By E-Type.
Herein lies the Disclaimer. I don't own any of the characters portrayed in this story, I just borrowed them for a little while. Their respective owners can have them back when I'm done. No money is going to be made off of this anyway. This story uses the basic premise that Ranma and Nabiki were dating in Junior High, at the time Ranma new Ryoga. There are a couple other stories out there with this same idea, of which this was spawned from. This has no relationship to any other story of its likeness, due mainly to the fact it's not depressing.
Nabiki lay on her bed reading a manga, not really thinking about anything when her father bursts into her room. "Nabiki, I have important news!" She looked at him skeptically for a few moments before sighing and rousing herself from her comfortable position. She hoped it would be something worthwhile, unlike some of his other announcements. She heard her father looking in Akane's room and decided to just go get her little sister herself.
She told her father so and said to wait at the table for them all to gather. Nabiki found her little sis exactly where she expected to find her, breaking bricks in the dojo. Nabiki shook her head at the display. Nothing but brute power there, no finesse, grace, or poise like her old boyfriend. She sighed upon thinking about him. It had been a few years now, and still she couldn't get over him. He had been the epitome of manliness as far as Nabiki was concerned, even though he was a year younger than she was. It had broken her heart when he had left, but he had at least called her, very briefly, a week later when he had finally managed to get away from his father long enough to use a phone. He had expressed his sorrow, but he couldn't really do anything about it until he was done. She had understood and was waiting for him to call her back, again. It had been a while, and she was in fact going to graduate in another year, but she was a patient woman. Hopefully he wouldn't try her patience much more. She wasn't sure if she could manage it.
She banished those thoughts as she opened her mouth to speak. "There you go again, Akane. No wonder the boys think your so weird." Not that that didn't stop them from all going after you. She added mentally.
Akane glared at her. "I couldn't care less. I don't think the entire world revolves around BOYS, Nabiki." Said older sister sighed. If you had met a man like my old boyfriend, Akane, you would sing a different tune. She thought to herself.
"Come on, Akane. Father has an announcement to make." Akane grunted in response and followed her into the house.
Nabiki had, for reasons she couldn't fathom besides a gut instinct that told her to, changed into a rather fetching kimono. Kasumi still wore her ever present house dress, minus the apron this time. Akane hadn't even bothered to change out of her gi.
The three girls turned their attention to their father when he cleared his throat importantly. "To carry on the legacy of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts I've decided to engage you to the son of a very good friend of mine. This pact was made long ago to ensure our legacy would continue. It would bring great honor to our families if one of you three should marry him and carry on the Tendo dojo."
The sisters sat there in wide eyed shock. They didn't think he would do something like this, not in this day and age. Nabiki, on the other hand had a glimmer of hope. She knew her old boyfriend and his father practiced Anything Goes, and she kinda remember him saying something about his dad knowing Soun from way back when they were training together. Nabiki was getting herself hyped up even though she was trying hard as possible to get her emotions under control. She was sure there had to be others that also practiced that style of the art, she couldn't imagine that he would just pop up out of nowhere and get engaged to her. Even as much as she would have liked it.
Having been as gone as long as he had, without single phone call since they had left for China, was starting to annoy Nabiki. Now she was certain that it wasn't him, for he was sure to have called her if he had gotten engaged to one of the Tendo's, and she hadn't heard anything.
Which meant that some person they didn't know was going to marry one of them, give or take a few years. Nabiki really, really hoped that they didn't pick her. She might be lonely in her social life, but where it counted she had a friend, one that she was sure would be with her until they died. If only she could talk to him again, it had been so long.
Kasumi was the first one to regain her speech. "How old is he? Young men are so...young." Her ever present niceness prevented her from completing the sentence how she had originally intended.
Nabiki decided to voice her own opinion. "Is he cute?"
Akane finally spoke up. "What kind of boy is he?"
Nabiki winced at that. If he had been here he would have shown her that he didn't take kindly to insults like that. Of course, if he had been here, Akane wouldn't have said anything like that, she would have been busy being jealous. That thought caused Nabiki a small smile. Though her younger sister denied it, the middle daughter knew that Akane secretly liked all the attention she was getting at school from the boys and, to a lesser extent, the girls as well.
Soun stood and looked out over the yard, a koi jumping through the air. He laughed briefly, as if such a question shouldn't have even been asked. "I have no idea."
*WHAM*
Nabiki and Akane picked themselves up from an impressive facefault. Even Kasumi was looking out of sorts, several strands of hair sticking out at odd angles.
"You don't know?" Nabiki demanded, thinking for sure that it wouldn't be her old boyfriend, she thought for sure her father would have some idea of what Ranma had been like. The couple of times that her father had gone out to drink had been with Soun, surely the two of them had at least met before.
"Oh, my." One guess as to who that was.
"Ohhh, I don't believe this!" Akane fumed. Nabiki could tell the blue haired girl was thinking of the incredible unfairness of it all, that of course this boy would go after her like all the others. Attention she claimed she didn't want, attention that she really didn't do anything to stop, since they obviously provided a workout in the morning, and if they decided to just get beat up everyday that was fine with Akane. Now, if they actually tried, they could probably get Akane to stop fighting them long enough to beat her, but they weren't really thinking very clearly. Apparently the intelligence rating at Furinkan was depressingly low, as Nabiki knew all too well. There simply no were guys there that could capture her interest. Akane, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind most of the boys there, just when they started acting like boys instead of interesting (to Akane) people.
Nabiki was just really glad she was 18 and only had this final year before she got out of high school. Then she could go do something that she wanted, like hunt Ranma down and figure out why he hadn't talked to her in so long. The other thing she could do was get away from all the weird people that seemed to populate Nerima, particularly the Kuno's and the Lost Boy. Neither item did she ever really want to see again, especially the way that Hibiki boy kept bad mouthing Ranma. Nabiki would have done something about it but, having seen the boy fight, knew that there was no way for her to really get at hi without using physical force, and given his toughness that seemed laughable for her to try. If the person one was trying to blackmail simply had no life there really wasn't a way to blackmail them. One must have a past in order to dig information out of it.
Soun chose that moment to divulge some information that he had been holding out on his daughters. "He and his father have been training since he could walk, and they recently returned from a trip to..." *KNOCK KNOCK* He was interrupted by the door. Before anybody could move they heard it open of its own accord and footsteps sounding down the hallway.
"We have guests." Kasumi said cheerfully.
Nabiki shook her head minutely, muttering to herself. "Kasumi, master of the obvious."
Soun leapt to his feet and started rushing toward the door, eager to see his old friend. Akane also stood and started heading over, to see what type of guy one of them was expected to marry.
It came as a great surprise to the older daughters of Soun to see their father and bravest of the girls come running back around the corner with a look of fright on their faces. Nabiki and Kasumi walked over to where the other two occupants of the house had stopped to face whatever had startled them so.
Nabiki's eyes bugged when a panda, walking on its hind legs, stopped a couple feet before the assembled Tendo's. Over its shoulder was slung a person, who or what nobody could tell yet. Nabiki tried a little humor liberally laced with sarcasm.
"So, is this your friend, Daddy?"
Soun violently shook his head. ""Uh uuhhh uhhh!" Was all that escaped his lips.
"Oh I see, so pandas stop by all the time!"
Soun shook his head again in denial. He should know, since he hardly ever left the house. The panda grabbed the person over its shoulder and held it out in front of him by the back of the shirt. Because of this, the front was stretched tight, leaving no doubt in the minds of anybody this was a female with bright red hair. Also obvious was the fact the red head was unconscious.
Soun was having trouble dealing with the situation, while Akane was wondering why in the world a panda would have a girl that had gotten knocked out, if the giant lump on her head was any indication. Nabiki was just staring. That girl reminded her of someone. It reminded her of Ranma, but she couldn't figure out why, unless he had had a sister that he never knew about. Believable, but she sure didn't look 5 years younger than him.
The panda dropped the girl at the Tendo's feet, her limp body crumpled into an incredibly uncomfortable looking position. The panda seemed not to notice. Nabiki was still staring at the girl while Akane was starting to get mad at the panda, no matter that it was just a dumb animal. It could have at least put the girl down gently!
The panda pulled a sign out from behind its back with some sloppy handwriting on it. ~Soun, it's me, your old friend Genma~ It said.
When blank stares were the only reaction to that statement the panda known as Genma flipped the sign over. ~Can I have some hot water, please?~ Genma had learned how to better get what he wanted over the years; being kind was one of the better ones he had discovered. Of course, once you double crossed them it made them hunt you down that much harder, but he was a good runner from responsibilities.
Kasumi simply smiled cheerfully and rose to fulfill the request. That seemed to unfreeze everybody else, for Akane reached down and lifted the small but curvy young girl before turning to Nabiki.
"Would you get a blanket and pillow for her Oneechan." Nabiki nodded and walked off, still unable to shake the familiarity she had with that girl.
Akane had just settled the red head into a comfortable position when Kasumi reentered with a kettle of hot water. The panda snatched it from her and dumped it over his head, leaving half the water. Soun, seeing this, couldn't stay in the land of the living any longer. The three sisters looked over in concern as he crumpled to the ground.
Genma looked mildly annoyed. "You've gotten soft, old friend." He looked at his 'son' but decided to leave him as he was until everyone was awake and they could make proper introductions. Then start planning the wedding.
Everyone awake was sitting around those laid out on futons. Kasumi, Akane and Genma were on Soun's side, Nabiki was next to the new girl. She was leaning forward, a little over the red head, just staring at her. She couldn't think of where she knew the girl and it was driving her crazy. Seeing as how nothing could come of the arranged marriage now that their "groom" was a redheaded girl Nabiki used her fathers self imposed nap time to change into her more comfortable little white shorts and tight, thing shirt.
Soun finally started to stir. "Oh look. Father's waking up." Kasumi stated for those not paying attention. which included nobody.
The Tendo patriarch looked up at the ceiling for a moment before sitting and looking around him for the cause of his fainting spell. His old friend Genma sat to his side, while his 'son' was still asleep to his left. He blinked in mild surprise at that. He must have more strength than he realized as a panda. The boy had been out longer than he should have if he was human.
"Genma, do you know what happened to that panda that was here earlier? I thought for sure that you had been in a panda suit, but that would just be ridiculous." Soun was hoping it would all be a joke.
As usual, the weirdness level in Nerima jumped up several notches. Genma sweated a little. He knew this story made him look bad, but if he could get it over with before his 'son' awoke then he wouldn't have him interrupting with what had really happened."
"Well, uh, yeah, that was me." Soun's eyes widened to three times their normal size. Genma hastened to explain. "I can explain!"
The beginnings of Soun's demon head attack was manifesting, hurrying the bald martial artist in his speech. He dashed into the kitchen, emerging a second later with a cup of cold water and the kettle, now full again with hot water. He knew his son would be coming around soon, and wanted to use him for a demonstration, but wasn't sure if he would be able to survive the beating afterword. Ranma had been so sure of not coming here until he had his curse cured that it had taken all of Genma's skills to subdue him, even then he had had to use a cowardly sneak attack to get him.
He stood, trying to strike a heroic pose. "It all started at our last stop in china, at a place called Jusenkyo."
Nabiki was still eyeing the red head, but no sh knew that it was Ranma's family, Genma hadn't changed at all for as long as she could remember. But where was Ranma? Only the girl had shown up that resembled Ranma. Nabiki's brain hiccupped at that. Hadn't Genma transformed from a panda into his original form. Would that mean that Ranma had....
Nabiki decided to wait for Genma to finish his explanation. Maybe that would shed some light on a problem that she wasn't sure that anybody really wanted to know about.
"It was there that we made our greatest sacrifice for the art." Nabiki didn't believe a word of it, except for the location. "The guide, uh, misguided us, hoping that we would run into misfortune, him being Chinese and use Japanese and all." That was plausible. "I was starting to get worried, for there were strange energies in the area, but Ranma wanted to press on." Nabiki almost strangled the man. She knew for a fact that it was the reverse of what he had just said. Although he now had Nabiki's undivided attention. This was the first mention of Ranma that had been made that day.
"We started sparing on top of the poles when I got a good hit in, sending the boy into one of the springs." Still opposite rules in effect. "He surfaced and surprised me so much that I fell from the pole and landed in a different pool." Genma splashed himself with cold water, going panda briefly before using half the kettle to return human and finish the explanation. The Tendo's were rather stunned by the sudden transformation, their eyes taking up most of their face.
Akane stated eloquently. "It's a panda!" She paused for a second to reflect on that statement. "But that's impossible!!"
