"Donny Cheng" This story takes place after volume 38 of the manga. Disclaimer: All characters portrayed in this story are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and co. For Love or Money by Donny Cheng Nabiki stared aimlessly into the sky, "What was that you said Meiko?" Nabiki couldn't concentrate on anything these days. The damage that the wedding caused, had all but exhausted the Tendo family resources. The money she had conned out of the guests had ended up being very little. She should have known that high school kids didn't have all that much money to spend. Meiko was disturbed by Nabiki's lack of attention. "I asked you what was wrong with you today. Boss, you're usually out there starting a betting pool on anything that could be bet upon right about this time of day." Nabiki sighed. "That's just the problem. There is nothing to interesting to bet on these days. After that disaster with the wedding, every interesting person in Nerima has decided to tone things down a bit. It's become too routine. Ranma and Akane are getting along moderately well. All of Ranma's other suitors have apologized for their part in the incident. They're all getting along amazingly well now that they know that Ranma is not in danger of being wed off any time soon. After the big fight in China, everyone has found out just how powerful Ranma is. So Ryoga and Mousse are not going to attack Ranma, until they either improve or discover new secret techniques. All in all, I don't think things will get back to normal for at least another month." Nabiki's other henchwoman, Yukio, looked worried. "Then are net profit for this month is going to be practically non-existant." Meiko thought for a bit before she spoke up. "But boss, why don't we just do what we did before Ranma came to Nerima." "I had already thought about this. But the way we made money before was by selling pictures to love starved students and starting betting pools with the fights Kuno or my sister gets in. Right now the most desireable person in school is not my sister. Rather, it's Ranma in either of his forms. Every boy and girl in school has bought enough pictures from us to get a good enough idea of how Ranma looks in the buff. The only person Kuno fights these days is Ranma. Nobody is stupid enough to bet on Kuno anymore. Nobody dares pick a fight with Akane with Ranma in the way." Nabiki looked depressed as she thought about a whole month's profit down the drain. The Tendo coffers were going to be mightily low this month, especially with a whole other family to feed. Yukio was also depressed. "I wish the month would end already. Too bad things can't be like that week we had a few months ago. You remember boss. That was when you had gotten yourself engaged to Ranma. We rented him out the so many people those couple of days. Even though you never got any money when you finally got rid of him, that was our most protitable week ever. Boss? Are you listening?" Nabiki suddenly sat straight up as a plan formed in her mind. Already, ideas popped into her mind on how to make the most out of scheme. "I know how to get things back to normal a little sooner. Meiko, I want you to start calling up all our usual clients that are interested in Ranma. Yukio, I want you to start spreading hints to Ranma's fiancees of our new plan." Meiko was surprised at Nabiki's sudden outburst. "What? What is our new plan." Nabiki's eyes glinted she explained to them her plan. "Yukio was the one who thought of it. I will become Ranma's fiancee once again. Then we will rent him out to any one interested at a high price. I'm pretty sure I can pull this stunt off for at least two weeks before Ranma tries to get rid of me. That should be more than enough time to for us to exploit this to our full advantage." Meiko and Yukio rubbed there hands in glee as Nabiki outlined to them the aspects of this new venture. * * * * * Ranma could feel danger in the air as he walked into the dining room. He looked around quickly. There were sounds of someone cooking in the kitchen. His mother was cleaning up the house. Kasumi was pouring tea for his father and Soun as they played go. Nabiki was on the phone ordering takeout. Wait a minute here, his brain told him. His brain did a quick run through of all the facts: His mother is cleaning the house. Kasumi is serving tea. Kasumi and mother are not in the kitchen cooking dinner. Nabiki is ordering takeout. Akane is not here with us. Someone is in the kitchen cooking. Result: One very sick Ranma. Ranma quickly turned tail and ran as fast as he could out the Tendo dojo. A hammer flew out the kitchen and imbedded itself on Ranma's head as he reached the door. Akane came out the kitchen and dragged him back to where the other's sat. "Ranma don't you dare run away. I tried very hard this time. I know all of you will just love what I cooked." Soun and Genma paled at Akane's comment. Nabiki smirked as she looked at Akane. "Oh Akane, didn't daddy tell you. We already ordered takeout for dinner. Oh, don't worry about your food going to waste. We all know what a big eater Ranma is. I'm sure he will be able to eat all of what you made for us. Akane was doubtful of that. It seemed whenever she made dinner, everyone else had already made plans for something else. Oh well, at least there was still Ranma and herself. She went into the kitchen to bring dinner out. * * * * * Nabiki grinned as Ranma was flattened by Akane when he began to make chocking noises. Akane obviously thought that he was making fun of her again. Nabiki knew better and calmly whacked Ranma's back a few times. "Really Akane, is that any way to treat your fiancee? I mean your cooking does leave a lot to be desired." Ranma recovered from his coughing fit. True to form, Ranma stuck his foot in his mouth once again. "Leave a lot to be desired? That's putting it mildly. You'd have to be crazy to want to eat that toxic slop Akane calls food." "Now, now. Ranma be nice. I wouldn't call Akane's food toxic." Akane was about to again beat some sense into Ranma when she heard Nabiki's comment. "Do you really think so, Nabiki?" Her eyes shimered at the thought of someone actually appreciating her effort. Nabiki smiled as she began the setup for part one of her plan. "Yes, I mean it. If it were toxic, we'd all be dead by the noxious fumes already. I mean, I'd rank your food a wee bit above toxic waste any day of the week." "The emphasis here is 'a wee bit'." Just as Nabiki had predicted Ranma couldn't help but add his two cents in. She laughed to herself at how easy it was to manipulate Ranma. Akane looked between Nabiki and Ranma. She couldn't believe it. Her sister and Ranma were teaming up against her. If she thought about it, she would have noticed that this turn of events were awfully familiar to an incident a few months ago. However, anger clouded her judgement. "Ranma, you jerk!" Akane grabbed Ranma by the shirt and hurled him at the koi pond. "Our engagement is off. I don't want anything more to do with you." Nabiki could barely keep herself from laughing. Her sister and Ranma were just too predictable. Somehow she managed to keep a straight face as she helped Ranma out of the koi pond and spoke to Akane evenly. "Well since you're not Ranma's fiancee anymore, I guess I will have to take up that burden once more. Honor does dictate that one of the Tendo girls marry him." Akane could only stare at her sister in disbelief. Nabiki had manipulated her once again. Akane's pride kept her from trying to take Ranma back. She eyed her sister angrily for a moment, before she finally relented and sighed. She knew that Nabiki only wanted money and would get rid of Ranma when she made enough. Akane would never stoop as low as paying to get him back. She only hoped that Nabiki would tire of him soon. "Fine! You can have him." Nabiki grinned mischiefly at Ranma. "Well, it looks like you will have to say you're sorry to Akane." Her mind could already guess Ranma's next words. Ranma was pissed as he slapped some money on Nabiki's palm. "What? She should be the one saying sorry. She's the one that made dinner." Nabiki was shocked at the money Ranma put into her hand. "What's this money for? The next payment on your debt isn't until next week." Ranma shrugged his shoulders. "You don't remember? You saved me from Akane's cooking and you helped me out of the pond. It's the usual $1000 yen." Nabiki mentally slapped herself. She had been so busy setting up her scheme, she had forgotten about the help she gave Ranma. This kind of help happened nearly every other day. But as she watched Ranma go into the house, she couldn't help but feel something was wrong with this picture. * * * * * Nabiki smiled as she walked beside Ranma to school. Everything was going according to plan. Akane had left early for school and told everyone that it was now Nabiki's duty to take Ranma to school everyday. Father had cried as he begged Akane to take Ranma back. Soun knew that Nabiki's goal later in life was to sell off the dojo and live a life of luxary. Akane was as stubborn as a mule and would not listen to her father. Akane would not try to take Ranma back from Nabiki no matter what. Ranma