The usual disclaimer: Ranma ½ is a trademark of Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ Communications, and its characters have been borrowed without permission. This story was written for non-commercial purposes only.

While this is story is part of the "Kasumi's Fate" ("Bindings") Continuum, it's not necessary to have read any of the previous stories. You only need to know a few things:

1) Nabiki is in college now, but goes home every weekend.
2) Ranma and Akane are happily dating now.
3) Kasumi and Tofu are engaged.
4) Tofu is a very powerful mage and he is teaching Ranma, Akane, and Kasumi who also have some ability.
5) Riku Ishida was introduced in Chapter 4 of "Say 'Yes' to the Dress." He is a Yakuza member.

Anything else isn't important to enjoy the story (although, please feel free to read the other stories).

For those following the Continuum, this story starts the Wednesday after "Genma's Job" ends. There is a flashback that occurs during "Say 'Yes' to the Dress."

Some quick notes on the Yakuza:

1) The Yakuza are members of one of several organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. Basically, the Japanese Mafia.
2) The Oyabun is the head of one particular family (a.k.a "The Godfather").
3) The "Shateigashria" is the Oyabun's second lieutenant. The "Wakagashira" is the first lieutenant, but that term is not used in the story.
4) The "Kobun" are the Oyabun's subordinates (i.e. His immediate "family").
5) The "Kyodai" basically the ruling council ("big brothers") under the Oyabun, the Wakagashira, and the Shateigashria. Note that there may be more than one Shateigashria in a crime family, but not in the family mentioned in this story. All Kyodia are Kobun, but not all Kobun are Kyodia.

On with the story…

Chapter 1: The Yakuza

Riku Ishida strode up to the door and announced himself to the two Yakuza Enforcers who stood there. He submitted to the pat down without a word, having left his gun elsewhere. "Juro Nishimura summoned me. Where do you want me to wait?" Ishida asked.

"Open your shirt," the guard on the right told him.

Ishida undid his tie a bit and opened the shirt. His tattoo was blazoned across his chest. The hawk was done in full color with outstretched talons. The two wingtips stretched to Ishida's shoulders, but Ishida's neck was unmarked. The guard nodded, "No disrespect, Brother. We just need to make sure it's you. We've never seen you before."

"None taken," Ishida said calmly. "No disrespect to either of you, Brothers." He buttoned the shirt again.

"Have a seat. We'll announce you when the time is right." The left guard told him. "Won't be long," the man added as an afterthought. The other man wrote a note and slid it through a small panel next to the double doors.

Ishida noted the action and took a seat across from the door without complaint. He waited in silence while reviewing his actions over the past month. He had no idea why he was summoned to a meeting with the Oyabun. Ishida had been rather successful in shaking down the corporations he had targeted, threatening to create chaos at the Shareholders Meetings unless an accommodation was reached between the company and the Organization. Last he knew, Nishimura was happy with him. Ishida had not been playing any power games either. He was pretty content with his share of the take and he also liked having hands with two complete sets of fingers. Besides, he respected Nishimura.

Finally, the door opened and another Enforcer stuck his head out. The new one whispered to the left guard and the guard motion for Ishida to stand. Ishida straightened his tie and walked over to the door. The new man opened the door a little wider and beckoned for Ishida to enter. Ishida slid through the partial opening and looked around the room. A large conference table with nearly two dozen men seated at it dominated the room. At the head of the table sat the Oyabun.

Ishida immediately noted where Nishimura was and, after a glance at the doorman who just nodded, he walked over to Nishimura and stood behind the man, a little to the side. The man at the head of the table made a note of his entry, but otherwise continued to speak about some of the protection schemes that were ongoing. Finally, he addressed Nishimura: "Kobun Juro, thank you for summoning your Little Brother. Kobun Riku…" The Oyabun paused while Ishida bowed, then continued: "You have done very well for us. I am pleased."

Ishida bowed again and said, "I am honored Oyaban and grateful you are happy."

