For the first time in years, she was looking a midnight-blue sky ablaze with thousands of stars. Its beauty caused her chest to tighten in unbidden emotion, and suddenly, she forgot her headache as she stared.
All characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, etc. I write this just for fun - and probably because I have no social life aside from looking at various forms of algae. I'm just a broke college student… please don't sue me! C&C are very welcome.
Nabiki closed her ledger and lay her head on top of it with a
heartfelt groan, the sound blending with the friendly humming
of her computer. Aside from her trusty ledger, her desk was cluttered
with other paraphernalia of her trade - her best friend the abacus,
several promisory notes, and a hefty amount of household and repair
bills.
It helped a lot that Ranma and Akane were not quite fighting as
much as they used to - well, maybe that was pushing it. They still
argued loudly about every little thing, but lately Ranma was finally
learning to think before shooting his mouth off, and Akane was
finally learning to restrain herself from booting Ranma through
the roof or the walls at the slightest provocation. Still, despite
the reduced amount of repair bills, this month's bills added up
to a substantial amount - most of it coming from food expenses.
But of course, after hours of budgeting her 'earnings,' she finally
had all of that taken care of.
She also felt a headache coming on. Good thing Ranma and Akane
were not exceptionally loud tonight or the headache would have
come while she was still doing her accounting.
The sound of whining voices coming from the direction of the laundry
porch suddenly caught her attention. Her head shot up, ignoring
the insistent throb inside it that was fast beginning to escalate
into a blacksmiths' convention.
One reason why Nabiki was so good at making money was because
she was never let a good opportunity pass by - even when it was
an opportunity she had to orchestrate herself. And the reason
that she always found good opportunities to take advantage of
was because she never hesitated to investigate.
Come to think of it, she had not heard Ranma nor Akane for hours.
Something was definitely up. Picking up her camera, she made her
way to the laundry porch.
"Now, Father," she heard Kasumi's sweet voice saying,
"I already told you - neither you nor Uncle Saotome can go
up to the roof tonight."
Why in the world would her father and Uncle Saotome want to go
up to the roof?
"Kasumi, my sweet angel, you do want Ranma and Akane to marry,
don't you? I don't trust them to do this on their own - so Genma
and I are going to make sure that something happens tonight."
Ah… Ranma and Akane on the roof, eh? Even if she didn't manage
to take any pictures, it would probably be fun just to watch.
She smiled. However, upon coming closer, Nabiki's slight smile
fade and she gaped at the sight before her.
The sight of Uncle Saotome and her father whining about one thing
or another together was normal, but the sight of Kasumi smiling
gently while brandishing one of their father's katanas in front
of the two of them was definitely not.
"Now, father, you know the reason why I don't want you to
go up there is because I do want something to happen tonight."
In a flash of silver, Kasumi swung the katana at Uncle Saotome
as he attempted to sneak through the door past her. Nabiki was
impressed when she saw a piece of his gi flutter to the floor.
"See, Uncle Saotome, Auntie Nodoka has been giving me lessons,"
she said cheerfully, smiling innocently at him. "Isn't that
nice of her?"
Uncle Saotome gulped and stared down at his arm where the piece
of his sleeve had been cleaved off by Kasumi. "Uh… ah…
I see. You are getting rather good at it, my dear," he replied,
smiling stiffly back at her. He grabbed Soun by the collar. "Uh…
Tendo-san, why don't we just go down, have some sake, and play
a nice game of shogi tonight, ne?"
"But, but…"
Nabiki watched in wonder as Uncle Saotome dragged her father past
her, muttering under his breath. "If Nodoka has been giving
Kasumi lessons using that katana, I'm not going to get in her
way," he said just as he walked past Nabiki. She watched
their receding backs in utter bemusement. She blinked once…
twice… and they were gone.
Maybe they were never really there. Maybe it was just her headache.
Maybe she was just seeing things. She could've sworn she saw Kasumi
slice off a piece of Uncle Saotome's gi. She counted to ten and
turned her gaze back to the laundry porch, only to find herself
staring into her older sister's welcoming eyes.
"Hello, Nabiki," Kasumi said, glancing down at the camera
she held in her hand. "Are you going to take pictures of
the meteor shower tonight? Come, sit with me. I plan to watch
it, too."
Maybe it wasn't just her headache after all.
"Meteor shower?" Nabiki asked, following her sister
onto the laundry porch after Kasumi had laid the katana on the
table by the door. She sighed, realizing that it was unlikely
that Kasumi would let her watch the activity on the roof. "So
that's what those two are waiting for up there," she mused
- then trailed off. "Oh, wow."
