Project A-Ko Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Vampire Hunter (Darkstalkers) Fan Fiction ❯ Nabiki 1/2 (A Very Scary Thought) ❯ Underworld, Underhanded... ( Chapter 19 )

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.

"This way," indicated Ryonami, the girl who was Nabiki's guide into a part of the school that was usually off limits, "They're expecting you."

"Do tell," Nabiki replied, noticing their silent escort, "I never would have suspected."

Five toughs, she made them out, and martial artists from the way they moved, if not exactly of the caliber she was used to dealing with, were shadowing the pair as they went down into the boiler room area beneath Furinkan, where an assembly of students could be found, fathered about one of the larger store areas, which had been converted into something of a makeshift throne room.

There was a place like this in nearly every High School, she reckoned, where the lower elements of the student body gathered around to be with other social misfits and dark elements that constituted the soft underbelly of the population. All the forbidden elements were here, the gangs, the bullies, the drug pushers and pimps, the sort of boys and girls your parents would not want you to associate with, but which grew abundantly in the fertile soil of vice that was the inevitable result of lax parental and teacher supervision.

Nabiki smiled to herself and nodded affably to those students looking at her with wary suspicion. These kids thought they were bad, lost souls on the outskirts of juvenile society, and as such trouble to mess with. If only these sheltered brats had known the sort of life she had lived the past ten years they would think twice about their standards for depravity. Nabiki had mingled among the truly sordid elements of Japanese and Asian society and had managed to keep afloat. Compared with the sharks she was used to swimming with these poor pups were guppies, they just didn't know it.

From the first time she had seen operators like Ryonami circulate about the campus she had a rough idea just what sort of predators would be waiting at the top of the line. Sure enough she found a young man and woman positioned like a King and Queen in their court, the woman reclining on an old sofa someone had evidently left down here, the boy hunched on an antique European-style chair with a hungry look in his eyes and a smile that implied cruelty and viciousness. Nabiki was far from impressed. Truly dangerous sorts did not advertise their real nature.

Though she had clearly been summoned by these two in student dress, she acted the part of the naïve innocent as she looked around, still smiling and said, "Nice place you've got here," which had just the right tone of insolence to convey that she had no idea that she was in any kind of danger.

"Glad you like it," the girl replied with a cunning smirk. Something about her reminded Nabiki of Kuno Kodachi, but not quite so high strung and excitable. She knew at once that the girl was the more dangerous of the pair, but the boy acted as if he were in authority as he looked Nabiki over, not hiding a certain interest.

"We've got a dress code at this school," he said as if discussing fashion were an opening salvo, "Why are you in violation?"

"Maybe I don't like the size of the dress I was issued," Nabiki replied, all too aware of how her Chinese red shirt and black pants made her stand out among these green-clad students.

There was a snicker of amusement before their chief silenced them with a gesture, then looked harder at Nabiki as he said, "You Tendos have a reputation for trouble. Your sister put some of our best athletes in the hospital…"

"That was simply to remind them that it is rude to attack Junior students," Nabiki replied, "I hope they have learned some manners since they've stopped bothering us in recent weeks."

"Kuno Sempei's idea," the boy sniffed, "Not ours. We had a good betting pool going down, which you've loused up, along with that cousin of yours, Kaneda. I wanted the chance to talk with him, too…where is he?"

"We couldn't find him, Sempei," Ryonami said, "Just her and this fellow she insisted on bringing with her."

Gosunkugi swallowed at being included in this discussion. It was not his idea to come here at all, but Nabiki had insisted once she explained the task she had in mind for him. He felt very vulnerable in this place, a fish completely out of its element who even the girls could stomp on with impunity. For once he was glad for his reputation of being all but invisible in a crowd, a non-entity of which most people thought too insignificant to take much notice.

He would never have come here if Nabiki had not strong-armed him with velvet threats and hints of compensation. He just hoped Nabiki knew what she was doing or they were likely both very dead. Well, he was anyway, especially if someone thought to search his person…

"I asked him to tag along," Nabiki smiled, "I thought I might need a witness. Business, you know…always good to have someone in your corner."

"Him?' the boss of these students snorted, "The little rat couldn't witness his own execution. Just what sort of business would require a worm like him?"

"Well," Nabiki stood easily in her most non-threatening posture, "That all depends. Since you obviously run things here, I thought maybe we could work something out. After all, I'm a girl who has prospects."

"And why should we deal with you?" the girl asked idly, "You're the one who's been sniffing around trying to encroach on our territory."

