[Ranma][Fanfic] Natsumi, the Magical Girl - Part 4

[Richard David Beaubien]

It was no secret that Furinkan High was gaining a sort of infamous
reputation throughout Japan. Not that that was a good thing, however.
Any school which featured weird events, senseless, massive property damage
or martial-arts battles of a caliber a seasoned Hong Kong martial-arts
movie director could only hope for tended to stand out in educational
circles. Besides which, the principal of Furinkan High was a little...
*unusual*, to say the least. If you tried to ask people from other schools
about him, that was as good as description you would get, other than the
general feeling that the person you were asking was grateful that they
didn't have him as a principal or didn't know him personally.
Still, there was something strange about the school that kept drawing
people to it. Kyoko knew this for a fact; it was why she had chosen the
school as an ideal site for a special business juku which would be
co-sponsored by the BFC. Naturally, such a program could build a good name
for any school and help enhance its reputation with the general public...
which was necessary to help a school succeed.
In theory, Furinakan High's principal should have been overjoyed with
the opportunity to add the program to his curriculum, right? But the
moment Kyoko read the information profile on Principal Kunou, she guessed
the going would be tough. Quite tough, indeed. She'd need more than the
initial proposal to convince him.

Principal Kunou's office was surprisingly modest - modest in that he
didn't insist on having an entire beach compressed into the small room.
Unsurprisingly, he'd made the whole thing up to look like a native beach
house... because that's exactly what it was; his own little tropic hideaway
deep within the school grounds. One had to climb a ladder lashed together
from sturdy palm trees just to get to the office, which looked like it had
been built in much the same manner. Often, people thought that it only
looked that way on the outside... that it was actually a construct cleverly
built to look like it belonged on a remote, uncharted desert isle
somewhere, instead of standing next to a weathered school building.
Considering all the damage estimates that occasionally came from this
school, the thing had to have been built far better than it appeared.
Kyoko noted the Principal's unhealthy fixture on all things Hawaiian,
especially the sand, beach toys and a generous helping of plants - most of
which she couldn't tell whether or not were plastic, including the one the
Principal seemed to allow to grow out of the top of his head... good grief,
Kyoko thought; I've stumbled onto the only school in the world with a
built-in vacation resort. She didn't even want to know what the words on
the diplomas on the wall read. The Hawaiian-type elevator music droning
on in the background somewhere was nauseating enough. Truly sad... but she
had come here with business in mind, and she would be damned if she didn't
follow through with her plans.
The Principal himself sat at his desk, happily - a little too happily
for Kyoko's consideration - honing the edges of a pair of unusually large
scissors, all to the tune of some old television show she couldn't recall.
To his credit, though, his whistling didn't seem to be bothered by the
music going on in the background. Kyoko never could whistle one tune while
listening to another...
She thought she was handling the ordeal... er, situation quite well.
She'd come here prepared for strange behavior. All in the line of duty and
all that stuff. Her assistant, Sayoko, wasn't. Sayoko had read more
reports about what went on at this school - it was an assistant's job to
stay informed - and what she discovered repulsed her. If that maniac made
any attempt to cut her hair whatsoever... she'd drain all the lifeblood
energy out of him until a prune looked ten times better than the poor sap.
Kyoko smiled inwardly at the discomfort she sensed from Sayoko.
Sayoko didn't realize that there truly was an intelligence behind the
Principal's insanity. Oh, sure, it was a warped intelligence in what had
to be the Kunou family tradition, but it still made the man a force to be
reckoned with. It was going to take a bit of shrewd negotiating to get
what they wanted out of him, and Kyoko felt she held the trump card they
needed.
The Principal seemed to let the thought come back to him. "Hey,
girl!" He saw Sayoko's cringe, and took on a real smile for the first time
since this meeting had started. "I'm sorry, but I can't allow such a
course to be held at this school unless it actually improves our
educational standard, somehow." He seemed to take pleasure in waving the
tip of that pair of scissors under Sayoko's chin, teasing her... Sayoko was
doing her best to try to keep her composure. Even if Sayoko *did* blast
him, she'd never live the whole affair down. Kyoko wouldn't let her.
"Are you sure you won't reconsider our offer, Principal Kunou?"
The man seemed to switch to some kind of Jamaican-mocking mode.
"No-no-no-no-no. I can't allow it."
"Perhaps we can make you an offer, then." Kyoko placed herself in
between Sayoko and the Principal. After all, Sayoko seemed about to lunge
over the desk and do something they'd both regret later on. "Would you
like to see the benefits our program can provide through a guided tour
through one of our special classes?"
"Well..." He thought about it for a very small instant. As if he
actually had something to do... "I am a busy man." To emphasize his point,
he started to polish an even bigger set of hair-clippers. "I really must
stay here to keep this school running under normal conditions."
Even Sayoko had to laugh at the comment; there was no such thing as
'normal running conditions' at Furinkan High. The Principal looked at her
out of the corner of his eye and began lovingly polishing the clippers'
blades.
Kyoko wasn't impressed. "Okay, then, how about this? I'm sure you
know we can't send you to Hawaii..." She pulled an enlarged schematic
blueprint out of her briefcase. "But what if... say, we bring Hawaii to
Furinkan High?" Under her breath, she added, "No more of this fake stuff."
She saw that she had the Principal's attention. He took the blueprint
from her and, studying it thoroughly, began to laugh. The same hearty
laugh that was the first last straw to Sayoko. Was this all some cruel
joke her co-workers had thought to play on her?
Kyoko knew enough to keep her emotions out of this. Subordinates had
to learn the ropes the hard way... She rested her hands on the table.
"It's such a shame you won't be participating in our business program," she
said with mock sincerity. "We were so looking forward to doing business
with you... all expenses paid, naturally."
She hadn't needed to add the shameless sweet-talk. The thought of
turning Furinkan High into New Hawaii was appealing enough to the
Principal. He signed the papers and left the office at jovial warp speed,
an instant before an extremely confused Sayoko could make sense of exactly
what had happened.
Kyoko knew. She now held complete control over Furinkan High in the
palm of her hand... and soon she would have access to the best natural
resources this simple little district had to offer. Let the Principal
think he knew what it meant to have an evil laugh...

