Chapter 4: Who is Nabiki?

A man held the door open as Nadeshiko led Nabiki in through the back entrance of Flare. He was middle-aged, and he wore a black suit over a red shirt and gray tie. His shoes had been polished to the point where they reflected the numerous lights around them like large stars in the night sky. He also stood a fair bit taller than Nabiki, and he practically towered over Nadeshiko despite the extra height her shoes provided.

"Sakura-san? Welcome back. Did you forget something? Who is this?" the man asked. He sniffed his nose, and then added, "And what's that smell?"

"Kugimiya-san, some men attacked this young lady here in the alley. I'm going to help her get cleaned up, and then I will be borrowing one of the booths. Can you please have Mama-san call the police? The three men who attacked her are unconscious in the alley. And please ask Mama-san to not mention my name, if it wouldn't be too much trouble," Nadeshiko said.

"Wh.. what? Understood. I'll do so right away," Kugimiya said, and then walked towards the front of the hostess club at a very deliberate speed.

The well-lit interior of Flare exposed the large stain of unknown liquid that Nabiki had been dragged through in the alley. It covered the front of her clothes and squished unpleasantly as she walked. The acrid smell reeked of earthly dampness. She kept her back slumped forward to minimize contact with the clammy substance, and she was reluctant to even move as each step exposed her skin to new feelings of grimy filth. A matching, smaller stain was visible on Nadeshiko's silk dress where Nabiki had clung to her earlier.

Nadeshiko led Nabiki through the relatively plain back hallways of the hostess club, and then pushed open a door to one of the rooms. The decor inside was very similar to the rest of Flare. The wooden panels and dark curtains along the walls absorbed the plentiful light and maintained the characteristic sophisticated atmosphere of the hostess club. What made the room stand apart was its layout and contents. There were several racks of dresses along one side of the room. The other side of the room had racks half-filled with more dresses, with the remainder of the space dedicated to bracelets, necklaces, shawls, and other accessories. The racks formed something of a corridor which led to the private booths at the far end of the room. The overall effect made the area look like a miniature department store.

"We should get you into some clean clothes, madam. I would lend you something of mine, but I'm afraid nothing I own would fit you. Let's see..." Nadeshiko said. She scanned the wall of clothes, and then pulled out one of the hangers. "What do you think of this?"

The dress she had selected was one of the more subdued ones on the rack. It was a dark gray pencil dress with a high neckline and short sleeves. Its precise stitching and lines gave it a mature look which would have been equally at home in an office building and a concert hall. Nabiki gave a non-committal shrug in response.

Nadeshiko reached over and casually pulled off the price tag. She said, "Please, take it. My treat. Feel free to use any of the booths to change."

Nabiki moved mechanically into one of the partitioned changing rooms and shut the door behind her. It was larger and more extravagant than she had expected. In addition to the standard full-body mirror on the wall, it also featured a plush chair and a small makeup station on the side, complete with another well-lit mirror behind the table and a sink beside it. Nabiki ignored them all as she stripped off her dirty shirt and pants. Once both had been removed from her body, she picked up a paper towel from the makeup station, wet it at the sink, and used it to wipe away as much of the stain clinging to her body as she could. She dried herself with another paper towel, and then put on the replacement dress Nadeshiko had offered her. The removal of the filth helped a great deal in letting her start to feel like she was human again.

She crumpled her dirty clothes into a ball and carried it with her as she left the changing room. Nadeshiko was already there, waiting for her. She had also changed her clothes. However, rather than the simple shirt and pants Nabiki would have expected Ranma to wear, she had changed into another dress. This one was mint green with a shawl neckline and wide belt around the waist. She had changed her shoes as well, now wearing green stiletto heels to match her dress. Even her makeup was different, with her purple eyeshadow having been replaced with an expertly applied golden shade instead. The only things she had kept the same were her glasses and her loose hair style.

"I got a bit messy as well," Nadeshiko said with a gentle smile. "If madam would like to follow me?"

Nabiki still felt shocked and disoriented, and she moved more or less automatically rather than through conscious decision. She allowed herself to be led through the hostess club and brought to a quiet alcove. She then took a seat in one of the sumptuous leather chairs. Unlike the time she had sat in one on Tuesday, she felt none of its luxurious comfort.

"Feel free to relax and take your time to recover. I'm sure the police will be here soon. I promise that nobody will disturb you until then," Nadeshiko said. She then turned to leave.

Nabiki quickly, reflexively, reached out and grabbed the hostess's sleeve. She had no desire to be alone after what she had just endured. The hostess club was certainly safer than the grungy alley had been, but that did nothing to dispel the visions of gleaming facial piercings and flashing knives.

Nadeshiko hesitated for only a moment before she turned back to Nabiki and smoothly took a seat next to her. She reached under the table in front of them with her free hand and pulled out two bottles, two glasses, and two buckets. She used some tongs from one of the buckets to transfer some ice from one of the buckets into both glasses. She then poured some purple liquid from one of the bottles into both glasses, and then followed it by pouring some bubbly liquid from the other bottle to join it. She finally took a glass rod from the other bucket and used it to stir both glasses.

"Here, take this," Nadeshiko said as she picked up one of the glasses and handed it to Nabiki. The rounded sounds of Nadeshiko's voice took a slight edge off the world and made it feel that much softer. "Don't worry. It's not alcoholic."