"A good point," the boy said, "Just what are you offering us in exchange for letting you in on our action? We don't have to deal with you at all, you know."

"Oh, I could be very useful," Nabiki purred, "I know a few things about numbers, and a lot more about gambling and business. I've had quite an education in my time, and I'd be willing to share what I know…for a reasonably price, say…a cut of your action?"

The boy paused before snickering, then openly laughing as he looked at the students around him and said, "She wants a piece of our action, can you believe it? What next, full partnership?"

They joined their boss's laugh under the universal principle that applied to managerial situations everywhere: whatever the Boss says is funny, laugh!

"That wouldn't be a bad idea," Nabiki said, "But…I'm afraid I'd have to insist on a few changes."

That sobered him up. Nabiki was going well beyond the point of insolence; she was implying criticism of the way he ran his operation, "What changes?"

"Well, the gambling I can understand," she said, "And extortion is just one of the weapons you sometimes need to use to get people's attention, but shaking students down for money is downright petty, and threatening their families is also very crude, if somewhat effective. It's the drugs and kidnapping I don't like…it draws too much of the wrong sort of attention your way and compromises the dignity of the student body."

"So what are you?' the girl asked, "A Sohei Scout?"

"Just an interested businesswoman," Nabiki said, "I've got nothing against the healthy pursuit of money, but I'd like to be able to sleep at night about the way I gain it. I'm also no prude, so if some girls want to sell their bodies for extra spending money, that's their problem. Of course venereal disease and unwanted pregnancy can affect the course of a young girl's life, not to mention ruin their chances for a favorable marriage. I also don't approve of selling tests and cheat sheets to students if it means helping them graduate ignorant of the subject matter. School is for learning, and there's more than enough slackers on this campus as it is."

"Anything else?" the boss asked, as though unable to believe what he was hearing, and too vexed by her insolence to let his anger override his amazement at her suicidal behavior.

Nabiki made a show as if thinking for a moment then said, "No, that's about it. I can accept a little healthy vice among the study body, but you guys push things way too far, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist that you mend your ways and learn a better way to earn a living. With my managerial skills I could turn a healthy profit while ensuring that students earn their grades and don't have to get sent to the infirmary quite so often. I don't really blame you for all that, of course, since you're just amateurs trying to play at being junior-league Yakuza, and in all truth if the School Administration really gave a damn at all about properly managing Furinkan, then I'd had no reason to express dissatisfaction…"

"You mean you want to take over?" the girl sat upright, finally cottoning on to Nabiki's true meaning.

"Well, you must admit that I could hardly do a worse job than the two of you," Nabiki allowed herself to grin outright, sensing that the trap was nearly sprung on these rats.

"And what makes you think you'll even walk out of here alive?" the leader snorted, "Or even walk for that matter?"

"And who's going to stop me?" she asked casually, sensing the first attack before the boy leader nodded to his subordinates and said, "Get her!"

Gosunkugi had wanted to shrink into a ball as he heard Nabiki continue to dig their graves ever deeper. Now he just wanted to hold up a sign that read: "I'm not with her!" but he knew it would hardly make any difference. What he did not count on was for Nabiki to vanish before his eyes as two of her assailants struck from behind at once, and then he caught motion at the top of his peripheral vision and saw Nabiki come down with a double-back kick that smashed both attackers to the floor like roaches. She was on the next attacker before anyone else was even aware that she was in motion.

Gosunkugi knew that Nabiki was an excellent fighter, had spotted her working out in the dojo as well as that fight she had at the Kuno mansion. He had been following her from almost the first day he had seen her take out Kuno. It was a strange fixation he had developed, being a shy boy by nature with a crush on the nearly-as-formidable Tendo Akane. He had yet to divine who the man who called himself her cousin was, but he had seen the fellow around and judged by their mutual styles that they must have each had the same instructors. That she was better than either Akane or Ranma was difficult enough to grasp, but she seemed more inclined to avoid fighting wherever possible, except for that incident in the Chinese Restaurant.

Actually he could remember few details about that fight since he got knocked over early on, then trampled by the other patrons who stormed by his table. He knew that there was some involvement with a Chinese girl who had purple hair who was now claiming to be the wife of Kaneda, but other than this he had little idea of what that fight had been all about. All he knew from when he awoke was that it must have been a powerful battle, for the damage those two had wrought was extensive.

