Project A-Ko Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Vampire Hunter (Darkstalkers) Fan Fiction ❯ Nabiki 1/2 (A Very Scary Thought) ❯ Goodbye Whirl... ( Chapter 43 )

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.

"Ow, my head," Akane groaned, trying to discover if there really was a lump or did she just feel as though someone had dropped a building on her from out of no where?

The throbbing cleared up rather quickly, which was a good thing, as it permitted her to discover several things almost at once, the first being that she was wet all over.

The second thing was that she was laying on the floor somewhere under a tarp that had been thrown over her, and that there was another body laying beside her.

No, not a body…she felt feathers…

Feathers?

She hastened to throw the tarp off of herself and discovered that yes, indeed, there was Keiko in vulture form laying next to her, and with some relief she discovered her friend was still breathing. That was a good start, but waking Keiko up in this form was problematic…for one thing she didn't know the first thing about vulture anatomy or what it took to wake one up without injury.

That was when the next thought hit her: they both were wet, only feathers retained far less moisture than either clothing or skin so Keiko was reasonably dry, just minus her clothing.

Next realization: they were in a janitor's closet, most probably in the same building where they had been ambushed. She, Kodachi and Keiko had been headed for the dressing chambers when something had come over them and the next thing Akane knew she was taking a nap. Probably the assailant had thrown water over them once he had them under the tarp, and out of reflexive apprehension Akane felt herself over to make absolutely certain that she was still human, not a guy, and definitely Akane.

Okay, next important question: where was Kodachi?

Akane looked around but there was no sign of either ferret or girl either under the tarp or elsewhere in the closet. It was a pretty small space, after all, full of mops, brooms, a hose, a wheeled bucket and lots of chemical agents considered useful for maintaining the cleanliness of the interior of a school building. A quick inventory of her surroundings confirmed her worst fears: no Kodachi.

Someone had taken her, the obvious purpose of the ambush. The question of who and why were not so easy to determine.

Okay, she thought to herself, do what Oneechan would do and assess the situation. She got to her feet and tested the door, but it was definitely either locked or jammed on the other side. They were trapped by whoever was behind this, so it was safe to assume that the guilty party wanted them out of the way, but not dead. The next logical question was: who would have the most to gain from all of this?

The obvious answer was Shiratori Azusa. Of course, that meant that Azusa would have to know about Jusenkyo curses, and while the girl had been able to see a resemblance between Kodachi and the ferret it was doubtful that meant that she also knew the correlation between the ferret and cold water.

On the other hand, could Azusa be clever enough to have figured it out? Just how smart was the girl anyway? She had never struck Akane as quite being rocket scientist material, but you could never really be sure or go simply by appearances, as Jusenkyo curses were an obvious example.

As she pondered this, she heard a weak sound like a vulture slowly coming back to full consciousness with the same hangover effect Akane had experienced. Keiko looked up at her with bleary bird eyes and made a plaintive sound as if to frame a question. To save her time Akane just sighed, "I don't know, Kei-chan, but I think Kodachi's in trouble. We're in trouble, too, unless we can figure out a way to get out of this closet."

Keiko made another sound, this time quite obviously distressed, and if Akane did not know better she would have sworn it sounded like a vulture trying to frame the words, "Not again!"

"Yeah, I'm afraid so," Akane said, "Azusa zapped us good, but we're not licked yet! We'll find and rescue Kodachi and make that Kawaii nuisance sorry she ever tangled with us."

Keiko squawked as she hopped around on her clawed feet, extending her wings as far as the tiny space would permit as though looking around for a weapon. Akane had already thought of the hot water tap for the hose, but she pointed out the obvious drawback, "Yeah, but then you'll be human and naked and not much help to Kodachi."

Keiko started to made a sound as if to convey that she did not care, but then she thought about it and subsided. In spite of everything Akane had to smile. Keiko did not have much in the way of modesty, but running around in the nude chasing after a girl with a stolen ferret would be pushing things even by her most libertine standards. She looked hopefully up at Akane as though to suggest an alternative, and Akane turned to examine the door, getting the basic idea from imagining what Keiko would do if she were, in fact, human.