Nabiki took the glass from the hostess. She still felt a bit shaky, so she released her grip on Nadeshiko's sleeve so that she could clutch at the glass between both of her hands. She held it for a moment before raising it to her lips and taking a sip. The sweetness of the grape mixed with the tart of the carbonated water danced along her tongue in an evocative experience. It burned with a pleasant sensation which pricked her tongue, tickled her nose, and warmed her throat.

Nadeshiko had the other glass in her hand and took a matching sip. She said, "I really do enjoy grape spritzers. There's something about the addition of the bubbles. I like how they cut the sweetness of the grape juice and make it pop out." She spoke with a soothing voice in a relaxing volume and tempo. Both were at a precisely calibrated level, where Nadeshiko was clear enough and loud enough to be easily understood if Nabiki wanted to listen to her for the distraction, but quiet enough and calm enough that Nabiki could also easily ignore her if she instead wanted a bit of time to herself. After a very brief pause, Nadeshiko continued by saying, "It really mixes well with the grapes that Kyoho grows. I believe the ones used in this juice came from Shikoku. You can tell from that extra little bit of flavor in the aftertaste."

The hostess continued to fill the empty space with a regular stream of quiet small talk. She spoke briefly on the vineyards around Japan before naturally segueing to reflections on farming, to national import policy, to the economy, to the stock market, to the overall excitement of the nation, to sports. Nadeshiko paused numerous times as she drifted from topic to topic, waiting for a second or two every so often. The breaks were just long enough to give allow Nabiki a chance to interrupt and add something if she wanted to, but they were also just short enough that Nabiki never felt obligated to contribute to the conversation. She could listen, or she could talk. It was her decision what she wanted to do.

In the relaxing atmosphere, Nabiki slowly pulled her wits together and regained her composure. The trying experiences from just a few minutes ago were still there, but they felt far removed from the peaceful ambiance which surrounded her. Her hands stopped their slight trembling, and her heart resumed its normal pace.

Nadeshiko had just finished commenting on the exciting prospects of the upcoming baseball game between the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants and the Hanshin Tigers when Nabiki took advantage of one of the numerous gaps in the monologue to ask a simple question. "Why?"

"I'm sorry. Why what?" Nadeshiko asked.

"Why are you doing this? All this?" Nabiki asked. She had been furious before. She remembered how she had wanted revenge. Now, she just felt emotionally burned out. All she wanted were some easy to understand answers.

"I thought it was the right thing to do," Nadeshiko said. "It must have been quite harrowing to be attacked by surprise like that. Nobody should be forced to go through such a thing. I'm sure it was quite an ordeal. I hope madam is feeling better now."

"No, not that. I mean why this whole Yamato Nadeshiko thing? Why are you doing this, Ranma-kun?" Nabiki asked.

Nadeshiko neither flinched nor startled at the question. She didn't react in any real way to it. She merely looked at Nabiki curiously, and asked, "You've said that name before. Who is this Ranma-kun of whom you keep speaking?"

"Come off it. I know you're Ranma-kun."

"I'm afraid I still don't know to whom you are referring, but I assure you that I am not this person."

"Yes, you are. Just look at that martial arts you did outside," Nabiki said. She was starting to get a bit of her edge back. All she wanted were some simple answers, and the red-haired hostess still refused to give them.

"I thought it might be wise to learn a bit of self-defense. The city can be a dangerous place. I'm quite sure madam now knows this as well as anybody else. I'm just glad I was around to help."

"I found the dress you wore on Tuesday in your closet. It was next to the red cheongsam and purple taffeta cocktail dress."

"I can't remember where I bought that dress, but there must be hundreds of them throughout the city. I'm sure it is just a coincidence."

"And it's also just a coincidence that Ranma-kun happens to disappear after school every Tuesday and Friday and then never returns home before 9:30?" Nabiki asked incredulously. Her voice was getting louder. Nadeshiko's evasive explanations and Nabiki's inability to corner her was exceptionally frustrating.

"It sounds like this Ranma-kun person is very busy. From what I have heard of martial artists, they are always having to answer some challenge or deal with some attack. I imagine some of those can take hours to conclude. If this Ranma-kun disappears now and again, I'm afraid that that doesn't sound very suspicious to me."

"And you look exactly like Ranma-kun!"

"Please don't shout. At Flare, we pride ourselves on our privacy and discretion, and I wouldn't want to disturb the other customers," Nadeshiko said with complete composure. She hadn't raised her voice at all throughout the exchange. "As for how I appear, there are many uncanny resemblances in the world. Have I mentioned that you look just like a tour guide I once met in Sapporo?" She spoke with the same demure formality she always did. There was nothing in her voice, her posture, or anything else which triggered Nabiki to think that she was brazenly lying.

Nabiki almost retorted immediately, but she held herself in check. Letting her anger get the better of her, as Akane might, was what had gotten her into trouble the last time she had spoken with Nadeshiko. She took a deep breath, and then deliberately said, "Okay. You're right. Maybe I can't prove it. However, I know what I know, and I know I could tell everybody back in Nerima. Even if they don't believe me, you know how they are. They'll investigate and find out the truth, even if they have to tear this place apart to do it. In fact, they'll probably tear it apart regardless, just by mistake."

