[Ranma][Fanfic] Nabiki - New Horizons Part 3

[Uncle Fester]

Nabiki - New Horizons
Pt. 3 - Honeymoon Hell
By Uncle Fester

A pleasant breeze raced the sunshine to reach the honeymoon
suite's oversized bed. A newlywed couple, covered by only a single
silken sheet, were sleeping late.
The girl lazily stretched, relishing the feel of the silken
sheets on her bare skin. Happily, she snuggled closer to her sleeping
husband, her head on his muscular shoulder. Partially awake, she
slowly caressed the skin of his chest; tracing a line around his
pectoral muscles. A small smile spread over her face. She had never
thought sleeping with someone else would be so...comfortable.
<Mrs. Jeff Lawrence> she thought slowly to herself as she held up
her left hand and admired the wedding ring that now adorned her
finger. A satisfied feeling engulfed her.
<Not bad, Nabiki old girl.> she mused while watching the slow
rise and fall of her husband's chest. <Last year at this time, you
were trying to think of another money making scam and working out a
way of going to college. Who would've thought that one year later
you'd be married to a guy who has more money than even you can spend?>
She snuggled closer.
She had chosen well. He was kind, attentive, and considerate of
her opinions. He slept quietly, unlike members of her own family who
tossed and turned all night. She stretched again, wincing slightly.
<Must have gotten a little carried away last night.> she moved her
legs gingerly. <Maybe I shouldn't have made him take so many cold
showers before the wedding.> She chuckled softly. <Gonna be a little
sore today.> The images and echoes of the night before flashed through
her mind, leaving her more than slightly excited. The wedding night
had been... indescribable.
Jeff stirred and slowly opened his eyes. As Nabiki planned, her
face was the first thing he saw.
"Ohayo, Mrs. Lawrence." he murmured.
"Ohayo, my husband." she was being formal in a teasing way. "Did
you sleep well?"
"[yawning]I kept having this wonderful dream."
"Oh?"
"It was about a beautiful young Japanese girl."
"Hmmm. I think I like this dream. Tell me more."
"She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen."
"Describe her."
"Beautiful brown eyes."
"Good."
"Kawaii little nose."
"I like this."
"Terrific body and dynamite in bed."
"Ooooh, I think I know who she is."
"...and long black hair."
"WHAT?!!" Nabiki grabbed a pillow and smacked her giggling
husband as he rolled out of the bed. "Does the word: 'annulment',
mean anything to you?" She was having a hard time looking angry; she
kept breaking into giggles of her own.
Tucking the covers around her body as she sat up, she shot Jeff
one of her 'looks'. "Just for that, *I'm* going home to daddy." she
pouted.
"Sorry, sweetie." Jeff answered as he stretched, flexing the
muscles she had admired since that first night in her father's dojo.
"Your dad told me at the reception that he has a strict 'no return'
policy. Something about used goods."
"Oooooh!" Nabiki grabbed another pillow and threw it after Jeff
as he retreated into the bathroom.
Chuckling softly to herself, she thought of yet another reason
why she loved him; he was fun to be with.
"By the way," he said loudly enough to be heard over the sink's
running water. "I have to go down to the lawyer's office and sign the
final inheritance papers this morning."
Nabiki climbed out of bed and slipped into her yukata and
slippers.
"I also have to go down and give a statement at the police
station about my cousin Monty." Jeff actually sounded a little sad
about his cousin's actions. They had never gotten along, even before
his grandparents died. Monty always thought that Jeff was an
unwelcome and illegitimate addition to the family. When Jeff's
grandparents left all their money to their grandson, it only served to
push the already unstable Montgomery Phillips over the edge.
Nabiki had known the day after their wedding would be a little
disjointed due to Jeff wrapping up his inheritance. In a way, she was
kind of glad for the time alone. Not that she didn't enjoy being with
her new husband. On the contrary, she relished every moment. It's
just she was more used to a solitary lifestyle. This 'togetherness'
thing was going to take a little getting used to.
For some reason, she began picking up all the discarded clothes
from the night before.
<Good grief.> she paused. <I'm turning into a 'Kasumi'.> She
looked at the bundle she had already picked up and scowled. Carefully
picking out Jeff's clothes and dropping them back onto the floor, she
thought: <Let him pick up his own clothes. I'm not his mother.>
She was about to look into getting dressed when an envelope slid
quietly under the door from the hall. She only noticed because it
moved so quickly across the carpet, it startled her.
<I wonder which sister is sending me notes on the morning after.>
she mused, bending over to pick up the envelope. <Probably want me to
meet them somewhere to do a little 'girl talk'.> She rolled her eyes.
<Like I'm going to tell them anything about last night. Well, maybe
just the part about the Jacuzzi.> She smiled to herself when she
remembered being in the honeymoon suite whirlpool...with Jeff...and
some champagne... hmmmmmmm.>
Shaking her head, she reminded herself that there were things to
do and she had no time for daydreams; no matter how good they might
have been. She turned her attention to the envelope.
As expected, it was addressed to her. What was inside was
completely unexpected.

'Nabiki Lawrence: It was an honor to be able to help you on your
wedding day. Meet me at noon at the gymnasium of Chaminade
University. Tell no one you are coming. We need to talk.
Sodoshi.'

<So, Sodoshi is the name of the ninja that helped thwart the
wedding day assault.> Nabiki quickly tucked the note in her purse and
nonchalantly began dressing. <If Jeff has to go to all those meetings,
I'll have some time to look into this 'Sodoshi' person.>
Jeff soon emerged from the bathroom ready for his busy day.
Resisting the urge to drag Nabiki back to bed, he quickly dressed and,
apologizing repeatedly for having to interrupt their honeymoon for
business, left for the meetings that would convert the last of the
Phillips financial empire into his.
Nabiki, dressed in a simple pinafore and blouse that looked
strangely like one of Akane's outfits, used her Japanese-English
pocket dictionary to carefully translate the Japanese name for the
place they were to meet into English.
<It's almost like being back in school.> she giggled remembering
all the mindless translations she and her classmates had to endure.

