[Ranma/NGE/HPL/AMG][FanFic] Sic Semper Morituri Chapter 43 - Sturm und Drang signifying . . . nothing (Part 2 of 2)

[Daniel Jess Gibson]

[Ranma][NGE][HPL][AMG][Fusion][Fanfic] Sic Semper Morituri Chapter 43 -
Sturm und Drang signifying . . . nothing

Disclaimer:
I do not own any of the characters from Ranma 1 / 2, Neon Genesis
Evangelion, Ah My Goddess, or the Lovecraft Cycle involved in these
stories.

C&C, MSTs are welcome
E-mail: dan_s.comments@worldnet.att.net
Stories are available in Rich Text Format and HTML at:
<http://home.att.net/~danjess.gibson>http://home.att.net/~danjess.gibson
(these are the most updated versions)

Stories are available in Plain ASCII at:
<http://archives.eyrie.org/anime/Ranma/Sic-Semper-Morituri/>http://archives.eyrie.org/anime/Ranma/Sic-Semper-Morituri/

ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works/Ranma/Sic-Semper-Morituri/

<http://www.cs.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/ftp/archive/anime-fan-works/Ranma/type/Sic-Sem>http://www.cs.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/ftp/archive/anime-fan-works/Ranma/type/Sic-Semper-Morituri
(these are the original versions)

And in the naked light I saw ten thousand people, maybe more.
Ritsuko sat in her cabin and considered her options. She should have
been angry with Jeff for what he had done, except she knew exactly why
he'd done it. She could work through and analyze every detail as he would
and as she would. It made it worse that way, she agreed completely with
every step of his reasoning and his `choice of weapon`. That didn't help
her feelings of helplessness over the entire situation.
Maya suddenly burst into the room and walked unsteadily towards her.
Only her falling back against the door as she staggered kept what followed
private. "Sem - pai!" she slurred, "We need t' talk."
"You're drunk!" Ritsuko realized as she stood up to confront her
assistant and roommate.
"Don' change th' subject," Maya insisted, one word per careful step
forward, " 'm not _that_ drunk. Only some berumate."
"Vermouth," Ritsuko corrected.
"They tried to mix it into maratiniii with that awful gin. So I
dran' it plaiiiin," she `sang`.
"How much?" Ritsuko could smell the alcohol.
"Third, fourth, fifth!" Maya told her. Now she was practically
breathing in Ritsuko's face.
Ritsuko was glad she wasn't smoking, the detonation of all the
alcohol fumes would have finished off the damaged carrier. Ritsuko
couldn't imagine downing a straight fifth of vermouth.
"Wa I wanna know. . . ." Maya reached up and tore her uniform open.
"Wa's wron'? Huh?"
"Maya," Ritsuko said as she tried to back out of the reach of Maya's
questing hand. Maya's other hand tore her own bra down around her waist.
"I don't think you should do this," Ritsuko insisted.
"Why not?" Maya abandoned her quest for Ritsuko's blouse and dropped
her hand to Ritsuko's skirt and tugged.
Ritsuko was glad she'd been practicing. "That isn't clothing, that's
part of me, attached."
Maya's eyes lit up. "May sem - pai walkin' 'round naked in fron' a
all th' sailors." Maya fell against Ritsuko and giggled at the contact.
"So ris - risk - Riskuto - risque! And da - daring." She tried the
stretch up to kiss Ritsuko.
Ritsuko leaned out of the way. "Maya!" Ritsuko scolded, "Stop this
immediately!" She pried Maya's hands off of her.
"Or wha'?" Maya asked as she pressed herself again Ritsuko. "You'll
sen' me 'way? You' hav' me kill'? You don' wan' me, you don' wan'
'efffri! You' looonely, sooo sad!" Maya caught Ritsuko again and sobbed
at the pathos of it all. "You - you're hurtin', 'gnore me, no one wan's
Maya, do as tell, stay 'way. No more mouse, kick or kiss, least you
noticed." Now Maya was crying.
Ritsuko didn't know what to do. She had limited personal experience.
You do have another set, the treacherous thought passed through her mind.
Another girl who looked like Maya, hair-triggered and deeply jealous of
attention paid to others, and terrified of attention paid to her. The
gentle hand on the tiller was the way Ritsuko-Nabiki and Jeff-Ranma had
dealt with her. I can't do that, Ritsuko thought. "Maya, you have to
understand - "
"I do I do!" Maya said eagerly, then her legs collapsed, Ritsuko had
to let go of Maya's questing hands or wrench them from their sockets.
Maya held tight to Ritsuko's legs to stay partially upright. She looked
up. "White's a good color." Maya rubbed her cheeks on Ritsuko's knees
while she laughed herself silly. "I can look," Maya defended her peering
up Ritsuko's skirt, "You looked all over. You know I'm still virgin."
Ritsuko froze, she knew she'd examined Maya and what she could reach
of Nabiki and Jeff, minutely. But she hadn't considered that, she was
barely sentient until she awoke.
"Save myself for someone special," Maya said tenderly from her
position holding Ritsuko's knees. "Wan' som'n smart, som'n special," Maya
added quietly, "Want m' sempai who thinks she's monster. Got her."
Maya's hand was gently stroking the back of Ritsuko's leg. "Soft, 'n'
smart, 'n' clean, wouldn't hurt me. Knew it. Eev - ven big-bad couldn't
make Sempai hurt Maya."
Ritsuko wasn't sure if she should comfort the girl weeping on her
legs, or throw her out of the room and into the brig for her effrontery.
She knew she'd never tolerate this behavior from Misato.
"Give Sempai children, know the biobibliology for that!" Maya
declared. Maya smiled and tried to stand, pulling herself up hand over
hand on Ritsuko's lab coat. "I know!"
The breath was still as bad as Ritsuko remembered.
"Don' cut off Rak-kunin, loves Sempai toooo." She pushed off from
Ritsuko stood there unsteadily, like a tree in a hurricane. She threw her
torn uniforn shirt on the floor, then ponderously turned to the door.
"I'llll get 'im, then it'll be all - all right."
Ritsuko practically jumped to the door to block Maya. "I don't think
you should do that!"
"Sempai wants me all to herself!" Maya announced at the top of her
lungs, then slid to the ground.
Ritsuko covered her face and wondered if they heard her all the way
to Boston.