After Nabiki had a chance to collect herself she returned her attention to the red head asleep before her. She was sure what pool Ranma must have fallen into, and she was also sure that it was Ranma asleep before her, not his sister. This certainly put a new spin on her relationship with him. Only question was, what had actually happened. Nabiki knew his fathers story to be a fabrication to make him look good, but the only hard part was waiting long enough for who she assumed was Ranma to wake up and clarify the situation as much as possible, far Nerima anyway.
The girls' eyes fluttered, as if warning those around her that she was about to wake up. Nabiki held her breath, wondering what her...his reaction would be to seeing Nabiki first thing upon awakening. The middle Tendo daughter hoped it would be good. She would hate to have their first reunion spoiled by their fathers or Akane. That girl had an uncanny way of getting Nabiki just when she was thinking about her boyfriend and razzing her about it, even though she didn't know all the facts.
Just enough of them. Like; male friend who she went to the movies with on more than one occasion, something that had been unprecedented. Still was, actually. After the mystery boy had left she hadn't been on a date since. Nobody was sure what to make of that, whether she got burned or was just waiting for him to return.
Nowadays, for those who still remembered, they all thought she was a lesbian, having ignored pretty much the entire male population of the high school. It was a strange relationship she had with the rest of the student body. They all thought they knew what was going on with her, but the reality would have left them all rather startled.
Ranma's eyes finally fluttered open. Nabiki leaned over her, a concerned look on her face. Those same blue eyes Nabiki remembered stared up at her for a moment with a blank look in them before a beatific smile appeared on her face.
"Hey, Nabiki-ch...eeep!" Ranma clapped her hand over her mouth, eyes bulging in fear. She sat up suddenly, almost head butting the middle Tendo daughter. His eyes swept up and down his currently female body in horror. He looked into the short haired girls brown eyes for several moments before suddenly calming down.
"You know, don't you." The red head stated.
"I took an educated guess." She arched an eyebrow. "Ranma, I presume?" He sighed and nodded in confirmation. Nabiki smiled engagingly at him and leaned forward so they were the only ones that could hear each other. "So, what really happened Ranchan? Your father gave his version, now I want to hear it for real."
Ranma snorted in an unladylike manner. Understandable, given he was about as far away from being a lady as possible. "I'd love to, but could I change back first? I really don't like being a girl."
Nabiki frowned at him. "Something wrong with being a girl, Saotome?" She completed her sentence by poking him in his ample chest.
He squirmed for a moment before getting himself under control. A sudden gleam in his eye was the only warning Nabiki had before she found herself being smothered by Ranma. But she kept feeling things in her hands and pressed against her body that shouldn't be there. Knowing who it was she was getting frisky with caused her to concede Ranma's point. Being male would be better.
"Alright Ranma, now go change." Nabiki managed to detangle herself from Ranma, but stood and followed him into the kitchen. She hadn't seen her "man" yet, and she had a glomp with his name on it. He glanced over at her for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and grabbing a kettle that was sitting on the stove. The water cascaded down over her red hair, turning it black. After it started dripping on her shoulders she suddenly grew several inches while the abundant curvature was remolded into a chiseled physique that was even better than what she remembered, especially with the way his now wet shirt created a second skin.
Nabiki stood staring at him for a few minutes before Ranma got bored posing and decided to study her some. He hadn't seen her in over two years, but those images were still perfectly clear in his minds eye. Seeing that Nabiki wasn't looking her best with the drool and stunned posture he decided to try and get her to stand normally.
A quick wipe over her face had her expression back to a neutral blank stare. He grabbed her arms and lifted her up, straightening her posture and causing her back to arch some, almost as if she was presenting herself to him. He swept her legs together before settling her back on her feet. He brought her right arm up and crossed it over her stomach to hold her left elbow. He smiled as he remembered her traditional waiting pose. Satisfied with his work he stood back and swept his gaze up and down her matured form.
Nabiki came back to herself and noticed she was standing in a different way than last remembered. It was a pose she usually assumed while standing around idly, but she couldn't figure out when she had started using it. Until she noticed Ranma.
He was standing much like she had been, his mouth open and a small line of drool running out of it. Little hearts were in his eyes, eyes that were roving up and down her body. She blushed crimson when she realized he was checking her out like she had done to him. It pleased her to no end when she realized she had the same affect on Ranma that he had on her.
She twirled for him, wishing she was wearing something better than her shorts and semi-sleeved shirt. He didn't seem to mind, though. After a while she was unable to resist anymore. She walked up to him, waved her hand in front of his face a few times to get his attention, and glomped him.
He stumbled under the sudden weight before returning her affection. They basked in the others touch for a long while before their regular personalities reasserted themselves. Nabiki had a huge grin on her face that she couldn't manage to get rid of. Ranma sported the same goofy expression, though he didn't look like he was trying to hide it.
"Let's go to my room and you can tell me everything that happened in the past two years." She grabbed his hand and dragged him up the stairs, the rest of the Tendo household watching them in wonder.
"Any idea what that was about?" Akane asked.
"I have no idea." Kasumi said.
"Was that your son, Saotome?" Soun inquired.
Genma nodded his head, wondering about that expression that he had seen on the boys face while being lead by Soun's daughter. Things might be easier than they had first thought.
Ranma and Nabiki sat comfortably close to each other on her bed, wondering when one of them would make the first step to reestablishing their relationship. It had been so rudely cut off, yet they seemed to be having trouble getting it started again, despite how much they both wanted to. Nabiki decided to start things off easy. She leaned against him, their legs touching slightly before starting her inquiries.
"So what really happened at Jusenkyo?"
"What Oyaji told you is probably pretty close to the truth, it wasn't one of my better moments. I'll have you know I wasn't the first one to get kicked in a spring. But I did manage to get some control over the curse. Part of my problem is I'm a water magnet, so I've been able to train myself to detect when water is coming. If I really want to I can usually stay male for most of the time." Ranma subtly put his arm around her, his hand resting on her hip.
"So have you ....done anything in your cursed form?"
Ranma's eyes widened in surprise after a few moments. "NO! I'm not a pervert!"
Nabiki seemed disappointed at that for some reason. "So you have no idea how a woman works, do you?"
Ranma's eyes almost fell out of their sockets when he realized why she had asked him that. Then they returned to normal when he realized that it would be the perfect way of finding out what was supposed to be done, and how often. Nabiki nodded to herself when she saw the light of realization go off in his eyes. She had always liked that about him. He was incredibly quick at thinking of things like that.
His eyes widened again when another thought struck him. Nabiki quirked an eyebrow at him, prompting him to answer her unspoken question.
"Ah, you don't plan on having the microphones on tonight, do you?" Ranma asked, twiddling his fingers nervously.
Nabiki couldn't suppress her sudden grin, causing Ranma to blanch. She made soothing gestures, trying to get him to calm down. "Don't worry, I won't watch. I will expect a complete demonstration of what you learned later, though."
Ranma started choking on his tongue, not having expected that at all. Nabiki smacked him on his back until he recovered, letting her hand linger until he suddenly turned and pulled her into a mighty glomp. She returned it enthusiastically. After a few more minutes they finally separated.
"Kami Nabiki I've missed you and your sense of humor." Indeed, Ranma looked like he was visibly relaxing in her presence. Ranma seemed to have the opposite effect on Nabiki. She was growing excited and looked almost giddy, the normally cool and collected woman actually looking hyper.
"I know all too well what you mean. I can't wait till we can get some quality time alone. I missed you so much, Ranchan!" Nabiki gushed.
Several minutes of therapeutic hugging ensued, at the end of which they finally separated just enough to let things settle down before clothes started falling to the wayside. Nabiki gazed at him for a few moments before she started giggling uncontrollably.
Ranma's eyebrow quirked, wondering what she had found so funny. She informed him. "I just thought of what our families must be thinking, since I just dragged you into my room and they haven't heard from us in over half an hour. What must be going through their minds." Her giggles descended into a soft chuckle every once in a while as Ranma himself tried to suppress his laughter.
"I wish I could have seen my Oyaji's face when you did that. Ooh, that would have been a good one."
Nabiki nodded in agreement before she sighed in resignation and pulled away. "We should probably get down and join the rest of the family. Well, before they bust the door down to figure out why we've been up here for so long." She glanced slyly at him, a gleam in her eye.
"So, do you want to get married?" She asked as if it was a comment on the weather.
Ranma stared into her eyes for several unbearably long seconds before his smile returned. "Sure, I wouldn't mind."
Nabiki blinked in mild surprise, but her Cheshire grin returned quickly. "So, when should we do it?"
Ranma leaned in close, enveloping her in another hug. "Let's talk about it tonight, hmm?" Nabiki could only nod in agreement, never wanting to leave that embrace.
Akane, Soun, Genma, and Kasumi sat in shock at what they had seen. Nabiki had just dragged a boy off into her room, the one that one of them was supposed to have just gotten engaged to? They remained frozen the entire time Nabiki and Ranma were upstairs, only coming out of their daze when they noticed the pair come back down to join them.
Akane noticed how close the new guy was sitting next to her sister and it made her wonder if Nabiki was OK with that, or if she was going to fleece him as soon as she had the chance. She never could figure out her Oneechan very good.
Genma, obviously not aware of the danger Nabiki presented, jumped at Ranma, in preparation for announcing that Ranma was going to be engaged to Akane. About midway through the leap he realized he was going to knock the girl his son was sitting next to away when he landed, but decided not to worry about that for now.
Ranma noticed that Genma was going to knock Nabiki aside about that moment also, but he wasn't about to let that happen, especially since he had just met up with her again.
Ranma spun and planted his hands on the ground to either side of Nabiki, gently but quickly pushing her flat on her back. Once accomplished he straightened his body upward at a sharp angle, catching Genma right in the gut with both feet. The kick was a powerful one, using just about every muscle in his body for the maneuver. After impact Genma went flying back the way he came to bounce off the far wall of the Tendo living room and perform a perfect face plant.
Ranma remained in his vertical position above his bride to be, looking down at her while he quickly and quietly told her what had just happened. Nabiki nodded in acknowledgment, glad that somebody was around to prevent these sorts of things from happening to her. Nabiki had always been a little accident prone for some reason, at times appearing more klutzy than Akane even. While she normally moved with an unnatural grace that just about every girl she had ever met tried to emulate, something about her just cried out to be subjected to various forms of injury that was either unavoidable or completely not her fault. Like what Genma was about to do. It had nothing to do with Nabiki, and given her lack of training was completely unavoidable, yet she would be the only one hit and affected by the entire series of events.
This time, though, somebody had managed to prevent it from occurring, just another reason to welcome her love back into her life. This same thing had occurred when she had met him the first time, one of the main reasons that she had gotten so affectionate with him was simply because he was always holding her in his arms for some reason or another, saving her from a myriad of unfortunate pitfalls.
Ranma straightened up and sat next to Nabiki, wondering what else was going to happen that day. Things had started happening just like they had when he first got to know her, something that Ranma was actually kinda glad of. It meant, to him, anyway, that things were as they should be. Nabiki was who he should be with, since it was with her when the strangest things happened, that weren't necessarily bad. Around his father, nothing but bad news resulted from their various adventures, Jusenkyo just being one of the greatest. When Ranma was with Nabiki, he felt as though he was in control, that he could save her from the many pitfalls that would have otherwise befallen her.
Genma somehow straightened and returned to the table with startling speed, acting as if the past few seconds had never happened. Soun opened his mouth to ask a question, but was cut off by Ranma. "What's the big idea, old man? You saw Nabiki was there, what were you jumping at her for?"
Soun closed his mouth and nodded in agreement with the question, his eyes flashing dangerously. If there was one thing that could get Soun Tendo to show a spine it was threatening his daughters. Genma looked at the people sitting at the table before him, wondering how he was going to divert the attention from himself until this had blown over. His chest still hurt like crazy from that kick, too. The things he put up with for his pride as a martial artist! Maybe he could just get that short tempered girl to claim center stage again....
Genma pointed at his son. "It's been decided, boy." Ranma blinked, followed by everybody else at the table. Had Genma just completely ignored the question? He had! Several of the Tendo's and a Saotome opened their mouth to try and get the conversation back on track from Ranma's question when Genma quickly continued. His finger swung around and centered on Akane. "You shall be engaged to Akane." He finished in his best I'm-Your-Father-And-I-Know-What's-Best-For-You-Even-If-It-Really-Doesn't-Look-Like-It-At-The-Moment voice.