would not admit he was wrong. If things kept up, it looked two weeks could easily pass before Akane and Ranma would make up. All Nabiki now had to do was try and make the most out of this situation. "Ranma, since I am now you're fiancee, it is my duty to look out for your welfare. To that purpose, I have signed you up for a few after school activities." Ranma looked at Nabiki suspiciously. "And if I don't go to these activities?" Nabiki looked up at Ranma in horror as she wiped away the tears on her face. "What? I try my best to be the best fiancee to you as possible and this is how you repay me. Why don't you just go and apologize to Akane then, if you hate me so much?" Maybe the crocodile tears were a bit much, Nabiki thought to herself. It didn't matter though. Ranma acted exactly as Nabiki thought he would. Ranma could never stand to see a girl hurt. That combined with the fact that Ranma was not ready to talk to Akane yet made up his mind for him. "I didn't mean it that way. I'll go and do whatever you planned for me." His shoulders immediately sagged as Nabiki suddenly stopped crying and smiled. She had outmaneuvered him again. Ranma silently accepted his fate. "Eating healthy is another required element in a person's physical well being. I've reserved a seat for you to eat at the Neko-haten for lunch. Shampoo will know what to serve you. I also forgot to mention that we are going to go out on a date every other day. I think we should go to Ucchan's to eat tonight. I have pressing matters to attend to first, so I won't get there until much later. You have fun with Ukyo until I get there, okay?" Ranma did not say anything as he groaned. Could this get any worse? The sky thundered in answer. * * * * * Nodoka watched sadly as Ranma dragged himself back into the house. He could barely keep himself upright. She would have to have a talk with Nabiki. That girl was killing her son with all those demands. She went up the stairs to Nabiki's room and knocked on the door. "It's open, come in." Nabiki called out within her room. Nodoka opened to door to see Nabiki sorting out the finances. She felt pity well up inside of her. So young and burdoned with so much responsibility. "Nabiki-chan, I would have a word with you?" Nabiki closed up the books and looked at Nodoka with a raised eyebrow. "Sure, auntie Saotome. What do you want to talk about?" "I think that you are treating Ranma too harshly. Shouldn't you take it easy with him?" "Well he is my fiancee now. I should look after his well being and it's not like I'm forcing Ranma to go to those after school events." Nodoka was not fooled for a moment. She did not believe Nabiki had any feelings at all for Ranma. Though she had only known Ranma and Nabiki for just over a few month's time, she felt that she knew the workings of both their brains fairly well. "You and I both know of Ranma's extreme naivety. He would never go against your wishes, if you shed enough tears." Nabiki looked at Nodoka in shock. Nodoka knew how she was controlling Ranma. "So what? Ranma puts huge dent on our finances with his eating habits and they fights he gets in. He does nothing to repay us back. I'm just getting back what's due to us." Nabiki knew that Nodoka, being a traditionalist, would be shamed at the thought of her family being beholden to another. She hoped the Nodoka would give up after this. Nodoka sank her head. It was true that her family was in the Tendo family's debt. With their house being destroyed, they had nowhere to go. They were not a rich family, so they could not afford to move out just yet. She had already gotten Genma to get his old job back from Dr. Tofu and she was helping Kasumi around the house. They were doing everything in their power to lessen their impact on the Tendos. However, Nabiki's comment about Ranma angered her for some reason. She knew her son had his own way of helping out. "Nabiki, I had thought that besides myself, you were the only one who truly understood my son's thoughts and actions. Now, I know I am wrong. You don't know Ranma very well at all." Nodoka got up and left the room. Nabiki stared at Nodoka's retreating back. What did she mean by that? She prided herself on her knowledge of the inner workings of Ranma's mind. How else did she make Ranma do everything she wanted? * * * * * Ranma looked at Nabiki as they walked home from school. Nabiki had been in a foul mood all day long. He decided that Nabiki needed some cheering up. "Hey, Nabiki! Want to stop by the ice cream parlor before we head home. I'm hungry. It'll be my treat." He smiled as Nabiki seemed to perk up little. Nabiki was the only other person that had a sweet tooth that rivaled his own. "Okay. What ever you want, Ranma-kun." How nice it was of Ranma to treat her. Nabiki inwardly frowned. Why was Ranma treating her so nicely? He must want something from me. Probably wants another extension on his debt. * * * * * Nabiki looked in disgust at Ranma's act. Ranma had turned himself into a girl and flirted with the ice cream jockey. She gave Nabiki a grin as she brought them their ice cream cones. There was an extra scoop of ice cream for the both of them. "Ranma, you give women every where a bad name." Ranma looked at her in mock surprise. "You should be the one to talk. You always try to gain the upper hand in every situation. I'm surprised that you don't do this. I mean with your looks, you could easily do the same." Nabiki was stunned. Did Ranma just pay her a compliment? She did not kid herself when it came to her looks. She knew that many boys found her good looking and wanted to date her. But this was Ranma. The boy that had every girl in Nerima interested in him. He hardly even noticed it when girls threw themselves at him. He must really want that extension badly. Nabiki tried to do her best to look indignant. "For your information, I do not demean myself by using my body to get what I want. I use something that you obviously don't have very much of. Brains." Ranma could not for the life of him figure Nabiki out. She still seemed to look sad. Ranma hated to see that. His experience with his fiancees has taught him that women felt better after a compliment. Ukyo and Akane practically beamed when he mentioned they were cute. Shampoo overflowed with happiness when she tricked him for dates. Well there was still some thing that he hadn't tried yet. Money. "Oh! I almost forgot. Here's my payment on part of the debt I owe you." Ranma kept a straight face as Nabiki's eyes lighted up. The sight of money lifted Nabiki's mood immediately. She quickly grabbed the money and started to count it. "Let me just mark this down on your permanent record." Nabiki frowned as she looked at Ranma's tab. The amount of money he owed her was $500 yen. The amount she had in her hand was more than enough. It seemed that she was so busy using Ranma she hadn't had time to blackmail Ranma this little while. "Ranma, you only owe me $500 yen. This is too much." Ranma saw Nabiki's mood drop fast. He had to think fast. He really did want to bring her out of this funk and he did want to help out with the finances whenever he could. "Um..ah. The rest is for you to keep quiet about those dates you set me up on. You know how jealous Akane gets. I don't think I gave you enough. It's the usual $1000 yen, right? So, I still owe you $500 yen, since you have $1000 there." Nabiki mentally slapped herself. Of course! She had been too caught up in collecting the rental fee from each of Ranma's suitors that she forgot to take money from Ranma as well. "Actually, you went on dates with three people. So it's triple that amount. You owe me $2500 yen." Ranma breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, just put it on my account." Nabiki watched as Ranma dubviously as they left for home. For the second time, she felt that something was not right here. * * * * * Nabiki threw her pencil down in frustration. After that incident at the store, she decided it was time to go over her books. What she found, shocked her. Every monthly allowance Ranma had ever received had gone to her minus a few hundred yen or so. Other than junk food and gifts for others, Ranma had not bought a single thing for himself since he arrived a year ago. In fact, the money Ranma made when he sometimes worked at the Neko-haten and Uuchan's all went to her because of blackmail or some other reason. Why didn't she know this before? All the clues were there. He almost never argued about the money he owed her. His room was practically bare. The only clothes he wore were the ones he brought from China and the girl clothes that we gave him for his cursed form. Ranma did not own anything of value. Could Nodoka have been right? Did she really did misjudge Ranma all this time? * * * * * Ranma looked with concern at Nabiki, while they walked to school. Recently, she seemed to get depressed everytime she was around him. Did she really hate this engagement this much? He remembered the brief time he had been engaged to Nabiki earlier this year. He had been furious to learn that she had been using him to earn money and did not care at all for his feelings. She had been planning to dump him the first