[OP: "The Girl is Magic" (Natsumi Title Theme)/Inoue Kikuko]

(OP sequence: An unconcerned Kasumi stands in the main walkway of the
Tendo yard, sweeping. Soon, Ranma and Akane appear, fighting. Then
Ryouga, Shampoo and Ukyou join the fray. Genma appears, but Ranma
throws him into the pond. Soun sits off to one side, crying. Akane
slam-dunks Ranma into the pond, and the panda raises a sign that says,
"What kept you?" Ranma takes a swipe at him with the sign.
Finally, Nabiki and Mine appear in the background, seemingly trying to
come to a business decision by various means, including
rock-paper-scissors, as a large BFC building rises out of clouds of
dust behind them all.

Still unconcerned, Kasumi changes into Natsumi and uses her powers to
sweep the whole mess away at an incredible rate, leaving a white
screen for the title logo to fade into.)

Richard Beaubien
presents
Natsumi, the Magical Girl
Chapter 4: Back to School Terror!
(embellished by Mike K.)
---------------------------------

"I hear that you have been accepted to attend a special business
course at school that the BFC has sponsored, Nabiki." Kasumi said, in the
middle of preparing lunches for Soun and Genma. Sure, they ate a lot, but
as long as they were happy, everyone else usually was. It was currently
the weekend, and the special class was slated to begin on Monday, with
Nabiki holding a choice position as one of the initial attendees. "Are you
sure this is something you want to do, Nabiki-chan?"
"Sure, why not? It could always offer us some important info on the
BFC." That, and some sweet blackmail opportunities, too. Nabiki had no
qualms about ruining a company that counted youma among its primary
exports.
Kasumi sighed, going back to slicing bread. "But, won't you be
putting yourself at risk? I mean, it does sound to me like it might be
a... scheme of some sort."
Nabiki's face took on that thoughtful look most sentient beings
dreaded. "I doubt they would pull anything extremely obvious. It would
call too much attention to them. Headlines that scream 'BFC Class Causes
Monster Riot!' are not exactly good for business." She paused to gauge
Kasumi's reaction, but Kasumi was taking it all in stride, turning her
attention to preparing a kettle of tea. "Besides, it's obvious that the
BFC has something more sinister in mind with this course. I wouldn't be
surprised if it was a part of their master plans, Sis."
Kasumi was so surprised by Nabiki's assumption that she dropped the
spoon she was holding. "'Master plan'!?"
"You know; every evil organization has something that it wants more
than anything else. World domination, utter power, wealth, the destruction
of Microsoft, their own postal stamp... maybe they want their pizzas
delivered in *twenty* minutes or less. But they definitely *want*
something."
Kasumi was dimly aware of a slight breeze making its way through the
kitchen as she stopped to think about what Nabiki had said. Nabiki was
right, of course - the BFC had to have a hidden agenda.
Did she have one, too? In her dreams, Mother kept mentioning
something... having to do with her friends, something she couldn't
completely recall. Maybe if she told Nabiki about the dreams, Nabiki could
help deduce what they meant. Maybe Nabiki could help her understand why
the dreams were haunting her in the first place...
"--Or else they wouldn't be sending so many monsters out to do their
dirty work. I mean, youma aren't exactly known for their subtleties..."
Nabiki paused. She waved a hand in front of Kasumi's face. "Hey...
Oneechan? Are you there? Hello..."