----------------------------------------

Nabiki heard Maya's exhortation as she walked the corridors. She was
glad few of the Marines spoke Japanese well enough to understand Maya's
drunken ramblings. She'd heard Raccoon and Maya had been wandering
aimlessly all over the carrier. Maya had evidently gotten some 'engine
room hooch' from the snipes. On 'further inquiry' Nabiki had verified it
wasn't as strong as what you could buy. She doubted Raccoon had gotten
plastered at all. If he had, she thought angrily, Somebody ought to look
after him. She was far too angry to even consider blackmail. So physical
violence would be her preferred tool, hurting someone else to make her
hurt and confusion go away. Best take it back to the source, she thought.
The problems were too reminiscent of the idiot plans the two fathers tried
to spring on Ranma and Akane. She couldn't believe what happened was
anything except intentional. He specifically told Maya and Capt. Madison
not to touch the field, she raged silently, And he didn't expect any
effect on Ritsuko? Bullshit! Even Genma isn't that stupid. She
remembered the comment on slitting her throat, so she ignored the
potential for blackmail, out of self-interest.
Raccoon didn't answer the knock on his cabin door, but she didn't
feel like respecting his privacy. She entered. He was sitting on the
floor, staring at the wall. Not an intense gaze, just something to focus
on. He didn't seem to focus on her as she sat down in front of him. His
expression was slack.
She put her anger aside for a moment, she could tear him apart later,
she'd let him damn himself before she attacked. She thought herself as a
good judge of character, however she wasn't sure if he was currently sad,
bored, plastered, or something else. "You alive in there?" she asked with
false joviality.
His gaze didn't change, he didn't focus on anything. "I'm not good
company."
"Did I ask?" Nabiki asked, "We saved Ritsuko, saved the world, saved
ourselves, you look like someone - " She stopped as he stared at her. She
was fairly sure he wasn't angry, but the intensity of the gaze disturbed
her.
"Her name was Kyoko, she looked a lot like you, although she actually
acted more like Asuka and Ranma: always arguing with her father, always
pushing against every limit. She was the eldest, but she didn't want to
be the heir, she wanted to go out, learn from other masters, bring the
techniques back to the dojo, back _home_. Regale everyone with her
stories of foreign places and people, and bask in their their respect and
adoration. Like you. Sakai looked like Ranma, quiet and intense, like me,
or Rei. Everything was to be studied, analyzed, examined and mastered.
Superb technical marital artist, won every tournament, not as good as his
twin sister in a real fight. Kairi was the spitting image of Ranko. She
could fight like a wildcat or charm a butterfly into her hand. Daddy's
girl, had me wrapped around her little finger." He paused, the intensity
of the gaze faded. "When it was all a dream, all _my_ dream, it was just
embarrassing. My wife was named Nabiki Tendo and looked exactly like
Ritsuko would at 17 years old. We dated, fought, sometimes each other.
We went to college together. I took and passed the exams a year early.
We'd been married two weeks when the Musk and the Phoenix People stole her
and Gendo's wife, Yui. Gendo and I exterminated the Musk, from the
pseudo-dragon princeling to the lowliest peasant, then we rescued our
wives and obliterated Phoenix Mountain. We methodically killed any
survivors of our initial - nuclear - attack. It was all an illusion
inflicted on me by a Great Old One or Outer God." The intensity had
returned and redoubled, Nabiki was afraid.
"I remember, perfect detail. I can tell you Kyoko's first word:
goggie, doogie or mommy, Sakai's expression at winning his third
consecutive karate championship, how my wife likes her coffee, and how I
have to make it when she's pregnant. You want to know Kyoko's reaction to
Soun's emotional blackmail, of his 'do it or I'll cry'? She threatened to
sell him to Saudi Arabia as a water plant."
Nabiki had to smile at that, miffed she hadn't thought of it.
"As long as it was just mine, just a memory . . . I could put Dr.
Akagi's attitude aside. I knew she wasn't my wife, I knew she owed me no
special attention. It was all a joke, painful, but a joke. Not anymore.
To keep Ritsuko from killing Maya and me, I used my AT field against her.
Just like how the EVAs destroy our enemies. Except I didn't intend to
destroy her, just shock her. That she'd recover. You're angry because
you think I did it all on purpose, I should have known better." He looked
straight at her. "You're exactly right. Now if you want to tell me that
falling on my sword will somehow make this all better, I will do so."
"I think you ought to . . . ," she bit back her first response,
anything to tone down that gaze. So you blame it on `NERV school` not
having the right curriculum on AT fields? Once you don't have all the
facts at your disposal you start screwing up? she thought. Nabiki stood
up and left, she didn't have a way to make it all better, not even by
hurting him like she'd planned to do. She paused at the door. "If it's
real to her too now," she let her bitterness show in her voice, "Maybe you
should actually sit down and _talk_ to her about it, instead of sitting
here 'Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa.'" She left before she said
more, said something _she'd_ regret.

----------------------------------------

Nabiki thought the dreams were over, or should have been over when
they returned Cthylla to her temple. She'd found herself in the same
situation: deep under water. She'd thrashed to the surface while silently
screaming in terror. It evidently wasn't so silent in the Waking World,
because as she awoke, Ritsuko and Jeff were both trying to fit through the
door without touching or waiting for the other.
She also wondered what it meant that she'd broken the surface as the
dream faded out, if this was the last one. If it was all over.
"I'm fine," she told them as she stood, wringing out her nightgown,
"If you two are going to wrestle or dance around, I'm leaving. Are there
any tests to determine if this is sea water or just sweat."
"There is the sea-life in your bed," Ritsuko said, "I didn't think
tentacles were to your taste."
Nabiki stared back at the bed, turned on the light to see better.
Nothing there except the moistened sheets and dampened mattress. "I'm
going to get a shower," she told them, "Since you two are here, why don't
you talk?" She collected a clean change of clothes and headed for the
shower. Jeff was already walking away, Ritsuko following him. Two
sailors were removing the mattress and bedding.
Coward, she thought as Jeff moved out of sight, pursued by Ritsuko.

