Chapter 4

The next few days passed rather nicely for Furinkan High. Without the Hentai Horde some girls were starting to feel a little safer, having been afraid that any one of them might have been assaulted too by the mania. The boys were cautious and tried to avoid drawing any attention to themselves, to the point where they felt like they were walking on eggshells. So while it was less eventful, it wasn't perfect, but for the most part it was something the school could begin to put behind itself.

But the same couldn't be said for Akane and Kuno, not yet at least. Kuno appeared to be following the rules, and avoided actually speaking to Akane, but he did try to be in the same place as her when he could get away with it. Most suspected he hadn't given up at all, just trying to find a new way to get her to be with him. On her end Akane was naturally defensive in the aftermath of the horde's ending, expecting someone to throw caution to the wind and ambush her anyway. But at least her infamous anger was tempered if not gone.

"Nabiki." Kuno greeted the middle Tendo daughter as the day ended.

"What is it Kuno?"

"Can I speak to you somewhere?"

Nabiki looked at him for a moment saying nothing, but thinking quickly. 'He wants to speak, but where no one can hear him. This can only mean one thing.'

"I'll spare you some time for now, but we go where I want then." She told him.

"Very well, where do you desire?"

"I could go for an ice cream."

"Dibs on roast beef." Shampoo told Ranma while they were sorting the food offered to them in the clock tower.

"No problem. Thanks to Grandma we don't have to worry about it going bad." Ranma replied, pulling as much as he could into a preservation box. It was a handy shinigami tool that was bigger on the inside and kept food as fresh as the moment it was put in regardless of how long it was in there. It's primary purpose was to trap terrible spirits that refused to move on until something more effective could be done with it, but a portable magic fridge was much more useful to Ranma.

"Which job you do next?" Shampoo asked, taking a bite out of the roast beef sandwich she had claimed as her own.

Ranma looked over the notes when he was done with the food. "Oh get a load of this one. 'Bring me proof of ghosts'." He and his cat partner laughed about that one, then he crumbled it up and tossed it away. "Did they really think that would work? I'm keeping the money from that one."

"So, what's on your mind Kuno? And please, keep in mind I don't speak Kuno-ese when you tell me." Nabiki asked when she had a chocolate ice cream cone in her hands, having a lick when she finished speaking.

Kuno had a vanilla cone in his own hand, but he had yet to sample it. "Nabiki, I have been prohibited from showering affections for your sister at the school the way I have been so far. What would she enjoy that the school would not object to?"

Nabiki withheld a sigh. "Kuno, why would I do that?"

"Do you wish your sister to wallow in the misery she is surely going thru now? The faculty has decided it must thwart our love, and as her sister it is your duty to help her be happy."

"And what makes you think you make Akane happy? Just this once, put every single brain cell you have to use, even if it kills a few of them, and explain to me why you believe Akane loves you."

"She's the one who asked me to prove my worth to her. Why would she do that if she didn't wish me to woo her?" Kuno replied.

Nabiki gave him a skeptic look but didn't cease enjoying her treat. "And when did she do that?"

"Did you not hear of the time she tried out for the kendo club?" Kuno asked.

Nabiki shook her head. "No, I did not."

"At the beginning of the school year, Akane blessed my humble club with her presence and request to join. Like all candidates, we required her to go thru a test of skill, which I must say she did splendidly. I did not hesitate to offer her membership when she was done, but to my surprise she turned it down. Akane claimed we were not enough to impress her, and speculated that we might have stood a chance against her if we had fought her all at once."

'That's interesting.' Nabiki mused. "Let me guess, your club did just that."

Kuno nodded. "The following week. We presented the challenge for her and she amazingly triumphed. I had to reflect on what to do, such talent was going to waste by not being in the club. And such a fierce tigress was by all means the most wondrous woman in Furinkan. But she wished us to best her, and we did not have enough numbers on our own, so I concluded that the element of surprise would help."

"So with this in mind, you got the attention of every man you could, but in order to get them to go along with it, you had to persuade them that the one who did manage to defeat my sister would get to date her." Nabiki speculated.

"They wouldn't have done it for fun, don't you agree?" Kuno asked.

"No, I'll give you that one. An entire school wouldn't band together to help one guy get one girl unless it was part of a movie or something. But this basically means you made a promise you never intended to keep Kuno-baby."