Kasumi snapped back to the real world. "I'm sorry, Nabiki-chan," she
sheepishly apologized. "I do understand what you're trying to say... I
think. You seem to believe that the BFC wants something that's special
about our district and that's why they're doing all these evil things,
right?"
"Right. And I'm hoping this 'business course' can help shed some
light on what their true motives might be."
"But you're still taking a tremendous risk."
"Don't worry; I can take care of myself, Sis. If there's any inside
information that needs to be found or espionage that needs to be done, I'm
the person for the job." Nabiki confidently left the room. "Oh, by the
way... don't forget that later tonight we really have to pick out a new
design for that costume of yours. I want to change it to something that
doesn't make you look like Sailor Moon. Copyright lawsuits are terribly
expensive, you know."
Astonished by her sister's behavior, Kasumi didn't say a word.

****

"Yes... by all means, Kyoko. Please do explain," the chairwoman
purred with a smooth, condescending tone from behind her large
stained-mahogany desk. Kyoko cringed; one did not look forward to being
called into the chairwoman's office to explain what they were currently
doing and why. The chairwoman already wielded a considerable amount of
power. She had obviously designed her office with the full intent of
intimidating anyone who stepped into it. More troubling was the fact that
the office monitors around the room could be playing anything: your
failures - how had she gotten video footage of those? - a close-up of your
extremely nervous face, or something else equally as humbling... "Perhaps
you would like to explain to me why you have failed in acquiring new
resources and have helped encourage the casting of some suspicion on our
company?"
"I have no excuse to offer, m'lady. It was poor planning that led to
these defeats." Kyoko stepped back from the desk and bowed before her
leader, hoping for another chance to prove herself. "I do have another
plan that will succeed. A plan which will procure us all that we need from
this area..."
"Very well, Kyoko. I will allow you to have another chance.
However--" the chairwoman paused abruptly, traces of a faint smile
appearing on her face, although Kyoko failed to see it. "Do not fail. You
must remember that our company is a reputable one, and we do not want
ourselves caught up in any affair that might tarnish that reputation. Do
you understand?"
Kyoko bit her lip. "I understand completely, m'lady. I won't fail
you again." She understood, too, what the chairwoman had been implying by
her final statement. Other things were to be put at risk before the life
of the company...
After Kyoko left the office, the chairwoman poked at a button on the
intercom. "Mine, I need to see you."
Shortly afterward, Mine materialized in front of the desk. "Yes,
m'lady?"
The chairwoman finished reviewing the videotape of her conversation
with Kyoko. "Kyoko claims to have another plan. Perhaps your new
operative should keep an eye on her and her plan to ensure that she does
not fail."
"I shall."
"And, if she does fail... please resolve the situation so that nothing
ends up on our company doorstep."
Mine nodded, and vanished. The chairwoman turned to gaze out her
large window - made of martial-artist-proof glass - at the beautiful Nerima
skyline. She had left the videotape in pause mode. "I understand
completely, m'lady. I won't fail you again." A grave look crossed her
face. "Damn you, Kyoko!" she cursed. "I'm not going to let you ruin
thirty good years of work on my part! I *will* get what I want..."