The Oyabun then said: "Due to issues elsewhere, we are currently making some adjustments. One of these adjustments is that Brother Juro has graciously agreed to become the Shateigashria, reporting to myself. His assumption of these duties has required us to appoint another to the Kyodai. We have chosen you."

Ishida was stunned for a second, then remember himself and bowed deeply to the Oyabun. "I am pleased to serve you in any capacity, Oyabun."

The Oyabun nodded. "You are to sit next to our new Shateigashria – you will continue to report to him." At a gesture from the Oyabun, one of the Enforcers wheeled a conference room chair next to Nishimura.

Ishida looked at the chair and then bowed to the Oyabun. He also recognized the test in front of him and pulled the chair away from the table again. Ishida moved the chair to the other side of Nishimura, further away from the Oyabun, assuming a more junior position than Nishimura (as was proper). Ishida then bowed to Nishimura and took his seat. There were satisfied nods from the other Kyodai sitting around the table. Nishimura did not react overtly, but there was the ghost of a smile on his face as his subordinate sat down.

"Now that the Organization is once more at full capacity, is there any further business to discuss this afternoon?" the Oyabun asked.

A younger man across from Ishida called out: "Oyabun, I wish to pursue the idea of establishing a handhold in unclaimed territory."

The Oyabun nodded and said, "You wish to discuss Nerima then? I advise you to send men you do not trust and feel the Organization can do without. It would be best if they were not privileged to our secrets. Other than that, do as you will."

The man, Hideki Heria, looked confused. "I do not understand, Oyabun."

The Oyabun smiled. "I know. That is why you believe Nerima should be investigated. But we already know there is nothing for us in Nerima. Those in that ward who seek to do business with us find us next door easy enough."

"But couldn't we offer protection to the local businesses there?" Heria asked. Heria obviously didn't understand why some of his fellow Kyodai were expressing such negative body language.

Nishimura spoke up: "Nerima is often seen as unplucked fruit, but some fruit is not fit for consumption. Every now and then, someone tries to plant a harvest, but no one has ever succeeded in getting Nerima to yield."

"But hasn't Brother Riku had some success?" Heria pressed.

Nishimura turned to Ishida and raised a sardonic eyebrow. Ishida took the invitation and said: "I'd hardly count convincing a nineteen year-old girl to keep her mouth shut as a success. Other than that, I did nothing. It was Chan Xian who successfully manipulated the situation to yield some profit. Even so, that was under a very specific set of circumstances involving human nature and the manipulation of betting odds. I was not providing protection to the businesses of Nerima, only to Xian."

"Xian needed protection from a nineteen year-old girl?" Heria asked in disbelief.

The Oyabun answered: "If you understood Nerima, you would realize the answer to that question is 'Yes'. Xian approached me for a means to talk to the young woman without unleashing hell. I assigned the problem to Nishimura who assigned it to Ishida. Ishida did very well in finding a means to accomplish Xian's goal, even if Ishida didn't fully understand all the issues. Xian paid very well for Ishida's services. It was an unexpected bonus that Ishida found a way to keep Nerima's troubles from disturbing our family businesses here in our own district."

"Couldn't we use this young woman again?" Heria asked.

"No," the Oyabun said. "I approve of the deal Ishida struck. She is to be left alone. If you think you can gain a foothold in Nerima by another means, you are welcomed to try – just remember my warning not to waste good men. That is the end of this discussion."

Heria heard the rebuke lurking in the Oyabun tone, and chose not to pursue the matter any further. However, once the meeting was adjourned, he immediately caught up to Ishida and Nishimura as the two men walked out the door congratulating the other on their promotions. "Who is this girl, Ishida? Is she a girlfriend? Is she that good in bed?" Heria challenged.

Nishimura's eyes became dangerous, but Ishida just smiled and said: "She's a little young for my tastes. She is very pretty though. If she was about five years older, I might consider it, but only if I was tired of living, or at least living as a free man. No matter how the relationship played out, I would be dead by the end of it – something you may want to keep in mind." With that, Ishida touched Nishimura's shoulders and motioned for his superior to lead the way. Nishimura threw a black look at Heria full of warnings, but led Ishida away from a frustrated Heria.