Out front of the hotel, Nabiki hailed a taxi, pointed to the
address of the gymnasium and relaxed when the driver nodded that he
understood.
The trip itself took less time than Nabiki's haggling with the
driver over a tip. Such things were simply not done in Japan and she
couldn't understand why the driver felt he deserved extra compensation
for transporting her where she paid him to take her in the first
place. Besides, he didn't even open the door for her.
Standing alone outside the gymnasium, Nabiki looked around
carefully. It was between semesters and virtually all the students
and faculty had left. Only birds disrupted the abandoned look of the
campus.
<Maybe, she meant inside.> Nabiki thought as she tried one of the
glass doors. It easily swung open and she cautiously stepped inside.
The foyer was poorly lit by the indirect sunlight coming through the
glass doors but she could see well enough to tell there was no one
inside either.
"In here, clan sister." came a female voice from the gymnasium
darkness.
Cautiously, Nabiki crept to the open door leading to the
basketball arena and looked in. The gloomy darkness of the empty
arena cast a depressing aura around her.
"Come in. I've been waiting for you, clan sister."
Nabiki's 'gift' of being able to detect dangerous situations was
whispering to her now. Whomever was in the arena was potentially
dangerous. Swallowing hard, Nabiki fought the urge to run for the
outside door; to abandon this mysterious meeting and never look back.
But her curiosity about this 'Sodoshi' person who wore the mark of her
mother's shinobi clan, was overwhelming. She *had* to know. Slowly,
Nabiki slipped inside.
"So, you decided to come." the female voice announced. "I wasn't
sure you had the courage."
As Nabiki's eyes adjusted to the arena's gloom, she could make
out a female figure approaching slowly.
Scared but still curious, Nabiki responded to the taunt. "I
came because I wished to see you." Her voice was surprisingly firm.
"Odd. I would have figured you for a shrinking wall flower." the
girl replied advancing into the light. "Master Sato was right. You
*do* have the blood."
Nabiki finally got a good look at this mysterious shadow warrior.
She was slightly taller than Nabiki but with a model's body. Her long
dark hair was tied into dual pony tails that trailed over each
shoulder and down her chest; not unlike the ones Nabiki herself wore
when she was a child. Her face was flawlessly beautiful and reflected
a timeless beauty that Japanese women were renowned for throughout the
world. If she were not a ninja, she would have surely been a model or
idol singer. She also noticed the girl walked oddly, like someone
with a stomach-ache or a bad back; slightly bent to one side and
forward.
"I want to thank you for what you did..." Nabiki began humbly.
And why not? She owed her life to this woman.
"Save it, Nabiki Lawrence." the girl snapped.
"That's Tendo-Lawrence. I've kept my family name." Nabiki
corrected, slightly irritated that she had been verbally slapped by
this woman.
The girl just laughed. "Oh, forgive me, Miss Wealthy clan
sister." she taunted openly. "I had no idea I was offending Mistress
Tendo-Lawrence."
Nabiki just closed her eyes and fought back the urge to tell the
girl off and leave. She came to talk, not trade insults. "I want to
know of my mother's clan. Because you're a member.."
"Survivor!" the girl cut her off again. "I, Sodoshi Tanaka, am a
survivor!" Her voice echoed throughout the gymnasium. She sounded
both proud and angry at the same time.
"I'm... sorry..." This was not going the way Nabiki intended.
She had hoped for a friendly discussion of the history of her clan
with one who was in a position to know but found only a bitter,
hateful girl.
"You still don't understand, do you?" she looked at Nabiki with
disgust. "While you were growing up in a loving environment, I was
running for my life." the girl spit at Nabiki. "You went to Furinkan
Senior High School. Do you know how many high schools I've attended
trying to hide? Seven. While you were safe behind the walls of the
Tendo School of Martial Arts, I lost my mother, my father, *and*
my older brother."
Nabiki tried to find words to express her emotions but failed.
"Surely, you don't think I had anything to do with..."
"Oh, but I hate you. I hate you because *you* sat out the blood
hunt while I, and my family, paid the ultimate price." Sodoshi was
venting 20 years of frustration, fear, and sorrow on her distant clan
sister. "I've done my last favor for you and your phoney clan member
husband. And tell that old man Sato, we're even now. My debt to him
is paid." She paused with a far away look of anger. "You should be
thankful I'm not going to leave a trail so the assassins can find you
and your perfect little family."
"The blood hunt is over." Nabiki was being surprisingly calm
throughout the Sodoshi barrage. "It ended when I married Jeff."
"The feud is over when *I* say it's over! I, suffered at the
hands of those animals! I, endured their hunts! I, will decide when
peace comes!"
"I lost a mother to the hunt." Nabiki narrowed her eyes at the
older girl.
"Your mother!?" the girl snorted. "Your mother wasn't killed by
the assassins, you idiot. Your mother died of natural causes."
"I'm not going to match tragedies with you, Sodoshi. What of our
clan's elders?"
"ELDERS!?!" the girl roared. "There's barely any clan left.
It'll take generations to rebuild, ...if then."
"You could start." Nabiki tried to sound hopeful. "Get married.
Have children. Teach them the way of our people. We can have a clan
again." The upbeat, optimistic businesswoman in Nabiki was taking
over.
The girl practically vibrated with anger, tears streaming down
her cheeks. Tearing open the lower half of her blouse, she revealed
an abdomen that looked like something out of a horror movie. Poorly
healed scars ran in a 'z' pattern across her stomach. Lumps where the
muscles failed to rejoin properly competed with pits where infections
had festered to complete a horror that only a Hollywood special
effects artist could dream up.
"I have nothing to have children with! The hunters saw to that."
she screamed, her beautiful face twisted into a mask of hate. "I was
attacked by two assassins in MY OWN HOME! They drugged me and tried
to make it look like I was committing ritual suicide. While one held
me down, the other used his knife..." she swallowed hard. "I felt
every cut! After the attack, I survived three days in a pool of my
own blood. Scared to call for help. Scared of who would answer.
Scared they would come back. But I lived! While I recovered, I lived
on the streets." She paused again, her mouth moving as if she was
fighting her memories for the right words. "I ate rotting garbage
from alleys to avoid being seen. But I lived! I shunned hospitals
and doctors because any one of them could alert the hunters. Instead
I relied on clan cures and ancient medicines. I should have died a
dozen times. But I lived!" The last she hissed through clenched
teeth.
Nabiki stared at the girl's scars until she was sure she would
see them in her nightmares. Looking away, the cold realization of all
Sodoshi had gone through caused her to tremble slightly. It was true.
While Nabiki and her sisters were living a comfortable life in Nerima,
others, Sodoshi Tanaka included, were being systematically hunted
and killed by persons unknown, simply because of who they were related
to. It was brutal. It was barbaric. It was traditional Japanese.
"Sodoshi, I really want to help you." Nabiki tried again to reach
out to her only link to her mother's clan.
"I don't want help from you or your gaijin husband!" she screamed
back at Nabiki. "I don't know what Master Sato is up to but I'm not
waiting around to find out. You wind up dead that way!"
"Sodoshi, why did you want to have this meeting? To yell at me
for all the things you've had to endure because of a mistake made by
some of your...our ancestors 400 years ago?"
"No Nabiki." she replied sarcastically. "Only to let you know
that, clan or not, I won't protect you and I won't go away. I'm going
to be close enough so I can watch you every day. Every time you fall
down, I'll be watching. Every time you suffer a loss, I'll be
watching. And if they come for you or one of your sweet sisters, I'll
be watching. I want to see you suffer as much as I did."
Nabiki was about to respond when the slamming of a door down the
hall attracted her attention. Seeing it was only a janitor retrieving
his mop, Nabiki turned back. Sodoshi Tanaka was gone. Like the
trained shadow warrior she was, she had vanished without a trace.
Nabiki almost called out for her to return, to try to reason with the
girl, but she knew it would be pointless.
With sagged shoulders and shaking her head slowly, Nabiki walked
out of the gloomy gymnasium building and into the bright Hawaiian
sunshine. What Sodoshi had told her bothered her greatly. Trying to
imagine the horrors the girl had grown up experiencing only made the
whole episode seem that much more unreal. Ninja assassins in the 20th
century? Nabiki just shook her head again and sat down on the
gymnasium steps. Putting her head on her drawn up knees, she silently
cried for Sodoshi's trials, for all the girl had gone through. It
wasn't supposed to be this way. Her marriage to Jeff was supposed to
stop all this nonsense. Everyone was supposed to be grateful or
relieved or something. Why had that girl turned on her?
"Because she carries the weight of ten generations, little one."
Nabiki recognized that voice.
"Master Sato. Is there nothing I can do?" she spoke into her
legs, too embarrassed to even look his way.
"In time, Sodoshi will slay the dragons in her heart." he said
patiently. "In a way, it's my fault. I failed her." He sighed.
"Failed?" Nabiki wiped the last of her tears and looked at the
shinobi master.
"Even before her parents were killed, I had come to the
conclusion that this foolish bloodletting had gone on long enough."
the master paused. "At the great shinobi council, I and my clan's
elders argued for the killing to cease. Whatever retribution the
deaths were to extract had long since lost their meaning. All but one
clan agreed."
Sato paused looking towards the blue ocean in the distance. His
face wore a tired expression.
"She was only 14 years old." He sounded like a sad grandfather.
"Her brother was 19 and strong in the ways of our people. It didn't
matter. They killed him and his girlfriend at a mountain spa. They
made it look like, shinju, a lovers' double suicide."
Nabiki fearfully thought back to her own visit to a mountain spa
with Jeff. Had someone been stalking her even then? She quickly
dismissed such thoughts when she remembered that Sodoshi threatened to
point out her family to the assassins. That would mean that whoever
was behind the murders of the Tanaka family had no idea of the Tendos
and their clan relationship. She trembled again when she thought
about what might have happened to her mother's brothers and sisters.
"Sodoshi was stronger in the will to live than her brother. She
spoke the truth about her ordeal." The master was idly tracing
designs in the dirt with his staff. "I only found out about the
attack after she had abandoned her apartment. The amount of blood she
left behind..."
"You tried to help her?" Nabiki asked in a small voice.
"We looked vary hard for months afterwards and found no trace of
her. She is a very good shadow warrior."
"She said her debt to you was paid."
"Yes, she felt a debt because I was the first to eventually find
her. She was very ill; a bad infection and high fever. I led her to
believe I was just a harmless old man and took her in. In time, I was
able to stop the infection and she recovered." he paused. "When she
had regained her strength, I felt she had a right to know the truth;
about me... the shinobi ...this foolish 'blood hunt'."
This was the closest Nabiki had ever seen Master Sato come to a
genuine emotion. His face suddenly looked older. The 'blood hunts'
had taken their toll on more than the Clan of The Cold Moon.
"I wanted her to know I meant her no harm. I wanted her to have
a chance to finish growing up; to have a normal life again."
Sato shifted his position slightly, uncomfortable with his
admissions. "Her injuries had healed poorly. That's why she is
unable to stand straight." he softly added as if it were an
afterthought. "Because of all that I had done for her, she trusted me
to a limited degree."
"It didn't sound like that to me." Nabiki interjected. "In fact,
she sounded like someone highly suspicious of you and your motives."
"Perhaps, little one. I fear her mind is slowly dissolving into
madness. Twenty years of being hunted..." Master Sato paused to look
at one of the designs he had just traced. "I believed she would help
you because of her kinship. I believed meeting you would help her see
that there is life after the 'hunt'. I knew of this meeting and hoped
the two of you would talk... would help each other. Obviously, I
desired a better outcome."
Silence engulfed the pair for a few moments.
"We are a vanishing people, you know." the master finally said.
"More and more of our young people are abandoning their mountain
lifestyles for the lure of the big city. We cannot compete with the
excitement and glamor of Tokyo and Osaka. If things remain the way
they are, inside two or three generations, the shinobi will be only a
footnote in Japan's history." He stopped tracing in the dirt and
looked directly at Nabiki. "That's why opening the cave is so
important. It will revitalize the shinobi people and give them a new
purpose."
"Perhaps the future lies in adapting the clan structure to the
corporate world?" Nabiki phrased her thoughts in the business terms
she was most comfortable with. Since discovering her heritage, she
had toyed with the idea of using her skills more actively in the
corporate world. With Jeff's money to back her, she felt sure she
could be highly successful.
"No, little one." he shook his head sadly. "Others have tried.
Only the Clan of the Snow Fox were able to make such a transition.
But I fear it was not for the best."
"I don't understand."
"Instead of fusing the shinobi spiritual teaching to their
business life, they kept the 'darker' aspects of our people;
espionage, sabotage and even the occasional assassination. There can
be no pride in our heritage while such men exist."
"Are *they* behind the last of the blood hunts'?"
Master Sato took a deep breath before answering. Interclan
warfare was never one of his favorite subjects.
"I believe so." he looked at Nabiki. "The Tanaka family held
large amounts of public stock in companies that were coveted by the
Clan of the Snow Fox. I fear they were killed to obtain controlling
interest in those companies."
Nabiki stared at Master Sato in horror. She had heard of
marginally legal means used by corporations during takeover bids in
the past, but the use of assassination for the purpose of corporate
raiding was more vicious than anything she could, or would, consider
doing. It was so outside the bounds of her own personal code of
ethics that she had trouble comprehending its maliciousness.
Silently, she wished she knew all this before marrying Jeff.
Perhaps, if she had refused him...
"You could not." Master Sato's voice sounded grave. "Your
destiny lies with Jeff Lawrence. You cannot evade destiny, little
one."

