Eh , I would say that ol' Nabs was pretty heartless in canon, she was also just petty penny annte bullshit. She was pretty evil, but in small, not trying to crush the government, and or forgeing a yakuza empire ways.
Eh , I would say that ol' Nabs was pretty heartless in canon, she was also just petty penny annte bullshit. She was pretty evil, but in small, not trying to crush the government, and or forgeing a yakuza empire ways.
Finbar
Generic Minion #314
- Location
- Sydney
I just.... Holy Shit.
Kasumi just murdered her sister in cold blood. I mean, yeah, I was expecting Nabiki to die, but was expecting a Ninja or something. Not Kasumi!
As for Kodachi, yeah she is broken and desperately needs someone who can be her rock while she rebuilds herself. Ranma would work. Ranma when he just gets sick of it all and says 'Fuckit' and leaves Nerima, taking her with him. Taking her away from the pain and memories.
They'd make a good pair of wandering martial artist troubleshooters.
Kasumi just murdered her sister in cold blood. I mean, yeah, I was expecting Nabiki to die, but was expecting a Ninja or something. Not Kasumi!
As for Kodachi, yeah she is broken and desperately needs someone who can be her rock while she rebuilds herself. Ranma would work. Ranma when he just gets sick of it all and says 'Fuckit' and leaves Nerima, taking her with him. Taking her away from the pain and memories.
They'd make a good pair of wandering martial artist troubleshooters.
Finbar
Generic Minion #314
- Location
- Sydney
In cannon she was selling porn of Ranma, not underwear, but topless, 16yr old fem ranma on tea towels. Thats child pornography no matter how you cut it. It was also going over seas. To the US I think.
She also had contacts and networking going up into the Government.
Yeah, someone like her, with her skills, could have done that, but she thought she was untouchable and was far too arrogant.
The question is, was Kasumi acting on her own initiative? Or was she working under orders from the government?
Actually France, and please show me in the comic or the cartoon where Nabiki had any government contacts.
And yes it is child porn , but it is child porn in the same way that pretty much any martial artist character in the series should have had a double digit body count just as collateral damage from their fights.
It is the same kind of logic that takes what is pretty clearly supposed to be slap stick and tries to turn it into domestic abuse.
Edit: Actually the country of export may vary in the translations. So there you go.
Last edited:
Finbar
Generic Minion #314
- Location
- Sydney
I read the manga translation back in the 90's. So I could be wrong about the destination. That is not the point though.
The point is that it occured.
As for Nabiki having government contacts, oh man, I can't remember which story arc it was, I think it may have been the Toma one with the wishing spring, or the 7 Lucky Gods? The one with the giant flying boat and the guy that ate only pickles and rice, which Akane almost killed with his cooking.
In any case, there is a side mention of her using her contacts in the government to get a location.
It's been soooooo long since I read them.
zecorezecron
Verified Asshole
- Location
- Washington
Is the tree ok?
The problem with Nabiki is that her dad's coddling of her thoroughly taught her the lesson "you are untouchable, and can get whatever you want", and so any other lessons just bounced off of her skull.
The Jusenkyo Preservation Society
Cherico
Machine
The Jusenkyo Preservation Society
I hoped Plum was safe, I loved her, treasured her but I had my duties. Her mother and I met during the march. We were both children, runners for the revolution, we had fought hard and with all our might and we fell in love. I remembered when we took the springs, how many of us fell, how many of us died.
"What's the news?"
We were gathered around the radio, the springs were the safest spot we could find. The Martial artists controlled the surrounding mountains. We all wasted time, time until we were ordered to do the impossible and die. It had happened before, under Mao, under Deng, under Lady Mao. It wasn't as simple as crushing one redoubt. Jusenkyo was home to several martial arts villages, all were unified in their hate for us.
I and the other guides were tolerated for our knowledge of the area, creating a space for ourselves in a hostile place. The thing they don't teach you? When you look at the clothing and fighting styles of the martial artists, you notice a theme. All of them seem to be remnants of fallen dynasties. The elite of the old regime running to the hills, China was haunted by the detrus of over a thousand years of history.
"Brave Chinese warriors, turn back the treacherous soviets, as a country we fight for our lives and honor against another invader."
I turned down the radio.
"How much of that is true?"
I shrugged.
"Don't know, I think it's safe to say that the Soviets are using gas like they said earlier, but beyond that? It's ugly and brutal, were probably not going to get supplies for awhile."
There were shrugs, we had found ways to grow food, use the springs to keep us fed, we were more of less self sufficient these days.
"And the regime?"
"They're going to pull out all of the stops, this isn't a little border tussle, the soviets have declared war on us."
"Will they?"
The woman was young, I shrugged at her.
"Use the bomb? There are rumors we're working on our own, but you know rumors, might be true might not. If they nuke us, we lose all our cities and the war continues on. Everyone in China remembers being a ball that outsiders toyed with. No one wants those days to return... so yeah, it might happen."
I leaned back.
"This never would have happened if Nixon was president."
