Project A-Ko Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Vampire Hunter (Darkstalkers) Fan Fiction ❯ Nabiki 1/2 (A Very Scary Thought) ❯ The Matriarch... ( Chapter 27 )

Nabiki 1/2

(A Very Scary Thought)

Written by Jim Robert Bader

Proofread by Shiva Barnwell

Based Upon the Altered Destinies Storyline

Inspired by the works of such fans as

Wade Tritshler

Richard Lawson

James Jones

And Many Others

Standard Disclaimer: This is inspired by the work of Takahashi Rumiko and is not my original creation. All characters belong to her. This is only a fanfictional work, and is not intended to compromise the rights of the original owners, distributors and publishers of the Ranma series. I have no money to spare and would very much appreciate if no one tries to sue me.

"Hey!" Ranma cried out as noodles vanished off of his plate before he could snatch them with his chopsticks.

"Hah, too slow, boy!" his father taunted as he held his bowl out of reach, only to find his stolen goods had vanished before he could greedily scoop them up, "Nani?"

"Touché yourself, Pops," Nabiki snorted as Ranma found his noodles returned as mysteriously as they had been taken, "You're always on me to watch my flanks in training."

"Why bother?" Keiko asked with a grin, "There's enough of us here who'd be glad to watch them for you, right Sham-chan?"

"Shampoo think Red have silly idea that we share Airen," Shampoo said aloofly before she smiled at Nabiki and said, "But idea good. Shampoo like watching Airen flank, as good as rest of her."

"Ah," Nabiki colored, then looked down at her own bowl and said, "Hey! Pops…!"

"It's good for a family to enjoy a home cooked meal, right Nodoka-chan?" Soun remarked happily, cheerfully ignoring the way his middle daughter and best friend kept steeling portions back and forth across the table.

"Indeed so, Soun-chan," Nodoka pleasantly replied, "Would you like more curry with your fried noodles, Ukyo-san?"

"Yes please, Auntie," Ukyo replied, holding out her bowl as Kasumi appeared with a fresh pot of Ramen, "I agree with Uncle that it's very good for a family to enjoy each other's company, right Ran-chan?"

"Hah?" Ranma blinked as Ukyo nudged him playfully with her elbow, then he looked back to find his bowl empty again, "Otosan!"

"Learn to be quick in defending what's yours, Boy," Genma cheerfully remarked as he fended off Nabiki's chopsticks with furious motions by his own, "Speed and timing are essential to a martial artist…"

"Perfume agree with stuffed Panda," Perfume said as Nabiki grinned wickedly at her Sensei while Genma looked indignant, "Speed very good in fight, but far too slow you move. No catch Perfume or Shampoo with such clumsy attacks."

"Oh really?" Genma's glasses gleamed as he sensed a challenge, "I hope you're prepared to back that up, girl…"

There was a slight breeze kicked up at the table, and when it subsided Perfume and Shampoo both had three times the portions they had originally on their plates and in their bowls than at the outset, while Ukyo found a double portion set before her as though it had magically appeared there. She turned and saw Perfume flashing a side-look her way while beaming with adoration. Everyone else just stared, including Nabiki.

"How…how did you do that?" she managed to stammer at last.

"Perfume train hard to learn special technique of Amazons," Shampoo smiled broadly, "She better than Shampoo at…Shampoo think Japanese words are: Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken…that right, Cousin?"

"Yes, Cousin," Perfume nodded, "Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken what Great Grandmother call in Japanese words."

"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire?" repeated Akane, "What a strange name for a maneuver."

"Let me guess," Nabiki said, "You learn to do this by snatching chestnuts out of an open fire, right?"

Perfume looked at her in surprise, "How you know special training secret?"

"Lucky guess," Ranma fixed Nabiki with an amused look and the two of them laughed as if sharing a joke together.

Shampoo frowned, as did Ukyo and Keiko while Nodoka patiently said, "Well, now that the demonstration is over, perhaps you might care to return what you appropriated so that the rest of us can finish enjoying our dinner?"

"Yeah," Akane growled, "The rest of us have appetites too, you know!"