For days, Master Sato's words echoed in Nabiki's head as she and
Jeff went through the motions of their honeymoon. Jeff tried his best
to make things enjoyable but was constantly faced with a distracted
wife. Even their sleep was affected. Every noise caused Nabiki to
awake with a lurch only to lay awake for hours listening for the
sounds of danger.
Everywhere they went, Nabiki saw a scowling Sodoshi. At the
beach, in the restaurants, at all of the tourist sites, Sodoshi
stalked the nervous Nabiki. Jeff tried to reason with his wife saying
that it was all in her head. After all, *he* never saw the stalking
shadow warrior. By week's end, Nabiki was both a physical and
emotional wreck.
True to her word, Sodoshi was there when an exhausted Nabiki
accompanied her husband to the desk to check out. Sodoshi's little
satisfied smile told Nabiki all she needed to know about her own
looks. She must have been a sight.

The return to Nerima was a mixed blessing. Back in familiar
surroundings, Nabiki felt marginally safer but continued to look over
her shoulder constantly.
Sodoshi continued her war of nerves, constantly leaving hints
that she had been nearby whenever Nabiki left the compound. With each
hint, Nabiki retreated more and more into her own world. Verbal
fights would break out between her an Jeff whenever he tried to make
her realize that she was safe.
Reduced to sitting in her own room, now made up to accommodate
both her and Jeff, Nabiki would stare out of the window for hours.
Akane even tried to get some reaction out of her but failed to elicit
so much as a familiar Nabiki 'put down'.

"Sato," the booming voice of an elder seemed to fill the
cavern. "The time of the prophecy approaches."
Master Sato, standing as an equal, listened to the elders with
his usual blank expression. Even in this stronghold of his people's
power, he hid his own feelings. His ability to shield his emotions
usually left the elders frustrated; something he secretly enjoyed.
"A mistake has been made." a second voice noted with some
emotion.
Sato almost lost control over his own emotions with that
pronouncement.
"Mistake? What kind of mistake?" he asked bluntly.
"Until now, all references to the monk's legend and the scroll
were handed down from generation to generation." the first voice said.
"No one had actually *read* the scroll since it was originally found."
Sato closed his eyes and slapped his forehead with his free hand.
<I don't believe this. Four hundred years...?>
"Jeff Lawrence is NOT the one of the prophesy." the third voice
said lightly, seeming to take some glee at the prospect. Of all the
elders, *this* one bothered Sato the most. He wasn't sure just why;
perhaps it was his abrasive nature or his way of saying just the right
thing to irritate Sato when he least expected it. In any case, Sato
made a mental note *not* to trust this third elder very far.
"Then who is?" Sato asked starting to lean on his staff. Every
time he met with the elders, he felt a little older. Today's meeting
left him feeling especially old.
A small hooded figure approached Sato holding an ancient looking
scroll in his hands. Carefully, Sato took the document and opened it
only enough to read a few inches of the surface at a time. He was one
of the few to actually read the monk's scroll in 400 years. The
importance of this was not lost on Sato. As he fitted together the
ancient forms of Japanese/Chinese writing, it soon became clear that
there had, indeed, been an error. It was true, Jeff Lawrence was not
the one that would open the cave.
Swallowing hard, Sato handed the scroll back to the hooded figure
and turned abruptly to leave.
"You understand?" the first voice asked.
"Hai. I must hurry. I fear our error has left the correct
person in much danger." Sato hastily left the meeting place.
Outside, he paused with a pair of his most trusted warriors.
"There are times I feel very old," he said pulling out a portable
phone. "Today is one of those days." He quickly dialed and listened
as the connection went through. "You know, they just don't make
elders like they used to. Four hundred years and we've been waiting
for the wrong person."
The two warriors exchanged confused glances and shrugged. They
didn't have a clue.

In a top floor board room, a small group of respectable looking
business men were having a late night meeting. At the head of a long
conference table sat a middle aged man who looked every bit as
dangerous as he was. Toshiro Tougo had reached the pinnacle of the
Japanese corporate world; CEO of the largest holding company in Japan.
His corporation held controlling interest in 27 major domestic firms
and 10 international companies. His corporation was, to say the
least, exceedingly wealthy and powerful. Still, he knew the final
step would be the hardest.
"My brothers," he said in a low voice. "The strategic plan of
our corporation is progressing on schedule." He paused looking past
those seated on either side of the table, his eyes fixed on the large
corporate symbol hanging on the far wall. His eyes slowly traced the
center symbols. To most casual observers, the symbols meant nothing
specific; just a pleasant looking design that represented one of
Japan's multinational corporations. Even to a trained observer, they
would only have a vague meaning. To all present in the room, their
meaning was all too clear; Kitsune-Yuki (the symbol of the Snow Fox
clan).
"Our latest quarterly report shows our market shares increasing
at an acceptable rate. Any faster growth would attract undue
attention from the government." He placed his hands flat on the table
in front of him. "Since abandoning the old ways and joining the
corporate world, we have prospered while our 'brethren' clinging to
their outmoded past, fade away slowly. We have incorporated the most
important' elements of our people into this corporation and now find
ourselves on the threshold of controlling interest in the largest
corporations in Japan. Once we control the corporations, we can
control the politicians and with them the government. Gentlemen, in
one year, we will be in total control of Japan."
"There is still one problem, senpai." A younger member said
forcefully from the shadows of his seat.
"What problem?"
"Ronald Phillips, American, owns controlling interest in several
of the companies we need to secure." the man leaned forward into the
light and struck a harsh look at the leader. "We must deal with this
'problem' quickly."
"As usual, your information is out of date." the leader returned
his challenger's hard look. "Ronald Phillips is dead. We eliminated
this problem 10 years ago."
"Then how do you explain his continued controlling interest?"
"That interest has recently been passed on to a young heir,
another pathetic American who just took a Japanese wife. Both have
been targeted for elimination. With them out of the way, we will be
able to acquire his shares from his 'estate' with little trouble."
"Using our 'usual' subtle manner?"
"There is no time for such delicacies. As we dealt with the
Tanaka family, we will also deal with this 'Jeff Lawrence' fellow
*and* his wife, Nabiki."
"How?" the younger shinobi executive was beginning to annoy the
leader.
"The clans are all eagerly awaiting the fulfillment of some
childish 400 year old prophecy'. We shall attend that fulfillment as
equal clan members; as is our right." the elder executive glared at
his subordinate. "As all clans will be present, we will simply wait
for the cave to be opened, kill everyone there, claim the secret for
ourselves, and reseal the cave with the bodies of the poor fools
inside."
The leader's smile would have been right at home on the face of a
cobra. He meant to accomplish what numerous shoguns in the past had
failed to do; eliminate the command structure of all the shinobi clans
in a single stroke, thus destroying the clans for all time. The only
remaining clan would be the one destined to rule Japan; the Clan of
The Snow Fox.

In an unoccupied apartment, in a 'low rent' area of Nerima, a
lone figure sat slumped against the corner of the room. Empty boxes
of crackers and tins of food lay strewn across the filthy tatami mats
on the floor. With no electricity, the room was dimly lit by a
flickering street light outside the room's only window.
Sodoshi Tanaka had been living in this apartment, without
permission and unbeknownst to the owner, for three days. Two more and
she would follow her usual pattern of moving to another location. For
two years, since abandoning Master Sato, this has been her life. She
was discovered only a few times by the owners or the police. In each
case, she was able to escape using her finely honed ninja skills. In
any case, pursuit was never very serious due to the Japanese
'tolerant' view towards the homeless.
She winced slightly and ran her fingers lightly over her upper
abdomen. Because her muscles had never healed properly, she had to be
careful with physical activity. Too much and her body let her know,
in no uncertain terms, that such was a mistake. The pain seemed to
radiate up through her chest and out her arms. Little could be done
to curb the discomfort. The day after was always the worst.
Sometimes the ache was so bad it would cause her to curl up in a ball
seeking relief.
Because of her poor diet and horrible injuries to her stomach,
she frequently suffered bouts of heartburn. Tonight, she was
experiencing the 'mother of all heartburn attacks'; a pain that felt
like her chest was on fire. She absently chewed a few herbs known for
their ability to settle the stomach but resigned herself to the fact
their effects would be almost an hour away.
She thought of her clan sister, Nabiki, and how her life had
become one of a fairy tale; poor one moment and rich beyond her
wildest dreams the next. Angrily, Sodoshi hurled an empty cracker box
across the room.
<It's never me, is it?> she thought bitterly. <Everyone else
lives happily ever after but Sodoshi, who suffers alone. There's
justice for you.>
She drew up her knees to provide a place to rest her chin. As
she did every night, after assuring her safety, she carefully
unwrapped in her mind images of happier days; when she was younger and
her family was still alive. A painful smile crept silently across her
face as she recalled the times with her mother; how Sodoshi worked
very hard trying to please her and how easily pleased her mother was.
A single tear worked its way loose to crawl slowly over her flawless
cheek. She didn't give in to such very often. It was a weakness she
fought constantly to control.
She remembered how her brother was always kind and attentive to
her; never teasing or taunting like other older brothers. He saw
himself as her protector and took his role of 'big brother' very
seriously. She recalled how happy she was for him when he got into
the prestigious Tokyo University on his first try. She remembered how
she struggled with jealousy when he introduced his fiancé, Emiko, to
the family. A wave of embarrassment swept over Sodoshi as the images
of her reaction to Emiko presented themselves. She had been unfair to
the girl, who's only 'crime' was to love her brother. Still, the
younger Sodoshi saw Emiko as a rival for her brother's attention and
she didn't like it.
After her parents were killed (a strange case of simultaneous
heart attacks; brought on, no doubt, by a ninja hunt party's injected
drugs), her brother moved them several times and changed their name
twice in an attempt to throw the pursuers off. It didn't help; Emiko
still knew the truth and wasn't as careful with her information as she
should have been.
Giving in to his need to be with his fiance, her brother slipped
away with his fiance to a mountain spa where they were both found dead
three days later. It was officially ruled a lovers' double suicide,
but Sodoshi knew her brother was not in such a frame of mind. It
could only have been murder.
Her mind whirled through her own ordeal; the attack and its
aftermath. Some things she simply didn't want to remember. She could
still hear the sound of her skin tearing as the knife freely sliced
through; an image that still caused her to wake up screaming at night.