Kuno blinked. "I did no such thing. That would have been tremendously dishonorable."

Nabiki looked tempted to roll her eyes. "You said that if any man ever did beat Akane in combat he would be the one who earned the right to date her, didn't you?" He nodded. "So let's pretend that one of them did win. Would you have accepted it, or would you have tried to cheat him out of his prize?"

"There's no rule saying I could not face such a victor myself." The kendoist replied.

"In other words, if someone won, you intended to take their prize from them. Face it Kuno, you just did something 'tremendously dishonorable'. You made a promise to a bunch of people, but when it came time to make good on it, you never intended to give them what you had promised them. You lied to everyone, plain and simple."

Kuno jerked back as if he had been stabbed, shock written across his face. He wanted desperately to believe that the middle Tendo daughter was wrong, but her case was solid. He had honestly thought he was just being a good sport, but was he being the very thing he said he was above being?

"You have given me much to think about Nabiki. For now, I am not worthy to pursue your sister until I can hold my head high with honor."

'Your head will have something in it alright, but I doubt it will be honor.' She snidely thought. "Glad to be of help Kuno-baby."

He then walked off, and she headed home.

'I give him a day before he's back to normal.'

She walked away, finishing off her ice cream along the way. Along the way she passed by one of Nerima's park, where she saw the oddest thing. She saw a few kids crowded around a guy wearing a panda costume who was giving them candy and balloons. What made it odd was the fact that this was not normal for the park, and she could see no adults.

'Okay, I'm getting a bad feeling about this. A 'ghost in the area' kind of feeling, and I don't even see one anywhere.' She thought, briefly glancing around to make sure there were no undead spirits lingering in the area.

The panda then made a 'come with me' gesture to the kids who didn't seem aware of anything wrong. He came up to some trees and pointed to the other side, making it look like there was something for them to see. Nabiki watched this, and knew right away that this was not normal.

'I should definitely keep an eye on this, in case this man does something he should be arrested for.' She thought, keeping out of sight and her camera ready to catch him in the act.

Following behind, she saw the panda lead the kids behind some trees, and something different bothered her now. It was like the air was getting hazier, almost foggier.

'I'm really not liking this.' She thought, looking around and seeing little around her. It was almost like the park was gone. And in it's place was... a dirt road to a river? With a giant red wheel spinning in the air like a ferris wheel with no support.

Nabiki looked up at the wheel and froze, unable to tear her eyes off it. 'That wheel... I know I've seen it before. Where am I?'

"I'm back." Ranma said when he came into the Tendo home.

"Hello Ranma." Kasumi greeted. "Is Nabiki with you?"

"No, why? Is she not here yet?"

Kasumi shook her head.

"Doesn't she have any afterschool hobbies?" Ranma added.

"Not really. Nabiki's not exactly a social girl, I don't know why. She just likes spending her time here at home."

'Probably the only relief she gets from seeing ghosts.' Ranma thought. "Would you like me to go look for her?"

"Nabiki's a big girl, she can handle being out on her own for some time if she chooses."

'Yeah, but if this isn't normal for her, then it's possible that she found a ghost that's not leaving her alone. I better go check just to be sure.' He thought. "Alright, if you say so. I'm going to go meditate if that's alright."

Kasumi nodded. "I'll make sure no one disturbs you."

He thanked her than went up to his room. Once the door was closed he put on the shinigami haori and went outside, Shampoo on his shoulder.

"Can you smell her anywhere?" He asked his cat partner.

"Why you so worried?" Shampoo asked back.

"She can see ghosts, that means she's more prone to getting in trouble than normal people. Plus apparently she got into the spirit realm as a kid with no idea, so what if she does it again? How would she get back?"

Shampoo scoffed. "What are odds she go to spirit world today?"

Ranma sighed. "Well, now it's on my mind, so I need to check and make sure she didn't."

Nabiki looked around, seeing nobody. She could see a river flowing under the river and the vague impression of land on the other side, implying that the river was very wide. It was only the fact that she could see it flowing, albeity slowly, that convinced her it was a river rather than a lake.

"Okay, where am I? And where did that panda go?" She asked. She naturally turned to look behind her, but the trail didn't look like it led anywhere. Somehow she got the impression that simply retracing her steps wouldn't take her back to Nerima.