The others looked shocked.
"He's a yank?"
I nodded.
"Yes, but he was willing to cut a deal with us to keep the soviets out, this Reagan just sees all communists as the same, it's black and white to him. So he's not going to help us at all, even diplomatically."
A bottle of some kind of moonshine was passed around, I took a sip and handed to the next person. I thought about it, about the war going on in northern china.
"So you think we will be called in?"
I shrugged.
"We do that and China loses the springs, and that-"
There was static, our eyes turned to the radio, I fiddled with it, turned it up and there was just static. We were all silent, I changed from station to station they were all our stations, but once again all we got was static. I turned it off and took another sip from an offered bottle. We sat in the silence in the growing darkness.
"Maybe the radio's broken."
Someone said that, and went out and fetched another radio, something we had taken off of a tourist from Europe and the radio was plugged in, our generator hummed as we gritted our teeth. Still static all the stations more and more static...
"Heh, um West Germany, all they make is crap, am I right?"
We laughed and I took a long drink when my turn came, I think we all needed a long drink.
I hoped Plum was safe, I loved her, treasured her but I had my duties. Her mother and I met during the march. We were both children, runners for the revolution, we had fought hard and with all our might and we fell in love. I remembered when we took the springs, how many of us fell, how many of us died.
"What's the news?"
We were gathered around the radio, the springs were the safest spot we could find. The Martial artists controlled the surrounding mountains. We all wasted time, time until we were ordered to do the impossible and die. It had happened before, under Mao, under Deng, under Lady Mao. It wasn't as simple as crushing one redoubt. Jusenkyo was home to several martial arts villages, all were unified in their hate for us.
I and the other guides were tolerated for our knowledge of the area, creating a space for ourselves in a hostile place. The thing they don't teach you? When you look at the clothing and fighting styles of the martial artists, you notice a theme. All of them seem to be remnants of fallen dynasties. The elite of the old regime running to the hills, China was haunted by the detrus of over a thousand years of history.
"Brave Chinese warriors, turn back the treacherous soviets, as a country we fight for our lives and honor against another invader."
I turned down the radio.
"How much of that is true?"
I shrugged.
"Don't know, I think it's safe to say that the Soviets are using gas like they said earlier, but beyond that? It's ugly and brutal, were probably not going to get supplies for awhile."
There were shrugs, we had found ways to grow food, use the springs to keep us fed, we were more of less self sufficient these days.
"And the regime?"
"They're going to pull out all of the stops, this isn't a little border tussle, the soviets have declared war on us."
"Will they?"
The woman was young, I shrugged at her.
"Use the bomb? There are rumors we're working on our own, but you know rumors, might be true might not. If they nuke us, we lose all our cities and the war continues on. Everyone in China remembers being a ball that outsiders toyed with. No one wants those days to return... so yeah, it might happen."
I leaned back.
"This never would have happened if Nixon was president."
The others looked shocked.
"He's a yank?"
I nodded.
"Yes, but he was willing to cut a deal with us to keep the soviets out, this Reagan just sees all communists as the same, it's black and white to him. So he's not going to help us at all, even diplomatically."
A bottle of some kind of moonshine was passed around, I took a sip and handed to the next person. I thought about it, about the war going on in northern china.
"So you think we will be called in?"
I shrugged.
"We do that and China loses the springs, and that-"
There was static, our eyes turned to the radio, I fiddled with it, turned it up and there was just static. We were all silent, I changed from station to station they were all our stations, but once again all we got was static. I turned it off and took another sip from an offered bottle. We sat in the silence in the growing darkness.
"Maybe the radio's broken."
Someone said that, and went out and fetched another radio, something we had taken off of a tourist from Europe and the radio was plugged in, our generator hummed as we gritted our teeth. Still static all the stations more and more static...
"Heh, um West Germany, all they make is crap, am I right?"
We laughed and I took a long drink when my turn came, I think we all needed a long drink.
Ranma
Cherico
Machine
Ranma
Nabiki's dead, I'm dressed up for the funeral... It's been months since I left the Tendo's. I train with the dirty old man, and the crone every now and then, I smash a building every now and then too, get into fights. It's a good life, I'm happy, if this is how the rest of my life goes, I guess I could be content with that. Just scrapping and smashing buildings until I'm an old man.
Got to get Old Mac a cake or something to thank him. Maybe I'm trying to distract myself, but yeah Nab's is dead. There was a car accident and she, well didn't make it, things between the Tendo's and me... it's bad, but I decided I just couldn't take it anymore.
"Akane."
She looked sad, her eyes were red and puffy.
"Ranma."
She sat down and motioned for me to sit down next to her.
"Look I'm not going-"
"I'm sorry."
I blinked, I wasn't used to people saying that to me.
"Huh?"
"I... I was a grade A bitch to you, I was awful to you and I'm sorry."
"Why?"
It was a question that haunted me, it had always been bad, it had always been so awful.
"Why am I saying sorry, or why did I do it?"
"Both Akane, I kind of deserve both."
