Nabiki Screws Up aka "Ten Little Nerimites" by Gregg Sharp ===== insert standard i don't own any of these char disclaimer this is also an attempt to do something in a completely different flavor from my usual attempts. this is also NOT part of the bet. http://members.aol.com/metroanime/main.html ===== MONDAY: Nabiki hung up the phone and watched as just a little verbal nudge, a tiny suggestion on her part, sent Akane into a blind rage directed at Ranma. A reminder of his appreciation for Shampoo's cooking, and his ability to confide in Ukyou had Ranma dodging attacks all across the backyard. As inevitable as dawn, Ranma missed a single block. Akane struck repeatedly until Ranma was down, then kicked him again before stalking off. Nabiki smiled and waited a few minutes, rewarded when Kodachi appeared on the compound wall. "Well, Nabiki Tendo, you deliver as you promised." Kuno Kodachi stepped up to Nabiki and handed her the small wad of yen. "As agreed upon, 50,000 yen for dear Ranma and your silence on his whereabouts." "I won't tell," Nabiki said as she counted out the money. "It's none of my concern what you do with him." Kasumi watched from the window, frowning slightly as the gymnast hauled the unconcious Ranma off. ----------------------- FOUR DAYS LATER: "I haven't seen that JERK since Monday," Akane snarled. Ukyou exchanged a glance with Shampoo. "NOBODY has seen Ranma since Monday, Akane." "He's probably just run off to find some cure again," offered Nabiki. "Nabiki, I think you ought to tell everyone the truth." Kasumi's voice was quiet but carried quite well. "What are you saying, Kasumi?" Ukyou politely asked of Kasumi, what she thought of as the most stable of the three sisters. Of course, that was like saying that it was better to have pnuemonia than tuberculosis. "Nabiki sold Ranma to Kodachi on Monday." "WHAT?!?" Everyone looked at Nabiki as if she was ready to be fitted for a jacket with wraparound sleeves. "Hey, we covered this month's expenses, plus a profit for once." Nabiki didn't see what everyone was making a big fuss about. "It's not like anything major could happen." Shampoo and Ukyou quietly excused themselves and ran from the household as if their lives depended on it. Akane looked at Nabiki in shocked disbelief, while Kasumi just managed to look slightly disapproving. Nabiki really didn't see what the big fuss was about. --------------------- SATURDAY: Shattered bits of memory came back to Ranma Saotome. Ranma felt able to move, though she still didn't feel well. She carefully removed the IV needle, stood up, and nearly fell down again. Her legs hurt, the strips of missing skin and slender deep cuts showing her weakness. She wouldn't be bound here, though, no. THEY would find her if she remained. THEY would put her through that again, this time in the female form as well as the male. She would NOT, could NOT, allow that. A memory suddenly opened itself. //Opening swollen eyes to see Ukyou shaking and crying as she unlocked the bolts holding him onto the table. Shampoo visible in the background, also weeping but with a snarl of barely repressed fury clearly shown. "R-r-ranchan, oh my god, what did she DO to you?"// She found some scrubs and quickly put them on. Much better than the surgical gown. Nausea and pain washed through her everytime she moved, but was getting easier to deal with. She had to hide, and quickly. THEY would know if she was helpless. THEY would come and then SHE would come. Ranma would find other clothes at the first opportunity. Another memory flashed across Ranma's mind. //In Ukyou's arms in girl-form after a Kuno trap had thrown them all into a pool. The wet smack as Kodachi's pet alligator Midorigame snapped and tore and swallowed a little pink cat.// "Ten little friends, though not of each other, Alligator eats one, and now she's no bother." No one expected the girl in 3-F to move, not with all those deep cuts and burns, and poisons in her system. Not with hypnotics and sedatives and hallucinogens that had long polysyllabic names showing up in the blood tests. Not when the girl in question had been strapped to her bed to keep her from moving while the Doctor tried to contact next of kin. //Sasuke laughing as bamboo spears launched from the walls. Ukyou turning to protect the bundle in her arms as one of the spears slammed into her.// Dr Tofu looked at the empty bed and swore. This would have alarmed a few of the people who knew him really well, except that everyone was gawking at the sight of the bed's steel frame twisted out of shape with a few of the canvas straps still hanging in tatters. //The white room, where Ranma lay and even some of the really hardboiled nurses were looking away from her body. Ukyou lying in the bed nearby, their eyes meeting as the life faded from the chef's eyes and the monitor screeched an alarm.