"Mistress Nabiki? Lord Ranma is coming to," a voice that sounded like Shampoo, despite the flawless Japanese, stated.
"Thank you, Shan," that voice clearly belonged to Nabiki. She didn't sound too different, but given the changes to Kasumi and Akane Ranma was still reluctant to open his eyes. "Could you go sit on Kasumi for a while? Last thing Ranma needs is any more of Kasumi's cooking."
Ranma didn't know quite how he knew that Shampoo was pouting, but he could hear the disappointment in her sigh. "As you wish, Mistress Nabiki." He could feel Shampoo getting up from where she had been sitting and start moving toward the door. Deciding he'd put it off as long as he could, he opened his eyes.
Shampoo was radically different. Gone were the long violet tresses and barely-there dresses. She was dressed in a simple sundress not terribly unlike what he'd seen Akane wearing, only in a pale lavender shade. Her hair was a dark inky black and allowed to flow freely behind her with no ornamentation or styling at all. Her walk was demure, but lacking the cat-like grace she used to posses. As she turned to give him a parting glance before stepping out of the room, he could read the utter loyalty she had toward him in her eyes.
The old Shampoo was catty, even when she wasn't a cat. This Shampoo reminded him more of a loyal puppy that had just been shooed away from her beloved master.
Looking at Nabiki brought a sense of relief to him. She didn't look too different. A little bigger bust, but that made sense given how inflated Akane and the younger Kasumi were now. She still had short, professional hair however, and she still was wearing a blouse and short-shorts like those that she might have before he'd made that inadvertent wish.
Nabiki walked over and sat down on the floor near him. "So what happened, Ranma? Akane said you fainted. Did Kasumi manage to get you to eat some of her cooking again?"
Ranma shook his head.
Nabiki looked at him for a moment silently, but then sighed. "Okay. So spill already. What strange new weirdness have you stumbled into this time?"
Ranma sighed, figuring he might as well get it over with; Nabiki would find out sooner or later anyway. "I stumbled on this genie and made a stupid wish and now everything's all screwed up."
"How so?"
"Well, for started, Kasumi was practically an angel, and nineteen too, and now she's...," he trailed off now quite sure how to describe her.
Nabiki smirked. "Well she was an angel until she walked in on you in the bath that first day. Honestly, I don't know what you did to corrupt my little sister, Saotome," Nabiki's tone was light, as though she expected her statements to be a well used joke.
Ranma reacted predictably. "I didn't do nothing!"
Nabiki's face lost its smirk. "Calm down, Ranma. I know you didn't. Baby sister just has a huge crush on you. I wasn't blaming you for anything."
Ranma stared at Nabiki in disbelief for a moment, but did calm down.
"What kind of wish did you make, exactly?"
"I couldn't decide at first, so I was talking to the genie about all the problems I had, and then I wished that they'd all go away."
Nabiki sighed and shook her head. "Do I even want to know what you said about me?"
"You used everyone, and only cared about money like a wanta-be-Yakuza," Ranma responded dully, afraid of Nabiki's reaction, but knowing it would be better to take his lumps now.
Nabiki started laughing at the image. Seeing the shocked look on Ranma's face, she attempted to calm down, but couldn't wipe the smile off her face. "I'm sorry, Ranma. It's just the idea of me wanting to be a Yakuza." She giggled a bit more at the idea.
"Ranma," she calmly began once she had more self-control, "I don't know what I was like before that wish, but my goal in life is to be a police woman. Well, that or a teacher, I'm kind of undecided at the moment, but then I'm still in high school so it's not like I need to worry too much. The idea that I could be some kind of Yakuza wanta-be just struck me as horribly funny."
Ranma relaxed part of him glad that Nabiki wasn't angry. "What about Shampoo?"
Nabiki covered his mouth with her hands instantly, her eyes wide in fright as she looked toward the doorway. "Oh, god, I hope Shan-Pu didn't hear that. It was bad enough when Ryoga mangled her name and she doesn't even like him." When nothing happened, Nabiki sat back down, releasing Ranma.
"Sorry," was the only thing Ranma could think of to say.
"You probably didn't know," Nabiki excused. "Let me guess, you don't remember saving Shan's life back in China. Or how her people believe that if you save someone's life that person's life belongs to you. Or how she's followed you around like a little lost puppy ever since?"
Ranma shook his head.
"Well, I recommend you learn to say her name right, and quickly," Nabiki advised. "Ryoga mispronounced it once and she threw a fit for three days. You mispronounce it, and she'll probably start looking for a place to hang herself."
Ranma shifted still not quite used to the idea of Nabiki giving advice away free.
"If you're up to it, Ranma, I'll try to explain everything else that changed while we spar," the elder girl offered.
"Spar?"
Nabiki raised an eyebrow before shaking her head. "Right, right. I probably didn't practice, did I? Using others and all that." She snorted in disgust at the idea. "Well, I'll have you know, I don't like relying on anyone, and especially not when it comes to my protection. So I asked you to start teaching me, since daddy stopped after mom died, and I'm supposed to be the heir to the Tendo School. You've been helping me out ever since." She gave him a worried look. "You think you're up to teaching me something today?"
Ranma tried to picture Nabiki practicing the art but failed miserably. "Yea, sure." Even if he had no idea what to teach her, practicing the Art would at least help him gather his thoughts and try to figure out what to do next.
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See other episodes by Brian Drozd
(Posted Sat, 27 Mar 2004 01:34)
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