Her eyes were tired and filled with guilt.
"I'm seeing a therapist, about things, after Nabiki died.. I asked myself a lot of questions, I looked in the mirror and I didn't like what I had become, what I was becoming. So I'm trying to change and it's really hard."
She paused.
"As for why I treated you like that, honestly because you were there."
I stared at her.
"Really?"
"Like I said, grade A bitch....I have excuses of course, mom died when I was young and that messed me up, Dad's.... dad's a complete wreck, when Kasumi got married well it's like we were a nuclear plant and all the control rods vanished, and then there was Kuno..."
"You kicked his ass."
"Ranma, every week, sometimes every day a hoard of men attacked me, and if I lost I would have to date one of them. I mean hell, I was afraid of them going crazy and raping me. I lived with that for months and it just fucked me up. Even now just getting touched by a man can set me off, and I'm always angry and I blow up over the smallest things, and I keep saying horrible things that I know are wrong and....I'm just sorry."
She looked defeated.
"I'm not coming back Akane, I can't live like that."
"I know, you deserved better, and honestly the doc says I shouldn't date anyone until I get this all, you know dealt with. I'm sorry."
I nodded.
"I accept your apology, friends?"
She sighed.
"I haven't done anything to earn that, but maybe when I'm less screwed up...that would be nice."
I walked around, Soun's just kind of stood in place as the old man guided him around.
"I just need to go to the bath."
"DAMN IT SOUN, I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU TRY TO HANG YOURSELF AGAIN!"
We all stared at him, my dads face had concern on it, for another human being, he... was crying?
"You're the only friend I have, I can't lose you, so I'm going to stay by your side until... I don't know."
I walked away, I felt like I was somehow intruding on them, I looked at the urn that held Nabiki's ashes, Kasumi looked sad.
"I'm sorry for your loss."
Kasumi nodded at me.
"I loved her once."
I nodded.
"I um..."
"She was a hard girl to love, she once told me that it had to be this way."
She shook her head...
"What a waste, she was the smartest of us, the most gifted."
"It sounds like losing her hurt you."
Kasumi nodded, trying to keep herself from crying.
"It hurt more then anything, I would do anything for my family Ranma, no matter how unpleasent, no matter how horrible, I'm just sorry that Nabiki never figured it out."
I gave her a quick hug.
"It's ok, you were the best sister you could be."
We stood there in front of the urn.
"I'm sorry she-"
"It's not your fault, Ranma never blame yourself for this.... sometimes we are asked to do things that are impossible for us. Things that hurt us, you endured as much as you could, and I endured as much as I could."
I went to my seat as the service started, and I prayed that were ever Nabs was, it was a better place.
Nabiki's dead, I'm dressed up for the funeral... It's been months since I left the Tendo's. I train with the dirty old man, and the crone every now and then, I smash a building every now and then too, get into fights. It's a good life, I'm happy, if this is how the rest of my life goes, I guess I could be content with that. Just scrapping and smashing buildings until I'm an old man.
Got to get Old Mac a cake or something to thank him. Maybe I'm trying to distract myself, but yeah Nab's is dead. There was a car accident and she, well didn't make it, things between the Tendo's and me... it's bad, but I decided I just couldn't take it anymore.
"Akane."
She looked sad, her eyes were red and puffy.
"Ranma."
She sat down and motioned for me to sit down next to her.
"Look I'm not going-"
"I'm sorry."
I blinked, I wasn't used to people saying that to me.
"Huh?"
"I... I was a grade A bitch to you, I was awful to you and I'm sorry."
"Why?"
It was a question that haunted me, it had always been bad, it had always been so awful.
"Why am I saying sorry, or why did I do it?"
"Both Akane, I kind of deserve both."
Her eyes were tired and filled with guilt.
"I'm seeing a therapist, about things, after Nabiki died.. I asked myself a lot of questions, I looked in the mirror and I didn't like what I had become, what I was becoming. So I'm trying to change and it's really hard."
She paused.
"As for why I treated you like that, honestly because you were there."
I stared at her.
"Really?"
"Like I said, grade A bitch....I have excuses of course, mom died when I was young and that messed me up, Dad's.... dad's a complete wreck, when Kasumi got married well it's like we were a nuclear plant and all the control rods vanished, and then there was Kuno..."
"You kicked his ass."
"Ranma, every week, sometimes every day a hoard of men attacked me, and if I lost I would have to date one of them. I mean hell, I was afraid of them going crazy and raping me. I lived with that for months and it just fucked me up. Even now just getting touched by a man can set me off, and I'm always angry and I blow up over the smallest things, and I keep saying horrible things that I know are wrong and....I'm just sorry."
She looked defeated.
"I'm not coming back Akane, I can't live like that."
"I know, you deserved better, and honestly the doc says I shouldn't date anyone until I get this all, you know dealt with. I'm sorry."
I nodded.
"I accept your apology, friends?"
She sighed.
"I haven't done anything to earn that, but maybe when I'm less screwed up...that would be nice."
