Completed: 2002-12-28 Standard disclaimer: I do not own anything in this fan fiction except for the idea behind it and even that is mostly blatantly stolen from a multitude of sources. And if you don’t like that, then SUE ME! Uhm, why are you all staring at me like that? No, it was a joke! Really! No, don’t take my computer, no, not my videogames, no, not my cat!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!! *Sounds of a man being stripped of everything he own can be heard. * (Does anyone know that sound effect BTW?) Timelines: Everything in the canon Ranma ½ has happened in this fan fiction with the exception of the Saffron incident. Only the Ranma ½ reference in this fan fiction will use a modified timeline. Any other references will really just use the characters without any complex plots and/or situations. Age rating: If you can understand all the crap I’m spouting then you are definitely old enough to read this fan fiction. |
Kenneth
Lönnberg aka Macross_VF1 proudly presents Balance
of Chaos Chapter
4: Neither Bad nor Good Part
2 ***
- - - - *** Nabiki’s
next day started with a heavy reminder of the previous one. The front of her
right shoulder ached. Badly. Of
course, considering what she had been forced to do, that was nothing
strange. Ranma ‘taught’ her how to use her newly acquired gun. The word
‘taught’ was not the one Nabiki was currently thinking of though. No,
she was considering words like abuse and torture instead. She
winced as she sat up in her bed. She tenderly massaged the bruised flesh on
her shoulder with her left hand. Ranma made it quite clear that he would not
tolerate a partner that could not handle a gun. Hence the entire last day
was spent shooting at a wide variety of targets, taking the gun apart and
putting it together, learning tactics and fire discipline. Sure the gun’s
recoil was light but having the stock firmly pressed to your shoulder for
over three hours almost continuously firing the entire time, would tax
almost anyone outside the military. She
took in the surroundings of her new apartment a moment before deciding to
get up. Yes, _her_ apartment. As soon as the ETSPP employed her, she decided
that she just had to move out from the dojo. It didn’t take her long to
find something, although it was way too expensive yet too small for her
taste. Still, considering her pay, she would not face any problems with the
rent. Besides, she figured this was only a temporary solution before she
found something better. Despite
that, she couldn’t help feeling a great deal of satisfaction that this was
something that she owned. Sure, she did have a fair number of possessions,
but for the most part she had to use all money she earned to make sure the
dojo stayed in the black. It was not often she could find enough money to
indulge herself. Of course that was when she still lived at the dojo. Just
as she was getting up she heard someone knocking on the door. *Who could
that be?* She absently thought as donned a robe, preparing to open the door. *** As
Ranma knocked on the door to Nabiki’s apartment, he couldn’t help
thinking back on the previous day. He had been quite hard on the girl, yet
it was necessary. The reason he worked alone was simple; since he was the
most capable agent the bureau had, he quite obviously got the most dangerous
missions. If or rather when a mission turned violent, any partners of his
would just get caught in the crossfire. Still, orders where orders, and
while he would admit it to no one, if he necessarily were to have a partner
he could not think of many better than Nabiki. Their skills complemented
each other quite well. Now
that was a thought. When he was still Saotome he had a hard time
understanding just what motivated the ‘Ice Queen’. Of course, back then
he couldn’t figure out any women and, on occasion, still couldn’t
despite all his 2000 years of experience. *Women. Man’s greatest mystery.
* He thought with a small smile. Anyway, now he could much easier relate to
the girl and just what she had to go through to keep her family and, more
specifically, the dojo, afloat economically. Just
as he finished that thought, the door opened. “Morning.” He greeted
Nabiki. It was clear from her posture that she had barley woken up. First
her eyes widened briefly but soon turned back to their previous half-opened
state. “M’ning” She grunted. “Damn!
If I didn’t know better I’d think I just saw a zombie or something.”
He said with a smirk. “Stow
it.” Nabiki grumbled. “What’s
the matter? Never heard of the early bird?”