Blast it open with one of her powerhouse kicks, no doubt, but if she could do that…

Akane smiled. She might owe the building manager an apology, but you didn't practice breaking bricks all day with your bare hands without learning a little something about force manipulation. She took a deep breath, drew upon her inner Ki, then squared off against the door and hit it with every ounce that she could manage.

The door went flying off its hinges, naturally, and Akane belatedly chided herself for once more acting in excess.

Well, that could wait for later. Right now she had a friend to rescue, and with Keiko flapping her wings and taking the lead the two of them headed for the Kolhotz gymnasium, intent on doing worse than Akane had the door to Shiratori Azusa…

The crowd cheered wildly as the golden pair entered the huge Olympic pool area that had been converted into a giant ice rink for this special event. Azusa and Mikado made their grand entrance with typical flamboyance, waving to their many fans, the majority of whom just happened to be Kolhotz students.

Ukyo glared at the rows of young girls who represented the Official Mikado Fan Club, many of whom no doubt had contributed to his "Thousand Kiss Record." There were just as many boys on the opposite side waving and cheering for Azusa, which only confirmed in her mind that most men were tacit idiots, and high school girls in general were hardly any better.

"Golden Pair sure are popular," Perfume marveled as she studied the bleachers with amazement, "Is possible girls like Mikado, no mind him pervert?"

"It takes all kinds, Per-chan," Ukyo replied as she took Perfume by the hand, "Don't worry, they're never going to forget about us, especially when we break their stupid winning streak today!"

"And here representing Furinkan High School," the Announcer cried, "In the First Annual Charlotte Cup are Kuonji Ukyo and his lovely partner, Perfume!"

"Remember," Ukyo urged as she took a step out into the arena, "Just like we rehearsed it…"

"They'll be competing for the prize possession of a rare black ferret named Charlotte, who is here with us today!"

Both Ukyo and Perfume reacted to this announcement by suddenly turning their heads around by sixty degrees to see said muzzled ferret laying beside a golden cup to which it was bound by a chain leading to a harness it wore around its upper body. Unfortunately, in doing this they both lost their focus and went instantly sliding into a tumble on ice in which Ukyo once more somehow wound up on the bottom.

"Ohhh!" Nabiki winced, "Not a good beginning! I hope those two keep in mind that I've bet substantially on their asses."

"Your consideration is heartwarming," Genma sighed, "I've got a very bad feeling about this tournament."

"Indeed, Saotome," Soun agreed as he munched on a rice ball, "Young Kuonji seems definitely to have bitten off more than she can handle."

"Those poor girls," Nodoka sighed, "Why do they have to be so competitive? And I thought Ukyo said she was past this obsession with posing as a boy."

"Poor Ucchan," Ranma winced, "I really do hope she knows what she's getting into."

"No count Perfume and Spatula girl out yet," Shampoo said with more confidence than she felt, "Match no even started."

"That's right," Kasumi said pleasantly, "You should never count your ferrets before they are cooped."

"That was a joke, I take it?" Cologne just sighed, "Kuonji, you had better know what you are up to…"

Azusa was laughing and pointing her finger at Perfume, who was sitting atop the bobsled that was Ukyo, fuming.

"You look so funny!" the Kawai skater remarked, "The match is not even begun and already Charlotte is practically in Azusa's grasp!"

"No count Amazon and Airen out just yet, stupid girl!" Perfume said as she hopped off Ukyo and helped her back to her feet while Azusa gracefully darted back to the side of her partner. Ukyo was only partially stunned but easily revived as Perfume urged her to remember what was at sake her with a gentle, "Stupid Rose girl let herself get caught again. She look worse than Perfume when she in cage. Maybe not so good she suffer like this."

"I couldn't agree with you more, Per-chan," Ukyo said as she felt her lumps then stood on her own and growled, "Let's get those two arrogant show-offs."

Perfume nodded and the two of them squared off with their opponents.

"Oh man," Ranma groaned, "They got Kodachi again? I don't believe it!"

"That is odd," Nabiki frowned, "Could Azusa have somehow found out about the curse?'

"Kodachi?" Nodoka looked at them politely, "You see her here? Where…?"

"Try the award stand, Auntie," Kasumi gently pointed out with a nod of her head as the ferret she was looking at just then raised its head and looked around in evident confusion.

"Nani?" Nodoka asked politely, and then more volubly, "NANI???"

"Get ready!" Mikado called out, "Fair Perfume, prepare to receive your promised kiss!"

