alhuang@hcs.harvard.edu http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~alhuang/ Welcome back. Here are the continuing "adventures" of Nakamura Takeshi in the wonderful Tokyo district called Nerima. It's Nabiki's turn, this time. This is significantly different from the first version, for those of you who have seen the first version. Much, much better, I think. Oh, and to those of you who insist on "showing, not telling"--I would usually agree, but remember in this fic, I'm trying to avoid having to tell the introductions too much, since all of that stuff has been done and overdone for new character fics. My focus is on the character interactions at present. Legalese: Except for Nakamura Takeshi, the friends he mentions, and Shinohara Kazuma, all the characters and the idea behind Ranma 1/2 belong to Takahashi Rumiko and whoever else that has a valid legal claim to all of that. And now, Oddzilla Productions presents.... "Visiting Nerima" by Andrew Huang <...>: thoughts *...*: sound effects Chapter 2: For the Love of...What? --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- [This is a bit of a continuation of the prologue.] *WHACK* *SPLASH* "BAKA!!!" "Otousan, what does Takeshi's father do for a living?" Soun looked at his middle daughter. "Well, Akira-kun is an executive for a Japanese bank. He was sent to California five years ago to head the board of one of their United States branches." *CHA-CHING* Soun missed the audible chime emanating from Nabiki's head and continued. "Akira was very reluctant to move, but with all the benefits and the raise that he was getting, he couldn't refuse." He had no idea what he was plunging poor Takeshi into. "Wow, that's...nice." Nabiki was almost drooling now. Yen signs danced in her eyes. [Now, a few weeks after that....] ------------------------------------------------ "Ohayo, Nabiki!" Takeshi smiled radiantly. "Mmmrph...." Nabiki would have smiled, if it wasn't for the fact that her morning breath made such an act psychologically impossible. Well, she also wasn't too much of a morning person. There was, however, an especially odd look on her face. "Well, what is it? _Him_ again?" The smile turned devious. The "him" in question...isn't any of your business quite yet. We'll get to that soon. Nabiki only half-glared at him and proceeded to the bathroom to brush the raging chemical war out of her mouth. Takeshi simply shrugged and walked to the dining room for breakfast. ------------------------------------------------ Well, the "him" referred to earlier was indeed a romantic interest. Ah, potential romantic interest. Er, potential interest. Agh! Just an acquaintance that Nabiki held particular interest of one sort or another in. (The writer bigsweats.) Now, the fact that Takeshi was able to tease Nabiki about something like that and get away with only a half-glare is something to be considered amazing. You see, Nabiki had been intent on making Takeshi's visit to Nerima a profitable one. Highly profitable.... And, on the side, she was going to make sure she wasn't hungry. Nabiki was known for finagling free meals from Kunou. Why not try on it Takeshi? Much to her delight, she discovered that Takeshi was an excellent conversationalist, brighter than Tatewaki (which really isn't all that hard to do anyways), and presented a rather unique outlook on things, with the influences of American society. They found themselves sharing many meals together and just talking about things. That, coupled with another interesting repeating occurrence, gave them the opportunity to build a rather solid friendship relatively quickly. (The fact that he was also rich didn't hurt, certainly.) They even started confiding in each other a little. After Ryouga, Nabiki was the second person to hear about Jen. And, of course, she told Takeshi about that "him"--though for a (relatively small) price. (It wasn't anything she could really hide anyways; Takeshi had noted her glancing over at that fellow quite often during that last week of school, while he was visiting her class.) Isn't Takeshi just amazing when it comes to interpersonal relations? Oh, the other "occurrence". Keep reading. And _don't worry_, I'll get to who that "him" was.... ------------------------------------------------ "When are you ever going to learn?" Nabiki held a damp cloth to Takeshi's forehead. He was again out cold, following an argument between Ranma and Akane which had started to turn violent. "You've got to stay away from those two when they start fighting!" This scene had quickly become very common. Of course, it had been common before, except that usually the patient was Kunou, and the location was the nurse's office in Furinkan. But ever since his entrance on the scene of Nerima, Nabiki found herself doing the same with Takeshi, in the Tendou's guest room. Suddenly, Takeshi's eyes blinked open. "It...it happened again, ne?" Nabiki gave a small laugh. "Hai. You caught the edge of the dining room table with your face on Akane's backswing. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for you to visit. Not while those two are within five kilometers of each other--and yourself. Oh, and Akane apologizes profusely." "Like she always does. Ite.... My face must be completely red." "Somewhat. In fact...." She leaned in a little closer to examine him. "The carving on the table kinda...anou...imprinted itself on your face." "Eh?" "You've got a rose on your cheek. Ha! You've got rosy--" "NO PUNS! PLEASE!! I've recently had a bad experience with puns...." Takeshi's right eye began to twitch slightly. "Okay, okay." Nabiki grinned. "So, how much do I owe you this time?" Nabiki grinned. "It's on the house. A gift from me." Takeshi's raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "Well! It's a miracle! Thank you ever so much, kind lady." He smiled back. Nabiki merely narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. So, tell me, did you dream...again?" "Five hundred yen." He handed it over without a word. "_Yes_, I did." Takeshi waited. And waited a little longer. And some more. And-- "Well?!" "Well what?" "Aren't you going to tell me?" She smiled. "Oh, all right. Remember the French restaurant we went to yesterday for lunch?" Takeshi nodded. How could he not? That lunch had been a result of a lost bet, on how many fights would result within the stone walls of the Tendou property the day before. (He had bet 5 with a spread of 3 on both sides. The actual number was 16; overall, a very bad day for the Dojo--and Ranma, for that matter. The contractors, though...it was one of their best....) "Well, I was having dinner there with Kazuma instead." "And?" "And nothing!" This time, Takeshi narrowed his eyes at her. "Suuure." Nabiki looked at him indignantly, and he decided not to push the point. "Oh, all right." ------------------------------------------------ Shinohara Kazuma. A bright fellow, near the top of Nabiki's class. Rather handsome, too. Rich? Maybe not as much as the Kunous, but comfortably so. A nice guy, overall. Now, he might not have been voted "most eligible bachelor" of Nabiki's grade (number one reason being that they didn't vote on things like that at Furinkan anyway), but he was certainly up there. And lo, he had drawn the attention of Tendou Nabiki.... Are you all happy now? ------------------------------------------------ "Nabiki, admit it." "Admit what?" Takeshi sighed. "Don't you start that with me...." "You want me to say that I like Kazuma." There was a sudden noise somewhere, and Takeshi looked off, then looked back. "Huh? I want you to say that...what?" "That I like Kazuma." "Ah, I knew you'd come around and admit it!" "Hey--I--that's not fair!" "Heheh...sorry. I couldn't resist." Takeshi grinned over his McDonald's hamburger. Nabiki simmered as she munched on a fry. "But seriously. After having observed things happening around me for so long, I can tell." "Oh, really? Tell me, oh wise one, how much have you seen?" "Well, you already know about what I've told you. Let me see, there was also my friend Ido and his present girlfriend Kate, all the stuff between Peishan Kho and Joey Chiu, erm..." Takeshi's face momentarily darkened. "Of course, there's Anne, too." Nabiki realized that they had just hit a sticky subject. "Well, okay. All right, I believe that you have _some_ knowledge about things like this. But what makes you say that there's really something here? Sure, I dreamed about him once or twice--" "Make that three or four times." "--but that's nothing. I'm know that you," she pointed at Takeshi, "have had the occasional dream about Ukyou, even though you're totally devoted to Jen. Of course. Unless I suddenly have some _additional_ blackmail material, for use overseas?" She looked gleefully at Takeshi. He reddened a good bit. "Should never have told you about