"Um, I saved a little," Ryoga volunteered, pushing his plate closer to her, "You can have my share, Akane-chan."

Akane looked at him and murmured, "Ryoga-kun…"

"No problem, Saotome-sama," Ukyo smiled, looking at Perfume as she said, "That is a neat trick. Think you can teach it to me?"

"Perfume thought Airen never ask," Perfume grinned brightly while Ukyo winced a little.

"By the way," Nabiki decided to at last bring up the topic foremost on her agenda, "You'll never guess whom I ran into just a little while ago: your Great Grandmother."

Shampoo and Perfume froze where they were sitting and turned to look at her with wide-eyed expressions.

"Cologne the Elder is here?" Keiko almost swallowed her own tongue, "And you saw her?"

"Well, she attacked me is more like it," Nabiki shrugged, "I fended her off, and then she complimented me on my technique and said she wants me to come home with Shampoo, which is pretty much what we expected her to say…"

"Airen," Shampoo said slowly, "Did Great Grandmother…touch you any way?"

"Yeah," Keiko's concern was so palpably obvious that it filled the room with tension, "You can't trust that old woman, she's got more knowledge of anatomy than any biology text, and she can do stuff with a touch of her staff that I don't even want to think of!"

"Well…" Nabiki reluctantly replied, seeing the worried looks that even Perfume was turning in her direction. Her hand was about to touch the area upon her breast where the staff had briefly connected, and which had tingled for several moments afterwards when she felt a dash of ice cold tea wash over her. She felt her body instantly changing as she whirled around and snapped, "KASUMI!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Kasumi pleaded as she looked down from above at Nabiki with a mixture of contrite regret and fond desire, "I didn't mean to spill more iced tea on you, Nabiki-chan, I…"

"Never mind," Nabiki growled as she got to her feet and stormed angrily towards the corridor, "I'll take a hot bath and change into something that doesn't have a lot of tea stains. Just save me some noodles until I get back."

She was getting very tired of always being ambushed by her horny older sister and it was long since time she had a talk with that girl to straighten her out about this annoying fetish of hers. Nodoka had tried to dissuade Kasumi, arguing that it was improper for a young unmarried lady to have such unnatural designs on a close relative, but so far nothing had worked and Nabiki had come to believe it had become a compulsive reflex. Kasumi's lust for Kaneda went beyond mere incestuous yearnings, it was a borderline obsession, and if Nabiki did not put her foot down soon she was going to have to get physical, and that was something she had no desire to do with Kasumi.

Fortunately they kept a hot bath ready at all times for just such occasions, so Nabiki wasted no time stripping down and washing herself off with a clean bowl in preparation for slipping into the tub. Her…or rather his bare foot made contact with the water…

And suddenly it was like a jet of fire went up from her toes to her leg and back down to her ankle. With a scream of dismay Nabiki jumped back and stared in amazement at the bathwater, surprised to find it was not bubbling and steamy.

At the sound of that scream everyone around the table froze and stared down the corridor in dismay, while Shampoo and Perfume exchanged anxious looks of mutual confirmation.

<"You think Great Grandmother…?"> Shampoo started to ask in Chinese.

<"I don't think,"> Perfume cut her off, <"I know she did. What else were you expecting?">

"Nabiki!" Ranma gasped as he lurched to his feet, finding Keiko close beside him while the rest followed just a few steps behind them. Ranma threw the bathroom door open, heedless of any consequences, and found a naked MALE Kaneda snarling, "It's boiling! Who filled the tub with boiling water? What are you people trying to do, steam me?"

"What do you mean, daughter?" Soun asked in confusion.

Ranma put his hand over the tub, then slowly lowered that hand to feel the surface, then in surprise he put his hand in all the way and said, "It's not boiling…what are you talking about? It's barely warm enough to not be tepid."

"You've got to be kidding me, Ran-chan!" Nabiki snapped, then blinked and said, "It's not?"

"He's right," said Akane as she too thrust her hand into the bathwater right up to the elbow, "It's not really all that warm at all! You must be imagining things."