There was a mass blink at this, and Genma sighed in relief when it successfully diverted everyone's attention away from himself. There were times when fading into the woodwork was much more advantageous to being in the spot lite. Akane recovered first, her anger being one of the things she reacted best to. "What? What do you mean I'm engaged to him?"
Soun was suddenly nodding his head, obviously agreeing with his old friend. "Yes, yes. They would make a perfect couple, wouldn't they Saotome. They're both martial artists, after all. And together they could carry on the Tendo legacy."
Ranma cast Nabiki a desperate glance. As good as he was at talking with her and most other things, for some reason he never was able to really debate all that well. Nabiki smirked at his look. She had missed that look since he had left her. His puppy dog eyes was one of the best that Nabiki had ever seen, and she wasn't sure she would be able to deny just about anything he requested if he got the nerve to use the full big, watery eye's expression on her. He looked so adorable when he did that, Nabiki couldn't get over it. She only hoped that Ranma wasn't aware of her weakness yet, or things might become a little harder for her financially. The ice cream she would be spending the money on would probably be worth it, though.
Deciding that an engagement to her little sister wasn't something that would be in her best interest, Nabiki rallied her resources, trying to see what she had to work with here. She didn't want to end up engaged to him outright, since she liked being courted. Ranma, she knew, didn't want to really be engaged at the moment either. While he had made it perfectly clear when they were in junior high that he would be perfectly willing to spend the rest of his life with her, he was still heeding the call of his Art. He needed to go out there and practice, to find those new techniques, to be the best. If he was tied down in a dojo he obviously wouldn't be getting any better verses somebody who was constantly going out and training. Ideally, Ranma didn't want to be engaged to anybody, while Nabiki wanted to hold it in reserve in case she needed it to keep him from running off again for almost three years. If he could just wait a year, she would be perfectly willing to go with him, but she didn't want to let him out of her sight again.
"So, why don't you want to be engaged to him, Akane?" Nabiki asked.
"Well," She began, "For one thing he's a pervert, turning into a girl like that. And for another, he's weird. And for another, he's just... I don't know! But whatever it is, it's not good." Akane's scowl was going full force.
Nabiki matched her expression. "So you're saying that, simply because he picked up a curse that makes him look better than you you're calling him a pervert. How immature, little sister."
Akane's aura flared, and Nabiki was well aware that the only thing that was saving her from a visit to Dr. Tofu's was the fact that Akane tried not to hit those that couldn't defend themselves, especially her sisters, no matter how mad they made her. "Well, you're not the one that got engaged to the freak! I'd like to see how well you'd handle it, Nabiki."
Nabiki turned toward Ranma, wondering if he was going to go along with this, or if he was going to protest like she thought he would. She hoped he didn't protest too loudly, or it was going to hurt where she had tried to make it never hurt again. Her heart. Before Nabiki could respond Kasumi spoke up.
"That's not nice, Akane. I'm sure Ranma's a perfect gentlemen, you just have to give him a chance. Circumstances beyond his control shouldn't cloud your opinion of him, Akane-chan." Kasumi ever present smile was there to take some of the sting out of her words, but since Akane wasn't looking at her she didn't see it.
The youngest Tendo slouched as if all the energy had been drained from her for a moment while Ranma marveled at the presence that Kasumi had. Then Akane straightened and glared around the room, her gaze somehow softening ever so slightly when it passed over Kasumi. "Well fine, I see how it is around here! Everybody just wants to gang up on Akane tonight, huh? Well, fine! I'll just leave you to talk amongst yourselves then." She rose and stomped out of the room.
Everybody sat in silence for a moment before Akane came stomping back to stand in the doorway. "AND I'M NOT ENGAGED TO THAT PERVERT, EITHER!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.
Nabiki shook her head, trying to get the ringing out of her ears. That girl always did have a healthy set of vocal cords. She sometimes figured it made up for her lack in other departments. Sorta of like Nabiki's brain and beauty made up for her inability to learn martial arts very easily, despite how gracefully she moved. There just seemed to be mental block there that prevented her body from going through the motions as it should, even though she could normally move like a fighter. It was very strange, but Nabiki didn't question it anymore. She just knew that they were the facts, and she could live with it.
In Nabiki's opinion, having her good looks and a chest as big as hers more than made up for her inability to punch through a brick like her tomboy of a sister. She also knew that Ranma couldn't agree more, as he had admired her assets on many occasions that Nabiki fondly remembered.
Before Nabiki could regain control of the conversation and get herself setup with a tentative engagement to Ranma, Soun did something completely unexpected. "Well, seeing as how Akane doesn't want the engagement, and I know Nabiki has already found someone, the duty falls to you, Kasumi." All eyes turned and regarded the eldest daughter, who looked like she was caught in some oncoming headlights. Some very large headlights.
Nabiki was caught completely flat footed. How in the world had her father known about that? She was sure nobody else could have known, and he makes it sound like fact! Ranma glanced around at those still in the room, not sure if this could be something that would be good or bad. A single look at Nabiki's face convinced him that it would be in his best interests to get engaged to her, instead of holding out and waiting until at least after high school for them to get married. Ranma thought about it for a moment and realized that he didn't really mind. Getting married to Nabiki seemed like a really good idea, especially since he had no idea what would happen another three years from now, given how strange things would find him no matter where he was.
"I kinda think that Nabiki would be the..." Ranma spoke no more, as his father drowned him out.
Usually, if his son disagreed with something he said, Genma knew that whatever it was should definitely happen. Since his son was disagreeing with this engagement to Kasumi, that meant that it had the best chance of happening. If only Genma had let Ranma finish his sentence, he would have heard him say that Nabiki would be the better choice and that would have been the end of the engagement issue. Since he hadn't, things worked a little differently than they might have otherwise.
"Nonsense, boy! She's the perfect wife for you! She's a great cook, knows how to clean the house while you're teaching classes, and isn't even that bad looking," Genma enthused.
Kasumi shot a frown at the elder Saotome. That hadn't been a very nice thing to say about her. Ranma noticed this. "Well, yeah, I'm sure she would make a great wife, not to mention she's very beautiful. But like I tried to say earlier, I've already..."
"You see, Tendo? He agrees to the engagement. That's my boy!" Genma beamed at his son, hiding the sweat that was going down the back of his head. If his son decided to take offense and get violent, instead of sighing and dealing with it in his own way, Genma knew he would be in a world of pain.
Ranma opened his mouth, closed it, looked at Kasumi, noticed her completely stunned expression, turned to Nabiki, noticed her completely stunned expression, turned to the fathers and saw them already downing some sake that the two older men had pulled from somewhere and decided that it was a lost cause for the moment. Maybe tomorrow he could get things switched around, but until then he guessed Kasumi was his bride to be.
Ranma leaned closer to Nabiki, thinking that it was kind of strange for her to be out of it for this lone. He waved a hand in front of her face, trying to get her attention. A moment later she snapped out of it and got a strangled "What?" To issue forth from her mouth.
"Ah, just making sure you're okay. That didn't go at all the way I thought it would."
Nabiki snorted. "You're telling me. You have any idea how many different ways I thought of that this engagement thing could go since I figured out who you were? Not a single one of them even remotely resembled what happened here. I'm so mad at daddy and Mr. Saotome right now I'm not even sure I could talk straight with them." Nabiki's Glare of Death descended upon the two drunks, giving them pause for a moment to look around them and try and figure out where that feeling of impending doom was coming from. Ranma almost winced in sympathy. He had gotten that glare once, and it was something that absolutely made his skin crawl. He wondered how in the world Nabiki managed to pull it off.
"Yeah, I know what you mean, Nabiki. I'm not too thrilled about this either. I'm sure your sister is nice and all, but I'd much rather be with you." Ranma looked over at the eldest sister again, wondering if he should go over there and make sure she's all right. There was still that stunned glazed look in her eyes.
Nabiki apparently had the same thought, since she stood and walked over to Kasumi, waving her hand in front of the girls face much like Ranma had done earlier. "You alright there Kasumi? You've been out of it for a while now."
Kasumi twitched and the life returned to her eyes. She turned and looked at Ranma, then back to Nabiki, then Ranma again before speaking. "Oh my, I have a fiance." She smiled a little hesitantly at him, wondering what the proper response to all this would be. She hadn't ever really heard about arranged marriages from anybody she knew in her wanderings around town. They had all married for love, or at least were in love when the marriage was arranged. Kasumi really had no idea what to think of Ranma, and here she found herself engaged to him when she had thought for sure her little sister would try for him. Maybe Nabiki really was as cold hearted as everybody kept saying, for Kasumi didn't know how the girl could turn down such a good looking boy. She certainly wouldn't have if he were in her bedroom. Alas, that wasn't to happen, at least not until she could quietly question the middle daughter to find out what her plans had really been. And if he was a good kisser.
Going for the old standby, Kasumi said, "I'll go make some tea." She rose and left for the kitchen, leaving Ranma and Nabiki sitting, staring at each other.
The two teens sighed in unison before moving themselves to sit leaning up against each other. Ranma put his arm around the short haired girls shoulders and pulled her up against him, from which position he could breath in the wonderful scent of her hair. Nabiki leaned against her boyfriend with an arm around his waist, her hand roving up and down his back, feeling the muscles beneath the skin. Her other hand reached up and laced fingers with his over her shoulder, making sure he didn't get too free with where he placed it. Not that she would mind, but Kasumi would be coming back any moment and she didn't want to get any lectures on inappropriate behavior.
Ranma looked over to where a rather large panda was holding a bottle of sake in his mouth by the teeth, with another two in his hands while Soun seemed to be slowly slurping down a huge container of the stuff while eyeing the panda uncertainly. He hadn't had enough time to adjust to his friends new form it seemed. Ranma shook his head and indicated the scene to the girl glued to his side. She imitated his head shake before commenting.
"I don't know where Daddy gets the money for it, but he'll keep going until he passes out on the floor most times."
Ranma snorted. "Well, now we know why they're friends. My old man does the same thing. It sure is embarrassing being too young to drink, yet having to go into the bar to carry his lazy ass out before he gets beat up."
Nabiki gave him a sympathetic look, always amazed that no matter what she brought up Ranma seemed to have something that would top it. She guessed that was simply from being on the road for ten years, something she was happier hearing about than living. "Well, I guess we'll just have to deal with this tomorrow. Hope you feel up to going to school with me."
Ranma nodded, but didn't look too happy about it. She smirked, as school was one of the things that he really didn't like. He was good at it when he cared to be, but he got so bored that his work would get ignored. Nabiki felt the same way, but as she didn't have an outlet that takes up all of one's time like martial arts, she did her work and aced all the tests simply because it gave her something to do. Well, with Ranma around now she would have a reason to slack off a little. There were always things to do when he was around, even if it was just sitting and talking.
"Ooh, poor little Ranma-chan, have to go to boring old school when he could be learning how to more efficiently defenestrate his father."
Ranma mock glared at her. "Oh hush, you. Just because some of us are easily entertained doesn't mean you have to try and get everybody to like schoolwork."
Nabiki swung herself around to sit in his lap, wondering how long Kasumi was going to take with that tea. "Well, at least we know how you feel about my interests now." A huge fake pout appeared on her face. "And here I thought you were the only one that understood me."
Ranma had a huge smile on his face, his eyes turning into rainbow shapes. "I do understand you." He looked at her with a strange gleam in his eye for a moment. "And I can tell you want me to do THIS right now!" Nabiki shrieked in surprise when Ranma's fingers flashed down to the crease where her legs met her hips and dug in, finding her worst ticklish spot.
Nabiki tried as hard as she could to get away from his probing fingers, not wanting to loose the tickle war. After several attempts she managed to knock his hands away and lunge upward at the same time, catching him in a hug that sent Ranma over onto his back, Nabiki's body pressed full length on him, holding him down. Her hands fluttered their way down his side, getting strangled chuckles and guffaws from her resistant prey. His arms suddenly came up and encircled her, pinning her arms to her side. He adjusted himself slightly so he could hold both her arms with one hand. The other he slid up her back to tickle her neck, making Nabiki jerk her head around, trying to cut off his access to her sensitive flesh.
Ranma was grinning like a mad man as Nabiki's hair whipped around his face, feeling her squirming in his grasp as she tried to free her arms to get back at him. She finally thought of something and licked his neck before blowing on it. Ranma shivered and brought his free hand up to wipe the strange feeling away. Nabiki grinned and quickly did it again, getting another shiver to pass through is form beneath her. A wicked thought occurred to her and the ticklish girl decided to try it.