She froze when she saw a boat slowly come to shore with a ferryman in black robes standing at the bow. "You ready to cross?" He asked her.

Now Nabiki knew where she was.

"No, I'm not dead. I'm still alive."

The ferryman looked like she wasn't the first person to say that to him. "Sorry little girl, but you're dead. You wouldn't be here at the River Styx if you weren't."

Nabiki was starting to panic, but fortunately she maintained her composure. "I assure you I am still alive. This has happened to me before, so please tell me how to get back to the world of the living."

"You're dead. You don't get to go back."

Nabiki turned to run away but before she could get three steps away she felt wrapped up and collapsed on her back, dragged through the dirt. The ferryman was holding some kind of rope as thick as the Tendo girl's arm and it was wrapped around her like a snake, with him holding the other end.

"I hate the difficult ones." He muttered as he pulled her kicking and screaming into the boat, then starting taking her to the other side of the river. "Just relax, it'll all be over before you know it."

The spirit world was always a comfort to Ranma, even if it made him feel terrivle financially. Being part shinigami he naturally felt at home here, but he could never stay here for long. Work always required him to be in the living world more.

Where he was now was essentially the entry point to the spiritual world, on what amounted to the west side of the legendary River Styx. This was where all souls arrived after their connections to earth and life were gone, though it was spread out along the river bank. There were multiple docks to cross the river and be taken to the other side, with some shops and small businesses there for those that needed some time ro get ready before crossing the river. There were also some places for the shinigami, like a bathhouse and hotel for those like him who worked regularly, but unlike him could afford to use it.

"Okay, if Nabiki is here she should stand out in some way." Ranma mentioned, trying to look around. He saw some shinigami looking for better equipment for their job, and what looked like a ghost trying to sell something in order to pay the fare across the river. But there was no Nabiki.

"Still say she not here, but..." Shampoo started, sniffing the air. Presumably the scent of a living person would stand out like a sore thumb in this place. "Hmm..."

"Got something?" He asked.

"By the river."

"The river?" Ranma asked, then headed that way. "That's not good. People don't usually go by the river unless they're ready to cross it."

"If she there she no in danger. Ferryman not make her cross." The black cat reminded him.

"What if she's already been judged?"

Shampoo froze at that. "Hurry."

The River Styx was awfully wide, and if it werent for the current Nabiki would believe it was really a large lake or maybe the ocean. She couldn't see the horizon, only that giant red spinning wheel in the sky before her. The closer the boat got, the more scared she got.

But there was nothing she could do and she was really trying to figure out how to get away. Telling the ferryman she was alive wasn't working, and with the rope binding her she couldn't exactly get away from him. And assuming she could, she wasn't going to risk getting into that water. Who knew what happened to those that went swimming in there, whether they were already wrapped up or not.

"Can you at least tell me where you're taking me if you think I'm dead?" She asked.

"To the other side."

"And what will happen then?"

"A shinigami escort will take you where you were assigned."

"Well news for you buster but I haven't been assigned anywhere. Because I'm still alive!" Nabiki protested.

To his credit the ferryman didn't even look her way. "You sound like a hellbound."

"Hellbound?" Nabiki repeated, not liking the sound of that.

"It's self-explanatory. I just wonder what someone your age did to deserve it."

"I didn't do anything! I don't belong here!"

The ferryman sighed in annoyance. "Says every hellbound that is dragged across Styx."

'Ranma, please save me.' Nabiki prayed, wondering if maybe she should risk jumping into the river, bound and all.

One of the buildings on the west side of the river was the spiritual courthouse, one of many to be honest. Every soul that came there was put before a panel of judges who decided where they would go after crossing the river. Sometimes they even produced a free pass for crossing, though not always. Most souls that remained on the west side were either waiting for final results, or were required to pay the ferry out of their own pocket and needed to come up with the money first.

"Okay sir, no one named Nabiki Tendo has been seen yet here." A shinigami working as a clerk in the courthouse told Ranma, having gone over the recent files on a computer.

"You're sure about that?" He asked just to be sure.

The clerk nodded. "Yes, and there are no scheduled ferries for... wait, what's this?" He trailed off, seeing something that did not add up. "This is strange. There's an unscheduled ferry crossing Styx right now."