I walked around, Soun's just kind of stood in place as the old man guided him around.
"I just need to go to the bath."
"DAMN IT SOUN, I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU TRY TO HANG YOURSELF AGAIN!"
We all stared at him, my dads face had concern on it, for another human being, he... was crying?
"You're the only friend I have, I can't lose you, so I'm going to stay by your side until... I don't know."
I walked away, I felt like I was somehow intruding on them, I looked at the urn that held Nabiki's ashes, Kasumi looked sad.
"I'm sorry for your loss."
Kasumi nodded at me.
"I loved her once."
I nodded.
"I um..."
"She was a hard girl to love, she once told me that it had to be this way."
She shook her head...
"What a waste, she was the smartest of us, the most gifted."
"It sounds like losing her hurt you."
Kasumi nodded, trying to keep herself from crying.
"It hurt more then anything, I would do anything for my family Ranma, no matter how unpleasent, no matter how horrible, I'm just sorry that Nabiki never figured it out."
I gave her a quick hug.
"It's ok, you were the best sister you could be."
We stood there in front of the urn.
"I'm sorry she-"
"It's not your fault, Ranma never blame yourself for this.... sometimes we are asked to do things that are impossible for us. Things that hurt us, you endured as much as you could, and I endured as much as I could."
I went to my seat as the service started, and I prayed that were ever Nabs was, it was a better place.
Captain Obvious: They dropped the bomb. T_T
Wishful Thinking: Nah. We just need a new radio is all. T_T
water slide 51
Cherico
Machine
Water slide
"Hey Ranma."
He looked a little disturbed.
"Hey Ru, sorry I'm kind of going through a rough time."
I smiled.
"How rough?"
"Nab's is dead...car accident. Her funeral's going to happen in a couple days."
My eyes opened in shock and I barely took in the rest, Kasumi...the girl I talked to, she was in the car. Was this my fault? I trudged in the direction of her home, I knocked, she had a baby in her arms, she stared at me.
"I'm Ranma's friend."
"The wizard, right please sit down, I will fix a cup of tea for you. It's the least I can do for the man who saved Akane."
I sat down in the offered chair.
"I...um...I'm sorry for your loss, Nabiki and I were not friends."
"Yet you saved her anyways. I was her sister, I was all too aware of her faults, but in her own words... it had to be this way."
I blinked... I gathered the meaning.
"It wasn't an accident?"
Kasumi frowned, handing me a cup.
"Your sensei once told you something, didn't he? Don't ask how the sausage is made just enjoy the sausage."
My eyes opened in shock.
"But Sensei, I'm so sorry, I didn't think he would do that go that."
"He didn't Hikaru-san, I did."
She looked tired, and I just sat there in silence.
"She was your sister."
"And thus my responsibility. Never forget one thing Hikaru-san, I will do anything for my family."
I shivered and stared into my cup.
"Why?"
Kasumi sipped her tea.
"I got a knock on the door."
"You killed your sister because you got a knock on the door?"
My heart pounded with fear, Kasumi placed the cup on the table.
"You're new at this, the paranomal community, I mean. Your Sensei is a good man, he tries to shield you from the truths of this world, but that has left you ignorant, this mistake will be corrected now, and drink your tea before it gets cold."
I tapped the tea glass, my heart broke as I analyzed the tea for poison. It was clean of any chemicals and curses so I took a small sip.
"This is the truth for all of us, the knock in the middle of the night. Every now and then, but not very often, there would be a knock on the door and some government official would talk to father. Like your Sensei, he too tried to shield us from the hidden world, but I was a clever, and perhaps not the best behaved little girl so I listened in."
She sipped her tea.
"You see every now and then... well the government will come to someone like us and say we need a favor, and it's not a request. If you don't do it, well there are concequences, if you do then things might get a little easier for you. Some paperwork goes through faster, maybe some money goes in your direction, maybe your children get that tutor they need, or some medical advance or doctor gets to you."
She paused.
"They have lots of carrots, lots of sticks, Japan has had a very long time to study us, to know how we tick, so they come to you with a offer you can't refuse. In father's case he would have to vanish for awhile and someone would look after us for a couple days, and dad would return just a little more ragged."
We sipped our tea, and she looked sad.
"Mother had a heart condition, had it for awhile, and she just wanted dad to stay home. Told him to say no, so when a knock on the door came he said no, and then her medicine just became unavailable and she got sicker and sicker until she died."
"Akane..."
"Never mentioned it? Eavesdropping was always one of my worst vices. So anyway, one day I get a knock on the door. I had just had my son and a nice woman in a suit tells me what Nabiki was up to. You see, they're willing to let a corrupt politition go down in flames, willing to let scandals take down ruling coalitions. Politicians can be replaced, new coalitions created, it's all a part of the game."
She stared at her cup.
"MacGuffin... he's quite an impressive man, he became quite the asset. He understood the game and wanted to protect you. He's nice, if a little strange, always willing to lend a hand. He's useful, and when he created that oil field, well he became a vital resource."
She sounded bitter.