She pressed her pelvis down against Ranma's, making him aware of what kind of position they were in, despite their innocent intentions. This time, instead of licking his neck she simply kissed it, though the shiver that ran down his body this time made Nabiki smile. He suddenly released her and pushed her up by her shoulders, so Nabiki ended up sitting on his crotch. Ranma realized his mistake when he saw the smirk his almost fiance couldn't suppress. He almost managed to get his arms down in time, but Nabiki had enough of a head start to dig her fingers into his armpits, resulting in Ranma erupting in a body debilitating laughing fit.
Every once in a while he would manage to hit one of her own tickle spots, but for the most part he was at her mercy. After a few moments she let up and allowed him to catch his breath, while she did the same. It also allowed Nabiki to realize where she had been sitting for the pat few minutes when she noticed that something was poking her butt.
In a flash the two separated and were sitting next to each other, huge blushes covering them from head to toe. Kasumi walked back into the room at this point, having heard the tickle fight and wondering if they would mind letting a third person in on it. The two laughed nervously and said maybe next time. Kasumi simply smiled, hoping that there would indeed be a next time, as that had certainly looked fun. It also helped confirm that Nabiki was interested in her fiancé, Kasumi just had to figure out if she wanted him for herself or if she would give him up for her little sister.
Ranma walked along the sidewalk holding Nabiki's hand, grumbling slightly.
"C'mon," Nabiki chided him, "It's not that bad to walk on the sidewalk like everybody else."
Ranma glared at her. "If you had kept practicing like I told you to then I wouldn't have to be down here with you. You could be up there with me."
Nabiki patted his arm. "It's not so bad, don't be such a grump. Your puppy dog eyes aren't going to get you anywhere this time."
"How in the world did you manage to talk me into this? I'm the one that has good debate skills, there should have been no possible way for this to happen. If I didn't know better I'd say there is a Kami just waiting up there screwing around with my life. I can see him now, sitting at his little cubicle with all his cheesy half naked girlie calendars around him because he can't get a girlfriend, watching poor little ol' me and seeing what kind of trouble he can get Nabiki into today..." Nabiki, walking along the top of the fence, hadn't stopped to breath in her entire tirade. Ranma was getting a little worried, not to mention annoyed. He knew she liked it up here, why was she complaining so much? Ahh! Now he knew what to do.
Nabiki abruptly broke off and sighed in happiness when Ranma matched step with her and moved his arms from being supportively on her shoulder to comfortingly around her waist, his solidly muscles body touching her all along her back. The middle Tendo daughter reached down and laced her fingers through her boyfriends, tightening his grip on her body. While she wasn't all that worried about falling, especially now, she just couldn't seem to get enough of being in his protective embrace. She felt that nothing could ever hurt her when he was around, and so far this had proven true, despite the fact that things had become much more dangerous for the both of them last time they had been together.
They continued walking along in perfect synch, Nabiki even went so far as to close her eyes and lean her head back against Ranma's shoulder, trusting him to make sure that they didn't fall and break something important. Ranma had a perfectly happy smile on his face as they moved along the narrow path. He had known she could still fence walk, it had just taken his best puppy dog face and she had caved in. Though now that they were up here he was starting to wonder if she had planned to give in to him anyway, but had just waited to see how far he would go to try and get her up here with him. It sounded like something she would do to him.
Ranma decided to stop thinking and just enjoy the contact with Nabiki while it lasted. He knew they would have to separate once they got to school. She was a year older than him, a grade ahead, her class room was on the floor below his. Lunch time they could be together again, though. And he bet she still had her monetary activities before school started that she liked to do. He had only heard about them before, since she had gone to an all girl school next to his all boy one. But he had heard many stories from her, and doubted that she had changed all that much in a couple of years.
Which meant that he would have to get her off the fence and let go of her as they entered the school grounds. She had been very protective of their relationship becoming common knowledge when they were younger, and he saw no reason why that would have changed. Especially now that they weren't officially engaged, despite their feelings on the matter. Neither teenager had been able to rouse their fathers from their alcohol induced slumber that morning before Nabiki needed to leave. The almost couple hoped that the panda and his friend wouldn't go out and get drunk that night, there was an engagement that needed to be rearranged.
Nabiki hadn't mentioned it to her love interest but she had been very worried at the looks Kasumi had been shooting most of those seated at breakfast that morning. She looked like she had been appraising everyone there, trying to figure out what they were thinking. Given that Nabiki had NEVER seen Kasumi do that before it was a little unnerving. Especially since she seemed to warrant special attention, particularly whenever she had some dealing with Ranma. Since the older girl was actually engaged to him she didn't know if Kasumi was thinking of trying to get Ranma for herself or if she was making sure that Nabiki really wanted him before letting them change the engagement over. While Nabiki knew that Ranma didn't mind all that much, since he had made it perfectly clear as to who he liked, but didn't really want to get married just yet, Kasumi didn't seem to believe him for some reason.
Why that could be Nabiki didn't have a clue. Was she reading between the lines, finding words that nobody else could see, in fact, weren't even there to begin with? Nabiki knew that some people could do that, read information into scenes and postures that didn't have any hidden meanings. Sometimes they were proven true, sometimes wrong, as was the case with most forms of mysticism that the two had stumbled across while going to fares and whatnot. But Kasumi seemed like she was trying to determine something about Ranma and herself, and Nabiki was a little worried at what she'd find. While confident that Ranma loved her, Kasumi was just too sweet to say no to. Nabiki wasn't sure what would happen if Kasumi asked Ranma to marry her, since she knew the boy didn't have a very good chance of saying no to any girl, and her elder sister was a special case in that regard. Nabiki herself found it very hard to say no to her.
Well, with any luck she would read things the way Nabiki wanted them to be and she would soon be a Saotome. Heck, if she had been pressed she would have married him back when she was 15 and he 14. He wouldn't turn into that cute little busty redhead either. Unless, through some strange twist of fate, or more likely that Kami Nabiki was convinced messed around with her life, she would turn into a guy to match her husband. That would just be so typical.
Nabiki finally opened her eyes again when Ranma stopped her, his hands coming dangerously close to places that shouldn't be touched in public, especially while standing on a fence where one attracts attention. Spotting the wall surrounding the school and the clock tower at the front of the large building brought a sigh to her lips. She didn't want to go off for business by herself, she wanted to spend more time with Ranma! Pulling herself together she stepped out of Ranma's arms and turned to face him, a slightly nervous smile on her lips.
"Ahh, Ranma, would it be all right if we..." Ranma cut her off.
"Yeah, yeah. You go do your thing, I'll figure out something to do. I hope." He sighed and turned away, dropping from the fence to the ground so easily it was as if he didn't even notice he was up there. Nabiki certainly knew, however, and didn't want to be left to her own devices in getting off the seven foot structure. She also knew that he was hiding his feelings from her, and she wanted to know how hard he was taking this.
"Hey, wait!" Nabiki called, gathering her courage for what she was about to do.
Ranma turned, the happiness and surprise in his face and eyes breaking Nabiki's heart. He had really been hurting to show that much relief at being called back. She would have to explain everything and her reasons to him the first chance she got. Now, however, was not the time. Before the pig-tailed martial artist could move towards her Nabiki jumped off the fence, glad that she still remembered how to jump correctly. She easily cleared the distance he had made while walking away and started to come down right on him.
Ranma reacted with inhuman grace and, in Nabiki's mind, an uncanny gentleness. He jumped just off the ground, starting to descend right when she met up with him. His arms wrapped around her once again, though this time in the traditional damsel in distress pose. One arm beneath her knees, the other supporting her back, while Nabiki's arms went around his neck and she tried her best to mold herself to him. His hands felt like feathery soft caresses on her skin, even through her clothes, as he controlled their short decent back to the ground, every part of her body somehow being cushioned as they lightly made what should have been a rather jarring landing.
Ranma blinked down at his girlfriend a moment in confusion before speaking. "What was that all about? I thought you would want to keep this kind of stuff," He indicated their closeness, both of them unwilling to give it up, "Secret from everybody else, at least until the engagement thing gets sorted out."
Nabiki could feel a blush starting on her cheeks, and she tried valiantly to suppress it. She wasn't sure if she should tell him the truth or what he might believe. "Look, I saw how much you wanted to spend some more time with me so I thought I would give you the chance. Who knows, you might actually pick something up from watching me work my clients."
Nabiki figured a slightly different reason than her real one would be most appropriate. She wasn't sure how he would react to being told she couldn't stand the thought of being away from him, or hurting him, and she had just done both. She was willing to do just about anything to make it up to him. Including cutting into the money made and time invested with her betting pools.
She smiled up at him, her eyes turning into rainbow shapes. Ranma blinked at her for another moment before speaking. "Oh. I thought you couldn't stand to be away from me and were sorry about hurting my feelings."
Nabiki blinked at him now, wondering how in the world he could have pinned it that perfectly. Ranma's eyes widened hugely. "You mean some of that was right?"
A nod from Nabiki was his response.
All right!" Ranma grinned in happiness, somehow forgetting to put the girl in his arms down. Not that Nabiki said anything about it. She LIKED it when he touched her. "I thought I had gotten better at reading people since I first met you. I just didn't know I had been pretending everybody was you since then."
Ranma finally dropped her feet down onto the ground before putting both arms around her, hugging the pretty brown haired girl tightly. "Man, now I know why Pop never wanted me to get involved with girls."
Before Nabiki could draw offense at that Ranma continued. "I just can't seem to stop thinking about you, no matter what I'm doing or what technique my old man is trying to kill me with." He pulled back a bit and looked into her emotionally swirling chocolate eyes. "I hope I have that same affect on you, at least a little bit." His smile was humorous and affectionate at the same time.
Nabiki yanked him back into a tight embrace. "You have some idea of what I've been going through those years since you left. Everything I did seemed to remind me of you somehow. I'm so happy I'm not running on just memories anymore." A quick peck on his lips in conclusion, faster than just about anybody who might have been watching could have seen, and Nabiki was suddenly all business, suppressing the multitude of wonderful feelings and emotions that still threatened to return her insides to goo.
"C'mon Ranma, I have things to set up before my sister arrives. Watch me and see if you can learn something. And if you have any suggestion, make sure you whisper them to me or pull me aside to say it. I don't want everybody else hearing what might be coming. That would defeat the purpose of having odds on the bets." Ranma nodded, having kept up with Nabiki's incredible mental switch. Nabiki let a smile escape her mask before putting it back in place. Ranma was the only person she had ever met who could keep up with her like that. Just another reason to try and get that engagement switched over to herself quickly.
Nabiki trotted off, heading toward the small group of girls that had already gathered together in preparation for another day of money making. Ranma walked silently just behind her, making her want to glance over her shoulder to make sure he was still there. She controlled herself and shortly arrived in front of her assistants.
"Hello ladies." They all nodded in reply. "We have a lot to do this morning, as I think today might be a record day for participants in the morning fight." Nabiki had turned slightly as to keep an eye on Ranma in case he wanted to talk to her. She noticed his sudden interest in her conversation when she mentioned a fight and almost sighed. Had he lost interest in what she was doing that quickly? He hadn't looked like he was paying the slightest attention before hand.
"We might have some new items to work with today, so pay attention. Now, Natsume, I want you...." Nabiki gathered her cohorts around her, while Ranma eves dropped nearby, glad that if Nabiki ignored somebody they all did. It made figuring things out by listening in much easier. Now he just had to put everything he was hearing into use. That morning fight with Akane he might have to do something about the next day, but he wouldn't touch it this morning unless he got a chance to discuss it with Nabiki. He shook his head and concentrated, not wanting to disappoint her, and knowing that he would probably need to know a lot of this stuff if he was going to spend as much time with her as he wanted. Besides, she liked it, so he might as well. Ranma was always willing to try something new.
Ranma was surprised at how many boys had been attacking Akane for a date when she entered the school yard. Sure, she was pretty cute when she smiled, but Ranma personally didn't think she held a candle against Nabiki, especially if you looked at the overall package instead of just the face. Ranma would never admit it except in extreme privacy with Nabiki, but her good looks, both her voluptuous body and beautiful face, had been what originally drew Ranma to Nabiki, what made him want to get to know her and see if she was as pretty on the inside as the outside. After some work his efforts had been rewarded to the extent he thought could be possible.