But the thing that gave her the most sleepless nights was her
fear of dying alone. Her parents had each other, when the time came,
and her brother died with Emiko. There would be no one to help
Sodoshi make the difficult transition into the afterlife and that
scared her more than another attack by the hunters.
As every night since returning from Hawaii, her thoughts
concluded with a single image; that of Nabiki Tendo, standing in her
wedding gown, marrying a handsome and rich man, guaranteeing the rest
of her life would be happy and carefree. As usual, her burning hatred
for the girl who unfairly escaped the 'blood hunt' slowly took over.
Where there was once self pity, she now brandished hatred like a
deadly weapon. Time and time again, her mind slashed at the beautiful
picture of Nabiki as she stood outside the church smiling. It usually
left Sodoshi feeling relieved and tired. If she couldn't get to the
hunters, she would see that she wasn't alone in suffering. Nabiki and
her sisters would *not* escape this episode in shinobi history
unscathed.
Somehow, tonight the feeling wasn't as comforting as usual. Why
couldn't she bring herself to hate Nabiki with all her heart? Why did
she have to constantly struggle with feelings of kinship for this
girl? Sodoshi repeatedly fought the emotion to embrace her clan
sister and claim a comforting friend. It wasn't as if she didn't
need any friends. Besides, hating Nabiki wouldn't change her
situation and would only cause the pain and suffering she was most
familiar with to be spread. It wasn't fair. But then, Sodoshi never
considered herself an expert on what was or wasn't fair.
As she did every night, her control finally yielded to her
feeling of helplessness and loneliness. Still slumped against the
wall hugging her knees, her chest burning and her stomach aching,
Sodoshi Tanaka silently cried herself asleep; alone.

The next evening, Nabiki returned to the residence exhausted from
lack of sleep and vibrating with rage. She had been followed again.
Not by Sodoshi this time, but by a man in a suit. He wasn't very good
at trailing, even Nabiki could tell he was there. But he was
relentless. Twice she tried ducking into places for women only, later
to emerge from a different door. Each time, he successfully found her
and resumed his surveillance. She was certain that he was either a
cop or someone hired by Jeff to keep an eye on her. Either way,
someone was going to pay for *this* intrusion.
She found Jeff in their room rigging up a TV set for her. He had
noticed her insomnia and felt that, perhaps, watching a little TV at
night would help her grow tired enough to sleep.
Right away, Jeff knew typhoon Nabiki had blown in. It was a
force 5 gale.
"How dare you!" Nabiki growled as she slammed the door closed.
"How dare I what?" Jeff protested, his hands raised in defense.
"You know *exactly* what I'm talking about." she stormed over to
Jeff, her eyes blazing with anger. "That man following me!"
Jeff looked sheepishly at the floor. He had been caught and he
knew it. "Nabiki," he started as his eyes found her's. "I'm sorry...
It was Lt. Nakamura's idea... You were so sure that someone was
stalking you, I talked to the police and they assigned a detective to
keep an eye on you for a few days. Just to make sure..."
"You had me FOLLOWED?!?" she screamed. The lack of sleep and
stress since the honeymoon had finally pushed her over the edge.
"I..." Jeff never finished. For, perhaps, the first time in her
life, Nabiki physically struck another person. With all the effort
she could muster, she delivered a slap that could be heard all the way
down stairs. Jeff's head snapped to the right, his chin making
contact with his shoulder.
For several seconds, Jeff held his position, his jaw moving
slightly as thoughts attempted their escape. He gently checked the
inside of his cheek with his tongue and tasted his own blood. Slowly,
as his mind cleared and his emotions subsided, his head returned to
face Nabiki. This time, his look wasn't one of concern for his wife
but rather one of shock and betrayal.
They stared at each other for several seconds; he searching for
reasons why and she still angry beyond control.
"Get out." she hissed through clenched teeth.
Jeff blinked a few times before nodding agreement. Without
saying a word, he crossed to the door, opened it and looked one last
time at this wife. Her palm print burned on his left cheek. Shaking
his head sadly, he slipped through the door and closed it quietly.

Downstairs, Akane and Ranma were watching TV while Kasumi
finished cleaning the kitchen. They heard the fight, or rather they
heard Nabiki's tirade, and they heard the slap. Each held their
breath as Jeff descended the stairs, put on his shoes, and left the
residence.
"You think *that's* what *we* sound like?" Akane asked as she
watched Jeff leave.
Ranma didn't answer, his face a study of youthful concern.
Quietly, he got up and stepped out onto the engawa to see where Jeff
was going. Failing to see him exit the gate, Ranma assumed Jeff had
taken refuge in the dojo; after all, that's where Ranma went his first
week there, after fighting with Akane.
"He's all right." Ranma said as he resumed his place in front of
the TV. "Just went out to the dojo."
"Maybe, you should check on him anyway." Akane sounded genuinely
worried. She had seen how much Jeff and Nabiki loved each other
before the wedding and felt very uncomfortable listening to their
recent fights. She also still had memories of how worried *she* was
when Ranma was missing back in Hawaii.
"Check on who, daughter?" Soun Tendo asked as he returned from
the bathroom with his inevitable newspaper.
"Jeff, daddy. I think he and Nabiki had a fight." Akane replied,
sounding more like 'daddy's little girl' than usual.
"In any case," Kasumi sighed as she started removing her apron.
"I better check on Nabiki."
As Kasumi left, Soun looked at his youngest daughter with
concern. It wasn't his place to see to Jeff. True, he *was* the
father-in-law and it *did* sound like his daughter was doing all the
fighting. Still, he was reluctant to inject himself into this
disagreement.
"Some times a boy just needs to be alone." Soun finally said,
sitting down at the table with his newspaper. "I'll give him a few
minutes before checking. That will give him time to calm down."
Ranma was about to say something without thinking to Akane,
again, when his thought was derailed by the sound of old Mrs. Suzuki
screaming at someone across the street. It sounded like the old lady
was putting up a terrific fight against an intruder.
Instinctively, like a shot, Ranma was out the door and over the
wall. One thing he couldn't stand was people beating up on the weak.
Eighty year old Mrs. Suzuki was about as weak a person as he could
think of in the neighborhood.

Kasumi paused outside Nabiki's door.
<Deja Vou.> she thought. <Haven't we done this before?>
She knocked softly and cracked open the door just enough to see
Nabiki lying face down on her bed. She was obviously crying again.
With another sigh of resignation, Kasumi opened the door all the way
and called Nabiki's name softly.
"Oneechan..." Nabiki meekly sobbed. "I did it again."
"So it would seem, Nab-chan." Kasumi crossed over to sit on the
queen sized bed next to her sister. "What was it this time?"
"Oneechan, I hit him." Nabiki said with a tiny voice. "I can't
believe I hit him." She sat up and put her arms around her sister,
resting her head on Kasumi's shoulder.
"I know. We all heard." Kasumi was approaching this carefully.
She knew Nabiki was different when she returned from Hawaii, and not
just because she was a married woman. She was more tense and
irritable. Something had happened in Hawaii that she hadn't told
anyone about. Something bad enough to cause Nabiki's personality to
change.
"He was just trying to protect me." Nabiki said, her voice
sounding more rational. "He doesn't know the whole story."
"Well, why don't you start by telling me." Kasumi offered softly.
"I have a feeling it affects all of us as well."
Nabiki sat back, nodded slightly, took a deep breath and began
telling Kasumi everything that happened, beginning with the meeting
with Sodoshi.

Ranma hadn't gone far when he spotted Mrs. Suzuki using her broom
to take swipes at a black clad figure on her porch. He had a grudging
admiration for the old lady. Spunky, sassy, and bold, she was a
refreshing change to the demure and silent women he usually
encountered. Besides, she always had fresh cookies waiting for him
whenever he visited. Truly, the way to Ranma's heart lay through his
stomach.
With two bounds, Ranma was between the old neighbor and her
adversary.
"Picking on old ladies now, eh ninja-san." Ranma chided as he
assumed a relaxed ready position. "I thought you people had a code of
honor."
"You tell em, China-boy." Mrs. Suzuki crowed as she readied her
broom again. She may have been old but the fire of indignation burned
in her; indignation at being attacked on her own porch. The spunky
senior citizen was ready to fight for her home with her last ounce of
energy. Having Ranma here only emboldened her.
The ninja, not caring to fight on a shaky porch against two
opponents, dropped one of his smoke bombs and jumped to the street
below. Ranma, anticipating the move, jumped with the ninja, landing
simultaneously within striking distance of his adversary.
"You'll have to do better than that if you want to run away."
Ranma taunted.
"I just needed more room, boy." the ninja said as he drew his
black katana.
Immediately, Ranma noticed two things. First, the blade the
ninja was wielding was not a wooden bokkan that was more likely to
bruise than kill, but a razor sharp instrument of death; it's polished
edge gleaming in the dim light. Second, the ninja did not wear the
traditional hachimaki with his clan crest; a sure sign of an assassin.
Silently, the ninja launched a lightning series of strikes and
the fight was on. Ranma easily evaded the attacks, having sparred
many times with Tatewaki Kuno but had to admit, this guy was good;
perhaps even better than the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High. Backing
towards Mrs. Suzuki's house, Ranma allowed the ninja to think he had
him cold. A quick move with the next strike and the ninja's sword was
imbedded in the hard wood of the deck, inches from Ranma's head. Both
Ranma and Mrs. Suzuki chose that moment to strike. Ranma kicked the
blade out of his opponent's hands while Mrs. Suzuki, from her porch
above, landed a clean blow to the ninja's head with her broom. As the
old lady readied another strike, Ranma leapt over the ninja and
delivered a crushing kick to the ninja's ribs. Mrs. Suzuki, yelling
curses at the intruder, proceeded to rain accurate blows with her
broom.
The ninja wasn't through yet, bouncing off the side of the
building, his hands rapidly dispensed shuriken in Ranma's direction.
This guy was obviously an expert at his profession but was unprepared
to deal with someone as skilled as Ranma. Ranma had been ducking
thrown objects since he was a child. The assassin's attack was noisy
and clumsy; a clear sign the ninja was on the defensive.
Easily evading the shuriken by sound alone, Ranma resumed the
attack. His blows were landing with frightening frequency.
Sensing his opponent was no simple kempo artist, the ninja
retreated down the street; constantly blocking Ranma's attacks. With
a single leap, the ninja gained the roof of a nearby house and set off
across the roof tops; Ranma close on his heels.

