[Ranma][FanFic] Birthdays - Nabiki
skeezy5
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Birthdays - Nabiki
by skeezy5
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Ranma 1 / 2 etc. all belong to Rumiko Takahashi...
"Ill Met By Starlight" belongs to Susan Doenime and Mike Loader
-Quoted with permission.
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"Yes, one Turkish coffee and one Viennese coffee please." The
waitress quickly scribbled down the order and walked over to the
counter. It wasn't quite on her level, Nabiki thought, but it would
do. After all, she just needed to kill a few minutes here.
As she leaned back, the chair remolded itself about her,
supporting her weight so that there was minimal strain on her body.
So, the real comforts were quite well hidden, she thought. It was
interesting how the place gave off a very Spartan appearance, while the
hi-tech, expensive comforts were well camouflaged. A very quaint,
American thing, where the rich were trying to "keep in touch". They
kept the appearance of plainness, while hiding all the real comforts.
She laughed off their little idiosyncrasies. After all, it was
nice being away from Japan. To most Americans, one Asian looked like
any other, and her anonymity was nice. She scanned the room and smiled,
most of the young hot shots too caught up in their self-importance to
have even bothered to try and recognize the old woman. If they had
recognized her, they'd all be bowing in awe at the Queen of business,
whom they all aspired to be like. A room full of toddlers, she scoffed.
Still, a colleague had recommended the place, and there must be a good
reason why he liked the place so much, no?
Maybe not, Nabiki thought sourly, watching the young waitress
make her rounds. A child, no, barely a young woman, she looked like
she couldn't be a day over sixteen. Quite pretty and definitely
charming, but most of all, she was vibrant, full of life in the way
that most of the post-Event children were. It was as if their lives
burned even more brightly to fill in the gaps left by all those who
had departed... Much in the way that Ranma had back brought so much
life to the Tendo household...
Nabiki brought out her laptop and began checking her mail. Her
professional box was flooded as usual, but her personal box had a few
messages, much to her surprise. The pointer hovered over the personal
box for a second but quickly slid over to the professional box. After
all, it was business before pleasure, no?
She was too busy checking her mail when the waitress came over,
that she merely mumbled out a thanks without looking up as the girl put
down her drinks. A final approval form for building the new plant in
Brazil. A request for more resources allocated to the R&D lab in
Nuremberg. The final list of candidates to head the European division.
Feh, as if they ever did anything except follow her orders.
It wasn't until she looked up a few moments later to grab her
drinks that she finally noticed it. What she saw caught her so much
by surprise, the rest of the café turned to glance at her when she
started laughing aloud. Oh, it was rich, most definitely rich, she
supposed. Quickly, she suppressed her laughter, sweeping the room with
her cool gaze, informing the other patrons that whatever she was
laughing at was a private matter and none of their business.
The subject of her laughter sat silently on the table,
patiently waiting for her. Slowly, she reached out and grabbed the cup
of Turkish coffee, which had been set across from her, and brought it
next to the cup of Viennese, which had been set in front of her. It
reminded her of something she'd read once, "Ill met by Starlight".
After so many years, she still knew it by heart, modified to fit
herself, of course...
The waitress knew the look on her face. She'd seen
it several times before. She was waiting for someone,
someone male, and she was desperately hoping he'd show.
But knowing he probably wouldn't.
Yeah, she'd read this story before, and knew how
the ending went. A pity. Stories really should have happy
endings.
But, she mused, you have to follow the script they
give you. And my part of the script is to walk over and ask
her if she'd like to order. This will bring her pain at being
reminded that no-one is with her, and if the guy shows up, it
would be rude to have ordered. So she will decline, and I'll
walk off, and the whole routine will have made both of us
that much more older and grayer.
No wonder the girl had looked so surprised when she'd ordered,
Nabiki mused. Did she really have that look on her face? My, her
control must be slipping. The mighty Ice Queen of the business
world, pitied by a little waitress girl... She laughed again, this
time silently. After all, it was these little surprises that life
slipped you which kept it all amusing and worth the effort.
Switching cups, Nabiki sipped on her Viennese coffee,
absentmindedly closing away her professional mail and opening her
personal mailbox. The first item popped up. "Furinkan High School
proudly announces the reunion for the class of..."
