Shattered Pieces
Disclaimer: The characters and back-story of Ranma 1/2 are the creation
of Rumiko Takahashi. This story is inspired by 'Picking up the
Pieces' by Masaki Yang Yi.
- Chapter 1 -
"Ranma, you pervert!" The sound of a bucket impacting a skull rang
throughout the house. The next thing Nabiki, sitting outside in a lawn
chair to enjoy the early afternoon rays, saw was a pig-tailed martial
artist flying through the doors in a smooth arc to land in the koi
pond.
"Excellent," she smirked to herself. Standing up, she walked over to
the pond and dragged the unconscious, now-female, figure out. "My
little sis sure got you that time, Ranma. Really, you should have
learned by now about walking in on people using the bathroom." Even as
she tsked, she thought to herself, 'Of course, it would have been
easier for him if I hadn't removed the 'occupied' sign from the
door....'
Picking up the satchel she had prepared earlier and placed by her chair,
she resumed dragging Ranma, taking him out of the yard and down the
street. It was early enough on a Sunday that there were no on-lookers
to stare at the sight of one girl dragging another. As she reached an
alley perhaps a block from the dojo, a dimunitive ninja stepped from
the shadows, calling her name.
Nabiki unceremoniously dumped Ranma's head onto the ground. "What took
you so long, Sasuke?" she asked.
"Master Kuno wished me to avoid the dojo. He is worried that the
sorcerer Saotome would somehow discover of the impending date with his
'tree-borne kettle girl', and invoke his vile magics to interfere."
Removing a wallet from the folded cloth of his uniform, the servitor
extracted a large amount of cash and gave it to Nabiki.
Shaking her head as she took the money, Nabiki bemusedly
responded. "Uh, yeah, right. So he's still planning on taking her to
The Diamond Chandelier?" The restaurant she named was an expensive
French restaurant on the other side of Tokyo; if Kuno were to go
there,it'd undoubtedly be in the family limo, and he'd have to find
Ranma new formal clothes. Nabiki almost unconsciously suppressed the
jealousy she felt. Instead, she focused on what she'd get out of the
event. 'Ka-ching! I'm sure whatever dress he finds for her will fetch
a pretty price. Or maybe I'll keep it for myself, for the prom...'
Her mercenary planning was interrupted by Sasuke. "Yes. Master Kuno is
confident that each time they meet, he is one step closer to breaking
Saotome's spell."
Nabiki looked sharply at her helper, but the ninja's rodent-like
features were surprisingly impassive. Normally, Nabiki's trained eyes
would be able to pick out a flurry of emotions in Sasuke's face
whenever he spoke of his master, but he seemed to be trying to keep
his face still. 'What's going on?' Nabiki wondered, but before she
could pursue the matter, Sasuke continued, "Master Kuno is interested
in this potion you use ... he wishes to know how it keeps Saotome from
locating his lady love. He has authorized me to pay 500,000 yen for
the formula."
Nabiki's eyes bulged outwards. 'Hmm, so Kuno still thinks this is a
magic potion. That's good; it means he probably won't go looking
around for anybody else to provide the formula. But if he does, he'll
go to the chemistry club, and they'll give it to him. It didn't take
much convincing for them to give it to me, after all. Even worse would
be if Kuno asked somebody else; there's too great a chance one of the
fiancees would find out." She carefully avoided considering what would
happen if Ranma himself were to find out. 'Kuno just doesn't
understand the value of cool discretion. It's too risky -- I'd better
keep him satisfied.' All of this took just a second of thought; Nabiki
narrowed her eyes, and replied, "Sure thing. Anything for Kuno-baby,
after all." And with that she hastily scrawled the recipe on a piece
of paper, and handed it over to Sasuke. "Just make sure Ranko's back
at the dojo by midnight."
While she was thinking of Ranma and the potion, she bent over and
tilted his head back while pressing a bottle to his lips. Soon enough
the liquid in the bottle was vanished, and Nabiki began softly
slapping Ranma's cheeks. "ugh, whassh going on? Pops, zatyu?" the
small red-head slurred.