****

"Well, *sure* it's going to be difficult. But, hey - you do owe me a
few favors. Just tell yourself that this should cancel out most of the
debts you owe me."
"Look, just see what you can dig up on the BFC, its background and
past... *anything* that you think I might find of interest. We'll discuss
fees later. Right. Nice talking to you too. Bye, now..."
Nabiki hung up the phone. She was becoming more and more confused
over the company and its policies as time passed. She always thought she
had known what the BFC really wanted from Nerima. Hell, it had to be one
thing, right? Martial artists. Fighters were unofficially Nerima's
number-one import - and export. Nabiki couldn't fathom why the company
wanted martial artists, though it had been the underlying theme in all
their confrontations. An attempt to coerce Ranma and Akane into selling
pogs - who bought those anymore, anyway? If Nabiki had thought there was a
profit in selling... *pogs*, she would have cornered the market months ago.
As it stood, she still had a couple boxes of the blasted things crammed
into a dark corner of her closet. She was considering *giving* the things
to Happosai for firewood.
A cooking contest for martial artists.
A takeover of a sentai show. <Well, two out of three ain't bad.>
But why martial artists? Why would a company that had some secret tie
somewhere to the forces of Darkness need martial artists? World control?
Well, that's what all power-seekers usually wanted, but how was the BFC
expecting to do that with *martial artists*? Including Ranma and his
crew... good luck trying to control the world with Kunou-chan as your
leader. As a puppet... now, that was a different story entirely.
There had to be more to the story than just that. Nabiki didn't
believe in simple explanations. Not when it came to big business.
Whatever the BFC had in mind was definitely a lot bigger than breaking
bricks and sticks with bare hands. Otherwise, they could have done it
themselves. And if she could only determine what they had in mind for
everyone, she could help put a stop to them before somebody was actually
hurt by these youma attacks.
Besides, a lot of those people owed her money...

****

Kyoko lifted her head, intending to take a break from looking over the
class lists for the new class. "Sayoko? Where are you?" The names
weren't really all that interesting, a bland who's-who of Furinkan High;
nothing or no one truly special, but all the same a good power base for the
BFC to begin its takeover of the school.
"I'm right here," Sayoko said, off to Kyoko's side.
"How many times have I told you not to do that?"
Sayoko was confused. "Do what?"
"Never mind. Here," Kyoko passed the class list to her assistant.
"This is the list of people who will be taking our class. Please study it;
I'd like to hear which ones you believe would be best for our first wave of
'new recruits.'"
"Hai." Sayoko slowly flipped through the roster. Mostly ordinary
people, nothing to get excited over. And then, on the last page, there
was... "**HIM!?!**"
Kyoko sighed. "Let me guess: you've found the entry for 'Kunou
Tatewaki, age 17,' right? He *is* one of the students who will be taking
the class..."
"No, no, NO!! Anyone but him! If we have to contend with another
Kunou, I'm not going to be responsible for anything that happens! Can't I
sit this one out?"
Kyoko turned a frosty glare at her assistant. Sayoko merely brushed
it off. "We both have to go through with this. You know that. There's
no backing out now. If you bail out on me now, we stand the risk of a
rather unpleasant early retirement, if you know what I mean..."
Okay, so maybe Sayoko didn't want to have an 'early retirement.' No
one she knew of actually did retire from the BFC. Must save the company a
lot of money in gold watches, she thought sourly. The BFC's early
retirement plan was *not* a pleasant experience, more so if one had failed
his or her superiors in the slightest way.
Which to choose? Failure of the plan, or the dreaded Kunou family?
She thanked Fate that the Black Rose of the family, Kodachi, attended a
private school. From reports it seemed that didn't stop her from dropping
by Furinkan High whenever she felt like it, but it was a good sign that
Sayoko wouldn't have to worry about Kodachi attending the course. Not that
any of the Kunou clan struck her as having potential for business.
"Don't worry. I'll be here to watch your back," Kyoko assured her.
Some assurance. This *was* Tatewaki Kunou they were talking about...