----------------------------------------

People talking without speaking, people hearing without listening,
July 28, 1947

Ritsuko tilted her head back to expose more of her throat to those
passionate kisses. Her hands roamed through his hair and over his body,
she drove her hips against this, grinding into him, feeling his body
responding eagerly. His hands and lips touched all those places that
excited her so. She couldn't believe such ecstasy and wild abandon was
possible. Her mouth found his and the focus changed. Playful, passionate
teasing while she felt their body swaying and twining with the rhythms of
her kisses. She slipped out of her lab coat and skinned off his jacket.
As her hand pulled his tie off and reached for his belt, some rational
part of her mind screamed the alarm.
She disentangled herself from his arms and her own emotions. As she
backed away, she saw the look of disappointment on his face. Then it
became realization and shame. She wanted to go to him, tell him it was
all right, but she doubted either would be able to disengage if they gave
in this time.
"I'm . . . I'm sorry I -" he stammered, backing away.
"No, stay!" she said firmly, "My fault." It was this time, she'd
thought she could tease him into talking the way Nabiki often did to get
him out of his bad mood. But he'd reacted very differently, kissing and
caressing her back. Things had rapidly spiraled out of control with both
of them. Like a pair of long lost lovers, she thought, disgusted by her
lack of self-control. The memories of how to please the other had come
flooding back, the 'memories' of passionate nights and days together had
also come racing back. Only the knowledge of what they were working up to
caused her to break off.
She'd nearly submerged herself in those false memories. They were
wonderful memories, she would have loved to act on them as if they _were_
real and _had_ actually happened. But it was just a dream and not even
_my_ dream, she reminded herself of what was fast becoming a mantra.
But I _know_ all those things, she lamented inwardly.
"You didn't do anything wrong," she assured the stricken boy as he
pressed back against the bulkhead. She also knew how he felt about her,
how strong and deep the passion ran. She also knew how disgusted he was
with himself and his actions right now. If he'd been Nabiki instead, she
could have offered a mother's comfort, but she couldn't separate things
that well, and right now neither could he. Where normally she could have
cared less about most people, being the one and only beloved . . . that
was a powerful aphrodisiac. It was also extremely dangerous.
"It wasn't your fault," she told him, again.
"Then whose fault is it?" The normally cold face was gone. This
raging emotion would be more typical of Ranma. "I chose to do this!
Because I knew you'd be ashamed of hurting me or Maya, so I overlooked
other changes and the possibility of this very thing happening," he was
shouting now, "So how is this not my fault? I'm so Goddamn smart,
shouldn't I have figured out all the angles. Or did I mess up your life
because I _wanted_ this to happen?!" He turned and ran from her, leaving
his coat abandoned on the deck. She couldn't hope to catch up to him.
She hung her head, she didn't know what to do about it. All the jokes
about a 'war-bride' and all that would go with it cascaded through her
mind as she picked up the suitcoat, grunted at the weight. It all left a
bad taste in her mouth. She still thought of herself as what she was, a
monster plodding along in the disguise of a human. But as least now she
saw and understood that Maya, Jeff and Nabiki saw her as who she acted
like and tried to be.
She let out a long sigh. She sadly understood what would happen if
she tried to give in and live the life she remembered, the more
comfortable illusions she could share with someone who loved her. It was
the most exquisite torture - especially deciding to ignore the gentle
illusion and try and live the `real` life. She didn't know what to do, or
who to ask to get the advice she needed. She could guess Maya and
Nabiki's advice on the subject. She didn't even want to _think_ about
Misato's reaction.
Am I avoiding what would be good because I'm stubborn? Because I'm
afraid? Or because I don't want to be loved as completely and devotedly -
or because I'm afraid I don't deserve it? She left the passageway, she
knew that with parents' permission, that marriage was possible as young as
12 in America, and he was an emancipated minor, and miracle of miracles,
they were sailing straight to Boston where his principal guardians lived.
She sighed again, she'd have to find him, preferably with Maya and
Nabiki in tow, to discuss the situation with him rationally. Who am I
kidding? she thought disgustedly, I know what both of us want, and it is
physical and emotional, not rational.

----------------------------------------

Nabiki watched Raccoon charge past her at a run, she thought for a
moment he was crying. White man cry like we do!? she thought of her
too-too-composed teammate as she dried her hair. She didn't see what the
big deal was. In Japan, 12-years-olds could marry, he was an emancipated
minor, the rest of her thought mirrored Ritsuko's. She also knew they
could telegraph the other parents about the situation and get their advice
or blessing for the marriage.
It's not as if I don't want `mommy` to be a spinster, she thought,
laughing at the image, But they do go well together. She wondered how
much of this was her frustration at never being able to `fix` the
Kasumi/Tofu situation. Making people look ridiculous was tremendous fun,
but those two were just painful to watch. She'd looked in on them during
the dream, and they were just the same. And there was nothing I could do
about it, she lamented. She hung her towel on her neck and marched after
him. She hated being confused. Best to selected a course and press
forward into clearer circumstances.
She concentrated on the problem before her, she could guess how it
would all work, And to Hell with anyone who spoke against it, she thought
angrily. She stopped, slapped her head. A shoggoth can take _any_ form,
she reminded herself, I've seen pictures of Rit-chan as a teenager, we
just had a run-in with a Great Old One, the effect was worldwide. If Rit-
chan suddenly became, say 14 or 16 . . . that would eliminate half the
problems right there. Then it wouldn't be a `Christmas Cake` robbing the
cradle, but a couple of teenagers dealing with their problems and getting
married. Of course there would be problems, but those could be ironed out
later. She smiled at her cleverness, trying to ignore it had taken quite
a while to realize this obvious solution. She wondered if Rit-chan should
daily get younger and have the condition `cured`, or if there should be a
`lab accident`. She wondered if she should bring Adam and Major ggreg in
on this, and if so when. Well they were sent here to kill him, she
considered, I wonder if being married will make him more suitable in their
eyes or less? she considered as she jogged to find her quarry. Why is
this much more satisfying that being angry at him? she wondered as she
broke into a run. Nabiki Tendo wanted to hurt him for what he did, Nabiki
Ritsuko's `daughter` wanted `mommy` happy. I'm being as schizo as Ranma
and the neko, she told herself.

----------------------------------------

Maya was searching for Sempai, Jeff or Nabiki, in that order. A
hangover cure would also be nice. Considering all the things that had
been happening, she wasn't happy about being alone, especially at night.
She wasn't one of the pilots, she had no trouble with admitting she was
_terrified_._ She walked through the hanger deck, in the work lights she
saw the immense sections of the flight deck that had collapsed in the
storm. A tribute to the power of the creatures they fought. She wondered
why none of the others had exhibited such powers, if one could, they all
should have. That wasn't all that worried her, the media would no doubt
ask all kinds of questions about what had happened. They might even have
someone who spoke Japanese, and they might ask _her_ to explain what
happened. She knew it was silly to be worried about such a triviality
when so much was happening, but it frightened her more than facing Sempai
had, than remembering her drunken confession did.
Getting squashed or exiled is less frightening than speaking in
public, she thought, Talking is scarier than Angels. She laughed at her
own foolishness, but it did nothing to alleviate her fears. She loved her
job, and was well aware of the security concerns, a misspoken word would
get her fired, Commander Ikari made sure everyone knew that. She didn't
want to leave Sempai, she didn't want to lose the money and good she sent
home every week either.
The other thing that bothered her was that the technique `Raccoon`
had used on Sempai had other effects. She didn't know if she should
support their relationship, or should she encourage their mutual foot-
dragging so she could have Sempai all to herself. She was also terrified
of the possibility Sempai would come to her of her own free will. If -
Sempai came to me, said she loved me, that she needs me, she thought,
cursing her own cowardice, I'd probably fall apart, dissolve in tears, and
that won't help anyone, not me, not Sempai, not the pilots, she wondered
if there was a simple solution wasn't too uncomfortable, I might as well
wish for a way to cook food in few minutes or wish for beer in cans that
don't require an opener. She laughed at the impossibility.
If I'm going to be ridiculous, I might wish for a part of Sempai's
love affair, she considered how she would handle being the `other woman`
or worse, being both Sempai _and_ Raccoon's `other woman`. That was a
particularly frightening thought.

