Project A-Ko Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Vampire Hunter (Darkstalkers) Fan Fiction ❯ Nabiki 1/2 (A Very Scary Thought) ❯ Meet Tendo Nabiki... ( Chapter 1 )

Nabiki 1/2

(A Very Scary Thought)

Written by Jim Robert Bader

Proofread by Shiva Barnwell

Based Upon the Altered Destinies Storyline

Inspired by the works of such fans as

Wade Tritshler

Richard Lawson

James Jones

And Many Others

Standard Disclaimer: This is inspired by the work of Takahashi Rumiko and is not my original creation. All characters belong to her. This is only a fanfictional work, and is not intended to compromise the rights of the original owners, distributors and publishers of the Ranma series. I have no money to spare and would very much appreciate if no one tries to sue me.

Derek leaned back with a smile as he regarded the readings on reality 593427. Matters were far from perfect there, but they seemed to be stabilizing and no one on that plane of existence had any thought that there was something unusual going on...or at least more so than they would have otherwise noticed. It was one thing to propose an alternate history for a world, it was another thing to see it blossom out in new directions as new possibilities began to be imagined.

"Don't rest on your laurels just yet," his companion reminded, "This reality still has a ways to go before it proves its viability."

"Oh posh," Derek said dismissively, "You have no faith, and besides, this was your idea in the first place."

"I may have posed you the challenge," said Serena, "But you constructed affairs in just such a way that you left another possibility open for exploration. Recall that they had a choice between two alternate siblings?"

"I see," Derek leaned forward, intrigued by the new proposal, "And you think the other one could possibly have managed things more suitably than her older sister?"

"Why not?" Serena chuckled, "After all this one thinks as well as acts, but in all the other realities she merely sits on the sidelines and plays the casual observer. What if she were to take a more active part in historical affairs?"

"Yes," Derek stroked his chin, "It would hardly require much in the way of intervention to get things started, and you are quite right that it is long since time that we see if she might be the one we are after. Very well, how do you propose to begin this?"

"Same as all the others," Serena smiled, "We begin at the beginning..."

"Lay off, old man, I told you I'm going back, and that's final."

The young boy who made this declaration trudged through the rain-soaked streets of Nerima, ignoring the Giant Panda who trudged after him on two legs, to all appearances trying to dissuade him from further progress. Finally, in what might have been desperation had the creature been human, the panda interposed his massive bulk directly in his path. The boy reacted by assuming a fighting crouch, his face set and determined with a gleam in his eyes that promised bloody murder.

"All right, Ojisama," he growled, "If that's the way you want to play it, prepare to get hurt!"

He launched a direct attack against the panda, which blocked his kicks and strikes with a skill far beyond that of any mere animal. The panda backed away, forcing the boy to advance in order to maintain his onslaught. Passersby stopped and stared at the spectacle, for this was not exactly something one saw every day, even in a place like Nerima.

By rights a human being attacking a panda should have logically been in trouble, but the boy not only was holding his own, he was forcing the animal back until a spinning kick managed to penetrate the creatures guard and knock it sprawling.

"Hah!" the boy mocked the panda, "Guess that should show you who's boss here."

He started to resume his original course when combat instincts fell into play. He ducked quickly as something went whizzing over his head, then straightened up to find the panda was clutching a stop sign, which it had grabbed up and attempted to use like a brickbat.

"Nice try, Pops, but I'm wise to your tricks," the boy snapped, "I'm going home to my family and that's final!"

So saying he turned and sprinted way. The panda stood where he was, looking stricken, and then dropped his sign and started running on all fours, attempting to overtake the fleet-footed figure…

"At last!" cried Tendo Soun as he clutched the post card in both hands and wept as he re-read the terse message written in neatly printed kanji and kana, "After all this time…ten years of waiting and hoping…my little girl is finally coming home!"

"What was that, Soun-kun?" asked Nodoka as she came into the room from the kitchen carrying a tea tray.

"Nodoka-chan," Soun beamed brightly, "Nabiki has written to inform me that she is returning home after all this time! That means Genma is bound to be coming with her! You can finally be together, just as my family will at long last be united!"

"That's wonderful," Nodoka replied as she set the tea tray down and began to pour for herself and Soun, "Ranma hasn't seen his father since he was a child, and it will be so nice for Kasumi and Akane to have their sister back. We must tell them at once."

"Yes, of course," Soun said, then glanced around, "Where are the children?"

"Kasumi was helping me in the kitchen," Nodoka replied, "I believe Akane and Ranma were still working out in the dojo. Shall I get them?"