"That oil field....for a small crowded country with few natural resources it was a godsend. We're in for some very rough times, it was our piggy bank, something to take care of us in our old age, in our decline....when Nabiki broke that bit of news, she crossed the line. She endangered the nation as a whole."
She closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of her tea.
"I'm not an ambitious woman, all I wanted was a good man, a small home, and a child of my own. I'm content, this is everything I have ever wanted. So this small woman in a business suit gives me a choice. Take care of Nabiki or someone else gets a knock on the door in the middle of the night."
I saw the tea cup form slight cracks in her hands.
"Like I said Hikaru-san, I'm willing to do anything for my family, I take no pride in what I did. If it will keep my baby boy safe, keep my husband safe, my family safe, then there is no sin I will not committ."
She put down the cup.
"Mind fixing that for me?"
I slowly fixed her tea cup as she watched.
"What happens next time?"
I asked.
"Then I will do another favor."
She took back her tea cup and took another sip.
"One day you too will have a knock on the door Hikaru, this is just a fact of our shadow world."
I drained my cup.
"Thank you for the tea, and I'm... sorry about your loss."
She smiled weakly.
"Thank you for your kindness, Hikaru-san."
I walked out of the door and back into the cold and the arriving darkness.
"Hey Ranma."
He looked a little disturbed.
"Hey Ru, sorry I'm kind of going through a rough time."
I smiled.
"How rough?"
"Nab's is dead...car accident. Her funeral's going to happen in a couple days."
My eyes opened in shock and I barely took in the rest, Kasumi...the girl I talked to, she was in the car. Was this my fault? I trudged in the direction of her home, I knocked, she had a baby in her arms, she stared at me.
"I'm Ranma's friend."
"The wizard, right please sit down, I will fix a cup of tea for you. It's the least I can do for the man who saved Akane."
I sat down in the offered chair.
"I...um...I'm sorry for your loss, Nabiki and I were not friends."
"Yet you saved her anyways. I was her sister, I was all too aware of her faults, but in her own words... it had to be this way."
I blinked... I gathered the meaning.
"It wasn't an accident?"
Kasumi frowned, handing me a cup.
"Your sensei once told you something, didn't he? Don't ask how the sausage is made just enjoy the sausage."
My eyes opened in shock.
"But Sensei, I'm so sorry, I didn't think he would do that go that."
"He didn't Hikaru-san, I did."
She looked tired, and I just sat there in silence.
"She was your sister."
"And thus my responsibility. Never forget one thing Hikaru-san, I will do anything for my family."
I shivered and stared into my cup.
"Why?"
Kasumi sipped her tea.
"I got a knock on the door."
"You killed your sister because you got a knock on the door?"
My heart pounded with fear, Kasumi placed the cup on the table.
"You're new at this, the paranomal community, I mean. Your Sensei is a good man, he tries to shield you from the truths of this world, but that has left you ignorant, this mistake will be corrected now, and drink your tea before it gets cold."
I tapped the tea glass, my heart broke as I analyzed the tea for poison. It was clean of any chemicals and curses so I took a small sip.
"This is the truth for all of us, the knock in the middle of the night. Every now and then, but not very often, there would be a knock on the door and some government official would talk to father. Like your Sensei, he too tried to shield us from the hidden world, but I was a clever, and perhaps not the best behaved little girl so I listened in."
She sipped her tea.
"You see every now and then... well the government will come to someone like us and say we need a favor, and it's not a request. If you don't do it, well there are concequences, if you do then things might get a little easier for you. Some paperwork goes through faster, maybe some money goes in your direction, maybe your children get that tutor they need, or some medical advance or doctor gets to you."
She paused.
"They have lots of carrots, lots of sticks, Japan has had a very long time to study us, to know how we tick, so they come to you with a offer you can't refuse. In father's case he would have to vanish for awhile and someone would look after us for a couple days, and dad would return just a little more ragged."
We sipped our tea, and she looked sad.
"Mother had a heart condition, had it for awhile, and she just wanted dad to stay home. Told him to say no, so when a knock on the door came he said no, and then her medicine just became unavailable and she got sicker and sicker until she died."
"Akane..."
"Never mentioned it? Eavesdropping was always one of my worst vices. So anyway, one day I get a knock on the door. I had just had my son and a nice woman in a suit tells me what Nabiki was up to. You see, they're willing to let a corrupt politition go down in flames, willing to let scandals take down ruling coalitions. Politicians can be replaced, new coalitions created, it's all a part of the game."
She stared at her cup.
"MacGuffin... he's quite an impressive man, he became quite the asset. He understood the game and wanted to protect you. He's nice, if a little strange, always willing to lend a hand. He's useful, and when he created that oil field, well he became a vital resource."
She sounded bitter.
"That oil field....for a small crowded country with few natural resources it was a godsend. We're in for some very rough times, it was our piggy bank, something to take care of us in our old age, in our decline....when Nabiki broke that bit of news, she crossed the line. She endangered the nation as a whole."
She closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of her tea.