The two men stepped into an elevator. Nishimura felt a proper celebration was in order, but before he went to the Club, he needed to tend to business. As soon as the doors closed, Nishimura said: "Take care of it discreetly."

"It shall be done," Ishida answered.

The next morning, Ishida wandered into a small shop that sat in a maze of streets in southern Tokyo. The old man behind the counter glared at him as Ishida walked in the door. "I have nothing for the likes of you!" the old man hissed.

"I'm not looking for a Curse, old man. I want to give someone a Blessing," Ishida told him coolly. "Surely you have no issue with that?"

"I doubt it very much! What do you want?" demanded the old man.

Ishida looked slowly among the shelves of the shop despite the hostility in the room. He was always amazed by the unusual contents here. Finally, he saw the item he wanted. It looked like a simple glass pendant composed of two pyramids glued back to back, giving the crystal six sides. The first time he saw it, he couldn't believe it, but the old man confirmed what his grandmother told him. Ishida picked it up and carried it over to the shop proprietor. "How much?" he asked.

The old man looked confused. "You trying to say you're sorry to someone? It won't work!" he grumbled at Ishida. "It can only be used for someone else!"

"I'm aware, old man. How much?" Ishida pressed.

"It will not kill someone!" the proprietor said sharply.

"How much?" Ishida repeated.

"100000 yen!" the old man hissed.

"1000 yen is more like it for a cheap piece of glass," Ishida countered.

"It's not glass – you know the story! 100000 yen!" the old man insisted.

"And what if it doesn't work?" Ishida asked.

"It will work – just not for you! You have to give it to someone else!" the old man said sharply.

"I intend to, but it must work," Ishida demanded.

The old man paused. "You're serious, aren't you? This is for someone else?" he asked. Ishida just nodded. The proprietor looked at Ishida's face. "50000 yen up front. I'll tell you how to use it. You have to pay me the other 50000 yen once it works – otherwise you risk the Curse of the Dead."

"If it doesn't work, you have to give me my money back," Ishida returned.

"If you risk the Curse, I accept!" the old man stated. Ishida nodded again. "Done," the old man said and then told Ishida how to use the charm.

Ishida paid the old man and then blew on the charm. The old man did the same and Ishida was not surprised to see that it glowed brightly for a couple of seconds. "You have to do it before the sun sets," the old man reminded him.

"Not an issue. I'm going now. Take care. I'll be back in two days," Ishida replied and then left the shop.

Ishida walked through the graveyard behind the temple and found the monument he was looking for. Somehow, someway, he was sure this would work. He knelt down next to the stone and took out the pendant. With a sharp swing, he smashed the pendant against the monument, shattering the pendant. He then whispered to the stone: "Your daughter needs you. I have opened the path, and I will pay the price. I beg you to come in the name of another!"

Deep inside himself, Ishida felt something change and he smiled. Then he vanished.

It was Wednesday, which was her lightest day as far as classes went, and Nabiki was restless, something she knew she better solve fast – the outside world was far to breakable for her to cut loose. Her college friends were fragile, the boys trying to date her were fragile, her teachers were fragile, and the local businesses were fragile. "Gods," she thought. "I never knew I'd miss Nerima this much. I feel like I'm moving among glass people."

She had her first real lesson about the outside world within the first two weeks of school. At first, she was delighted to be away from Nerima and have a fresh start. She had made some new friends, she liked her classes, and the dorm had a sweet setup. Then the usual things happen: cliques formed, there was an "in" crowd and an "out" crowd, battle lines were drawn, etc. No one messed with her though; they took one look at Nabiki and knew they were out of their league. Nabiki thought it was all very quaint and pedestrian until she had to talk a girl out of killing herself because the girl had been ostracized by the "in" crowd.