that...." "Ah, there's very little that is kept secret from me, my friend." "Anyways. Suffice it to say that _I_ _know_. I've seen too much to miss all of this. And I won't rest until you do something about it." He stared straight at Nabiki. She sighed suddenly. "All right. I'll admit that maybe...well, you know." Nabiki was still reluctant to vocalize her feelings. "What _should_ I do about it?" Takeshi didn't hesitate. "Go for it, that's what! From what I know of the guy, he's really decent. He's got an intellect that...certainly beats Kunou's. Heh, what am I saying? Nearly anyone's does--but never mind. And I could have sworn that he was glancing over at _you_ a few times, too, in class. What--ah, never mind." Takeshi had been about to add, "What have you got to lose," only to remember that there was plenty to lose, especially for Nabiki. "Plenty to lose, you know that. I've got a reputation to keep." "Nabiki, are you happy?" That took her slightly by surprise. "Anou...should I not be?" There was silence from Takeshi. "Hey, I've got my money, my family is doing well, I'm healthy...and you're buying, anyways." Still more stony silence. "What do you want me to do?!" "Why not just talk to him, at least." "About what?" "Whatever comes naturally." Nabiki, unfortunately, didn't really know. ------------------------------------------------ It was one of those sunny days in Nerima that automatically meant trouble. Sure enough, if you were near the Dojo, you'd be in considerable danger at the moment. But Takeshi and Nabiki were _not_ near the Dojo (a fortunate situation especially for Takeshi). Rather, they were strolling through a park, something perfectly natural on such a nice day. "Ahh...this is relaxing." *thwap* "Yow! Hey, what's...." Takeshi held up a piece of wood which had just smacked him. Nabiki looked at it. "It's...it's a piece of...our dining table. See, there's the rose." Then again, maybe being far away from the Dojo didn't help Takeshi much. Takeshi groaned. "Somewhere, up there, Someone is having a colossal laugh at my expense." "Mmmhmm." Nabiki was visibly concentrating on something, and it wasn't the probabilities of a divine joke centered on her friend. Takeshi made it sound so easy. It had just been such a long time since she really gave too much thought to a guy about something other than the amount of yen in his wallet. Well, Takeshi was an exception. Somehow, he seemed more like a brother than just another guy around. But that also was nothing like.... "Hey, look, there he is!" Takeshi pointed towards a small grove of trees. Standing beneath one was, indeed, Kazuma. He seemed to be enjoying the day just as everyone else around was (save a certain pigtailed boy who had just crash-landed near the park, delivered via Tendou Table Express). Nabiki froze up for a moment, but was quickly brought back by a poke in the shoulder from Takeshi. "Come on!" "I...I...." Takeshi sighed in exasperation. "You're starting to act like Ryouga." Nabiki glared at him. "What did you just say?" "Ahh! Nothing! Nothing!" Takeshi waved his hands at her, bigsweating. Nabiki turned away from him and looked back at Kazuma, who glanced at his watch. "You think...I should...." "That's what I've been telling you. Hey, I'll even stick around here for moral support. How's that?" Nabiki bit her lip, unsure. Slowly, she steeled herself. "Okay." She took a step towards the grove of trees-- --and stopped as a pretty, long-haired girl ran up to Kazuma, embraced him, and planted a kiss firmly on his lips. The gesture was returned. Takeshi could only stare. He could have sworn that he heard the faint sound of something going *krak*. Nabiki turned away and grabbed Takeshi by the arm. "Okay, folks, show's over, nothing to see here, show's over..." she muttered as she dragged Takeshi back towards the Dojo. ------------------------------------------------ "Are you...are you okay?" The two had just entered the gates. "Of course I am. It's not like I really had any real sort of interest in him." "Nabiki...." "Nanda?" Her face was expressionless. That in itself was a bad sign. "Nabiki, I know you're not okay." "Why do you say that?" "Because--" "Because you know about these things. Right." She took an abrupt turn off of the walkway to one of the benches in the yard, sitting down on it. Takeshi joined her. "You took the words out of my mouth. Nabiki, it's not good to do this." "Hm?" "To