Scene by E-Type, story by Metroanime.
Herein lies the Disclaimer. This isn't authorized but it is stated in the Heir Today author notes the story and idea is free for use to anyone who wants it. I put this scene together in a little over an hour. The thing that really struck me in his end notes was this line; "After the "love pill" episode, Nabiki exploring a different side to her personality- less manipulative of Ranma and more open and caring. Still the "Ice Queen" to everyone else...then there's the inheritance and what everybody's reaction is eventually to finding out that Nabiki started out in pursuit of Ranma's future wealth". This is my reaction to the line. One of my earlier works, so I don't know if it's any good, but I'm putting it up. Read Metroanime's Heir Today on fanfiction.net before reading this, or you won't have any idea of what's going on. You can do so by clicking here
Nabiki suddenly found herself being scooped off her feet. She let out a gasp of surprise before she managed to control herself once again. She blew out her breath and breathed in through her nose, noting the scent of the person that had picked her up. She noted how the persons arms felt cradling her, she noted how perfectly she seemed to fit there, how her head could lean downwards onto the persons shoulder and be tucked under their chin. She noted how the person's muscles rippled just under the skin, giving away the lifetime of training and hard work needed to produce them. Nabiki reached up and wrapped her arms around the person's neck, her fingers running through the hair on the back of his head. Finding incredibly soft, full hair and a pig-tail confirmed her suspicion of who it was that had grabbed her.
Nabiki really wasn't sure if she could handle it. It had been almost two weeks since she had last seen him. Two weeks since it had come out that the only reason Nabiki had engaged herself to the son of Genma was that he stood to inherit a rather large fortune when he was wedded. She knew that wasn't the reason for staying engaged to him anymore, but she was hard pressed to present any type of case in her favor, in the favor of love instead of greed. She had tried, but Ranma had left, saying he would come back once he had thought about everything. Nobody was sure where he had gone, Nabiki had called every person she had ever talked with trying to locate him, and NOBODY had seen him since he had left. Which meant that he had truly gotten himself lost or he had a lot more money saved up by himself than anybody had thought possible.
Nabiki knew that she was in love with the boy, she also knew a large part of those feelings were due to a love pill that she had swallowed thanks to a plot by Shampoo, and Ranma trying to keep anybody from taking them. However, no matter what she tried to do after it had worn off, she still couldn't shake the incredible feelings that had been coursing through her while the pill had been active. To her complete and total amazement, those feelings hadn't gone away completely when the pill had worn off at the time Cologne said it would. They had dimmed, certainly, but that was simply because they weren't fully integrated with each other. There were many things about each other that they didn't know, but Nabiki had had a taste of what True Love felt like, and she was determined to get that feeling back. She had done extensive research on the pills and had discovered that the only way that a person could be made to actually feel the emotions was if they were real. The pills were actually designed as part curse, part marriage helper. If a partner was having problems in the marriage, or before a marriage the partners weren't sure about their feelings, a day pill would be issued. It would renew all the emotions they had felt when they had first met, or would show them the emotions that would develop if they let them. If there weren't any there, it would all be an act and the persons emotions wouldn't be affected in the least after the pills had worn out. Admittedly the partakers of the spell had to be closely supervised to make sure nothing inappropriate happening while they were under the influence, but the pills are one of the Chinese's most prized possessions.
Nabiki was now feeling that love for Ranma, could feel it growing larger every day she was around him, even some days she wasn't. After her research and discovery of what those pills were really designed to do Nabiki knew that Ranma was the man for her, she just had to get him to see that, especially since they were already married and once the documents were filed and noted by the inheritance company the money would start showing up. At that time things would probably come to light that would show why she had started out after him in the first place, but Nabiki knew she didn't have a strong case for herself to prove that she actually loved the sex changing, egotistical, caring, rambling, foot in mouth, loving, gorgeous, strong, quick minded baka.
Especially when she had coined phrases like that; insulting yet affectionate. Now, however, after all that had happened, Nabiki was, for some reason, being carried to a remote location for some strange reason by the man that had the most reason in the world to hate her. She was really hoping he wasn't taking her someplace to have her killed or something equally nasty. While she didn't think he had it in him, she knew he would do what he thought was right, and if that was the case he would find a way to pull it off.
After a short couple of minutes Nabiki found herself deposited on a grassy field. No way to tell good or bad by that, many things can be done on grassy fields. She looked around her, purposefully avoiding looking at Ranma, afraid of what she was going to see there. The clearing was small and very private, obviously somewhere close to where the school was, since she had been taken from there and was feeling anything but beautiful or desirable in the rather drab blue skirt with white blouse uniform all students at Furinkan sported. Unable to take the silence, and still unwilling to actually look at her love, Nabiki broke the silence.