Nabiki
rubbed her eyes. “Birds sit in the trees and sing. I on the other hand
likes to sleep.” “Nah,
can’t do that. Have ta’ check out your new apartment. Besides you could
probably use some of this.” With that he flicked his right hand and a
small bottle left it in high speed. Nabiki
was a bit startled at the sudden appearance of an object heading right at
her, yet she deftly caught it. She turned the small bottle in her hands and
looked it over. It was small and brown with no label. “And this is?” She
asked in suspicion. “Just
something for your shoulder.” Still
somewhat suspicions, she turned of the lid and took a sniff of the white
cream in the bottle. She
wished she hadn’t. The
stench was unbearable. It was like someone had taken a metric ton of fish,
stored it in a cellar a few months, added a few road kills, and then let a
skunk douse it. She quickly put the lid back on and handed the jar back to
Ranma. “No
thanks, I think I can manage.” She said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. Ranma
blinked in surprise. “Huh, I never figured you would be one of those.” Nabiki
raised an eyebrow. “One of what? A person that doesn’t want to smear the
most disgusting smelling stuff I’ve ever encountered on my body?” She
asked in irritation. “No,
nothing like that.” Ranma hastily defended. “It’s just that this stuff
works wonder. The only drawback is that it smells a little bad. However a
very small percentage, with the right genetic makeup, thinks it smells like
rotten fish, dead animals and skunks put together. Or so I’m told.” “Oh.” Nabiki blinked. “Well I’m not touching it.” She continued with a shrug. She turned
and walked back into the apartment. “Are you just going to stand there and
ogle my back the entire day or are you going to come in?” She asked over
her shoulder. “Why
I never thought you would invite me!” Ranma replied in an overly cheerful
tone as he stepped into the small apartment and closed the door. “What
brings you here at this time?” Nabiki asked. “I
told you.” Ranma answered seriously. “I wanted to take a look at your
apartment.” He took a look around. “And from the look of things, you
need more stuff.” “Yeah,
yeah, I know already. It’s not like I’ve had time to do it though. I
have barely moved in you know.” She said in slight irritation. It was too
early for Ranma to be judging her. “Don’t
worry about it.” Ranma said, probably sensing her irritation. “You
should see my place. A bed, fridge, micro oven, computer, couch and table
all surrounded by white.” “Let
me guess. You live in a subspace pocket, right?” “What
can I say? It’s handy to always have your apartment with you.” “I’m
soon beginning to think that you get your jollies from everything related to
subspace.” Nabiki smirked. “Oh,
no! You found out my deepest secret! Well, one of them at least.” Ranma
mock wailed. “Anyway, since we are on the subject subspace pockets…”
He paused and dug up an object from his pocket. It was a small box square
shaped box. It looked very much like those used to hold… Nabiki’s eyes
widened in realization just as Ranma knelt before her and opened the small
box. Nabiki
was for once speechless. She just stood there gaping at the simple platinum
ring with an emerald attached to it. Her brain was in turmoil from this
sudden turn of events. Sure, she liked this Ranma better than the old one
but marry him? It took her almost a minute before she found any words. “I-I
don’t know what to say…” She began before noticing Ranma’s face. His
grin stretched from ear to ear and his eyes had that strange glint that
Nabiki had just begun to recognize as something to avoid. Ranma took the
ring from the box and placed it on her ring finger. “There.”