moment she got enough money or when he became too much of a hassle to handle. His anger quickly died out when he found out the most of the money she made went back to the dojo. Nabiki was very much like him in many ways when it came to helping out with the finances. In fact, Nabiki, like him, did not have many worldly possessions. Most of the clothes in her closet were borrowed from Akane or Kasumi. Her room was just as bare as his own. When she did buy something, that was not junk food, it was surprising to all who knew her. She was that much of a spend thrift. So he could never really held a grudge against Nabiki, no matter what she did to him. Ranma was worried as he looked at Nabiki now. Had she already had enough of him? Was he becoming a nuisance? "Hey Nabiki! What's wrong? You look down in the dumps?" Nabiki fought the waves of guilt that flooded her body. Ranma was again trying to be nice to her despite all that she had done to him this past week. "Nothing's wrong with me, I'm just thinking. Thanks for your concern though." "No need to say thanks. That's what friends are for." Nabiki stopped in her tracks. Ranma considered her a friend? Outside of her sisters, she had very few friends. They were either partners in her business or just people she talked with at school. "Friends? Really Ranma, I would hardly use that term to describe our relationship." Ranma could hear the bitterness in Nabiki's voice. He couldn't help but feel a need to comfort her. "Yes, friends. You are one of the few people I can goto when I'm in trouble. Even if you do charge a fee for your help, I know I can count on you. That's what friends are for. They help one another in times of need. I would do the same for you too, if you ever needed my help." "Yeah, whatever." Nabiki looked at Ranma with an emotionless expression. Inside, though, her emotions were wreaking havok on her heart. For one of the few times in her life, Nabiki actually felt happiness. There was a person outside of her family that had called her a friend. The school bell sounded in the distance. Their conversation had made Ranma lose all track of time. "We're going to be late. I'm going to have to take us to school the fast way." Usually, Ranma would just run with Akane at warp speed when they were late. But Nabiki was not all that fast, so Ranma scooped her up and vaulted to school via the roof tops. Some times Ranma couldn't understand how a person, who's ability to avoid trouble is unrivaled in all of Nerima, could be so slow. Her body wasn't like it was out of shape or anything. Seeing her in a swimsuit and feeling her body against him now, Ranma knew that she had a great body. Ranma's mind suddenly seized up. What was he doing thinking of Nabiki in that way all of a sudden? Maybe Akane was right about him being a pervert. Nabiki gasped as Ranma grabbed her and started to carry her to school. She felt a small shock shoot through her body as Ranma's strong arms held her. Did Ranma just squeeze her just now? Her mind went through the usual thought processes: Ranma had many girls chasing after him. These girls, even Akane, have great bodies. Ranma sometimes carried them for one reason or another. Ranma did not take advantage of them. Result: Ranma did not squeeze her. Though she was for some reason slightly disappointed by her conclusion, Nabiki decided to think nothing more of it. She absently snuggled closer to Ranma. * * * * * Nabiki glanced across the table at Ranma. They had again stopped at the ice cream parlor of some ice cream. They had been getting along remarkably well after Nabiki had told Ranma what she knew about his involvement in the finances. Nabiki had finally admitted to herself that she had been wrong about Ranma all along. She still conned and charged him for her sevices, but that was just to keep appearances up. Nabiki did have a reputation to keep up after all. However, when no one was looking, Nabiki and Ranma acted like friends. They would tell each other of their day and exchange stories of their relative pasts. Her daily life and life story was not very interesting, yet Ranma didn't seem to mind. When it was Ranma's turn to talk, Nabiki found herself captivated. Nabiki discovered that she could not stop herself from learning everything about Ranma. "So you've been alone your whole life? I wouldn't call that an ideal child hood." Ranma smiled as he talked to Nabiki. "So you understand why I had been so happy when I first met Akane and when Ukyo first came to Nerima. Akane was the first person to want to be friends with me in a long time. Ukyo was one of the few child hood friends that I had." Ranma's mood dropped as he remembered the past. "Those relationships immediately changed once I was engaged to them. The fact that they're my fiancees overshadows whatever friendship that we might have." Nabiki's heart went out to Ranma. In truth, Nabiki was very lonely. She had never allowed anyone to get close to her after her mother died. She did not want to feel the pain of losing someone close to her again. Ranma was different. She found that Ranma was just a lonely as she was, if not lonelier. He had grown up isolated and never really had a friend for any long period of time. Their mutual need for companionship brought them closer together. Ranma's spirits lifted as he saw Nabiki smile reasuringly at him. Nabiki was the only one who was not affected by the fact that she was now his fiancee. They both didn't take the engagement seriously, so Ranma did not feel any pressure at all. He was free to do as he liked around Nabiki. He hadn't had a person to hang out with in a long while. It felt nice and Ranma hoped that it would never end. * * * * * Nabiki watched from the sidelines as Ranma and Ryoga fought. Ryoga had returned from his training trip and promptly challenged Ranma to a fight. It seemed he had again improved. He was still no match for Ranma, but he was good enough to have a few people willing to bet on him. Mousse was also scheduled to appear later this week and challenge Ranma. Her informants told her that the Neko-haten had recently ordered a variety of items from China. They were probably magical in nature. It looked like things were getting back to normal. The opportunities to make money were back in full force. Pretty soon Nabiki would be buzy with her day to day operations. This meant she would not have time to be a full time fiancee. Somehow this turn of events did not seem to make her as happy, as she had first thought. The thought of giving Ranma back to Akane made her heart ache. She tried to convince herself that it was the idea of losing so much profit that made her feel this way. A small part of her told her otherwise. It was because she was starting to develop feelings for Ranma. Nabiki cursed herself for feeling this. She tried to think of Akane. She had seen how the last couple of weeks had affected her younger sister. Akane was listless most of the time and seemed to be in constant depression when Ranma wasn't looking. Contrary to popular belief, Nabiki did care for her family. She was very protective of Akane. She did not like to see Akane hurt in any way. With a heavy heart, she decided to start the end phase of her plan. * * * * * Ranma looked disparingly at his opponent. Never had he ever feared someone so much. The challenger stared at him with a determined look, as if knowing who would win this contest. The bystanders looked at him in disgust. They already knew that he would lose. Ranma slumped to the ground. He had lost. "I can't kiss you Nabiki. I'm sorry." Nabiki cried as she looked at Ranma. "So, you don't love me. You don't want me as your fiancee. You've been using me this whole time to get back at Akane. Fine. From this moment on, we are no longer engaged." Nabiki turned and ran towards her room. All was going according to plan. She knew Ranma's extreme shyness would never allow him to declare his love for another. With Ranma's inability to kiss her, Nabiki had effectively broken her the engagement. So, why wasn't she happy that her plan had worked? Nabiki had felt a sharp pain stab her in the heart when she heard Ranma apologize. The tears on her face refused to stop as she went into her room. She didn't have to use crocodile tears on Ranma as she had thought. Akane watched her sister run to her room. Wow, her acting has improved. Akane actually thought that Nabiki really was sad for a moment there. Nabiki had finally made enough off of Ranma. She turned and looked at Ranma, who was staring at Nabiki's retreating back. She smiled inwardly to herself as she half-heartedly hit Ranma a few times. "Ranma, how could you do that to my sister? You better apologize to her later." Akane then went to her room happily. She had gotten her fiancee back. Soun and Genma hugged each other and cried. They were both deliriously happy. The future of the union between the two schools of Anything Goes was once again intact. Nodoka watched sadly at the latest turn of events. She had seen the expressions on both the faces of Ranma and Nabiki. The feelings they had shown were genuine, whether they knew it or not. She should have known that something would come out of their