"Time for you to wake up, little Ranko..." Nabiki chided. Ranma -- or
Ranko, as Nabiki had told Kuno her name was -- was entirely out of it,
unable to focus on what was going on. "Just accompany the rat-faced
one, and he'll get you all sorted out."
Sasuke's face remained impassive, despite her dig at him. Handing over
the promised sum for the formula, he slipped his arm around Ranko, and
turned to go; as he began to step away, he stopped and silently
turned back. "Nabiki Tendo, answer me this question: why do you do this
to a family member?"
Not showing her surprise at Sasuke's question, Nabiki innocently
asked, "Why, Sasuke, do you think I would stand in the way of
happiness for my dear cousin Ranko and her beloved?" Seeing he was not
content with that, she mercurially changed her speech. "Look, Kuno
wants a date with his goddess, and is willing to pay well for that
privilege. Ranko needs a little /convincing/ to not cause a scene; I
provide that convincing. They go out for a dinner, a few drinks, they
go home. Kuno has a wonderful time, and in the morning, Ranko won't
even remember what happened. No harm, no foul, right?" Nabiki didn't
even notice that her speech had sped up throughout the speech.
Sasuke's form was silent. Then, haltingly, the words Nabiki was
waiting for came. "Yes. No harm, no foul." Slowly turning, he left,
dragging the semi-aware Ranko behind him. Nabiki looked at his
retreating back for a few minutes, idly fingering the thick wad of
cash in her pocket.
- = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - =
"Ranma, m'boy, you're getting sloppy! Oh, if your mother were here to
see you now!" Bemoaning the cruel fates, Genma threw his son,
currently a busty red-headed girl, out the window into the koi pond in
the backyard. The still sleepy girl sat up in the pond and cried,
"Hey! What'd you do that for?"
Despite her obvious grogginess, the girl had jumped to her feet by the
time the gi-clad Gemma had landed after his own jump out the window,
and with loud battle cries the two streaked at each other, the impact
of their meeting cracking through the air.
This signal was a sharp stick probing the house's ant hill, as its
inhabitants began scurrying into their daily activities, the sound of
striking flesh from Genma and Ranma's morning spar serving as an
oddly-compelling percussive background.
Nabiki was not normally a morning person, but she had been only
lightly sleeping; her normal deep sleep had been troubled the past few
nights, since her interaction with Sasuke. The Ice Queen rubbed her
eyes, before swinging out of bed and into the hallway.
"Good morning, Nabiki." Her older sister Kasumi smiled pleasantly at
her before heading downstairs. "You're up early today; let me start
the furo filling, and then I'll begin breakfast."
Nabiki smiled back. "Oh, no need to rush for me, sis. I've got some
work to do that'll keep me busy for a while anyway." For a minute,
Nabiki allowed herself to imagine what it would be like to be as sweet
and innocent as Kasumi, before she shook her head, and went back into
her room. 'Gotta focus, girl; time is money.'
She turned back into her room and, digging out her ledger, sat herself
at her desk. Flipping to the latest entries, she barely heard the
cries coming from the yard; her thoughts started filling with the
details of her operations, leaving her with little room for less
mercenary concerns.
'Ah, this month is going to be /very/ profitable,' she thought. 'And
all thanks to the new money from Kuno-baby." She felt a little
uncomfortable; she was used to extorting a little cash from people,
but this latest scheme was putting her in a whole new ball-park. She
was actually gathering enough capital that she could get started in
the business world directly, instead of slaving her way up the
corporate ladder for years until her youth and passion were
gone. 'Well, this won't be enough for everything, but it's a step in
the right direction. A very big step.'
- = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - =
At school several days later, Nabiki was dragging Kuno's unconscious
body to the nurse's station. "Kuno-baby, you really should have gotten
the point by now. My little sister is not interested in you."
"Nabiki Tendo, your mercenary ways have blinded you to true love. Your
sister's loves for me parallels that of my beautiful pig-tailed
goddess. If only not for that sorceror Saotome, who fiendishly renders
her incapable of expressing her adoration!'' proclaimed the
apparently-conscious-after-all upper-classman.
"Sure, Kuno-baby. I'm sure in the two months before we graduate that
she'll come flying into your arms." She set him on the nurse's couch,
and held out her hand expectantly.