He declared happily. “That’s your personal subspace remote. Just use it
as I showed you with the other’s yesterday.” Nabiki
was about to slap him in the face, but she stopped herself just short of
connecting. Ranma was not really at fault here. Sure what he did suggested a
marriage proposal but it was her imagination that made it ‘true’. Still,
she was pretty miffed about his joke at her expense and some type of
punishment was necessary. Remembering his apparent irritation from Chief’s
punishment, she redirected her hand and smacked the back of his head. Hard. “Hope
you’re happy, because I’m not!” She huffed. “Oh
don’t worry about me.” Ranma managed between snickers. “That look on
your face was priceless.” Nabiki
could easily relate to that. She remembered when she had played that cruel
joke on Ranma, telling him that she loved him. The look on his face was more
than priceless. Of course, this was probably Ranma’s payback for just that
and she couldn’t help smiling a bit at his ingenuity. The old Ranma could
never have pulled something like this off. She
turned and went straight for the bathroom. “Now that you’ve had your
fun, why don’t you make yourself useful? I’m gonna take a shower and
when I’m finished I want some kind of breakfast. If you make it good I
might even consider letting this slide.” She half-threatened,
half-commanded just before she entered. She could see Ranma shrugging before
going to the kitchen. Closing the door and she allowed herself a sigh of
relief. Her hand was aching a bit from smacking his head. “Damn, what is
he made of?” She absently muttered before turning her thoughts to more
important matters. Like taking a shower. *** Ranma
proved to be a very able cook. Sure the breakfast he prepared was western
style with scrambled eggs, bacon, coffee and toasted bread, but Nabiki was
not one to complain. Though she did wonder a bit just where he did find
those particular ingredients in her apartment… Just
as she finished the breakfast she spoke up. “So, what new tortures are you
going to subject me today?” “Actually
we’ve got an assignment.” Ranma said and Nabiki perked up visibly.
“Don’t get your hopes up just yet though. No offence but I’m still
trying to find a way to go alone.” Nabiki
scowled. “And just why is my presence unwanted? Am I not good enough.”
She crossed her arms. Ranma
snorted. “ Frankly yes. This assignment is ‘my type’ so to speak. If
something goes wrong I’m just about the only one able to handle it and if
that were to happen, the only reminder of you would be a big red splotch on
the ground.” Nabiki’s
scowl lessened but she was still somewhat irritated. “Ok, so I can
understand your reasoning. Just what is this assignment?” “Diplomacy.”
Ranma stated with a frown. Nabiki only raised a questioning eyebrow.
“Someone in the command decided it would a great idea to give you some
experience in the field by including you in this mission. ‘Her primary
skills are perfect for this mission.’ They said. And I have to admit, you
are a better negotiator than me.” “The
great Ranma admitting that someone is better than him in something?”
Nabiki asked sarcastically. “There’s
always someone better. It’s just the matter of finding them.” Ranma said
seriously. That
was not the answer Nabiki was expecting. Not from Ranma anyway. “I’m
beginning to think that 2000 years alive has been beneficial for you.” Ranma
grimaced slightly. “Yeah, well I would have preferred a more ‘normal’
life. In any case, those idiots never bothered calculating the risks
involved for a normal human in this mission. Let’s just say it’s more or
less suicide for you to come with me.” “Just
what makes this mission so dangerous?” “I
cannot really give you any details here. I do not detect any surveillance
equipment but you can never be too sure.” Ranma said looking around as if
trying to find something out of the ordinary. Nabiki
was somewhat unnerved by Ranma’s continuous scanning of her apartment,
since his eyes changed colour to a deep blue as he did it. “I’ll just
have to wait and find out as we go then? Not the best plan if I may voice my
opinion. Especially since this is a sensitive diplomacy mission. Besides, I
hate to be in the dark and you know it.” Ranma
stopped his scanning and turned to Nabiki. “True. That is a _very_ bad
plan. However…” He got a slightly ponderous look. “…I may have a
solution.” “Which
is?” Nabiki asked hesitantly. “Well
I was planning to visit the Nekohanten after I visited you and after that,
come pick you up just before the assignment started. I figure three weeks is
more than enough for Cologne to make the decision between alliance and
oblivion.” He gave Nabiki a small grin. “However, if you want to, you
can come with me right now and before going to the Nekohanten, we’ll make
a stop in one of my subspace pockets for a full briefing.” “Works
for me.” Nabiki said with a shrug. “Great!”