----------------------------------------

People writing songs that voices never shared

Nabiki gotten the details about the blow up between the two. As
she'd trailed her target, she hoped the tales were just sea stories or
wishful thinking. She wondered what would have happened if they'd just
gone ahead and given into their impulses. Like you did with Ranma? She
couldn't believe she'd wasted four _months_ of chances that way. "I guess
I'm not one to talk," she told herself.
She had an idea where Raccoon would run to. It didn't take genius to
realize that. She was beginning to wonder if the only thing those people
in Nerima could do was fight, and if all other actions were either
miscalculations or trying to 'get even' with some other person or group.
The pilots' briefing room was dark and empty, there was a hollow behind
the lectern that would completely hide someone from prying eyes. There
weren't too many places aboard a carrier where someone could hide and sulk
undisturbed, especially not one undergoing extensive repairs from storm
damage, like this one.
Ah ha! she thought as she stopped a short distance away from the
lectern, peering in at the figure within, Non-Euclidean geometry, she
thought about how anyone so tall could fold himself into the small place.
She sat for a while, simply getting Raccoon used to her presence.
Then she started slowly moving towards him. Patience, patience, she
thought, it was the one advantage she had over all the Nerimaniacs, she'd
not only settle for 'half a loaf', she'd settle for one slice now, and the
rest of the loaf slowly over time.
"I don't know why you're hiding," she said quietly from less than
half a meter away, "Everybody knows about it." She let the shock settle
on him, his only reaction was to pull his legs tighter against him. "You
act like everybody doesn't approve," she said, "They don't know the
details, speculation is rife, but everybody knows how pretty she is and
that you started it, so all the sailors are cheering you on."
"You aren't helping," he finally said.
Ah, goal! Communications.
"Was I supposed to be making you feel better?" she asked innocently,
"I thought I was just keeping you up to date. You know, considering what
she is, I have a plan to alleviate a lot of your problems."
"You don't know what my problem is. Start from a false premise, and
your conclusion won't be valid."
"Oh?" she asked, leaned a little closer, "Maybe I'm leaving something
out . . . but I think Ranko will understand, you could send a radio
message, or in a few days, a telegram."
"Your jealousy isn't helping," he replied, "If you're so worried
about measuring up, that you have to tear others down, you're no better
than the others in Nerima."
Nabiki hid a grimace and avoided squirming. How did _he_ know I was
jealous of him and Ritsuko, and him and Ranko? she thought.
"If you're so afraid I'll take Ranma away from you, then maybe I
should concentrate on getting you two together, take your nimble,
overactive, little mind off things that don't concern you," Raccoon told
her coldly, staring at her for the first time.
"Oh, I'm just bubbling over with helpfulness," she said cheerfully to
hide the sting she felt. There were plenty of opportunities she'd missed
with Ranma, the last thing she needed was someone trotting out all her
failures. "So enlighten my nimble, overactive, little mind," she said, a
lot more sternly than the light tone she had intended.
"Fine, can you imagine how you'd feel if Ranma had walked into the
'pick a daughter', and he knew absolutely everything about your
activities?"
She couldn't help but blanch at that possibility.
"And then he knew absolutely everything else about you, all - you -
did - all - you - thought - all - you - hoped - for?" He smiled at her.
The idea was horrifying. There were things she'd done and felt, she
hoped _nobody_ever_ found out about.
"Or better, if it was your sister who had that connection, and Ranma
had the same connection with her? And she still had her attitude towards
'BOYS!'?"
Nabiki had to shake her head at that. "It can't be that bad," she
said.
"Do you know - really understand what Ritsuko actually is?"
"Yeah," she said instantly, "I saw."
"But you don't know," he countered, "The Elder Things made surly
slaves, but when they broke away, the shoggoths mainly wanted to be left
alone. They almost always attack anything that disturbed them. So how do
you explain Rit-chan's behavior? Why would she tolerate the social
requirements of Japanese society, why would she encourage the interaction
with you, Ranko and Ranma? Why would she feel so lonely?"
Nabiki heard the barely controlled emotion in his voice. She shook
her head, then nodded to encourage him to continue.
"She's an aberration or an experiment, to increase the tractability
of the species. They manufactured a more social version, perhaps they
wanted a leader or administrator for projects that they didn't want to
cover themselves, an arranger. Sound familiar?"
She nodded, it _did_ sound a lot like her, both Ritsuko and Nabiki.
"Well I had time to learn all the ins and outs, all the ways she'd
want to be touched, all the words she'd want to hear." He leaned close to
her, she leaned away. "All the ways she'd want to be treated. Can you
imagine how someone with so many secrets would feel about someone knowing
all that?"
She could, all too easily. "But you didn't . . . do anything wrong,"
she said half-heartedly. If Ranma had shown up with that knowledge, it
would have _terrified_ Nabiki, especially if he knew what she was and
still `courted` her or chose her as his fiancee.
"Not a problem yet? Okay, now add this. Now you know _him_,
everything he feels, thinks, until you can guess whatever he'll do, and
you get that all in an instant, including all the reasons he cares about
you, his entire history. All the secrets including all the things he's
done to . . . for you."
"That doesn't sound so bad," Nabiki said weakly, it actually sounded
like a school girl's dream, a boy who knew all about her and still wanted
her. All it would cost was every secret she had. Maybe not so good a
trade, she thought. "But - "
"But when we were attacked by another improved-type shoggoth - "
"You absorbed it! Like the EVAs do!" Nabiki realized, she was
horrified by the implication, "But . . . why? How?!"
"One practical reason, to gain their near invulnerability, similar to
what you and Ranma enjoy."
"So when she . . . splattered you all over . . . ?" Nabiki asked,
appalled.
"A loss of concentration more than an injury," he explained, "But you
still don't know the real reasons. Shoggoths, as big as they are,
reproduce asexually like bacteria or yeast, splitting or budding. They
use meiosis, not mitosis, a single long-chain molecule, a collection of
substituted aromatic bases: hydroquinone, phenylenediamine, aminophenol,
tetrahydroxybenzene, phenylenetetramine, and their diazine, pyridine and
metadiazine analogs. All with different activating and deactivating
groups making them meta or para directors, so reversing the orientation of
the ring, providing it's not a meso-compound, anyway . . . despite the
chemical differences, the effect is not completely unlike the amino-acids
we use."
Nabiki hadn't the faintest idea what he'd just said. "Well it's
clear you went to great lengths to research this," she said sourly. He
didn't seem to notice. She let him talk.
"Being a massive aromatic molecule, they're more stable than ours,
inhibiting mutation and age related damage. Her genetic code hasn't
changed in millions of years, where as ours changes significantly in the
century we live. Their single chromosome is a palindrome, so it can loop
back on itself like a hairpin and error check itself. Preparation for a
new cell for division, first the palindrome breaks into two equal pieces,
next half goes with each cell, last the palindrome is rebuilt in the newly
split cells and the process continues. That's meiosis."
And why is _that_ important? Nabiki asked herself, Patience! You
wanted him to talk. And he _thinks_ it's important.
"You don't see do you?" he asked, chuckled, "Humans reproduce
sexually, they exchange genetic information, we're so big we have special
cells and organs to handle the function, but in smaller organisms the
transfer is much simpler. We also use mitosis, the various pairs of