****

Visitors to Ukyou's familiar restaurant found a strange - but not
unusual - sight: a 'Closed' sign. Weekends were often one of the best
times of the week for her to have her restaurant open, so why have it
closed now? She hadn't posted any mention of an upcoming trip anywhere,
like she usually did whenever she was about to leave on a risk-all trip to
sell okonomiyaki somewhere within Japan. Some insiders assumed she picked
her locations along the same lines as Ryouga picking travel plans. But
they were wrong...
Not that Ukyou cared much anymore; she had far more important things
to worry about than this small restaurant. It was in someone else's hands
now. Let them pour their souls into it for a lousy weekly profit - she was
now a BFC junior executive.
Mine was toying with her. "Ukyou? Tell me, what do you *really*
think of this offer? Two box tops for an authentic Ninja shuriken... now
that's a good offer."
"Whatever," Ukyou swept the box tops and prize aside. "I know you
didn't come here for this, Mine-san. You didn't take me on as a junior
executive just to have me look at kids' cereal prizes all day."
Mine hesitated. "You're absolutely correct. Keep in mind, Ukyou,
that an executive's duties can encompass every decision that needs to be
made in a company like ours, from the high-level to the trivial. Even a
cereal box-top can further your career. I should know; I sent in enough
of them..."
Ukyou boggled. "You're kidding."
A smile formed on Mine's face, decided it was in poor company and
left. "Yes." After a quick pause, she continued. "Ukyou, I've decided to
give you your first real assignment."
"I'm ready."
"I have arranged for you to attend a special business course taught by
two of our other execs. We suspect they may attempt to double-cross or
cheat the company." Mine hesitated. "If that's the case, I want you to
quietly eliminate them without bringing suspicion upon our company."
"I understand." Ukyou offered a sharp salute-like gesture and retired
to the back room of her restaurant to prepare for class. To prepare a plan
of action and the possibility of company downsizing. It was her job.
Mine sighed; no one was there to hear it but her. "There is no
turning back now, Kuonji Ukyou. Your Human life is no more..."

****

Patience had never been one of Tatewaki Kunou's best qualities. It
wasn't one of his worst, either. He always had to get exactly what he
wanted, whenever he wanted it, no matter what the cost. He was quite
amazingly dense for a young man his age, often ignoring the glaringly
obvious details in his pursuit of desire - which tended to explain his
obsession in courting Akane Tendo and the girl whom, no matter how many
times he had heard her name, he insisted on calling 'the pig-tailed girl.'
Rather, 'goddess.' He didn't believe in placing the loves of his life
among mere commoners, under which he counted Ranma Saotome. And Kodachi,
though he hadn't decided yet where he placed his sister in the grand class
structure.
It was this combination of qualities that contributed to the scene
Kunou was creating at this moment in time. The first day of the special
business class, and it almost seemed Kunou thought he was too good to sit
in the chair assigned to him. "Why should I have to attend a mere business
school when Kunou Tatewaki, the wealthiest of the upperclassmen here,
already knows how to make money? I do not need to know how to make more
money. The school should be well-advised to pay *me* to teach this course,
not amateurs like them."
Nabiki was already beginning to feel queasy. She saw it coming from
the moment Kunou-chan entered the classroom, amid his usual fanfare. If
anything, she was privately surprised he hadn't settled in to his epic
tales of justified battles against that representative of Darkness itself,
Ranma Saotome... no, wait, he was firing one of those up now.
Well, no one ever said school was boring with any of the people she
knew all too well around. She decided to size up the other attendees and
see who else had been lured into this potential trap.
Naturally, there was Kunou, who was making himself stand out like a
sore thumb. In the back sat one person, who seemed vague to Nabiki.
Nabiki concentrated, narrowing her eyes, and saw that it was Ukyou. Or was
it? Whoever she was, she looked enough like Ukyou, yet was dressed in a
smart red business suit. Ukyou wasn't well-known for her wardrobe, and the
suit would have seemed to prove it.
Maybe Ukyou had given up on trying to win Ranma from Akane. That left
what, about seventy-five more girls in line for his heart?
Kunou was sounding more and more like a complete idiot by the minute,
if that was possible. Nabiki tried to hide a laugh; this obviously wasn't
going to be a traditional business class. Otherwise, Kunou-chan might have
been outside long before now reciting his long-winded speeches to the two
buckets of water he'd be holding as punishment. Maybe there was potential
for entertainment here after all...
Sayoko didn't think that was the case. To her, Kunou was far more
annoying than that psychotic father of his. She felt pity in her for the
pig-tailed girl and Akane. Whoever they were, they didn't deserve this.
She wondered again why she just didn't blast him on first sight.
"Kunou-san," she forced herself to say, politely, "As much as we find the
epic tales of your love...... *interesting*, can we please get started?"
"Forgive me. I did not know I was rambling. I can be so sidetracked
by the loves of my life so easily... Fortunately, I do not ramble on long."
"Yes..." Sayoko's brow furrowed. She squeezed another bubble on her
sheet of bubble-wrap. "I'm sure you don't. All right, everyone, let's
begin. Can anyone explain the--"
"Alas... yes, I can explain why I love them. My love for them is like
the wind..."
<It's like the wind, all right,> Nabiki smirked. <Very strong, but
loud and hollow.>
Sayoko facefaulted. *Why* did she have to get stuck with such a royal
twit? She squeezed together more bubbles on the bubble-wrap. The
stress-aid was helping her remain in control. When it ran out, not even
Heaven would be able to help save that idiot...
Ukyou's watchful glare remained stubbornly in place. It was clear
from the start that this plan was going to fall apart and lead like a trail
of fallen dominoes back to the BFC's front porch if it was allowed to
continue. She couldn't allow that. She would put an end to this plan
before it incriminated her company. All she needed to do was wait for the
proper moment to strike. The BFC did *not* tolerate failure...