constant closeness to each other. She looked towards Kasumi. The eldest Tendo sister looked back at her knowingly. Kasumi also knew that what had passed between Nabiki and Ranma was a little more than just acting on the part of Nabiki. Ranma was in shock as he lied slump on the ground. He had barely felt the punches Akane threw his way, yet he felt hurt all over. Why was he feeling this way? He and Nabiki were just friends, nothing more. Right? He knew that what Nabiki had been trying to do when she asked him to kiss her, so he played it out. But when he had looked into her eyes, he could see a glimpse of pain and longing. He had been sorely tempted to kiss her, as if that would ease the pain that she felt. When she had ran away from him with tears streaming down her face, Ranma's heart cried out to her. He kicked himself mentally. Nabiki was just acting. She didn't really feel that way at all. It wasn't the first time that she had done this. She did all this just to get rid of him, because she didn't need him anymore to make money. He should be angry. So, why wasn't he? * * * * * Kasumi was worried as she watched Nabiki. The two sisters were to only ones at home as everyone went to watch a fight between Ranma and Mousse. To anyone else, Nabiki's expressionless face was normal. Kasumi had cared for Nabiki since their mother died, so she knew better than anyone at her sister's ability to mask her emotions. She could see that Nabiki was very depressed at the moment and knew what was the cause of this. It was Ranma. The past few weeks had made Nabiki warm up to Ranma and feelings were beginning to bud between them. Kasumi sighed as she thought about what Nabiki had sacrificed in order to make Akane happy. Something had to be done to help her. Kasumi hesitated to think what would happen when Nabiki's pent up frustrations threatened to explode. There was only one thing that could do to help her now. Kasumi silently hoped that Akane would forgive her for what she was about to do. * * * * * Nabiki watched her older sister in shock. Kasumi was crying. "What's wrong Kasumi? Why are you crying?" "It's nothing. Oh, who am I kidding? It's this man I like. I've had this crush on him for so long, only to find out that he's engaged to someone else." "What? How can this be possible? Dr. Tofu loves you. Why would he be engaged to another?" Kasumi did a double take. Dr. Tofu loves her? Better go along with this. "It seems that his fiancee is a childhood sweetheart of his. They used to date with each other. Their relationship is pretty strong. I think he cares for her, so he did not refuse when she proposed. Afterall, Dr. Tofu and I hardly know each other. What right do I have of trying to break up their union?" "So what! You care for him. He cares for you. Isn't that all that matters?" "But what about the fiancee? She's had a long history with him and is a nice girl, from what I hear. I don't want her to get hurt." "Whenever there is a love triangle, someone is bound to get hurt. If he marries her, you get hurt. If he marries you, she gets hurt. Do not deny yourself the chance at love just because you are afraid of hurting another. The past does not mean anything. Having a history together has no bearing whatsoever on what is happening now. What matters now, is the fact that you want to be with him." Kasumi smiled sunnily as she suddenly stopped crying. "I'm glad that you understand, Nabiki. Now, if you would excuse me. There is a certain doctor I have to talk to. Who would have guessed that Dr. Tofu has a crush on me?" Nabiki did not reply as she stared dumbfoundedly at Kasumi. Her kind, sweet, and honest sister had manipulated her. Her thoughts then turned to Ranma. Somehow her feelings had towards him had changed over the last few weeks. He had gone from being her patsy to her friend and now to someone that she truly cared deeply for. She knew that she could no longer go back to being just a bystander in Ranma's life. She wanted to have part in Ranma's life. * * * * * Ranma looked worriedly at Nabiki. She had sent out invitations to a select group of people to meet at the Tendo Dojo. All of them were either his rivals or love interests. Ryoga, Mousse, Kuno, Kodachi, Ukyo, Shampoo, Cologne, Happosai, the Tendos, his parents, and any other people with an interest in his life were all invited. What was she planning? Was this another scheme of hers? Nabiki cleared her throat as she looked upon the gathered audience. "Well, I suppose you all want to know what I called you here for today. I have an announcement to make. I am going to propose to the man I love today and I wanted you all to be here to share in this joyous occasion." Nabiki then turned at looked at Ranma right in the eyes. "Ranma, would you marry me?" Ranma stood there stunned. When he had heard Nabiki declare that she was going to propose to another, he had felt sick in the stomache. Since he had split up with Nabiki, his life had felt empty once again. He had hoped that he could remain friends with Nabiki, but she had avoided him. It was then, that he first noticed his feelings for Nabiki had changed. He would feel guilty about Nabiki whenever one of his fiancees glomped onto him. He found himself drawn to her charming crooked smile every time he looked at her. Now, here was Nabiki asking for his hand in marriage. He didn't know what to say. Fortunately, or unfortunately (depending on who you were), he didn't have to say anything. Nabiki spoke for him. "Oh! You're overcome with joy, Ranma. You're so happy, you're speechless. I take it you accept." Nabiki eyes shone as she glomped onto Ranma. "We're now engaged." Needless to say, chaos exploded. * * * * * Ranma glared at Nabiki as he carried her away from their persuers. After Ranma's apparent 'acceptance' of the engagement, Kodachi, Ukyo, and Shampoo all went for Nabiki's throat. Since Nabiki didn't know martial arts, Ranma was obliged to save her. This caused all the males in the vicinity to attack him. All of them could not believe that Ranma had gained yet another fiancee. "What were you thinking? Is this another scam of yours? I thought you were smart. You had to know what would happen after you little speech." Ranma knew that the whole speech must have been an act. He guessed that Nabiki was having trouble with money again, so she was going to use him again. However, rather than being angry with her, Ranma felt a sense of joy in knowing that Nabiki was once again his fiancee. Nabiki smirked at Ranma. "Really, Ranma. Do you think that I'm that stupid? Of course I knew what would happen. Now, you listen here. I know you might no believe me, but this is the truth. I think that I may have fallen in love with you." "Uh..I..I." Ranma stared at Nabiki in shock. That one little admission of hers was currently destroying what few brain cells that he had. Various thrown weapons grazed him as he nearly fainted. Nabiki slapped some sense into him. Ranma knew that his own feeling for Nabiki bordered on love, but his ego and shyness prevented him from telling her. Instead, he decided to say something that was less dangerous. "I care about you , Nabiki. I just don't know if it is the way that you want me to feel." "Relax, Ranma. I don't expect you to declare your undying love to me. Although that would be nice, I know better than that. I just wanted you to know what I felt. The reason I did this was so that our families would think that I was using you again. This was the most effective way for you to be engaged to me without leaving Akane out. Also, this was one way to get a lot of witnesses to vouch that I am now indeed your fiancee." Nabiki then grinned wickedly as she gave him a sultry look that made Ranma blush. "The other reason was that I knew that you would save me. I love being in your arms." Nabiki lifted face to meet his. She kissed him passionately and smiled inwardly as she felt Ranma responding. Ranma broke the kiss and again stared at Nabiki in shock. He then shook his head in wonder. "I'll never understand woman. I'll never understand you." Nabiki smiled as she pulled Ranma's head towards her's for another kiss. She wispered, "I know Ranma. I plan on keeping you guessing for the rest of your life. * * * * * The End. C&C welcomed. Flames not. Donny Cheng Disclaimer: All characters portrayed in this story are the property of Rumiko Takahashi and co. Please don't sue me. This story takes place after volume 38 of the manga. It draws ideas from both the anime and the manga. This is a sequel to For Love or Money. I hope you like it. C & C welcomed. Flames not. What Price Love? By Donny Cheng **glomp** **bam** **whack** **slash** **bong** Nabiki waited on the sidelines with her rest of her classmates as the battle slowly drew to a close. It was another one of those all out brawls that came out whenever all of Nerima's premier martial artists met up in one place. This was not a rare occasion. This seemed to happen at least once every few weeks. The battle finally ended after a short while. When the dust cleared, the only person left standing was Ranma. Nabiki walked over to Ranma with disgust on her face. "Do you always have to act so macho?" Ranma tried his