"Yes, please," Soun grinned broadly, almost bursting with happiness. Finally all of his dreams would be realized when his baby girl returned to the Tendo household…

"Hiyaa!" cried Akane as she kicked the punching bag being held by her reluctant iinazuke. She kicked the bag again especially hard, forcing him back a half step as the kinetic force made him stagger a little.

"Hey, Akane, take it easy!" Ranma protested, "I know you want to stay in shape, but don't take it out on me…"

"Why shouldn't I?" Akane snarled as she kicked the bag again, even harder than before, "It's all your fault I have to train this hard!"

"Me?" Ranma protested, now holding onto the bag to keep from landing flat on his back, "What did I do?"

"It's what you haven't done!" Akane snapped, "I've asked you dozens of time to try and get Kuno to lay off, but so far you haven't lifted a finger to help me!"

"Hey, I talk to him all the time," Ranma assured her, "But it's not my fault he's got a crush on you. So the guy carries things a little far, you could at least give him a chance…"

"Give me a break!" Akane all but exploded as her next kick did just that to the bag, tearing it open as the chain holding it above the floor snapped, sending Ranma tumbling backwards in a hail of sawdust. Akane assumed a fighting crouch as she continued to snarl, "You just want to worm out of our engagement so you can crawl up to Kodachi! I'm not taking this any more, Ranma! Get over here and fight me!"

"I've told you before, you stupid Tomboy," Ranma griped as he got back to his feet, clearing sawdust out of his eyes, hair and clothing, "I don't fight girls! I'll help you work out, but I won't trade punches…"

"Fine!" she cried, already leaping to the attack as Ranma saw her in time to evade her first punch, "Then I'll do all the punching!"

"Hey, quit that!" Ranma complained as he moved to avoid her onslaught, skillfully dodging each kick and punch from long practice, "You know that's not fair!"

"Then fight me!" Akane cried, "I can whip your tailbone! I can beat any guy! I'm just as good as you are…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ranma said patiently, "I've heard it all before. Look, I'm sorry if I--yikes!"

Only his considerable speed and agility allowed him to avoid her next strike as he ducked low under her swing and came up on the opposite side, causing her to spin around with a back-kick that narrowly avoided connecting.

Before she could renew her attack, however, a very calm and level voice said, "Ranma, Akane, that is enough! Bow to one another and come inside. Your father has something he wants to tell you."

"What does Otosan want now, Aunt Nodoka?" Akane asked, not exactly calming down so much as backing away with one eye still intent on Ranma.

"It is for your father to say, Akane-chan," Nodoka smiled, then gave Ranma a reproving look, and said, "This concerns you as well, Ranma. "

"Me?" Ranma looked surprise, but dutifully followed them out of the dojo.

Soun's expression was beaming with happiness as the others took their place around him, all except for Kasumi, who was watching a pot of Ramen to make sure it did not overboil. That was why she heard the brief knock at the door and was first able to answer it, finding a very nice looking boy standing on the veranda. The boy seemed somehow familiar, but Kasumi could not place him, except for his eyes.

Those eyes were searching her face as if trying to make a connection, then the boy cleared his throat and said, "Kasumi? Is that you, Oni-chan?"

"Oh my," Kasumi replied, giving this boy a more thorough study. Not bad looking, and very muscular, perhaps a year or so younger than herself with a lean frame that was very compact and wiry. Short brown hair framed a somewhat angular face, and the boy was wearing Chinese style clothing, making him look both handsome and exotic. He was very tan and healthy looking, and for no reason Kasumi could name she felt a certain thrill at the familiarity of his greeting.

Then she stepped back in mild alarm, for a giant panda lumbered up behind the boy and snuffled. Rather than react with alarm, the boy turned back and snarled, "Don't you start with me, Ojisama! I'm going inside to talk to my father!"

"Father?" Kasumi asked, blinking slightly. Was this stranger somehow confused to be calling a panda his uncle?

"It's a long story, Oni-chan," the boy sighed, then looked at her again with soulful brown eyes, "I may not look the same to you now, but I'm your sister, Nabiki."

"Sister?" Kasumi blinked in even greater confusion. Was she somehow mistaken in thinking this stranger a boy? But he--she--sounded so masculine…

"Can I come inside?" the boy asked with weariness in his--her--tone, "It's been a long trip and I…"

Suddenly Soun was at the door, all smiles as he caught sight of the stranger and beamed brightly, "Nabiki-chan? Is that you?"