Jeff wandered into the dojo, dejected and confused. He knew
Nabiki was upset at more than his efforts to protect her but was
unprepared for the viciousness of her attack. He was distracted by
thoughts of how he could make it up to her when the attack came.
It was only luck that his hand was on the back of his head when
the first blow arrived. If not, the fight, and Jeff's life, would
have ended right then. The blow was partially deflected by his arm
and Jeff rolled across the dojo to escape a follow-up.
Springing to his feet and assuming his trained ninjutsu fighting
pose, Jeff caught sight of his assailant. The assassin was almost as
big as Jeff but dressed in traditional black. He looked as ominous as
Darth Vader. Jeff almost expected to see a light saber emerge as the
assassin launched his next series of attacks.
Jeff was no trained shadow warrior but knew enough about fighting
to ward off most of the attacks. Eight years of training had prepared
him well. The two exchanged blows, blocks, and counter blows quickly.
It was almost like a Sato training session except for one thing: only
the winner would walk away from this one.
He was doing well for so incompletely trained a fighter, even
landing a few solid blows of his own. However, hearing Mrs. Suzuki's
screams from across the street, he was distracted enough for his
opponent to land a kick to the side of his head. Stunned, Jeff reeled
back towards the door.
He tried once again to regain his fighting balance but the
assassin was too quick. Two more blows and Jeff bounced off the wall
of the dojo, clearly injured.
In the haze of his disorientation, Jeff heard Soun Tendo's shout
and vaguely saw the struggle. His sensi, finally coming to check on
his young son-in-law, had stumbled into the assassination attempt.
Trying to clear his vision, Jeff missed the ninja's shuriken attack on
his sensi but heard Soun's grunt as the projectiles struck home.
As Jeff tried to reenter the fight, he provided an opening the
ninja needed to end it.
At first, he didn't really feel the blow that knocked him hard
off the wall. It felt more like an insistent pressure on the middle
of his chest than a sharp blow. Still, Jeff knew something was
seriously wrong when he tried to take a breath and discovered he
couldn't inhale.
As his head snapped back, cracking the wood of the old dojo's
wall, the pain surged forth and claimed his body. Collapsing in a
heap, Jeff was left seated on the floor, half reclining against the
wall, his arms wrapped around his mid section like he was trying to
hold his body together. His breathing was erratic, his body spasming
with every effort. His vision was blurred and tinged with red. He
was helpless and knew it. All that remained was for the assassin to
finish his job.
<I'm sorry, Nabiki.> was all he could think as he waited the
final blow.
It never came. Silently, a black wooden staff flew straight and
true; catching the assassin aside his head and knocking him 20 feet
across the room to end up face down and unconscious. The cavalry had
arrived.
Quickly, the room was bathed in bright light as someone switched
on the lights. Jeff couldn't see what was happening or why his
attacker suddenly disappeared, his vision was growing darker by the
second, but heard a familiar voice; Master Sato.

Barking commands, Sato directed black clad members of his own
clan to secure the dojo. The assassin was restrained, Soun Tendo was
attended to, and Jeff was checked by a very young female ninja.
Parts of Jeff's brain were beginning to shut down. Reality and
illusion mixed and separated with disturbing speed as events unfolded
in front of his eyes. Jeff could still see things up close and within
a narrow field. Oddly, his only thoughts were how beautiful the
girl's eyes were.
He tried to mouth words but found he could only manage a soft
gurgle.
The Tendo girls, attracted by the noises in the dojo, seemed to
arrive at the same time. Akane yelled her father's name and rushed to
his side while Kasumi just stood in the doorway, hands in front of her
mouth and her face a study in horror.
Nabiki's entrance had all the subtlety of a low-yield nuclear
explosion. Screaming her husband's name she rushed to his side. In
Jeff's vision, the young ninja's face was replaced with the panicked
look of his wife's.
Focusing all his remaining energy, Jeff was able to slur a few
words.
"I...forgot...to duck...again, dear." A clear reference to both
his current condition and Nabiki's earlier blow.
He tried to smile but felt his chest tighten up instead, a spasm
wracked his injured body. The final effort was poorly rewarded as the
world turned black for Jeffery Lawrence.
Nabiki screamed again as her husband shuddered and collapsed in
her arms, totally limp. The female ninja quickly checked for life
signs. A flicker of life remained in Jeff's body but it wouldn't last
long. The assassin had done his job well; Jeff was dying.
Akane screamed for someone to call Dr. Tofu or an ambulance.
Spurred out of her shock by her sister's call for help, Kasumi quickly
disappeared back towards the house.
Nabiki shot Sato a look that should have killed the old man.
Leaping to her feet she attacked the venerable old shinobi master, her
small fists beating against his chest as she yelled accusation after
accusation.
"You promised, you bastard!" she sobbed as she struck Master Sato
repeatedly. "You promised to protect him!"
Wrapping his arms gently around the angry Nabiki, he tried to
calm her but only provoked her to greater efforts.
"Why!?" she gripped his yukata with both hands, her tear filled
eyes burning with anger. "Why did you let this happen?!"
"We...were decoyed, little one." he softly answered as if he were
explaining his failure to a superior. "We detected a danger from
another quarter."
"Grandfather," the female ninja said softly. "He will not
survive until the doctor arrives unless..." Her voice trailed off.
Sato and the female ninja locked eyes for several seconds.
Whatever communication took place, it must have been serious. With a
reluctant nod of agreement, the girl removed her head covering and
mask. Her long black hair spilled out and hung freely to her waist.
Seating herself in front of Jeff, she removed a large amber colored
amulet from a pouch and held it carefully in front of her.
Nabiki stopped her interrogation of Sato to watch in horrified
fascination as the girl made her preparations. She couldn't have been
more than 13 or 14 years old. To call her cute would have been an
understatement. She should have been sitting in a junior high school
gossiping with her friends and making eyes at handsome boys instead of
fighting intruders in a strange neighborhood.
"He will live, little one." Sato said matter-of-factly.
"How do *you* know?" Nabiki spit back; her anger still
unquenched.
"Because my granddaughter just pledged her life to that end."
It must have been the total lack of emotion that stung Nabiki so
hard. Whatever the girl was preparing to do, it involved something
that could carry a very high price. With mixed emotions and a stunned
look, Nabiki released Master Sato and slowly approached Jeff and the
girl. She could hear the girl softly mumbling something as she slowly
lowered the amulet to almost waist level.
"What...?" Nabiki began to ask.
Master Sato's strong hands gently stopped Nabiki's advance and
drew her back slightly. He said nothing but made sure that Nabiki
would not interfere.
In seconds, the amulet began to glow, softly at first, then
brighter as the amber aura seemed to engulf the young girl's body.
Everyone in the dojo stopped what they were doing and watched as the
glow surged forward, gently nudging Jeff's body, like the tentacles of
a sea creature, until he too began to glow slightly. Nabiki could see
beads of sweat begin to form on the girls pretty face. Obviously,
whatever she was doing took great exertion.
"Ki transfer, little one." Sato softly said as he pulled Nabiki
further away. "My granddaughter has trained all her young life for
this. It will buy young Jeff-san enough time for your Dr. Tofu to
arrive."
"But..." Nabiki began, her thoughts jumbled and confused at the
sight before her.
"Shhhh, little one." Sato said in a horse whisper. "She needs
total concentration as it is very dangerous. The slightest
miscalculation and she will drain herself and die."
Nabiki swallowed hard and wiped the rest of her tears away as she
watched the girl straining to channel vital life forces to her dying
husband. Silently, she prayed the girl was strong enough and that
Tofu would arrive soon.

Ranma arrived with a satisfied look on his face. His appearance,
numerous cuts and bruises adorned his exposed flesh, told of the
intensity of his fight but the bound, semi-conscious ninja he shoved
onto the floor of the dojo spoke even louder of his success. Like a
proud hunter, he presented his quarry to one of Sato's ninjas before
checking on Soun.
"I found this one attacking Mrs. Suzuki on the west side of the
compound." he said smugly.
"Another one?" Sato sounded surprised as he turned away from the
drama surrounding Jeff and examined the captured assassin. "We were
pursuing one to the east."
"Four of you?" Ranma look incredulously at the gathered ninjas.
"Two more of my warriors are still pursuing the intruder." Sato
said calmly.
"Six of you to capture a single ninja?" Ranma asked
incredulously. His solo feat impressing even himself.
His satisfied feeling was tempered by the sight of his future
brother-in-law, who obviously got the worst of a recent fight.
"I knew he wasn't a fighter," Ranma muttered with some
reluctance; his smug satisfaction at his own accomplishment seemed to
drain from him.