"I'm not an ambitious woman, all I wanted was a good man, a small home, and a child of my own. I'm content, this is everything I have ever wanted. So this small woman in a business suit gives me a choice. Take care of Nabiki or someone else gets a knock on the door in the middle of the night."
I saw the tea cup form slight cracks in her hands.
"Like I said Hikaru-san, I'm willing to do anything for my family, I take no pride in what I did. If it will keep my baby boy safe, keep my husband safe, my family safe, then there is no sin I will not committ."
She put down the cup.
"Mind fixing that for me?"
I slowly fixed her tea cup as she watched.
"What happens next time?"
I asked.
"Then I will do another favor."
She took back her tea cup and took another sip.
"One day you too will have a knock on the door Hikaru, this is just a fact of our shadow world."
I drained my cup.
"Thank you for the tea, and I'm... sorry about your loss."
She smiled weakly.
"Thank you for your kindness, Hikaru-san."
I walked out of the door and back into the cold and the arriving darkness.
Kind of expected this. Though I had thought Cherico would go with the "Of Mice and Men " route.
Poor Kasumi. Poor Tofu. I doub't that he doesn't know. Though he would probably pretend that he doesn't for Kasumi's sake.
I wonder how she would react when the knock is not for her but for Dr Tofu?
Poor Kasumi. Poor Tofu. I doub't that he doesn't know. Though he would probably pretend that he doesn't for Kasumi's sake.
I wonder how she would react when the knock is not for her but for Dr Tofu?
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- Location
- Berkeley
So... Odds on the Preservation Society becoming just the latest remnant of a fallen government? I mean, they're self sufficient, cut off, and a low priority for the Chinese. I wonder how many of the martial arts nations in the area came about because of a similar story. Of course, it would take either the Soviets definitively winning or the Chinese splintering to actually happen, but given the suggestion that they got nuked...
On another note, was Kasumi actually being threatened with the death/injury of her family (Tofu and son) if she didn't take out Nabiki, or was it more that both she and the government felt that it was her responsibility to put Nabiki down like a vet allowing an owner to hold a dog as they're put to sleep? I mean, I would think that the government would prefer a soft touch on that sort of thing--along the lines that as long as you do most of what they want, you're an asset and get some degree of special protection/consideration, but they don't really do anything besides applying a bit of pressure to fall in line so long as you don't pull something like Nabiki.
Also, I wonder exactly where Nodoka falls in that particular power structure. Calling her a spider really sounds like she's a less power-hungry version of Nabiki--essentially someone who knows what levers to pull to get a reaction who runs on favors. Still, we really don't know much of anything about her for sure--although it would be hilarious if her ideas about the manliness of being involved with multiple women was canon.
On another note, was Kasumi actually being threatened with the death/injury of her family (Tofu and son) if she didn't take out Nabiki, or was it more that both she and the government felt that it was her responsibility to put Nabiki down like a vet allowing an owner to hold a dog as they're put to sleep? I mean, I would think that the government would prefer a soft touch on that sort of thing--along the lines that as long as you do most of what they want, you're an asset and get some degree of special protection/consideration, but they don't really do anything besides applying a bit of pressure to fall in line so long as you don't pull something like Nabiki.
Also, I wonder exactly where Nodoka falls in that particular power structure. Calling her a spider really sounds like she's a less power-hungry version of Nabiki--essentially someone who knows what levers to pull to get a reaction who runs on favors. Still, we really don't know much of anything about her for sure--although it would be hilarious if her ideas about the manliness of being involved with multiple women was canon.
Water slide 52
Cherico
Machine
Water slide
The conversation with Kasumi held my mind in a vice like grip. I felt guilty, was this my fault? Everything that had happened had sprung into motion because of me. Another human being was dead because of me. I wandered to Ukyo's, it was closing time. She served me a coke.
"Did you ever get a knock on your door."
Uyko frowned and then smiled.
"Sure, lots of people knock."
"I mean the Knock."
She dropped the plate on the ground, it shattered. She smiled, and wispered in my ear.
"Please, not in public."
I helped her pick up the plate, and the mess, I waited for closing. She locked the door.
"What did they want from you."
"It didn't happen to me."
She sighed.
"Look those knocks... it's not all bad stuff, sometimes it's looking the other way, sometimes it's catching someone who's really bad, sometimes its toning down a rivalry. If they come for you...well you're a healer, so thats what they will ask for."
"And you?"
"Every now and then they need someone to cook for someone important, since the restaurant opened it's been officials and businessmen from Mexico. It's not like they don't pay you back. Sometimes it grows and it becomes what people do for a living."
"But you never know."
"It's rare for the government to ask for something major, maybe some uppity Yak gets a beating, some GI who did the wrong thing gets a black eye."
"The yanks must-"
She chuckled.
"The yanks are perfectly fine with it, sometimes they get people who don't respond to official punishments, so they get unofficial ones. One of the big sayings in Okinawa is play stupid games, win stupid prizes."
She kissed me.