"Uh, yeah, Dad," the boy replied, "It's me…"

"My daughter!" Soun lunged forward and hugged the stranger close to his body, earning a very awkward and embarrassed look from the boy, who seemed reluctant to return the gesture.

Then Soun caught sight of the panda, and his expression altered abruptly. He stiffened for a moment, then backed away, drawing the boy with him as if to thrust him behind himself for protected.

"Relax, Otosan," the boy assured him, "That's uncle Saotome."

"That's…?" Soun hesitated, "It is?"

The panda stood erect on its hind legs, towering over them all, then turned at the waist in order to reach behind itself so that it could draw out a sign that Soun had not at first noticed was being carried on the creature by a backpack it was somehow wearing. Holding the sign somehow in one clawed hand, it took out a felt tip pen and began writing something on the smooth white surface in kanji.

"What is it doing?" asked Akane, who hovered nervously near to her father.

"Looks like its trying to write something," said an equally astonished Ranma.

"Just wait and see," said the boy, and sure enough, the panda held up the sign, which read: "I am Saotome Genma."

"Genma?" gasped Nodoka as she stepped past the astonished Soun to look up into the face of the creature, "Is that you, husband?"

Very sadly the panda nodded, then turned the sign around, which read: "A long story."

"That it is," the boy sighed, then said, "Look, do you think it would be all right if we had a hot bath before we explain things?"

Akane turned to the stranger and said, "Who are you?"

"Tendo Nabiki," the boy replied, "And you're Akane?"

"Nabiki," Ranma said, "Isn't that a girl's name?"

"Yeah?" the boy flashed him a look, "So what's your point?"

"Uh, nothing," Ranma hastily said, "Look, I'm sorry if I didn't know who you were. It's just…well…you don't exactly look like a girl…"

"Neither do you," the stranger calling himself Nabiki smiled, giving him a lookover, "You're Saotome Ranma, right? Uncle's told me all about you."

"Uncle?" Ranma slowly turned to look in dismay at the panda, "You mean…that really is my father?"

"He's under a curse," the boy sighed, "Look, it would help a lot if we could both have a nice hot bath…"

"Oh, sorry," Kasumi said, recovering her manners, "We were having some difficulty with the plumbing. Someone is coming over later today to fix it, but until then all we have is cold water."

"I see," Nabiki sighed, "Well then, Sis, maybe you could heat some water for us instead? It rained on the way here, and…"

"Oh, of course," Kasumi said in relief, "I'll do that right away…Nabiki."

Nabiki sighed. It was definitely going to take some explaining to make them all aware of her situation…

"Um…Nabiki?" Akane said reluctantly.

"Yeah, Sis?" Nabiki looked down at her with a neutral expression.

Akane hesitated, looked at the ground for a minute, then looked up and said, "Can you show us some proof that you're my sister? I mean, no offense, but…"

"Hey, lay off, Akane," Ranma said, looking to Nabiki apologetically, "She's usually like this. I guess it's hard to be sure about some things, being so many years and all…"

"Oh, I understand," Nabiki replied, "I'd feel the same way in your position. Look, it'll take a few minutes for that water to heat. Is there somewhere we can go to talk? I've got a few questions of my own I'd like to ask."

"Sure," Akane recovered, sounding relieved that Nabiki was not offended, "You can join us in the dojo. We were just working out when you showed up, right Ranma?"

"Oh yeah," Ranma snorted, "More like you were trying to attack me."

"I wasn't attacking you!" Akane protested, "I was chasing you because you're too much of a coward to stand and face me…"

"I wasn't running!" Ranma got angry, "It's just like I told you, I don't hit girls!"

"That's very interesting," Nabiki inclined his/her head and studied Ranma carefully, "Must be hard to spar if you're not going to hit somebody."

"Well…" Ranma faltered, but Nabiki clapped him on the arm and gave him a half-smile.

"Never mind," Nabiki assured, "Let's go. I'd like to get as far away from the grownups as possible for now."

"No problem…Oni-chan," Akane said with some reluctance…

"You studied Kempo with Dad, right?" Ranma asked after they entered the dojo.

"Yes," Nabiki acknowledged, giving the place a long study as if trying to square it with his/her memories, "Musubetsu Kakuto Ryu, Saotome style. Your father's a good teacher, no matter his other faults."

"Faults?" Ranma looked at Nabiki sharply, "What do you mean by that?"

"Never mind," Nabiki smiled at him again, "It's just that I've been with Uncle for the past ten years since…Mom died…and I've gotten to know him pretty well."

"Really?" Ranma was suddenly quite interested, "I mean…before he turned into a panda, I mean…?"