It was a few minutes to lunch, and Ranma couldn't wait. School was so boring, he wanted to go eat, then cuddle. Sometimes Ranma was embarrassed at how much he liked cuddling. His father had always said that he needed to be manly, and Genma always insisted cuddling wasn't manly. Neither were a lot of things that sounded fun or made his insides turn to goo, but whenever Ranma did most of them he couldn't help but feel manly, what with Nabiki's feminine bits pressed up against him. A lot of his father's teachings were being proven wrong, some even having to do with the martial arts, something that Ranma had thought Genma had a good grasp on, even if he did suck as a human being, let alone a parent.
Now he was starting to see avenues in his martial arts that he had never really considered before, despite knowing that they were there. Having used ki and chi for most of his life simply as a way to strengthen himself had come naturally. But now that he thought about it, he knew that there had to be a way to do more with that energy. He had heard many stories and seen many more written down, extolling the virtues of true martial artists who could use their aura as an extension of their will, instead of something that was a physical manifestation of extreme anger.
Ranma had no idea how to go about finding anything about it, though, as nobody he had yet come across was willing to say anything about the matter if they had even rudimentary knowledge of energy manipulation. This didn't help him very much when all he wanted to do was get the basic knowledge of how it was supposed to work. He was confident that once he had the basics down he could develop his own techniques, much like he had heard hinted his father had. Ranma had vowed long ago that he would create his own style, and make it so that it wouldn't be sealed away. It had taken a lot of careful questioning to even get Genma to admit that he had developed secret techniques for the Saotome style, but no matter what Ranma tried he couldn't get his old man to confess and say what they were. Ranma had a sneaking suspicion that his pop just couldn't remember, but he kept that thought to himself.
Finally Ranma's introspection ended when the bell rang, signaling many's favorite part of the day. Mealtime!
Ranma was off like a shot, bento in hand as he leaped out a conveniently open window. Everybody in the room gasped at this, wondering why the new guy had suddenly turned suicidal. There was no way he could have survived falling from three stories up, at least not with all of his body intact. People started rushing over there, Akane being the first to lean out and see what had befallen the pig-tailed martial artist.
Everybody jumped in shock when they saw Ranma falling UP. While a mass blink of confusion ensued, Ranma drifted upwards to the second story window and grabbed the sill, flipping himself onto the small lip outside the building. All those in his original room blinked again, trying to get their mind around the fact that he had just fallen three stories and, apparently, jumped back up two. Nobody there had ever seen something like that happen before, and many of them weren't sure what to make of it. Including Akane.
This was telling her something, a warning bell was going off in the back of her mind, but she couldn't read the label on it. There was a message to be had in what had just happened, given that both Akane and Ranma had trained from about the same age in pretty much the same style of Anything Goes, yet Kasumi's fiance was doing things that Akane had never really thought possible before. She would have to see about upping her training. That had looked really cool!
Nabiki almost gasped when she saw her boyfriend appear in the window a couple of rows over from her desk. Almost. Instead she jumped to her feet and ran over to him, wondering if he wanted something. Ranma leaned back slightly so Nabiki could slide the pane aside wide enough for him to step through. He did so and stood before her, his eyes telling her that he wanted to give her a hug but wasn't sure about what all they had been discussing on the way to school, so was waiting for her to do something to him first.
Instead of doing what they both wanted she let her mask fall back into place, though nothing could hide the emotion swirling in her eyes. Ranma smiled a little at that. Even though he couldn't touch her, he was glad that his appearance had made her happy. This assumption was frayed a little when Nabiki reached out and took his hand, gently tugging him back over to her desk, upon which her bento lie.
Ranma pulled his own from somewhere, not having wanted to drop it during his leap. He sat on the back of the seat in front of Nabiki's desk, quickly scarfing down his food so he could talk. Nabiki always frowned at him whenever he said something with his mouth full, but for some reason he could never remember to swallow before he said whatever was on his mind. He was getting better, but it still annoyed the heck out of the middle Tendo sister. Eating his entire meal quickly meant he could talk to her all he wanted without fear of receiving her Mild Glare of Doom.
Nabiki was about a fifth of the way through hers when Ranma put his chopsticks down and smiled at her, his eyes sparkling with happiness and affection. Nabiki fought down a blush, not wanting those watching her curiously to see the affect Ranma's smiles had on her.
Ranma leaned in a little closer before speaking, somehow still perched squatted on the chair back. "So, what was all that you were doing this morning? I heard about it last we went to school, but I never saw you doing it."
Ranma obviously wanted an explanation, but Nabiki wasn't sure if she would be able to tell him everything he wanted to know with people listening in. When she said as much Ranma got a smirk on his face that made Nabiki nervous. That expression could mean many things, none of them quiet or peaceful.
Ranma swooped down and was suddenly standing with Nabiki cradled in his arms, her bento having disappeared somewhere. Probably the same place that he had pulled his own from, though those watching only noticed this in passing. With a single bound the pair were out the window, same as he had come in. What had really caught their attention was what Ranma was doing. Many of the guys felt sorry for him, since touching Nabiki like that meant she would fleece you for everything that you were worth, and then a little more at some rather steep interest rates. Ranma was the reason she had started doing that, though. Nobody touched her like that after Ranma did. Nabiki had made sure of that using means other than the physical violence Akane employed.
The students could now see the couple bounding across the yard, heading for the trees on the other side. Many shook their heads at the sheer impossibility of it, saying that it had just been a figment of their imaginations. Others simply thought the weirdness level of Nerima had jumped rather higher that day, higher than it ever had been before. Several of the girls were thinking that if somebody as cute as that boy had come in a swept them off their feet they wouldn't drain his wallet dry like Nabiki was sure to do. They felt a little sorry for him, but not that much when they remembered that it had been Nabiki that he had been paying attention to, practically ignoring everyone else in the room until he had performed his little stunt. Everybody sighed and returned their attention to their food, having worked over the problem each in their own way and ready to move on.
Ranma stopped in a particularly large tree branch, one that was easily wide enough for the two of them to sit on while facing each other. Nabiki reluctantly let him go, since having an excuse to hold him meant she could do so without fear of giving off the wrong impression to her customers and fellow students. Once Nabiki looked around and realized just where Ranma had taken her she jumped back into his lap sideways before holding out her hand to him, the other curling around his shoulder to help support herself.
Ranma reached behind his back and whipped out her food again, unchanged since they left the classroom. She smiled brilliantly at him before turning away and leaning back against his chest, idly eating her food once again. This time in a much more comfortable chair, however.
Ranma leaned down close to her ear. "So, about what I asked you..." Ranma was obviously trying to get her to talk like she did when they were at home. He didn't like her mask too much, until he thought about it and realized it made Nabiki his and his only, since nobody else would see that wonderful, funny, caring part of her except him. That was about the time he usually developed hearts in his eyes and Nabiki would have to bring him back to the present.
Nabiki munched a couple more bites in thought before responding. "I'm sure you're wondering what all it is that I do every morning, especially after having watched me do it today. Well, I'll tell you, but only if you promise not to mention any of this to anyone."
The serious look in her face kept Ranma from teasing her. Much. "I wouldn't dream of saying anything, Nabiki, unless they were willing to pay about... oof!" Ranma rubbed his ribs, wondering how she had managed that. "Man, you have sharp elbows, girl. Remind me to make sure never to get you mad at me when we're sitting like this again."
Nabiki smiled and nodded. Her face returned to serious and she looked expectantly at him. "I promise, Nabiki. Now, what is it?"
Nabiki's smile returned, though it wasn't the cheerful one Ranma loved, it was her grateful one. "Thank's, Ranma. Now, what I'm doing is running a gray market at the school so I can support my family and not loose our house and dojo."
She let that sink in for a moment. She knew he had it when his arms tightened around her waist, pulling her closer against him. "Most of what I try and do is set up gambling pools on various things that happen in the school, and with a sister like Akane I started running many of them around her, since she was almost always doing something around the school that involved skill and sometimes a little luck. I resent my father making me do this, I almost hate the man, but he's my father and for some reason I still do it, no matter how much I'd rather just get through school and get a real job, letting him fend for himself and start paying his own bills. It's just something that I've been doing since a little before I met you, and it's something I'm probably going to keep doing until I leave for college or we get married. I don't care what he's like once we get married, I'm leaving on a trip with you and that's the end of it."
Ranma sat behind her completely stunned. He had no idea things were like that around her house. Sure, it was strange seeing their fathers just lounging around the house all day playing shogi, but he had assumed Soun did something to pay for all of his drinks and his bills. Ranma turned wonder filled eyes upon Nabiki, amazed at her once again. Oh, he was so glad he had spent the effort to get to know her those years ago!
Ranma's hand came up and ran through her thick brown hair, the silken smooth fibers fanning out between his fingers before swishing back in place close around her face. Nabiki almost purred as she leaned back more against him, her almost finished lunch completely forgotten.
"Nabiki, no matter how much I learn about you and how much I think I know you there always seems to be something for you to surprise me with." Ranma smiled down at the somewhat nervous girl. "I love that about you." Nabiki matched his grin and they leaned together, brushing their lips against the others, shocked at the charge that seemed to race through their bodies when they did so, prompting them to kiss more firmly again and again. Nabiki just couldn't stop thinking that she needed to get married, and soon, or she'd never hear the end of it from Kasumi.
They pulled apart, their eyes locked now instead of their lips. "Wow." The two breathed as one. Nabiki finally turned away and finished her food, the two of them sitting in silent wonder at what had just happened between them. Ranma finally broke the silence a few minutes after Nabiki had finished off the last of her bento.
"What can I do to help?" He inquired.
"Well, you could just stand behind me and act as a bodyguard, store the money, that sort of thing. Or you could help me make collections, a little cold water would allow you to join the ranks of my subordinates." Nabiki grinned at the firm shake of Ranma's head at that last suggestion. She continued, "Or you could join Akane in setting up the fights that we have every morning, maybe make things interesting with Kuno, or just get Akane out of the spotlight for a bit so she won't turn into a raving lesbian."
Ranma nodded at that, having heard the girls cry when she entered the gates that morning. Shouting "I hate boys!" At the top of her lungs made him wonder why the whole school didn't say she went that way already. Nabiki might have had a hand in that now that he thought about it. He really didn't want to know how Nabiki might have managed to get rid of a rumor like that.
"Yeah," Ranma nodded slowly, thinking over the various things he could do featuring Kuno and/or Akane, "That would work. I might even be able to turn Akane into a real martial artist if she's willing to put forth the effort."
Nabiki looked over her shoulder sharply at his words, wondering if he had somehow known Akane's words or if he was just saying that as he had observed from her fight that morning. "Well, we'll work something out. Meanwhile, don't you think it's time that we went back to class?"
Ranma hugged her tighter and shook his head, breathing in deeply the wonderful smell of her hair. Nabiki giggled at this, wondering how such a crass and abrasive person as Ranma could do things like that when he obviously had no prior knowledge of things intimate. Not that she was questioning it, she just wondered how. Maybe he was just special, as Nabiki believed him to be. That must be it, especially given the way he was nuzzling her now.
Nabiki sighed and slowly broke away from their embrace, her mask firmly forming on her features. Ranma sighed now, Nabiki's body not there for him to hold and her mask back in place meant he had to take her back for the rest of the days classes. Ranma's puppy dog face came out, trying to convince her to stay with him some more. This time, however, nothing he tried worked. Nabiki was adamant about not missing school and getting it marked on her record. She had plans to go to one of the better colleges after all.
Ranma picked the girl up in his powerful arms again and jumped to the ground below. He landed lightly, but not light enough. His right foot impacted a sprinkler that had been buried there for some time. About to break under normal use, having the weight of two people slam down onto it shattered the entire plastic housing. A gout of water shot straight up, soaking Ranma's pants, crotch and back, but with Nabiki held out in front of him, she remained completely dry. Onna-Ranma took another few steps to get out of the fountain and looked down at herself.
Nabiki was doing the same and, unable to resist any longer reached out and felt the other girl up. Onna-Ranma "Eeeked!" In shock and seemed to teleport away. Nabiki stood there, her hand still extended and cupped with fingers pinched together when she noticed her new girlfriend was ten feet away, back against a tree and breathing heavily.
Nabiki walked a little closer and noticed how wide Onna-Ranma's eyes were. Ranma's own hand's reached up and brushed across the sensitive bumps, causing her to snap her hands down to her sides. Onna-Ranma looked up at Nabiki and stared at her for a long moment before speaking. "That was, I mean that wasn't, well, when you groped my ti, uh, ju-I mean boo... er um, yeah." Onna-Ranma shook her head and tried again. "That just feels WRONG! Please don't do that anymore, it does, well, feel pretty good but it's not something that I'm supposed to know about, if you know what I mean."
