Author’s notes: I will not be using the stereotypical Old English manner of speaking when characterizing Kuno. I will simply be using a more refined manner of speaking. I feel strongly that Kuno only uses a more classical, formal manner of speech.

Originally, I intended for this chapter and the next one to be one long chapter. At the last minute, I decided to break them up and maybe flesh out the details a bit more.

Quickly jumping to the defensive, Ranma let old habits override caution in this situation as he tried to simply run away. Only a calm voice stopped him, “Ranma, don’t go?”

While it wasn’t a command, the tone halted his retreat, “Ah… Ok?”

Neither was sure what to make of the situation at hand. Nabiki was, however, one to always take advantage of a situation and pressed onward. “We didn’t finish our talk earlier.” Noticing that Ranma was still physically frozen on the floor in a crouch halfway between running and staying, Nabiki set her mind to the task at hand, “Sit down.” Nabiki idly pointed towards the nearby stool, “But turn around.”

Nodding slowly, Ranma simply listened to the commanding tone and did what was expected. Ranma only hoped nobody would catch them in this situation. Being caught here was the last thing that he needed in his life right now. “So? What’s up?” He sat down facing away from Nabiki regardless of the potential problems.

This was the last reaction that Nabiki expected but went with the flow of events. “Well...” She wondered why she was hesitating in telling Ranma about her problem. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerve, Nabiki moved onward, “You know that I’ve been going out at night right?”

Ranma, deciding that the tone was accusatory, cringed as he answered. “Who doesn’t?”

If Ranma noticed, then everybody in the family must have known that Nabiki was going out at night. They must have thought the worst of her for it. “I guess it was that obvious, I never tried to hide it.” The normal smirk was gone from her voice just leaving sadness behind. “I suppose it would be best to start from the beginning. It all began…”

Nabiki was doodling needlessly in her notebook as the economics teacher droned on about micromanagement of business in regards to the corporate world. Why the teacher taught this, Nibiki would never know but it was something she was relatively used to simply ignoring. Teachers rarely criticized Nabiki for her study habits since she maintained her grades. Below her, Nabiki could hear tidbits of the latest argument Akane was having with Ranma about something that would have, to another more rational person, not been his fault at all. This was the status quo for the school and life in Nerima in general.

Nabiki scribbled through her doodle wondering when and if anything would ever happen to her to cause some excitement in her life. It wasn’t that she was jealous of her sister but sometimes life seemed rather pale and boring compared to the lives of the various martial artists that seemed to surround her. Counting down to zero mentally, Nabiki watched as Kuno ran from the classroom shouting to the heavens about justice of some sort. She had stopped listening to the rather unstable boy years before. Kuno, to her, was only a good source if potential income regardless of what others wanted to imply.

Watching Kuno dash off to “defend” her sister brought another surge of jealousy totally unrelated to Kuno. Nabiki only wished somebody would invest that much of their own self into ensuring her safety and happiness. She had her family, to be sure, but they were not the same as a significant other. Nabiki had her associates to talk to during the school hours and a bit outside of school but they were hardly her friends and very far from somebody significant to her. There had been many rumors about Nabiki’s orientation when she first stepped up as the new broker on campus. The rumors were quickly squashed but some still persisted about whether she liked girls better than boys.

The lunch bell sounded without much overture and the students began to break off into their separate groups. Nabiki prepared for business as usual at her customary table. The table itself was a standard outdoor table but what set this table apart was that it was used by Nabiki’s predecessor and stood at just the perfect location to view the entirety of the school grounds commonly used by students during lunch. The table had just enough shade to cover the table, its occupants and little else. Anybody wanting to broker favors or place their bets had to stand in the sometimes uncomfortable sun while the boss sat in the shade. It was a bit of mental warfare simply stating that the boss was better than the petitioner.

Nabiki knew that she would have to hand over the reigns to one of her associates at the end of the school year so that the tradition would be preserved. Nabiki checked her books as she made a mental list of people that should be approaching her to make payments after the latest fight between Ranma, Akane and Kuno that morning.

Nabiki’s associates usually managed the collection of money so she only had to be there to show that she was present and accounted for. The one aspect of the business that Nabiki handled exclusively was information and rumor distribution. It wasn’t that she felt her associates were not capable of handling that part. She just wanted to maintain some level of personal control in the business.

Nabiki’s thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of Kuno. Waving him away quickly, “I don’t have any new pictures today.”

They had known one another since they both began school and Nabiki’s attitude towards Kuno wasn’t unusual for her. “Nabiki, I would acquire knowledge you have of one student that attends this academy.” He offered a roll of bills to Nabiki, “You will find him listed as Yukio Goto. The vile miscreant deals out unsolicited interference. I would have you discover all information this amount will cover. If I deem the information worthwhile, there will be more to continue the research.”