****

At the Tendo dojo, meanwhile, everything was business as usual. Soun
and Genma were once again wrapped up in their daily shogi game. Kasumi,
however, was standing alone in the kitchen, simmering. Given the
circumstances, it was perfectly understandable. Nabiki was all alone
inside that BFC-sponsored class. It had to be an extremely obvious trap,
right? She still had no justification for charging off in her Natsumi form
and pay the class a visit.
Even if Nabiki felt Kasumi's save-Nabiki-heroics would be bad for her
image.
<It could be a trap. Nabiki could be in danger.>
The thought repeated again and again inside Kasumi's mind. Something
was going to happen, she could feel it! If Nabiki was hurt, she wouldn't
be in any condition to cash in on Natsumi no matter how polished her image
was. <I do have an errand to run at a market close to the school...>
"Father! Mr. Saotome! I'm stepping out to run an errand!" Kasumi
yelled, picking up her brooch and running out the door.
Soun turned to say good-bye, which allowed Genma another opportunity
to make a move that was against the rules of the game. In turning back to
the board, Soun had long since learned that when playing Genma, you watched
the board first and *then* your opponent. What little good that did, with
all these distractions. "Saotome, was that an illegal move you just made?"
Genma didn't reply. He couldn't; for in front of Soun sat a rather
ridiculous-looking panda wrapped around a beach ball. Soun settled in for
a nice, painful facefault.