Nabiki stifled a giggle. Sometimes things just worked out. "Well, I guess you can't go to school like that, now can you?" Ranma shook his head. "So, I guess we'll just have to go home and get you back to the way I like best." Ranma nodded. "I can get my daddy to make a note for my absence, since this is a family emergency." Suddenly Nabiki was standing right in front of the short and busty red head, leaning forward so they faces were almost touching. "And you'll have to tell me all about this, "doesn't feel right" thing you mentioned." The smirk on her face was making Onna-Ranma's cheeks tinge pink.
Then the rest of what she said finally filtered through Ranma's addled brain and she realized the older girl was going to go home with him now, something that his puppy dog eyes hadn't managed to get him. Sometimes his curse didn't seem so bad, especially now that hot water was only a trip to the kitchen or bathroom away. Ranma smiled and took Nabiki's hand, heading toward the outer wall surrounding the school. The redhead was happy now that she was going to do something she really enjoyed for the rest of the day. Talk and cuddle with Nabiki.
Ranma and Nabiki sat in her room. Ranma was sulking. "I still don't understand why you won't let me change back yet. When we left school you were so eager. Why did you have to change your mind?"
Nabiki eyed her boyfriend's short but well developed form and smiled. "You just got me curious, that's all."
Ranma looked a little nervous. "Curious in what way?"
"Well, what we have here is a girl's dream. You see, you, being my boyfriend, will soon have the honor of pleasuring me." Ranma's gaze swept up and down Nabiki's body. She had changed into her short white shorts and a tank top, giving him a much better idea of her curves than the school uniform. "Now most boys don't really have any idea what they're doing when they first start out and it takes some time and a lot of communication between the girl and boy to get everything working together correctly."
Nabiki gave Ranma an earthy smile. "So along comes my boyfriend, who can now turn into a cute girl. Do you realize what this means?" Ranma shook his head, his face showing that he didn't want to think about it. "It means I'm in love with the one male that can really know what a woman wants and feels. It means I'll never get bored, especially if we play a lot of water sports." Ranma turned crimson, almost matching her hair.
"So I'm here to show you the basics of proper perversion in a boyfriend. Of course, you'll be the best with your curse." Ranma perked up a bit at hearing that. He always liked being the best. If he could be the best when it came time to do... that to Nabiki, he would practice until she passed out from the pleasure.
Nabiki read his expression and knew she had him hooked. "All right, now that that's settled why don't we get down to business. I'm going to show you this stuff slowly, as we shouldn't really do anything until we're actually engaged." Nabiki glowered a bit in Kasumi's general direction. "Anyway, don't worry about not getting it right the first time. Experiment, get to know women well and then we'll have something really special."
Ranma giggled in embarrassment again, wondering how Nabiki was keeping such a straight face while she talked about this stuff. "I'll give it a shot. I always strive to be the best, especially when it means so much to you Nabiki."
Nabiki seemed a little put off by that, which made Ranma wonder. Nabiki herself was thinking that she had come across too strongly about this entire thing. While it would be great and wonderful for the both of them if he knew all about how to please females it was obviously something that he thought was far more important to her than it actually was.
"Ranma, I hope you realize that this isn't the most important thing to me. While it would be nice and special to have a husband who knows just what buttons to press to get me going I won't be upset if you don't do this," Nabiki said earnestly.
Ranma stared at his girlfriend for several long moments before enveloping her in a hug, despite how much smaller he was as a redhead. "That's good to hear Nabiki. But I want to do it for you. I want to make you happy Nabiki-chan."
Nabiki felt her eyes moisten and had to exert all her self control to keep the tears of joy from falling. This is what she had missed the most after he had left to finish his training trip. To have someone believe her, have someone to hold her and tell her everything is all right. No matter what happened Nabiki vowed to herself that she and Ranma would stay together. They had something special going on between them and the middle Tendo daughter was determined to never give it up.
"I love you so much Ranma," Nabiki whispered in his ear.
She felt a shiver of delight run up the smaller girl's spine. "I love you too Nabiki."
The two clung to each other for several minutes, idly chatting before Nabiki pulled away and started instructing her boyfriend turned girl the basics of female anatomy.
Onna-Ranma awoke the next day feeling well rested. He snuggled closer to the warmth beside him and idly noting that he had gone to sleep still female. Wondering about that warmth he started slowly moving his small hands around, trying to discern what it was while slowly gaining more and more consciousness.
It felt very soft, had a lot of curves and a couple of hard bumps at the peaks of two large globes. Unable to fathom what those were he gripped them a few times, hefted their weight and examined the strange protrudent. Obviously he wasn't using his head just yet.
It was understandable then for him to jump up and latch onto the ceiling when Onna-Ranma heard a "Hmmmm!" Of pleasure and another hand grabbed his own, pressing the more firmly into what he had been exploring.
"What did you go and do that for?" Nabiki asked petulantly from her position on the bed. "You took the covers with you." The girl sat up and crossed her arms over her chest, pouting cutely. "Besides, that felt really good. You got that part down."
Onna-Ranma giggled nervously from his place on the ceiling. "Yeah, I'm always the best. No matter what it is."
Nabiki looked up at him for another moment before beckoning him back down to the bed. He reluctantly dropped, somehow landing and not disturbing the mattress. Nabiki took a moment to marvel at that before reaching over and pulling the smaller girl into a hug.
"Good morning!" She almost shouted in the redhead's ear.
Ranma stuck a finger in his ear and wiggled it around, trying to get the ringing out. "Good morning to you too. Can I change back to a guy now?"
Nabiki smiled at him. "Of course you can. I would have let you do it last night if Kasumi hadn't kept dropping in to see what those strange noises were. But I doubt she would have let you stay here all night if you had been a guy."
Ranma nodded in agreement as he stood and stretched, looking remarkably feline while doing so. Nabiki would have mentioned it but remembered his adverse reaction to felines just in time to keep him calm. Meanwhile she was treated to an excellent view of just how well endowed Ranma was as she stretched her back, arms raised above her head.
Nabiki's cheeks tinged pink, despite how much she had seen the night before. Just the way he did it without even knowing he was putting his breasts on display like that was amazing.
"So, you need any help in the bath?" Nabiki casually inquired.
Ranma spluttered for a moment. "Uh, no Nabiki, that's fine. I can handle it."
Nabiki's grin grew. "I'm sure you can "handle" it just fine. I was just offering my help."
Ranma's face was now scarlet. "Um, right. I'll tell you when I'm done." With that he scooted from the door, seemingly unaware of the fact he was only wearing one of his red Chinese shirts. He had refused to wear panties and Nabiki wouldn't let him wear pants to bed so she found out he was a natural redhead. She just really hoped he didn't run into anybody on the way down or there would probably be questions and eyebrows raised.
Laughing quietly to herself Nabiki languidly rose from her bed, stretching much like Ranma had before her and wishing the pigtailed martial artist was there to watch. The short haired girl puttered around her room for several minutes, neatening things up and flipping through old books and manga's to see how long ago it had been since she last read them.
Doing so brought on something that she had thought she would never see again. Certainly hoped she would never see again. Her little henshin stick. She had completely forgotten that she had hid it behind her old school manga's. Thinking about what that little stick did to her sent a shiver up her spine. Then upon further reflection all the color drained from her face and she shoved it back behind the books, knowing that nobody would ever be able to see it back there unless they pulled all the books off the shelf.
Nabiki desperately hoped that Sailor Pluto had been right and there would be no further need of her services. Now that she thought about it she herself was cursed much like her boyfriend. She changed upon calling forth her power, and there was nothing she could do about preventing it should the need arise again.
With a last look back at the little magical wand Nabiki excited her room, intent on getting a bath whether Ranma was done or not.
Ranma once again happily walked along the fence top, practicing his balance like a good little martial artist. Nabiki was happy too, even though she was over the fence. She was snuggled in Ranma's arms like a damsel in distress, idly kicking her feet while tracing little patterns on her boyfriend's chest. While she couldn't go the entire way to school like this it sure beat walking by herself.
"So what do you think I should do today? Maybe tie both hands behind my back?" Ranma was asking in reference to his coming battle with Kuno.
"Nah, why don't you just take him on normally," Nabiki suggested. "Depending on how fast you cream him today we'll limit you for tomorrow and so on until we either get an even match or think of something better."
Ranma nodded in agreement, feeling his jaw get a light peck from Nabiki's lips each time it drifted down towards her. He smiled and turned his head at the last moment so their lips met. She held that one for a much longer time since Ranma didn't raise his head back up. After several seconds they broke off, identical shivers running up their spine's.
"Wow," They breathed in unison.
The two started giggling together after hearing their synchronized reaction to the kiss. A few minutes of silence followed before Nabiki spoke up again at the halfway point to school.
"You ever find out what happened to that Ryoga boy?"
"Nope, haven't seen him since. Amazing considering how much he popped up before that," Ranma said.
"Yeah, he was always there at the worst time. Frankly, I kinda think him forfeiting the match like that was fitting since he was always disturbing us," Nabiki griped.
"I wonder if we'll ever see him again," Ranma said, mainly to himself.
"I couldn't care less. I almost got in a fight with that jerk," Nabiki said with a large scowl marring her features.
Ranma stared at her in shock. "YOU almost got in a fight with RYOGA???"
"Yeah, so he was an even bigger wuss around girls than you at the time but I managed to open my big mouth enough to get him to challenge me. He never showed up at our dojo though, so I didn't have to go through with it." Nabiki looked a little pleased with herself before a thoughtful look appeared. "Come to think of it that was the last time I saw him. I don't know where he went but I haven't seen him in almost the same amount of time that I missed you. Not that there's a comparison between the two. I could never see him again in my life and not care less."
Ranma chuckled. Nabiki had always been rather blunt with her views, something that he appreciated after hanging around with his father for so long. Sometimes the more subtle stuff he just completely ignored.
"I'll go with you on that. Compared to you Ryoga is nothing. I wouldn't swap you for a million Ryoga's," Ranma stated.
"Of course you wouldn't, you're both guys. Unless you're gay there's no comparison."
Ranma stared at her for a second before laughing his head off. "Yeah, that would be true. I don't know any girls though, so I really can't compare you otherwise." Ranma beamed a smile at her, his eyes turning into little rainbows. "The one girl I get to know is perfect. Man do I have the greatest luck in some things or what?"
Nabiki actually blushed at that. Nobody had ever called her perfect before. "Thank you love. You're not so bad yourself."
Ranma mock glared at her. "Not bad am I? I'll have you know I'm perfect!"
Nabiki had such an evil grin on her face Ranma was actually a bit worried. And with good reason. "Meow," She purred into his ear.
Nabiki rethought her strategy when she found herself sitting on the fence alone. A moment later the impact caught up with her and she almost fell to the ground as she hastily stood up to relieve her stinging butt. Arms extended and waving wildly to keep her balance Nabiki frantically looked around in hopes of spotting Ranma before she fell and broke something.
Ranma was standing on the roof of a house they were passing by, a good twenty feet away over the persons garden. His head was whipping all over the place in his search for the cat. After a moment he centered his gaze upon his girlfriend and narrowed his eyes dangerously.
Nabiki laughed a bit nervously, finding it much easier to balance when she had something to distract her like her beloved's displeasure. Wanting to get back on his good side as soon as possible Nabiki tried to test the waters, find out just how mad he was.
"Still haven't gotten over that cat thing, huh?" Nabiki almost smacked herself for saying something so tactless, especially to Ranma.
His eyes narrowed even further. The way Ranma was perched atop the roof with his slitted eyes made him once again look rather feline. Nabiki chose to keep it to herself again. "No, I haven't. It's not something I can really just "deal with" you know."
"Ah, sorry." Unsure of what to say after that she chanced a look towards the ground and instantly regretted it.
"Ranma, could you please come over here and pick me up again? I don't want to fall and break something," Nabiki asked in as neutral a voice as she could manage.
"I told you you should have kept up your training. A little fall like that wouldn't have been anything to you if you hadn't stopped." Ranma made no move to head back to his girlfriend's precarious position.
"Look, I know it's a sore spot with you, but it's been years. How was I supposed to know that nothing had changed?" Nabiki winced and stopped talking once she realized she was just digging herself deeper and deeper.
She shuffled her feet in embarrassment and that was her undoing. With a sharp cry of fear Nabiki dropped from the fence.
Her scream was cut short once she felt strong arms encircle and catch her before the ground made its presence felt. The middle Tendo daughter opened her eyes again and looked up into Ranma's blue orbs, unable to think of a time she had been happier to see them at the moment.