Nabiki had managed to get the girl to a counselor and then Nabiki took steps – within forty-eight hours, the cliques were destroyed and the battle-field swept clean. Word spread then. There were two whispered messages: the first was "Don't start a war – the casualties will be on all sides." The second was "Don't piss off Nabiki." Nabiki thought those were two very worthwhile messages.

For a little while after that, folks had tried to nullify Nabiki by making her the dorm's unofficial shrink. Everyone who had an issue would stop by to talk to her. "What whiners! Who the hell do I look like? Akane?" she thought with exasperation. Even looking back at that first month made her shudder. "No one is throwing knives at them. No one is trying to kill them. They are not dodging monsters, ghosts, perverts, or misfiring magic," she thought. "No one is trying to marry them off tonight. No one has to worry about honor promises or seppuku. They don't have to worry about the building falling on them because the neighbors got in a fight."

She had one standard answer for everyone who came to the door: "Suck it up and grow up! Your world is just opening up now! You are among one of the most privileged people on the planet. You have food, water, shelter, clothing, and a chance for an education. Get your ass in gear and make something of yourself! You have a long way to go, but the first step starts now! Don't worry about love right now – that will come in time. If he/she is really the one for you, they will keep up with you – and you will keep up with them! MOVE!"

Eventually, things settled down and Nabiki became known as the "Queen of Tough Love". Still the lesson stayed with her. Most of the people outside of Nerima were not as resilient as those in her hometown – even the civilians (the non-martial artists) of Nerima were tougher than the folks outside. As a result, Nabiki often felt she had to restrain herself. She didn't really date anyone at the college for fear of trashing the men for life ("What wimps!"), and she handled her friends with kid gloves. It was easy to outmaneuver her professors as well ("How the hell did they get their degrees?").

There were exceptions. There were a few people who could stand up to Nabiki, but they were often moving in different directions, and Nabiki was not interested in where they were going. A few men had interested her, but they were out of college and looking for more submissive women. They would be more interested in taming her rather than looking for an equal partner. She knew many of these men would eventually have one or more mistresses on the side – definitely not would she would call marriage material (not that she was looking).

There were four things keeping her from dying of boredom. The first was going home every weekend to her family (there was always something happening there). Her family was still the center of her life. She relished bantering with her siblings and teasing them. Kasumi was still a joy and comfort to be around. Nabiki enjoyed watching Ranma and Akane truly be in love. Doctor Tofu was an excellent adversary and her father was more interesting these days as well. Nabiki had also grown closer to Nodoka ever since she helped the older woman battle her OCD. While Nabiki wanted to expand her horizons, she didn't want to lose sight of her home harbor as well.

The second was Ms. Hinako (of all people). She and Nabiki had started to really get to know one another during Ranma and Akane's first date. Nabiki found the woman-child had very interesting insights into the world around her despite her affliction and her often childish behavior. As an observer of human nature, Nabiki found Hinako's duality fascinating. Also, Hinako was someone who understood a bit of what Nabiki was going through with the outside world and often gave Nabiki somewhere to vent without judgment. The two exchanged at least one E-mail swap every day.

The third interaction keeping her sane was with Toshio Kuno, her latest sparring partner. Kuno had started their correspondence by sending an E-mail from an anonymous account. The subject line of the message was "Shall we play a game?" Inside the E-mail was a list of five stocks – all fairly high performers, and nothing else. Nabiki made note of the stocks and countered with five of her own. One week later, Kuno returned a comparison of his stocks verses hers and who had done better in that week. He then gave a new set of five. She responded with another set of five and the game grew from there.

Part of the game was tracking down who her mysterious opponent was. That had taken an effort because Kuno switched addresses every week. Eventually Nabiki had managed to trace all the addresses to a hub owned by one ISP. She had used a less than ethical (but not quite illegal) means of planting a trace-back in the hub and discovered the E-mails were coming from an office in the downtown financial district. Further research and inquiry had led to the top floor, which was held by Kuno enterprises. She then traced some of the purchases for stocks from the game and noticed a definite pattern for an account held by one Toshio Kuno.