Ranma exclaimed, grabbing her arm and running to a portal. *I
should have known he would do that…* Nabiki thought just as she entered
the portal, flailing like a sail behind Ranma. *** Nerima
- the marital arts capital of the world. As such it had seen more than
it’s fair share of strange things. The blue, swirling portal that opened
just in front of the Nekohanten was therefore nothing that the general crowd
took notice of. “…and
remember to switch to ‘Lucky’-rounds if anything happens.” Ranma spoke
over his shoulder as he left the portal. “Yeah,
yeah. I know already!” Came the irritated voice of Nabiki as she stepped
out of the portal as well. “Maybe I should bring some charms while I’m
at it.” She said sarcastically. “Nah,
not potent enough.” Ranma replied absently. “Here we are. Truly ‘tis
establishment is a pinnacle of the Chinese food culture.” “Getting
in touch with your ‘Kuno’ side?” Nabiki asked with a smirk. “Well,
what do you expect? We are in Nerima after all.” Ranma pointed out with a
smirk of his own. Both
of them entered the Nekohanten and took a look around. There were very few
customers present although that would soon change since the clock neared
lunchtime. “Ey, Cologne!” Ranma called into the kitchen. “Yes,
just a moment.” Cologne’s voice answered. A minute later she walked out
from the kitchen area. “So what can I do for you today, Son-in-law?” She
asked with a smile. “Well
for starters you could stop with the Son-in-law, comments.” Ranma answered
with a hint of irritation in his voice. “Say, where is Shampoo?” Cologne
took a deep sigh. “I do not know her current whereabouts. She went out
early this morning just like every other morning for the past two weeks.
Mousse is out trailing her but has not had any success. Of course that’s
not strange considering his disability.” “I
gather she is depressed?” Ranma asked concerned. Cologne
raised an eyebrow. “Very. Why do you care anyway?” Ranma
snorted and crossed his arms. “Just because I’m a cold bastard,
doesn’t mean I don’t care. I’ve had my fair share of depressions so I
know what she is going through.” Cologne
sighed again. “That’s good to hear. I gather you are here for my
answer?” “Yes,
I figure you’ve had enough time to make the decision.” “Very
well, I accept the offer and I will sign any papers and record any
statements you want to make it official.” She said, taking a glance at
Nabiki. Neither
Ranma nor Nabiki missed the glance. “Actually, I’m not here for that.”
Nabiki said. “Oh?”
Cologne raised both eyebrows. “Just why are you here then?” Her eyes
widened suddenly as she spotted the ring on Nabiki’s finger. “So…”
She began, narrowing her eyes dangerously at the both of them. “…is that
what I think it is?” She said pointing at Nabiki’s hand. Ranma
followed Cologne’s gaze and instantly burst out laughing. It took a second
more for Nabiki to make the connection but she too found the situation
funny. “Stop that.” She lightly punched Ranma in his shoulder while
trying to contain her own snickers. Of course Ranma just laughed harder.
“You’re impossible!” Nabiki said in mock exasperation, before turning
to Cologne. “This ring…” She held up her hand so Cologne could get a
better look. “…is actually a technological device.” Cologne’s
dangerous look lessened somewhat. “Really? Forgive me, but somehow I
don’t really trust you on that.” She said suspiciously. “She’s
telling you the truth.” Ranma spoke up while drying his tears.
“Basically, that ring does the same thing as Mousse with his hidden
weapons. As for what was so funny, well let’s just say it’s a private
joke.” He finished with a small smile directed at Nabiki. Cologne’s
suspicion had now turned into a healthy curiosity. “Hidden weapons through
technology? How about showing me?” Ranma
glanced briefly at Nabiki silently trying to tell her that this was a
perfect opportunity to practice using the ring. She quickly got the hint and
used the ring to call her newly acquired gun. Seemingly from nowhere, the
firearm appeared in her hands. “How
interesting.” Cologne murmured. “I’m sorry for jumping conclusions. I
should have known better, especially since it’s you I’m dealing with.”
Cologne said sincerely bowing slightly in apology. “Heh,
that’s one of the stories of my life.” Ranma answered cryptically.