chromosomes duplicate themselves and the old ones stays with the cell, the
duplicate goes with the new. I'm getting to the point."
Good, she thought, keeping her expression neutral, Why do I need a
primer on chemical nomenclature and cell biology . . . ? He couldn't be-?
"Somehow they prevented the break up of her palindromes. She has
enough to maintain cell structure, but not enough for major growth or
reproduction. But that division wouldn't be necessary is something
penetrated all of her cells, or enough of them, and provided the base
materials to duplicate the existing chromosome. Mitosis replacing the
sabotaged meiosis process, enabling reproduction. But aromatic compounds
are toxic to humans, so to do that, you'd need something capable of doing
both, having a chromosome structure that wouldn't interfere and supply the
builder molecules to perform the mitosis-type assembly."
Nabiki felt her stomach drop. He did . . . KAMIS! she thought.
"But only humans can do the mitosis and only shoggoths have the
palindrome, so you'd have to be both," she said monotonously, because the
implications took her places she did not want to ever think about. "You'd
also have to mix on a cellular level."
"Congratulations, Miss Tendo, got it the first time."
"But - why, and how?" she stammered, shaking her head violently. No,
it _can't_ be! she desperately thought, trying to drown out the
conclusions she was coming to.
"Because a social creature was denied the ability to reproduce or
interact with others, a person I loved. Wouldn't you do what you could to
alleviate that misery?" he asked, "They `fixed` her when they realized
they'd created a dangerous subspecies, a creature capable of thinking,
planning and acting in concert with others, not just her own kind, but
with other species."
Nabiki backed away, those weren't the implications she'd considered.
This was no mere shy schoolboy crush, or interracial, May-December problem.
He'd sought out a way to assuage her real suffering, and made the massive
and necessary physiological changes in himself to carry them out. He acts
like it was easy, risking his humanity like that, she thought, Except _he_
isn't human either!
"So the operation the Elder Things did made sure there would be no
more. However, Chaugnar Faugn was an expert in genetic manipulation, and
guess what, not just aminoacid/DNA genetics. You felt the intellect of
that thing when it was asleep and you held it in your hands. Awake and
dying, the knowledge and experiences try to earth themselves somewhere,
hopefully intact, to coopt the new host. In battle, the EVA's pilot is
the only possible vessel."
Nabiki gulped, the new conclusions were more shocking with each new
realization she came to. "You _knew_ you could absorb that thing so you
could cure Ritsuko's condition, or bypass it."
"Good try, but not complete, remember meiosis versus mitosis."
"Oh . . . my . . . kamis . . . you were going to merge with her . . .
both of you broken into tiny pieces, merge with her to duplicate . . . "
Nabiki felt the wall touch her back, she hadn't realized she had been
retreating, and that he'd been advancing.
"Exactly. It wasn't my plan to have relations with just her human
form, but allow her initial form to produce offspring."
Nabiki covered her mouth, she wasn't sure if she should be laughing
or screaming. It was incredibly thoughtful, and inconceivably obscene.
She wondered if even being able to think that way had something to do with
absorbing part of the monsters they fought.
"If you think that's funny . . . now Ritsuko knows all about my plan.
How I studied her problem, and why I did it."
"W - w - wh - why?" Nabiki stammered.
"Because I love her!" Raccoon thundered at her in fury, then withdrew
to a safer distance. Safer from her point of view. "Haven't you ever
cared about anything enough to throw away everything to help, to ease
someone's suffering, to make them happy?! It goes a little beyond a
school crush or a little bit of infatuation. When I was in the dream, I
saw Ritsuko-Nabiki, Maya-Akane and Misato-Kasumi. I fell in love with the
girl who tried to make a difference, who tried to deal with the boy with
the cloud of unwanted fiancees and rivals. Maybe you've noticed I am not
always the warmest and most open person. 'Emotionally controlled,' I
believe I've heard you mutter, and worse, but then in that dream I had
Ranma's emotional range, and I still have _those_ feelings for the people
from the dream. Hate, love, despair, joy, all greater than I usually feel.
So when the woman I loved was in trouble, the cold calculating me took
action to ensure she could be happy, to give her what I knew she most
desperately wanted. Now she knows my feeling, why I did what I did, and
what I wanted from her as well." He was shouting by the end. Nabiki had
wanted to draw him out, she had, he was confronting her directly as she
tried to press herself back through the bulkhead.
He sighed, mastered himself, returning to the morose tone. "So, go
ahead and laugh, it ought to be hilarious. How stupid can I be?! `Dumb`
ole' Ranma would never think himself into a corner like this one. Mister
'I am in control and I understand' blew it worse than the rest of you, and
I did it all to myself. Ritsuko at least has the solution she needs,
well Maya or anyone else with a little chemical knowledge can provide it.
Why should she trust me?"
"You don't know that she's . . . " Nabiki couldn't put together the
thoughts that would have helped Raccoon, or Ritsuko. The problem was
bigger than she ever realized, and the idea of bringing them together
wouldn't solve it. "If she knows you are . . . care that much - "
"Oh, true love will win out?" he asked bitterly, "I always thought
you were smarter than that. I did that to her! It wasn't an accident
except in that it went farther than I intended. I got the journey of a
thousand miles in one step, this is what I really wanted, and she knows
it!"
Nabiki tried to say something, anything, but all the easy
rationalizations or hurtful things she had bottled up inside that should
have come so easily, all died before she could speak them. She wasn't
even sure how much of what he said was true, and how much was hysteria and
despair talking, and she wouldn't know until she talked to Ritsuko.
Assuming _she's_ rational about all of this, Nabiki thought morosely. She
moved away from him, standing and walking to one of the pilots' chairs.
She sat down and tried to collect herself. Too many problems came up
against her plans. Part of it was embarrassment, part of it was shame,
those she understood, they'd been good weapons in Nerima. Now they were
her enemies. The idea that you'd give up your humanity for love, to help
someone else, it seemed too much out of a fairy tale or romance of the
kind she despised, it wasn't something she understood.
The whole thing was suddenly too big a question and it wasn't
something she could break into pieces and gnaw on. She needed to discuss
it with someone.
The simple solutions won't work, she thought, The problems that would
occur after a simple solution were the _real_ problems, those would matter
for a lifetime. She remembered the warmth of the bodies holding her in
the dream of only a day or two ago. She wanted that, she wasn't sure what
would happen if someone asked her to abandon all she was, more than just
her family, more than just her honor and history. She'd given up all she
thought she had, now she had a clear chance with Ranma without any serious
competition. Yet she couldn't close the deal.
What about Ranko? she wanted to ask Raccoon, What about me? She
_really_ didn't want the answer to that. She shook her head, 'if only he
knew the real me', was the usual call, here they knew the real other, and
it didn't help.
"It's never easy," Nabiki said as she stood up. She suspected
Ritsuko knew what he felt, but Nabiki was going to tell her anyway. Maybe
Ritsuko will have an idea, she thought.
She found a Marine sentinel before she started her search, he'd stand
guard to keep an eye on Raccoon and see to it he was left alone. She
could almost hear the Marine's unasked questions, about all the rumors
flying about. 'That monster can put things in your head, compulsions,
entire other life times, she wanted to tell them, but she knew she
shouldn't.