Silence hung in the air like a curtain around the pair. It was only interrupted by the occasional clink of ice on glass as Nadeshiko swirled her drink in her hand in contemplation. Her glass was full, which was odd because Nabiki had been sure the hostess had been drinking throughout her monologue and their subsequent discussion. Nabiki's glass was full, too. She thought back, and upon reflection realized that she had somehow already drunk three full glasses of the delicious drink. Nadeshiko had been quietly refilling them without Nabiki actively taking notice.

Nadeshiko finally broke the silence to quietly ask, "Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be somebody else?" She stared off into the distance, not looking at Nabiki, or indeed at anything in particular.

"Sure. Hasn't everybody? Kids do it all the time," Nabiki said.

"I don't mean just playing around and pretending to be a princess or a robot or something. I mean, have you ever actually wondered what it would be like to be somebody else? Have you ever thought about what it would be like, for real?"

"Not really," Nabiki said.

Nadeshiko didn't respond immediately. Silence surrounded the pair for a few moments as Nadeshiko nursed the drink in her hands.

"What if you could find out?" Nadeshiko asked. She still spoke with the smooth, melodious voice she always used. "What if you didn't have to be the heir to a school of martial arts who had to accept and win every challenge any weird martial artist thought up? What if you weren't an obnoxious jerk who automatically offended everybody you met? What if you weren't the one everybody always scapegoated for everything, whether or not you were really the one at fault? What if you didn't find it easier to insult somebody than to say you loved her? What if you weren't the person everybody assumed would be the one to go rescue your friend, or your house, or your fiancee, or all of Jusendo just because you had always done so in the past? What if you didn't have a petty thief for a father who engaged you to multiple people without your knowledge, and who sold your honor for a bowl of rice and two pickles? What if you didn't live with a mother who constantly demanded you be a Man Among Men, and who drew her katana at the slightest hint of disobedience? What kind of person would you be then?"

Nabiki was stunned by Nadeshiko's confession. She had been sure that Nadeshiko was Ranma, but she hadn't thought any further about it than that simple idea. The litany of Ranma's circumstances and reasoning had overwhelmed her, and Nabiki sat in silence for several seconds while she processed it.

"So, Yamato Nadeshiko?" Nabiki finally asked in a quiet voice.

"So, Yamato Nadeshiko. It was the first name that came to mind when Mama-san asked me. They think I'm an illegal foreign worker, probably because of my hair and my eyes. It's close enough to the truth," Nadeshiko said. The admission of the false identity did nothing to change her bearing or behavior. She continued to talk in her modest dulcet voice and feminine style. "I didn't really have a goal in mind at first. I had been fighting Ryouga for some reason, and we had ended up near the ocean somehow. I was running back home through Ginza when I saw this place and thought, 'why not?'"

There was another silent lull in the conversation as Nabiki struggled to find the right words to ask her next question.

"So, is this who you are, without all that other stuff? Without the martial arts, and the fiancees, and the parents, and everything else? You're a hostess in a hostess club?" Nabiki hesitantly asked. She could have imagined saying those exact same words just two hours earlier with laughter, or derision, or greed, or any number of other connotations in her voice. However, after all she had been through, and after what Nadeshiko had just said, her question had instead become a quiet query of genuine curiosity.

"Possibly. I do seem to be quite good at it," Nadeshiko said. A touch of Ranma's normal bravado was just barely noticeable behind her polite speech.

Silence reigned once more as Nabiki found herself lost in thought. She had asked the question of Nadeshiko, but she wasn't sure she could answer it of herself.

Who was Nabiki?

She had power. She had no friends. She had respect. She had no qualms. She had yen. She had no sympathy. She had fun. She had no shame. She had an international business. She could inspire fear in those who crossed her. She was the mercenary ice queen of Furinkan.

However, was that who Nabiki was, underneath all of the expectations, labels, and habits she had collected over her lifetime?

What if she could be somebody else? What would that be like?

What if instead of international sales of handkerchiefs to France, she instead spent her time on the student council fighting against the numerous absurd decrees of the principal? What if instead of selling gossip on the rumor market, she instead investigated stories to publish in a school newspaper? What if instead of reading business magazines all the time, she instead practiced her family's school of martial arts? What if instead of having to harden her heart whenever she was faced with a sad situation, she instead generously helped the distressed person? What if instead of being a bystander always trying to find the opportunity in an incident, she instead was in the middle of the excitement herself? What if instead of the endless search for yen with Business Associates, she instead wasted her time with actual friends she could trust with secrets she would never tell her family?

What if instead of being the older sister to a girl engaged to a vulgar martial artist who changed genders with a splash of water, she instead was herself engaged to a strange person she apparently only barely knew?

What if?

What would it be like, to just drop everything and reset it all? Ranma was exploring the idea of leaving his honor, his dysfunctional family, and his own hard-earned reputation behind. Could Nabiki herself leave it all behind, too? Her home, her family, her hard-earned reputation, and everything. Was she foolish enough, or brave enough, to try? Did she even want to?

The silence continued to drag on.

"So..." Nabiki eventually said. She hesitated, afraid for the answer. "... do you like Yamato Nadeshiko?" She wasn't sure which answer she was more afraid to hear.