Nabiki hesitantly put his foot back to the water then jumped back, startled, "It's too HOT! What's wrong with you people…?"

"It's not them," Keiko said grimly, turning to look at Nabiki with a wince, "It's you, Nab-chan."

"Hah?" Ukyo asked as she could not help staring at Nabiki's male form, especially the parts normally covered by clothing. Nabiki saw this and finally realized his status, grabbing a towel off the rack and fastening it around his waste like a makeshift loincloth.

"Oh my," said Kasumi at last, who had been staring at…him…the whole time with her mouth hanging open.

"Keiko-san?" Ranma turned to look away from Nabiki to the kickboxer, "What do you mean? What's wrong with Nabiki?"

"Airen touched by Great Grandmother in special spot," Shampoo replied simply, "Called 'Cat Tongue' pressure point, very bad if no know counter."

"Cat tongue?" Nabiki looked at her strangely.

"Hai," Perfume nodded, "Cat tongue very sensitive to heat, Perfume well know this. Pressure point cause whole body become sensitive to heat, no can stand even mild warm water, feel like burning."

"Nani?" Nabiki looked at them in dismay.

"But…" Kasumi hesitated, her expression one of alarm and confusion, "If Nichan can't tolerate even mildly warm water, then that means…"

"Hai," said Genma as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "I have heard of this technique. It is permanent unless reversed by an expert…"

"Nani??" Nabiki looked at him in dawning horror, "But…that means…"

"You no can change back, Airen," Shampoo said, "You man forever, unless Great Grandmother reverse it."

"Nani???" Ranma started.

"C-can't…?" Nabiki gasped, the implications settling upon his shoulders like a lead sinker.

"Oboy," Ukyo averred, "And you can only turn back to a woman with warm water…" she paused as the implications fully registered with her, "…Which means you can't marry Ranma!"

Nabiki turned to stare at Ranma, then at the bath, and then resolution firmed in her mind and he prepared to leap in, only to be stopped by Keiko at the last possible instant.

"Let me go!" Nabiki protested.

"Ije!" Keiko cried, "Your mind is now hyper-sensitive to heat of any kind! If you dive in now, Nab-chan, you'll register intense heat and react involuntarily as if that water really is boiling!"

"How can you know that?" Nabiki cried fiercely as he struggled to break free, only to stop as a new realization hit her, "You mean…?"

"I've gone through this myself," Keiko replied, "Cologne the Elder punished me once and used it as a warning of what could happen if I defied her. The good news is that there is a cure, and it works completely. The bad news is…only Cologne knows what it is."

"A cure?" Nabiki stopped struggling, turning a wild look towards Shampoo and Perfume, "Do you know what it is?"

Both girls opened their mouths to reply when a harsh voice cut in, "Do not tell him."

Everyone turned to see the wizened old gnome sitting atop the windowsill, her ever-present staff gripped firmly in both hands as she studied them with ancient eyes. Perfume and Shampoo audibly swallowed while the rest just gaped in dismay at a face so incredibly old that it defied description.

"Excuse me," Soun said politely, "And you are…?"

"You may call me Cologne," the (really) old woman replied, "The guardian of ancient Amazon knowledge, which must never be shared with outsiders save that they agree implicitly to bind themselves to the Amazon nation. Sharing our secret wisdom requires a blood obligation of the highest sort, and until Tendo Nabiki agrees to bind herself to Joketsuzoku she cannot really be considered as one of us."

"Great Grandmother?" Shampoo finally spoke, "Shampoo…"

"Shampoo, there is no need for you to offer explanations or apologies for making your decision," Cologne said, "Unlike your last transgression, you are now of an age where you can decide for yourself the nature of he or she to whom you may bind yourself. I had decided that you have made a good choice on this occasion, but your Airen is stubborn, prideful and willful, qualities that--while admirable in themselves--prevents her from accepting her duty to remain with you as a truly lawful husband."

"You…" Nabiki bit off an angry retort that came to her lips just then, realizing that she would need intelligence to deal with this situation, "You're trying to force me to make a decision that I should be able to make freely. That's compulsory blackmail, and I won't submit to it, Old Woman."

