[Ranma][FanFic] A Deft Touch

[John]

Based on the characters and situations so well created by Rumiko
Takahashi and owned by Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Communications and
others I have no doubt. Please don't sue me!

Let me know what you think at belg...@sprintmail.com, and visit my
webpage at http://home.sprintmail.com/~belgarath

This is my second fic. To quote Ashfae, "Aaaaah, the joys of
catharsis..." We'll start out sad, and hopefully lighten up as we go
along. I started out with a very specific outline and design for
this, and the words seemed to reach off the screen and tear all my
careful plans to shreds. Sooo.. Hold on tight and let's see where
this goes.

I started this on Halloween '98, if that helps explain anything. :)

A Deft Touch

by
John Morales

********

Chapter 1 - A Very Long Day

Up in his room, Ranma looked closely at the mirror. He did not look
much different, he decided. A bit taller perhaps. The pain still
showed in his face on occasion. He still wore the same Chinese-style
clothing, although he probably should have dressed nicer today, a red
shirt and the usual black pants in this case. The same dark hair
falling in his eyes, and tied off in the back. It had been a long
year, and it had changed him in many ways, but he decided Akane would
still recognize him today. She would still know him by sight, and
would likely still hit him on sight.

No use in pursuing that line of that thought. She had not hit him in
a year, and never would again. He had failed her in that moment, and
would never be able to correct it. Never be able to correct any of
the mistakes he made in that year he had with her. Most of the
others did not blame him for what happened. But Ranma had enough
blame to make up for whatever the others neglected to send his way.
He knew that being able to kill Saffron for her was not enough, not
when she was still dead.

NO! He would not cry today. Today was too important.

"Ranma," his mother called from the doorway. "It's time to go. The
Tendos will be waiting for us."

She wore a beautiful, formal kimono, but some sadness showed though
her expression. She was not looking forward to today much either.
She had liked Akane a great deal, and had hoped that the young
couple would one day give her the grandchildren that she seemed to
see in their eyes. That would not happen now, but she still had to
be strong for Ranma. It was going to be a very long day.

****

Genma waited pensively at the bottom of the stairs for his family. It
would be good to see Soun again, and the girls. He just wished the
circumstances could be better. They should probably be visiting
each other regularly, but it was still too painful, the wound too
fresh. The last few times he had seen his old friend, many months
ago now, had been watery disasters. Soun did not blame anyone but
Saffron for the death of his daughter, at least not anymore. Still,
just seeing Genma was too much of a reminder.

Ranma on the other hand had not seen any of the Tendos since they had
moved back in with Nodoka shortly after the funeral. He still went
back to Nerima about once a month, but only to visit the grave, and
only alone. These past few weeks had been very hard on Ranma, as he
prepared to meet the Tendos again. Genma felt that Ranma was up to
the task. Apparently so did Nodoka, if not, Genma knew they would
not be meeting up with the Tendos before going to the grave.

Nodoka and Kasumi had talked regularly over the last month, and Genma
was certain they had made whatever preparations they could to make
this day as easy as possible on the boy. Soun himself was
supposedly looking forward to seeing the boy, perhaps to remember
some of the happier feelings and hope he once had for Akane.

The only one Genma was concerned with was Nabiki. She had acted more
like her little sister than herself when they had returned from
China. She was a towering fury, leveling all the blame at Ranma for
letting Akane die. She had not let up on him at all until they had
moved out. Genma quietly hoped that Nodoka and Kasumi knew what they
were doing.

****

"Are you ready?" Nodoka's voice came from the waiting room.

"Just one moment" replied Tofu Ono, finishing the last of the files he
needed to update. He did not normally like to close down the clinic
in the middle of the week like this, but nothing would keep him from
going out today. Nodoka, on her way to meet with Kasumi, had seen
him shortly after he re-opened the clinic a few weeks ago and had
given him the news. She had also asked that he join the family
today. He was very nervous as he went out to join the three of
them.

He bowed deeply to Ranma, saying "Ranma, I cannot tell you how sorry I
am. If there is anything you need, including just talking, please do
not hesitate to call."

Ranma did not reply, but simply bowed in return. He felt himself
falling into the old traps again. He thought of how much happier
Akane would have been if they had never met, and she had continued
with her school-girl crush on the man in front of him now. Taking a
deep breath, he turned and walked out, continuing to the dojo.

****

Kasumi was satisfied that what could be prepared in advance was done.
What was left would best be done just before they sat down to eat.
Nodoka would be there to help by that point as well, and had in fact
insisted that some things be left until she could help. That should
be any time now. Although, they would not come to the kitchen
first. That would happen later, after they had visited the graves...

This would be odd for Kasumi. She rarely visited the graves in the
company of anyone else. She had occasionally gone with her father, as
he had been essentially incapable of going alone at one time. In the
months following the Akane's funeral, he had to be escorted, either by
herself, or a few times, by Uncle Saotome. But anymore, she usually
went alone.

It was better for her that way. She did not care for anyone seeing
the confusion that overtook her while she was there. She no longer
felt the guilt she once had, over failing her mother. Failing to
watch over her father and sisters, as she had promised all those
years ago. She still felt confused though. Still felt like a young
girl, trying to be strong as she looked at her mother's headstone,
and still felt like a mother at her daughter's grave, unable to be
strong, when she looked at where Akane lay.

It was a good thing Nodoka was coming, Kasumi decided. Nodoka had
played mother to the Tendo household on previous occasions, and may
well be asked to do so again.

****

Soun answered the door himself as Kasumi and Nabiki were still getting
ready. "Welcome all. I have missed you. Dr. Tofu! I did not expect
to see you here, but thank you for coming. Please come in everyone.
My daughters should be down momentarily and we can go."

Soun paused before Ranma and they looked at each other in silence
for a moment. Soun eventually broke the silence with a formal tone.
"Ranma, I find I must apologize to you. I am afraid your father and
I did not handle the engagement very well. Also, there are the
unforgivable things I said after... China." He paused for a moment.
He did not break down, but his voice shook as he continued. "I know
you loved her, and she loved you as well. In those last days, you
did more for her than I or anyone else could have. Instead of
praising your efforts, I cursed you for results no one could have
prevented. While I do not expect you to forgive me, please do me the
honor of joining me in paying respects." Soun finished in a deep
bow.

Everyone waited for the reaction. Even Kasumi and Nabiki had stopped
at the top of the stairs when they listened to what their father was
saying.

Ranma had thought about Mr. Tendo a great deal in the last year. What
would it be like to be a relatively young man and to have already out-
lived your wife and youngest child. He did not know, and had no
desire to find out.

Ranma scratched the back of his head in a familiar gesture and stated
simply, "You don't have to apologize to me. You were real upset, we
all were. I understand why." He did not add 'You didn't say anything
Akane wouldn't have.'

"Ranma." Nabiki had not moved from the top of the stairs, and her
voice was oddly neutral.

Kasumi had no reservations, however. She came quickly down the stairs
and gently embraced Ranma. "It is good to see you again." Having
Ranma leave shortly after the funeral had almost felt to Kasumi as
though two family members had died.

Nabiki came up to Ranma as Kasumi turned to welcome the others.
"Well, you have a lot of nerve coming back here after I told you
what I thought of you a year ago, Saotome."

Ranma had no illusions that this would be pleasant. "Nabiki, I can
only say I am sorry. As I..."

"Don't interrupt me Saotome. I said it took a lot of nerve. It did,
and I am glad to see you had the nerve to do it. It gives me the
chance to apologize also." Nabiki had been thinking too. She had
been very upset with Ranma. Kasumi had been talking to her though.
Eventually, her sister's reason and patient listening wore down her
irrational rage. "I am still upset about Akane, but I also know it
was not your fault. You saved her time and time again from all
sorts of things. Sure some of it was trouble you brought here, but I
also have to remind myself that you were forced to be here yourself.
It's not like you latched onto Akane on some sudden whim or
something. And Daddy is right, by the way, she did love you."

Ranma froze, then took deep breaths, trying to control the emotions.
He had broken down several times in the past year, but mostly in the
first four or five months. The past few weeks, knowing he would see
the Tendos again, had been particularly difficult, but he had managed
to contain himself so far.

Nabiki watched Ranma fight his emotions. She actually wanted to see
him cry over Akane, wanted to know he felt for her as much as Nabiki
did herself. But she also knew what he was doing. He was trying to
be the strong man Akane had deserved, or at least that warped
definition of 'strong' he had learned from his father, which is to
say emotionless. She had to hand it to him, it may not be her ideal,
but he stuck by his principles.

"Well, let's get going." Genma's voice broke the tension.

****

Everyone else had said their peace already, not that Ranma had heard a
single word of it. He was the last to light the incense. As he
kneeled and lightly touched the headstone, his shoulders shook
slightly. Nodoka started towards him, but stopped as he spoke.

"Can I have a moment please?" His voice was calm and steady, almost
cold, but fooled no one in the group.

As they pulled back a few feet, Nodoka and Kasumi exchanged a worried
glance. Both looked to the doctor.

Ranma was still uncomfortable. "Please, I will come back to the dojo
in a bit, but I need some time alone."

"Very well, Ranma." Dr. Tofu was not used to taking the lead in non-
medical situations, but he felt sure as he turned to walk away. After
a moment of indecision, the small group began to follow him out of the
graveyard. Noticing Nabiki hanging back, Kasumi looked at her.

"I won't bother him, sis. I just want to wait here for him, okay?"

Kasumi knew her sister well and could tell when Nabiki was up to
mischief. This was different. And in any case, Nabiki was quite
serious where Akane's memory was involved. "Wait for Ranma to walk
you home then, sis. It will be getting dark soon."

Nabiki found that Ranma had already started talking by the time she
returned. She listened from behind a tree as Ranma choked out
incomprehensible words and phrases between sobs. Only he, and perhaps
Akane, would ever know what he said. Finally he stopped attempting to
speak and simply cried openly. Nabiki let her own tears go again as
she watched for a few moments before she found herself kneeling beside
him pulling him close.

He made no attempt to hold it back anymore, but turned into her
shoulder and released the emotions he had been trying to contain for
the past several months. Conflicting images of Akane came to him.
Short and long hair. In her her gi and her school uniform, shorts
with a tank top and a traditional kimono. Unleashing her anger with
that mallet and trying desperately to please him with the cooking she
would never master. Akane. Somehow she had been both the loudest,
most upsetting tomboy and yet the kindest, friendliest, most
beautiful woman.