Now those had been the days. Nabiki leaned back, taking another
sip. Struggling to make ends meet while saving enough to get herself
and her sisters through college... She had done that much and better.
Of all her accomplishments in the business world, none still filled her
with as much pride as this one. Granted, Kasumi's decision not to go
to college had lightened up the burden, and when Ranma had arrived, he
had been almost a gold mine...
Ranma and Akane. A few quick taps brought up the pictures. The
two of them sitting on a park bench, chatting with each other while
eating ice cream. The two of them at a fair, this time both as girls,
Akane "holding" the prizes Ranma had won... "Not on a date", of course.
The picture of Ranma kissing Akane while under the influence of the
neko-ken. Another one, of them at the Kolhoz ice-skating rink, as Ranma
proclaimed to the whole arena that Akane was his fiancee. That
very first picture where Akane is bringing down a boken across Ranma's
head... The words that escaped her mouth were in a quite whisper, "For
posterity's sake..."
She idly wondered for a few seconds how things would have turned
out - had she been the one engaged to Ranma - but quickly dropped the
thought. No, it most definitely would not have worked out. Besides,
Ranma and Akane had made a very cute couple. And a happy one, if only
for a short time... She recalled those few sweet days of love between
the two, before Ranma had finally gone off for the fight he wouldn't
come back from...
Nabiki put down her half-empty cup of Viennese coffee and
switched over to the cup of Turkish coffee. Its bitter taste was
accentuated even more by sweetness of the Viennese coffee, the memory
of which stilldanced across her tongue. Nabiki silently cursed under
her breath. That fool, Ranma, had gone off to that fight, knowing that
he couldn't win, that he would die no matter what happened. And in
turn, he had ended up saving many of their lives. Sure, The Event still
happened, but many had survived thanks to him.
There had been some who had wished they hadn't, though. Those
who had lost their loved ones. Those who had suffered just a bit too
much. Some had killed themselves quickly. Others had withered away
like neglected flowers. Like her sister, Akane had.
Nabiki shook her head. Still, they had been in love... Love...
It was still a strange word to her, much as it had been since her
mother's death. She had built her little fortress around her heart back
then and had rarely left it. For a while, those around her had hoped
much for something between her and Kuno-chan, no, Tatewaki-san, but
that had never blossomed to love. In the end, he had wanted her to be
his wife, the mother of his children, and to stand in his shadow.
Nabiki smirked. Standing in the shadows of others was definitely not
Nabiki Tendo's style.
She deleted the reunion notice and clicked on the next item,
from Kasumi...
"Dear Nabiki-chan. Happy birthday..." Oh right, it was her
birthday. She berated herself, having always prided herself for not
forgetting important details. Thirty-six years old... Was she really
that old? God, how quickly time passed. She glanced over at the front
window of the shop, admiring her ghostlike reflection. Not bad for a
thirty-six year old, she thought, not bad at all. She could probably
still catch a man, having maintained her figure carefully over the
years. She smiled back at her reflection, laughing off the idea.
Still, it made her glad that somebody had remembered her
birthday. Good old Kasumi, always looking out for her little sisters,
on top of her father, husband, and children...
Nabiki felt a twinge of jealousy, but quickly suppressed it,
laughing at herself even harder. Here she was, the most successful
woman in the recorded history of man, the third richest person in
Japan, and she was jealous of a simple house wife. Jealous, because
her own life did not know love, while here sister's was filled with it.
Jealous of her sister, for being happy...
No! That wasn't true. She knew what love was. She had loved
her sisters. She'd loved her father. And they had loved her. She
wasn't alone! Really, she wasn't! There was no reason for her to be
jealous. It wasn't too late for her. She could still...
Her pager began vibrating, shattering the emptiness within her.
She quickly shut her notebook, and put it back in her briefcase.
Time to leave her idle dreams.
Time to get back to business.
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[Author's Notes]
This is my first real post, though not the first Ranma fanfic that
I've attempted to write. This was mostly for practice, since I haven't
written anything substantial for two years. Might as well get some
practice before I plunge into it, no? C&C welcome, if you want to
bother...