"Oh no," Perfume growled as she suddenly drew Ukyo forward in a powerful swing, "Airen make you eat promise!"

"Whoah!" Ukyo cried as she found herself treated to a burst of Amazon brute strength, but she still had the presence of mind to aim a kick in Mikado's direction.

Much to her surprise the boy ducked around her swing and got inside Perfume's guard, leaving Ukyo dangling above the floor with Mikado between her and her astonished partner.

"At last," Mikado said from two inches from Perfume's face, "My thousand and one kiss, fair beauty…"

"Oh no you don't!" Ukyo cried as she arched her body to bring both skates to press against Mikado's head like a vice. In doing so, however, she failed to take into account a hurtling Azusa, who knocked her off Mikado like a moth swatting a butterfly in mid-air collision.

"Wow!" the announced cried, as girls all around began to scream or swoon in outrage, "Sensenin goes in early for his Clincher Kiss!"

"He is such an annoyance," Mikado sighed as he came within a centimeter of his intended victim.

Perfume suddenly recovered from her surprise and growled, "So are you!" and with that she buried one knee in his gut and fell back in a roll that threw Mikado tumbling skyward.

Of course Mikado recovered at once and landed gracefully, taking a moment to suavely comb his hair back into place as he remarked, "She is shy to fear succumbing to my charms, but she will relent in the end, as they all do."

"Or maybe you just make her sick," Azusa pleasantly chided.

"Ukyo-chan," Perfume knelt over her prone partner, "Get up, Perfume no can win this without you!"

"I'm…up already," Ukyo groaned as she rolled back onto her hands and knees, then forced herself to stand, looking suddenly very angry, "I'm going to make that little tramp suffer for that!"

"Is good get angry," Perfume cheered, "But remember what Great Grandmother say about keep focus?"

"Don't worry, I'm focused," Ukyo said as she started forward, taking Perfume's hand and saying, "You ready to get airborne?"

"Perfume ready," her partner said calmly.

"Here we come," Mikado called out, "This time for sure!"

Ukyo suddenly hunched her shoulders as they saw Mikado lift Azusa into a spin, coming right at them. The Okonomiaki chef just smiled and said, "Now, Per-chan!"

Perfume leaped onto Ukyo's back with both knees as Ukyo suddenly straightened out and threw her partner with as much force as she could manage. Then she ducked low and accelerated as she got under Azusa's hurtling body and came right at Mikado with one fist drawn back. She only managed a glancing blow against his side, but it was enough to make Mikado lose his grip and send Azusa tumbling sideways.

Ukyo moved to bring herself squarely under where Perfume would complete her arc and hunched her shoulders again to receive the Amazon's weight once more upon her body. They were both smiling in their triumph until Perfume looked up and said, "Airen--wall!"

"Oh no!" Ukyo saw the chain link fence looming up in their path and knew that she would never be able to stop herself in time. Instead she jumped and brought her skates forward, colliding with the fence as she began to run up it, then tumble backwards and made a one-point landing with Perfume clutching to her for dear life. It was almost in disbelief that they realized that they had come to a safe halt, their hearts still hammering like a pair of staccato trip-hammers.

"What an amazing recovery!" cried the announcer, "The novice pair from Furinkan have defied the odds by lasting more than one minute against the Champions from Kolhotz!"

"Not bad," Cologne remarked, "But my daughter-in-law will need more finesse in her attacks if she wishes to triumph against those two."

"They've already beat out the odd-makers on the point spread," Nabiki remarked, "No one expected them to even get this far, including me."

"Don't tell me you bet against them?" Ranma asked in suspicion.

"Of course not," Nabiki smiled, "I just had a few contingency plans in the works, just in case, but…well, I'm glad they won't be needed…"

"You hurt there, Mikey?" Azusa asked as she cautiously approached Mikado and tapped him with her fist in the place where Ukyo had struck him, "There? And there? And…"

"Yes, it hurts, you idiot!" Mikado rounded on her, losing all pretense at calm civility, "Stop poking me there already!"

"Why you yell at Azusa?" Azusa asked in a wounded voice, "Only want to know if you okay."

Mikado bit off an angry retort as he straightened up and forced himself to be calm as he looked towards Ukyo and Perfume, "It is rare that I am brought down to my knees. You are a worthier opponent than I had thought, Kuonji."