Nabiki held Ranma patiently as he broke down. She waited until he was
breathing normally again. Finally he took several deep, cleansing
breaths before he raised his head again.

"Thanks Nabiki." He paused to clear his throat. "I needed that."

"Do you realize that is the first time I have seen you cry? I heard
you a few times after you came back from China, but I never saw it
before."

"You should have visited back then. I cried almost constantly for the
next few months," he admitted quietly. "It has been a while this time
though. So what are you doing here?" He made a weak attempt at a
smile.

She seemed to ignore his question. "Thanks Ranma. I needed to see
that. Now, as it is getting dark, my sister has insisted that you see
me safely home. Shall we?" They both rose and she took his arm
turning towards the walkway without waiting for a response.

In front of them stood Tatewaki Kuno with a dark look on his face.

A moment of silence passed.

Finally Tatewaki began in his usual loud voice "Ranma, you will..."
but never finished the line as Nabiki interrupted him.

"Kuno, now is not the time or the place for this. And leave Ranma
alone. He has more right to be here than you. How many times did he
come when she needed him. Hell, Ranma was almost even able to save
her from your unwelcome attention! Please leave us alone." Nabiki
kept her voice low and cold the entire time. Ranma wanted to respond
to Kuno, but listening to Nabiki defend him seemed to paralyze him.

After a moment of discomfort, Kuno started again in a softer voice.
"As I was saying, Ranma, you will please forgive my interruption. I
had hoped that in coming this late I would not intrude on the family's
visit. I will return another time."

"No, Kuno. There is no need. We were leaving ourselves. Do not let
us distract you." Ranma matched Kuno's formal tone, and saw the shock
in Nabiki's eyes as he finished speaking, but led her away from Kuno
before explaining.

****

"Kuno came to see me about two months after the funeral. We talked.
We aren't friends or nothin', but he says he knows Akane was in love
and it wasn't with him. He even apologized for causing so much
trouble."

Nabiki was shocked to say the least. "Wow.. He's hardly spoken to me
since, I guess I know why now. He must have felt guilty."

Ranma looked somewhat uncomfortable, but did not say anything.

Nabiki, who had not let go of Ranma's arm, felt him stiffen. "What is
it Ranma?" He blinked a few times, but did not answer. "What was
wrong with what I said?" she pressed a bit more firmly this time.

"Actually, he told me he was trying to avoid you because he thought
you baited him into a lot of the trouble he got into," Ranma finally
replied.

Nabiki stopped. Ranma turned to her but was unable to read the
expression on her face. Certain it was trouble anyway, he tried to
head off what he thought was inevitable. "As you said, Nabiki, 'now
is not the time.' Besides, that was months ago, who knows if he
still believes that..." Ranma waited but still got no response. "If
you're really upset, I'll come back next week and take care of him
for you."

Now he could read Nabiki's expression - confusion.

"What? Oh, no. I wasn't angry at him... Okay, maybe I was for a
moment, but really, I was wondering if he was right." She frowned
going back over her activities the previous year. She had caused her
share of trouble, but she was pretty sure he got into more on his own.
At least she hoped so.

They continued walking and could smell wonderful things as they
entered the house.

****

As they waited for dinner, Tofu came over to Ranma. "How are you
doing? Holding up okay?"

With the doc being back in Nerima Ranma was almost sorry that he lived
at his parents' place in Bunkyo Ward now. It was foolish to think
about. Staying here would have driven him nuts, but it would be nice
to talk to Dr. Tofu once in a while.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I did have a bad time at the grave, but I guess I
expected that." Lowering his voice Ranma continued, "I didn't expect
the Tendos to be so nice. I don't think I could be so forgiving if I
was them. Could you?"

Tofu's brow creased for a moment. "While I pray neither of us ever
loses a child and has to find out, you still assume there's something
to be forgiven. From what I had heard, that's not true."

"From your mouth to God's ears doc. Hey, I've been meaning to ask
you, why aren't you freaked around Kasumi anymore?" Ranma tried to
change the subject.

Tofu was not entirely certain how to take Ranma's response, but
decided not to press the issue. "Well, I actually had hoped that my
time away would help calm me. Now I am not sure if that's what
happened, or if it's just the serious occasion."

"Well, whatever the reason, it is very nice to see." Nodoka surprised
them both by taking part in the conversation as she brought out some
bowls. "Kasumi has told me a bit about your trouble in the past,
and I must say I am impressed if her description is to be believed."
Nodoka paused on her way back to the kitchen to add "Hopefully you
will take advantage of your newfound calm."

Ranma did not have much of a sense of humor at the moment, but he did
find it interesting to watch someone else getting pressured about a
relationship.

"Your mother is a very... direct woman, Ranma." Despite his comment,
Tofu did not seem to be thinking about Nodoka much as he looked after
her into the kitchen.

Kasumi walked out at that moment with a tray of food. "Come on
everyone, dinner is served."

****

Sitting at the table was a bit awkward for Ranma, but not as bad as it
might have been. As everyone sat, Genma naturally took his old place
at one end, and luckily Nodoka took Ranma'a old spot next to Genma.
When Tofu sat next to Nodoka in Akane's old spot, Ranma was forced
to a different part of the table. After breathing deeply a moment
or two, and re-centering himself, he quietly took a seat between
Genma and Nabiki. Even still, he could not help but glance at where
Tofu was sitting and hearing voices from the past. He shook his head
trying to concentrate on the conversation around him.

Nodoka and Kasumi were particularly vigilent in trying to keep the
conversation alive and light, with some success. At one point Nodoka
turned to Nabiki.

"Nabiki, I am sure you're tired of the question by now, but have you
finalized your plans for college yet?"

Nabiki had been listening mostly, but responded without hesitation.
"Not entirley, Auntie. I have been accepted to the University of
Tokyo, but they have a shortage of campus housing this year, so it's
all going to students coming from outside the Tokyo area. I'm stuck
looking for an apartment near campus I can afford."

Soun could not resist. "Nabiki, we have had this discussion. I do
not want you living on your own. You can commute."

"Daddy! This is not high school. My classes may be scheduled very
late. By the time I get home, I'll have no time to study."

"Problem solved." Nodoka cut them both off.

Shocked into silence, Soun and Nabiki turned their surprised attention
to her, and Nodoka continued. "Nabiki, I assume you are attending
classes at the main campus in Bunkyo Ward?"

"Yes, Auntie." Nabiki began to understand where this was going.

"We are right off Hongo street, and only a few blocks from the
campus." Nodoka directed herself at Soun. "I have been wondering how
we could eventually repay all your past generosity, Soun. This is
perfect. Nabiki can stay with us rent free while she attends the
University. She is within walking distance, but not alone, and can
even come home on the weekends. Please, both of you, let us repay our
debt."

Nabiki did some quick calculations in her head. This would save even
the money she had originally allocated for cheap student housing.
Unfortunately, her father was already speaking.

"Please, Nodoka. Your offer is too kind. I would feel better with
Nabiki staying with you, but at least allow us to pay you something.
At least to cover her food."

Nodoka almost laughed out loud as she dismissed the suggestion.
"Soun, if she stays with us while getting an advanced degree, she may
eventually eat as much as my husband the glutton emptied from your
cupboards in a single month."

Now she spoke specifically to Nabiki. "Nabiki, would you join us at
our home. I would welcome the civility of female companionship."
Nodoka arched an eyebrow at her husband and son.

Nabiki laughed at Mrs. Saotome's expression, and the sheepish look
Genma gave her in return, but did not answer right away. Nabiki's
only hesitation was Ranma, could she study in the same house with
that walking calamity? Or was it even an issue anymore? Ranma was
fairly quiet on his own. It was mostly the fiancee situation that
made trouble. Ukyo had left shortly after Ranma moved. Shampoo and
company had eventually given up and were now back in China. Even
Kuno did not seem to be an issue. "Auntie, I would be honored."

********

Chapter 2 - Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

"Mom, don't forget I'm gonna be late today. I'm going to Nerima
after school," Ranma called out as he headed for the door.

"Oh, Ranma, wait a moment!" Nodoka poked he head out of the
kitchen. "Thank you for reminding me. I promised Kasumi you would
stop by. She needs you to pick something up for me. Sorry I forgot
to tell you."

Ranma frowned. He had not been to the Tendos' since they all went
to the grave together several weeks back. That had not been as bad
as he was expecting, but seeing them and the dojo still brought back
painful memories. Certainly no worse than going to the grave though,
he could almost laugh at the idea.

"Okay, mom. Anything else?" he asked.

"Just have a good day, dear."

****

Kasumi opened the door to find Ranma standing there.

"Ranma, how long did you live here? You do not need to knock on our
front door."

"Sorry, Kasumi. It has been a while." Ranma was almost sheepish.
"Mother tells me you have something for me to pick up?"

"Don't be in such a hurry. Come in for a moment. Actually, I feel
bad about your going out of your way. It would have been no trouble
to mail it, but your mother insisted that you could pick it up." She
walked into the living room and picked up an envelope from the
table.

"What is it?" Ranma asked. He had expected a package.

"An invitation. Nabiki graduates in a few weeks, and we are having
a dinner for her."

Nabiki walked into the room. "Kasumi... Oh, hi Saotome. Sorry I
didn't mean to interrupt."

"No big deal," Ranma replied. It still felt odd to Ranma to be in a
normal conversation with the Tendos, but it was rather nice. He had
not made many friends at his new school and was rather lonely.

"Anyway Kasumi, I meant to ask you what day you needed me to take
daddy out. I can distract him for dinner, but it may take something
significant to distract him for more than an hour or so."

Ranma turned a confused look to Kasumi, hoping the response might
explain the question.

"Actually, I think I have everything arranged, if you don't mind.
Saturday Auntie Saotome is going to invite you over for dinner and to
look at the neighborhood. Knowing daddy will not like you out alone
at night, she is going to give him an excuse to tag along by inviting
him to keep Uncle busy with some Shogi." Noticing Ranma was still
confused, Kasumi finally explained with a giggle, "Dr. Tofu asked me
out for Saturday night."

Ranma's face cracked with the first true smile he had worn in quite
some time.

"Good for you, Kasumi!"

Kasumi turned back to Nabiki, "Do you mind, sis?"

"Nahhh.. I'll have Auntie show all the places I can go for some
quiet when Ranma and his dad need to spar."