best to feign innocence. "What do you mean?" She couldn't know everything that went on in his mind. Could she? Nabiki read Ranma like a book. She lightly tapped Ranma on the chest. He fell over. "I mean that. You're clearly as beat up as the rest of the people, yet you insist on acting macho. Come on. I've got to get you to a bath. You stink." * * * * * Akane, Kodatchi, Shampoo, and Ukyo all watched this exchange from their positions on ground of the battle zone. Ukyo groaned as she picked herself up. "What does she think she's doing? Ordering Ranchan around like that. Like he would ever follow a woman's orders." To all the girls' surprise, Ranma stood up and followed after Nabiki. Of course he was cursing at her from behind the whole time. Shampoo gave the girls a knowing look. "Nabiki blackmail husband again." Kodatchi, with hatred clearly written on her face, looked at Akane with distaste. "Can you not control that mercenary sister of yours? It is bad enough that evil pigtailed wench has control over my Ranma-sama. He now has to contend with that cutthroat you call a sister." "Hey! What ever Nabiki's got on him, the pervert deserves it." Despite her words, Akane was ashamed of her money hungry sister. Always taking advantage of her Ranma. Did she just think her Ranma? Ukyo smiled secretly to herself. She didn't mind what just happened at all. If Nabiki had found something to blackmail Ranma with, it meant that he was probably available on the market again. Though she hated resorting to buying a date with Ranma, she couldn't help doing it. With so many girls competing for Ranma, she needed as much help she could get. * * * * * "I took a bath, now what?" Ranma grumbled as he flipped through the window into Nabiki's room. "Here's your share of the money from the fight." Nabiki handed five hundred yen to Ranma. "How come so little?" Ranma asked as he looked at the meager sum in his hand. "There's my ten percent as manager. I took out money for first aid equipment. Band-Aids aren't free you know. There's also the cost of handling the betting pool. My time is valuable. And I took money out for..." Nabiki rambled on as she looked over her expense list. "Okay! Okay! Forget that I asked." Ranma muttered to Nabiki. Jeez, you ask a simple question. "Oh! I almost forgot. There's also your share of the bills for the dojo. You did agree to help out whenever you could." Nabiki deftly took back Ranma's payment. Ranma looked wistfully at the money being taken out of his hands. There went that triple decker fudge slice of cake. "Well, is there anything else you wanted, your majesty?" Nabiki ignored Ranma's comment and thought for a moment. "Did you brush you teeth like I told you to?" "Yes. I can't really see why, though. Mother and Kasumi are going to cook dinner in a while anyway." "Your breath stinks." Nabiki suddenly grabbed Ranma's head and brought it down to her own. She kissed him passionately for a whole minute before letting him go. "Now get out. I've got to study." Ranma was immediately pushed out the window. Ranma landed on the ground with a thud. To say that he was in shock would be an understatement. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't understand Nabiki. Ranma was still undecided about their romance. Ever since she became his fiancŽe, their relationship came at differing degrees of hot and cold. At moments she would ignore him for days at a times. At other times she would lavishly pay attention to him like today. It may not look like that to others, but Ranma knew better. Any time Nabiki spent more than a few hours away from her 'prime money making hours' to be with him was an extraordinary amount of time. Also, she kissed him. Nabiki hardly showed much affection most of the time. But when she did, it sure was sweet. * * * * * "Three thousand yen." Ukyo coutered. "I said five thousand yen and I meant it." Nabiki said through her clenched teeth. "Okay already." Boy, Nabiki was in a bad mood. All of Nabiki's prices were usually negotiable. Lucky for her, Ucchan's had been turning a very huge profit lately due to word of mouth. Ukyo paid Nabiki her money and went back to her restaurant. All she had to do now was wait for Ranma to show up. Nabiki stared hard at the five thousand yen in her hands. Was it worth it? * * * * * Ranma had the feeling of dread as he looked at the triple decker fudge slice of cake Nabiki was holding in front of him. "What do you want now Nabiki?" Nabiki looked at Ranma in shock. "Can't I do something nice for my fiancŽe every now and then? Does everything I do have a motive?" She now looked like she was about to cry. Oh man! If there was anything in this world Ranma hated to see it was to see a woman cry. He knew that Nabiki was probably faking it, as she used these tears often enough. Even though he knew this, it hurt him just the same. "Sorry, I said that." Nabiki sniffed back her tears. "I forgive you. I want you to make it up to me. Take me out to dinner, okay?" "Alright, I'll do it. I'll take you to Ucchan's, okay?" Ranma breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that all she wanted was to go out to eat. Seeing as how he was broke again, Ranma had no choice but to go to a place where he could get free food. Nabiki nodded in agreement. All had gone as she predicted, but she did not feel happy at all. * * * * * "Ranchan, that was just Nabiki on the phone. She said that she couldn't make it and that you should eat without her. Since you have nothing to do for tonight, do you want to go with me to the movies? I heard that a new martial arts movie just opened up." Ukyo told Ranma as she put down the phone. Everything clicked into place for Ranma as he heard this. So, Nabiki had decided to use him again to make a little money. Though this was a very common occurrence, Ranma felt a heavy weight on his heart. What was he to Nabiki? Just some tool to be used whenever she saw fit? "So how much did you pay for me, Ucchan?" Ukyo stopped in mid pace and blushed. "Oh, not much. Don't be angry with me. If I didn't buy you someone else would have. I'm sure I'm a better choice than that psychotic Kodatchi or even that bimbo Shampoo." Every word made Ranma wince. It was probably true that Nabiki hadn't charged very much for him at all. It was also true that even if Ukyo didn't buy him, Nabiki would have found someone else. "Come on then. Let's go see that movie." Ranma could not let Ukyo's money go to waste. * * * * * "Okay, that's it. What's wrong Ranchan? You're usually not this moody without some reason of another. Is it Akane again? Did you guys get in another fight? Did she cook dinner again? Come on, out with it." Ukyo and Ranma had come back to her restaurant after the movie for a late night snack. She noticed that Ranma had hardly paid any attention to the movie at all and was now declining seconds. Anytime Ranma failed to get upset about the fake fighting in a movie or refuse a second helping of food meant there was something on his mind. Ranma looked up at Ukyo and blinked in surprise. "Akane? No, this doesn't have anything to do with her." Actually Ranma hadn't really talked with Akane much of late. As a result, they got into fewer squabbles and tended to get along rather well when they did get together. Ukyo knew something was wrong. The mentioning of Akane's name usually brought some type of reaction from Ranma. Whether it was guilt, sadness, happiness, or anger, Ranma always had some kind of emotion of his face. "Look, Ucchan. There's nothing wrong with me. I'm probably just coming down with something. I'd better get home. It's getting late." Ranma stood up and turned to leave. "Looks like this was a waste of a night. I wonder if I could get a refund from Nabiki." Ukyo said to herself under her breath. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ranma stop short at the mentioning of Nabiki's name. Had he heard what she said? Nabiki? Could it be that those two are... It couldn't be. Could it? * * * * * Kasumi looked worriedly at Ranma and Nabiki. It seemed that in all of Nerima, only she and auntie Saotome knew of Ranma's and Nabiki's feelings for each other. The engaged couple were at the moment ignoring each other. Something had happened between the two of them. She would have to ask Nabiki. * * * * * Nabiki sat down with Kasumi. Her thoughts poured out in the presence of her caring older sister. "I can't get this feeling of guilt to go away. What do I have to feel guilty about anyway? I've always acted this way when a moneymaking opportunity presents itself to me. Why should this time be any different?" "Because this time the man you love was involved." Kasumi in her seemingly infinite wisdom told Nabiki. "So what!" Nabiki said back angrily. "He can't expect me to change myself just for him." "Do you expect him to change for you? Do you expect him to forget his pride and sell himself just for you?" Kasumi asked Nabiki insistently. "No! It's not like that at all." Nabiki practically shouted this out. "Isn't it?" Kasumi pressured Nabiki. "Ranma will understand. Tomorrow, I will take him out to dinner and treat him nice. He will be fine." Nabiki tried to sound confident as she assured her