"Well, I don't like the name, but it's a bit too late to do anything about that now," Nadeshiko said. "Besides that, though, I don't know. Somewhat. It feels like running away... but... Everything is always Ranma's fault, right? If a dojo destroyer shows up, then Ranma must answer him. If a demonic tree attacks, then it's Ranma's responsibility to exorcise it. If a boy is wasting away at a hospital, then Ranma is the one who needs to get him to take his medicine. If Shampoo brings some lunch, then Ranma is the one who is encouraging her. If the panda makes yet another engagement, then Ranma must marry her. However, he must also marry Akane, and Ukyou, and everybody else.

"Things are much easier for Nadeshiko. She isn't forced to do anything she doesn't want to. She has friends who support her. She gets to live her life without waking up to worries about what's going to go wrong today, and how will she fix it. She gets to have fun earning all that yen by convincing all those men to buy things."

"Yen? How much yen?" Nabiki asked. The question was out of her mouth before she had even realized it.

Maybe under all the labels and expectations, Nabiki was a greedy person?

"I usually get paid approximately 100000 yen a night, on average," Nadeshiko said.

"100000 yen?" Nabiki gasped. Her eyes boggled. That was two significant digits more than she had expected. That explained where all of that clothing had come from. If Nadeshiko was earning 200000 yen a week, then the cost of a dress here and a swimsuit there was little more than a rounding error.

"Usually. Sometimes I get more. I think the most I ever earned in a single night was something like 450000 yen."

Nabiki's brain shut off. That was the most money she had heard of short of a mortgage or the 10-yen duel she had had with Kinnosuke Kasha. This had a key difference, too. Acquiring debt was easy. Acquiring yen was much harder. She only had one question.

"How?"

"The blue eyes and red hair helps quite a bit. Lots of men like the exotic foreigner look. Besides that, it's just practice. Lots and lots of practice," Nadeshiko said.

Nabiki knew how fast the redhead learned martial arts techniques, but she had thought that that ability had only applied to martial arts. Apparently, it was more generalized than that. The idea was frightful to consider.

"In that case, you can start paying us rent and stop your freeloading any time you want," Nabiki said.

"I thought I was paying. That is the reason madam is always blackmailing me, is it not?"

Blackmail. Nabiki never liked to think of it that way. The word sounded so ugly. However, if she were being honest with herself, it was what she did all the time. Truthfully, some of that money did go to supporting the Tendo household. However, not all of it did. She didn't want to go into detail about how much went to which category.

Maybe under all the labels and expectations, Nabiki was a selfish person?

Nadeshiko said, "If you are interested, I could introduce you to Mama-san. I'm sure she would let you try hostessing in Flare for a while to see how it goes. I think you would do quite well."

"No thanks. I'm not like you. I couldn't just go around sleeping with men for money," Nabiki said. The money might be nice, but there was no way Nabiki would ever consider selling her body like that.

Maybe under all the labels and expectations, Nabiki was a moral person?

"I don't know what your impression of being a hostess is, but I assure you that it is nothing like that," Nadeshiko said. Even when she was being reproachful, she maintained the friendly and receptive voice she always used. It was not unlike the way Kasumi scolded people. "Flare is a strictly no-touching club. It's just talking, singing, drinking, smoking, and lots and lots of listening. I do the occasional tea ceremony from time to time, as well. Being a good hostess is all about understanding the customer and giving him what he needs."

"And manipulating him out of as much of his yen as possible," Nabiki said. The child of a frog was a frog. Regardless of who else she was or was not, Nadeshiko was the child of Saotome Genma.

Maybe under all the labels and expectations, Nabiki was a cynical person?

"Like I said, I think you would be good at it."

Nabiki smirked. She had never thought about it before, but the way Nadeshiko had described the job did make it sound as though it would be a good fit for her. The money was certainly right. She said, "I'll need to think about it."

"Of course."

"So what happens now, now that I know all of... this...?" Nabiki waved her hand in the universal sign which signified everything all around them.

"For now, we wait for the police to arrive. Then you will answer their questions and do your best to not mention Yamato Nadeshiko. Maybe Saotome Ranma stumbled by the area; that is the kind of thing that would happen to him. After that, we will return to the Tendo house. I am sure everybody is quite concerned about your absence right now. Don't worry. I am also quite sure that they are all blaming me."

Nabiki winced, both at the reminder of the trouble that she would be in, as well as the fact that it was probably true that Ranma would be blamed for it. It was the script. Somehow, it would all turn out to be Ranma's fault. It always was.

"And what about tomorrow?" Nabiki asked.

"I have no idea."

After a short period of time, the maitre d' Nabiki had met on Tuesday came by their booth to retrieve Nadeshiko. She wore a different shirt and suit, but she looked every bit as sharp as when she had ensured that Nabiki had been expelled from Flare. The maitre d' led the hostess away and out of earshot. Nadeshiko returned a few seconds later and in turn escorted Nabiki to an office on the side of the hostess club. Inside were two members of the police who took Nabiki's statement as to what had happened.

Nabiki told them the truth. She said that she had been attacked in the alley by three men, whom she described as best she could remember through her hazy memory. She mentioned that when they had attacked her, she had tried to use her camera to blind them and escape, but it had not worked. She concluded her testimony by explaining how Saotome Ranma, a master martial artist engaged to marry one of the Tendo sisters, had happened upon the scene and had subsequently saved her.