Ranma looked embarrassed, but did not respond.

Kasumi looked from one to the other before asking "Are you busy
right now Nabiki?"

"Depends, sis. What did you need?"

"I have not been able to get out this week. I thought you might go
with Ranma and attend to mother's grave."

Nabiki was prepared to make an excuse about homework, but never got
the chance.

"I can do that Kasumi," Ranma interjected. "I haven't even stopped
for by for flowers yet. It's no trouble. I usually clean up both
graves anyway," he finished quietly.

Both of the Tendo women were very quiet as they watched the young
man for a long moment.

Finally Kasumi broke the silence. "That's very kind of you, Ranma.
I really appreciate that, and I am sure both Akane and mother do as
well. One of us should also though. Nabiki, do you mind?"

Nabiki's excuses had died on her lips. Looking at Ranma she felt
shame, a rare thing for her. For her, tending mother's grave had
become routine, almost like yardwork. Tending Akane's grave had
fallen into the same category after several months. Looking at Ranma
now, she remembered the significance. Kasumi's tendency to talk
about the dead in the present tense just added to her guilt.

"No, I don't mind, sis. Let me get changed."

****

Ranma was bringing water back from the well when he asked "Did your
mother have a preference about flowers? I don't know which set to
give her and which to give Akane."

Nabiki looked up from plucking a stray weed. "Not really." She had
changed from her usual shorts to a nice dress, but seemed quite
comfortable kneeling in the grass as she worked.

She watched Ranma tend each of the graves, silently mouthing words
to each headstone.

"You seem to be dealing better than you did last time," she finally
said as they were getting ready to leave.

Ranma looked at Akane's headstone for another moment before
answering.

"Last time was the worst I've been in a long time. Seeing you guys
again was prolly part of it too. Usually, I just come and talk,
apologize. Maybe tell her what I been up to. That sort of thing."
Ranma's eyes seemed to water, but his voice remained steady.

"Ranma, can I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"What do you think would have happened if Akane had lived?"

Ranma was quiet for a long time. Nabiki began to wonder if he had
heard her.

"I don't know. I like to think things would have changed. If not
between us, then around us. Our dads letting up, something like
that. Something to take off the pressure. I wonder a lot about what
would have happened if I told her how I felt. But I don't know."

Nabiki took Ranma's arm and turned him away from the graves, much
like last time. She decided to lighten things up a bit.

"So how do you like the new school?" she started as they walked
back.

"Ahh.. It's okay. I've been able to keep the curse a better secret
this time. I'm doing better in school this year. I got a deal with
the janitor, he lets me work out in the gym before school. You
looking forward to graduation?"

"Yeah, actually. It's time to try something new. You thinking
about college yet?" Nabiki did not think Ranma had much of a chance
at college really, but if he was doing that much better, who knew?

Ranma's face was surprised at the suggestion. "Me? Nahhh.. Not
sure what I'll do after school yet. I was thinking about another
training trip. Just me this time."

"Do you really like the road that much?"

"I don't mind it. Mostly though, it's what I know. I don't really
think I'm cut out for college anyway."

Nabiki frowned. As much as she agreed, from him it sounded more
like a resignation than an assessment. "What are you going to do for
money? I assume you're not going to steal like your father used to."

"No way!" He was indignant, but became quiet again. "I'll probably
start fighting in tournaments. Maybe some street fighting."

"Ranma," she knew she had to word this carefully. "Is that all you
want to do? Just fight?"

"No, but like you said, I gotta eat, and I ain't stealing. I do
wanna keep doing martial arts. What should I do, hire myself out as
a leg-breaker?"

There was sarcasm there, but he seemed to be mocking himself. "How
about teaching? You never seemed to mind the idea of taking over the
dojo. I thought you just minded someone else deciding for you."

Ranma nodded his agreement. "I thought about that actually.
Problem with that is I don't even have a place to practice myself.
Like I said, I have to practice at the school gym. No one wants to
hire someone this young with no experience teaching and I don't have
any place I could do it on my own."

Nabiki said the obvious, "What about starting at daddy's dojo? You
could hold some classes this summer. You are still well-known around
here, so getting students shouldn't be a problem. It might even
kick-start daddy too. Then after you graduate, you'll have some
references you can offer if you want to apply to teach at a dojo
closer to home. You can even sock some money away in case you
decide to attend college. Some education classes would go a long way
if you really want to teach."

"Hmmm.. Not a bad idea, but like you said, it is a long commute..."

Nabiki was getting excited. "But you wouldn't have to do it
everyday. Schedule classes three days a week and you're only
commuting half-time. If you got enough people excited about it to
hold classes on the other days, we really could get daddy going on
teaching again."

Ranma knew what the excitement meant. "How much would the use of
the dojo cost me?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, but also a small
smile.

"That's just it, nothing out-of-pocket. We'll take a portion of the
tuition, say forty percent?"

"Umm.. Say twenty?" Ranma did not even know what he would charge
for tuition, but he figured if he could get some concession out of
Nabiki, he was doing well.

Nabiki thought 'Great, I was hoping for fifteen!' but said "Okay,
but at that rate, you have to encourage people to buy their gi and
other equipment through me. Deal?"

This was definitely moving too fast for Ranma. "Whoa.. Hang on a
sec. I don't even know if my parents will let me come over that
often. Or if your father will allow me to use the dojo. Hell, I
don't know if I can get enough students to cover the cost of the
commute!"

"What kind of amateur do you think I am? You think I can't get a
bunch of people to sign up for classes with 'Nerima's own Grand
Master of Martial Arts, The Great Ranma Saotome!' How many times
have you seen me operate?"

Ranma was laughing now. "Too many times, but I wasn't usually on
your side," he finally said with a smile. "I'll think about it,
okay?"

"Okay.. For now."

****

"I'm home," Nabiki called from the entry-way.

"Oh, Nabiki! Is Ranma still with you?" Kasumi called out from the
kitchen.

"He just dropped me at the gate, sis. I might still be able to
catch him, did you need him?"

"Oh, yes. Please try!"

Nabiki quickly slipped her shoe back on and ran to the gate.
"RANMA!" she screamed just as he was about to turn the corner.

Ranma immediately assumed something was wrong. Running at full
speed, he stopped suddenly in front of Nabiki asking "What is it?
What's wrong?"

Nabiki blinked a few times. "Wow, I hadn't seen anyone move like
that in a long time. I don't know what's up, but Kasumi wanted
you."

"Don't do that!" Ranma exhaled, relaxing a bit.

Nabiki was giggling as Kasumi came to the door. "Please join us for
dinner Ranma. Your mom called to say she and Uncle had to step out
for a bit, so I promised to make sure you ate properly."

Kasumi's smile melted any resistance Ranma might have attempted.
Instead he settled for "Thanks Kasumi."

****

Kasumi took a place between Ranma and Akane's old spots as she began
serving dinner. Ranma quietly took Genma's usual spot.

Kasumi plied their guest with questions about school and the new
neighborhood. Nabiki even participated casually.

Ranma was enjoying the conversation, but noticed that Soun hardly
spoke and seemed to have something on his mind. Ranma hoped his
presence was not making things hard on the head of the household.

Finally, Soun seemed to gather himself as everyone was finishing
their meal. "Ranma, I would like to discuss something with you."
Nabiki and Kasumi seemed about to excuse themselves, but Soun
motioned for them to stay, "No, this involves you as well.

"I would like to know if you have thought anymore about the dojo."

Ranma looked at Nabiki but she just shook her head. Her eyes showed
surprise.

Kasumi responded first. "Father, if you are looking to engage -"

"No," Soun quickly interrupted her. "I meant what I said. None of
us wants a repeat of what happened last time." He took a deep breath
before continuing. "When I said that this involves you both, I only
meant that the dojo is part of the family property, and you should
have some say in what becomes of it. I would like to see it used to
carry on the family traditions, however, and there is no one left in
the family to do that. Ranma, I was hoping you might be willing to
try out teaching, perhaps on a part-time basis, and if you decide you
like it, you would eventually take over as Sensei."

Ranma was speechless. Discussing a part-time job with Nabiki was
one thing, but Ranma realized this was much bigger. Soun was
essentially giving up on his dreams, or at least asking Ranma to
shoulder those dreams until a Tendo came along to reclaim them. He
knew he could not commit to that just yet, but he could at least be
honest about what he was thinking.

"Mr. Tendo, I am honored you would consider me. It is kinda funny
you mention it, Nabiki and I were talking this afternoon wondering if
you would let me use the dojo over the summer to try my hand at
teachin'. I still need to talk to my folks about it, but I would
like to do that much at least."

Soun looked at Kasumi, then at Nabiki. "As I said, this dojo will
eventually be in your hands. Do you agree this is the best choice?"

Kasumi spoke for both of them, "Daddy, how can you even ask? Ranma,
it will be good to have you here on a regular basis again."

Soun wanted to hear from everyone however. "Nabiki?"

Nabiki looked at Ranma, grinning. "Sounds like a very profitable
arrangement. But daddy, I want to ask you one other thing first.
What are the normal requirements for a sensei these days? Someone
just starting out."

"Well, someone off the street? You would usually look for a degree
in Physical Education or General Education with classes in both
teaching and maybe business. He would have to do some record keeping
as well as teaching. That is of course above and beyond whatever
requirements you have for achievement in the art itself."

Ranma could see this coming from a mile away.

Nabiki's grin became even wider. "Well daddy, Ranma has obviously
proven his abilities in the art, but if he is being considered for
the position, and that is what the students will be looking for in a
sensei, shouldn't we encourage Ranma to take at least some college
classes?"

"I had not thought of that, but it is true Ranma. Have you
considered taking some classes?"

"As I said, Mr. Tendo, funny you should mention it..."

****

"Nabiki, Soun! Please come in," Nodoka invited.

"Thank you for inviting us, Nodoka." Soun replied as he entered.
Then more quietly as Nabiki stepped away "And thank you for finding a
reason for me to come."

"Of course. Come in, make yourselves comfortable."

Within moments, Genma had pulled Soun to one side to talk about
Ranma teaching at the dojo. If Ranma had had any concerns about his
parents allowing him to commute several times a week to teach, they
were banished as he saw his dad's eyes light up when he first
mentioned it a few days earlier. Even his mother seemed happy about
the idea.