"Look, it's a part of life and it's scary, but outside of wartime it's rare for them to come in and ask for anything major."
I held her close.
"It's a lot to take in."
"Power has a price, we can flaunt a lot of the social conventions, but we have to pay for that with responsibilities. On a brighter note, I think I'm ready to meet your parents. When should I arrive?"
"After the funeral."
She frowned.
"Yeah...Ok that's reasonable."
We kissed again and I left her store, I slept fitfully in my bed, unable to get real rest. I got and walked to Sensei's house and knocked. Subaru opened the door and let me in. I felt myself sweat as she let me in.
"Did you kill Nabiki Tendo?"
Subaru stopped cold, she motioned for me to follow her and she brought out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.
"Don't ask how the sausage got made, just enjoy the-"
"You're the third person to tell me that."
Subaru, smirked.
"Then maybe you should listen to the advice."
My mouth was dry.
"Why did you kill her?"
She was in a clean crisp business suit, she calmly lit her cigarette and sighed sadly.
"There's an old saying, the nail that stands up is the one that gets hammered down. Your sensei thinks he's that standing nail, probably has you thinking you're one too. He isn',t you see compared to what we're used to putting up with from you people, your sensei is a harmless. Hell, he cleans up after himself, cleans up after you."
The woman took a deep drag on her cigarette.
"That in and of itself makes him worth overlooking, but he fixes stuff up too, heals and that makes him and you a net benefit. You think you're standing up, but both of you are firmly in the table. You're not problems, you're assets and we protect our assets."
The smoke wafted out of the room.
"Martial artists cause a lot of destruction, how much do you think it costs to fix all the damage they cause on a normal day?"
My throat tightened.
"I don't know."
"Billions kid, so why do we tolerate it? Why tolerate the expense, the lost lives?"
"There's something worse?"
She flicked some cigarette ash.
"Monsters, demons, Tokyo's a magnate for that, but we can handle that. Look to the east."
"China."
"Exactly, you see I know this doesn't get covered in history class, but man we fucked the chinese over good, I mean real good, we did some seriously fucked up shit. Then of course we decided to fuck with the brits, the yanks the entire world. We were a nail and then we got hammered down."
She put the cigarette out in a ashtray.
"It could have been worse, the yanks were merciful but we couldn't have anything more then a self defense force, and the Chinese? Well they have long fucking memories. Right now, they're not in a position to fuck with us."
She looked outside.
"The Chi Coms control maybe 70%, 80% of what they claim, but sooner or later the Musk's going to fall, the Amazons are going to fall, and all the tiny little kung-fu kingdoms will be gone, and we will still be there."
She frowned.
"And that's why we tolerate you little shits, but there's a limit to that tolerance, a line between asset and liability. Assets get protected, liabilities vanish..."
She got out of the chair.
"Every now and then we're going to ask you to heal people, to fix something, lots of other tiny little favors. My advice? Do it, I actually like you and I would hate for you to become a liability."
My blood felt cold at her words.
"So why tell me this?"
She looked at the ash tray.
"I'm a ninja born and raised, a weapon to be used and discarded....and I'm older and I thought my time was over, but they brought me in again to look after this yank... and this time there were no lies, were no deceptions."
She felt somehow more human.
"Even a ninja can fall in love...."
The conversation with Kasumi held my mind in a vice like grip. I felt guilty, was this my fault? Everything that had happened had sprung into motion because of me. Another human being was dead because of me. I wandered to Ukyo's, it was closing time. She served me a coke.
"Did you ever get a knock on your door."
Uyko frowned and then smiled.
"Sure, lots of people knock."
"I mean the Knock."
She dropped the plate on the ground, it shattered. She smiled, and wispered in my ear.
"Please, not in public."
I helped her pick up the plate, and the mess, I waited for closing. She locked the door.
"What did they want from you."
"It didn't happen to me."
She sighed.
"Look those knocks... it's not all bad stuff, sometimes it's looking the other way, sometimes it's catching someone who's really bad, sometimes its toning down a rivalry. If they come for you...well you're a healer, so thats what they will ask for."
"And you?"
"Every now and then they need someone to cook for someone important, since the restaurant opened it's been officials and businessmen from Mexico. It's not like they don't pay you back. Sometimes it grows and it becomes what people do for a living."
"But you never know."
"It's rare for the government to ask for something major, maybe some uppity Yak gets a beating, some GI who did the wrong thing gets a black eye."
"The yanks must-"
She chuckled.
"The yanks are perfectly fine with it, sometimes they get people who don't respond to official punishments, so they get unofficial ones. One of the big sayings in Okinawa is play stupid games, win stupid prizes."
She kissed me.
"Look, it's a part of life and it's scary, but outside of wartime it's rare for them to come in and ask for anything major."
I held her close.
"It's a lot to take in."
"Power has a price, we can flaunt a lot of the social conventions, but we have to pay for that with responsibilities. On a brighter note, I think I'm ready to meet your parents. When should I arrive?"
"After the funeral."
She frowned.