But this was not even a fight in the classical sense. The bullies and thugs who were trying to lay a hand on Nabiki might as well have been ballet stars facing a whole line of charging soccer players. Nabiki moved like a devil wind clearing out the trash, laying students out with well-timed blows that had control and power to spare, and in a matter of seconds she finished off the majority of brutes while driving the smaller fish away.

Then she turned her attention to five particular students who had both skill and weapons. These five were the local Enforcers who obeyed the Sempei's will and served as his muscle. They encircled Nabiki, preparing to rush, but Nabiki just stood in a low crouch, looking utterly unworried. The five prepared for a coordinated attack when their boss called out, "Enough! She's mine!" and advanced into the circle.

Gosunkugi had long since taken cover behind a water main, using what arts he knew to look as small as a shadow. He could see the female boss hovering back to watch the men fight this impudent female. She had a slight smile of cynical amusement, as if she were deriving great pleasure from these goings on and cared not a whit about the many injured and unconscious forms that littered the floor. Something about her attitude reminded him of a spitting cobra.

The male student followed a spiral pattern as he slowly attempted to circle around Nabiki, who turned with his movements, careful not to let him out of her line of vision. There was a dangerous edge to this boy that warned Gosunkugi he was hardly a pushover. Indeed, he'd already suspected that the Boss of this gang would be the best fighter among them. That was the way it usually went in the male pecking order, a fact Gosunkugi bitterly resented, being small and frail by nature. It was obvious by his angry glare that he was mad as hell at Nabiki for making him lose face among these underlings. That meant he could only reestablish his position with either her death or abject humiliation.

"You think you're tough?" he barked as he looked for an opening in which to strike.

"Naw," Nabiki said with that cocky smile of hers, "I just think I'm better than you."

That angered him, made him careless and he attacked before he was truly ready. Nabiki's defenses had been iron clad until now, so he should have suspected the opening she gave him would be false, but instead he walked right into trap and received an elbow to the face as his hand was deflected from its target. Nabiki trapped his arm and followed up with a series of rapid strikes that made a slight staccato noise before she finished him off with an inverted kick that brought her knee up to his jawbone.

As he slumped to the floor she prepared to meet the charge of his devils when a hissing noise sliced through the air, and something struck one of the Enforcers in the back of the head and knocked him senseless.

A new figure appeared from seeming no where, moving as swiftly as a breeze to throw an object at the end of a thin cord at the other four students, hitting two of them while tripping a third, leaving the fourth to stagger into Nabiki's reach, where she finished him with a shuto-thrust to his solar plexus.

The new arrival was a student dressed in the conventional green uniform of the campus, but she had long pink hair that hung down her back in a single braid. She did not face Nabiki but instead turned to see the dark haired female leader who was still hovering in the back. It was to her that this newcomer said, "Up to your old tricks, I see. You're not getting away this time, Shokti Yusura, I'm taking you with me!"

"Saki, what an unpleasant surprise," the dark haired girl said, "I should have guessed you were working in league with this Chinese tramp…"

"Never met her before," the one named Saki replied, "It's just luck that we were both on your trail at the same time."

"And you thought to use her as your stalking horse, clever," the dark haired girl named Yusura smiled, "It seems you win this match, but I am far from cornered."

She threw something down at the floor and both Saki and Nabiki instinctively covered their faces as billowing smoke kicked up all around them. Gosunkugi heard them coughing as the one named Yusura called out, "Next time, Asamiya-san, you won't be so lucky…"

"You wanna bet?" Saki said as she straightened up, then spoke into her collar and said, "She's all yours, Koijiro-san. I flushed the rat out of her warren. Send somebody down here to help clean up the mess."

"You're a cop?" Nabiki asked her as the smoke began to thin, along with the students.

The pink-haired girl held up what Gosunkugi could now make out as some kind of yo-yo and flipped a special catch to reveal a star set in the hub, "Special Agent Asamiya Saki, Sukeban Deka, at your service, Tendo-san."

"Sukeban Deka?" Nabiki repeated the word that meant "Student Vice Cop" in Japanese.

"I've been assigned to watch this scum for a month now," Saki said as her yo-yo disappeared into her jacket, "I've been trying to get the goods on them to expose this racket, and then you blow in here and nearly jeopardized the whole mission."

"Going to arrest me for obstruction of justice?" Nabiki asked.

"Naw," Saki smiled, "I caught your act, heard what you said, and thought you reminded me a little of somebody I knew when I was your age. Turns out you were just the catalyst I needed to blow things wide. I decided it was worth blowing my cover to sound you out, provided that your friend over there is willing to turn over the evidence he's been gathering for you."