----------------------------------------

The man paced the small office. "Ah signore! You-a wound me! I-a
bleed, you-a see how-a I bleed?" the man complained to the room's other
occupant.
"Luigi," Jeff said sternly, from his position leaning against the
wall, "Save it for the tourists. Your English is as good as mine."
"Okay, _Mister_ Davis. But these nice ladies. I don't see why I
have to do this."
"For the same reason you do the rest. Being the best means
occasionally having to prove it," Jeff told the man calmly, he'd reached a
decision, action had to be taken, soon.
"There's a lot more to this that you're telling me."
"There are some special preparations I want made. Special materials
you'll have to have." He handed over the list he'd produced.
"This is some pretty weird stuff," Luigi said, looking over the list,
"Are you sure about that, I mean is it really necessary?"
"Absolutely. I know them far better than you do," Jeff explained as
he stood up, "You'll need everything on that list to do the job. Do you
know how to use it at all?"
"I still have a few contacts from the war," Luigi explained as he
seated himself behind his desk, "If I run into trouble, I can ask them.
Don't worry, I'll be discreet. They won't know what happened until it's
all over. I still think my usual specialities will do the job." He held
up his hands. "Since you are paying, I'll do it your way. You also
avoided my question, why? One I can understand, but all three, all at
once?"
"Problems have arisen, problems I can't easily deal with given the
current situation and resources. You have a better chance of bringing
this to a more satisfactory conclusion. That's also why I'm here rather
than doing the job myself. Hard as it is to admit, you are better than I
am. Few are. And, it's personal."
"When it gets personal, hire a professional," Luigi said, "I take it
you don't want me to simply walk onto the carrier, and do my job?"
"No, of course not! There are limits to my risk taking - how's the
restaurant doing?"
"It keeps me flush between paying jobs like this one." Luigi
shrugged. "Right in the restaurant . . . they'd never expect that."
"You want to try that?" Jeff asked, "Awfully big risk."
"Life is risk. I think I can manage it. Besides, the blame will be
yours, I suspect you have a plan for that too," Luigi told him with
confidence, "I still think you're overreacting."
"Gives me a background to plead insanity. Trust me, you'll know
different pretty quick," Jeff assured him.
"Quick and unexpected, not the first time I've done this. You've
heard there's been trouble at the Institute, reports sound more like a mob
war."
"I don't know anything I can tell you, other than don't get mixed up
in it."
"Fighting at the Institute, you here ordering a special. It feels
like I'm already part of it," he said disgustedly.
"How so?" Jeff asked.
"Well reports put you aboard the carrier. Yet here you are, in my
office, talking business. That's something to wonder about."
"Reports can be faked, besides they call it an _aircraft_ carrier for
a reason."
"Okay." Luigi nodded. "Keep your secrets. I don't want to meet you
unhappy in a dark alley some night," he chuckled, "Now about my fee, in
advance if you please." He smiled.
"Of course. I never thought otherwise. Have you ever considered
another line of work?" Jeff counted out the cash.
"Are you kidding?! I love to see the look on people's faces when I
tell them who paid. It's almost worth doing jobs free to see those
expressions."

----------------------------------------

And no one dared disturb the sound of silence.

Nabiki wondered at the situation as she wandered the carrier, unable
to sleep. She had changed to work clothes, she gotten tired of
questioning looks as she'd walked around in her pajamas. Dreams, she
thought, They never used to be important. She remembered the dream she
kept having had within the dream. Immersed in icy water. She was beyond
drowning as the pressure squeezed the life and breath out of her. The
terror of cold, of dying alone. Then she'd wake up, covered in sweat, in
the arms of Ranma and Raccoon. They'd never say anything, although the
occasional bruise and the way they had restrained her made it clear she'd
been thrashing violently in her sleep, as frantically as she'd been trying
to swim to the surface. As she relaxed, one would carry her to the shower
and rinse her off in her pajamas then leave her to finish, while the other
would be changing the sodden bedding. She'd come out of the shower and
there were clean underwear and pajamas in the bathroom to change into,
outside were hot tea and concerned looks.
She rarely talked about the dream, they never pressed her to. The
first times she'd been frightened by the implication that the two of them
could have cooperated and - taken advantage of her - while she was lost.
They never had, they never even copped a feel. They just held her
immobile and kept her warm. Later she worried about them getting tired of
it and leaving her, leaving her to die alone.
And sometimes waking up to find Ranma as a girl or boy, drawing lines
on my arms, legs, on my back or face, she thought, Always with that look
on his face. She'd never understand. It was a little disappointing
neither boy took advantage of the situation, Raccoon never took advantage
when `Ranko` snuggled up in his arms. But I would have been terrified if
either of them _had_ tried anything. And I probably would have screamed
bloody murder if they tried something with each other, she thought and
wondered if Ranma's reduced nervousness was due to the neko-ken being
stronger, 'perversion' of him by absorbing the Great Old Ones, or
something else entirely. She was glad they had only gone as far as they
had, and no further.
She shuddered at the idea of being raped or molested while asleep.
And I used to think the Hentai Horde was funny, she shook her head, then
smiled. She could guess Ranma's or Raccoon's reaction to the Hentai Horde,
no matter how either felt about `dear` Akane-chan. " 'There are certain
things that just aren't done!'" She laughed at that, and the
ridiculousness of her earlier plan. The feelings and apparent ages
weren't the real problem. She kept turning the idea over in her mind, she
found that reality interfered with her plans, and that offended her.
The people and the universe should simply bow to my will and accept
they should be together, she thought, and decided a Kuno-like pose would
get her thrown in the brig, politely of course, More to work on. Well
maybe I found the weak point, and I'm not so happy about it.
She also didn't like the portrayal of her home. Or more correctly,
the _accuracy_ of the portrayal from the outside. Maybe I don't like
looking at things with my new eyes, she thought. She did wonder _why_ she
was so intent on playing matchmaker, while she hated what he'd done to the
person she was trying to match him up to, and why she didn't want him for
herself. Ranma was nice, both of them were better. Yet, she also wanted
`mommy` happy, and there was a way. They seemed good for each other, if
they really knew each others' mind and hearts . . . But it isn't working
that way, she thought, I _hate_ not being able to fix this! she thought as
she marched through the carrier. A few sailors took one look at her
expression, and got out of her way.
"Miss Tendo," Adam Smith approached.
"I thought you would have left already."
"In the storm?" he asked, implying the question was humorous, "I'm
afraid you're stuck with us, and I must apologize for my curiosity. Major
ggreg told me some things, and the grapevine has said others."
She was sorely tempted to tell him and get his advice. But she also
remembered his mission was to kill Jeff, if necessary. She didn't know if
she wanted that to happen just yet. So she couldn't really trust him. "I
discovered two plus two equals four, went to the source, and they said two
plus two equals orange, and I'm completely color-blind."
"Frustrating. But are you certain it's a math problem and not a
psychological problem?" he asked quietly, "Or better, a question of faith,
in people or destiny."
"I don't believe in fate or karma or anything like that. I believe
in human action," she replied firmly, "People act, choose not to act, or
fail to act, that's what really matters. Outside forces can't change the
person."
"Odd, considering your experiences, even odder considering your fate.
Miss Ibuki seems very taken with her `sempai`, I can't say I approve of
their relationship, nor will many people," Adam told her.
Boy are _you_ barking up the wrong tree, Nabiki thought but kept her
features neutral.
"Well, if you want to talk . . . " He moved off.
I do, I do, I just want to talk to someone I can trust, she thought,
I'm just not sure it's you. She stopped, sighed. How do I contact
Brother Jonathan? Genus Loci, I should be able to figure that out, she
thought. She spotted Sergeant Kilrain and took off after him, she doubted
that he'd understand why she was asking, but she'd get an answer. I also
have another way, she thought as she smiled to the sergeant, who was
looking very worried, Mind and instincts . . . I have another source of
answers. If he's gone back to sleep.