"Nabiki Tendo, I despise you." But even as he delivered that flat
message, Kuno nonetheless handed over a quantity of coin. "But I must
meet with the pig-tailed girl again. The soothing charms of the
goddess are all that slake the raging passions that would otherwise
consume me! No mountain is too lofty, no burden too great, no cost
too much for me!''
Nabiki hesitated. Seeing that hesitation, Kuno lifted his hand to his
pocket, and began toying with a piece of paper there. As he began
lifting it, it became obvious it was a check. "Kuno-baby, you know I
had to drug hi,uh,her last time. Do you really enjoy having dinner
with a zombie?"
"Tendo-san, if that is the only way I can enjoy her company without
the accursed Saotome's magic turning her against me... then love gives
me no choice."
Nabiki thought. She had arranged this sort of 'date' several times
before for Kuno, but she was starting to feel a bit uneasy about
it. Although Ranma seemed to not remember a thing, he seemed to have
nightmares for a few days following. But it wasn't like Kuno was doing
anything wrong to Ranma... she needed more time to think. "Let's talk
about this after school, Kuno-baby. Let's meet at the usual place;
your treat, of course."
When the meeting came at a local ice cream shoppe, Nabiki had made a
decision, and firmed her resolve -- she had enough money, and even a
high-stakes gambler knows there's a time to fold. "Sempai, you know
that I told you before, if this is done too often Ranma will get
suspicious that Ranko is seeing someone else. And there's just no
telling what will happen then." She managed to keep a straight face
as she said her story, but didn't bother hiding her mocking tone; Kuno
had never noticed it before, why would today be any different?
"The horror of this situation. Truly, the Master's tale of Romeo and
his Juliette is no more tragic than Kuno and his tree-borne kettle
girl." Kuno continued on for several minutes in a bizarre chain of
allusions. Rather than try to decipher the riddle of what he actually
meant, Nabiki only sighed. Kuno finally finished, "Know this,
Tendo-san, that as Alexander cut the intricate Gordian knot, so Love
may find a path for my love to flare brightly."
Throwing down coins to pay for her ice cream, Kuno wandered off, his
hand firmly gripping his bokken and his gaze intent on some sight only
he could see.
- = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - =
Akane, disgusted with Ranma's latest gaffe, ran out of her house and
towards Furinkan high. Her fiance came running after, having paused to
grab two bentos containing their lunch. "Hey, wait up, Akane. I
didn't mean nothin' by it!" He came closer to Akane, reaching out an
arm with her bento. "And you forgot your lunch. It's Kasumi's, so
it's bound to be good. Come on, slow down!"
Akane silently steeled her gaze forward, concentrating on the
pounding of her feet on the pavement and the swish of her dress as she
ran. 'What's he trying to imply by that? That my lunches aren't good?
That jerk!' She didn't even notice going by the lady throwing water on
the sidewalk until she heard Ranma's suddenly soprano cursing behind
her. "Ha!"
Ranma was not nearly so amused, as she stopped to wring the excess
water from her shirt. 'Damn it, why can't I ever catch a break? If it
ain't some ol' lady or another, it's a broken fire hydrant, or a
drunken Super-Soaker salesmen convention!' Realizing her shirt
was as dry as it was going to get, the female Ranma started to hurry
after the disappearing figure of Akane. 'Maybe I can be on time for a
change,' she thought, not noticing a shadow popping up beside her, and
soon enough she didn't notice anything at all.
- = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - =
Akane was feeling quite pleased with herself as the school bell
rang. She had actually managed to arrive early to school, something
that happened all too infrequently since Ranma had shown up in her
life last year, and had a pleasant conversation with Sayuri. They were
still talking over the latest gossip when they entered the classroom
and took their seats. The bell rang, and Akane realized the desk
beside her was still empty. 'Where is Ranma? He should have been along
just after me. Ooh, and he had my lunch, too. He'd better not be
skipping just so I'm hungry!' Her classmates ignored his absence, and
the soft red glow that briefly appeared around her; they had grown
quite accustomed to this sort of oddity surrounding Ranma and the
Tendos.