'Please let me be wrong.' Ranma hoped. "Is there a passenger list?"

The clerk checked. "No, no name is given. Only details are one person, described as a young woman, and there was no accepted charge or pass. It's like the ferryman is doing this one for free. Other than that though, it seems like a standard notification of a transport."

"Think it Nabiki?" Shampoo asked.

"I'm not taking that risk." Ranma thought before rushing outside and toward the river.

The clerk simply shook his head. "Better report this unauthorized transport. It's bad enough we've got rumors of rogue shinigami killing the living going around."

One of the downsides to the spirit world was Ranma couldn't fly here. He didn't know if it was something that applied to all shinigami and some fancy expensive tool was needed to change that, or if it applied only to him thanks to being half human. Eitherway if he was going to confirm Nabiki wasn't heading for an early death he had to get to her, and the only way to do that was swim the River Styx.

Normally this was a very bad idea. There were No Swimming signs posted for a reason after all. But Ranma wasn't going to let a sign stop him from saving the closest thing to a human friend he had. He dived into the water and pushed forward, fighting the current all the way.

"This too too bad idea!" Shampoo lamented, drenched and hating it but still clinging to his shoulder. The claws dug into his skin but he ignored it.

"Can you smell her?"

"No smell anything but water."

Having no choice, Ranma just kept swimming, checking left and right consistently in hopes of seeing one boat out on the water. It took some time, but he eventually did see one up ahead and on his left.

'Thank Kami-sama the ferries take their time.' He thought, heading that way. "Shampoo, when we get close enough distract the ferryman."

"How?"

"I dunno sing the Meow Mix song for all I care just do something!"

The black cat looked mildly offended by that, but nonetheless she jumped off her partner and clawed onto the back of the ferryman. The ferryman was caught completely by surprise and jerked around, first trying to figure out what was attacking him then trying to get rid of it.

Ranma grabbed the side of the boat and hoisted himself up but not into it, seeing Nabiki tied up. "Nabiki!" He cried, since her eyes were focused on the struggle.

"Ranma! Oh thank Kami-sama get me out of here!" She cried back, never so relieved in her life.

The pigtailed teen moved around the boat and grabbed ahold of her as best he could. The ferryman managed to grab ahold of Shampoo and yank her off before throwing her into the water. "Stop right there shinigami! This girl is-"

"She's still alive!" Ranma protested.

"She's not the first one to say that and she won't be the last. Why the hell should I believe you when I didn't believe her?"

"Because if you get there and she's not only alive but unjudged, you're guilty of a crime. When you picked her up, was there a shinigami with her?"

"No, he just tied me up and dragged me into his boat like he was kidnapping me." Nabiki answered on behalf of the ferryman, who now was starting to look less certain.

"No shinigami escort, no fare, no assigned destination, I don't know what you're thinking mister, but I bet you can lose something for this. And if she's still alive, you'll lose your job."

"Alright fine I'll take her back. Geez I was just bored, give me a break here." The ferryman grumbled.

Shampoo managed to swim up to the boat and Ranma put her into it. Nabiki cringed when the black cat shook herself dry. The ferryman turned around and started rowing back to the shore they came from, but not until after Nabiki was freed from her binds.

"Ranma, thank you." The middle Tendo daughter whispered. "I owe you big time."

"No problem, but how did you get here again?"

"I was just walking and I saw a guy in a panda costume leading some kids away. Naturally suspicious, I tried to follow and next thing I know, here I am."

Ranma blinked, his face losing color. "Guy in a panda costume?"

"You know him?"

He shook his head. "No, but I think I know what he was doing." He then turned to the ferryman and pulled out his scythe. "You weren't bored were you? You're with them, the Damashigami, aren't you?"

The ferryman looked frightened, then threw down a smoke bomb and the next thing they knew he was gone.

"Well that's all the confession I needed." Ranma relented.

"What's a damashigami?" Nabiki asked.

"Something Grandma warned me about. Shinigami that intentionally target the living. Meaning that guy probably knew you were alive but pretended he didn't."

Nabiki's blood froze at the implication. "What do they do with those they catch?"

Ranma shook his head. "I dunno, but you're not going to find out today. Let's get you home."