Gosunkugi swallowed, while Nabiki just scowled, "How did you know about that?"

"Wasn't hard to figure," Saki nodded to Gosunkugi, "I've been watching this place for weeks and already knew about his obsession with sneaking photographs of female students. He started following you a while ago, only here he is now, which means you wised to his game and blackmailed him into helping you out. Why else bring a mouse into a den of cats unless he could get something you could use against these scoundrels?"

Nabiki flushed a bit and hoped the other girl did not notice, "Oh, well…I didn't think I was being so obvious…"

"It was to me," Saki's grin was conspiratorial, "It's just the sort of thing I'd have done in your place. Now, provided Gosunkugi-kun is willing to cooperate, I might be able to convince my bosses to ignore your involvement…"

Nabiki snapped her fingers and said, "Gosunkugi, heel!"

He moved from concealment like a dutiful puppy, head lowered in misery, wondering what gods he could have offended to wind up in this predicament. Without further prompting he turned over the tape from his miniature recorder, followed by the mini-cam he'd also carried in concealment.

"Let's get out of here," Saki said as she put away these materials into a purse, "You two don't want to be here when my boss starts busting heads. Matter of fact, as far as we're concerned you were never here to begin with. Got that?"

"I don't suppose you'd want either one of us as witnesses to testify?" Nabiki asked.

"That might be nice," Saki smiled, "But I think you love your family too much to risk reprisals. Besides, there's enough evidence here to give us a lead on the people Yusura was working for, and those are the scum I'm really after."

"Be seeing you around then," Nabiki nodded with just a hint of a question in her voice.

"Count on it," Saki eyed Gosunkugi in a particular way that made him feel oddly nervous, "Especially you, kid. We might be able to work things out, you and me…and I've always had a thing about nerds. I may have a little offer you'll find interesting, if you meet me later."

Gosunkugi just nodded, too afraid of saying anything, but wondering what the hell this lady meant, and he doubted it was a lady-like proposal. Sukeban Deka? That was a pretty elite organization, and she did not look that much older than either himself or Nabiki!

"Thanks for nothing," Nabiki said as she turned away in mild disgust, "I could have taken all of them by myself…"

"And hog all the fun?" Saki smiled, "Busting heads is what I get paid for. We can't have amateurs making us look bad, now can we?"

"Amateurs," Nabiki felt slighted and was growing more agitated over having her schemes interfered with in this way as she left the boiler room area.

However, when she reached the stairs on the next level, being passed by men wearing police uniforms as though she and Gosunkugi were both specters, a plan began to form in her mind to recover from this disaster. Her purpose was mainly to defang the Cobra that stood in the way of her gaining control over Furinkan High School, but in a very real sense that objective had been accomplished. She might not want to risk doing anything overt now that she knew official eyes were not as blind as she had imagined, but with the worst scum taken down it left the way open to a lot of legitimate activities that she might still be able to swing. That was why she felt enormously pleased when she found Ryonami hiding out in class, evidently having managed to escape the dragnet.

The girl quailed when she saw Nabiki smiling at her, but she did not run when the Tendo girl signaled for her to follow her into the adjoining Chem Lab. The lab was currently unoccupied, which made it a safe refuge from which to discuss a few things in relative privacy, provided no one was listening on the PA system. Nabiki made certain they were alone by turning on a radio the teacher kept upon his desk, then she leaned over to Ryonami and said, "Sorry about the way things turned out. Hope I didn't get you in too much trouble?"

"Trouble?" the girl quailed, "I'm dead if Shokti-sama escapes…"

"Why?' Nabiki asked, "You were only following her instructions, bringing me to see her. Forget about her, she's history. I'm now in charge of this place, understand?"

It took Ryonami a half-second to register that, then she did a mental shift and said, "You're the new Sempei?"

"You bet," Nabiki said, "And I need a new lieutenant. Obviously there are going to be a few changes around here, and you already have the connections…"

"But…but I'm nobody!" she protested.

"You're somebody's daughter," Nabiki said, "And you obviously had sense enough to get out of there before the trouble started. I can use someone with good survival instincts. Besides…you don't strike me as the type to go in for the rougher stuff of your predecessors."