The police showed her the camera they had retrieved from the alley, which to her horror had a large crack through the center of the lens. Nabiki confirmed it was hers, whereupon they confiscated the film as evidence but returned the camera itself to her. They confiscated her dirty clothes as well. After that, Nabiki was free to go.

She found Nadeshiko waiting for her outside the office. The hostess said, "This way, madam. It's expected for the hostesses to always leave by the back door, unless you would prefer to meet me outside in front?"

"No, that's okay. I'll follow you," Nabiki said. She let herself be led back through the hostess club and back to the alley where she had just been attacked. It felt as though it had been weeks since that assault, rather than the mere hour it had actually been. A slight shudder of worry disturbed her, but that was foolish. There was no way her escort would let her come to any harm. She had already proved that.

"This is a bit embarrassing to ask, but do you know the way to the nearest Tokyo Metro station?" Nadeshiko asked.

"You don't know?"

"I usually run here," Nadeshiko said. "I know Nerima is that way, if you would prefer to travel on foot."

"You run. From Ginza to Nerima. You run," Nabiki said. She rolled her eyes, although the expression was lost in the shadows of the alley. "Fine, follow me. The station's this way."

They had only just entered the station when Nadeshiko said, "Please wait here for a moment. I need to change." She then walked into the nearby public restroom they had been passing.

Nabiki was tempted to just go on alone, but after the escapade she had just been through, she had no desire to be by herself. Rationally she knew nothing would happen to her here. Tokyo was a remarkably safe city. Any crime, such as the attack she had just been subjected to, was an extraordinarily unlucky fluke. Moreover, while the station no longer had the crushing crowds of rush hour, it was still well-lit with numerous people walking around.

None of that mattered to her beating heart or her twitching nerves. Emotions were always irrational. It wasn't as if the fact that Ranma could destroy a tiger with one hand tied behind his back prevented him from fleeing at the mere sight of a passing house cat. She consoled herself that if she really wanted to, she could have proceeded on her own. She just had no reason to, and it would have been incredibly rude to her companion, too.

She checked her watch. It read 22:30. She was going to get home late. Nadeshiko was certainly right. Her family would be in a panic by now. It was long after the time her father and Genma would have sent Ranma to go out searching for her, except that Ranma was absent, too. She wondered what everybody in the Tendo home was thinking.

About a minute later, Ranma came back out of the public restroom. He was still female, but was wearing his more familiar silk red shirt and black pants. His hands were behind his head as he re-braided his hair into his characteristic pigtail with an ease which spoke of frequent practice.

It wasn't merely his physical appearance which had changed. Ranma's voice had also taken on the harsh tone and masculine vernacular which he typically used when female. He said, "The makeup's the hard part. It's damn near impossible to get it all without a mirror and water. Last time I tried, Akane thought I'd snuck out to see Kodachi or something."

Of course the makeup would be the hard part. Not the changing of clothes in under a minute; Ranma probably had some kind of Martial Arts Clothes Changing technique which would let him swap clothes in the blink of an eye. Not locating a shirt and pants while disposing of a dress and shoes without a trace; Ranma probably had some kind of Martial Arts Hidden Weapons technique which would let him hide an entire wardrobe on his person without any visible sign. It was enough to make Nabiki regret having given up martial arts all those years ago. Back then she had easily matched Akane's skill. If she had continued her training, then she might have been able to use such convenient techniques herself.

Maybe under all the labels and expectations, Nabiki was a master of the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts?

Now that Ranma had changed and was characteristically Ranma again, Nabiki wasn't sure how to proceed. Up until this evening it had been easy. It was familiar practice to dismiss the uneducated, thoughtless, hyper-macho, arrogant caricature she had pictured in her head. She could tease the dumb churl, get a bit of yen here and there, but mostly disregard him.

That was before she had discovered that he was a much more complicated character than she had thought. He had a whole other life to him. He was smarter and more resourceful than she had imagined. He also was apparently rich. He had nowhere near the wealth of the Kuno family, but he was earning more than anybody else in the Tendo household was, and that was with working only eight hours a week. Moreover, he had none of the obsession and insanity that was endemic to the Kuno family.

Maybe under all the labels and expectations, Nabiki was the true fiancee of Saotome Ranma?

Nabiki was unsure how to actually interact with this new Ranma, so she didn't. She instead led him in silence through the station to the Ginza line. Once on the train itself, she gazed out the window, and across the carriage, and at the advertisements, and anywhere except at Ranma.

The trains were as punctual as they always were. They arrived in Nerima just after 23:10.

Ranma took the lead as they walked through the quiet roads. Nabiki had never seen it so dark. Street lamps appeared only every few blocks, and the large expanses of blackness between them were only lit by the occasional headlights of passing cars. The lights from the rest of Tokyo reflecting from the sky provided enough illumination to avoid tripping, but they did not provide enough to see anything beyond vague shapes. The streets she had walked through as a child had transformed in appearance to unfamiliar trenches of darkness which held knives in waiting.

Nabiki stayed close to Ranma.

In a way, the whole area felt a lot like Ranma himself did. Intellectually, everything was the same as it had been in the morning. Everything looked recognizable, but it didn't feel the same. There was the unfamiliar building which housed people and stuff used to put out fires, the unfamiliar store in the easy-to-find place which sold foods and drinks, and the dark house of that lady who liked to spend her time drawing funny pictures. She saw them all from a different perspective, and none of the cues of familiarity triggered. Nabiki felt as if she needed to consciously make her way forward, rather than being able to rely familiar habits to lead her home.