“Don’t worry though. We all make mistakes, especially the younger
generation.” He grinned. “Now
that’s something I could get used to. Far better than being referred to as
‘old ghoul’.” Cologne chuckled. She quickly sobered and turned more
serious. “Anyway, I accept your offer to form an alliance between you and
the Joketsuzoku Amazons and therefore release you from the kiss of
marriage.” She gave him a sad smile. “I never could have guessed that it
would turn out like this. I would have loved to truly call you son-in-law
and see your children, but unfortunately that is a lost dream now. You truly
are as wild and chaotic as both your names say.” Ranma
scratched the back of his head. “You know, I’ve never thought of that
before. Heh, Naomi would have found that hilarious.” “Naomi?”
Both Nabiki and Cologne queried. “That’s
the story of how I got the name Wildman. Maybe I’ll tell you sometime.”
Ranma replied absently. He held forth his right hand to Cologne. “So we
got a deal?” He asked. “Deal.”
Cologne answered and took his offered hand, shaking it firmly. “Good.”
Ranma said with a sincere smile. “To tell you the truth, I could never
have brought myself to wipe out your village in cold blood. You remind me to
much of the Eldar for that.” “I
suspected as much, but I didn’t dare to call your bluff.” Cologne said,
with the same sad smile as earlier. “Who or what are the Eldar though?”
She asked hesitantly. “The
Eldar is another long story.” Ranma replied as he took notice of her
apparent sadness. “Tell you what, if you want to, you can still call me
son-in-law.” Cologne’s
eyes widened in surprise. “You would let this old woman have that
pleasure?” Ranma only nodded in answer, a smile adorning his lips.
Cologne’s eyes misted over and a single tear made its way down her cheek.
“Heh, look at me. I must be getting soft.” She wiped the tear away. Nabiki
couldn’t help smiling a little at the scene. Ranma may have changed
greatly, to the point of almost being another person, but he still retained
some of his trademark features. His infuriating smirk was one of those
things and his strange yet often overwhelming caring of other people was
another one. At
that moment, the bells at the door jingled a bit, signifying a new person
entering the restaurant. This person happened to be Shampoo, almost dragging
herself through the entrance. The normally bubbly and cheerful girl was
strangely subdued. Her entire posture screamed depression and her eyes
seemed to have lost almost all life. “Shampoo is back,
great-grandmother.” She announced without any of her usual enthusiasm, and
she did not even bother to look around. Cologne
could only feel a great deal of sadness for the young girl. Shampoo had to
snap out of her depression, otherwise she might end up hurting her body and
mind irreparably. *Hmm, well he did say I could call him that…* Cologne
grinned as a plan took form in her mind. “Welcome back Shampoo.” She
began. “Guess what, son-in-law is here now.” Shampoo’s
eyes lit up and she quickly scanned the room after her wayward Airen.
Finding her target standing in her 10-meter glomp range, she instantly
performed an Amazon Glomp (tm). “Airen come back for
Shampoo!” She almost screamed in happiness. Both
Nabiki and Cologne couldn’t help chuckling a bit at the sight of Ranma,
inter-dimensional bad ass, getting squeezed to near death by a girl. “Ranma
change his mind after all, yes?” Shampoo asked, hanging by his neck. Ranma
gazed down in Shampoo’s eyes noticing how full of life they once more
were. *And here we go again…* He thought sadly. *Another life deeply
affected by my presence and therefore hurt…* He extricated himself from
Shampoo’s death grip, set her down on the floor and took a deep breath
before he spoke up. “Listen Shampoo…” He began, staring straight into
her eyes. “…I have not changed my mind. I am only here to conclude my
business with Cologne. ” “But,
but…” Shampoo stuttered. Ranma put one of his fingers on her lips
tenderly, effectively silencing her. “No
buts, Shampoo.” Ranma said in a commanding yet soft voice. “What you
forget is that I am not the Ranma you know. I am an altogether different
person, Ranma Wildman to be exact.” “But
you Shampoo’s airen! Law say so!” Shampoo tried desperately. “True,
but that law does not affect me anymore. Cologne has accepted the offer of
an alliance between me and the Joketsuzoku amazons, hence nullifying your
claim on me.” Shampoo
looked like she was going to break down and bawl her eyes out but instead,
her face suddenly hardened and her entire body spoke of determination.
