[Ranma][FanFic] Nabiki Screws Up
MetroAnime
aka "Ten Little Nerimites"
by GreggSharp
insert standard i don't own any of these char disclaimer
this is also an attempt to do something in a completely
different flavor from my usual attempts. this is also NOT
part of the bet. http://members.aol.com/metroanime/main.html
MONDAY:
Nabiki hung up the phone and watched as just a little
verbal nudge, a tiny suggestion on her part, sent Akane
into a blind rage directed at Ranma. A reminder of his
appreciation for Shampoo's cooking, and his ability to
confide in Ukyou had Ranma dodging attacks all across
the backyard.
As inevitable as dawn, Ranma missed a single block.
Akane struck repeatedly until Ranma was down, then
kicked him again before stalking off.
Nabiki smiled and waited a few minutes, rewarded when
Kodachi appeared on the compound wall.
"Well, Nabiki Tendo, you deliver as you promised." Kuno
Kodachi stepped up to Nabiki and handed her the small
wad of yen. "As agreed upon, 50,000 yen for dear Ranma
and your silence on his whereabouts."
"I won't tell," Nabiki said as she counted out the
money. "It's none of my concern what you do with him."
Kasumi watched from the window, frowning slightly as
the gymnast hauled the unconcious Ranma off.
-----------------------
FOUR DAYS LATER:
"I haven't seen that JERK since Monday," Akane snarled.
Ukyou exchanged a glance with Shampoo. "NOBODY has
seen Ranma since Monday, Akane."
"He's probably just run off to find some cure again,"
offered Nabiki.
"Nabiki, I think you ought to tell everyone the truth."
Kasumi's voice was quiet but carried quite well.
"What are you saying, Kasumi?" Ukyou politely asked
of Kasumi, what she thought of as the most stable of
the three sisters. Of course, that was like saying
that it was better to have pnuemonia than
tuberculosis.
"Nabiki sold Ranma to Kodachi on Monday."
"WHAT?!?" Everyone looked at Nabiki as if she was ready
to be fitted for a jacket with wraparound sleeves.
"Hey, we covered this month's expenses, plus a profit
for once." Nabiki didn't see what everyone was making a
big fuss about. "It's not like anything major could
happen."
Shampoo and Ukyou quietly excused themselves and ran
from the household as if their lives depended on it.
Akane looked at Nabiki in shocked disbelief, while
Kasumi just managed to look slightly disapproving.
Nabiki really didn't see what the big fuss was about.
---------------------
SATURDAY:
Shattered bits of memory came back to Ranma Saotome.
Ranma felt able to move, though she still didn't feel
well. She carefully removed the IV needle, stood up,
and nearly fell down again. Her legs hurt, the strips
of missing skin and slender deep cuts showing her
weakness. She wouldn't be bound here, though, no. THEY
would find her if she remained. THEY would put her
through that again, this time in the female form as
well as the male. She would NOT, could NOT, allow that.
A memory suddenly opened itself.
//Opening swollen eyes to see Ukyou shaking and crying
as she unlocked the bolts holding him onto the table.
Shampoo visible in the background, also weeping but
with a snarl of barely repressed fury clearly shown.
"R-r-ranchan, oh my god, what did she DO to you?"//
She found some scrubs and quickly put them on. Much
better than the surgical gown. Nausea and pain washed
through her everytime she moved, but was getting easier
to deal with. She had to hide, and quickly. THEY would
know if she was helpless. THEY would come and then SHE
would come. Ranma would find other clothes at the first
opportunity.
Another memory flashed across Ranma's mind.
//In Ukyou's arms in girl-form after a Kuno trap had
thrown them all into a pool.
The wet smack as Kodachi's pet alligator Midorigame
snapped and tore and swallowed a little pink cat.//
"Ten little friends, though not of each other,
Alligator eats one, and now she's no bother."
No one expected the girl in 3-F to move, not with all
those deep cuts and burns, and poisons in her system.
Not with hypnotics and sedatives and hallucinogens
that had long polysyllabic names showing up in the
blood tests.
Not when the girl in question had been strapped to her
bed to keep her from moving while the Doctor tried to
contact next of kin.
//Sasuke laughing as bamboo spears launched from the
walls. Ukyou turning to protect the bundle in her arms
as one of the spears slammed into her.//
Dr Tofu looked at the empty bed and swore. This would
have alarmed a few of the people who knew him really
well, except that everyone was gawking at the sight
of the bed's steel frame twisted out of shape with
a few of the canvas straps still hanging in tatters.
//The white room, where Ranma lay and even some of
the really hardboiled nurses were looking away from
her body. Ukyou lying in the bed nearby, their eyes
meeting as the life faded from the chef's eyes and
the monitor screeched an alarm.//
"Nine little friends, martial artists all,
Poison the best friend, death comes to call."
Dr Tofu looked at the still form in 3-G, visible from
where Ranma's bed had been and decided he'd better
make that call.
He dialed the number, he knew it by heart. Even though
it was Kasumi on the line, he retained control. He had
to.
"Kasumi, this is Dr. Tofu."