Nabiki was taking in the comfortable suroundings of the house which
would be her home away from home as she removed her coat. The house
was more modern with its plaster and steel than the one she had
grown up in, but Nodoka was a traditional woman and her touch showed
in the decor. Overall, Nabiki decided she could be quite comfortable
here. Her thoughts were interrupted as Nodoka motioned her to one
side.

Ranma watched as the four people casually split into two groups. He
drifted over to his mother and Nabiki to eavesdrop a little.

"So..? Did everything go okay?" the older woman prompted.

"As far as I know, everything was under control when we left. She
just wanted daddy out of the house so he would not be all teary-eyed
as she tried to get ready."

"I'll have to call her in the morning. This is so exciting, I hope
it goes well. Now, sit down and relax while I finish getting dinner
ready."

As Ranma drifted away, Nabiki caught up with him and asked
"Satisfied Ranma? Or did you have some questions that were not
answered?"

Ranma chuckled to himself. "No, I think you covered everything." A
little embarrassed, he decided to change the subject. "You all set
for graduation? When are finals?"

Nabiki actually looked somewhat uncomfortable, and began walking
into the back yard as Ranma followed. "Finals I'm not worried about.
Those are this week, but it's just a formality. I look to lose some
money on the dance pool though."

"Dance pool?"

"Yeah. I'm running a pool for the graduation dance. Unfortunately,
I let some of my associates," she almost spit the word "set up the
paperwork, and they goofed."

"What happened? Not charging enough for the bets?" Ranma knew
Nabiki was usually rather meticulous about her betting. This was
very unusual.

"Nahhh, all they had to do what draw up a table with all the
possible girls on the left and all the guys along the top. People
then pay 200 yen and up to bet on who someone will go to the dance
with. Or.. there's a spot to bet on someone not going, or going
alone. Payout depends on what couple you're betting on. That simple
and they screwed up!"

It did sound rather simple to Ranma. "So what did they screw up?"

"They included everyone!" She gave him a look that seemed to say
'Isn't it obvious?' before turning away from him.

Unfortunately, it was not. "And.. they shouldn't have?"

"They included me! Damn near everyone bet on Not Going or Going
Alone! They knew I wasn't planning on going, and they forgot to take
me off the list!" she snarled.

"So why not ask Kuno or someone and rake in the dough?" Now that
seemed pretty simple to Ranma.

"I can't. Like you told me, Kuno is avoiding me. Nearly everyone
else has already bet against me. There is.. no.. one.. else." She
slowly turned back to Ranma.

Ranma knew that look well, and he suspected posing in a bikini would
be better that what she had in mind.

"Would you, Ranma?" Nabiki's voice was tentative. Ranma was
actually a pretty decent guy, even if she had not known it until
recently, and looks-wise, going with Ranma would be a real coup. But
she also realized this would be very awkward, and not because he was
younger. "I'll even pay. The bets you win for me just by showing up
should cover it anyway."

"I don't know Nabiki. It feels weird, ya know?" Ranma looked at
his feet for a moment. "You might not even like it. Someone is
bound to say somethin' stupid. I wouldn't be able let them get away
with it. If they talked about how we were keeping her memory, or
even just mentioned Akane..."

"Ranma, if you are going to be in Nerima, maybe even teaching some
of these people, you are going to hear some things. Now let me ask
you, you are still the most confident person I know. Seriously and
objectively, is there anything else you could have done? Could
ANYONE else have done something more?"

Ranma thought about that, though he already knew the answer. He had
gone over it strategically every way he knew. Not only could he have
not done it better, by all rights, he should have lost. Soun and
Genma had come to the same conclusions.

"No," he admitted quietly.

"Then be proud of what you did and what you've done. Akane would be
proud of what you did for her, for Plum and everyone else who has
asked you for something. Daddy still brags about some of the stuff
you did, and how well you represent the school. As for keeping her
memory, I've watched you, and Akane herself could not ask for more."
Nabiki paused to wipe a tear. "Now if you just don't want to go with
me that is one thing, but not going because of what someone might
say? Screw them!" She smiled.

Ranma had to chuckle, though he noticed his own cheeks were wet.
Before he could respond though, Nodoka called from the back door.

"Come on in, you two. Dinner is on the table."

"Coming mom," Ranma called before leading Nabiki back inside.

****

Kasumi was having a great time. It was not actually their first
time out together. In fact, the good doctor had casually taken her
out for tea twice in the weeks following their trip to the grave
site. This was just the first time he had formally asked her out for
the evening. An evening of dressing up, dining out and enjoying
pleasant conversation. He had even managed to control the incredible
nervous condition that had once afflicted him. Kasumi fairly
glowed.

Tofu was just amazed that Kasumi had not only enjoyed herself at
tea, but had seemed to welcome his invitation to dinner. Their
conversation was very comfortable, and they lingered at the table
until the restaurant seemed to be preparing to close.

****

Nabiki prided herself on her ability to read people. She could tell
Nodoka wanted to say something, but the older woman was keeping quiet
about whatever it was.

When they had finished dinner, Nodoka had shown her around the
house, leaving her in the room that would eventually be hers while
Nodoka went out to clean up a few things before they explored the
neighborhood.

The room itself was very warm, and obviously used frequently. There
was no furniture in it at the moment, just some boxes in a corner of
the room containing some sewing supplies and several books. Nabiki
felt a pang of guilt at that. She had known that the Saotome home
would not be very large, but when Nodoka had made the offer, it had
never occured to her that she might be forcing them to clear space
they used to make room for her.

Nodoka had wiped that guilt away as she walked back in and began
talk about how much she looked forward to having Nabiki around.
Nabiki was not sure if it was completely honest, or a conscious
effort to make her feel welcome, but it felt good either way.

As they donned their coats to take a stroll around the neighborhood,
Nodoka had gotten that look. Something was on her mind. Nabiki
expected her to wait until they were out of the house to say
something when they were alone. Instead, as they were about to
leave, she called to Ranma and asked him to join them.

Ranma had been watching yet another game of shogi, but looked rather
bored. He had never cared for watching the two men get drunk, and
found his tolerance had dropped in the past year. He perked up at
his mother's invitation and hurried to join them.

As the three of them wandered through the neighborhood, Nodoka
pointed out various homes of friends, a few shops of note, and the
two easiest ways to get to the campus, depending on what side of
campus you needed. The area was very peaceful, despite the heavy
traffic and noise on the streets closer to the campus.

Returning to the house, Nabiki realized that whatever was causing
that odd smirk on Nodoka's face would have to wait until some other
time. She had several 'associates' meeting at the dojo early in the
morning to try and untangle the mess they had made of the dance pool.
It was already late, and they would miss the last train if they did
not leave soon.

As she thanked Nodoka for the tour, and in quieter tones for
arranging a quiet evening for Kasumi, Ranma went to see if her father
was ready to leave. Ranma returned with a frown.

"Nabiki, they're both out cold," Ranma apologized.

"Surely not," Nodoka objected as she walked purposefully into the
living room. There, snoring loudly, were one middle-aged man, with a
pail at his side, and one large panda. Each resisted all attempts to
wake him. Laying neatly between them were several empty bottles of
sake.

Nodoka apologized to Nabiki, "I guess this was not the best plan,
leaving them like this. Let's just cover them here. Then I suggest
you find something comfortable, dear, you can share my room
tonight."

"I'm afraid that would be rude of me. I have some people meeting me
at home first thing in the morning," she creased her brow. "I can
just go home on my own."

"Nonsense, I cannot let you do that." For some reason, that smirk
seemed to have returned.

Nabiki, though, felt she had to make a stand if she was ever going
to have any independence. "Now don't you start. As I tried to tell
daddy, I am just fine by myself."

Nodoka soothed her. "I believe that is true, dear, but how good
will he feel about letting you stay here if the first thing I do is
put you on an empty train, alone, in the dead of night? Remember, he
gave in because he felt you were safe here."

"True, but I really should go home."

"So you said. Ranma, put your coat on and escort Nabiki home."

Ranma looked surprised to be included in the conversation again. "I
won't be able to get a train back until morning." His raised
eyebrows made it a question.

His mother took it in stride. "I know dear. Call and let me know
you arrived safely."

****

Nabiki had fallen asleep with the gentle motion of the train. Ranma
could not relax that much. He could not help thinking about the
conversation he had had with his mother after dinner.

He had explained part of the talk he had had with Nabiki outside,
and that he wanted to use some of the money he had saved to rent a
tuxedo for the dance.

"Ranma, was Nabiki angry when she mentioned that everyone knew she
was not going to the dance?" she had asked him.

"Sure seemed that way. She seemed like she was angry about having
to explain it to me, too. Guess she thought I should know, but I
don't know how."

"Maybe she was upset or embarrassed about not having someone to go
with," she had explained patiently. "You think that's possible?"

"I never thought about it, but I guess so."

Ranma looked at Nabiki's dozing form. He knew she never had a lot
of friends. She had her associates, who she held at arms length for
professional reasons. She had her clients, including most of the
school, who held her at arms length out of fear. Finally she had her
family, which was basically just Kasumi now. Her dad was not someone
you really talked to about things. She only had Kasumi to talk to,
and now Kasumi was... developing other interests. 'Nabiki and I
talk, though,' Ranma thought. 'At least we do now.'

"Would you, Ranma?" Nabiki had asked when they were in the backyard.
That was unusual for her. No blackmail. It was not a deal. She
did not call in a favor or forgive a debt. She just asked.

His mother had suggested he do more than just go. She had suggested
he actually do something to help Nabiki feel better about herself.
He was not sure he could do it, but he did want to help Nabiki.

Getting to know Kasumi and Nabiki again had been really good. Here
were people who knew him. He did not have to explain himself or why
he felt certain ways. He did not have to keep his curse and other
stuff secret. They knew it all, and they still accepted him. Nabiki
was someone he found he could talk to, and she had opened up to him
as well.

"Don't just GO with her to the dance," Nodoka had urged. "ASK her
to the dance." He would try what his mother had suggested. As they
pulled into Nerima, he hoped he would have the courage.

****

As Tofu escorted Kasumi to her door, he wondered if it would be too
forward of him to request a goodnight kiss. The evening had gone so
well, he hated to ruin it with an awkward ending. On the other hand,
if she was not offended, it would be a crowning moment.

Debating the issue with himself, he nearly missed her asking "Would
you care to join me for a cup of tea?"

"Thank you! I would like that." Better than a kiss, she would
actually spend more time with him. It was already very late, but
neither of them was very conscious of the time.