Tofu arrived and paused only briefly to take in the scene before
him. Soun Tendo, still seated on the floor, was holding his forearm
away from his body, his blood dripping freely on the polished surface
of the dojo. Two throwing stars lay discarded in front of him. It
was obvious that he had sacrificed his right arm to protect his body.
Had he not, the stars would have certainly struck more vulnerable
areas. Finally, the scene of Jeff Lawrence slumped against the wall
nearest the door, a young girl kneeling before him, both their bodies
glowing bright amber.
Noting that Soun Tendo was in good hands; Akane and a friendly
ninja were busy bandaging her father's injured arm. Tofu quietly
turned to the most seriously injured; Jeff.
"Hmmmm, the 'Ki Transfer' technique." Tofu said with clinical
curiosity as he approached Sato. "I've heard of it but have never
seen it performed. Fascinating."
"You must act quickly, sensi." Sato warned. "My granddaughter
cannot sustain this level of transfer for very long."
Nodding, Tofu moved to Jeff's side and began his examination.
Sato gently touched his granddaughter's shoulder and she broke the
transfer abruptly. For several seconds, she sat frozen in place, only
an occasional shudder confirming she was alright.
With a gasp and small whimper of pain, she collapsed backwards
into her grandfather's arms. He gently lowered her to the floor and
stroked her sweating forehead.
"You have done well, granddaughter." Sato cooed softly.
"You have made me very proud."
Struggling to speak, she was able to utter only three words:
"Does...he...live?"
"Hai, granddaughter." Sato whispered his emotions beginning to
exert themselves. He knew she was now fighting for her own young
life. To save Jeff, she had pushed her skills to their limit, and
beyond. But that effort came with a price. Drained of her own, she
desperately hung on to what life force she had left. Unfortunately,
it was fading as she struggled.
Sato knew the pain his granddaughter was experiencing and
understood what had to be done. With an anguished smile, he
reluctantly pressed lightly along the side of her neck with his
fingers and watched as the girl shuddered again, then relaxed.
"What have you done?" Tofu demanded as he reached for the shinobi
master's arm.
Sato waived the doctor off with his hand. To anyone close, it
was plain the old man was on the verge of tears.
"She could not fight for her life while awake." he said, his
voice trembling slightly. "I have given her a chance."
"You've pushed the girl into a coma." Tofu yelled as he reached
for Sato.
"From which she will battle for her life as she has been trained,
sensi." Sato shot Tofu a determined look; his head vibrating with
emotion. "Our ways may seem brutal to you, but we all understand from
birth what it means to be 'shinobi'. She will win her fight because
she is my granddaughter and I trained her." He turned his head to
look at Jeff. "Just as young Jeff-san *must* win his." Sato paused
looking at his unconscious adopted son. "She risked her life for
Jeff-san. I only hope you are good enough to reward that risk."
"Sensi, please," Nabiki pleaded softly. "Jeff..."
Nodding, Tofu returned to examining Jeff. What ever the shinobi
girl did, Jeff's vital signs were promising. He was unconscious but
alive. A fact that wouldn't last long without the doctor's immediate
help.
Writing something on the pad of paper he wore on his sash, he
asked if someone would fetch the noted items from his clinic. Kasumi
immediately stepped forward and offered to retrieve the items. For a
few moments, Dr. Tofu and Kasumi locked eyes.
Nabiki held her breath. If Tofu regressed to his usual babbling
and idiotic actions at the sight of Kasumi, Jeff was as good as dead.
She was just about to volunteer herself when Tofu spoke.
"And call Dr. Nagumo as well." he said seriously as he turned
back to his patient. "Tell him I need his help. He will come."
Tofu examined Jeff more closely, ripping open his shirt to reveal
his bare chest.
"As I suspected, Ansatsu Tenshin, the 'assassins blow'." he said
sadly.
"You are familiar with this?" Sato asked, still absently stroking
his granddaughter's forehead.
Tofu shook his head. "I've only read about such things. We
don't see much of this any more. That's why I've sent for
Nagumo-senpai. He is from the old school and has dealt with far more
of the ancient forms of combat than I have."
"Assassins blow?" Nabiki asked softly, her hands held tightly
together in front of her mouth. She didn't like the sound of that
name.
Tofu and Sato exchanged worried glances. Both knew of the
seriousness of Jeff's injuries and each was secretly hoping the other
would be the one to explain it to Nabiki.
"The human body is mostly water, little one." Sato finally
volunteered. "If the blow is properly delivered, the shock wave
radiates throughout the body, damaging most of the major organs.
Death is the usual result, leaving only a small bruise just below the
breast bone as a clue to what happened."
Nabiki's eyes slowly went to the small bruise now visible on her
husband's chest. Her eyes screwed shut and she started to shake her
head.
"There is nothing a hospital can do that we cannot do for him
here." Tofu thought out loud. "His condition does not require surgery
and whatever other treatments he requires Dr. Nagumo and I can
administer here." He looked around briefly. "I think he can be
moved, but only a little ways. Is there a room in the residence we
can move him to?"
"Put him in my...our room, sensi." Nabiki said firmly, her eyes
still shut tightly. This was becoming her worst nightmare.
Tofu nodded and, with the help of the gathered ninjas, carefully
transported Jeff up to the room Jeff and Nabiki had recently shared.
Others gathered up the comatose granddaughter and gently carried her
home. The remainder dealt with the captured assassins.
Master Sato remained behind, alone, in the dojo for a few
minutes. Mentally, he recreated the fight and concluded Jeffrey had
done as well as could have been expected. Almost as an afterthought,
Sato picked up the discarded throwing stars. Examining them
carefully, he noticed the clan markings had been removed; a sure sign
of a planned assassination. He carefully sniffed the blood stained
weapons before spitting on one and wiping the residue off on a
specially treated wristband. He scowled at the resulting marks
carefully.
"At least Tendo-sensi has a clean wound. No poison." He dropped
the stars into his pocket and quietly left the dojo.
Dr. Nagumo soon arrived along with Kasumi and the things Tofu had
requested. Nabiki, over her loud protests, was unceremoniously
escorted out of the room. The last thing the doctors needed was a
grieving female hanging around.
In the hallway before her room's closed door, Nabiki gripped the
door frame with both hands and trembled with anger.
"It's all my fault." she mumbled. "I shouldn't have hit him.
It's all my fault."
Nearby, Kasumi caught her younger sister's words and tried to
comfort her.
"NO! Oneechan." Nabiki pulled away, still glaring at the closed
door. "*I* caused this to happen. It's all my fault."
"You had no way of knowing..." Kasumi tried again to comfort her
sister but quickly found her to be inconsolable.
"You don't understand. I hit him. I made him leave." Nabiki was
finding her control slipping again as she glared at her sister. "If I
hadn't done that, he wouldn't have gone to the dojo. He wouldn't have
been attacked. It's all my fault."
Evading her sister's attempts to help, Nabiki dashed down the
stairs and back outside. Muttering to herself how she was to blame
and how she was being punished for striking her husband, she wandered
aimlessly until she found herself back in the dojo.
Drawn to the spot where her husband fell, Nabiki slumped to the
floor and looked at the small Shinto shrine across the room.
"Why?" she asked softly as she stared at the shrine. "Why must I
go through this again? Wasn't mother enough for you?"
She had never been a religious person, always associating
religion with death and sadness, but she needed some answers and that
thin thread of whatever religious beliefs she might have buried deep
in her soul so long ago, was the only source of comfort she had at her
disposal. Somehow, it didn't seem enough.
For the second time in her life, she was faced with losing
someone she loved. She remembered how, after her mother died, she had
promised herself to never let this happen to her again; how she
insulated herself emotionally from everyone so as to not be vulnerable
to the pain.
That worked well until she met Jeff. He was everything she had
dreamed of; strong, good looking, smart, caring, considerate,... and
rich. In spite of her pledge to the contrary, she fell in love.
<Love.> she bitterly rolled the word around in her mind. The
very taste of it made her ill. <I was right the first time; love is
for dreamers like Kasumi.>
"Well, well, well. What have we here?" Came a voice from across
the room. Nabiki knew that voice and cringed at the sound of it.
"Go away, Sodoshi!" Nabiki tried to say with authority.
"Oh, no, clan sister. I promised to be here when you hurt. I'm
just here to share your pain." Sodoshi taunted. True to her word,
she was watching as Nabiki's husband was beaten almost to death. She
was still watching as Nabiki grieved.
"Sodoshi...please." Nabiki almost whimpered the last word. "Why
are you doing this?"
"I told you, clan sister," Sodoshi advanced slowly. "I want to
see you suffer as much as I did. Oh, look..." she stopped at Soun's
blood stains on the dojo floor. "It would seem they got your dear
father too. So sad."
Nabiki looked at Sodoshi's face. She saw the painful smirk and
sad eyes. Her inner voice was telling her that Sodoshi might be
taunting her but was not enjoying a single second of it. For just a
moment, Nabiki could almost feel' Sodoshi's inner emotions; her pain,
her sadness. It was like trying to touch a cloud; she knew it was
there, but couldn't quite get a grip on it. Whatever it was, it spoke
more of Sodoshi's anguish than her hatred. That was all Nabiki
needed. She would use the one weapon she had at her disposal that no
one would ever expect from her.
"Sodoshi, I don't hate you." Nabiki said clearly as she pushed
herself upright. "I will never hate you. You are my clan sister. I
could no more hate you than Kasumi or Akane."
Sodoshi acted as if she had just been struck a vicious blow. It
was as if Nabiki had read her thoughts. After all she had done.
After all she had said. Nabiki *still* refused to hate her. She
*wanted* that hate. She *needed* that hate. It gave her the reason