hold in your emotions like this. Believe me." "Why? Did you go do something like that too?" Nabiki was surprised a little at how sharp her words suddenly were. "As a matter of fact, yes. One time, it got so bad, I just decided to build a wall up around my feelings. It went okay for a while, but they didn't go away. They built up. And built up. And one day, that wall came crashing down. Ever had a nervous breakdown?" Nabiki looked at him quizzically and shook her head no. "It feels like your soul has collapsed in on itself. You're left drained, completely. For the two days after it happened to me, I don't think I could feel anything at all. It's an evil thing, Nabiki. I was a wreck. Don't do that to yourself." Nabiki nodded. Slowly, one tear crept out of her right eye and spilled down her cheek. She sighed and leaned slightly against Takeshi, who put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed gently. "Much better. Let it out." Nabiki was silent. ------------------------------------------------ For the next twenty minutes, Takeshi offered soothing words of comfort to Nabiki. She didn't speak the whole time; rather, she silently sat, her breathing slightly ragged, an occasional tear coming out now and then. That wasn't much, but for Nabiki, it was groundbreaking. She had cried before, but not for a while, and certainly not in front of anyone else. Finally, Nabiki was able to speak. "Takeshi...it's been such a long time since I've liked any guy seriously." Takeshi nodded. "I.... Thanks for staying here with me." "Of course...." "Takeshi-kun!" Soun stood in the doorway and was waving an envelope in his hand. "Letter for you! From California." He fortunately was too oblivious to see Takeshi quickly disengaging his arm from around Nabiki while she hastily wiped away the last of her tears. "Great! I haven't heard from home in a little while." The rest of the family wandered by to see what the fuss was about. Takeshi peered at the return address. "Hey, it's from Jen!" Akane sidled up to look. "Jen? Who's Jen?" "Oh yeah, I never told you guys. She's my girlfriend." "You have a girlfriend and you never told us?" "Well...it never really came up. I did tell Ryouga...he's actually met her...." No one asked; they all knew about his "directional problems". "And Nabiki, too." He glanced over at her. She gave a tired smile back. "Got a letter from your girl, huh? That's nice...." Nabiki turned to walk up the stairs. She missed the fact that behind her, as he read the letter, Takeshi was slowly turning very, very pale. ------------------------------------------------ Nabiki entered the dining room an hour later. "Er...where's Takeshi?" "Oh my...you didn't hear, did you?" "Hear...what, Oneechan?" Everyone was silent and still. Even Ranma and Genma had ceased eating just now. "I'm afraid it's not our place to say...if you want to talk to him, he's out in the back." Kasumi gave a worried look out at the yard. Something was rather wrong. Nabiki stood and walked outside. She didn't have to walk far; she found him standing at the pond. Suddenly, he gave a heart-rending sigh and flopped to his knees. "Ahem." "Who?" "Me, Nabiki." She walked over and sat down on the grass next to him. "Say, am I glowing yet?" "Eh?" "I'd imagine I'd have Ryouga's aura by now. Feh, maybe not. He _must_ be one of the most depressed people on Earth, huh?" A chuckle. Despite not having taken that psychology class she had thought about a while back, she knew that he was't supposed to be chuckling at the moment. She could tell that this was Not Good. "Uh, what happened?" "Didn't they tell you?" He turned to see her shake her head. "Oh. Well.... I found out why Jen hadn't written me at all until now." A pause. "Shortly before I left...she...'met' a guy...." Nabiki looked up, blinking. "Now that I think about it, she was acting a little strangely those last few days before I came here. Anyways--apparently, she didn't know what to do until now. And what she did...was to dump me." Takeshi sighed, and closed his eyes. "Took her damned long enough." A warm evening breeze wafted through, brushing Nabiki's bangs out of her eyes. Nabiki shook her head. What was _that_? "I...I...I don't know what to say--" Fortunately for her, she didn't have to say too much more. A brick came flying out of the house, smashing Takeshi in the back of the head (and into unconsciousness). Akane, of course. Trust