"You have no choice, Child," Cologne said in matronly superiority, "Either you submit or else face the rest of your life learning to use a man's exterior plumbing. I think you might even come to enjoy your new status as you will make my Great Granddaughter an excellent husband."

"But my daughter is a woman!" Soun pleaded, on the verge of tears, "A young woman about to enter the prime of her years! You cannot mean to leave her as a man for the rest of her life…"

"Just watch me, Sonny," Cologne smiled in condescension, "I gave her the choice of returning to Joketsuzoku as a woman but she refused. I told her there would be consequences, and now she must live them. Don't worry too much, dearie, I'm sure in no time at all you've adapt, and before you know it you'll start leaving the lid up on toilets."

"Never!" Nabiki snarled, "I'll never submit to the likes of you, Baba Yaga!"

"And how do you propose to change my mind if you do not accept the terms I offer you?" Cologne smiled down from her lofty position and said, "You must admit that you have a very poor bargaining position."

"I…" Nabiki paused. Bargaining position? What was Cologne trying to offer her, and why did she have the sense that she was missing something important in this discussion.

"This is…unacceptable!" said Nodoka at last, "Who are you to make this kind of decision for Nabiki, let alone your Great Granddaughter?"

"I am an Elder," Cologne replied, "Where the fate of the Amazon nation is at stake I am unshakable in my convictions."

"But my daughter must fulfill her obligations to our family!" Soun's voice hardened, "She is pledged to marry the son of my best friend, Saotome!"

"Not anymore," Cologne cackled, turning at last to register the angry glare of Ranma, "How about it, boy? You want to get married to her when she looks like this? Is that what you're into, a nice, strong bull-stud such as yourself?"

"N-Nani?" Ranma's anger was momentarily derailed, and he looked at Nabiki for a long moment before it flared again like a Roman candle, "It changes nothing, you old Ghoul! It's the woman inside that makes Nabiki the kind of person that she is! You can't change that just by preventing her from changing! I still lo…uh…"

He caught himself, aware that everyone was staring at him, including Nabiki.

"Ranma's right!" Akane suddenly took up the cause, looking up at Cologne with as angry an expression as anyone could remember seeing in her face, "My sister and Ranma are in love! Who made you Kamisama that you think you can go around deciding how other people can live? You fix what you did and let them get on with their lives, or else!"

Cologne actually seemed to study her for a long moment before remarking, "My…such potential in one so young, and here I was given to understand that you were the weakest fighter in this household."

"I…Nani?" Akane stammered.

Cologne's smile was less condescending this time as she said, "You have a fighting spirit that I could do much with. Unfortunately this is not about you, it is strictly between your sister and the Amazon nation. Tendo Nabiki will accept my authority over her destiny and do what is right for my Great Granddaughter. When I am convinced that she is sincere, then I will permit her to return to her true form, but until such time she must abide by my decision. I will leave you now to contemplate your position. Make what preparations you may to get your affairs here in order, then we return together to China. Come along, Perfume, our task here is completed."

Perfume hesitated, then very respectfully said, "Great Grandmother…?"

Cologne looked at her sharply, "Why do you hesitate, Child? I am not going to upbraid you because you failed to carry out my orders. I have already guessed that you met with defeat, and no doubt it probably involved exposure to water."

Perfume assumed a very humble stance and said, "It is true what you say, Elder, I was defeated in battle, but not by Tendo Nabiki."

Cologne's gaze sharpened while Ukyo went pale. Was she about to suffer a similar fate to the one Nabiki was facing?

"Who?" Cologne asked simply, the weight of doom implied in her question.

Perfume hesitated for just a fraction of an instant, looking briefly at the quailing Ukyo before she pointed and said, "Saotome Ranma."

Dead silence followed a moment later by a very tiny voice that was difficult to recognize as coming from Ranma, "Nani…?"

"I see," Cologne's gaze swiveled to the astonished young man and said, "Then it seems I must work a double settlement in this instance. What say you, Son-in-law, to honoring your obligation towards my other Great Granddaughter by adoption?"