"I-I'm not," the girl swallowed, "I only got into this because I like to gamble, and I had to pay off my debts, and school supplies are so expensive…"

"I've started with worse," Nabiki looked the girl over, then smiled, "Don't worry, I'll be my own muscle. I'm not going to lead you into a life of sordid crime and violence. From now on we're running a clean campus without the drugs and violence. Stick with me and you'll learn how to run a business, and I'll see to it nobody bothers you about switching sides since the guys you used to work for are going to have problems of their own real soon."

"Y-you mean that?" Ryonami sounded faintly optimistic, almost not daring to hope, as though she was waking up from a long nightmare.

Nabiki smiled. Undoubtedly there were a lot of other students who felt the same was as this girl, and if Nabiki could bring them all together and bind them in a closer-knit organization they could squeeze the violent gangs out of the picture. That would free up a lot of students to get back to their studies, which would ingratiate Nabiki with at least some of the teachers, if not the administration.

Her budding empire being plotted out in her mind, she almost did not hear Shampoo sneak up on her until the Amazon girl said, "Nihao! Wo da Airen…"

"Shampoo?" Nabiki almost jumped, "What are you doing here? I thought I told you…"

"Shampoo get tired waiting on roof for Nabiki-chan," Shampoo replied, eyeing Ryonami with suspicion as she asked, "You flirt with other girl?"

"Ah, no, this is just business…" Nabiki started to reply.

"Excuse me…Sempei?" Ryonami hesitantly said, "Why did this girl just call you Airen? I thought the rumor about was that this girl was Kaneda-Sempei's girlfriend…"

"Shampoo his wife," Shampoo said brightly, giving Nabiki a cunning side-glance and ignoring the other girl's dismayed reaction.

"His…wife?" Ryonami's voice faltered.

"Ah…arranged marriage," Nabiki hastily explained, "He just found out about it the other day…"

"Oh," Ryonami blinked, "Arranged? You mean like you and Saotome Ranma-kun? Damn! What is it about you Tendos anyway? You always hog the good ones…"

"It's a knack," Nabiki smiled, unable to help wincing as she knew that word of this would spread over the school like wildfire, no doubt breaking the hearts of at least half the female student body. She turned back to Shampoo and said, "I am glad to see you again, but I wish you would have waited…"

"Ah…" Shampoo looked down, "Shampoo no come see Airen just for wanting to. Have something to tell Nabiki-chan that…very important."

Nabiki turned to Ryonami and said, "I'll look you up later. For now, just try and relax, okay?"

"Hai, Sempei," the girl bowed before turning and leaving like a servant dismissed. In spite of her obvious suspicion and jealousy, Shampoo looked after the girl with a look of curious approval.

"Good manners, know place," Shampoo turned back to Nabiki and said, "You work out deal? You now boss of School?"

"More or less by default," Nabiki replied, "Thanks for staying away. I know that can't have been easy."

"No need trick Shampoo," she said, "But wish Nabiki-chan had asked Shampoo be with you downstairs. No like sitting back when Nabiki-chan fight. Would have gone anyway but…had visitor. We talk…that why Shampoo here."

"A visitor, Shampoo?" Nabiki asked, "Someone you know?"

Shampoo nodded and was about to say something when a voice said, "Tell Airen nothing! Is order from Great Grandmother."

Shampoo flinched while Nabiki turned to see the one who had just spoken so crossly and found a girl wearing the same style of Chinese outfit as Shampoo, only with longer sleeves and her vest was embroidered with a pair of golden axes. She had chestnut brown hair that hung down as far behind her back as with Shampoo, and there was a strange resemblance in their overall appearance.

The one difference was that this girl was holding a pair of large double axes.

Shampoo positioned herself directly in front of Nabiki and said, "No hurt Airen!"

The girl made a harsh reply in fluent Chinese, <"Not my choice, or yours, Cousin! You've told me your side of the story, but I still have my orders, and they come directly from Great Grandmother.">

<"What's this about?"> Nabiki asked, switching to Chinese, <"I thought this matter was between Shampoo and me! It doesn't include anyone else…">

<"Wrong!"> the stranger pointed with an axe accusingly, <"This involves the entire Amazon nation! You haven't done right by my Cousin, and now you'll pay for her disgrace! Either agree to return with us to Joketsuzoku or face the consequences!">

<"Cousin?"> Nabiki spared a glance towards Shampoo.

The Purple-haired girl just returned a weary nod and sighed, <"Husband…meet my adoptive Kinswoman, Pur-Fum the Enforcer…">

Continued

Comments/Complaints/Bitchiness: Shadowmane@msn.com