to go on.
"Perhaps, I should let you feel some of the physical pain as
well." Sodoshi said advancing menacingly.
"Perhaps you should try." came a voice from the doorway.
Sodoshi instantly dropped into a ninjutsu fighting stance,
surprised and on guard.
Ranma Saotome, leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed,
almost yawned at the shinobi warrior's aggressive pose. He had seen
Nabiki run from the house and head for the dojo. He made the mistake
earlier of not following Jeff when he made his escape. That mistake
may very well have cost his future brother-in-law's life. He trailed
Nabiki, determined not to repeat his mistake. From the looks of
things, he was convinced he made the right decision.
"First it was an old lady. Then you attacked a pathetic martial
artist like Jeff Lawrence. Finally, you attacked my future
father-in-law." Ranma detailed his charges against the shinobi clans.
"Now, you threaten a defenseless girl. I thought you people had
honor. Obviously, I was mistaken."
Sodoshi had nothing to do with the attacks in the dojo and
bristled at the suggestion she had. But finding herself faced with an
aggressive younger opponent...well, she wasn't going to be threatened
by a mere boy.
As she so often did when faced with a tough decision; she went on
the offensive. Without warning, Sodoshi launched her attack on Ranma.
Having already faced one of the best assassins the Clan of the Snow
Fox had to offer, Sodoshi Tanaka was only a continuation of the last
opponent.
The fight covered most of the dojo's free space. Sodoshi
attacking and Ranma easily blocking or evading everything she could
throw at him.
<I can't believe this!> she thought. <It's like he can read all
my moves. I've thrown everything I know at him and haven't connected
solidly once!>
"What is wrong with you?!" she yelled at one of the pausing
points in the fight. "Why won't you attack?"
"I don't fight girls." Ranma said flatly.
"GIRL?!?" Sodoshi screamed. "I'm a warrior of the Clan of The
Cold Moon!"
"Whatever..." Ranma almost sounded bored. "You're still a
girl."
"I have no such restrictions." came a voice from the door. It
was Akane Tendo, dressed for a fight and glowing with anger. This was
*her* home, *her* dojo, and *her* sister. That made it her fight.
Sodoshi looked from Ranma to Akane to Nabiki before addressing
her clan sister. "Is *children* all you have to offer?"
"Children is all our clan has left, Sodoshi." Nabiki answered
softly; looking more through Sodoshi than at her. "Look carefully.
Like it or not, there stands are our future."
"Our future." Sodoshi growled with disdain. "You sound like that
stupid old man."
Ranma, knowing just how good Sodoshi was, started to block
Akane's advance but quickly changed his mind when he saw the look in
her eyes and the glow of her anger. Wisely, he chose to join her
instead of resisting.
Sodoshi could tell Akane was no real threat to her. Still, she
could be enough of a distraction to allow Ranma a chance to win.
<Time to leave.> Sodoshi thought bitterly.
With a sly smile, Sodoshi used her smoke shells to fill the dojo
with a blinding fog. Ranma, fearing a strike through the smoke moved
to protect his fiancé. Good thing too. As he moved, he could feel
the air displacement of the ninja's escape attempt; right through the
place where he last stood.
The three were startled to hear a choked scream from the dojo's
doorway. Sodoshi's escape failed to go totally unobserved. As the
smoke cleared, Ranma was the first to see Master Sato holding the
female ninja by her throat, pinned to the door frame. Her reasons for
not struggling was evident by how Sato was holding her; a vice-like
grip with his thumb poised over her jugular vein. A single move
by the master would have killed her; a point not lost on his captive.
"I hate to interrupt you children at play like this," he said
flatly. "But I must speak with Nabiki."
Slowly, Nabiki got to her feet and approached the shinobi master.
"Little one, there has been a mistake made in the prophecy." It
was amazing how calm he sounded holding a girl off the floor, pinned
to the door frame with one hand. "It would appear that your husband
is *not* the one of the prophecy. You are the one who must open the
cave."
"What?" Nabiki sounded dazed by the pronouncement.
"Look you..." Ranma started but was reined in by Akane.
<I can take this old goat.> Ranma thought bitterly. He had about
had all the ninjas he could stand for one lifetime.
"Age and treachery will *always* overcome youth and skill."
Obviously, Master Sato was able to read' Ranma's more overt emotions.
The invitation was clear; don't mess with the 'master' least you
suffer the consequences.
Akane quickly moved between Ranma and Sato. She wasn't going to
let 'that jerk, Ranma' make an enemy out of a potential friend. This
was family business. If Nabiki was involved, then it concerned Akane
as well.
"Little one, you must come with me immediately." Sato said
without taking his eyes off of Ranma. "We *must* be at the cave at
moon rise tomorrow night. It is the cold moon we have expected."
Nabiki's gaze went from the master to Sodoshi and back again.
Looking down at the floor and pursing her lips, Nabiki coldly
evaluated her position. If this were a business deal, she would
consider herself in a very advantageous position. Everything hinged
on her decisions.
"Very well, Master Sato," she said while still looking at the
floor. "I am ready to leave under one condition."
All eyes were on Nabiki now. Nabiki, however, was looking at
only one person; Sodoshi Tanaka.
"You can release her, Master Sato." Nabiki crossed her arms and
watched as her clan sister was lowered to the ground, rubbing her
throat and eyeing the assembly suspiciously. "Sodoshi, I haven't
known of my heritage very long, but I have learned a few things about
the shinobi from Jeff. Most importantly, I've learned that the clans
can only exist so long as its members remain loyal to each other."
She paused. She and Sodoshi were looking seriously at each other now.
"Sodoshi, you can do whatever you want. But I will *never* hate you.
You and I are clan sisters and I will *always* honor a clan sister.
If I am to open the cave in the name of our clan, I will do so but
only with you there."
Akane moved next to her sister and looked at Sodoshi with a
frown. She was sure Sodoshi had something to do with the recent
attack on her father but if Nabiki was going to unconditionally accept
Sodoshi as a clan sister, then she would swallow her objections and
stand with her sister. However, that didn't mean she had to like it.
Nabiki sensed Akane's reluctance and turned to her younger
sister. There was much she had not told either of her sisters about
their clan relationship; much they had a right to know.
For the first time in her life, Nabiki placed her hand lovingly
on her sister's shoulder. For several seconds, she searched for the
right words.
"Simply tell her the truth, little one," Sato said. "But be
quick, we need to leave."
Nabiki pulled her sister aside, Ranma following at a discrete
distance but within earshot, and told her all about their mother, the
Clan of the Cold Moon, the prophecy, and Jeff.
In the mean time, Master Sato and Sodoshi were squaring things
between themselves.
"There is great hatred in you, child," Sato said in his
aggravating condescending voice. "It is poorly directed, you know."
"Your kind killed my family," Sodoshi accused while still rubbing
her throat. "What reaction would you expect?"
"The 'blood hunts' have been over for more than 50 years." Sato
narrowed his eyes as he looked at Sodoshi.
"Then why have I been singled out, pursued, attacked?" she
hissed, her anger rising again.
"One clan refused to even discuss ending the hunts. They adopted
the ways of the corporate world; surrounding themselves with the
mechanical devices such people are so fond of. The represent a real
danger to you, your clan, the shinobi people and, perhaps, even Japan
itself."
Sato looked sternly at the young warrior, trying to gage her
reaction to his words. Whatever he was hoping to get, it wasn't
there. All he could sense was a shielded mind. She was even better
than he had anticipated.
"Their reliance on such things have proven to be their weakness.
Our people have penetrated their computer network and did a little
'reconnaissance'."
"I thought you were simple mountain people."
"Child, the shinobi are everywhere. We have college graduates
from places like Tokyo University, Harvard, and Cambridge. We even
have members who graduated from MIT in America. They may not still
live with us but when we call for their help, they are bound by their
heritage to respond. Cracking a computer network was childs play."
Sato crossed his arms and looked almost smugly satisfied.
Sodoshi scowled at the floor as she absorbed all Sato had said.
<One clan.> she thought. <It all comes down to one clan.>
"Quite so, child." Sato was suddenly reading Sodoshi like a book;
as if her hatred caused her to drop her guard. "And I think I have
the answer to why you and your family have been singled out."
Sodoshi's head shot up as she glared at the shinobi master.
"Tell me." she growled, her hatred approaching the boiling point.
Sato could clearly feel the heat of her hatred.
"In due time, child." Sato was walking a fine line. If he told
Sodoshi everything he knew, she would be off on a one-ninja killing
spree; out of control and lost forever. No, that would spoil all
Master Sato's plans and lose Sodoshi as well. He failed her once.
That mistake would not be repeated. Whatever the outcome of the
prophecy, he wanted Sodoshi to be able return to a normal life. To do
that, he needed her cooperation and the help of Jeff and Nabiki. "We,
too, have reasons to punish these renegades. We will deal with them
soon in an appropriate manner."
The return of the Tendo sisters aborted the rest of their
conversation.
"I am ready to leave now." Nabiki said flatly.
"WE are ready to leave." Akane corrected.
Ranma immediately did the predictable thing and injected himself
into the equation.
"No! If what Nabiki says is true, it's too dangerous for you to
go." he turned to Sato. "I'll go in her place."
"Ranma, you jerk!" Akane was clearly irritated by her fiance's
macho act. "This is *my* family's business. It doesn't concern you."
"It does if you're involved." Ranma shot back. "This cave
opening thing is no place for a girl."
"WHAT?!?" Sodoshi shouted.
"Excuse me?" Nabiki added.
From there, the discussion' evolved into a full blown argument;