"Yeah...Ok that's reasonable."
We kissed again and I left her store, I slept fitfully in my bed, unable to get real rest. I got and walked to Sensei's house and knocked. Subaru opened the door and let me in. I felt myself sweat as she let me in.
"Did you kill Nabiki Tendo?"
Subaru stopped cold, she motioned for me to follow her and she brought out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.
"Don't ask how the sausage got made, just enjoy the-"
"You're the third person to tell me that."
Subaru, smirked.
"Then maybe you should listen to the advice."
My mouth was dry.
"Why did you kill her?"
She was in a clean crisp business suit, she calmly lit her cigarette and sighed sadly.
"There's an old saying, the nail that stands up is the one that gets hammered down. Your sensei thinks he's that standing nail, probably has you thinking you're one too. He isn',t you see compared to what we're used to putting up with from you people, your sensei is a harmless. Hell, he cleans up after himself, cleans up after you."
The woman took a deep drag on her cigarette.
"That in and of itself makes him worth overlooking, but he fixes stuff up too, heals and that makes him and you a net benefit. You think you're standing up, but both of you are firmly in the table. You're not problems, you're assets and we protect our assets."
The smoke wafted out of the room.
"Martial artists cause a lot of destruction, how much do you think it costs to fix all the damage they cause on a normal day?"
My throat tightened.
"I don't know."
"Billions kid, so why do we tolerate it? Why tolerate the expense, the lost lives?"
"There's something worse?"
She flicked some cigarette ash.
"Monsters, demons, Tokyo's a magnate for that, but we can handle that. Look to the east."
"China."
"Exactly, you see I know this doesn't get covered in history class, but man we fucked the chinese over good, I mean real good, we did some seriously fucked up shit. Then of course we decided to fuck with the brits, the yanks the entire world. We were a nail and then we got hammered down."
She put the cigarette out in a ashtray.
"It could have been worse, the yanks were merciful but we couldn't have anything more then a self defense force, and the Chinese? Well they have long fucking memories. Right now, they're not in a position to fuck with us."
She looked outside.
"The Chi Coms control maybe 70%, 80% of what they claim, but sooner or later the Musk's going to fall, the Amazons are going to fall, and all the tiny little kung-fu kingdoms will be gone, and we will still be there."
She frowned.
"And that's why we tolerate you little shits, but there's a limit to that tolerance, a line between asset and liability. Assets get protected, liabilities vanish..."
She got out of the chair.
"Every now and then we're going to ask you to heal people, to fix something, lots of other tiny little favors. My advice? Do it, I actually like you and I would hate for you to become a liability."
My blood felt cold at her words.
"So why tell me this?"
She looked at the ash tray.
"I'm a ninja born and raised, a weapon to be used and discarded....and I'm older and I thought my time was over, but they brought me in again to look after this yank... and this time there were no lies, were no deceptions."
She felt somehow more human.
"Even a ninja can fall in love...."
Cherico
Machine
Nodoka doesn't get knocks on the door she is the knock on the door.
So she's Heisenberg.
Edit: for all we know, she is the one who sent ninja girl.
- Location
- Berkeley
So she's Heisenberg.
Edit: for all we know, she is the one who sent ninja girl.
For all we know she's the one who cut of Soun's wife's medicine.
Edit: Well, crap. If she did, that adds a whole fucked-up vibe to how she acted like a pseudo-mother to them in canon.
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I think it is fair to say that while canon might inform this story, it is pretty clearly not canon, and back filling elseworlds/fan fiction storie's motivations and events into canon seems kind of dumb.
In this story it would be creepy if Nadoka was responsible for the death of Soun's wife and then took a motherly roll, or it could be that she felt guilt about it, but she did her duty, and that would be her attempt to make up for it. Actually a lot of ways you could go there.
That said I don't think it matters as I. Don't think we are to a point where Nadoka has even been introduced to the Tendos yet in this time line, though I could be wrong.
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Finbar
Generic Minion #314
- Location
- Sydney
Well, given that Soun knew Nodoka before Genma took Ranma on the training trip....It's logical to assume that Nodoka knew his wife.
Which would make the Knock somewhat more horrifying if Nodoka was the one who received the Knock to take care of the Wife.
She has then progressed up to be the one giving The Knock.
Or she is a retired Kunoichi, who was assigned to make sure Genma's bloodline and style continued. After all, he is immensely talented, despite his messed up habits and laziness. Best to make sure there is a heavy hitter in the next generation.
Thus, Nodoka.
Of course, I wouldnt put it past Cherico to have her be Lady Mao.....
Which would make the Knock somewhat more horrifying if Nodoka was the one who received the Knock to take care of the Wife.
She has then progressed up to be the one giving The Knock.
Or she is a retired Kunoichi, who was assigned to make sure Genma's bloodline and style continued. After all, he is immensely talented, despite his messed up habits and laziness. Best to make sure there is a heavy hitter in the next generation.
Thus, Nodoka.
Of course, I wouldnt put it past Cherico to have her be Lady Mao.....