"It's beautiful, isn't it, Nabiki?" Kasumi asked, sitting
down on the laundry porch and inviting her sister to do the same
by patting the spot beside her.
"It's been such a long time since I've done this," Nabiki
said gingerly, kneeling beside Kasumi, not taking her eyes off
the sky, fascinated.
"I know. Among the three of us, you loved them most of all,
didn't you?" Kasumi said, smiling and looking up at the stars
herself. "Funny, I haven't seen you stargazing since…
oh well." She suddenly reached up, took off her hair ribbon,
shook her hair out, and held a brush towards Nabiki. "Could
you please brush out my hair? I miss having someone do that for
me."
Nabiki stared at the brush suspiciously, then shook herself. "Okay,
Oneechan," she said, moving behind Kasumi then gently brushing
the long brown tresses in slow strokes. They sat in companionable
silence, letting the sounds of the night wash over them both.
* * * *
"Mommy?" little Nabiki had said in a sleepy voice.
"Sssshh," she had said smiling and holding a finger
to her lips. "The stars are out tonight, Nabiki-chan. I thought
you might like to watch them with me."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Nabiki had exclaimed, sitting up abruptly
and raising her arms to be carried. Her mother had picked her
up and carried her out to the laundry porch.
"You're getting too big to be carried around like this, Nabiki-chan,"
her mother had chuckled softly. "Soon enough, you will be
joining Kasumi and me in the kitchen, learning how to cook for
the family." She had put Nabiki down on the floor and sat
beside her.
"It's so beautiful," Nabiki had gasped. "Can I
count them, Mommy?"
Her mother had laughed and hugged Nabiki to her. "I have
a better idea - why don't we both wait for a falling star to come
along and make a wish together?"
Just a few minutes later, a shooting star streaked through the
sky.
"Look, a shooting star!" Nabiki had pointed. She shut
her eyes tight and made a wish. When she opened them again, the
shooting star was gone. "Know what I wished for, Mommy?"
"What, Nabiki-chan?"
Nabiki had turned and hugged her mother very tight. "I wished
that you would stay with me, Kasumi, and Akane forever."
* * * *
"Do you still wish on falling stars?" Kasumi suddenly
asked.
Nabiki gave a short, forced laugh pausing her brushing in mid-stroke.
"We've grown up, Oneechan," she said wryly. "Wishing
is for little kids."
"You don't have to stop believing just because we've grown
up. We all have to believe in something, little sister,"
Kasumi said quietly.
Nabiki shifted uncomfortably. She never could handle conversations
of this sort without squirming. "Sis, it's okay… really.
Don't worry about it. I mean, I don't really have anything to
wish for. I'm happy with my life and in a few years I know that
I'll have everything I want."
"Everything?"
"Well… everything important, anyway," Nabiki quipped,
trying hard to sound more convincing. She changed the subject.
"It's a miracle Akane hasn't booted Ranma off the roof yet
- they've been there for quite a while," she said, continuing
to brush Kasumi's hair. "Why can't the two of them hurry
up and get it over with? They're both so stupid not to see something
that's right before their noses."
Kasumi suddenly turned and face Nabiki. She was smiling wisely.
"We both know that the two of them know much more about one
another than they care to admit. I'm not really worried about
that. But what about you, sister?"
"What about me?" Nabiki asked flippantly, now feeling
even more uncomfortable. She picked up Kasumi's hair ribbon and
twiddled it through her fingers in a nervous gesture. She hated
being asked to confront her feelings, but this was Kasumi, and
she couldn't just walk away from her older sister. "I'm this
close to college and making all of my dreams come true, the family's
still afloat financially, Ranma and Akane and the other finacees
haven't demolished the house nor the dojo in weeks - nothing could
be better."
Kasumi just gazed at her steadily.
Nabiki tilted her chin and looked put-out, hoping it would finally
make Kasumi drop the subject. "Look, oneechan, I'm pretty,
intelligent, independent, and street-smart… it's not my fault
that people can't understand that," she snapped then pressed
her lips firmly together. Here she was, trying so hard to hide
the truth from her older sister, then putting out a sign in neon
lights that she was lonely.
"Someday, you'll find people who'll love you just as you
are, just like we do - I'm sure of it," Kasumi replied touching
Nabiki's hand comfortingly and breaking into one of her 'all's
right with the world' smiles. "You just have to show them
what you really are inside."
All of a sudden, Nabiki felt close to tears. "I don't need
anyone else! I don't want to learn to depend on someone who'll
just go away eventually," Nabiki snapped, losing control
- something she rarely did. She stood up and slammed the ribbon
down on the table. "I'd rather depend on myself than on anyone
at all."