"I…what…how…?" Ranma's expression was not unlike that of a dear caught in the headlights.

"I see that you are overwhelmed by the extreme honor you have been paid," Cologne replied, "I will not pressure you at this time since it is obvious you will need to make a few mental adjustments to these changes in your life. Nonetheless I will be even more adamant with you: your fate is now tied to that of Perfume. Accept it and be happy. You would not like the consequences if you choose to be difficult. Amazons have a great many secret techniques for insuring the compliance of a husband. Shampoo, you will remain to assist your Airen. Perfume, I still require your services, so you will accompany me for now. When we return you may reclaim your Airen."

"Thank you, Great Grandmother," Perfume replied, avoiding the confused looks that Ukyo and Ranma gave her as she turned and left the bathroom. Shampoo was also staring after her Cousin, but her expression was one of sorrow.

"W-would somebody please explain to me what just happened?" Akane finally blurted.

"I think we've all just been put in a massive Amazon headlock," replied Keiko, who turned a sorrowful look towards Nabiki, "Nab-chan…"

Nabiki slowly sank to his knees, staring at the floor with a look of utter devastation. Ranma looked down at him, sympathy and dismay warring on his features as he looked uncertain about what to do or say. Nodoka just shook her head while Soun began crying, while Shampoo looked down at Nabiki with conflicting emotions. Ukyo was looking from Ranma to Nabiki then back to the door again, no less bewildered than anyone else present.

"Oh my," remarked Kasumi at the last, staring down at her transformed sister with very wide eyes and a sorrowful expression.

"I'm doomed," whispered Nabiki in toneless dismay.

That was when Genma finally spoke up, having stood at the back behind the others the whole time, "What is this I hear? Don't tell me you're giving up, girl?"

Nabiki slowly looked up towards him and said, "What do you mean?"

Genma could not hide the disgust in his voice, "After all this time, all the hardships and adventures we've faced, all the obstacles we've overcome, the hopeless odds that have forever been weighted against us…now you are losing heart? I can't believe what I am seeing here! I haven't raised you these ten years to see you turn into a sniveling quitter!"

Nabiki slowly rose to his feet, "What did you just call me, Old Man?"

"You heard me!" Genma snapped, "A quitter! A cheat, a scoundrel, a coward and many other things I've been too much of a gentleman to call you in the past! Stand up for yourself, girl, and fight against that…Baba Yaga! What kind of a Martial Artist lets themselves be dictated to by an old woman? You're no student of mine! You're just some child who thinks she can do a Man's work! I should have known a mere girl would never have the stomach for this sort of a challenge…"

It occurred to him about that point that he had said more than enough. It had been his intention to make her angry, to get her fighting spirit back in action, and now he could see by the look in her eyes that he had more than succeeded, and that it was a very good idea to get his feet into motion.

In a wordless snarl Nabiki charged after his teacher, heedless of the towel that fell away from his waist as the urge to pound Genma flat overrode all other considerations. The old man had a few meters head start, but that would soon prove to be far less than sufficient…

They had not gone far from the dojo when Cologne became aware that Perfume had fallen to her knees and was bowing in the proper form of contrition to an Elder. She turned around and asked, <"What's wrong, Child? You don't still believe that I'm angry with you for allowing yourself to be defeated?">

<"Great Grandmother…I have a confession,"> Perfume replied in her most abjectly humble of tones, <"I did not tell you the truth just now. I wanted to wait until we were in private rather than explain to you in front of outsiders.">

<"Indeed?"> Cologne asked as she balanced upon her staff, her eyes narrowed in thoughtful regard of this young girl who had been taken in by her family to repair the shame brought on their House by another.