her (and Ranma) to screw up a moment like this. "Oops! Gomen ne, Take...oh. He can't hear me, huh, Oneechan?" ------------------------------------------------ "Third time today, Takeshi. And I thought that today might be one of the few days that you would suffer Akane's misplaced wrath only once or twice." Nabiki paused to wring out the damp cloth before placing it on Takeshi's head. "Of course, it's one of the few occasions that you've been knocked unconscious more than once in a day. Now there's another idea. A betting pool on how many times you go down...." She sighed; she wasn't really thinking about something like that. Rather.... She closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. "Uhh...." Takeshi stirred. "What happened this time?" "Akane, Ranma, brick, you." She gave a small smile. "Ah. Ow...." He slowly pulled himself up off of his stomach. There was a bit of silence. She took one of his hands in both of her own. He looked up at her, almost startled. "Well, Takeshi...I'm not really the best one to talk to about this.... "I can't say I know exactly how you feel. I mean, I've never been... dumped, as such. But I can understand it, I think. Especially after what happened to me today. "From what you've told me, you've had it pretty hard when it comes to romance. Much more so than me. But...if anything, I think it's made you a stronger person. Best of all...because of that, you've gotten the insight to help other people. Like me." She fell silent. It was so...so...inadequate. Takeshi smiled. "Thanks. That meant a lot...thank _you_ for staying here with me." He looked down. "You know, I feel a little better, I think...." "Really?" He nodded. "Will you be okay?" "Yeah. It's the first time I've been dumped, true...but this is kind of...well, a familiar feeling. I've been through rejection so often, this is almost...comfortable." His eyes unfocused for a few moments, and he murmured, "Hello, old friend...." "Hmm?" "Eh?" Takeshi shook himself. "Oh, nothing." He looked down at their clasped hands. "You know something? Ranma told me a while ago that all you cared about was money...." Nabiki snorted. "I'm not surprised." "I didn't believe it then. And I think I'm right. I mean, it took a lot for you to say what you just said...and that's on top of what happened with you and...." He decided to leave that sentence unfinished. "I'm glad you proved him wrong. You're not just all about yen." "Well...you know, I've fooled even myself into believing that. I'll try not to do that anymore." She paused a moment. "Still, though, I can't quite shake the idea that you should start counseling people about this stuff for an hourly fee." She chuckled. They smiled at each other. For the briefest moment, Nabiki wondered about herself...and him. He was a nice guy, intelligent and all...but she quickly shook it off. Nabiki quickly zoomed in, and gave him a peck on the cheek. He looked slightly startled. "Arigato. You know, I have a hard time believing that only one girl has ever liked you. You're a really nice guy, you know." Takeshi stared at her, his hand touching where she had kissed him. There was silence for a few moments. It was finally interrupted by a loud growl from Takeshi's stomach. The two of them simultaneously grimaced, suddenly realizing how hungry they were. "Don't worry, I told everyone to save some food for the two of us while you were out. Come on, let's go eat." Nabiki stood up and led the way. She had just entered the hallway, when she heard Akane yelling at Ranma, and then a meaty *SMACK* behind her. "Ha!" She spun around, to see that the sound had been Takeshi catching a baseball with his bare hand. "Well, Akane, _this_ time you didn't--" *WHUMP* A basketball found itself embedded in Takeshi's stomach. Ranma raced by, followed by Akane with several other weapons of the sporting persuasion. Both were far too intent on The Hunt to notice what had just happened. "Gaaaah...spoke-too-soon--" Takeshi collapsed. --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, another "Nabiki falls in love" story, but nothing like what's been done before...right? I do think there's more to Nabiki than just a love for yen...I hope I didn't mess with her character too much, though. Hmm. Anyways, I hope you liked it. C&C is welcome. Who's next? I'm not sure yet. You'll find out soon enough. Or maybe later...whatever. (Oh yeah--I am indeed an Ukyou fan. ^_^)