sister. "If you say so." Kasumi's voice was full of doubt. * * * * * After school, Nabiki found Ranma and asked him to walk home with her. "Ranma, there's a new restaurant opening. Do you want to try it out? It'll be my treat." Ranma sighed deeply. "What is this time? Did Shampoo offer you five thousand-yen? Or was it Kodatchi? Maybe your price has gone down. Four thousand?" Ranma could see that Nabiki looked as if she was hurt. He immediately shut his eyes. If he didn't see the tears, they wouldn't be there. Nabiki felt a stab of pain in her heart as she saw Ranma close his eyes to her budding tears. Perhaps she had cried wolf once too often. She forced herself to remain calm and continue. "No, I didn't sell you to another girl. I just want a night alone with my fiancŽe. Is that too much to ask?" Ranma refused to look into Nabiki's eyes. "What? No girl willing to pay the price. Maybe you sold me to Kuno? You're just as bad as my father is. I'm beginning to think that your loving me was just another scheme." Ranma opened his eyes to see Nabiki fleeing into the distance and held his cheek. He sank to the ground in absolute shock. What had he done? * * * * * Nabiki finally stopped running as she felt her legs nearly give way. It was all over. Her life was over. After what he had said and what she had done, there could be no turning back. For one of the few times in her life, Nabiki felt genuine tears threatening to burst from her eyes. "Here, take this." A voice called out to Nabiki. Nabiki opened her eyes to see the blurry shape of Ukyo holding out a handkerchief. Nabiki grabbed and quickly dabbed her eyes. She couldn't let anyone see her like this. Ukyo watched as Nabiki quickly regained her composure and her usual demeanor. "So much like my Ranchan. Always have to save face in front of everybody. I could see why he might like you with so many similarities." Nabiki glared at Ukyo for her use of 'Ranchan'. "He's not yours or anybody else's." Ukyo just smiled sadly. "Too bad you realized that a little too late. Ranma doesn't belong to anybody. He's just like his name. Wild and free. It's all for the best. It would never have worked out between you two." Nabiki needed to vent her frustrations and found Ukyo to be the perfect target. "Why wouldn't it have worked out? I care about him, isn't that all that matters?" "For the same reason it would not work out with Akane. Aside from dimensional hammers, toxic food, and telling everybody she's a martial artist also, Akane is too normal for Ranma. Ranma's dream in life is to be the best martial artist in the world. You and I both know that staying in a dojo teaching is no way to become the best. You have to travel and fight the best to become the best. I don't know what Akane wants in life, but whatever it is, it's in Nerima. She has friends and family here that she cares deeply about. She had a whole life before Ranma came along. Even if they did get married, I know that it will not last because of Ranma's need for adventure. Long and frequent periods of separation are not good for any relationship. Would Akane leave with Ranma? She might, but she will become embittered with the idea of leaving those closest to her behind. No, the marriage would not last. Would you be willing to leave your life behind to follow Ranma around? You know what? I would." Nabiki stood there stunned at what Ukyo said. Was there no hope for her and Ranma at all? * * * * * Nabiki walked home alone with her thoughts. What did she want in life? There was the obvious answer. Money. Was that all she truly wanted? She herself had little use for money. She was not a person that needed to live a life of luxury. She looked down at her clothes. Half of what she was wearing belonged to Akane. She spent very little of the hordes of money she made everyday. She averaged about fifty yen a student every school day for the last two years at about a thousands students. Most of the money was kept in the bank under her and her father's name. It was used mainly to pay bills and such. For herself she kept a constant amount of a million yen. No, money was not what she truly wanted. Then what did she want? She already knew the answer. She wanted love and companionship. Sure she had a life before Ranma came along, but she had long become bored of it. It was lonely for her without as many friends as Akane. Ranma was a like breath of fresh air. With him, he brought excitement. Though she could not fight like the others, she was never far from the action. Heck, most of the fights in Nerima were caused by her manipulations. Even before her feelings had developed for Ranma, Nabiki dreaded him leaving and returning everything to normal. Now, just the thought of Ranma leaving left Nabiki with the feeling that a piece of her had fallen away. In the end there really wasn't much of a choice for Nabiki. She looked down the street at the Tendo Dojo and saw Ranma standing there alone. Now was the time to confront him and her feelings. * * * * * Ranma shuffled his feet. He was not very good at apologizing. "I'm sorry about what I said, Nabiki. I wasn't thinking straight. I was just angry about being used again." "Hush." Nabiki put a finger to Ranma's lips. He tended to stammer a lot when he was uncomfortable. Nabiki found it to be a very cute trait of his. "I should be the one to say that I'm sorry, Ranma. I've been very selfish, haven't I?" Ranma was afraid to speak for fear the moment would end. He could only stare into Nabiki's shimmering eyes. "I've been using you without thinking about how you would feel it. I promise that I won't do that ever again." Nabiki put her hand to her heart. Ranma smiled affectionately at her. "Don't make promises that you can't keep. I know that the money that you make goes towards keeping us all fed. If I could help out just a little, I would. I just wish that you would ask for my help instead of just using me." Nabiki gasped as she looked at Ranma's face. She could still see the hand print that she left on his face. "Did I hit you too hard?" She touched his face gently. It was warm to her touch. Ranma laughed out loud at that. He held her hand to his face. "I've been hit worse. Actually after I thought about it, your slap felt kind of nice. It wasn't the high powered attack of a martial artist. It was just a slap of a girl. It was very warm, very feminine and full of feeling. A slap that only you could throw." Nabiki blushed beet-red at hearing that description of her slap. She laughed out with Ranma the more she thought about it. "I didn't know you were into that kind of thing, Ranma." Ranma smiled as he heard Nabiki's quip. Things were getting back to normal if she could joke once more. "Seriously though. I will probably put my foot in my mouth once in awhile. Make sure you slap me around when I do." Nabiki gave Ranma that charming crooked smile of hers. "I hope you don't enjoy it too much when I do." Ranma bent his head towards Nabiki and kissed her. Nabiki cried in happiness. It was the first time Ranma had ever initiated a kiss with her. * * * * * Epilogue Ranma gathered Nabiki in his arms as they looked at the dojo one last time. "No regrets?" Nabiki cuddled closer to Ranma for warmth. Beside them were two backpacks filled with everything they would ever need. "No, Ranma. No regrets at all." * * * * * The End. (maybe) This story takes place after volume 38 of the manga. It draws ideas from both the anime and the manga. This is a sequel to What Price Love? which was in turn a sequel to For Love or Money. C & C welcomed. The Cost of Loving By Donny Cheng "Oh, stop it, Ranma. Come back into the tent already. I promise I won't do that again, okay?" Nabiki asked with her lips forming a slight pout. Ranma blushed furiously, still not looking at Nabiki. How could he put the words delicately, he wondered. He gave up trying to think of a better way to phrase his words and just asked bluntly, "Did you put your clothes back on?" "No. I really don't know what the big deal was. I'm not exactly naked." A bra and panties did not count, Ranma thought to himself. "It isn't right. We're not... y'know." Married. Nabiki knew what Ranma wanted to say. For a guy that ignored and broke social rules as frequently as Ranma, he sure was a stickler for some things. "We've done much more _stuff_ than sleep together in the same tent without a few restricting clothes in the way, Ranma." Ranma blushed again at the thought of the _stuff_ that they did do. Rather, the stuff Nabiki did. Unlike Shampoo, Nabiki was much more fragile and harder for Ranma to push away without hurting her. She, of course, used this to her full advantage whenever she had the chance. Ranma sometimes wondered how he had managed to survive with his purity intact as long as he had. "That's not the point. People might get the wrong idea. I don't want people to think of you like that." Nabiki shook her head in disbelief. How did he do it? How could he say something so grating to her ears one moment and so sweet the next? While she was happy that he cared so much about her reputation, she wasn't about to let up on him in the slightest. "Wrong idea? What wrong idea might that be? That you love