"Before that," Nabiki replied, looking somewhat reluctant as if deciding to elaborate. Ranma's expression gave away an ardent hunger to know everything he could about the man who had not been a part of his life for ten long years. He did not realize how much Nabiki envied him for that.

"I'll bet you've had a lot of interesting stories, Oni-chan," Akane said with a somewhat more relaxed tone, turning to face Nabiki with a meaningful posture.

"Oh yeah," Nabiki replied, studying his sister's posture and marking the obvious readiness, "Been over nearly all of Japan and Okinawa, training with the best, wherever we could find them. Seen other parts of the Orient as well, even been to Korea, Singapore and China…"

"China?" said Ranma with obvious interest, "That's great! I've always wanted to travel myself, but I've hardly been that far from Nerima."

"You must be pretty good, then," Akane smiled, "Would you like to spar?"

"Well," Nabiki replied, having anticipated the question, "Maybe, but I don't usually fight without good reason."

"Nothing wrong with a little practice, is there?" Ranma asked him.

"Not with practice, no," Nabiki replied, "But what I mean is that I usually do it professionally these days, for money."

"For money?" Ranma gasped, and Akane looked at Nabiki with an equally shocked expression.

"It's partly how I earn a living," Nabiki explained, "I don't do stuff like that for free, you know. If I did, your Uncle and I'd be living like a couple of vagabonds all the time. If it were up to him we'd have to steal food for our survival."

"But it's not honorable," Ranma said, "Martial Arts should be studied for the purity of the art…"

"In a perfect world, maybe," Nabiki chuckled, giving him a more friendly study as she added, "You look like you'd be pretty good in a fight yourself. Tell you what, if I win against Akane, how about you spar with me next."

"Well," Ranma said with reluctance, "Okay. I just gotta warn you, Akane plays rough…"

"So do I," Nabiki turned and acknowledged Akane's threatening posture, seeing a flash of anger in the girl's face without being entirely certain of the reason, "Ready whenever you are, Sis."

"Sis, huh?" Akane said, all but voicing her suspicions as she bowed to Nabiki, then moved to attack, snarling, "What kind of an idiot do you take me for? You're not my sister!"

Her attack was flawless, but Nabiki was nowhere near Akane's thrust. Without hardly seeming to move at all she avoided Akane's next attack, then the follow up kick, with such ease that she could just as well have been as ethereal as a shadow.

"I'm hurt, Sis," Nabiki said evenly, without a trace of concern in her voice, "What makes you say that?"

"Because you're really a boy!" Akane snarled, attacking again, only to find Nabiki standing right behind her.

"You think so?" Nabiki sounded mildly hurt at the accusation.

"Of course," Akane turned to look at her, then pointed, "You've got an Adam's Apple! No girl has that!"

"What?" Ranma gasped, looking at Nabiki's throat with open confusion.

"Things aren't what they seem, Akane-chan," Nabiki tried to explain when Akane launched herself into a flying kick that should have connected, only Nabiki was in the air sailing over her head with such grace that would have put shame to a professional gymnast.

Akane landed, looking around in confusion, only to feel a finger touch her on the back of her neck. She turned around and saw Nabiki smile at her, holding up the finger.

"Tag, you're it."

Ranma let out a breath he did not even know he had been holding in. Nabiki had just demolished Akane's entire attack without more than that single touch, and all three of them knew it. Then he saw Nabiki smile his way, and for some reason he felt suddenly quite nervous.

"You're turn," she smiled, waving him over, after giving Akane a reassuring look as she said, "I'll explain everything in a bit, Akane-chan. Just trust me for now, okay? There is a reasonable explanation."

"There sure is," Ranma took a stance opposite to where Nabiki was positioned, "Akane's right, you really are a boy."

"Think so?" Nabiki eyed him smugly, "Is that important?"

"It is to me," Ranma smiled back, "It means I can go all out. Ready--?"

Suddenly before he could move, Nabiki was standing directly in his face, still smiling that smug little smile of hers. From two inches away she said, "I like guys who go all the way. Reminds me of me. You know, you're kind of cute for a homeboy…"

"What?" Ranma asked in shock, then his reaction became near instant. He got angry!

Nabiki avoided the swipe he made, but Ranma came on with twice the speed and power of Akane, so Nabiki did not so easily avoid the next thrust and had to pivot on one heal in order to slide around the punch, blocking the kick that followed. Ranma was angry, but he fought with discipline and control, altering his attack strategy to match Nabiki's defenses. He was a formidable fighter, and Nabiki was actually pushed into using more skill than it had taken to defeat Akane.