“Oh.” She forced out. “That too, too bad. But let Shampoo make Ranma
delicious ramen before he go?” She said in her usual bubbly voice and
before Ranma could respond she ran off to the kitchen. Ranma
looked at Cologne and raised a questioning eyebrow. Cologne on the other
hand only shrugged, waiting expectantly to see just what the girl was
planning to do. In a
matter of minutes, Shampoo emerged from the kitchen, each hand holding one
steaming bowl of ramen. “Here, two bowls of too, too delicious…” Ranma
cut her of as he snatched both bowls from her hands. “Wow!
One bowl of ramen-potion for me, and one bowl of ramen-poison for Nabiki?
You shouldn’t have!” Ranma exclaimed happily and deposited one of the
bowls in Nabiki’s hands. Nabiki
was slightly taken aback from Ranma’s words. Poison in her food? She
looked up at Ranma’s grinning face and noticed that mischievous glint in
his eyes that she just had begun learning to recognize and avoid. However,
seeing that glint right now was strangely reassuring though and she decided
to play along in Ranma’s plan. “Actually,”
She began. “I think I want the potion instead.” “Oh?”
Ranma asked in mock surprise. “Well who am I to stop you. Let’s
switch.” By
now Shampoo had recovered from her surprise, and rushed forward,
intercepting Ranma’s arm. “No!” She yelled. “Ramen only…” Again
Ranma cut her of. “Dang!
Sorry Nabiki but Shampoo apparently wants me to have potion.” Nabiki
shrugged, feigning indifference. “Works for me.” Shampoo
growled and snatched the bowl from Nabiki’s hands. This time she didn’t
even have time to begin talking. “Oh I’m sorry.” Ranma exclaimed. “I
didn’t realize you wanted the poison for yourself.” “NO!”
Shampoo screamed, shoving the bowl she held into Ranma’s hands. “Is no
poison in either bowl. Only love-potion…” Her eyes widened and she put
her hands to her mouth as if trying to stop the words that slipped out of
her. Realizing that her plan had failed miserably, she turned and began
running to the kitchen. Ranma
however, deftly intercepted her and grabbed one of her arms. She instantly
whirled around, and tried to slap him. Ranma only grabbed her other arm and
pulled her in close to his body, effectively immobilizing her. Shampoo
violently thrashed in his grip but to no avail. After a minute she calmed
down and began crying. “W-why?” She managed to get out between her sobs.
“Why, d-don’t you want to be Shampoo’s airen?” Ranma
released his grip on her and held her at arms length while looking deep into
her eyes. “Because, as I said earlier, I am not your Ranma. I have lived
over 2000 years, seen horrors you couldn’t even dream of in your own
nightmares, killed an immeasurable number of people, experienced tragedies
beyond what’s comprehendible. I don’t know how I managed to get through
it all but I do know that I am forever changed. Hell, I even consider myself
insane sometimes.” Shampoo
opened her mouth to speak but Ranma continued before she could say anything.
“You’ll probably say something about that it doesn’t matter to you,
that you don’t care about the risk inherent to being around me. However
you should care. If I am insane, then it isn’t that farfetched that I
potentially could lash out in anger against those who are around me. I know
that I have done it before. Just whom do you think will be caught in the
crossfire of my anger? You? Your family? Your entire tribe? Gambling with
your own life is one thing but hundreds of other’s as well? No, I don’t
think so. And I certainly do not think Cologne will approve of that
either.” “No,
I will certainly not!” Cologne spoke up. “Child, I know it is hard but
you have to let Ranma go.” She finished in a softer voice. A
few more tears ran down Shampoo’s cheeks, yet Ranma dried all of them away
as fast as they appeared. “Find another man Shampoo. I know there are
still many out there strong enough to be worthy of you. Hell, I might be
able to find one for you. However, if I ever hear that you think Mousse is
worthy, I’ll come right back and beat your sorry butt so hard that
you’ll not be able to marry anyone other than Ryoga in his cursed form.”