Nabiki announced her findings by leaving a hardcopy of her E-mail reply for the game with Kuno's receptionist. One week later, Kuno sent a package to Nabiki at the college. In the package were three things. One was a check for a decent amount of money – the check's memo line read "For consulting services." Nabiki immediately used the check to buy stocks. The second item was a CD containing 40 minutes of applause. The third was a handwritten stock list and another anonymous E-mail account to reply back too.

The last item that kept her brain active was gathering information and predicting the actions of those around her. Unfortunately, her friends and classmates were too predictable (something that made her long for Nerima again). The professors and administrators at her college were even more so. That left the business people around her. That might not have been enough except several were either paying protection money to the Yakuza, or were fronts for Yakuza business interest. Watching the Yakuza also required Nabiki to watch the local police and the local politicians – not that everyone was on the take, but they were all players, one way or another. Now Nabiki had something interesting to watch.

Nabiki soon learned that the Yakuza played for keeps, forcing Nabiki to use the most passive spying techniques in her arsenal. She quickly decided not to interfere – while the martial artists of Nerima were a formable force, they couldn't resurrect the dead. Instead, she just watched and tried to anticipate actions. She would write down predictions and then note where she was wrong and why. She kept everything in ciphers to prevent someone from accidently stumbling upon her activities. There were no notebooks or files – she only wrote down her predictions and then shredded them once the outcome was known. It was a dangerous game she played, but she learned a lot about organized crime and politics, and she managed to keep it harmless (at least for her).

Well, that was the case until her name started to appear in Yakuza discussions. At first, she was panicked that one of her techniques had been found out (although that should not have been possible – at least in theory). As she listened though, she learned that the discussions were started by Chan Xian, a bookie who operated out of the Nakashima tower in downtown Tokyo. He was trying to reach her, but wanted to do it without involving the Nerima martial artists. He never told the Oyabun why he wanted to reach Nabiki, but the Oyabun had speculated that it was to make Nabiki a spy for him. The Oyabun was also wondering if it was possible to use Nabiki as well. The night Nabiki learned this was the closest she ever came to getting drunk on sake.

However, in the light of the next day, she decided that she was a Tendo, and she wasn't going down without a fight. She didn't want to involve the Nerima folks if at all possible (even though she knew they could take the Yakuza family apart) – the message "Don't start a war – the casualties will be on all sides" applied to her too. "No, I need to handle this myself," she thought. "If I start running now, then I will always have to keep running." That weekend, she canceled her date and stayed at home. In the sanctuary of her room, she created her own book.

The little novel detailed all she had learned about the Yakuza including who they were blackmailing, where the off-shore accounts were, the Yakuza hierarchy, what government officials worked for who, what the smuggling routes were – everything and everyone. She created five books – four encrypted and one straight-forward (the computer was a wonderful thing). If the cops were given the book, the local Yakuza family was finished, but so was Nabiki; they would not hesitate to kill her in retribution. She hid the encrypted books (and the keys separate) with various people and instructed two different lawyers what to do in the event of her death. She kept the unencrypted book with her and waited.

Soon enough, Chan tracked Nabiki down with the help of Riku "The Hawk" Ishida. The Hawk was a handsome man, but all business. Nabiki knew him by reputation from her spying. He was great at intimidation and mind games. To call him a "cold-blooded killer" wasn't quite fair; he had killed people, and Nabiki knew he would again. But if it was possible he could spare a target, he would – something that had held him back in a steady climb of the lower Yakuza ranks. He also tried to keep "civilians" out of the line of fire. Ishida was also known for following his own rules, but he was very loyal to his higher ups, and he made sure their goals were always achieved. As a result, the higher ranks of the Yakuza hierarchy were watching him carefully; his success rate could not be argued against.