In the end, however, Nabiki outlasted his opponent. Ranma got careless as he slowed to correct his balance, and Nabiki changed strategies abruptly by lashing out with a sidekick that caught him totally unawares. He went down with a solid thump at the far end of the dojo while Nabiki corrected his posture and resumed a casual stance, breathing in and out very slowly with his nostrils.

"Ow," Ranma winced as he slowly got back to his feet while Akane stood with her mouth hanging open. Then Ranma smiled and bowed to Nabiki, who returned the bow, the fight clearly having ended.

"Not bad," Ranma said, breathing hard but not appearing to mind it, "You're pretty good. Did you learn some of that stuff in China?"

"I mostly picked things up here or there," Nabiki answered.

"You're incredible!" Akane all but blurted, "Can you teach me to do that?"

Nabiki eyed her curiously, then said, "We'll see, Sis. Maybe we can work something out later."

"So she can try and kick my ass?" Ranma sniffed, "No thank you!"

"Shut up, Ranma!" Akane snarled, "Nobody asked you!"

Nabiki looked at them both curiously, then said, "Aren't you two supposed to be engaged or something?"

Both Ranma and Akane looked sourly at each other, then Ranma said, "That was a dumb idea Tendo-sama worked out with my father when we were just kids...

"Don't call my father stupid, Baka!" Akane retorted, then to Nabiki she added, "He may be my iinazuke, but it wasn't my idea to get engaged to this stuck-up pig…"

"I am not a pig!" Ranma protested.

"Well, you sure make enough noise for one!" Akane retorted then to Nabiki she added, "I still don't believe you're my long lost sister. You're a guy, there's no doubt about it."

"Actually, I'm glad he is," Ranma said gruffly.

"Why?" Nabiki asked him.

"Because you won," Akane clarified for her, giving Ranma a scathing look, "And Ranma hates to lose to anybody…"

"There's nothing wrong to losing to somebody who's good," Ranma retorted, "I just wouldn't want to lose to a girl or nothing. It's too embarrassing…"

"Ah…" Nabiki faltered, when a scream was heard coming from the main house.

"Mother!" Ranma cried, already in full motion.

"Saotome-Sama!" Akane also said, doing likewise.

Nabiki hesitated for only a second, then sighed to herself, "This is going to be a problem…"

Inside the kitchen, Ranma and Akane came to an abrupt stop, staring at the sight of Nodoka lying on the floor of the kitchen as though she had just passed out. Kasumi was backing way almost to the exit, her eyes very wide as she gasped, "Oh my…"

"Mother!" Ranma looked down at her, then up at a complete stranger standing before him holding a kettle in both hands, a very heavyset man in his middle years wearing glasses with his head wrapped up in a kind of turban. He was also wearing the same backpack that the panda had sported, complete with sign slung in a kind of rack.

Beyond that, he was standing in the middle of a puddle with a worn Karate Gi in place, held up by a thick black belt. He turned with as much dignity as he could and regarded Ranma solemnly, then very softly said, "My son."

Soun appeared with a look of astonishment, "Genma, my old friend! When did you arrive? And where is the panda?"

"Well, Soun-kun," the man turned solemnly to begin when he paused in mid-statement, his eyes going back to the figure of Nabiki.

"Well, Pops?" he snorted, "What are you going to tell him?"

Soun looked from Genma to Nabiki with a look of puzzlement while Ranma and Akane knelt down to check on Nodoka. Kasumi was watching them all with a very puzzled expression. Genma just stood where he was, as if afraid to say anything, so Nabiki sighed and took a step towards the nearby teakettle.

Suddenly Genma became animated as he reached for the kettle, only to have Nabiki snatch it up before he could stop him.

"No-nonononono!" Genma hastily protested.

"Back off, Ojisama!" Nabiki snarled, then upended the kettle over himself, shuddering at having hot water land on top of his head.

Genma backed away as something very strange happened, and whimpered faintly, "I'm going to die…" in a plaintive voice.

Ranma and Akane gasped, Soun's jaw hit the floor while Kasumi's eyes got even wider than before as Nabiki set the kettle down and turned to face them, her features and frame much altered as she appeared to even have shrunk a few inches.

"Daughter?" Soun managed to gasp out.

"Oni-chan?" Akane asked in disbelief.

"I'm going to die!" Genma whimpered more loudly than before.

"Who are you?" asked Ranma.

Nabiki just heaved a sigh and looked down at her entirely feminine curves, then said, "I'm Tendo Nabiki…sorry about this…"

Continued

Comments/Criticism: Shadowmane@msn.com