He mock threatened. That
managed to crack a smile from Shampoo. “No worry Ranma. Neither Mousse nor
pig-boy ever be Shampoo’s airen.” She answered, her voice somewhat
happier than before. “Good
girl. I’m honoured to know you and be your friend and if it is of any
consolation, I will probably visit your tribe quite frequently from now
on.” He leaned in and kissed her tenderly on the forehead. “For now
though, it is good bye.” Ranma
released her and quickly exited the restaurant before Shampoo could think of
anything more to do. He motioned for Nabiki to follow and soon they were
both a block away from the Nekohanten. “So…”
Nabiki began as they walked. “…how does it feel to finally be free of
the kiss of marriage?” Ranma
stopped and sighed. “Not much different actually. I mean it’s not like I
would have gone through with it anyway and the amazons couldn’t have done
a thing about it.” “Well,
that’s true… By the way, I think that was the first time I ever seen you
treat Cologne with respect. I also liked your bluff with Shampoo. Nice touch
really.” Nabiki said Ranma
looked at Nabiki as if she had grown another head. “What are you talking
about? Not showing Cologne respect? And besides, who said I was bluffing?” That
got Nabiki a bit nervous. Was he joking or was he serious? “You know,
that’s not very reassuring.” She said, still not sure if Ranma was
trying to pull her leg. “It
wasn’t supposed to be.” Ranma replied as he opened a portal. Without
another word he stepped right in. “What
was that all about?” Nabiki asked herself as she followed Ranma. *** Setsuna
had a headache. After her little ‘possessed’ episode earlier she had
searched for Ranma with the time gates almost 24 hours straight. He had
proved to be almost impossible to get a glimpse off, and she was almost
beginning to suspect that he somehow knew how to disrupt the scrying power
of the time gates. It was either that or he being an icon for chaos
incarnate, but Setsuna was certain that the later option was not the case.
Or so she told herself. Just
as she was about to give up she finally managed to get a glimpse of his
presence. Desperately holding on to that vision she struggled to get more
information, yet she was not able to get anything worthwhile. With one final
‘pull’ she managed to get the time gate to do what she wanted. She
almost wished it hadn’t. *** Both
Ranma and Nabiki stepped out of another portal, this time in a dark alley.
The reason for this was quite obvious; they weren’t in Nerima any longer
so they couldn’t count on everyone to just overlook or ignore a phenomenon
such as a blue swirling portal opening up in the middle of the street. “So,
where are we heading?” Nabiki asked, trying to break the awkward silence
between them. Ranma
only grunted and inclined his head to the right. He swiftly started walking
in said direction and Nabiki had trouble keeping his brisk pace. After a
couple of blocks he abruptly stopped just outside of a Café making Nabiki
collide in his back. “This
is it.” He said while looking around. He checked his chronometer. “Guess
we’re half an hour early.” “What
do we do until then, just stand here and watch all who pass by?” Nabiki
suggested sarcastically, while rubbing her nose after her little close
contact with Ranma’s back. Ranma
turned to her and smirked slightly. “As enticing as that sounds, I think
it would be better to take a ‘coffee break’.” He said, jerking a thumb
in the direction of the Café. “If
you’re paying, sure.” Nabiki shrugged. Ranma
barked a short laugh. “Heh! You know you’re quite predictable
sometimes.” Nabiki
shrugged again. “What can I say? Old habits die hard.” “True,
it’s the same old, same old.” Ranma said, trying to look and sound old
and wise, and failing miserably. Nabiki
couldn’t help laughing at his stupid yet incredibly comical expression.