Kasumi looked up at her, her kind brown eyes full of sadness.
"People don't always go away, Nabiki-chan. In fact, they
never do, if you don't let them."
A heavy silence that hung between the two sisters. Nabiki fidgeted, wondering what had come over her while Kasumi continued to gaze up at her with eyes filled with understanding and love.
"Oneechan… I'm sorry," Nabiki finally said guiltily,
looking at the floor, but not at Kasumi. "I didn't mean to…"
"I know," Kasumi said softly. "It's alright."
She smiled up serenely at her younger sister, her expression cheerful
again. "Oh my… I just remembered that I have to wake
up early tomorrow morning. I guess I won't be staying up to watch
the meteor shower after all." She stood up abruptly, tipped
Nabiki's chin to face her, and gave her a hug. Nabiki returned
it, suddenly craving physical affection - something oddly out
of character but certainly not strange considering how emotional
she had felt since she first came out onto the porch.
Kasumi released her, slowly walked away, then paused in front
of the door to her room. "I take it you are staying? There's
some hot water in the kitchen for tea, in case you want some.
Ranma and Akane might want some when they get back down, too."
"Oneechan - are you actually going to leave me here unguarded?"
Nabiki quipped, pushing back her emotion and trying to sound like
her old self again. "Aren't you afraid I'll go up on the
roof and take pictures of Ranma and Akane to sell to Kuno?"
Kasumi smiled, this time one of her wise smiles. "I don't
think so," she said. "You know why I know?"
Nabiki bit her lip. She really didn't want to hear this, did she?
But, as usual, her natural curiosity won out. "Why?"
"Because you have a good heart," Kasumi said with conviction. "Good night, Nabiki."
* * * *
"Mommy, the stars are out tonight, I was looking up at them
on the laundry porch before I came here to visit you," little
Nabiki had said, peering over her mother's hospital bed worriedly.
There were tubes stuck into her all over the place, and she was
almost as white as the sheet.
"Did you make a wish, Nabiki-chan?" her mother asked,
her voice hoarse and weak.
"I wished that you would get well and come home to take care
of us," Nabiki had replied, suddenly afraid. "Are you
coming home soon, Mommy? Akane's been crying for you, and it's
no fun star gazing without you."
"You know I love you, don't you, Nabiki-chan?"
"Yes, and I love you, too, Mommy."
"Every time you look at the stars, remember that, okay?"
she had said, her voice growing fainter. She had weakly raised
a hand and tapped Nabiki over her heart. "Keep me here and
I will always be with you."
Later that night that Mother had died. And that was the last time
Nabiki had looked at the stars at all.
* * * *
Nabiki placed the tray of tea on the table, then took a cup and
filled it. She sat back down on the laundry porch and gazed at
the starlit sky thoughtfully. She should have been feeling awful
for hurting Kasumi's feelings, but instead she felt - peace. And
something else.
Nabiki could almost feel her mother there beside her. She had
never felt this before, never since her mother had died. It was
as if she had simply disappeared for Nabiki. But tonight, Nabiki
felt her mother's presence for the first time.
Maybe it was because in all these years, this was the first time
Nabiki had let herself remember.
She shook her head. What was with her tonight? "If I don't
watch myself, I'll probably end up talking to myself," she
muttered, then began to laugh at what she just did. She should
cut her losses and turn in while she was still sane.
Just as she stood up, the meteor shower began and the sight rooted
her to the spot.
It rained silver against a backdrop of midnight blue - hundreds
and hundreds of them. Nabiki was stunned by the wonder of it.
Mommy, you would have loved to see this, she thought, as the last
few meteors streaked through the sky and dwindled away into nothingness.
But there was no nothingness where Nabiki stood, instead the gentle
brush of the evening breeze upon her face, carrying with it her
mother's loving voice…
*It is beautiful and I love it. But not as much as I love you,
Nabiki-chan.*
*I love you, too, Mom. I'll always remember.*
Even in the chill breeze, a warmth suffused Nabiki as she realized that after all these years, tonight the stars had given her back her mother. Smiling gently, she took one last wistful look at the stars, closed her eyes to make a wish, and headed back inside the darkened house, placing the half-filled teacup on top of the table.
-fin-
Author's Notes:
Did you notice anything familiar about the setting?
You guessed it - this is what happens down below inside the house
during in "STARLIGHT." I hope some of the events in
this story help explain the ending of that fic.
I also know it's OOC for Nabiki to be emotional, but I, like my Kasumi, believe that she does have a heart under all that deviousness and she deserves a chance. If I don't stop here, I'll go on and on and on, so I'll stop. Hope you enjoyed it… have a nice day!