Nabiki was still in an exhausted trance when Ranma stopped in front of a gate. She was about to ask why he had stopped, but then she realized that it was the entrance to her house. She hadn't even recognized her own home.

Soun was pacing back and forth in the entrance hall when Ranma opened the front door. The moment the door opened, Soun immediately shouted, "Ranma-kun! Where have you been! Nabiki's gone missing! You've got to find her!"

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I already found her," Ranma said.

"I'm home," Nabiki said. Akane ran forward from the family room. Behind her was a briskly moving Kasumi, followed by the Saotomes.

Akane asked, "Do you have any idea what time it is? Where were you? We were so worried. I bet it's all Ranma's fault. You were asking about him before you left. What'd that pervert do to you this time?"

"Why'd you got to blame me? What'd I do?" Ranma protested.

"Do you even need to ask? Every time something weird happens it always comes back to you. What's the story this time? Some island prince kidnap her or something?"

"You got another new dress, Nabiki? Are you sure we can afford all that?" Kasumi asked.

Nabiki looked down. She had completely forgotten about her clothing change. She said, "It's fine. Ranma-kun bought it for me."

"I'm so proud of you," Nodoka said. "It's very manly of you to collect mistresses."

"A mistress?" Akane asked. "What exactly were you two doing?"

"It's not like that! Why'd you gotta be so uncute all the time?" Ranma asked.

It was always the same script whenever there was an argument. Blame, protest and insult, counter-insult, squabble, fight. If any of the parents was around, then they would either egg them on or try too hard to push them together. It would end when Akane got in the last word in some way or another, and the status quo would be restored until the next time.

Nabiki was too exhausted to care. She simply left the argument behind and wandered up to her room to get some new clothes before going to the bath. She wouldn't have been surprised if nobody had actually seen her leave the entrance hall. She was just the most recent trigger of the script, rather than being an integral part of it.

Maybe under all the labels and expectations, Nabiki was a bystander?

Right after Nabiki had closed the door to the bathroom, she heard a, "Ranma, you idiot!" It was immediately followed by a thud which resounded through the whole house.

And the status quo had been restored.

Saturday began far too early. Nabiki had never been a morning person, and the irritating sounds of fighting from the courtyard were not helping her surly mood. She wanted nothing more than to pull her pillow over her head and go back to sleep.

"Nabiki-chan. It's time to get up," Kasumi prompted her. She couldn't help but notice her sweet voice vaguely echoed the same unconditional acceptance within Nadeshiko's voice.

"Okay," Nabiki sighed. She groaned. With great difficulty, she pushed herself into a sitting position.

The sunlight brought everything back. Everything had snapped into place. It was the same familiar Nerima she had grown up with and had known her whole life. The vague distorted world of shadows and suspicions from Friday night had vanished with no more trace than a passing nightmare. Only the vague memory of the differences remained. It was almost enough to make her believe that everything had just been a wild dream.

However, she knew better than that. She was not like the Kunos. She was not delusional. Hanging in her closet was a dark gray dress, fine enough and sleek enough that she would have been happy to wear it to a job interview, if not to a meeting with a board of directors. There was the other piece of indisputable physical evidence as well. Her broken camera now had a cracked lens. It rendered the device useless, being only capable of capturing distorted mosaics instead of the actual truth of reality. Both stood as undeniable testimony that Friday hadn't been some surreal illusion.

Ranma had a second life as Yamato Nadeshiko. Ranma was rich. Ranma had saved her life. Ranma was downstairs fighting Genma as if nothing had changed in the past day, as if Nabiki's world hadn't been shattered.

A night of sleep had done nothing to clear Nabiki's head. She still didn't know what she was going to do. She was just as confused as she had been the night before throughout the train ride, throughout the walk through unfamiliar streets, throughout her bath before bed, and throughout her tossing and turning before she had finally fallen asleep.

Nabiki walked to the bathroom, following the path she had taken for years with no conscious thought. Her mind was too preoccupied with the question of what she was going to do. She could expose Ranma's secret to everybody. Just her accusation alone would have been enough to start the avalanche. Another option she could take was to completely ignore everything and pretend it had never happened. She could continue to tease and use Ranma for her own amusement and profit, both of which would dramatically increase now that she knew how much money he earned on a weekly basis.

As was habitual, plans started to form in her head. Upon reflection, it was clear that her broken camera was really all Ranma's fault. If he hadn't led Nabiki on that wild chase, she never would have been in Ginza in the first place. It only made sense that he should pay for it. If she were to casually mention what had happened, and how much trouble it could be if others were to find out about Ranma's secret, it would be simple to get him to offer to pay for a replacement. After all, she needed a camera if she wanted to take more photographs to sell to Kuno and keep the flow of yen incoming. She deserved it, and it would just be a bit of pocket change for Ranma.

Nabiki stopped in the middle of her habitual brushing of her teeth and stared in the mirror. Who was Nabiki, really?

Maybe under all the labels and expectations, Nabiki was an unscrupulous blackmailer?

Was that who she really was?

There was another possibility. Maybe if Nabiki just asked nicely, Ranma would be willing to help her replace it. Or maybe he could just lend her the yen for a while so she could replace it herself. Or maybe she didn't need a new camera at all. Maybe.