"So, why did you bring me out here, if you don't mind my asking?" Nabiki cursed herself. That wasn't how she normally spoke, it would be obvious to anybody that she was nervous, and if her self control wasn't what it was she would have been down to the second knuckle from biting her nails, the middle Tendo daughter being an oral type of girl.
Nabiki could almost feel the smile from where she stood a few feet away from Ranma. It filled her heart with gladness, but he hadn't stated yet why he was smiling like that. It could be because he was about to dump her in the most brutal of ways and was simply savoring the moment. Though that didn't look like a vengeful smile...
Nabiki suddenly realized she was staring at him, something that she had been trying to avoid doing. She found the grass very interesting.
"Nabiki..." Ranma trailed off, obviously searching for the words to say what he wanted the first time, instead of the fifth or sixth. Something Nabiki usually appreciated, but the wait was driving her mad.
"Nabiki, I know that you've done some bad things since I've known you, and many more before I showed up, but what you did when you first met me has to take the cake." Nabiki had locked onto an interesting blade of grass and was scrutinizing it to the best of her ability. Anything to avoid the look of hate Ranma would be directing at her. "Kasumi didn't have her chance at finding love, nor did Akane have her chance at finding love, although sometimes that girl makes me wonder." Nabiki almost smiled at that. Ranma's sense of humor was one of his best qualities.
"No, what you did was take away their happiness for your greed. You were the one that usually wanted to do family things, you were the one, despite having locked most of yourself behind a wall, that would put yourself out when anything involved your family. So, why then? Why did you decide that your sisters didn't deserve a chance at happiness if it meant you would be rich in a year or two? When you could have just put a some effort into it and achieved the same wealth by yourself?" Nabiki could hear Ranma pacing back and forth in front of her, something that he had started doing when he noticed it seemed to annoy everybody he knew except Nabiki herself. She just found it amusing, especially when others were glaring at him for making quick laps in whatever room they occupied. Her eyes were drawn to his quickly moving feet, their sure placement and graceful movements drawing her attention like only Ranma could. Besides, it was a good way to try and block out what he was saying, let her subconscious deal with it, leave her the pain until later, when she was alone to cry for her future happiness and joy.
"I admit freely that you weren't alone when its time to lay the blame. We all played a part in creating this mess, even Kasumi, the dear." Nabiki winced at the term of affection. "But I'd like to think I handled things a lot better than I could have. Far from perfect, but a lot better than what I could have done and still lived. My real reason for bringing you out here was to tell you about some things that I found out while I was gone for two weeks. You weren't able to find me because I had never left."
Nabiki's eyes jerked up towards his in shock, but the view into his soul was unavailable since he was the one looking away now. "I was using a technique that Happosai had used on me once. I was able to duplicate it later but had decided that I wouldn't ever use it unless I had to. Now, I'm really glad that I followed that line of thinking. It's called the Now You See Me, Now You Don't, and it makes the person invisible for as long as they want, so long as they don't attack. I was simply sitting out in the open, listening to things around me, thinking on everything that had happened, giving myself time to think and figure out what the right course would be. I'm really sorry it took me two weeks to figure it out, but time seems to travel a little weird when you're invisible."
Nabiki nodded in acceptance, knowing he wasn't looking at her, but not trusting herself to speak. Did he have any idea of what she had been doing while he was gone? If he did, how had he interpreted her actions? Did he think she was trying to hunt him down, or was she trying to find her lost love? The same action with such a different spin on the motives for those actions.
"Well, I realized something while I was sitting there. Kasumi I could easily fall in love with, have already actually, it just hasn't progressed far enough for me to marry her. Akane, I'm not too sure about. That would take a lot of work on both our parts. But, the reason I brought you out here was to tell you something." Ranma paused again, as if waiting for just the right time to say something. Nabiki wasn't sure if he was hoping it would lessen the blow or what, but she just wanted the day to end.
"The reason I came back to find you was what else I realized while I was invisible. I discovered the most amazing thing it almost made me forget the original reason I had sent myself to a different dimension." Suddenly Ranma's hand was holding Nabiki's cheek, tilting her face up to look into his swirling blue orbs. His other hand gently brushed some hair back from her forehead before gently brushing down her other cheek, following the path tears were sure to be running down soon. She reached up and grasped the hand holding her cheek, tilting her head and pressing it more firmly into her flesh, fearful of the time this contact would be unavailable once again. Ever since her mother died...
"What I discovered was that, no matter what the reason you had the get yourself engaged to me, I really didn't care anymore. I'm in love with you, Nabiki, and I missed you so much that I had to come back even though I had only been gone two days by my internal clock." Nabiki finally registered what he had said at the beginning of the sentence and lurched forward in a patented Amazon Glomp, glad that there were no witnesses that would later tell Shampoo somebody had been stealing her moves again.