"Try anything like that again and you'll find out just how formidable I am!" Ukyo declared in barely restrained anger, "You make one more move to kiss Perfume and I'll put your sorry lady-killing but straight into a coffin!"

"I see," Mikado said, "Then you do care after all?"

"Yes, I care!" Ukyo cried, "No one tries that with my friend without answering to me! You back off or I swear I'll kill you where you stand, Sensenin!"

Perfume gasped. What was Ukyo saying? She stared at the woman at her side, wondering if she could actually dare to believe that her tone and conviction truly meant…

Mikado just sniffed, "Well, that puts an interesting spin on matters. The challenge just gets better and better, making victory all the more sweet when it comes."

"Interesting," Cologne remarked, almost to herself, "And in front of a crowd. You are full of surprises, Kuonji."

"Ucchan?" Ranma blinked, while Nabiki and Shampoo just sat where they were, gaping in astonishment. Ukyo seemed to have forgotten all about where she was in her towering outrage, and there was no question at all that her focus was entirely upon Mikado.

"You know, of course, that my victory is inevitable," Mikado was boasting, "No matter how strong your ties are with this woman, it is fate that you be parted from her by us, Kuonji, for we are the Golden Pair, the notorious breaker of couples."

"What are you ranting on about, Sensenin?" Ukyo demanded.

"You will shortly see," Mikado as Azusa suddenly leaped up onto his arms in a display of perfect balance, "Behold the ultimate technique that has brought an end to many relationships such as yours! Know now why we are the Couple Cleavers of the ice, and face the terror of the Goodbye Whirl!"

"Man, will you shut up?" Ukyo growled as she took Perfume's hand and said. "Come on! Let's get those baka!"

"H-Hai," Perfume agreed, shaking herself out of her surprise as she remembered that focus was the key to victory, or so Cologne had warned her.

They charged as Mikado and Azusa came at them, and like a perfectly coordinated team Ukyo and Perfume leaped with blades extended in a doubly lethal kick, but Mikado threw Azusa straight at Ukyo, who intercepted the Okonomiaki chef in mid-air and deflected her landing. With some difficulty Ukyo managed to remain standing when her skates hit the ice, while Perfume whirled about and came to a an abrupt stop of her own, staring at these two in both shock and anger.

"Hey, what you do?" Perfume demanded.

"You left yourself open," Azusa smiled up at a surprised Ukyo before sliding down and grabbing her legs as she slid between the arch Ukyo left open, causing Ukyo to start toppling forward.

"Ucchan!" Perfume cried and leaped in an attempt to intercept her beloved.

They clasped hands even as Azusa presented her own legs to Mikado, who smiled arrogantly before his face took on a look of intense concentration. In a display of astonishing strength, Mikado began to lift Azusa above his head, who in turn carried a shocked Ukyo and Perfume with her until all four were linked like a human chain, and then Mikado started to pirouette with ever-increasing momentum.

"Ucchan!" both Ranma and Nabiki cried together, while Shampoo called out to her beleaguered cousin.

"It's come to this so early in the match!" the announcer was saying as Kodachi the ferret just stared in dismay, "The Couple-cleaving maneuver known as the Goodbye Whirl! No couple has ever been able to remain together after experiencing this terror! Looks like this match is as good as over!"

Just then Akane managed to reach the end of the rink with Keiko perched on her shoulder, and they wasted no time in spotting Kodachi.

"There she is!" Akane cried, "Now if only I can get around behind the announcer--Kei-chan!"

Keiko cried out in anger and spread her wings to fly like a swooping jet directly for the table. Kodachi was too focused upon the match that would determine her fate to notice the vulture until she was upon her, and then what she felt was a pair of claws digging into her restraining harness as a razor-sharp beak broke the chain. With no further warning Keiko beat her wings and took off with her much-astonished prize in tow, much to the horrified amazement of the announcer.

"What? Someone has stolen the prize for this match? Incredible as it must seem, a trained bird has snatched Charlotte the ferret and spirited her away before the match is truly over!"

"How much more can you take, Kuonji?" Mikado taunted as he increased the momentum of his spin.

"Ohhh," Azusa started to regret this maneuver, "Azusa no feel so good! You let go of the girl now, or you'll both be hurt bad!"