Nabiki spat out the toothpaste from her mouth and looked at herself in the mirror again. Was that who she was? More importantly, was that who she really wanted to be?

The mirror matched her sigh, but it gave no answers.

Nabiki may not have felt any better after brushing her teeth, but she did feel more awake. She had gained some momentum, and through sheer force of will she was able to keep herself going on her morning routine. If past experience was anything to go by, she would feel much better after she had started to eat. She just had to manage to get there.

Breakfast was exactly according to script, just like any number of other breakfasts since the arrival of the Saotomes. The water dripping from Genma's panda fur did nothing to slow him down as he casually stole food from Ranma. Ranma just as casually stole it back from his father, with extra interest charged on top of it. Sitting beside them both was Nodoka, who ate her meal in purposeful ignorance of their antics. Soun was also oblivious, his eyes more interested in scanning the newspaper in front of him than both the battle for food as well as the dishes Kasumi still brought out one at a time which fueled the ongoing struggle.

Akane was seething in annoyance. She was also trying to ignore Ranma and Genma, but she was having far less luck than both Nodoka and Soun.

It was time to make a decision. What was Nabiki going to do about Nadeshiko?

Nabiki decided to do nothing at all. She would have felt guilty exposing him after all that he had done for her the night before. Bereft of any other ideas, she fell back to her old habits. She said, "You two had better not have eaten all the fish."

Both Ranma and Genma froze in place and stared at Nabiki with a look of fear. Ranma hesitantly pushed a half-plate across the table towards her. Genma made no move to stop him or to take advantage of the momentary truce by stealing any other food from his son.

"That's all that's left? It's going to cost you," Nabiki said. It came naturally. It was so easy. She didn't need to think about it. Things just happened.

"Blame Ranma," read a sign Genma held up. He flipped it over. "Woe is me to have such a greedy son."

"Why're you blaming me, pop! You're the one who ate it all," Ranma protested. There was no sign of the calm, confident, cultured Nadeshiko in his movement or voice. Nabiki made a mental note to never wager anything of value against him in cards ever again.

Nabiki's philosophical quandaries and dilemmas were brought to an end with the chime of a bell. Shampoo then soared over the walls of the Tendo compound on her bicycle and landed squarely on Ranma's back.

"Nihao, Ranma! Shampoo bring breakfast." Shampoo paused and looked around. "Where husband?" She looked down. "What doing there?" She dismounted, and then pulled the dizzy Ranma up. "Here, try new dish. Is too too delicious."

Ranma quickly recovered from the surprise attack and shouted, "Get off'a me, Shampoo!"

Akane almost growled out, "Ranma... Can't you go for one hour before you start flirting with everybody else?"

"It's not my fault, you uncute tomboy!" Ranma shouted.

"Don't blame my manly son. He can't help himself. He reminds me of my husband back in the day," Nodoka said.

Genma gave a laugh in response. As he was in his panda form, his guffaws sounded especially strange.

"It's not like that," Ranma said.

"I knew it. Like father, like son," Akane said.

Who was Nabiki?

Maybe under all the labels and expectations, Nabiki was an innocent bystander who derived as much pleasure as she could from a passing spectacle as she watched? Maybe she was a noble person who stood up for the right thing? Maybe she was a pragmatist who drove away dishonorable parasites to her family? Maybe she was a supportive older sister who guided her younger sister through tumultuous emotions and relationships? Maybe she was a mercenary who always searched for every yen of profit from every opportunity she saw? Maybe she was a reliable friend who others could depend on when they were in trouble? Maybe she was a loving fiancee who protected her fiance from false accusations?

Who was Nabiki?

She came to a decision. It was time to start changing things about herself.

"I don't know, Akane. It looks to me like Ranma-kun's pretty innocent here," Nabiki interrupted.

Everybody froze to stare at her. That wasn't part of the script. Nobody was supposed to defend Ranma, especially not the mercenary ice queen of Furinkan.

Nabiki calmly took a sip of tea from her cup. She wondered if this was how Nadeshiko felt.

Genma was the first to react. He held up a sign saying, "I'm proud of you, boy. You're thinking ahead, just like your father." In his other paw he held up a much smaller sign upon which was written in tiny font, "So tell me, how much did it cost to have her take your side?"

"I didn't pay her nothing," Ranma protested.

"Of course you did. My sister wouldn't just go around defending someone for free," Akane said.

Nabiki felt the prick against her pride. It was true that up until her harrowing ordeal and the subsequent emotional discussion she had had with Ranma, which was something she never would have ever imagined as being remotely possible, she probably wouldn't have defended anybody without payment of some kind. However, the validity of Akane's statement didn't make the accusation feel any better. She said, "Maybe I would, if it was the right thing to do. From what I can tell, it looks to me like Shampoo came in here on her own. I don't see how that's Ranma-kun's fault, unless you think he asked her to come crashing down on top of him with a bicycle."

Akane didn't back down. She said, "Well, if he didn't encourage her so much, then this wouldn't have happened at all."

"That's a bit of a stretch, don't you think?" Nabiki asked.

"I can't believe you. For the cost of one dress you turn on your own sister. I had no idea you were that heartless," Akane said.

"Come, husband. We leave sisters' fight behind, yes?" Shampoo asked. She pulled at Ranma's arm.