"Please have a seat at the table. I will heat some water and be
there in just a moment." Kasumi intoned formally before
disappearing into the kitchen.

Tofu took his place at the table, and noticed the various items
already carefully arrayed before him. It took him several moments to
recognize the arrangement.

Finally Kasumi entered silently, and began the careful, measured
movements of a formal tea ceremony.

****

The walk back to the dojo was fairly quiet. They were nearly
halfway there before Nabiki broke the silence.

"Ranma, about our conversation earlier..." she started, but got no
further.

"Nabiki, sorry to interrupt, but can I ask you a question first?"
Ranma was walking next to her, and looking everywhere but at her.

"Sure. Something wrong?" Nabiki could see how nervous Ranma was,
and knew he hated to hurt girls. She was pretty sure she knew where
this was going.

"If.. well. Hmmmm. Let me start again."

Nabiki was too tired, and disappointed, to play games. "Look Ranma,
I'm not blackmailing you. If you don't wanna..."

"No, Nabiki. Let me finish, please." Ranma realized he was just
making Nabiki feel even worse. Taking a deep breath, he decided to
just get it out.

Stopping and turning to her he asked "If you're still available,"
'where did that come from?' he thought, "could I take you to the
graduation dance?"

Ranma enjoyed watching Nabiki at a loss for words. First her eyes
went wide, then her mouth dropped. It took her several tries to
respond.

"Ranma.. I.. Yes. Thank you." For a whole moment, Nabiki was
defenseless, her happiness plain in her eyes. Then Nabiki
rememebered Nodoka's odd smirk earlier, and her eyes narrowed. "Did
your mother put you up to this?"

Now this was the Nabiki Ranma remembered. She usually could see
right though him. "Well, she suggested I ask you, but only after I
told her I wanted to go with you."

Nabiki made a mental note to thank Auntie, then asked "Why did you
tell her before you told me?"

"Err, because.. Because I.. wanted to ask her to pull some of my
money out of the bank to pay for a tux."

'He still has that nervous stammer, kinda cute,' she thought. Then
she said "Why? I told you I'd pay."

Now Ranma looked at his feet as he turned and began walking again.
"Yeah, but you shouldn't have to."

"Thanks Saotome. And thanks for asking.." Now she wore a smirk of
her own. "And.. I'd be honored to go with you."

****

The house was silent, but a dim light came from the living room as
they entered. Ranma would normally have called out to Kasumi upon
entering, but he figured she must have gone to bed leaving a light on
for Nabiki and Soun. He did not notice the light flicker.

As he was removing his shoes, Nabiki nudged him and put her finger
to her lips. Seeing the confused look on Ranma's face, she pointed
to something he had not noticed. The doctor's shoes were still
here.

Ranma blinked and looked at Nabiki, who could only shrug in
response. He motioned for her to stay still and then crept up the
hall to peek into the living room. He crept quietly back down the
hall and out the front door. Nabiki took the hint and followed,
closing the door behind them.

"Looks like they had a tea ceremony," Ranma whispered.

"And..?" his companion prompted.

"And what?"

"And what are they doing now?"

"Ahh, they're on the couch." He finally said, lamely.

"What are they doing on the couch?" she prompted again.

"Huh? Oh, nothing like that. Just holding each other."

"Ohh. Well, what do we do now? We can't climb the stairs without
them hearing us." The stairs were notorious for squeaking. Every
technique Ranma knew for moving silently had failed on those stairs
at one time or another.

Ranma was still for a long moment and finally asked "Is your bedroom
window locked?"

Nabiki looked incredulous for a moment, then responded "I don't
think so."

"Don't scream or nothing," was the only warning she had before Ranma
lifted her off her feet, stepped out from under the porch roof, and
leapt up to the roof of the house, landing silently. He quickly
carried her to her window, openned it, and slipped in. Luckily her
only instinct was not to scream, but to gasp.

Once she was placed gently back on her feet, Nabiki moved to close
the window. She remained at the window a long moment, staring out at
the night sky, gathering her thoughts. Being carried, no, held by
Ranma had been very comfortable, perhaps too comfortable.

Ranma realized things had gotten rather serious and decided to try
and lighten the mood. "No matter how hard you think about it, no
one is going to buy pictures of Kasumi and the doc. Well, maybe
the two people downstaris," he said with a smile.

It worked, for once. Nabiki favored him with a sideways glance and
a lopsided grin, saying "That is not what I was thinking."

"What were you thinking then?"

She considered telling him. Maybe saying 'I was thinking about how
good it felt being in your arms.' Eventually she realized she did
not know what to make of those thoughts herself, and was a little
afraid of how Ranma might respond.

She finally settled for "Don't you have to call your mother or
something?"

"Oh, yeah. But how am-"

Nabiki pulled a phone from under her bed. "I had an extension
installed a while back. I don't like discussing business in front
of daddy," she explained.

"Ranma quietly called home, letting his mom know they were safe, but
putting off several other questions until morning.

Ranma put the phone down and moved to the door. "You think the
futons and the blankets still in the spare room?" he wondered out
loud, then opened the door.

Nabiki elected to have some fun with him. She should still be able
to shock him pretty easily and she still owed him for a few surprises
tonight. She moved silently up against him, her breath hot on his
ear and neck, and whispered "If not, come back here and I can keep
you warm."

Ranma's eyes went wide and he barely kept his stammering to a low
tone. "Nabiki! I.. I.. I couldn't.."

"Funny thing to say after you sneak into a girl's bedroom," she
grinned and gently shoved him out the door, closing it behind him.

********

Chapter 3 - Some Enchanted Evening

Kasumi was very proud as she met Nabiki's eyes in the mirror. She
had not gone to her own graduation dance, but today she was able to
participate. It would be a little strange, but she was still
excited. Nodoka had had a fun idea.

****

Traditionally at Furinken High School, a couple going to the
graduation dance would first go out to dinner, often at some fancy
restaurant, with one or more other couples, their closest friends.
This was not possible for Ranma and Nabiki. Neither had any friends
at Furinken. Ranma did at one time, but they would not even be going
to the dance. Nabiki would have considered Kuno a friend at one
time, but she had alienated him. Nodoka had known all of this when
Kasumi made a simple off-hand remark.

"I'm sure they will have fun at the dance, Auntie. Almost makes me
wish I had not missed out on my own."

"Oh, did you not go to your graduation dance, Kasumi?" If Kasumi
had been listening more closely, she might have heard the gears in
Nodoka's mind turning at a furious rate.

"Oh no, I was... too busy at the time." And Nodoka's thought were
off to the races.

She had called Tofu, knowing he and Kasumi had come to some sort of
an agreement but had kept it to themselves for now. She had urged
him to ask Kasumi out again. However, this time she would arrange
the details. The Saotomes would come over in the afternoon, after
Ranma got out of school for the weekend. Nodoka would fix dinner for
the fathers and herself, and should still have time to help Ranma get
ready. Nabiki and Kasumi would help each other. Tofu would come
over and the two young couples would go out to dinner together.
Afterwards, they would all go dancing, Tofu and Kasumi at a lovely
dance hall nearby, and Ranma and Nabiki at the hotel hosting the
Furinken High Graduation Dance.

Nodoka knew that her presence would allow Kasumi to assume the role
of Nabiki's sister, not her mother. Nodoka had known Kimiko, Soun's
wife, only slightly, but felt bad for the burden the eldest daughter
had been forced to assume on her mother's death. Now she was doing
everything she could to help Kasumi enjoy some brief moments of
adolesence before she started her own family.

****

I checked my makeup one last time in the mirror, and was surprised
at the smile I found staring back at me. While it was my idea, and
while I think Ranma was just being kind by saying yes, and even
asking me actually, it would still be "weird," as he put it, to go
out with him. Having Kasumi and Tofu with us should get things off
to an easier start.

Come to think of it, that should be wierd in itself - double-dating
with Kasumi. Ask me just over a year ago, and I would have been sure
if I was going on a double-date with my sister it would be with Akane
and Kasumi would help us get ready and see us off, just like our
mother. Instead, I am going with Kasumi and Auntie is seeing us off.
That was the nice thing about Auntie, though. When she was around,
Kasumi was my sister again. My older sister, certainly. She still
had more responsibilities around the house, but it made a big
difference.

I knew tonight wouldn't be perfect. Hell, Ranma even warned me,
tried to talk me out of the whole thing. But this was important. It
was kinda dumb, going through all this to prove I could get a date.
And going with Ranma, it was almost as pathetic as going with a
cousin. Worse even, since some people would jump to conclusions, and
others would just gossip for the hell of it. As Ranma had predicted,
someone was bound to say something stupid, and he would probably get
in a fight. Come to think of it, this could be a disaster in the
making.

As bad as it might be there was one thing I was looking forward to
with anticipation - when we walk into that dance, arm-in-arm. The
nice thing about Ranma is his loyalty. He may only be asking me to
be nice, but he would be there when I needed him, and I would not
have to face those people all alone. And the smile in the mirror
didn't seem big enough.

****

Ranma was fidgeting nervously. He was sure now that he had gotten
ready far too early. When he metioned this to his pop and Uncle
Tendo, they had simply laughed. Eventually one of them mumbled
something about women keeping you waiting no matter when you got
ready. His mother pointed out that the anticipation should guarantee
he appreciates their efforts when he finally did see them.

So here he sat, trying not to mess up his tux as he waited. Tofu
sat next to him looking very ready for the evening in his western-
style suit of midnight blue. As good as the suit looked however, the
doctor looked every bit as nervous as Ranma.

Finally, Nodoka entered the room, annoucing the two ladies, and
stepped aside. Ranma would never know if it was the anticipation,
but they both looked VERY nice.

Kasumi wore a chinese-style, blue silk dress with a delicate black
design. The straight, form-fitting dress was a good accent for her
slim form, and even had a slit on one side. The outfit was unusally
racy for Kasumi, and Ranma was pretty sure his mom had done some
fast talking to get Kasumi to choose that particular dress.

As amazing as Kasumi was, Ranma was truely shocked as Nabiki came
into view. She was nothing short of stunning. Her hair was teased
to add just a bit of volume. Her makeup accentuated a pair of
gorgeous, deep brown eyes. The dress. The red satin dress. It was
an off-the-shoulders design that showed an enticing amount of
clevage, but seemed to leave you wondering at how much you had
actually seen. It pinched in on her tiny waist before flaring out
and ending just above her knees. The matching high heels showed her
legs off to advantage.