me?" Ranma, surprisingly, caught the dangerous tilt in Nabiki's voice. "No. You know... how I feel." "Prove it then. There aren't any people here to get the 'wrong' idea. I've always slept like this and I don't intend to change, simply because my..," Nabiki thought for a moment, searching for a word, "fiancé doesn't feel 'right'." Though, fiance probably wasn't strong enough a word anymore. "You've never slept like that," Ranma said, confused. Got him! "Oh? How would you know that? You didn't sneak up and peep on me back at the dojo did you? Because that wouldn't be 'right'." "Erk!" Ranam sighed and slumped his shoulders in defeat. If he admitted that he sometimes looked in on Nabiki, he had no right to decide what was right for Nabiki and he had no case. If he didn't, he had no way to prove that Nabiki never slept that way and he had no case. A lose, lose situation. Nabiki hid her smile of triumph by turning and going back into the tent. She hadn't wanted to do that to Ranma, but the boy was so backward she would have had to wait ten years before he might even consider initiating their intimate encounters. In truth, she only guessed that he looked in on her. It was always her hope that it was true, ever since her feelings for him grew. Before they even had a relationship, she knew that Ranma often crept up to look in on Akane. She was surprised at herself at how such a little thing like this could make her so happy. Ranma sighed and resisted the urge to look away as Nabiki went back in toward the tent and the snowy whiteness that covered her parts disappeared into the darkness within also. He might as well get used to seeing that sight as Nabiki was obviously not going to change. Though, he had to admit the sight wasn't all that bad. * * * * * "Ranma, I'm cold! Let me share your sleeping bag," Nabiki pleaded. Now that was going too far! "Just put some more clothes on." "I told you already. I don't like to be so restricted when I'm sleeping. Ranma reached for the zipper on the side of the bag and zipped it all the way over his head, leaving just a little space for air. Nabiki frowned at Ranma's stubbornness. She was sure that he loved her and did intend to be with her. They've left the dojo so that they could be together. They were for all intent and purposes 'married'. Did she actually have to drag him to an altar before she could get anywhere with him? No, she knew that was one of the reasons none of Ranma's suitors ever had much of a chance. The more you push him the more he pushes back. It looked like she would have to wait until Ranma was asleep again before she could sneak into his bag. It was quite easy since Ranma tended to sleep like a very dead log. It wasn't something a decent girl would do, but then the word could hardly be used to describe her. She smiled as she thought of how brazen she was with him. Never in her life had she ever had a boyfriend, before Ranma. All the boys she went out with, she dumped after taking all their money, so she never really had a chance to be intimate with any boy. She didn't have many close friends and wasn't even that affectionate with her own family. It was funny how love could change all that. Suddenly she had someone to care for and all her pent up emotions were released to this one special person. She knew she was probably overcompensating for the past, but Nabiki really didn't give a damn. * * * * * Ranma woke up and screamed as usual. However, this was becoming a common occurrence so the screaming died down after only a few seconds. "What's all the noise about?" Nabiki asked, stretching as a yawn escaped her mouth. This did not ease Ranma's discomfort. He looked away from the interesting happenings caused by the yawn on Nabiki's chest to her face. "I thought I told you not to do that anymore?" "Huh? Oh, you mean climbing into you sleeping bag. I got cold last night. I had to keep warm somehow. You wouldn't want me to freeze, right?" Nabiki asked with a slight quiver of her lips. Ranma wondered how Nabiki managed to twist things around so that he was the one at fault. He hated it when she looked like she was about the cry. She was faking if of course, Ranma was almost sure of. He needed to find a lock for his sleeping bag. However, he would bet the Nabiki would still find a way in. "Never mind. Anyway, we better get a move on it. The training ground is just a little ways further." "We?" Nabiki asked as she pulled on her shorts and grabbed a shirt out of her backpack. She usually never followed Ranma when he went off to train. Sure it was fun to look at that nice body move, but it got boring after a few hours. If there was one thing she didn't want to get bored looking at, it was Ranma's body. "Sure. You never know when we might run into trouble and I don't want you to get hurt." "As sweet as that thought is Ranma, if we run into trouble that even you can't handle, how do you expect me to fare?" "I don't." Nabiki did a double take, "Come again. You just said..." "I said that I don't want you to get hurt. When I get into trouble I want you to use the Saotome Secret Technique." Nabiki narrowed her eyes. "Uncle Saotome described it to me once. Isn't that the move where you run away? More effective than the bowing and groveling technique I must say though." Secret Technique? Hah! The way his father blabbed, it was surprising that only Ryoga out of his multitude of rivals knew about it. Ranma grimaced, "No, it's not just running away. It's a decent and powerful skill when used right. A master of this technique will be able to get anywhere they want in the least amount of time by way of analysis of the terrain and time saving maneuvers." "You memorized that out of a book, didn't you? Basically, you're telling me when we get into trouble you want me to leave?" Ranma ignored the tilt in Nabiki's voice this time. "Yes. Like you said, if I can't handle the problem then we're probably in it deep. In that case I want you to run as fast and as far away as you possibly can. There is _no_ way I am letting you get into any harm." Jello, one minute, hard as rock the next. Will wonders never cease. It was true she knew most of what was going on in Ranma's mind most of the time, but once in awhile he would confound her. "Okay," Nabiki said, making her voice sound as meek as possible. It was best to agree with Ranma when he was this stubborn. In her heart, she knew she would just ignore what he said and stay by his side. Ranma gave Nabiki a suspicious glance at such a fast acceptance of how he wanted things to be. However, she was the picture of innocence. "Good. Now, I've seen your ability to get away from trouble before. That's why I thought this would be the art best suited for you. If you can hold _me_ off for a few minutes you can certainly run away from people as good as Ryoga. Only this time you won't have a bicycle handy." Nabiki nodded grimly as she remembered Ranma chasing after her after she had tricked him into being her fiancé the first time. That had been the first time Nabiki thought she might be wrong about Ranma's personality. He had charged after her like a crazed bull and she thought he would have seriously hurt her. That brought a giggle to her lips. Ranma's 'revenge' ended up being no more than a declaration of love just so that she couldn't get rid of him as a fiancé. A simple revenge, she didn't need him anymore, so he would force himself on her. The guy had been ready to spout off the cheesiest of words back then and now she couldn't even get him to say that he liked her without stammering. How things would have been different if he had caught her and stayed engaged to her. Ranma noticed Nabiki's stifled laughing and guessed, correctly, that she was laughing at him. Unlike Nabiki, he had absolutely no idea what she was thinking of. She baffled him with her unpredictability. In someways it was what drew him to her. It was a constant battle with her. Her ways against his, much like the relationship he had with another girl. Time was truly evil force, yet at the same time his savior. The passage of time smothered his passion for one girl and nurtured it for another. If he had acted earlier on his feelings, would they have dimmed so much? It was a constant worry to him that one day those feelings for Nabiki would also just fade away, even though the concept was foreign to him at the moment. Nabiki glaced worriedly at Ranma. His face had taken up a pensive look. He was thinking of _her_ again. Was he truly over her? First loves did not just fade away, Nabiki was sure. "Ranma? You okay? I thought you wanted to get a move on." Ranma broke out of his reverie to give Nabiki a reassuring smile. "Yeah. Let's start the training right now. The Saotome Secret Technique can be practiced anywhere. Ready? Good. The point of the first method of training is to try and catch me." Before Nabiki could say anything, Ranma was off. She grinned and quickly ran after him. She caught him once and she had no doubt that she would always have him in her grasp. It was not hard after she took the time to watch how Ranma 'ran'. He was running at her speed so that she could catch up with him. However, he used little tricks so that he would