"Oh, Doctor Tofu, how nice of you to call."
"Kasumi, if you see Ranma, could you do something for
me?"
"I haven't seen Ranma in a few days, Doctor. Why?"
Doctor Tofu spoke quietly, describing what he had seen.
What the medical tests had revealed, what Ranma had
apparently gone through. He didn't give details.
"Oh my."
Tofu agreed. "Kasumi, promise me that if you see him,
you'll call. Don't approach him, don't talk to him."
"I'll try, Doctor."
//Kodachi standing over him with a glass of cold water.
"So it is true, then. You have all been laughing at me,
haven't you? My pursuit of you must have been a great
joke, wasn't it? Oh, yes, but I think that I'm an even
better comedienne. I can be such a cut up when I try,
don't you think?"
Kodachi grinned and picked up a scalpel. She laughed,
and it was even more insane than usual. "At the very
least I can spoil you for Akane Tendo..."//
Ranma hid as the flashback rolled over her, causing
her to twitch. She needed food, she needed shelter,
and she needed to defend herself.
The paralytics had worn off, and so running was
possible. Ranma realized, however, that THEY would
find her before long. THEY would not let her alone.
Her only option was to find THEM before THEY found
her. Ranma stopped, realizing she could see the Kuno
estate from where she was.
Of course, THEY could not deliver her to HER if SHE
were no longer a factor.
------------------
SATURDAY NIGHT: 6:30pm
Doctor Tofu Ono had come in person to give the family
the same news he had given Kasumi earlier.
His gaze passed over the angry Akane, the bored Nabiki,
Kasumi who wasn't smiling for once, and the two fathers
that looked only mildly concerned.
The doctor spoke calmly and quietly. He held nothing
back. A thorough medical exam had given vast amounts
of information, and had required several of the
orderlies to turn to other duties. There were whip scars
on almost every portion of his body, at least those
areas that weren't covered by mutilated flesh, burns of
both heat and chemical variety, razor sharp cuts along
the major nerve sheaths. Several teeth had been
extracted, and his right eye was missing.
Where Kodachi had gotten a text on "chakra torture"
he had no idea, but she apparently had both the tools
and the know-how.
Drugs in his system ranging from simple LSD to things
the lab techs were still trying to identify.
As Doctor Tofu finished speaking, he noted the change
in expressions. Akane was looked as if she were in
shock. Nabiki had turned pale but was covering it
quite well unless you knew her. Kasumi had had to
leave during the recitation. It sounded like she was
busy being ill.
"My son," Genma managed.
"I believe," Akane said in what might have passed for
a calm voice, "that the phrase was 'it's not like
anything major can happen.' wasn't it?"
"Oh, come on, Akane, I'm sure Ranma will snap back in
no time. Besides, you're the one who knocked him out
so conveniently for Kodachi." Nabiki was trying to
convince herself. SHE couldn't be at fault for this.
Her plans never really went bad.
Doctor Tofu, for the first time in his life, thought
seriously about discontinuing any sort of relationship
that brought him into contact with this family. Just
remembering the sight of what had been done to Ranma
would haunt him for awhile. "There's more."
Doctor Tofu then went over what Ukyou had told the
nurses, about the Kuno compound and Shampoo's death,
about the barbed bamboo spear that had eventually
ended Ukyou Kuonji's life.
Nabiki thought about the potential sources of income
now denied her, but realized that something else would
come along. After all, she had gotten along well before
Ranma and would do so after Ranma. There was still
that nagging sensation that all this was HER fault, that
she'd screwed up and destroyed people this time.
The phone rang, and Kasumi hurried to answer it. It was
for Doctor Tofu, and he returned shortly.
"The police arrived at the Kuno estate to investigate
the reports of the traps, a dangerous animal, and
possible drug violations. They found what was left of
Sasuke, and it looks like both Kunos have been murdered."
"Oh my."
---------------
SATURDAY NIGHT 9:35pm
Across the street, Ranma watched and waited. THEY
wouldn't get him. He would get THEM first. Yes, then
he could rest. The memories would go away.
Ranma smiled.
"Eight was the kendo star, his sword rammed up his ass,
Seventh was the gymnast, hanging out among the grass,
Six little Nerimites, who've reaped the wind,
Death's coming for you, too late now to rescind."
-------------------
SATURDAY NIGHT 11:21pm
Akane entered the dojo. She'd heard a noise and wanted
to check it out without alarming Dr Tofu or anyone. It
was probably just P-chan. As much as Ranma picked on
P-chan, he'd probably go after the little piglet first.
She turned towards a movement and suddenly saw stars.
There was a terrific pain in her jaw and she realized
that it had been broken.
Akane saw Ranma coming, but he was blocking the only
exit out of the dojo. With her jaw already broken,
screaming for help was out of the question. She finally
realized that the odd noise coming from him was a
maniacal giggle, transformed by the ruined throat into
a wet gargle. His words were even harder to understand.
"Akane, you always wanted me to fight you for real, to
attack you in earnest. Why do you run, Akane? Isn't this
what you wanted? You were always so ready to hurt
me, Akane, with words and deeds, so now you get your
wish? Isn't that wonderful?"