"Oh thank you so much Ranma I'm sorry!" Nabiki squealed as she hugged Ranma to death.
Ranma blinked as he put commas back into her sentence then smiled at her and returned the hug. "I can never stay mad at you Nabiki, I just hope you don't do that very often. I don't think I'm ever going to get over the c-cat thing."
"Oh, my poor Ranma," Nabiki cooed, gently rubbing his cheek with her palm.
Ranma sighed. "Yeah, poor me. Now, how do you think would be a good idea to get Kuno's attention? We're going to have to do this before Akane gets there or we'll be late to class."
Nabiki thought a moment, not seeming to care in the least that she was once again being held against Ranma's chest. "Well, I had this in mind...."
Kuno held his bokken aloft and the crowd of boys around him scattered to encircle the school entrance. "Today victory shall be at the hands of Tatewaki Kuno, age 17!" He decreed to himself, since nobody else listened. They had all heard it before many, many times.
He strutted regally over to his traditional tree of hiding only to discover another residing there. "Hold!" He shouted at the pigtailed youth, even though he was standing still. "Who goes there?"
Ranma stared at the taller boy in bewilderment. He was having trouble figuring out what the heck he was saying. It wasn't everyday you heard traditional Japanese and it took him a moment to translate it into something understandable.
"Oh! My name's Ranma Saotome. I'm here to challenge your claim as the best fighter in Furinkan High," He said as he stood tall and crossed his arms over his chest.
Ranma had spoken loud enough that most of the school yard had overheard him, and the boys on the ground quickly spread the word to the rest of the boys and all the girls that were in the building or on the edge by the fence. Those that had been lying in wait for Akane turned their attention toward this development with interest. If he was better than Kuno maybe they had a chance to date Akane, if he wasn't then it would at least be entertaining to watch Kuno beat up on somebody. He always did have an amusing way with words even while slicing somebody up with his wooden sword.
"Ha! To think a low born cur such as yourself would dare match the greatness that is Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High!" The older boy posed dramatically with his bokken held high as he made his declaration.
Ranma couldn't hold it in any longer and started chuckling.
Kuno scowled impressively. "What humors you so?"
"You need to stop referring to yourself in the third person Kuno. You sound really stupid," Ranma informed him.
"Only those with enough prestige and royal blood may do so, and I have both. How dare you belittle my privilege, ignorant peasant." Kuno lowered his bokken and held it in a loose ready position.
Ranma raised his hands up in a basic stance, willing to give it a decent shot and see just what the posturing boy was capable of. "C'mon Kuno, let's see what you've got."
Kuno charged and Ranma launched forward at the same moment.
"Man, talk about anticlimactic," Nabiki said blandly.
Ranma looked down at his girlfriend seated comfortably in his lap and blushed. The two of them were eating lunch in the tree Ranma had taken her up the day before. Ranma had already finished his so only Nabiki was eating.
"Hey, the way Akane kept boasting about her skills and how she fought that guy I thought he would have been better than that," Ranma said in his defense. "Who would have known he'd go down with only one kick to the head?"
Nabiki shook her head as she munched on her delicious Kasumi made bento. "Ranma, do you realize how much time you've spend practicing martial arts?"
"More than I'd like to think about."
"Exactly. Now, think about Akane and Kuno. They both have lives, they both have friends and other pursuits that distract them from practice. Even given that you've been training the same length of time you'll obviously be the better of the three, all else being equal," Nabiki explained. "Now, take somebody like you who's gifted in martial arts verses someone like Kuno who has perfected the standard kendo skills and you should see the difference. A regular strength punch to you would be something far more devastating to a fighter like Kuno than one of his regular attacks on you."
Nabiki paused again to eat some more of her lunch. "Add to that the fact you used your FEET, a much stronger means of attack on the poor sod and you should be able to see why the one hit knocked him out for most of the morning."
Ranma nodded in agreement, his hands idly rubbing across Nabiki's flat and well toned belly as he held her in his lap, their legs stretched out together while she used his chest as a backrest. "I have to use kicks to send my father flying far enough. The guy's heavy."
"You never thought about training to get stronger so you wouldn't have to use kicks all the time?"
"I have, but that would slow me down. I suppose I could come up with a way to get stronger and faster, but I don't know if I want to spend that much time on it when I could be spending time with my wonderful girlfriend."
Nabiki blushed a bit. "Thank you love. You're not so bad yourself."
"That's the second time you've said that now. I think I rate a bit higher than "not bad", don't you?" Ranma said in mock anger.
Nabiki leaned forward, turned her head and swept her gaze up and down his chiseled form. "Okay okay, so you're grade AA prime beef, happy now?"
"That wasn't quite what I had in mind," He pouted.
"Well you are! I just don't like going around announcing that fact all the time."
Nabiki's eyes bugged when she felt her boyfriends hands lightly travel up over her chest. That was definitely a grope! She smiled happily and leaned back against him once more, causing his hands to fall slightly back onto her breasts. He let them stay for a long moment before moving them back down again. The brown haired girl grinned in delight as that had been another grope on the trip down.
"I'm glad you don't go advertising how beautiful you are too. I like having you all to myself," Ranma said quietly in her ear.
Nabiki flushed a much brighter red after that compliment. She snuggled into his embrace even deeper as she polished off the last of her food. The two sat in silence for several minutes while she munched. Finally finished she handed the empty box over her shoulder to Ranma who promptly made it disappear to where he put those things again.
"So what do you think I should do tomorrow?" Ranma queried.
"Tie a hand behind your back? Actually, probably both since you use your feet to fight Kuno." Nabiki was hiding a grin at how easily she kept up with his abrupt change of subject.
"Yeah, that would work. How would that change the stakes? I wonder how many other people would know about my style, since I only used the one attack last time."
Nabiki spotted several small dots in the distance filtering back into the schools entrance and surmised that lunch was about over. "Well, I guess we should be heading back about now. I'll see you after school, lover."
Ranma's eyes widened at being called lover. He hadn't been aware they had done anything to be called such.
"I know we haven't done anything yet, but I just wanted to try it out on you," Nabiki said as she read his expression.
Ranma relaxed again. "Oh, well, then I guess it's fine, Nabiki-chan."
She smiled at him before prodding his side to get him up and moving. He chuckled at her but obediently stood and brought the two of them down from their lofty perch in the tree.
"Ranma, you get back here!" Nabiki shouted as she watched her boyfriend run off with her ledger.
"I told you you need to work out more, so this should get you started," He shouted back at his beloved, smiling brightly at the girl as he easily kept pace just in front of her.
The other students were shocked stiff at seeing somebody do that to the mercenary Tendo. Even though it seemed the two of them were rather friendly with each other the students were sure that Ranma would soon be without even clothes on his back.
Ranma turned his head back to goad his girlfriend on some more when he sensed an attack from the front. Realizing that if he dodged out of the way Nabiki would probably get hit by it he decided to block the attack instead of trying to grab Nabiki and jump away. That might hurt her too.
Ryoga was shocked when his umbrella was stopped cold. He looked down to where Ranma should have been a smear on the concrete to see the young man holding Ryoga and his umbrella up in one hand. A girl suddenly came up behind him and touched his back, signaling the pigtailed martial artist that she was all right.
Ranma dropped the umbrella. "Who're you?"
Ryoga stared at him, then down to his umbrella and back a couple times before the question registered. "You always did have an excuse didn't you Ranma?"
Before he could respond Nabiki leaned in and whispered something into his hear. Ranma's eyes lit up in recognition. "Ryoga!"
Ryoga also realized who the girl was when he saw her eyes flash at him. "Nabiki!" He growled out, giving her the barest of nods.
Suddenly Ranma was standing not an inch away from Ryoga's face with a fierce expression. "You never did learn, did you?"
Ryoga was a little unnerved by this. Ranma had gotten a lot stronger since they had last fought while not losing any of his speed. He wouldn't hold back at all next time he had a chance to strike.
Seeing as his old sparring partner wasn't going to respond Ranma continued. "We're martial artists! We don't let innocents get involved in our fights." He glanced back at Nabiki. "At least I'm a martial artist, you can't say that anymore. You're just a brawler."
"That's just like you," Ryoga growled. "First thing you do after not seeing me in years is start insulting me and my skill."
"It's a fact, not an insult," Ranma stated.
Ryoga held is umbrella up and chucked it as hard as he could at Ranma's head. It opened up and started spinning like a helicopter, somehow staying in the air as if it had wings. The pigtailed martial artist swung his foot out and kicked the handle. The weapon spiraled upwards and over everyone's head.
"See, that's what I'm talking about Ryoga. Did you even think about all those people behind me when you threw that? What about Nabiki here? She's not a martial artist, and she could have been hit by that too." Ranma was starting to look rather pissed. Said crowd behind him was all looking up in the air as the umbrella curved around and started it's return trip.
"It's their own fault for getting in the way of our man to man fight Ranma!" Ryoga shouted. "Stop trying to hide behind girls and stupid excuses you weakling."
The fanged boy faltered a bit when he saw the Death Glare Nabiki was directing at him. He hadn't ever gotten one that big before and it was starting to fray his nerves. He would have to study girls to figure out how they managed a glare of that magnitude.
Ranma looked over at Nabiki as he could feel her Glare from over his shoulder. He almost jumped in fright when he saw her expression. He had planned on using the girl to get Ryoga to go away and leave the densely populated school grounds, but he wasn't so sure about it now.
Nabiki saw the look her boyfriend was directing at her and nodded her head, willing to go along with whatever he had in mind to get rid of the infuriating annoyance that is Ryoga.
Ranma smiled at seeing his girlfriend's slight nod. This fight could now be resolved quickly and easily.
Nabiki lost her glare when she was suddenly pulled around in front of Ranma like she was his shield. Instead her eyes were wide with disbelief. The confident smirk that Ranma had was a slight reassurance but not enough. Fortunately for Ranma Nabiki decided that she would trust her beloved and not knee him in the crotch for putting her in danger like this.
Ryoga almost howled in rage when he saw his hated enemy pull the short haired girl in front of him. He advanced a few steps, not sure if he was going to hit the girl into Ranma or toss her out of the way. He didn't care too much for her anyway, not after their last meeting.
Nabiki was a little confused when she was picked up and put over Ranma's shoulder, bent at the waist with her legs hanging down his front. She was even more confused when she felt a bit of a draft on her thighs, but that could be from many things. Then she was placed back on the ground and Ranma gave her a brief but tight hug. She returned it before looking over her shoulder to see what had become of Ryoga. He was out cold on the ground, blood still dripping from his nose.
Nabiki suddenly made the connection between the position she had been in and the draft, coupled with Ryoga's nose bleed and what she knew of the boy. "RANMA!" She screeched, the first time ever having done so in public.
He looked at her innocently. "You said I could, and it was the quickest way to knock him out." He leaned closer and spoke so only Nabiki could hear him. "Although I missed it, so I don't know what color they are."
The middle Tendo daughter stared up at him for a long moment before saying, "Blue," then turned away to walk home.
Ranma blinked for a moment before grinning and running after her, pulling out the ledger he had from earlier to give to her.
Most of the students still standing around looked back and forth between where Ryoga lay and the departing Ranma. None of the students had any idea of what he had done, they simply thought the he had picked Nabiki up to get her out of the way when Ryoga suddenly fell over spraying blood from his nose. Most thought that Ranma had moved so fast they couldn't even see him while others thought the pigtailed martial artist had thrown something at Ryoga. None of them even thought that his real plan had been to show the bandanna clad boy Nabiki's panties so he would faint.
The sight of Nabiki's incredible backside could almost make Ranma faint, and he's seen it many times before so he could only imagine the result it would have on the poor lost boy. They would have to try again that night to get the engagement transferred over to Nabiki, since Ranma kept hearing things that Nabiki told them they could do once they were engaged and all of them sounded delicious.
Nabiki glanced over at her boyfriend as they walked home. Having her ledger back made up a lot as far as she was concerned for the afternoon. Still, Ranma was being much more relaxed and easygoing than she remembered him being when they had first met. She could only attribute that to her own influence on him and perhaps him seeing some things on his travels that had opened his eyes up a bit more. Nabiki sure wasn't complaining.
Still, after the way he had used her to beat Ryoga like that it made her wonder if there were things hiding under the surface that she should find out about before they went any further in their relationship. It might have something to do with the way she was showing him how to correctly please himself while a redhead, but she hadn't thought it would affect him that much. No, she just figured it was him getting used to being in their house and relaxing around his Nabiki again.