// "Nine little friends, martial artists all, Poison the best friend, death comes to call." Dr Tofu looked at the still form in 3-G, visible from where Ranma's bed had been and decided he'd better make that call. He dialed the number, he knew it by heart. Even though it was Kasumi on the line, he retained control. He had to. "Kasumi, this is Dr. Tofu." "Oh, Doctor Tofu, how nice of you to call." "Kasumi, if you see Ranma, could you do something for me?" "I haven't seen Ranma in a few days, Doctor. Why?" Doctor Tofu spoke quietly, describing what he had seen. What the medical tests had revealed, what Ranma had apparently gone through. He didn't give details. "Oh my." Tofu agreed. "Kasumi, promise me that if you see him, you'll call. Don't approach him, don't talk to him." "I'll try, Doctor." //Kodachi standing over him with a glass of cold water. "So it is true, then. You have all been laughing at me, haven't you? My pursuit of you must have been a great joke, wasn't it? Oh, yes, but I think that I'm an even better comedienne. I can be such a cut up when I try, don't you think?" Kodachi grinned and picked up a scalpel. She laughed, and it was even more insane than usual. "At the very least I can spoil you for Akane Tendo..."// Ranma hid as the flashback rolled over her, causing her to twitch. She needed food, she needed shelter, and she needed to defend herself. The paralytics had worn off, and so running was possible. Ranma realized, however, that THEY would find her before long. THEY would not let her alone. Her only option was to find THEM before THEY found her. Ranma stopped, realizing she could see the Kuno estate from where she was. Of course, THEY could not deliver her to HER if SHE were no longer a factor. ------------------ SATURDAY NIGHT: 6:30pm Doctor Tofu Ono had come in person to give the family the same news he had given Kasumi earlier. His gaze passed over the angry Akane, the bored Nabiki, Kasumi who wasn't smiling for once, and the two fathers that looked only mildly concerned. The doctor spoke calmly and quietly. He held nothing back. A thorough medical exam had given vast amounts of information, and had required several of the orderlies to turn to other duties. There were whip scars on almost every portion of his body, at least those areas that weren't covered by mutilated flesh, burns of both heat and chemical variety, razor sharp cuts along the major nerve sheaths. Several teeth had been extracted, and his right eye was missing. Where Kodachi had gotten a text on "chakra torture" he had no idea, but she apparently had both the tools and the know-how. Drugs in his system ranging from simple LSD to things the lab techs were still trying to identify. As Doctor Tofu finished speaking, he noted the change in expressions. Akane was looked as if she were in shock. Nabiki had turned pale but was covering it quite well unless you knew her. Kasumi had had to leave during the recitation. It sounded like she was busy being ill. "My son," Genma managed. "I believe," Akane said in what might have passed for a calm voice, "that the phrase was 'it's not like anything major can happen.' wasn't it?" "Oh, come on, Akane, I'm sure Ranma will snap back in no time. Besides, you're the one who knocked him out so conveniently for Kodachi." Nabiki was trying to convince herself. SHE couldn't be at fault for this. Her plans never really went bad. Doctor Tofu, for the first time in his life, thought seriously about discontinuing any sort of relationship that brought him into contact with this family. Just remembering the sight of what had been done to Ranma would haunt him for awhile. "There's more." Doctor Tofu then went over what Ukyou had told the nurses, about the Kuno compound and Shampoo's death, about the barbed bamboo spear that had eventually ended Ukyou Kuonji's life. Nabiki thought about the potential sources of income now denied her, but realized that something else would come along. After all, she had gotten along well before Ranma and would do so after Ranma. There was still that nagging sensation that all this was HER fault, that she'd screwed up and destroyed people this time. The phone rang, and Kasumi hurried to answer it. It was for Doctor Tofu, and he returned shortly. "The police arrived at the Kuno estate to investigate the reports of the traps, a dangerous animal, and possible drug violations. They found what was left of Sasuke, and it looks like both Kunos have been murdered." "Oh my." --------------- SATURDAY NIGHT 9:35pm Across the street, Ranma watched and waited. THEY wouldn't get him. He would get THEM first. Yes, then he could rest. The memories would go away. Ranma smiled. "Eight was the kendo star, his sword rammed up his ass, Seventh was the gymnast, hanging out among the grass, Six little Nerimites, who've reaped the wind, Death's coming for you, too late now to rescind." ------------------- SATURDAY NIGHT 11:21pm Akane entered the dojo. She'd heard a noise and wanted to check it out without alarming Dr Tofu or anyone. It was probably just P-chan. As much as Ranma picked on P-chan, he'd probably go after the little piglet first. She turned towards a movement and suddenly saw stars. There was a terrific pain in her jaw and she realized that it had been broken. Akane saw Ranma coming, but he was blocking the only exit out of the dojo. With her jaw already broken, screaming for help was out of the question. She finally realized that the odd noise coming from him was a maniacal giggle, transformed by the ruined throat into a wet gargle. His words were even harder to understand. "Akane, you always wanted me to fight you for real, to attack you in earnest. Why do