Nabiki pocketed the money intending to count it later then waved her newest associate over to her. Nabiki quickly scribbled a note and whispered her commands to the associate. The girl dashed off towards the school. “You’ll have to give me a few days Kuno.”

“I await your information.” Ever bit the pompous idiot, Kuno simply left content in allowing others to do his work for him.

Nabiki leaned back in the furo seeking a more comfortable position, “So that’s how it started. That moron wanted information and I foolishly went after it.”

Ranma thought for a bit trying to remember what day that was, “Wasn’t that about three weeks ago?” Ranma was pretty sure he remembered a guy getting between Kuno and himself. “Kinda tallish and wears glasses?”

“Why Ranma, I do believe you finally remembered something important.” Nabiki couldn’t help but poke fun at him a bit.

“Haha…” Ranma deadpanned, “Not very funny but what does that have to do with what’s wrong?” Nabiki was feeling more comfortable with Ranma as she talked. He was treating her like any friend would by this time. Nabiki was moved by his unknowing display of compassion.

“I didn’t know at first but as the week went by…”

Nabiki was a bit frustrated by the lack of information available about Yukio. It seemed as if the boy didn’t exist outside the school. Only basic information was available and Nabiki doubted that Kuno would be satisfied with only knowing the boy’s address, phone number and grades. What intrigued her most was that the boy had just transferred to Furinkan the month before citing business transfer by his father. He didn’t go out of his way to make friends and connections around him. He simply stayed in class by himself if nobody else was there and waited out the day. Like Nabiki, Yukio was in his last year of school and he was apparently scheduled to take entrance exams at Tokyo University. It looked like Nabiki would have to gather the information through alternative means to learn about the target.

For the couple weeks, Nabiki began to subtly follow Yukio and ask questions of his classmates. The outlook was dim but she pushed ever onward. His classmates knew better than to mention that Nabiki was asking questions about him. Eventually, Nabiki found herself standing outside Yukio’s house staring at the nameplate next to the gate. There just didn’t seem to be any way of getting the information outside of directly asking him and hoping he wouldn’t catch onto what she was after.

Nabiki raised her hand to press the intercom when she heard somebody approaching behind her. Luck had it in for her because Yukio was approaching his house with a bag of groceries. Trying to play her role correctly, Nabiki grasped her hands behind her back as the boy approached. She kept her gaze down trying to seem a bit embarrassed.

“Can I help you?” Yukio didn’t slow much as he passed her and held the gate open obviously inviting her in.

Nabiki followed his lead into the house. The house itself was somewhat on the small side but had a touch of class to it many larger houses seemed to lack. While gazing around, Yukio decided to break the ice, “Please, have a seat. Um… I didn’t quite catch your name.”

“Tendo, Nabiki.” She sat down quickly next to a low table obviously intended for guests. Her own house was larger than this one.

“I’ll be right back with some tea, then we can talk a bit Tendo.” He disappeared through a door before Nabiki could respond one way or another.

Having nothing else to do, Nabiki decided to take a look around the room trying to learn what she could about her target. Glancing at the table, she noticed many books on law indicating he planned on getting into law. As her eyes wandered the room, more details began to show themselves. The boy was obviously an overachiever being talented in art, music, academics and life in general. The room sported plaques detailing his achievements. Nabiki had to admit that she was impressed.

Getting up to investigate something that caught her eye and wouldn’t let go, Nabiki moved closer to a shelf holding a simple picture frame. In the picture, she could see Yukio and a fairly pretty girl next to him. While Yukio was wearing a large smile, the girl seemed a bit put off about something and her smile just didn’t reach her eyes. It was almost as if she were hiding something behind the smile.

“That’s Ami, she was my girlfriend until I had to move.” Yukio calmly placed a tray on the table and began to pour some tea into a pair of cups.

“So what brought you to Nerima?” Nabiki wasn’t one to miss a chance.

“My father was transferred out there. Company needs and all outweigh the needs of the family.” Yukio sat at the table taking a cup for himself and placing another across the table obviously offering it to her.

Deciding that simply being sociable would be a good way to break the ice and get some information, Nabiki sat across from him. It was obvious that the boy hadn’t heard much about her reputation around the school. “Do you miss her?”

“Terribly, but that’s life I guess. You sometimes have to give up something you want for the greater good.”

“We had tea and chatted for a while. Seems that he only got between you and Kuno because he was worried somebody would get hurt somehow.” Nabiki couldn’t remember the last time she could sit in the bath just talking to somebody. Even if that person would turn into a boy with a little warm water.