always be ahead of her. Methods of making sharp turns, finding patches of hard ground in an area that was wet, and other time saving techniques gave Ranma an edge. Nabiki caught up to him four hours later. * * * * * Ranma turned on his side away from Nabiki. She was cheating again. This time she lay on top of her sleeping bag instead of inside it. Again, she slept in the semi-nude. "So, what do you usually do when I'm not with you during the day?" Ranma asked before Nabiki could tease him again. Nabiki smiled at the catch in his voice. So he did get a good look this time. Good! She would break that barrier of his if it was the last thing she did. "Oh, not much. I usually go to the towns and villages nearby the training grounds. Sometimes I go down to the local watering hole for a drink and conversation. Most of the time, though, I look for part-time jobs. I've learned quite a few things this past month." "Jobs? Oh, I totally forgot about it! Why didn't you tell me? I should help out with that too." Ranma's face turned red with shame. "Heh, I knew you'd figure it out eventually. It was just that you looked happy being back on the road doing all the things you did with your father. I just wanted you to be as happy as long as possible, before you get tide down again. That and I figured that the longer I do this, the more favors you'll owe me. I fully intend to collect," Nabiki added jokingly. That however had the opposite effect on Ranma. "No, it isn't right. As bad as my father was, he was sometimes forced to get a job so that we could eat. He never let me work once during our training trip because he wanted me to concentrate solely on the art. Even though all that changed when we came to Nerima, I always felt bad about it. I want to pull my weight around here. I can work a few hours and still get training in." Nabiki knew that wasn't entirely true. The reason he wanted to work was so that he didn't have to feel guilty about her. "Ranma, you know that was one thing I did not want when I came on this journey with you? It was that I didn't want to be a burden on you. If you came alone, I know you would have survived just as easily without me working." Ranma immediately turned back to face Nabiki. He was getting better at hearing the change in her tone of voice. Her back was towards him as she wasn't looking at him now. "Where did you get that idea? I asked you to come with me. I needed you to come with me. I'd probably have gone crazy if you weren't here." "You say that now, but who knows how long before that changes. A few months ago you might has said to same thing to... Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that," Nabiki bit her lip. Damn, she promised herself that she would never mention that in Ranma's presence. Ranma rocked back as if struck by a blow. To hear his own fear escape from Nabiki's mouth made him sick of himself. "No, you're right. A few months ago I would have said the same thing to _her_ if I had the guts to." Nabiki turned to face Ranma again, noting that she was looking at him rather than his back. "Any day now, some girl might come along and take a liking to you and you to her. I will be alone again. It happened before, it might happen again. I just want you to be with you as long as possible just in case." Ranma looked back at Nabiki in frustration. She was right in that it did happen. The thing was that he did not want it to happen again. "Is that why, you've been pushing yourself on me," Ranma asked as it suddenly came to him. "No, of course not. I love you and it's natural for me to want to do that with you," Nabiki said indignantly. She then gave the idea a little more thought and found Ranma was not all wrong. "You might be partially right. I guess being with you in that way would give me another hold on you." "How much more of a hold could you have on me? You hold my entire being in your eyes," Ranma said intimately. He was still new to this whole expressing of one's feelings thing. The only thing he could think of was what Kuno might have said. Nabiki blushed bright red. She found herself strangely shy after hearing something she thought she would never hear. "Saotome Ranma, is that you talking?" Seeing Nabiki caught off guard like that pushed Ranma on. It was funny how he could say even the most embarrassing of things when he treated a situation like it were a battle. When that happened, he could announce love for a stranger, date Shampoo, date Ukyo, or any number of the things he had done because he could not take defeat. And that is how he saw this situation. He would not lose Nabiki. "I will tell you right now. If I ever lose what I feel for you, then I am truly a fool or a dead man. Because that is what would have to happen for me not to love you." "What did you say?" Nabiki asked suddenly. "I said..." It then dawned on Ranma exactly what he said. He had no doubt that he did, but it had always been hard for him to say it. "I love you," he said it again, testing out the sentence and found it did not cause the world to explode or anything so drastic. The redness returned to Nabiki's cheeks. "I love you too, Ranma," Nabiki said demurely. Ranma didn't know why, but it seemed as if that one admission put to rest his fears and he guessed Nabiki's as well. "Well I'm glad that's settled with." Nabiki had been outrageous with her affections with Ranma, yet whenever he lavished it on her it reduced her to a simpering puppy. She guessed it was the same reason she overly playful when she dealt with Ranma. Never having anyone saying such things to her left her with no way to deal with them. She decided that as much as she liked the feeling, she liked control much better. Ranma stared as Nabiki got up off of her sleeping bag and closed the distance between them. Quite calmly she reached over to the zipper on his bag and unzipped it so that she could slip in. She moved around until she got comfortable. This caused various interesting parts of her body to touch his very interested body in many interesting ways. Noticing that Ranma was still slack jawed, Nabiki decided to move quickly before he could stop her. "I'm going to sneak in like this anyway. So why don't I just do it right now so that I can actually get a decent nights sleep in. It's hard staying up all night waiting for you to sleep." It felt strange having another body beside him. It was not like it never happened before. But that time with Shampoo didn't end very well as she ended up attacking his girl form right after. This was the first time he was actually awake to the experience. Different, but not in the least bit uncomfortable. Very nice actually, now that he thought about it. Gently he put his arm around Nabiki and found it felt even nicer. So what were they supposed to do now? "Well, now that we know you are _not_ going to be a burden on me, what now? I don't want you working all the time. I want you to have as much fun as I'm having in this." "Silly, I am having fun," Nabiki murmured. It felt nice lying close to him like this. He made a wonderful bed. "I didn't mean that," Ranma said blushing slightly still not used to this new sleeping arrangement. "I know you gave up a lot coming with me. I feel a little guilty taking you away. Right now, you'd probably be in university, on you way to a life of luxury." Nabiki punched Ranma in the stomach lightly. Being this close also had it's advantages in that she had easy reach to bop him when he was being stupid. "I wanted this, remember?" "I always thought you wanted money and to retire young. Living like this is hardly that," Ranma said, not believing Nabiki. "You know what was the first thing I thought of when I heard you were coming to Nerima? I thought of a dashing young man coming in and sweeping me off my feet to take me to exotic places like China. When I learned you were a girl, I was angry with you. Probably why I never gave you a chance when you turned out to be a boy." Nabiki patted the area she hit Ranma. She knew that her punch did not have any affect on him but it made her feel better anyway. "Then came your little quirk. Your ability to draw trouble. You gave me the most fun I had ever had since my mother died even if you didn't know it. I guess during the year I came to care about the mischief I could cause to you almost as much as I did about the bottom line. I've always liked excitement and if it meant no boring desk job, who cares? I wanted to leave with you and don't you ever doubt it." "I always wondered why you made life hard for me. You were in love with me even back then," Ranma teased her. "In your dreams," Nabiki murmured sleepily. The day's exertions and lack of sleep in previous nights finally took their toll. "Oh and Ranma? I think you should seriously think about sleeping in just your boxers. Very comfortable." Ranma tensed as Nabiki started to move around again. He let out a breath as she finally stopped and soon he heard the sound of her even breathing. She was asleep. Ranma thought about what Nabiki just said. He didn't sleep a wink that night. * * * * * The End. (maybe) Fanboy and fanfic writer. ^_^ Homepage at http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Ginza/4537