"No way!" Ukyo growled, "I'm not gonna let you win!"

"Ucchan!" Perfume pleaded, "Let go or you be hurt! Perfume no want that!"

"I'm not letting you go!" Ukyo growled in spite of the strain in her arms.

"Airen," Perfume said and tried to break free of Ukyo's grasp, "Perfume no want you hurt…!"

"You idiot!" Ukyo snarled, "If I let you go you'll hit the wall, and at that speed you'll be killed, or worse!"

"Airen…" Perfume whispered, suddenly knowing beyond hope that Ukyo was concerned with her welfare.

"Ohhhhhh!" Azusa winced, "Azusa so dizzy…"

She suddenly let go and both Ukyo and Perfume went sailing off together. Ukyo at once tried to flip herself into the way to absorb the brunt of the impact, knowing full well that it would mean little in the end. Perfume's hypersensitive nervous system would only be able to endure just so much punishment before the sensory overload would drive her into a coma, if not kill her outright.

But at the last possible instant a slender ribbon lashed out and wrapped itself around Perfume, halting her momentum. Perfume lost her grip on Ukyo, who continued right on into the wall with the resultant bone-jarring impact.

"Ucchan!!!" Perfume cried as she dangled over the ice arena.

"Too bad," she heard Mousse say grimly, "I wanted the pleasure of crushing her myself."

"Mousse???" Perfume blinked her eyes before turning to see her fellow Amazon standing high above in the rafters.

"What's this?" the announcer swiveled his attention back their way, "An amazing savior has just rescued the beautiful Perfume from certain annihilation!"

"Yeah, but what about the one he didn't rescue?" Nabiki asked sourly.

"Ucchan," Ranma said as he got up, "I've got to go down there and see if she's okay…"

"No problem," Nabiki said as she got up, "I'll come with you. Stay here, Shampoo."

"Is Perfume-cousin and stupid Mousse," Shampoo also said, "Shampoo go with you…"

"There you both are," Akane said as she caught up with her two wayward friends, "Thought I'd find you in the showers, and look, I've managed to find your clothes and skates."

"That's just terrific, Akane-chan," Keiko said as she combed her hair back and started to braid it, "It's not that I don't mind a little nudity now and then, but after the kind of day we've been having…"

"Don't remind me," said Kodachi as she savored the feeling of the hot shower, then felt her neck and said, "I'm going to kill that little bitch for what she did to me, especially making me wear this stupid collar!"

"Collar?" Akane looked more closely and saw the pink loop around Kodachi's neck with had a heart-shame tag on it that read "Charlotte."

"Don't ask me why, but that thing seems to have grown in size with you," Keiko remarked, "A good thing or you might have been strangled during transformation."

"That is odd," Kodachi felt the collar then frowned, "When I catch her that Shiratori is a dead woman…"

"You'd better get changed," Akane said as she laid their clothes down on one of the benches, "The match is still going out there, and I think Ucchan's taking a beating."

"Never mind that," Kodachi said as she wrapped her hair in a towel and hastened to slip into her leotard, literally fuming as she growled, "It's time we put plan 'B' into effect and gave those Golden losers a real challenge!"

"Sure you're up to it, Kodachi-chan?" Keiko replied, "Whatever she used on us might have affected our coordination."

"Bah!" Kodachi scoffed as she took the skates in hand, "I have more coordination in my little finger than Kuonji has in her entire body! Come along, Akane-chan, we're going to bag a couple of skaters."

"But I thought we were going to wait in reserve?" Akane asked in confusion, then sighed, "Oh well…I suppose I've got a few bones to pick with that Azusa myself, not to mention Mikado. Kissing him wasn't exactly something I'll always want to remember."

"How do you think I feel?" Keiko sniffed, "I'll probably get rabies!"

"I'll personally inoculate you both when this is over," Kodachi promised as she growled in anticipation, "Mikado is also a dead man for what he put you through. Not only have I been subject to extreme discomforts, inconveniences and gross humiliation beyond mortal endurance, but to touch my personal effects as he has is to court the doom of the heavens! Beware Sensenin, your hours are numbered!"

Keiko exchanged looks with Akane and said, "She's Tatawaki's sister all right."

"No denying it," Akane smiled, "But you've still got to love her…"

Continued

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