The middle Tendo daughter almost smacked her forehead for thinking about herself as Ranma's. The more she thought about it though, the more she realized that it was true. She would follow him around to just about anywhere he went, just like he was doing for her. Going to school obviously wasn't his cup of tea, but he did it without complaint just so long as he got to spend every minute possible with her. He even did his homework so long as she let him in her room and helped.
Ranma noticed the glance and directed a smile at Nabiki. She beamed back at him, a rare sight for the normally reserved and slightly chilly girl. Ranma was happy that he was getting her to loosen up a bit, even if it was just when he was around. Talking with Kasumi had revealed that the girl was getting to be reclusive even with her own family until he had come back.
Ranma hated to admit it but he really like Kasumi. Not in the same way that he loved Nabiki, but he would do anything for both those girls. They had a special place in his heart that he didn't think anybody else would ever be able to replace. He hoped nothing bad would ever happen to those two wonderful women, since he doubted there were another two like them in the world.
Nabiki was starting to get a bit nervous at the deliriously happy expression Ranma was directing at her, but decided to just ignore him for the moment and question him on what he was thinking when they got home. Having him look at her like that felt good and she didn't want it to stop.
Nabiki walked a little closer to her boyfriend, letting her hand brush up against his in a subtle hint. She was a bit surprised when he jumped at the chance and laced his fingers with hers. A little smile played across both their lips as they walked home hand in hand.
"Now," Nabiki said as she plopped down into Ranma's lap. The two of them were seated on her bed. "What was that bit about flashing my butt at Ryoga? Surely you could have come up with some other way to beat him."
Ranma blushed. "Well, I could have, but that was the first thing that popped into my mind that would guarantee a quick end to the fight."
"And instead of finding out if I was okay with this you just lifted me up and flashed me at him. What will the other students think of me now, huh? Did you even think about that or were you just focused on your fight?"
"Nobody else saw. Heck, nobody else even suspects that's what I did," Ranma told her confidently.
"And how can you be so sure of that?" Nabiki crossed her arms over her chest but remained on his lap. He was very comfortable.
"Because I was watching them to make sure. I could have changed it to something else if they thought I was doing what I was actually doing." Ranma chuckled a bit at his own wording.
Nabiki had to contain herself to keep from laughing. He always did have a rather unique way with words. "You're sure about that?"
Ranma grinned. "I'm positive."
Nabiki grinned. "Only fools are positive."
Ranma's grin got even bigger. "Are you sure?"
Nabiki couldn't help a stifled giggle from escaping before she responded. "I'm positive."
The two sat with the best straight face's they could managed before erupting in laughter. Ranma fell back onto the bed and Nabiki joined him, employing his chest as her perfect pillow. After several minutes they finally calmed as Ranma idly stroked his beloved's hair.
"Man, that was so funny when we did that to Ryoga," Ranma said.
"Yeah, I can't believe he didn't catch on until it was over. That was one of his dumbest moments I must say."
"Ah, one of our running gags has continued on even now. Amazing," Nabiki commented.
"Oh, I don't know. Is it so surprising that it lasted so long when we're so special?" Ranma said with fake seriousness.
"Yes, that must be it," Nabiki agreed with equal fake seriousness.
They two lay in silence until Ranma's fingers slithered down from her head and shoulders to her neck, sneaking a tickle in before the girl had a chance to respond. A good shriek later and Nabiki was giving as good as she was getting.
Kasumi stood outside the slightly open door to Nabiki's room, observing the easy way which the two got along with each other. She had talked several times at length with Ranma and had to admit to herself that she really liked the young man. She wasn't sure if it was love like what Nabiki showed for the boy but she felt it could easily become such.
Her fists clenched in frustration as she watched the two get in a tickle war. She had sacrificed so much for this family, she had been the mother that they didn't have at the expense of her own childhood and now a chance at happiness was being stolen from her! It wasn't fair, it just wasn't fair!
Unable to contain herself anymore Kasumi ran to her room and slammed the door shut, falling onto her bed and crying into her sympathetic pillow. It had been the witness to many, many nights of tears that nobody even suspected. Not that they ever asked if she was all right, they just assumed. Even Nabiki now just assumed that she was always just fine and never bothered to ask anymore. The worst was her father, the man simply expecting her to perform all the duties of his wife in house care and still be his little girl while also somehow having time left over to find herself a good husband or at least a couple of friends.
She didn't have that much time or energy to go and interact with society once she had finished all of her responsibilities at home. At 19 Kasumi was the only one she knew of without ever having gone on a date. She cried harder as her thoughts continued to spiral downward.
It shocked her out of her tears when she was pulled into a warm and comforting embrace by somebody. She looked up through the water still falling from her eyes and managed to recognize Ranma before he pulled her against him and gently rocked back and forth, humming something soft and relaxing in her ear.
Kasumi opened up again and bawled, soaking his shirt with her seemingly endless tears. After a long while she managed to dry them enough to sit up a bit and hug Ranma back as tightly as she could, resting her head on his shoulder. His hand, which had been running over her back soothingly came up and pressed her head against his own, making her feel loved and protected for the first time in she couldn't remember how long. It also afforded her a look over his shoulder.
Nabiki stood just inside her room, leaning up against her closed door while staring at what was going on before her. Kasumi couldn't read her younger sisters expression and really didn't want to at the moment. She was feeling happy and safe and didn't want to let it go.
Ranma glanced over his shoulder at the girl as well, wondering what she was thinking. He was at a loss as to explain why she was just standing over there when her sister was obviously in such pain, but he ignored her for the moment to get Kasumi calmed down. He couldn't stand to see a girl cry, especially not one as nice as Kasumi. He murmured assurances in her ear as he continued gently swaying.
Kasumi repositioned herself to sit more comfortably upon Ranma's lap before throwing her arms back around him and hugging him as tight as she could. Ranma looked over his shoulder just in time to see Nabiki's eyes harden a bit. He frowned and decided that something had better be done about her before she left the room angry or something.
One of the sheets covering Kasumi's bed was suddenly free in his hand, a flick of the wrist twisting it along it's length. Neither girl reacted to this until Ranma sent it across the room to wrap around Nabiki's waist. She had time to squawk in surprise before her boyfriend yanked on the other end and sent her flying across the room to land on the bed.
She turned over to glare at her boyfriend only to be calmly countered by his look of love and accusation about not helping to comfort Kasumi. She relented a bit and looked away, but the hardness was still in her eyes. Kasumi was engaged to him, she couldn't help but think that this was simply a ploy to get them together since he otherwise spent all his time with the younger Tendo sister. A moment later she really thought about it and realized how silly that had sounded, especially about Kasumi.
Ranma reached out and pulled Nabiki to his side, hugging her the same way he was still hugging Kasumi. She stiffened for a moment but soon relaxed and looped her arms around both her sister and love. Ranma beamed at them both and tightened his grip, cutting of the girls' air supply briefly before relaxing again. He was happy, he felt love and affection and he was helping someone in need. Those things were almost always missing from his childhood, except when he had been with Nabiki the first time, but that was something else entirely. He had settled down for a few months there, never repeated before or since.
Nabiki's face and eyes softened more and more as she watched the joy that Ranma exuded. She couldn't help but be happy at seeing him so joyful, a state that he didn't often achieve. Kasumi was looking a lot better too, something else that she hadn't expected. Now that she saw what a really happy Kasumi looked like she had to admit that everything else had just been a mask, much like Nabiki herself. Different girls, different mask, same reason. It made her think of her older sister in a different light, think of her as something beside's a mother figure that never quite measured up to the original.
Nabiki gasped as she realized just how much she had been a part of Kasumi's sadness. If that was how she normally thought about the girl no wonder she had such a severe crying stint. All three of them were determined in their own minds to help the other's out, to make them this happy as much as possible. Nabiki knew that she would have to control herself whenever she saw her man hugging another girl, but nothing would ever come of it.
Ranma had told her how much he loved her, and she knew that things would work out just so long as she didn't try to control him. Ranma was a little wild, and wouldn't be tamed. Nabiki was determined not to succumb to rage like her little sister, as she had seen how that had distorted the girl's view of the world. She refused to be like that, she refused to have her vision clouded by anything except love.
The other two had similar thoughts, all three of them forming an unspoken close knit family within the Tendo home.
"Man, I can't think of anything else to do," Ranma said.
Nabiki nodded in agreement. "I never suspected you were this good, despite what I'd already seen."
The couple were referring to the morning fights with Kuno. They had tried just about every handicap they could think of over the past week and nothing had brought a decent challenge. Ranma had simply pounded the boy flat within a blow or two every morning, and the bets were starting to stop.
The two sat in silence for several more moments, eating the breakfast Kasumi had prepared for them. The older girl had provided a few suggestions over the past week that, while they hadn't really helped, did prove to be rather interesting to perform. She sat across the table from the couple, watching them with satisfaction as they tore into her lovingly prepared meal.
"I just realized something," Ranma said.
Nabiki stared at him expectantly. "Ryoga should be due back any time now."
"You're right," The short haired girl exclaimed, "I had completely forgotten his usual schedule for finding places." Kasumi looked confused.
"Ryoga has a directional curse," Ranma told her. "It usually takes him a week or so to get anywhere unless he's guided by either his dog or a friend. Given the boy's short temper and constant depression he almost never finds people tolerant of him for more than a few minutes."
"Poor sod," Kasumi said.
Nabiki and Ranma cracked up, as that had been their unvoiced thought. "Took the words right out of my mouth," Ranma said.
"What an unsanitary proposition," Nabiki chimed in quickly.
All three of them chuckled as they finished another delicious breakfast. "See you after school Kasumi," Ranma and Nabiki chorused.
"I love you," Kasumi called after both of them as they walked out of the front gate. She turned and cleaned up the mess that had been made during breakfast, rapidly washing and drying dishes with quick, flowing movements that, if anybody were to watch her, would remind them of Ranma doing a kata.
The engagement had been transferred the previous day, Nabiki having finally convinced her elder sister of her very serious intentions with Ranma. Kasumi was both happy and sad that she was no longer betrothed. She was happy because the pressure from their fathers was no longer on her, something that she never liked. She was happy because she could see how happy her normally serious and stone faced little sister was around the young man, yet she was sad because Ranma had gotten those same feelings flowing through her.
Kasumi was unsure if there was a future for her, something besides the simple satisfaction of keeping her home spotless and well maintained. She questioned her future of a family, of having a loving husband and a few children to brighten her day. There were very few men that caught her eye, as most of them were entirely too boring for her. While she knew it was probably pretty silly of her to be looking for an exciting young man that would want to marry quiet, boring Kasumi she just couldn't seem to get herself excited about any other type of male, no matter how nice he was or what he looked like.
That Dr. Tofu was a perfect example. He had started out as a smart and witty young man with a promising future, then he had talked with her a few times and started acting so silly around her. She knew what he was going through, she had read it in one of the books she had borrowed from the man. But, though she valued their friendship, such as it was nowadays, she didn't feel any spark or swell of happiness like when Ranma was with her. A friend was all Tofu would ever be.
Kasumi could only hope that another man like Ranma could somehow exist in the world, and that, impossible as it was, would come to Nerima and sweep her off her feet. Ranma had almost done so, and she was fairly certain that if she had gotten to him before Nabiki had the entire chain of events would have been different. But he was with her, and she with him, and Kasumi didn't want to do anything to change that, no matter how lonely she was.
It had been almost infinitely better that past week since both Ranma and Nabiki had been spending a lot of their time with her, both singly and as a couple. They had been to the movies twice, allowing Kasumi to wear some of the dresses that she had gotten over the years for special occasions that had never been worn. She had laughed along with Nabiki at how many times Ranma had to stare down horny teenage males that were ogling the two women hanging onto him. The sisters had done it for that exact reason, wondering what the average response would be. Kasumi had been rather startled by the looks the two of them got, not having considered herself or her sisters as particularly attractive, merely average.
That had been the main factor in getting he to finally switch the engagement. Having seen how well Ranma and Nabiki worked together she had to admit that they looked perfect for each other. While Kasumi would do many things, standing in the way of true love wasn't something she could ever forgive herself for, so she had stood down and let them have what they wanted.
She wasn't about to let them sleep together though. If they were both girls than it was all right, but they better not have any hot water in that room. Some things just needed to wait, and sex was something that she held as sacred between a man and wife. To engage in the ultimate act of love, one had to be in the most loving of relationships, marriage.
Having finished all her chores Kasumi went over to engage in her favorite hobby of drawing. She could, and did,