you run, Akane? Isn't this what you wanted? You were always so ready to hurt me, Akane, with words and deeds, so now you get your wish? Isn't that wonderful?" Akane dashed forward, her mallet appearing and ready to stop Ranma from doing anything further. Ranma snap-kicked in past Akane's defenses. The blow struck her abdomen and slammed her against one of the dojo walls. Akane looked up as Ranma loomed over her. He had the mallet. He smiled, ghastly with the damage to his face, as he brought the mallet down again and again on Akane. When anyone thought to check the dojo, Ranma had already left. Akane wasn't going anywhere, ever again. "Sixth was a violent girl, angry and proud, With her own treatment, she's ready for a shroud." ----------------- SUNDAY NIGHT 1:13am Nabiki was alone in her room when she heard something slamming in the dojo. "That's it!" Nabiki was out of bed and downstairs in moments. Safety in numbers, right? "Nabiki." Nabiki froze. That barely comprehensible speaking of her name caused her to check every area. She didn't see Ranma, so maybe she'd imagined it. Creeping forward a little further, Nabiki looked around the corner. No one there. Not Ranma. Not Kasumi. Not even Doctor Tofu. Heck, she'd settle for P-chan right about now, and she had never been fond of the little pig. There was no sign of Genma or her father as well. "K-Kasumi?" Nabiki scolded herself for stuttering. She pushed through the kitchen curtain. A loud thud interrupted the answering silence and caused Nabiki to give an involuntary shriek. She grabbed up a kitchen knife and ran back to the dining room. There was a panda on the table. Its mouth had been pried open and stuffed with bamboo. It was quite obviously dead. A voice spoke from somewhere outside. Nabiki gritted her teeth and shrank back against the wall. The voice was barely comprehensible, as it had a wet gargling distortion to it. Still, she could make it out. "Fifth was the glutton, food he would steal, A panda who's ready to eat like a meal." Nabiki didn't have much hope for it but she checked the phone anyway. Dead. "RANMA!" Nabiki shouted out at the night. "I'm...sorry. I just meant to clear the bills this month. It's...not like I..." There was no answer. Nabiki swallowed and nervously licked her lips. "What did you do to Kasumi, Ranma? She's never hurt you, never sold you. Hell, Kasumi doesn't have it in her to hurt much of anyone, you know that. So why hurt her?" Silence continued. "Ranma..." Nabiki steeled herself and stepped out onto the porch. She made a wretching noise as she saw what had happened to her father. "Fourth was the blowfish, puffed up on pride, Shogi was his game, and that's how he died." The shogi pieces had been imbedded in her father's body. There weren't too many areas where the flesh could actually be seen. Bloodstained wood covered everything else. He knew where she was, she knew this absolutely now. He'd snapped completely, and was stalking her like in one of those movies Akane was so fond of. The knife did not feel terribly comforting in her hand. What she wanted was one of those fully automatic assault rifles she saw all the time in American movies. She heard a moan. Definitely not Ranma. It sounded like Kasumi. Nabiki crept back to the kitchen. It had sounded like it had come from there. She slowly opened the curtain, then let it fall back. She'd found Kasumi all right. Naked, hogtied, and with an apple stuffed in her mouth. "DAMN YOU, RANMA!" Nabiki shuddered. "What'd Kasumi ever do to you?" She knew Ranma had completely flipped out, that expecting rational thought from a crazy person was just plain crazy in itself. "Third one played with dolls and nails, As always with his plots, he fails." " Second to last was a traditional dish, At least she got a quick and clean finish." "SHUT UP, RANMA!" Nabiki dropped the knife, holding her ears. "JUST SHUT UP!" "Who are you calling Ranma?" Nabiki turned and saw herself walking closer, grinning. There was a bloody knife in her hand. -------------------------------------- Nabiki sat upright in bed, still feeling the cramps from Akane's cooking. "Just a dream? Ohhhhh. That's it, sis, somehow I'm going to budget cooking lessons." =============================== Oh come on, tell me you didn't see this one coming... the real title for this fic is "How Akane learned to cook curry" by the way. ============================ because of requests i finish the countdown: "One really regrets her evening meal, Cooking for self has increased appeal." ALTERNATE ENDING #1: Nabiki walked down the stairs, yawning, "Hey Kasumi, what's cooking? Smells good." She opened the curtain, saw Kasumi ON the stove, still tied up and trying to mumble through the apple stuffed in her mouth, and closed the curtain again. "...it wasn't a dream?!" ALTERNATE ENDING #2: Nabiki woke up, stretched, and got herself ready to call the police. She'd have to stage this carefully, so the role of grief-stricken survivor didn't ring false. It had taken forever to arrange these events, but the insurance money would be more than enough to compensate for the effort. Nabiki would miss Kasumi's cooking, though, but this was money and therefore MUCH thicker than blood. In the meantime she'd savor the peace and quiet.