Ranma did not know where to look, but everywhere he looked brought
one word to mind. "Beautiful." He did not realize that he had said
it aloud, but could not miss the bright smile that responded.

Tofu was having trouble verbalizing his own thoughts, but luckily
his eyes told Kasumi everything she needed to hear. Kasumi had no
idea how the rest of the evening would go, but she had already
forgotten any regrets she had about not going to her own graduation
dance.

On his wife's instructions, Genma ran interference with Soun,
keeping the man from destroying the work his daughters had done in
front of the miror. Eventually, the children had been properly doted
upon, the pictures had been taken, and four people left for a night
on the town.

The three parents sat down to a quiet meal, a bit anitclimactic
after the excitement earlier in the evening.

****

The conversation had gone well, even Tofu was relaxed enough to
joke. Ranma had been able to refrain from any major mistakes at
dinner by watching Nabiki and the doc. Now, the girls were enjoying
some desert and gossiping about who would be at the dance with whom,
and Ranma found himself watching Nabiki again.

She really was beautiful. It was difficult to admit he found
someone attractive again, much less Akane's own sister, but there it
was, impossible to deny.

Presently, Nabiki realized she was being watched and returned his
look. To her surprise, he did not get embarrassed at being caught.
He simply looked her in ther eye for a moment before speaking.

"Having a good time?"

She smiled. "Yes, actually. Thanks for... asking me out." She
knew the invitation had been his mother's idea, but also knew that
asking her had not come naturally to him and she appeciated the
effort. That reminded her.

"About that, I've been meaning to ask you something. You told me
you didn't have any money for college, but you talked to your mom to
get some of YOUR money out of the bank."

"Well, yeah. I don't have enough for college, but I had been
waiting tables up until recently and for SOME reason I've
been able to save more money this year than I was able to last year."
He faked some anger in his voice, but was unable to keep the smile
out of his eyes. Nabiki had done a lot to him in the year he had
lived at the Tendos', but large amounts of water had already gone
under that bridge.

"I can imagine. You always made good tips, at least from the
guys.." she teased. "What happened to the job?"

"It wasn't as good as it used to be. I was workin' as a guy. Like
I told ya, I've been trying to keep the curse a secret. Anyways, the
place got bought by a new owner and they closed it to remodel. I was
hoping to get hired back for the break, but that was before you had
the idea about teaching at the dojo."

They continued talking about nothing really until it was time to
leave for the dance.

****

Nabiki was a little worried when she heard someone call out "Ranma!"
and felt Ranma tense up just as the entered the hallway leading to
the ballroom. She relaxed as she thought about their talk. He had
promised her and Nodoka that he would be on his best behavior, and
any fights would be self-defense or in defense of Nabiki. She had
actually been touched a bit when he insisted on that last part.
Ranma was a man of his word, but she tightened her arm a bit where it
looped through his. Then they saw who had called to him.

"Sayuri, what are you doing here?" Nabiki had nothing against the
girl, in fact she had been a good friend to Akane, but she was a year
younger, and was not dressed for the occasion.

"Oh, I'm just doing the registration and helping with the
refreshments. Yuka is actually here on a date, though!" She looked
the two over, "You both look very nice. And it is nice to see you
again Ranma."

Ranma had noticeably relaxed during the exchange. "It's good to see
you, too." He wanted to say more, but could not think of anything
else.

"Anyway, I just wanted to say 'hi.' I gotta get back to work.
Enjoy yourselves! See you in a few weeks."

"What did she mean by that," Ranma wondered aloud as he watched the
girl walk away.

"She's signed up for one of your beginner classes," Nabiki replied
smugly.

As they walked through the ballroom, both noticed conversations
stopping as they passed. Ranma was a bit annoyed at the attention,
but steady as he escorted her to a table before fetching them some
drinks.

Nabiki was enjoying the attention. Not from the crowd, but from
Ranma. He was like something out of one of the romantic mangas she
read. He was extremely protective of her, whether she needed it or
not. He was pleasant, even fun at dinner, joking with Kasumi and
Tofu. His mother's influence had definitely improved his
conversational skills, not to mention his table manners. He had
taken her hand to lead her through the crowd and she felt a shock at
his touch. And then there was his physique. Very strong and very
handsome. As her sister would say 'Oh my!'

It took her a moment to register her associate sitting next to her.
"Hey boss. You gotta know lots of people are saying this is a setup.
They want to go double or nothing that you won't dance together.
People are wondering if you blackmailed him or paid him to get him
here and get you out of the other bets. If you did pay him, we
thought we should know if it was a flat-rate, or a portion of the
winnings that we need to account for in the books."

Nabiki was silent and could only stare at the girl. Her mouth
openned, but nothing came out. Nabiki knew why Ranma had asked her
to the dance, but for a brief moment, she had been able to just think
of this as a very nice date. Finally she blinked as the eye contact
was broken by Ranma reaching between them.

Ranma had not heard everything, but what little he had heard was
enough to make him hate this girl he had never even spoken to. He
reached purposely between the two girls to place Nabiki's drink in
front of her. He then turned to Nabiki's associate with an icy stare
and in a matching voice said "I'm sorry, I don't know you, but would
you please excuse us?"

He turned back to Nabiki with a smile, and taking a deep breath
asked "Ah, Nabiki, I know you just got your drink, but do you wanna
dance?"

Nabiki was flabbergasted. Not only had Ranma managed to stop her
slide into depression, he had actually been able to lift her spirits,
and her thoughts, back to where they were before.

"Thank you, Ranma. I'd love to."

Ranma's mother had pointed out to him that whatever his reasons for
going with Nabiki, he could not make a mockery of such an important
event for her. He had to make the experience as positive as possible
for her, and that included dancing. Luckily, with his athletic
grace, it had not taken her long to teach him enough steps to keep
him from being embarrassed.

Ranma had been too preoccupied by the scene at the table to notice,
but the song he had asked Nabiki to dance to was a slow one.

Nabiki knew they were being watched, but left that thought behind as
she settled comfortablely into Ranma's arms. He might be a macho,
single-minded, over-protective jerk, but right now he was exactly
what she needed.

Ranma watched the crowd around them for a while, and had to stare
down a few people, but eventually relaxed into Nabiki's embrace.
This was nice. He could smell her, the shampoo in her hair, the
perfume on her neck. He could feel her snuggle a bit closer. This
was very nice. Several songs passed in the beat of a heart.

"Ranma," came a young voice they both recognized. They turned to
find Ms. Hinako, in her young girl form, smiling at them.

"Miss Hinako! How are you?" Ranma quickly responded. He was
worried, but her smile seemed to indicate she was not looking to use
her coin, at least not yet.

"I just wanted to say hello, and see you again. I have missed you,
even if you were never the most enthusiastic student. Ms. Takahashi
tells me you are doing well in your new school. I am very proud,"
She almosted trilled, nearly beaming.

"You.. you know my history teacher?" came the surprised response
through the din of the music, which had sped up again.

"Well, hmmm. This is not the place. Will the two of you join me
outside for a few moments? I will not keep you away long."

Ms. Hinako directed them to a few comfortable chairs in the lobby of
the hotel.

"I was.. concerned about how you took Ms. Tendo's.. death. I found
out from the registrar where your records had been transfered to and
made some calls. Just as I stayed in touch with some of your
teachers, Ms. Tendo," she met Nabiki's eyes.

"I.. well, I.. thanks for your concern."

Nabiki interrupted. "Why did you never say anything?"

Ms. Hinako thought for a moment before answering. "It was not
really my place. Neither of you is my student, at least not anymore.
Both of you had trouble early on, but I knew you would both need some
time to cope. I'll admit I almost had to say something recently.
With you graduating and still having trouble, I was prepared to go
talk to your father Ms. Tendo, but I have seen marked improvements in
you in the past month. You still don't socialize much, either of
you, but act as though matters were not as pressing. If I may ask,
did something change in the last month?"

Nabiki paged through her mental calendar. "Well, that was about the
time of the anniversary. Our families got together again for the
first time in a while. Also, I was able to settle my college
plans."

"I'm glad to hear that, but I thought you were accepted a while
back. What was the issue?"

"Oh, there was some trouble with the on-campus housing."

"Well, I am glad to hear things are settled. And you Ranma? Are
you looking at schools yet?" she arched her eyebrows at him.

Nabiki turned a grin towards Ranma waiting for his reply. "Well, I
have been sorta thinkin' about it. I didn't plan on going.. but I
might yet. A few things came up recently." Ranma eyed Nabiki
through his bangs.

Ms. Hinako watched the look the too exchanged. "Yes, well things do
have a way of doing that. If you have need of a letter of reference,
do not hesitate to call me. Now then, I am supposed to be a
chaperone in there, and you two should be dancing. Shall we?"

****

Walking back to the dance they noticed Yuka and Sayuri talking
outside the ballroom. As they walked up, Yuka took sudden notice of
the floor and walked away. Calling back to Sayuri "I can't believe
you would even talk to them!"

"Everything okay, Sayuri?" Ranma said as they approached.

"Oh, yeah. She just, aahhh..."

"No need to explain, Sayuri," Nabiki interjected. "I know what some
people think, AND what they must be saying." She noticed Ranma
casting an angry glare after Yuka. "Down boy! It doesn't matter.
What does matter is I never got to touch that drink you got me
earlier. Can you get me another? I'll wait here out of the noise."

Ranma knew he was being dismissed, but could not find any objection.
It was her party, as the western song went.

"Be right back.."

After enjoying the view for a moment, Nabiki began again. "I
appreciate your effort Sayuri, but you do not need to defend Ranma
and I. I'm done here, you still have another year. It doesn't
matter what they say about me."

"Ahh, I just can't believe she would respond this way." Sayuri
seemed about to say something more, then dismissed that thought.
"And, it wasn't just you, though that was bad enough. She was
supposed to be my ride home, and now I find out she's staying
upstairs with her new boyfriend." Sayuri looked upset, but also
worried, finally she snapped out of it with a grin. "And if it
didn't matter, why did you have to send Ranma away to talk about
it?"

"Just because I know it doesn't matter doesn't mean I can convince
Ranma." She looked for him in the crowd and smiled as she caught a
glimpse of him. It did not go unnoticed.