Akane dashed forward, her mallet appearing and ready to
stop Ranma from doing anything further.
Ranma snap-kicked in past Akane's defenses. The blow
struck her abdomen and slammed her against one of the
dojo walls. Akane looked up as Ranma loomed over her.
He had the mallet. He smiled, ghastly with the damage
to his face, as he brought the mallet down again and
again on Akane.
When anyone thought to check the dojo, Ranma had already
left. Akane wasn't going anywhere, ever again.
"Sixth was a violent girl, angry and proud,
With her own treatment, she's ready for a shroud."
-----------------
SUNDAY NIGHT 1:13am
Nabiki was alone in her room when she heard
something slamming in the dojo.
"That's it!" Nabiki was out of bed and downstairs
in moments. Safety in numbers, right?
"Nabiki."
Nabiki froze. That barely comprehensible
speaking of her name caused her to check every area.
She didn't see Ranma, so maybe she'd imagined
it. Creeping forward a little further, Nabiki looked
around the corner.
No one there. Not Ranma. Not Kasumi.
Not even Doctor Tofu. Heck, she'd settle for P-chan
right about now, and she had never been fond of
the little pig. There was no sign of Genma or her
father as well.
"K-Kasumi?" Nabiki scolded herself for
stuttering. She pushed through the kitchen curtain.
A loud thud interrupted the answering
silence and caused Nabiki to give an involuntary
shriek. She grabbed up a kitchen knife and ran back
to the dining room.
There was a panda on the table. Its mouth
had been pried open and stuffed with bamboo. It was
quite obviously dead.
A voice spoke from somewhere outside.
Nabiki gritted her teeth and shrank back against the
wall. The voice was barely comprehensible, as it had
a wet gargling distortion to it. Still, she could make
it out.
"Fifth was the glutton, food he would steal,
A panda who's ready to eat like a meal."
Nabiki didn't have much hope for it
but she checked the phone anyway. Dead.
"RANMA!" Nabiki shouted out at the
night. "I'm...sorry. I just meant to clear the bills
this month. It's...not like I..."
There was no answer.
Nabiki swallowed and nervously licked
her lips. "What did you do to Kasumi, Ranma?
She's never hurt you, never sold you. Hell, Kasumi
doesn't have it in her to hurt much of anyone, you
know that. So why hurt her?"
Silence continued.
"Ranma..." Nabiki steeled herself and stepped
out onto the porch. She made a wretching noise as she
saw what had happened to her father.
"Fourth was the blowfish, puffed up on pride,
Shogi was his game, and that's how he died."
The shogi pieces had been imbedded in
her father's body. There weren't too many areas where
the flesh could actually be seen. Bloodstained wood
covered everything else.
He knew where she was, she knew this
absolutely now. He'd snapped completely, and was
stalking her like in one of those movies Akane was
so fond of.
The knife did not feel terribly comforting
in her hand. What she wanted was one of those
fully automatic assault rifles she saw all the time
in American movies.
She heard a moan. Definitely not Ranma.
It sounded like Kasumi.
Nabiki crept back to the kitchen. It had
sounded like it had come from there. She slowly
opened the curtain, then let it fall back. She'd
found Kasumi all right.
Naked, hogtied, and with an apple
stuffed in her mouth.
"DAMN YOU, RANMA!" Nabiki
shuddered. "What'd Kasumi ever do to you?"
She knew Ranma had completely flipped out,
that expecting rational thought from a crazy
person was just plain crazy in itself.
"Third one played with dolls and nails,
As always with his plots, he fails."
" Second to last was a traditional dish,
At least she got a quick and clean finish."
"SHUT UP, RANMA!" Nabiki
dropped the knife, holding her ears. "JUST
SHUT UP!"
"Who are you calling Ranma?"
Nabiki turned and saw herself
walking closer, grinning. There was a
bloody knife in her hand.
--------------------------------------
Nabiki sat upright in bed,
still feeling the cramps from Akane's
cooking.
"Just a dream? Ohhhhh.
That's it, sis, somehow I'm going to
budget cooking lessons."
===============================
Oh come on, tell me you didn't see this
one coming...
the real title for this fic is "How Akane
learned to cook curry" by the way.
============================
because of requests i finish the countdown:
"One really regrets her evening meal,
Cooking for self has increased appeal."
ALTERNATE ENDING #1:
Nabiki walked down the stairs, yawning,
"Hey Kasumi, what's cooking? Smells good."
She opened the curtain, saw Kasumi ON
the stove, still tied up and trying to mumble
through the apple stuffed in her mouth,
and closed the curtain again. "...it wasn't
a dream?!"
ALTERNATE ENDING #2:
Nabiki woke up, stretched, and got
herself ready to call the police. She'd
have to stage this carefully, so the
role of grief-stricken survivor didn't
ring false.
It had taken forever to arrange these
events, but the insurance money would
be more than enough to compensate for
the effort.
Nabiki would miss Kasumi's cooking,
though, but this was money and therefore
MUCH thicker than blood. In the
meantime she'd savor the peace and quiet.