----------------------------------------

Fools said I, you do not know, silence like a cancer grows.

Nabiki walked half-asleep along the dark paneled halls, across the
white rugs and in the diffuse white light from above, wearing her flannel
night shirt. The heat coming off the floor and through her slippers felt
good on her bare legs. The play of light and dark was as striking as
always, it gave the house a surreal look, one of the reasons she and Jeff
had designed it. The smell of breakfast and coffee made itself
insistently known, of course Jeff had made breakfast. She walked into the
kitchen, enjoyed the admiring look she got from her husband, even though
she knew she looked terrible in the morning. She headed directly for the
coffee, or would have except for an intercept by a small missile with a
potent warhead.
"Mommy, mommy, mommy!" A small redhead crashed into her, grabbing
both legs in a powerful hug, nearly toppling her. Nabiki grabbed the
kitchen counter to steady herself. In a detached part of her mind Nabiki
surveyed her `attack` into Jeff's dreams, it was already twisting out of
her hands, she hadn't imagined kids, or what appeared to be a stately
mansion, still she would go with it, `memories` of this existence flooded
her mind as she woke up to it.
"Kairi, can mommy get her coffee?" she asked. A blue-eyed Eurasian
face looked up at her, full of mischief and love. Kairi released one leg
and hugged tightly to the other. It made walking possible, and very
difficult.
"MommycanIgotoMaria'shousetomorrowshe'shavingaparty ."
She looked over to Jeff, who was wearing a smirk. If I could get
over there, she thought, I'd wipe that right off your face, one way or
another. "Can I have a translation?" she asked in her 'dangerous sweet'
tone.
"Maria is having the Three-Tailed Dragons at a party tomorrow, it's
the latest band. Kairi wants to go there, instead of Francine's sleep
over."
"NOT INSTEAD OF! Please, mommy, please, please, please."
"Maria who was supposed to have a pony at Christmas, Maria who was
supposed to have movies for summer break, that Maria?" Nabiki instantly
realized the fallacy of arguing logically with a 5-year-old.
"That's why I want to go to Francine's after, please mommy, please."
Kairi hugged her leg more tightly.
"Isn't Yui going to be disappointed?" Jeff asked innocently.
"Yui's going to Francine's?" Kairi shouted, "Never mind, mommy."
Nabiki picked the girl up, "Well I don't know, you made a good case."
"Nonononono, I want to see Yui." Kairi held on tightly around her
neck as Nabiki walked to the table. Scrambled eggs and a salad awaited
her. Separate from the large omelet for the rest of the family. "Your
father's sense of humor could use some work."
"Maya said you needed more vitamins." Jeff picked up a paper from
one stack, scanned it for a second, then set it in another of several
stacks.
"There are pills." Nabiki got an upraised eye brow for that.
Arguing chemistry with a chemist, she thought, How smart is that? At
least he made the eggs runny enough. She dumped the eggs in the salad and
mixed them one handed with a fork, the other arm holding Kairi.
"Oh mom! That's gross!" A rangy twelve-year-old entered, opened the
refrigerator, selected a quart of orange-juice and drank from the carton,
"I'm not going to put it back, I'm going to drink the whole thing," Sam
told his father, "What did you ever do to piss Toji off so much?" He
poured the rest of the carton in a large glass.
"He was his training officer." Nabiki sampled the egg/salad mix,
reached for the pepper and salsa. "I thought you hated Asuka. You were
complaining about her last week."
"I hadn't met Toji yet." He dropped into the chair and shoveled a
large helping of the omelet on his plate. "Der Generrrl is a stickler and
a martinet, but Toji is just crazy. Being dead sure didn't mellow him."
"At least he didn't beat you up, like he did Shinji." Jeff smiled at
him as the boy shoveled down the food.
"He beat up the Director?" Sam asked, "Why?"
"Shinji's first battle, ah, didn't go too well." Nabiki set Kairi on
the floor, the youngster immediately tore out of the room. She looked at
Sam shoveling down the food to fuel his latest growth spurt, he was
already taller than her and would overtop his father soon. She saw a lot
of Tomiyo and Jeff in the boy's Amerasian features. "We did pray for
healthy children."
"I told you, God has a sense of humor."
"What's up with Yui coming here?" Sam asked, "NERV Japan should be
able to handle anything, right?"
"Not transference to the Dreamlands for full training and survey
conditions, your parents are still the best way to do that." Nabiki
finished her meal, concentrated on her coffee.
"So, the Director's daughter gets to go on the embassy," Sam grumped,
"Why can't you pull strings for me like that?"
"She earned a 98% on the readiness tests, you got an 85, you've got
some catching up to do, mister," Jeff said without sympathy.
"Yeah, I get tested out in two months."
"Three, I pulled some strings." Jeff hid the smile. Nabiki kept her
face strictly neutral while she drank her coffee, awaiting the exchange.
"Three! Yui's going to be ahead of me by three months! She and
Franz are _never_ going to let me hear the end of it! Thanks dad."
"Remember what _else_ happens in three months," Jeff cautioned.
Sam's face scrunched up in thought, then brightened. "The Rodia, its
shakedown cruise!"
"If your grades stay good, guess who's assistant to the deputy
tactical officer," Jeff said nonchalantly. Sam pointed to himself, not
trusting his voice. "Of course she'll be escorted by two EVAs, but
they're old models. Yui will tease you about her testing in a brand-new
Unit 35, and you'll have to settle for testing in old Units 04 and 06."
"WAHOO!! Captain ggreg'll let me get plenty of time in those, WAHOO!
Thanks dad!" Sam left his empty plate behind as he went out punching the
air and shouting.
Jeff picked up the plate, took it to the sink. "I know we ate like
that, but did we act like that?"
"We were at war, and had grown up in a war. This is all a game to
them," Nabiki remembered something. She whispered as he returned, "Isn't
the Rodia and 2d cruiser squadron going straight into a war game?"
"Yes." Jeff sat down at the table, a big grin on his face, "He's
going to be running around like a chicken with his head cut off."
"And _who_ is the aggressor force?"
"Four of the new model EVAs, Scott Davidson commanding."
"You're kidding!" Nabiki nearly fell on the floor laughing. "You
are cruel at heart. If Sam keeps his head and listens to Unit 04 or 06,
he could defeat Davidson's force all by himself!"
"True," Jeff said offhandedly, "That should put our Sam back on equal
footing."
"You're as bad as Asuka!" she denounced him, he shrugged.
"I would point out." Jeff ran a foot up her bare leg. "That both Sam
and Kairi will be gone _all_ tomorrow afternoon, and tomorrow night, Mrs.
Davis."
"I want a little sister this time." Kairi had walked back into the
dining room. Nabiki caught herself before she spit up her coffee.
"I told you that summers at the ranch would be educational," Jeff
said offhandedly. Nabiki considered strangling him, settled for a glare.
"What makes you think mommy wants to get pregnant again?" Nabiki
managed.
"'Having the children six years apart enhances in-te-lec-tu-al
devel-op-ment and sync rate', that's what Asuka-san and Maya-chan said,
I'll be six in four months."
"She's definitely our kid." Jeff was as startled by the deduction as
Nabiki was, especially because it followed the same logic they had used.
"I want a baby sister," Kairi insisted.
"We don't pick," Nabiki explained, "We let it happen."
"Rei-san picks."
"And Rei has a girl and a boy, just like us," Jeff told her, "We want
to be surprised."
"All right." She sat at the table, disgusted with the idiocy of all
adults. "Can I name her at least?"
"What if it's a him?" Jeff asked, making trouble.
A father should be more mature than his five-year-old, Nabiki thought.
"Let Sam name him."
"No," Jeff explained patiently, "If you want to help with the naming,
you have to pick boys' and girls' names."
She sighed, looking forward to the dreary task like looking to her
execution, "I'll do it." Another sigh, chin on the breakfast table, a
look of abject misery.
Definitely her father's daughter, Nabiki thought.
"Abby and Kyle."
"Ah, we don't need the names for several months," Nabiki told her.
Another long sigh at the foolishness of grown ups.
"When do you have to be in Washington?" Jeff asked, clearing the
table.
"Eleven, I'll Travel in, I hate flying commercial. If that jerk
Kennedy tries to put the moves on me, like he did to Maya - " Nabiki
heard a utensil snap, Jeff stared apologetically at the broken metal fork
in his hand. She smiled. "Relax, if he tries anything I'll be polite.
And ask him if he wants the bugs from Martin Luther King's house back, or
if we should send them to the Washington Post."
"Miss Kelerby says Kennedy's the greatest President and it's just
like Camelot," Kairi quoted her favorite teacher.
"Tell Miss Kelerby that she's right, and that she's never read the
original stories," Jeff commented angrily. President Kennedy, and
especially his assassination, were a particular sticking point with Jeff
and Nabiki, who knew what was his real legacy, not what Johnson did and
Kennedy got credit for. Let Goldwater win in '64 and never go to the moon,
or let the martyrdom propel the U.S. of A. through the 60's, good and bad
things. She didn't agree they should do nothing that next November.