But when Ranma had not appeared by the next day, people were taking a
bit more notice. Akane was obviously worried, although she was trying
not to admit it; a crowd of students had grown up about her when she
entered the wasp nest of a school yard, their voices an irritating
buzz making it difficult for her to think, their questions about
Ranma's absence only a further sting to her unsettled emotions.
Sayuri came over to Akane, looking worried for her friend. "Akane, is
it true? About Ranma and that new fiancee?"
"What new fiancee?!" Akane screeched, her heart suddenly leaping up
in her throat.
"Well, Gendo was talking to Haruka last night at the mall, and they
saw a blonde girl coming up to storekeepers,and they swear they heard
her asking around for martial arts dojos. And you /know/ what that
means...."
"Sayuri, that doesn't mean anything. Not /everybody/ new
around here is one of Ranma's fiancees." 'And Ranma wouldn't just up
and leave me for somebody, would he?'
Akane's other best friend, Yuka, chose that time to join them. "Yeah,
Akane. Besides, what I heard is that some demons were fighting with
somebody over in Juuban. The police aren't saying much, but Aiki
insists her aunt was there, and definitely saw a pigtail. It's
obviously Ranma!"
"But then why didn't he come home last night?"
"Oh, maybe the demons got him." Yuka grinned as she saw the fear on
Akane's face. "Oh, I'm just kidding. You know Ranma, he's got more
lives than a cat."
Akane forced a nervous laugh. "Yeah, just don't tell him that."
'Oh, Ranma, where are you?'
- = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - =
After school, Nabiki was drawn to the dojo by the sounds of
smashing bricks. Recognizing her sister as the cause for the bricks'
untimely demise, Nabiki lightly asked, "Seen any sign of your ingrate
fiance, sis?"
Akane's explosive grunt as another brick became dust was sufficient
reply.
"Look, sis, I know you're worried about him. I've asked ..."
"Me, worried? He's probably off with that bimbo Shampoo! Or maybe
Sayuri's right, maybe he's got himself somebody new to add to his
harem!"
"Methinks the lady doth protest too much." Nabiki tried to imitate
Kuno's tones, with little success. But she could see Akane's mouth
curling up slightly at the corners, so figured she had come close
enough for her purposes. "Look, Akane, you know Ranma. He's probably
off chasing some rumor of a Japanese Spring of Drowned Boy, or waiting
for a challenger, or found an all-you-can-eat Sushi bar and is
determined he isn't going to leave until there's no food left."
Akane managed a smile at that. "That sounds like you, Nabiki. Going to
get your money's worth and all."
"Moi? I am hurt, simply devastated that you could say such a thing of
me. But really, Akane, I've asked people to keep an eye out for
him. And it's not like he's never run off before without telling you;
maybe he's decided to go visit some ancient training ground. I bet
you he'll come strolling in here by himself by this weekend, never
even having thought somebody'd worry about him."
Akane had noticeably relaxed during Nabiki's speech. "Oh, I guess
you're right, Nabiki. I was just over-reacting. You know me, ol'
emotional Akane."
'OK, she's calmed down some. Still upset, but at least Kasumi and I
are likely to live through tonight. Damn you, Saotome, where are you?
What am I going to have to do to convince you to treat her better?
When you get back, expect to suffer like you've never suffered
before.'
- = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - =
Author's Notes:
Well, in case you hadn't already guessed, this is my first fic. I've
already got a second chapter drafted, which is a bit darker, and
includes some more exciting bits (read: less dialogue), but I wanted
some feedback on this chapter first before finalizing it. (That way I
can unobtrusively fix the more embarrassing things, before people see
them repeated again and again. :-)
I wrote this fic because I originally was caught by the potential
consequences in 'Picking up the Pieces', where Nabiki sells Ranma to
Kuno, but Kuno goes a little further than expected. I wanted to change
events slightly, though, and focus a bit more on the characters, so
this was the result. (Accordingly, I'm most interested in whether
people buy the characterization. Also, I don't feel quite happy with
the character's voices, but I'm not sure exactly how to improve the
dialogue).
Incidentally, in case this isn't clear, in this continuity, Sasuke
believes in separate Ranma and Ranko identities.