Ranma versus three highly indignant girls. It quickly became clear,
he wasn't going to win this one.
<Why me?> Sato sighed, rolling his eyes as the argument got
louder.
"CHILDREN!!!!!!" He yelled.
The room became instantly quiet.
"Thank you." he began. "You are all welcome as members of your
clan." He shifted his gaze to Ranma. "Even the Chinese boy."
"I'm *not* Chinese!" Ranma shot back. "I'm Japanese!"
"You need a haircut too, kid." Sato turned to leave.
"I..." Ranma's protest was cut off by Akane's snickering. He
immediately turned to her and accused: "Tomboy!"
"Pervert!"
"Klutz!"
"Jerk!"
The happy' couple wandered back to the house, trading insults as
they went.
Sodoshi and Nabiki watched them from the steps of the dojo.
"Clan sister, I doubt I will *ever* get used to that boy."
Sodoshi finally admitted, casting a wary glance at Nabiki.
"Oh, I don't know. He kinda grows on you, after a while."
Nabiki replied as she leaned against the door frame, her arms crossed.
"Still, he's good to have in a fight."
"He *is* quite good; in an undisciplined way."
"Well, you can work on him later. Right now we have to go open a
cave." Nabiki started down the walk towards her home.
"If his fiancé doesn't kill him first."
"You can have a lot of fun with those two, if you know how."
Nabiki put her hand on Sodoshi's shoulder. Sodoshi didn't resist.
"I'll show you how when we get back."
Somewhere in Sodoshi Tanaka, a little girl awoke and smiled at
the prospect of sharing with someone once again. To have something
she had missed for a long time; a friend. She was beginning to like
this Nabiki Tendo or Lawrence or whatever she wanted to call herself.
She was a clan sister. Perhaps that was enough after all.
At the door to her house, Nabiki sent Sodoshi off to the kitchen
to ask Kasumi for enough food for their journey while she quietly went
upstairs. She had one more stop to make before leaving.
The door to her room was partially open. As she approached, she
noticed how someone, perhaps, in their haste to move her husband, had
knocked the wooden duck with her name on it crooked. Instinctively,
she reached to straighten it but stopped just short. This was a
symbol of her youth, her childhood, with all the unpleasant memories
that went with it. Inside, lay her future; her critically injured
husband. This room was no longer hers alone. It was now 'theirs'.
Gently, she removed the nameplate and opened the door.
Inside, she could see Dr. Tofu sitting in her desk chair next to
the bed, leaning forward, his chin resting on his folded hands. He
was just staring at Jeff without expression. That was not a good
sign.
"Is he..." she started but stopped when she saw Jeff's face. He
looked so peaceful laying there. Almost like...
"We've done everything we could. It's up to him now." Tofu said
softly. "He's in a coma. If he wakes up, he'll be alright."
"And if he doesn't?" Nabiki almost choked when she asked that.
She already knew the answer.
Tofu just shook his head before turning to look at Nabiki.
"I'll stay with him until we know something for sure." He wore a
worried look. "The next 24 hours will tell."
"Can I have a few moments with him?"
"Sure. I need to see Kasumi about some tea." he said stretching
as he stood up. "But I don't think he can hear you."
"That's all right." she answered softly. "I can hear me."
Tofu left the room, closing the door silently. For several
seconds, Nabiki just stood looking down at her comatose husband.
"I have to leave now." she started like she was having a normal
conversation with Jeff. "Those *elders* of yours screwed everything
up. It seems *I'm* the one of the prophecy." She chuckled nervously.
"Imagine, me, Nabiki Tendo-Lawrence, the one everyone has been waiting
400 years for." She tried to chuckle again, but choked on another
emotion instead. She looked carefully at her husband's face; like she
was seeing it for the last time. "I'm sorry I hit you, Jeff-chan. I
know you were just trying to look out for me. I know I haven't been a
very good wife so far..."
She paused again, her expression turning hard. "Damn it, Jeff!
Why am I always apologizing to you?" She started pacing back and
forth next to the bed, fighting tears as she went. "Do you have any
idea what you've put me through? Do you know what I'm going through
now?! I didn't ask for any of this! All I wanted was..." Her hands
instinctively balled into fists as she stopped next to the bed. "Damn
you, Jeff Lawrence! Don't you *dare* die on me!" Nabiki paused
looking at Jeff's expressionless face before dropping to her knees
next to the bed. "First mother, now you. I *won't* go through that
again! Do you hear me? I won't!" Her face became a mask of anger
mixed with fear. "After mother...I swore I would *never* let anyone
get close enough to me to..." She closed her eyes and sniffed back
tears again. "Then *you* came into my life. A gaijin... an outsider
like me... someone who treated me like I wanted..." She choked and
paused trying to gather herself. "All I ever really wanted was to be
treated... like..." She lost the words but felt sure Jeff understood;
even in a coma. Gently, she took his limp hand and caressed it. She
had run out of words.
Casting a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure she was
unobserved, she leaned over and gently kissed Jeff's slack lips. A
single tear fell onto his cheek and rolled slowly to the pillow.
It was time to go. Placing his hand back on the bed, Nabiki
stood up, paused looking at his face for a few moments more, then
turned to leave. At the door, she stopped and looked back.
"Please don't die, Jeff-chan. I look terrible in black." She
tried to smile again but was only able to make a painful grimace.
As she slipped silently through the door, Master Sato's words
were still echoing through her head: <You cannot avoid destiny, little
one. You were destined to wed young Jeffrey and fulfill the
prophecy.>
Without a word, she passed Dr. Tofu returning with his tea. He
paused, watching her leave, knowing there were no words he could use
that would sooth her. It was times like these he almost regretted
becoming a doctor. He hated dealing with the family of dying
patients. And this family was like his own.
<I'll keep him alive for you, Nabiki.> he vowed to himself. <I
don't know how, but I won't let him die. You and your sisters have
been through enough. This one's become personal.>
Tofu entered the room and resumed his seat next to the bed,
sipping tea and watching his patient. He heard the door open again
but continued to watch Jeff. Whoever it was, his patient was more
important.
"I've brought you something to eat, sensi," came Kasumi's
melodiously soft voice. He felt the usual giddiness at her presence
begin to well up, threatening to wrest control from him, but the sight
of a patient fighting for his life quickly drove it away.
"Thank you, Kasumi." His voice was soft and distant.
"You should rest, sensi." Kasumi set the tray on Nabiki's desk
and stood behind the doctor. "You need your sleep."
"Not while the issue is in doubt." Tofu swallowed hard. Being
close to Kasumi put an added strain on him in addition to that of a
comatose patient. He longed to hear her voice, even if that sound
pushed him into becoming a babbling idiot. He hated that feeling but
it was worth it just to be close to her. Unfortunately, this was not
the time nor the place to let his guard down. Employing his own
martial arts training and discipline, he had found a way of
controlling his emotions; remaining rational even with *her* in the
room.
Without another word, Kasumi went to the closet and pulled out a
spare futon. With grim determination, she arranged a place near the
bed to spread out the sleeping pad and set about preparing a place for
the doctor.
Tofu kept stealing glances at Kasumi as she industriously
arranged pillow and blankets. She wasn't wearing her usual apron that
made her look so 'domestic'. He swallowed hard as he watched her
maturing body move in practiced ways as she worked. How he wanted to
go over to her, take her in his arms, hold her and... He shook his
head hard to clear such thoughts.
<What am I doing?> he chastised himself. <I'm a doctor with a
patient that needs me. I've no time for such thoughts.> Still, the
sight of his secret love's efforts was almost enough to cause him to
lose his emotional grip.
"There." Kasumi said with a satisfied smile. Turning to Tofu,
she smiled again. "You lay down here and get some sleep. I'll sit up
and watch your patient for you."
"But..." Tofu tried to protest.
"If anything happens, I'll wake you immediately." she sounded
serious and firm. He liked that. "Besides, you don't want to be too
tired to do the right thing should your patient need you. Now lay
down and get some sleep."
Tofu smiled embarrassedly and nodded. She was right, of course.
If he tried to stay awake all night and Jeff suddenly needed him, he
would be too tired to think clearly and could make a mistake; possibly
a tragic one. With a sigh, he set his tea on the desk, pulled off his
yukata, handed it to Kasumi and crawled tiredly into his bed. It felt
so good, he almost didn't notice Kasumi carefully tucking him in,
placing his folded yukata on the floor next to the bed.
Kasumi finished and looked at him for several seconds. When his
tired eyes met hers, she smiled softly.
"Kasumi..." he started with a low voice.
"Shhhhh. Sleep." she gently replied with a final tuck to his
covers.
"Thank you."
Kasumi just nodded, paused, then went to sit in the chair. For
several minutes, until sleep finally overcame the doctor, he watched
his beloved Kasumi patiently watching Jeff breathe.
Kasumi relished the few quiet times she could get. Often she
used them to think back to happier times, when she could enjoy the
carefree life of a child. But tonight, her thoughts were of the
future, not the past. More specifically, her future.
Nabiki was taken care of, she had very confidence that Jeff would
live, and the two of them would move away; possibly back to America.
Akane was destined to marry Ranma and would take over as head of the
house. As there could be only one, that would leave Kasumi free to
pursue her own life.
<So many directions. So many possibilities.> she thought. <Yes,
mother. You were right. My time *is* coming.> She looked at the
sleeping Dr. Tofu. <Yes, he would be a good husband. If only I could
get him to ask. I know, mother, you promised he would. The time is
not yet right.> She chuckled softly. <I always was a little impatient,
you know that.>
Kasumi looked out the window at the starry sky and smiled. It
was all as her mother said it would be.