Sayuri smiled, "Hey, you really do like him, don't you? Nothing
wrong if you do, he was never as bad as Akane seemed to think."

Nabiki scowled slightly. "Mostly it's been nice to have a friend
again." 'That's all it is, right?' she wondered to herself.

****

Ranma was leading Nabiki through the crowd to the dance floor. He
almost seemed to feel the hair on the back of his neck stand up
before the word "bitch" registered in his conscious mind. As he
turned to confront the speaker, Nabiki shoved him past the last of
the tables, to stand amongst the dancing couples.

"Don't you dare, Ranma. Self-defense, remember?" She stared him
down for a moment.

Ranma tried to return the stare. "Defense of your honor?"

"Nice try. They don't know me well enough to have any effect on my
honor one way or another. Now, you asked me to a dance, and I want
to dance."

Ranma's arguments seemed to drift away as Nabiki locked him in a
tight embrace.

"Well, if you insist." They each laughed into one-another's shoulder.

****

It was nice to walk out into the night air. They had enjoyed the
evening immensely, but it had gotten quite warm in the ballroom
towards the end. Sayuri was alone, having planned on going home with
Yuka, so Ranma and Nabiki had offered to see her home safely. The
three walked quietly out of the hotel together. In the silence of
the late hour, the voices came clearly to them from the other side of
the hedge lining the walkway.

The first voice was male, obviously slurred and too loud. "No
kidding! What a slut! Her sister has only been dead for what? A
year?"

The second was much like the first, but not quite so slurred. "And
what about Mr. Tendo. Is he just going to keep giving that kid his
daughters? I'll bet he's even letting Saotome sleep over again too,
under the same roof! I wonder if he's had her in Akane's bed yet?"

Nabiki watched with admiration as Ranma struggled for control, but
thought she could actually hear it as the vein popped in his forhead.

"They can't say that!" Sayuri seemed prepared walk around the hedge
and deliver a scathing response. Nabiki held her arm.

"Stay with me, young lady. Ranma has been very good all evening and
deserves a treat." Turning to Ranma, "Try not to hurt them too
badly, and don't mess up your tux. Remember that deposit. In fact,
give me the coat. Have fun and we'll be waiting here for you," she
finished with a smile.

Ranma's only response was an evil grin before he leapt over the
hedge.

The shouts of surprise, and shortly thereafter pain, followed
quickly. When he returned, Nabiki noticed his look was still fierce,
but held not a small amount of satisfaction.

********

Chapter 4 - Graduating

I'm not normally an early riser, but that particular morning I was
awake before my alarm. It was going to be a busy day, graduation
day, but there was time for busy later. I decided to relax a bit
longer, even if I did not go back to sleep. I took this time to
think over the past week. It had been a relatively easy week, finals
were the week before, and the the Graduation Dance happened over the
weekend. The few days I needed to go to school this week were for
silly stuff like rehearsal for the graduation ceremony itself. More
to the point, it would probably have been a tougher week, but I had
some protection.

I knew there were lots of nasty rumors going around. Lots of people
were talking about Ranma and I going to the graduation dance
together. Some wondered what blackmail I had used on him, figuring
he would be my brother-in-law by now if Akane hadn't died,
scandalized that Ranma and I were "cheating" against poor Akane's
memory only a few short months after her death. Of course, it had
actually been more than a year and there had been no inappropriate
behavior, but the truth is never as scandalous.

I didn't know about these people saying such things because they
said them to my face. I had too much protection for that. I knew
these things because I have good ears, because not all of my
associates had abandoned me, and because I might have said much the
same about someone else a mere eighteen months ago.

I lay back in bed and thought some more about the past week. It
should have been harder for me, but I had been lucky. The short days
meant I spent more time with Kasumi than listening to rumors float
around the school. And once again, there was also my protection. It
was an odd mix.

By the time I arrived at school Monday morning, Kuno-baby had made
it known he would tolerate no one harrassing me about the dance. He
then avoided me all week, even during the rehearsals, but most
everyone knew he was close enough to enforce his warning.

When I was not in rehearsal, Sayuri of all people was usually
nearby. I had never been close to the younger girl, in fact Sayuri
had feared me just like all the other students did at one time, but
not anymore. Unlike the few remaining associates who stopped by only
long enough to conduct business, Sayuri seemed to hover over me
constantly. Our conversations were mostly inconsequential, but I
knew Sayuri had her own idea about what was happening between Ranma
and I. Unlike the rest of the world, she found it very appropriate.
Mostly she just stayed nearby, carried some light conversation, and
stared hard at the rare student who seemed about to make some cruel
remark to me directly.

Sayuri was a bit of a puzzle. We had never spent much time together
before, but this week, the younger girl just always seemed to be
around and I must admit it was nice to have someone to eat with,
something I had not had since Akane died. Too bad I didn't find
someone until I was getting ready to leave. I'm glad I decided to
invite her to the graduation dinner though.

Even Ranma played a role in my protection, though he didn't know it.
Rumor had it that one guy had made an unrelated joke outside the
dance, which Ranma had misunderstood and in a blind rage had sent the
speaker and nearly a dozen friends to the hospital. In reality, the
"unrelated joke" had been several vicious insults about nearly my
entire family, including references Akane. The "speaker and nearly a
dozen friends" had been a grand total of two loud-mouthed drunks.
Whatever the reality, Ranma had convinced many that jokes and insults
about the Tendos were an unhealthy way to pass the time.

That was just fine with me. I felt a sense of pride as we arrived
at the dojo after the dance. The night had turned out very well
indeed. Though asking Ranma had been a spur of the moment thing, and
though going with virtually anyone else would have avoided many
problems, with all that happened, I could not see going with anyone
else. From the moment Ranma had turned the tables and asked me to
the dance, things had just gotten better.

Then there was the end of the evening. As he finished taking off
his shoes in the entry to the quiet house, he had whispered absently
about how much he was looking forward to the futon Kasumi had
prepared for him. I could not help myself. Thinking about how well
everything had gone, I kissed him on the cheek, whispered "Thank you,
Ranma," and ran up the stairs to my room.

I remember the kiss, and the way Ranma had lapsed, mid-sentence into
stunned silence. Yep, things just kept getting better.

[BEEP] [BEEP] [BEEP] [BEEP]

I reached over and quieted the alarm. Well, time to get moving.

****

Ranma had been quiet for most of the ride, but he really needed to
talk to someone. He did not have many friends to talk to, so he had
decided to talk to his mom. Women, after all, were supposed to be
better at these things. He had tried several times over the past few
days, but lost his nerve each time. Now they were on their way to
the Tendos' again, and he really needed to talk to someone before he
saw Nabiki.

He looked across at his parents. His mom was wearing her usual
kimono while his father was dessed not so usually in a suit.
Listening to his father snore, he decided it was now or never.

"Mom," Ranma started, looking to make sure none of the other
passengers were listening. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure. What is it?" Nodoka watched her son, and knew he was
nervous. He had been since the dance. Everything she had heard
about the dance, both from him and Kasumi had sounded positive,
though.

"It's about Akane. Do.. Do you..." He seemed unable to put the
thought in words. Nodoka waited patiently for him to think it
through before starting again.

"Do you think she would be upset if I.." He could not help the
tears. "If I found someone else?"

Now it was Nodoka's turn to breathe deeply for a moment. This she
had not forseen. She had watched Ranma and Nabiki grow closer
together over the past weeks. In truth, she herself had tried to put
them together, just to see if anything would happen. She would not
pressure them, she had seen and heard enough of what happened during
Ranma's year with the Tendos. On the other hand, she was a
traditional, and honorable, woman and the agreement between the two
families was still in effect. If the two decided they did like
each other on their own, the promise could be fulfilled with no
further damage. On some level she knew that Ranma would have this
doubt, and would feel this pain, no matter who he eventually found
interest in, but for it to come as a result of her meddling made her
question how much she had learned from the first engagement.

"Mom?" Nodoka had not realized how lost she was in her thoughts.
She reached out to put her arms around her son.

"Ranma, Akane would be upset if you did not find someone else. I
saw you two together, remember. Even when you were supposed to be
Ranko, it was obvious she cared for you. She would not want to see
you alone."

"But.. But you don't understand. I.. Well, I kinda think I might
like.." He could not bring himself to say it.

"Nabiki," his mother finished for him.

"Well, maybe. I don't know." Talking became easier as he went
along. "I do like being around her. Sometimes it just feels good,
you know, having someone to talk to. We get along pretty well.
Kinda funny since we didn't get along all that well when I lived
there. Other times though..." his voice trailed off.

"Ranma, did something happen between the two of you?"

Ranma turned a deep red. "Wh.. What do you mean?"

"Do you really want me to ask more direct questions?" Nodoka raised
an eyebrow.

"Err, well. She did sorta kiss me goodnight after the dance.. But
just onthecheek!" His words ran together as he rushed to explain.

"Anything else?"

"No.. She just said thanks and went up to her room."

"And how did you feel about it?" This was the important part to
Nodoka.

"Well, it felt kinda nice. But after I sorta felt like I was
cheating on Akane," Ranma frownded, looking at his feet.

"I don't think you have anything to be concerned about. Akane would
like that you and Nabiki are friends and are there for each other.
She loved you both, and would be more upset if you were both
miserable. And if something else develops.. well, I think that would
be okay with her also." She embraced her son again. "Does that
answer your question?"

'What would Akane think?' he asked himself yet again. It had been
on his mind for the past week, and what his mother said did make
sense. He did feel like he was betraying her somewhat, but he also
knew she cared about him, loved him. She also loved Nabiki, even
when almost no one else could. 'She loved us both, but does that
mean she would like to see us together?' Ranma was not convinced,
but feeling better as he nodded in response to his mother. Finally
he looked at her again. "Thanks mom."

****

Tofu was enjoying the moment. This was very much like spending time
with the extended Ono clan. Kasumi was reassuring her father that
all the preparations had been taken care of. Nodoka was calmly
trying to make sure Ranma and Genma did not ruin their handsome
clothes. The one thing that made this totally unlike any Ono family
gathering was when Kasumi absently reached out and took his hand.

Everyone waited for the graduates to enter the hall and for Nabiki
to take her next step as the mature young woman she was developing
into. Tofu had watched as Kasumi's eyes glimered with pride all week
while making preparations for tonight. She had even been able to
participate in the graduation dance after a fashion, something he
knew she had enjoyed immensely. It was also something he had
enjoyed, even the double-date portion of the evening, which was
surprising to him. He liked both Ranma and Nabiki, but he still
thought of them as children mostly, and he did not think he would get
along with them so well as actual friends.