----------------------------------------

Nabiki stepped into the bedroom, she loved the feel of sliding silk
on her skin, she loved what this nightgown did to Jeff, that's why she
wore it only on special occasions, she didn't want to spoil the magic.
Two layers of silk that iridesced when she moved. So tight that only the
elastic clips at the hip and shoulder let her move or breathe without
tearing it. Yellow silk decorated with wings under a nearly transparent
layer of silk decorated with a red and a blue dragon that wound around her
body, one head on each shoulder. When Aratara had presented it to her at
the bridal shower, Misato called them Rei and Asuka and she'd also warned
that the dragon only feared the yellow bird. Nabiki had dismissed it as
Misato being silly, until Rei's ectopic pregnancy and everyone's
subsequent panic over Nephilim. For fourteen months, Jeff and Ranma had
searched everywhere for answers, Jeff went as far as using contacts within
Elysium itself. Finally, he returned with the answer, the attitude of the
parties conceiving had more to do with the child than genetics, essence
not physical matter was the controlling element. His seeming blaming of
Shinji and Rei for the failure had started the first knockdown drag out
fight between the pair of them that anyone had ever seen.
Nabiki walked across the thick rug, towards where Jeff lay face-down
on the floor. A completely foolish position if someone had even the
slightest hostile intention and any martial arts skills. A blow to the
base of the skull would `kill` him just long enough for something
permanent to be done. Comparable to the vulnerable position she had taken
earlier when he washed her hair and anointed her with oils. Against a man
who could bend EVA armor in his bare hands and could concoct tremendously
lethal poisons out of seemingly anything, such behavior was suicidal, even
for one as durable as she was. That was the point, Rei had admitted she
and Shinji had been so frightened of the future, that they had wanted to
conceive a child. In retrospect, it was arguably the worst thing they
could have done. That admission, and Rei's liberal use of her natural
abilities and skills, had calmed things down, eliminated the hostile
feelings among the participants, but not the inflamed passions. Yui,
Nodoka, Franz and Sam had been conceived that night, metaphysical
contributions from all the pilots went into the first four 'children of
the Children'. Officially all of the injuries were in response to the
battle between Nabiki and Jeff, and not the enthusiastic participation
afterwards.
She stepped onto his back, feeling the muscles and bones shifting,
relaxing under her tread. Jeff enjoyed letting her `walk all over him`,
she found it relaxing as well, digging her toes into the hard knots he
always seemed to develop, proving there was something she could always fix.
Neither spoke. Normally they teased each other with word and touch
mercilessly, but not now. Too easy to say what would kindle a resentment
that normally wouldn't detract from the evening, or an action to put the
other on their guard. Tonight, like for Kairi and Sam, that had to be
avoided. Absolute trust, no stray thoughts, worries or concerns. As Jeff
lowered her on the bed, brushing open the clasp at her hip she touched its
match on her shoulder and decided the world could go howl tonight.