"Let me go, Shampoo!" Ranma shouted. He tried to push the clinging Chinese Amazon away, but was a bit careless with where one of his hands landed.

"Ranma... You pervert!" Akane shouted. She grabbed a chair and used it to smash Ranma out through the open door and over the fence surrounding the yard.

"Aiya! Husband need eat in next 10 minutes," Shampoo said. She grabbed her breakfast, leaped onto her bicycle, and then chased after the wayward martial artist.

"Hmph," Akane complained.

Blame, protest and insult, counter-insult, squabble, fight. If any of the parents was around, then they would either egg them on or try too hard to push them together. It would end when Akane got in the last word in some way or another, and the status quo would be restored until the next time.

The script had refused to change.

Nabiki wasn't too surprised. Habits weren't formed in a single day, and reputations weren't changed overnight. It would take more time and effort. She could try again, and again, and eventually she was sure she could change things. She could forge a different reputation. She could have different relationships with people. She could be a different person, one way or another.

The table quieted down after Ranma had disappeared to wherever he had gone. With the disappearance of the focus of chaos, everything quickly returned to normal. It always did. It would remain quiet until the next time.

In the lull between the storms, Nabiki asked, "Hey, Akane. Do you really think Ranma-kun deserved all that? I mean... I know you said it, but do you really, really believe it?"

"Of course that pervert does," Akane said.

Nabiki sighed. She knew it had been too much to hope for. It was never wise to try to generalize from Ranma's example. The improbable martial artist was almost by definition an exception. It wasn't as if everybody was walking around wearing a mask which hid their true personality from the public. Ranma and Nadeshiko was a fluke, as he always was.

Akane's declaration only served to validate Nabiki's decision of who she wanted to be.

"Maybe you should slow down with all of your accusations all the time. Ranma-kun can't enjoy being blamed for everything like that," Nabiki said.

"Then he should just tell Shampoo and everybody else to leave," Akane said.

"Aren't you afraid that one day he might just decide to run away?" Nabiki asked.

"You shouldn't say such things, Nabiki-chan. Breaking an engagement of honor isn't very manly," Nodoka said.

Genma held up a sign which read, "There's no way Ranma would ever run away."

"I guess you are right. Ranma-kun wouldn't ever run away," Nabiki said. Then, under her breath, she whispered, "Yamato Nadeshiko, on the other hand..."

Author's Notes:

Thus another story comes to an end...

This was originally inspired by the story "In Her Sorrow," by Krimzonrayne, and specifically by a certain scene in its third chapter. In that story, Nabiki had come across a girl who looked like Ranma, confronted her, and that incident had come to a fairly quick resolution. I had wondered how things would have progressed if the confrontation there had not been resolved quite so quickly, with this being the end result of my contemplations.

As you can tell, the setting and the plot of this story have changed so much that it now only bears a passing resemblance to "In Her Sorrow," if any real similarity at all. When I had first started this project, it had been much closer aligned to that source of inspiration. I had originally planned that Nabiki would discover Ranma's secret life, and then ultimately disregard it and allow Nerima to return to the status quo with no lasting change. Everything would be revealed and then re-veiled. In fact, this story had originally had the name "Reveilation," although subsequent consideration made me decide that it was a bad idea to have what appeared to be a typo as a story title.

However, in thinking about Ranma's explanation of why he had adopted this hidden life, I thought the discussion could have inspired some passing thoughts within Nabiki about what her life could have been if she were male instead of female. She would have reflected on both the opportunities denied to her as well the other opportunities afforded to her due to her gender. This passing reflection then morphed into her having a more serious philosophical self-examination, which finally resulted in the final overall story theme you have just read.

This story is a first for me for a few reasons. The first is that this is the first time I've gone out of my way to really use pre-readers in a serious way. They've provided a great deal of feedback, suggestions, corrections, and general improvements throughout the release of this story. I will note in their defense that I did not take every one of their suggested changes, so there may very well be errors which they caught but I disregarded for whatever reason. Regardless, I would like to give a very big thank you to Arbe471, JadeDragonHawk, and khammel.

The second first for me is that this is the first story in which I've really tried to follow Jim Butcher's (author of The Dresden Files book series, among other things) guidance about how to write fiction. This advice can be found on his blog, among other places. In particular, I've found his idea of Scenes and Sequels to be very helpful. I'm still clumsy with it, and I honestly don't see how it can apply to all story archetypes, but that framework was very good in forcing me both think through as well as pace several points. Of note, I found out that I had been neglecting Sequels a great deal, and I think this new tool did much to improve this story. Other useful tools Jim Butcher offered which I found useful were the concept of character Traits and Tags, and the idea of a Story Question. There is a reason I gave this story summary such a stilted phrasing. I don't think everything he suggested quite works for all stories, but they are great tools to at least consider and try to use.

My last note I'll add here is that I really do wonder what type of person Nabiki will end up becoming. Was she trying to help Ranma because she felt that she owed him something, because she thought it was the right thing to do, because she wanted to deescalate the situation between her sister and Ranma, because she wanted to take over his engagement from Akane, or for some other reason? If one day Ranma does decide to just disappear, would she go with him? I wonder.

Regardless of the decisions Nabiki has made, that is the subject of a different story. For now, we shall leave her to explore the identity she has found in peace.

Last Updated: November 21, 2017