Changes of the Yen

              By Kyle Emmerson

    Ranma � and all of its characters and situations are
the creation and property of Rumiko Takahashi. I use
these characters and situations without permission.

    This should be read ONLY after reading the three preceeding
stories, Changes of the Sword, Rose and Heart. Having a good
working knowledge of the manga is also recommended, but not
required. Enjoy.

----

 I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was hardly possible,
but there he was, right in front of me. At least, it looked like him,
if not for the whole skin colour issue.

 But there he was, a foreigner-- American, I'd assume, that
looked almost exactly like... him. The one who had been lost to us
for almost six years... He stood the same way, had the same hair,
even the same look in his eyes.

 'Ms. Tendo?' the psuedo-Kuno asked.

 'Err. Yes,' I replied. 'Sorry.'

 'My name is Timothy Klewachuck, I'm with RBC,' he said.

 Oh, right. I was supposed to speak to a representive from the
Royal Bank of Canada today. Still, the man sitting in front of me
bore an amazing resemblance to... Dammit, why can't I just say his
name?

 Kuno. The man looked like Tatewaki Kuno.

 'Yes,' I said. 'Please have a seat.'

 I had been working with the JBIC (Japanese Bank for
International Cooperation) ever since I got out of Business School
last year.

 'I seem to have caught you at a disadvantage?' Timothy asked,
in near-perfect Japanese.

 I shook my head. 'I'm sorry, it's just that... you look like
someone I used to know.'

 'I tend to get that a lot,' he replied.

 I looked at him. 'Really?'

 He laughed. 'No, not really.'

 I smiled. 'Well, then. Should we get to business?'

 'Indeed,' he said. I felt a chill spread through me as he
said it. The intonations, the way he said it... was exactly the way
Tatewaki did. I suddenly felt uncomfortable, which wasn't a normal
thing. The last time I felt uncomfortable... was graduation day, six
years ago. The day when I walked onto the stage to accept my
graduation from high school... without Tatewaki.

 'Well,' I said, shaking off the feeling. Weakness was not
something you showed in my world, weakness meant giving your opponent
the advantage. In many ways, my world was exactly the same as
Ranma's. Winners were awarded in money and promotions, while losers
were sometimes awarded with permenent trips to the mail room.

 The meeting went as planned. We traded the information we
were allowed to trade-- each of us keeping minor details to
ourselves, until the end of the meeting, when another uncomfortable
moment came between us.

 The intercom buzzed.

 'Ms. Tendo?' Kimiko, my secretary asked. 'You have a call
from your sister.'

 My sister? I was confused. I haven't spoken to anyone from my
family in months. Why... why now?

 'I should probably let you take that,' Timothy said. 'It's
been nice meeting you, Ms. Tendo.'

 'No, please,' I said. 'Stay just a little longer, this call
won't take very long.'

 Why did I say that? What possessed me to... show that kind of
weakness?

 Shaking it off, I picked up the phone.

 'Hello?'

 'Nabiki? It's Akane.'

 'Hello, sister,' I said, very formally. I had been so
detached from my family since Business School that it seemed natural
to refer to her as such.

 'How are things doing?' she asked.

 'Fine, fine. I'm actually in the middle of something right
now, so you'll have to make this quick, Akane.'

 There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.
I was about to say something else, but Akane finally replied.

 'Look, it's... it's Tatewaki's birthday on Saturday, and
we're looking to make it a reunion of sorts. We were kind of hoping
you could make it.'

 A reunion? I knew that Tatewaki's third birthday was coming
up, but I hadn't really thought much of it. After all, I hadn't been
very close to my nephew. It just wasn't something I was expecting.

 'Nabiki? Hello?' Akane asked.

 'Yes... well... I'll have to get back to you on that, Akane,'
I said, unsure of how else to reply.

 'Great, then we'll see you there!' Akane said, happily. 'Are
you goign to bring a date?'

 'Akane, I don't think that's appropriate of you to ask.' Of
course I wouldn't bring a date-- who WOULD I bring? 'Anyway, I'm with
a client right now. I shoul let you go.'

 'Okay, I'll give you a call on Friday. Make sure you come,
sis.'

 'We'll see, Akane.'

 With that, I hung up.

 'Sorry about that,' I said.

 'Oh, it's quite all right,' Timothy replied. 'Listen, don't
think me too forward for this but... I am quite new to Japan, and I'm
here until next weekend, so I was wondering if you wanted to... well,
hook up with me after work, or possibly on the weekend.'

 I paused. 'You speak the language so well. You haven't
actually been here before?'

 'My family hosted a lot of exchange students over the years.
They introduced me to anime, and I took Japanese courses in college.'

 I smiled. Now here was a situation. Timothy was obviously
attractive-- but his resemblanced to Kuno-ch... to Tatewaki was
uncanny. But it wasn't really possible.

 'Not that I'm uninterested, Timothy, but I'm busy all week
after work,' I replied.

 Timothy nodded. 'Understood,' he said. 'It's been nice
meeting you then, Ms. Tendo.'

 'But--' I added. 'There is this thing... a family thing on
the weekend. It's my nephews birthday... If you'd like to accompany
me to that.'

 Timothy smiled. 'It would be my pleasure, Ms. Tendo.'

 'Nabiki,' I said, smiling at him. 'You can call me Nabiki.'

 He smiled again. 'I'll be in touch with you soon, then,' he
said, and then turned to leave.

 I watched him leave and sat in complete silence for a few
minutes. Then I swivelled my chair around and looked out my window
into the city.

 Perhaps it was nothing, but perhaps it was... something. I
guess anything can change over time... Even an Ice Queen like
myself...

----

 I know, this one was short-- but I've got two more short ones
planned, one from Ryouga's point of view and one from Mousse's. And
then I've got a larger, third-person story planned, so expect them
somtime soon. Thanks. Bye now. :P



http://www.nabiki.com/tydi-oh-ki/

An archive of everything Kyle. Fics, Artwork, Anime Music Videos and
Film Credits.




             .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'