"Oh, Ranma! You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that." She somehow snuggled closer in the embrace with the pig tailed martial artist and started purring, a strange talent she discovered she had, much to Ranma's consternation. "I love you too." She happily murmured in his ear.
The two of them somehow ended up sitting in the grass, Ranma in a semi lotus with Nabiki cradled in the triangle formed between his knees and pelvis. Her head was once again on his shoulder, tucked under his chin with her hands running through her husbands locks. She was very grateful that it had been proven Ranma didn't inherit his fathers baldness.
"I really like Kasumi, she's a good friend to me. Ukyo is the same, except from childhood. I don't really know how to describe Akane. Well, I guess I could say she's a nice girl, but a violent maniac." Ranma quietly said.
Nabiki started laughing at that, having to pull back slightly to give her enough room to really let go. "AH-HA-HA-HA-HA! Chortle-giggle-snort-gasp-chuckle-supression-of-mirth-wheeze. Oh, that was a good one, Ranma. We'll have to tell Kasumi about that. Hehe." She took a deep calming breath, blew it out and settled back into her preferred position in her anata's lap. "Boy, I needed that."
She looked up at her husbands face, wondering what he was thinking. Well, one way to find out. "Dear, what are you thinking about?"
He smiled down at her, tucking her head back under his chin. He liked that position, he got to hold her, feel almost all of her, let his hands go just about anywhere he wanted, and he could smell that wonderful shampoo she used in her hair to keep it so smooth. She fit against him so perfect, too. "I was just thinking about some of the things that I saw when I was invisible. Things that I noticed about everybody around me that I hadn't realized before. Like how much I meant to you beyond money, like how much Kasumi liked me for the time I spent talking with her. Like how much you loved me, like how much I missed you while I was alone, like how many of your resources you used while trying to find me." He wound down and they sat in silence for a minute before Ranma continued. "Mainly, Nabiki, I noticed things that I never saw before, things that I should have, but never did. I realized how much we meant to each other, and I mean to make up for lost time now that I know about it."
"Besides," Nabiki added. "We'll be rich , so we won't have to worry about your silly martial arts anymore." This spoken by the girl that had restarted her lessons in the art.
Ranma looked down at her in askance for a moment before he recognized her smile and joined in. "Yeah, your plan of getting the money will finally come true and I won't even have to teach in the dojo since we'll be set for life." He got a thoughtful look in his face. "I wonder if we should head out and see if we can find some magical girls to make fun of?"
Nabiki laughed a bit at that. "I don't know, Ranma. You didn't seem to fare that good against the last demon you fought."
He looked indignant. "That was a lot harder than it looked, you know. When a being can float in and out of people's bodies it makes it kinda hard to hit!" He gave her a lopsided grin. "Besides, what was I supposed to do when your Dad started up that demon head thing of his when Kasumi was possessed?"
Nabiki pulled a rather large pin out of nowhere. "Use one of these."
Ranma stared at it for a minute before snatching it from her grasp and squinting at hit, reading some really fine print on the handle. "Made in Japan, first product of NT Inc, The Official Demon Head Popper (DHP), Developed by Nabiki Tendo and Kasumi Tendo, for use on all abused and inappropriate Demon Head Attacks. Patent Pending."
Nabiki snatched her DHP back, looking in the same spot Ranma just had. "Kami, it really does say all that, doesn't it."
Ranma gave her an incredulous look. "You never noticed it before that?"
She shook her head. "Kasumi usually has them, and I hadn't thought she had something like that done. I'll have to thank her soon."
Ranma smiled. "Maybe we both can. Think she could use a scholarship to school somewhere?" He inquired.
Nabiki returned the smile tenfold, mortally wounding her husband with cuteness rays. Ranma spoke again, gasping for breath. "Too cute...gasp!...must develop...counter technique...gasp!...or...gasp!...I'm a goner."
Right when Nabiki had turned the perfect shade of pink he swooped down and kissed her thoroughly. After finally breaking it off he announced. "That should do it, don't you think?"
He waited a bit for a response before noticing that his wife had a silly grin plastered on her face that didn't seem like it was leaving anytime soon. She was mumbled to herself, so Ranma leaned down to listen.
"He kissed me, he finally kissed me of his own free will!" That was repeated with growing amounts of astonishment with each repetition until Ranma was starting to get a little nervous. He hadn't thought he was that bad, was he?
Suddenly Nabiki launched herself at Ranma, despite being seated in his lap already. The two of them tumbled over backwards, Nabiki planting little kisses all over his face while shouting. "I love you, Ranma!" Ranma just smiled and went along for the ride, something he continued doing throughout their incredibly long lives. They were members of Crystal Tokyo, after all. Though the scouts were never too happy about how he had teased them when he first saw them in action. A few lessons from him and they were much more presentable, but that is a tale for another time.
Fin.