When Ishida leaned on her, Nabiki pushed back and gave him the book. He immediately evaluated her as a threat to his bosses, and weighed removing her from the picture. He stared at her eyes and Nabiki knew what he found: total and utter destruction on all sides. There would be no winner if he killed her. Everyone would lose, and he took Nabiki's comments about the Nerima martial artists very seriously.

When Nabiki looked in his eyes, she knew fear – even if she never let it show. This was a true predator of the wild. He killed for his meals without remorse because that's what it took to feed his pack. She knew he was evaluating her very being, deciding on her capabilities, her allies, and her willpower. Finally she saw Judgment and felt a new evaluation start: How could he use her to strengthen himself? Within seconds he had a plan and uttered it: Nabiki was to act as if she was following an order from him – Shut up and mind your own business. Since this was exactly what Nabiki wanted to do, she agreed. When he tossed the book back to her, Nabiki knew she had survived.

When they parted company, Nabiki was sure that was the last she had seen of Ishida for a while, but she was wrong. He tracked her down in Ginza the very next day and handed her electronic bug back to her with a smile. "I trust you heard the Oyabun's announcement, Ms. Tendo. You and yours are off-limits."

Nabiki knew from the smile and the fact she was standing in a very public place, she was on safe ground. "I just wanted some reassurance," she said. "I'd like to get on with my life."

"Understood, but no more of these, please," he said while tapping the tiny device he had placed in her hand. "I knew you placed it on me yesterday – I do have some training after all. Stick to the more passive methods if you don't mind. I trust there are no more of these about?" he prompted with a raised eyebrow.

"The untraceable devices like this one are very expensive. They are strictly for emergencies – like yesterday. Did you have to smash it when you left the Oyabun's office?" she asked cheekily.

Ishida chuckled briefly. "Some punishment was in order, Ms. Tendo. I thought that was rather appropriate and that you'd find it much more acceptable than other punishments," he said, keeping the eyebrow raised.

Nabiki smirked briefly, but also said "Point noted," with a nod of her head.

"Good," he said as he placed his hand gently under the hand she held the device in. "Let's keep all your fingers whole and attached to your hand, shall we?"

Nabiki knew he was making a somewhat empty threat, much in the manner one would scold a child, but the key word was 'somewhat.' So she said truthfully, "There are no more devices from me anywhere around the premises of the Oyabun – or around the Yakuza in general. Our deal would require that I tell you – the chance that one of your enemies could compromise a device is too great. This one only had enough battery life to survive until midnight last night and the signal was encrypted. There was not enough time for it to be compromised."

"I know," Ishida acknowledged. "That's why this conversation is so friendly," he said while looking into her eyes. Suddenly, Ishida's eyes widened and Nabiki felt his pulse quicken through their hand contact. What was worse, Nabiki became very aware he was an attractive man. She felt her own eyes widen and her own pulse quicken.

Both of them broke out in laughter and said together: "THIS IS SO NOT HAPPENING!" They let their hands separate without rushing the motion.

"This is not the first time this has happened to me," she said. "Why is it I am attracted to men who would absolutely destroy me?" she added ruefully.

"I never believed this was possible until now, but you would be my absolute doom," he chuckled.

"Probably," Nabiki agreed.

"I think you better keep your nose clean, Ms. Tendo. While we will meet again, I think we need to minimize the occasions and keep them to very public places," Ishida said.

"Agreed, Mr. Ishida; agreed. Take care of yourself, sir," Nabiki said with a polite bow.

"You too, good lady," he said returning her bow. With that, he took his leave of her.

Nabiki sighed as her reminisce ended. She needed to get out her dorm, and she had no classes this afternoon, so she grabbed a map of Tokyo, closed her eyes, and poked a finger at the map. When she opened her eyes, she looked at the area under her finger. "Fine," she said out loud. "That's where I am going exploring. Looks like an older area of the city. Might be something interesting there. If not, at least I'm not sitting here going stir-crazy."

A/N: Next up: Kimi

A/N: 11/25/2014: Corrected the phrase: "Don't start a war – the casualties will be on all sides." Thanks to TopKat90 for catching it.