****

"So, would anyone here happen to know the basic law of *supply* and
*demand*?" Sayoko prodded, hoping that someone other than Kunou would
answer. Nabiki raised her hand - she did know the answer, but it came too
late. Kunou was already on his feet with an answer. "The answer is all
too obvious. I demand something, and it is given to me."
That sent the entire class crashing to the floor in disbelief. Nabiki
and Ukyou were the only ones to keep their composure, large beads of
nervous sweat forming on their foreheads all the same. Kunou-chan was
getting out of hand. So much for learning anything from this class. In
the rear of the class Ukyou casually continued to wait, knowing a breaking
point was coming soon.
Sayoko reached for her bubble paper, but it had been melted by a stray
bolt of lightning from one of Kunou's dramatic poses. It finally pushed
Sayoko off the edge. "THAT'S IT! I'VE HAD IT UP TO **HERE** WITH YOU!!!"
she yelled at the top of her lungs, a mysterious blue aura taking shape
around her. Everyone began to panic, save for Nabiki, Kunou and Ukyou.
Nabiki was, thanks to Ranma, used to living with hair-trigger fights and
strange auras. Still, it ought to be fun to watch Kunou-chan get trashed
by someone, again... On the other hand, Nabiki wondered why the BFC agent
had dropped the ruse so soon. Perhaps this wasn't part of the BFC master
scheme after all.
"PREPARE TO SUFFER A MILLION UNIQUE KINDS OF PAIN, YOU IDIOT!!"
Sayoko exclaimed, quivering. The blue glow washed over her, revealing her
true youma form. That did it. The entire class was screaming now. Ukyou,
Kunou and Nabiki watched the situation taking place closely, for completely
different reasons. "AS FOR THE REST OF YOU, PREPARE TO SERVE THE--"
"Everyone, RUN!!!" Ukyou suddenly yelled at the top of her lungs.
The class didn't need to be told five times. Within one second the entire
class was out the door and long gone, except for Nabiki, Ukyou and Kunou.
The latter was still frozen in place with a wide-eyed vacant stare on his
face.
Could there be a clue to the BFC's master plan here, somewhere?
Unfortunately, before Nabiki had a chance to examine everything closely,
something oddly human-shaped came crashing through the window. Now who did
she know that made entrances like that? Better get out the list...
Never mind. Natsumi placed herself in the middle of the room.
"I will NOT allow you to use a classroom as a place to terrorize
innocent people!" Nabiki winced at the statement; it wasn't like
Kunou-chan was exactly an innocent. "For love and justice, I'm Natsumi,
the magical girl, and your final bell is about to ring!"
Sayoko sighed. "All right, all right, I'll fight you. But could you
do me a favor? Could you let me put this FOOL out of everyone's misery,
first!?" She leapt toward Kunou and tried to imbed a kick between his
narrow-minded eyes. Kunou instinctively drew his bokken, but failed to
react in time and was launched through the far wall. Sayoko laughed
insanely, wiping her hands free of dust. "There! Now that *that's* over
with--"
"Natsumi KICK!!"
Sayoko was thrown in the opposite direction Kunou had taken. Natsumi
chanced a look at Nabiki. "Get Kunou to safety, *now*!"
For a second Nabiki scowled, wondering why she was always the one to
have to drag Kunou-chan to safety. Ranma and Akane always left him
imbedded in the ground somewhere... She heard his voice in the distance -
something about him defeating the monster for the honor of the Blue Thunder
and Furinkan High. She resigned herself; Kunou-chan was dangerous when he
wasn't running on all his cylinders. Which, she smirked, was most of the
time. Guess it was about time for an engine overhaul.
Still, Nabiki didn't want to spend time lugging Kunou-chan around and
keep an eye on him, not when Kasumi was putting her life on the line.
Maybe Ukyou could help her dump Kunou-chan somewhere in a straitjacket and
chains... wait. Where had Ukyou gone?
Ukyou had remained in the room. Something about Ukyou made her
practically invisible unless you knew she was there, and was looking
directly at her. Natsumi barely acknowledged Ukyou's presence in her mind;
perhaps Ukyou was part of someone else's concern. No matter - Ukyou wasn't
a threat.
Natsumi began to radiate a green aura. She was about to release it,
intending to have it consume the youma, when a large spatula came down upon
her head from behind. Natsumi slumped to the floor, unconscious. Sayoko
was surprised, noting the approaching Ukyou.
"So the rumors of an agent sitting in on the class were true," Sayoko
straightened. "Thanks--" She never got the chance to complete her
sentence. For a smaller spatula, bathed in dark energy, was now a part of
her midsection. Ukyou was still approaching, a vague, sinister grin
becoming apparent on her face. "Why...... why?" Sayoko asked, coughing up
dark blood.
"The BFC does not tolerate failure." Ukyou proceeded to slice and
dice what was left of the fallen youma. Nothing was left but Sayoko's
final wail as Kyoko appeared.
"Who are you, and why have you done this?"
"Sad to say, you've been downsized," Mine laughed, appearing in the
room. "Now, prepare to die..." She formed a ball of energy within her
cupped hands and aimed it at Kyoko. To Mine and Ukyou's surprise, Kyoko
sat in the spot Sayoko had vacated and began to cry. As she took the full
force of the blast, her last words faded away with her. "Sayoko-chan...
Mine-chan... Forgive me..."
Ukyou's face settled back into its original serious expression. "What
about Natsumi?" She studied Natsumi's still form. Something there seemed
familiar to her, even innocent, but there was no room for that now.
"Leave her for now. We need to end this misguided plan and delete
any ties that might reflect suspicion onto the company."