<"The one who defeated me was not the boy, Ranma, but a woman named Kuonji Ukyo, who is also pledged to Ranma in a second engagement arranged by his father,"> Perfume replied, <"Kuonji Ukyo is the one with the Baker's implement strapped to her back, and she is a very good martial artist, though for some reason she has chosen to disguise her sex and pose as a man before others.">

<"I have heard of this fetish,"> Cologne said neutrally, <"Continue.">

<"Kuonji-Ukyo caused me to change into my cursed form, and then later I was captured by Tendo Nabiki once my secret vulnerability was exposed. She trapped me in a cage and held me there for most of a day, but during this time I had the opportunity to study these people up close, and--more importantly--I came to know this Kuonji-Ukyo as a person. What is more, when I was taken by force from my cage by yet another woman who used toxins to render me paralyzed, Kuonji-Ukyo became very angry and came looking for me with the intent to avenge this outrage. I decided then that I wanted to marry her, to accept her as my Airen…">

<"Indeed?"> Cologne mused even more thoughtfully than before, <"And what is her response to this?">

<"Very confusing,"> Perfume sighed, <"On the one hand I think she likes me... but she is also pledged to this Saotome Ranma in competition to Shampoo's Airen. Her claim is strong, and she seems quite taken with this fellow, who is a good fighter and seems as decent as any man that I have ever met, though I confess to inexperience…">

Cologne waved the point aside and said, <"Irrelevant. Continue.">

<"I do not understand why Kuonji-Ukyo treats me differently from one moment to the next,"> Perfume resumed, <"She tenses up whenever I embrace her, yet she accepts my company without complaint. She insists that she does not wish to have another woman for a wife. Clearly she intends to have a man who can give her children, which I think that she desires…">

<"A technicality that could easily be remedied,"> Cologne averred, <"Nannichuan can work for more than one person at a time…">

<"Yes, I have thought of that, Elder,"> Perfume replied, <"But I do not want an unwilling husband, as Shampoo is faced with. I want Kuonji-Ukyo to desire me, and since both she and Shampoo's Airen fancy the same young man…">

<"You thought to put them all on the spot by claiming him as your Airen instead of her,"> Cologne finished for her, <"You thought in doing so you could make Tendo Nabiki's choice easier since he would have to come to Joketsuzoku in order to be cured and marry this Ranma. You were also hoping that in doing so you could make this Kuonji-Ukyo feel jealous, or possibly compel her to come along for the same reason?">

Perfume bowed her head even lower, <"Those were exactly my thoughts on the matter, Great Grandmother.">

<"And you came up with this plan all by yourself?"> Cologne marveled, then smiled benignly, <"I am proud of you, Child. If you were my own flesh and blood I could be no more satisfied with your cleverness. And here I always thought Shampoo was the cunning one between you.">

<"You approve, Elder?"> Perfume asked with only the slightest hesitation.

<"I do indeed,"> Cologne replied, <"More than ever I regret the decision that put you out of legal contention for status among the tribe. With reasoning such as this you could have one day made a formidable Elder. As it is you have no status to jeopardize in accepting another woman for your Airen, which is not the case with Shampoo, who can only regain her status if Tendo Nabiki remains a man and Shampoo's husband.">

<"Do you actually intend to restore her?">

<"I have yet to decide that,"> Cologne admitted, <"There is something I like about that girl, which could also be a valuable contribution to the welfare of Amazon society. I am not yet ready to give up on having her take Shampoo's place as Champion of our village. She will require much training to obtain that status she will need, but with sufficient motivation I think she will eventually come around to seeing things our way.">

<"I hope that it will be so, Great Grandmother,"> Perfume bowed again, <"For Shampoo's sake as well as the Amazon nation.">

<"It is good that you told me this voluntarily,"> Cologne noted, <"Lying to an Elder is a serious offense. However, since you have confessed your reasoning, and awarded me with a powerful weapon to use in the battle of wills that I am sure will shortly be waged, I am prepared to overlook your indiscretion. It was justified under the circumstances, just don't let it become a habit.">

<"Yes, Great Grandmother,"> Perfume nodded.

<"You have always been a loyal daughter to me,"> Cologne replied, <"Know that I will fight as hard for you as I will for Shampoo to see that you are both honored by your respective husbands. Now come with me, there is a place I wish to show you, one that I've made certain arrangements to obtain the lease upon. It will serve as an excellent base of operations from which we will plan to secure your future happiness, to say nothing of the happiness of your Cousin…"

Continued

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