Inwardly she was glad that he was back to his normal behaviour. Him being
all quiet and morose, quite frankly scared her. “C’mon you ‘old
timer’. Let’s see if that sweet tooth of yours still works. Of course
that’s assuming you still got teeth. ” “You
ungrateful little whelp! I’ll have you know that when I was your age I had
to get up from bed one hour before I went to sleep.” Ranma continued, his
face still scrunched up in a parody of old age. “Suuure
grandpa.” Nabiki laughed. “Whatever you say. Ranma
dropped the expression and joined Nabiki in her laughter. However his face
suddenly hardened and he turned to the right, looking almost straight down
the street. Nabiki
couldn’t help noticing his sudden change. “What’s wrong?” She asked
in curiosity. Ranma
didn’t even grunt in answer and Nabiki’s curiosity changed into concern.
Suddenly a shimmer could be seen on Ranma’s forehead and the metal plate
she had seen earlier, when he wore his armour, faded into existence. Ranma
just stood there in silence for a minute not giving of even the slightest
sound. Then he broke the silence with a small “Hmm.” “What’s
wrong?” Nabiki tried again. This
time Ranma decided to acknowledge her. “I don’t know exactly. I just
detected a couple of signatures that I haven’t sensed before. Which is
strange, since this area was one of the first I scanned.” “Well,
doesn’t that just mean you missed them then?” Nabiki suggested
helpfully. “Probably,
but not very likely since they should have popped up in a later scan…”
Ranma answered absently. “I guess there’s only one choice. I have to
check it out personally.” He said with a shrug. Nabiki
sighed. She had actually looked forward to sitting down with an ice cream.
“Ok, let’s go then.” “Nah,
you don’t need to come with me for this one. It’s just a simple scan
after all.” Nabiki
blinked. “Say, are you trying to leave me behind?” Ranma
turned and smiled at her. “Actually yes, but that’s only because you
can’t perform the actual scan.” He pointed at the metal plate attached
to his forehead. “You need one of these first.” “You
don’t got any spares?” Nabiki asked. “I
do, but I don’t think you want to perform the necessary operation to get
it working.” With that, two round columns rose from the right and left
edge of the plate as if they were unscrewing themselves. Ranma took the
plate in his left hand and used the right to brush away his hair. The sight
that presented itself made Nabiki slightly nauseous. In
his temples there were two round markings, one on each side. You didn’t
have to be a rocket scientist to understand that the columns that unscrewed
themselves from the metal plate were actually attached to Ranma’s flesh. “Put
that back on!” Nabiki quickly demanded. Ranma
obliged without protest and soon the plate was once more attached to his
forehead. Of course his trademark smirk never left his face during the
entire ‘demonstration’. “Gruesome, isn’t it?” He asked, amusement
obvious in his voice. “Very!”
Nabiki responded forcefully. “How the hell did you get that? Another thing
from the crossing?” “Sort
of. The round markings you saw on my temples are actually two of the brain
implants I have. While researching about the implants I discovered that the
two in front works as sensors. I later decided to capitalize on that
ability, therefore creating a sensor package compatible with the
implants.” “Doesn’t
it hurt when it… well ‘screws’ itself into place.” “Oh
yeah, a lot in fact. That’s why I normally never take it off.” Nabiki
raised an eyebrow. “You never take it off? How come it’s not visible
then? I mean I thought it was some kind of subspace pocket gimmick.” Ranma
let out a short laugh. “You know, you make it sound like I use subspace
pockets for everything. As for why it’s not visible, well I use a
combination of bending light and holographic projectors to conceal it.” “Great,
more technological mumbo-jumbo.” Nabiki shook her head. “And you do use
subspace for everything you do.” Ranma
only shrugged. “What can I say? It’s handy. Anyway, I’ll go check
these new signatures out and you stay here and meet the contact if she’s
early. By the way, her name is Mara if you’re wondering.” With that
Ranma leaped onto the nearest roof and started roof hopping, Nerima-style,
towards the direction he had looked in earlier. “Oh,
well.” Nabiki said to herself. “Guess I have to wait here for a while.
Time for an ice cream. Too bad I have to pay for it myself.” ***
- - - - *** |
BTW I’m sorry for not updating the last week as I had promised but Christmas got in the way. Of course the old NES I got my hands on also had something to do with it… gotta love nostalgia!
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