****

Natsumi came to with an incredibly painful splitting headache - she'd
never fallen victim to a whack on the head from Ukyou's giant spatula
before, and wasn't prepared for it, both physically and mentally - and no
idea how long she had been out. Was the youma still here, on the loose?
She sprang to her feet. No... only people talking to one another. And off
to one side, there were a couple of teachers being interrogated by the
police. Natsumi dragged herself over to them, wondering if they knew what
had hit her.
"Ah! The hero of the hour has finally awakened!" Mine exclaimed,
rushing to give Natsumi a hug. "You're the one who saved my life! I'd
like to thank you for taking care of that nasty youma." Mine bowed. At
the lowest point of the bow, she smiled. She had always been a good actor,
even in high school...
Natsumi didn't know what to make of the situation. Who was this? She
hadn't been here earlier... at least not that Natsumi had seen.
"Thanks..." she near-mumbled out of politeness. Though she hadn't been the
one to destroy the youma. It was a moot point, for the crowd was
surrounding her, asking for her autograph... Mine went on with her story to
the police. Natsumi could hear bits and pieces of it, though the noise of
the crowd soon put a stop to that.
"Those monsters tied me up before my class was about to begin. I
suspect they were sent by the Sappirio company, somehow, in an attempt to
tarnish the BFC's good name. I'm just glad that girl was there to help
save our company's reputation."
Natsumi withdrew her breath. Her, *help* the company that had been
the reason for most of her fights in the first place? Something wasn't
right here. She had more questions than answers, and there was only one
person who might have an answer or two to spare.
She offered a quick farewell, then departed, much to the
disappointment of her new fans.

****

"C'mon, sis. It's obviously another lie." Nabiki was actually
helping with the preparation of dinner, slicing up carrots. Kasumi noted
how well Nabiki handled herself in the kitchen and wondered why Nabiki
didn't help more often.
"I know, but what could they be up to?" asked Kasumi, not expecting
an answer. One normally did not destroy one's own trap. She was beginning
to think that the BFC was more than just a bunch of crackpot monsters out
for world domination. "I don't know why they bothered to spare me."
"You became a key part of their plan. With you there to play hero, no
one noticed them shifting the blame onto another company." <That reminds
me; I'd better dump those shares of Sappirio stock,> Nabiki added in her
thoughts, throwing the carrots into the pot. "They're more interested at
the moment in keeping their reputation clean than killing you, which means
you probably haven't made that much of an impact on their resources."
Kasumi exhaled, planning to lose her big-business concerns in
preparing tonight's meal. More often than not, she had to do a lot of
cooking - Father and Genma ate so much, and Ranma was gearing up to be that
way, too. "Before I forget... thank you for helping me cook, Nabiki."
"No problem. You can repay me by modeling the new costumes I put
together for you in the dojo tonight." Nabiki spread some seasoning over
a dish of curry.
"But, won't Father or someone else notice!?"
"Don't worry, they'll all be gone tonight. I think they're going to
try to put a stop to someone's latest plan... was it Happosai? I never
know..."
"Dear me..." Kasumi sighed. Maybe Nabiki's fashion show wasn't a bad
idea. It would preoccupy her for one night, anyway. "All right, Nabiki.
I'll see what you have in mind. I will do it as long as you don't give me
a skirt that's too short. The last thing I need is to give people another
reason to stare at me..."
Nabiki pursed her lips. "Okay." She could see the yen drain away
from the 'H' market. Didn't all magical girls have some kind of short
skirt?

****

Late night found Mine one of the last few people remaining in the BFC
main office complex this evening. She sat in her office, drifting from
picture to picture, plaque to plaque, and back, on her wall. One picture
kept drawing her attention. "Junior Executives of the Year," someone had
scribbled across the thin white border at the bottom. In the picture were
two people: Mine, and her closest friend at the time... one who had signed
her name and the words 'Friends Forever' next to her on the picture.
Kyoko.
"Kyoko-chan..." In tears, Mine ripped the picture from the wall and
willed it to spontaneously combust within her hands. The last tie she had
to her former life was now gone. From this point on, she would never cry
again.

<end>

[ED: "Friends" (Nabiki Tendo Version)/Takayama Minami]

As per normal C&C is always welcome....

Thanks to those out there that are reading this and to Mike for actually
putting up with my grammar...

Ja ne!!

Richard Beaubien
----------------
Mizuno Ami-chan forever!!!