, but also priviliged to see such a meeting. She dreaded what she was about to unleash, but she would pay her dues. It was her Way in life, after all. "Ms. Saotome, No, don't ask me to use your name, I'm unworthy.. I need to ask a great favor. Tell me of the Training Trip.. I can guess it's your least favorite memory, and your too, Ranko, but I have to have it straight."
Nodoka was no fool, especially working the job she had in this life and world. "All right, but first, realise I mostly spent that time getting letters, though I presume Soun screened out the ones that told of the horrors my daughter went thru. I had, of course, been with your mother for the most part, until she developed the cancer that killed her. I withdrew then, so she could spend her final days with family, and die in dignity as she had wished."
Ranko added "Yeah, Genma of course never mentioned Mom at all until after I was back in Japan, and even then he told me she'd died, the ass was set on his evil little plans. The Waterborn training, the rattlesnake dodging, all his awful ideas, and not even to train me to FIGHT, just to dodge or avoid dying! He's off telling Mom of my training in ladylike activities, and in reality, he signs me up in BOY schools, even tried to get me sold off to whorehouses for training in Yuri love, then steal me back." Before Ranma could hit the roof, she added hastily "Not that the impatuient Baka ever waited long enough form them to ever figure out my Gender."
Nodoka just snarled.. "And actually trying to set up a crossdressing marriage with that poor Kounji girl with her evil ass of a father! The very IDEA! I had to adopt the poor lass into the clan and send her to live with my sister before she'd stop dressing like a guy!"
Before Nabiki could even slap herself, Ranko finished. "Least ways, the Amazons let up on that Kiss of Marriage and didn't impose the Kiss of Death, when they realised Pops had set it up.. I got confirmation last week, I'm free and clear of that!" Nabiki and Ranma were both genuinely glad, although he was confuzzled enough that Ranko expanded on it. "I never DID tell you ALL of that, just that Pops knocked me into that %#^%ing Cursed Spring of Drowned Boy 'accidentally' so he could marry me off to his pal's youngest daughter.." Ranma just turned to Nabiki with a snarl, before relaxing.. "No, no, you ARE a TENDO, I didn't realise you were of THAT Tendo family, but I can see you had no part in the plot."
Ranko just grinned a bit. "Hey, trust my judgement more, neh? Anyhow, when I chased Pops--by his plan--into the Amazon Village, a outpost of the only remaining descendents of Greek Amazon culture, it was on a Festival day, and there was a Tribal Championship. Don't get me wrong here, folks, those people have many male warriors, it's just that guys are supposed to be breeders and subordinates to girls in Amazon society--just the kind of mindset pops wnated me to have! So, when he 'accidentally' ate the First Prize.. we were both in our cursed forms as he'd made sure no-one told me how to reverse the curse.. I wound up winning and getting the Kiss of Marriage. Test time, Ranma! What are the Kiss rules, for each one?" "Well, if you told me correctly.. When a Amazon is defeated by the opposite gender, the Marriage kiss is a way to drag them into the tribe, thus making it stronger. However, if the defeat is by the same gender, a Amazon pissed off enough can invoke the Kiss of Death, marking the one so kissed as a criminal to be hunted down and destroyed. What gets me is why bthey let up on you?" "Duh! I was tricked into the challenge, as Genma wanted me to not only be trained to be a submissive male in most all respects, but to be terrified of my own womanhood! Shame that he babbled that out in trying to MAKE the Amazons invoke the kisses when the Kissing Shampoo.. no, that's the Champion's name, Shampoo.. knocked me into the ceremonial tea and turned me female. Danmed Baka was lucky they only doused the Panda-form in 14 day's worth of waterproof soap water!" Nabiki didn't have to mask the amusement as she said softly.. "That would make him.."
Amid much laughter, Ranko managed to get out "That's right, locked in Pandaform! Since he couldn't sell me off as a panda, we hit the coast in a few days and swam back home." Ranma just raised a eyebrow WAY high. "Did I just hear you say SWAM?" He was actually pretty polite, given the way he was trembling in shock and anger.
"Yeah, so?" Ranko was blase, she's probably had to go over this with doctors, the law, and her Mom a few too many times, Nabiki reflected. "Anyhow, the way that I get hit again and again with the water and get changed shoulda warned the fool, but Genma was detrermined to leave me high and dry as a lesbian-in-denial's fucktoy and his personal bill-dodge., so he dragged me off to the Dojo, and of COURSE Akane treated me with glacial 'respect' and hostility before and uring our get-to-know-each-other spar.. then I hit the furo.. and she tried to kill me, screaming Traitor and Pervert, and there was no chance at all. If you hadn't managed to get by the bakapanda, I'd be dead, Nabiki!"
Nabiki was uncertain whether to laugh at Fate, cry, scream, or just go outside and explode in screams.. although she felt that if the lattermost, she'd never EVER stop, so she opted to leave her hands in the fates that did this to her.. and her friends. "Glad you felt that way. I'm sorry you are about to hate me. Don't Interrupt."
"The Amazons, Ranma's first name, your looks, I recognised these things because I am the last living being unchanged by the Wish. Ranma *Saotome* was trapped in honor and prevented from living his own life by things very similar to what you have related, but He was a boy cursed to be a Girl when hit by cold water, this girl.." She showed a picture of Ranma-chan she had for sale to Kuno before this all started, still on her thus still unchanged by the wish.. "as opposed to YOUR change, into a young boy that looks like a younger Ranma unless I miss my guess." Both Ranma and Ranko started at that one, Ranko had apparently sent pics of her/himself to Ranma via E-mail.
Nabiki went on.. "I used him and cheated him, never really lying, but just trying to keep Genma from being related to us, and keep the Dojo afloat. But one day, something happened.."
She went on to detail the lamp, Mihoshi, and the Wish, finishing with "The past world? I could tellyou chapter and verse, but it comes down to this.. In removing Ranma from the fathership of Genma, I inflicted it on you, and started the chain of events that ended in your losing a limb. I didn't know, I didn't.. mean.. Gomen, Gomen, I can't!" She then turned to run, only to he held by Ranma, who glowed gently as he murmured odd words, then whispered how it was all right.. Ranko just said "Smooth, man. I thought she was gonna book it!" as Nabiki just felt the pain, the guilt, rubbed and stroked by unseen hands, broken up slowly.. "I'm more a fighter than a Magus, but minor emotional therapy is something I picked up early on.. I mostly use it to keep Cheetah out of my sack, if you wanna know the truth!"
Nabiki presently recovered and lightly pushed at Ranma, who obligingly let her go--but stood close. "That's all fine, and if you refuse to blame me, though I don't know why, I can't MAKE you punish me as I deserve. But what now?"
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(Posted Fri, 18 Apr 2003 01:51)
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