He looked around again, they were an interesting group. He would
not mind being part of this group for the long term. More
specifically, he would not mind spending the rest of his life with
Kasumi, wherever that might take him. They had talked about using
the occasion to annouce their intentions to the family, but decided
that would only intrude on Nabiki's day. They would make things
known soon enough.

Kasumi caught his eye and gave him a look, one that told him they
had just shared that last thought.

****

Nabiki was just glad it was over. The ceremony had seemed
interminable. Now all the pictures had been taken, and her family
had doted on her. Now she just wanted to get out of here.

On the way home, Nabiki and Kasumi were walking with the doctor,
discussing her plans for the summer and later in college. Nabiki
noticed the family had naturally split apart to walk in groups.
'When did all these extra people become family?' she wondered. She
was pretty sure Tofu would be family, or at least family to be, very
soon. 'Might they even announce something tonight?' she wondered to
herself.

Behind them the Saotomes walked on either side of her father,
congratulating him and talking about how nice the ceremony was. She
had no reservations about that. Despite all the stupid things Genma
had done to her family and Ranma, she would never be able to thank
him for bringing her father back from the dead. Soun Tendo had been
a quiet, distant man for many years following his wife's death, until
Genma walked back into his life. Genma should probably share some of
the blame for Akane's death, but she could not bring herself to say
anything after he revived daddy for a second time. To see the two of
them enjoy some sake and shogi the other night was a great relief.
And this time around, there was a nanny watching over the two of
them. If Nabiki did not owe Auntie already for watching over the two
men, she would certainly owe her for the effect her presence had in
relieving pressure from Kasumi.

What bothered her was further back in the group. Ranma was alone,
bringing up the rear. As they stopped at the next corner waiting for
traffic to clear, she casually waited a bit longer, joining Ranma as
they started walking again.

"So, you ready to start teaching?"

"I don't know.. Do I have students?" He smiled, knowing the
answer.

"What do you think? I have a full class in the evenings and one in
the afternoons. The morning class is about half full, but there are
some in that class with prior training, so I thought you might want
more one-on-one time." She began ticking points off on her fingers.
"The equipment came in this week. Half the tuition has been
collected from each student and half is due on the first day. The
dojo has been cleaned up. Daddy has agreed to be available in case
you have questions, and will watch the classes at least for the first
week, but cannot correct you or offer suggestions in front of the
students. No other visitors, including your father, are allowed
during classes. Except myself of course," she added with a smile.

Ranma was taken aback. He liked it, but this was almost too
business-like. "How many students do I know?"

"Well, I have nine in the morning, and fifteen in each of the later
classes. You probably know about a third in each class. Several of
the people from the morning class belong to the Kendo club, but none
of Kuno's more militant followers. Hiroshi and Daisuke are both in
the afternoon class, along with a few other male classmates of yours.
I had several requests from the girls to make a girls class, but
there weren't enough for a full class. So the evening class is girls
and younger kids. Sayuri is in there. So is Himiko, one of my
former associates, I don't know if you remember her. Oh, and Hiro,
the little boy from down the street."

"Okay, I get the idea."

"By the way.." She could not conceal the grin. "I had another
request from some of the guys. I know the answer, but they did offer
a fair amount of money. They wanted to know if you would teach at
least some of the classes as a girl."

Ranma stopped cold. He had yet to even start teaching, and it was
already happening. Just being in Nerima seemed to bring back the
insanity. Of course it did not help that the woman who invented
countless ways to make money of his curse was at the center of this.

"What did you tell them?" He was rather proud that his voice did
not sound as angry as he felt. Nabiki stopped to answer.

"Well.. I made up a preliminary price list.."

"Nabiki!" All three parents turned to look at them. "Sorry," Ranma
quickly apologized. Then more quietly to Nabiki, "You didn't!"

"Please, Ranma. I like to think I know you pretty well, by now. I
told them it wouldn't happen, but that they could take it up with
you on the first day, if they wanted a demonstration of your more
advanced techniques." She had to stifle a giggle. "I have to admit
though, it did bring back some memories."

"Hmph.." Ranma knew she had gotten him pretty well, but maintained
a stern look for a moment. "So, how was your last week? Musta been
pretty easy with everything pretty much done."

"Yeah.. I hung out with Sayuri some, actually. Closed up the books
and turned over the business. That sort of thing." They turned into
the gates and followed everyone in to the house. "Pretty easy week,"
she concluded, but seemed a bit distracted. Ranma did not realize
she was wondering absently at what point she had taken his arm on the
walk.

****

Sayuri watched as Nabiki went upstairs to try on some of the outfits
she had received as graduation presents. She turned back to find
Ranma also looking after Nabiki, but with a sad frown on his face.

She strolled over to him and asked, "What's up sensei?"

Ranma was surprised, but not unpleasantly so. "Why did you call me
that?"

"Well, you are going to be my teacher. I hope you don't let
everyone in class call you Ranma, they won't respect you. They want
a sensei. Now, why did you look so upset." She knew she was
exagerating, he did not look THAT upset, but also knew that Ranma
was more comfortable with extremes than subtleties. All the girls at
Furinken knew that.

Ranma gave her a sidelong glance, and took his time responding. He
thought about telling her what he was thinking, but decided against.
He was not yet sure what he would say to Nabiki. He had no idea how
to explain it to someone else.

"It's nothing." He decided to change the subject. "Nabiki says you
guys spent some time together this week."

"Well, we did hang out some, had lunch together, that sort of thing.
I was a little worried about her, after the dance and the way some
people were responding, but she seemed okay."

"You were worried about her? I thought you were scared of her?"

"I was! But Akane was always telling us how Nabiki was not all that
bad, and how she felt sorry for how lonely her sister was. Then at
the dance, I saw.. well, she seemed more human than usual. I guess
I finally realized what Akane was saying all that time."

"Her and me together made you see how lonely she was. Gee,
thanks.." Ranma's sarcasm was obvious.

"No, no! I meant.."

Ranma cut her off smiling. "I know. I was just teasin' you. Say,
you mentioned the way some people were treating her this week. What
happened?"

"You were at the dance, you should know. Dirty looks, name calling.
A bunch of B.S."

Ranma was quiet a moment. He had tried to tell Nabiki this could
happen, but..

Sayuri noticed his creased brow. "Hey, don't look like that. It
was kinda a pain, but I'm pretty sure she wouldn't change what
happened. She had a good time with you."

Ranma wondered if that were true. He had a great time, in spite of
all the stuff that happened around them. Did she? He remembered the
kiss. Maybe she did. He hoped so.

****

"Thanks for the sweater, Ranma! I like it." Nabiki walked over to
where Ranma seemed to be watching the rest of the family from the
sidelines.

"Yeah, like I picked that out. You know it's from my mom." Ranma's
sad smile pulled at Nabiki a bit. She had known, but still..

"But I do have something for, err.. to ask you." Ranma seemed to
cheer up a bit, but also seemed rather nervous. 'Now or never,' he
told himself. "Well, ya know that Tanaka guy that writes those
mangas - ummm.."

"You mean the 'Fantasy Life' series?" Now she was confused. Did he
buy her a manga?

"Yeah, that's the one." His pose was no longer sad, but very
nervous and very familiar as he scratched the back of his head.
"Well, I heard some people talking the other day about how he's gonna
be signing some books next week downtown." Again with the nervous
laugh. "I thought maybe.."

"Are you asking me to go with you?" Now Nabiki was surprised. She
had enjoyed going out with Ranma, and had decided that whatever the
circumstances, it was a date, but she never thought it would happen
again. The world around faded as she listened to Ranma continue.

"Well, I was just gonna get you his new collection, but I thought we
could celebrate. You know, your graduation and our first week doing
business together. We could leave after my last class, and be there
before it even starts. Maybe grab something to eat after..."
Ranma's voice trailed off. Now that he had asked her, his resolve
failed him.

Nabiki finally regained her senses. Having Ranma this nervous put
her back on her usual footing. Ranma hated those books. The only
reason he would ask her was because it was something she liked. He
was one of the few people outside her family that realized she had
hobbies other than money. She decided to enjoy this a bit. "Ranma,
I didn't even know you liked those books."

"Hey! I don't read that mushy stuff. You know that! I just
thought.." he trailed off again.

"I'd like that very much. Thanks for asking me." She was enjoying
this, but her curiousity got the better of her. She had to know one
thing.

****

Kasumi watched with some amusement. Nabiki was very anxious about
something, but she had no idea what it was. Whatever it was, it
apparently involved talking to Auntie as Nabiki had distracted
Sayuri, and separately father and Mr. Saotome in order to get some
time alone with the woman.

"What is she up to?" Tofu gave voice to Kasumi's own wonderment.

"Hmmm, I haven't the faintest idea. What are you up to?"

"Getting ready to leave actually. I have some patients I need to
check on," he quickly apologized, seeing the disappointment in her
eyes.

"Hmph." Kasumi did a very poor impression of a pout. "Well, in
that case, you have to do me a favor."

Tofu smiled, it was nice not to be thrown into histerics. The first
time she had tried that pout on him he had nearly killed himself just
offering to make it up to her - whatever 'it' was. "What did you
have in mind?"

"Ranma asked me for a favor and I thought you might like to help."

"Of course, what are we doing?" Tofu was surprised that Ranma could
bring himself to ask for assistance, it must be a very grave
situation.

"Well, he is starting classes on Tuesday, and his parents are both
coming to 'help.' He is a bit worried that combined with my father,
they will make an overwhelming group, and may not let him doing
anything himself, or at least not his way. He was hoping I could
come up with some way to distract them." She broke into that full
smile that never failed to steal his heart and mind. "Can you think
of anything we could say that might distract them?"

****

"So how did that blouse fit? We can exchange it if need be, dear."

"It was fine, Auntie. Can I ask you a question, though?" It had
taken some doing to get Nodoka all to herself, but she needed to know
very badly, and she did not think she could wait until later in the
week.

"Of course, what is it? Was it not your style? The girls around
the University all seem to be wearing that style these days." Nodoka
knew there was something else on Nabiki's mind, but she was having a
little fun herself.

Nabiki smiled quickly, "Oh, no.. It is a nice blouse, but I had a
question about.. Well, about Ranma."

Nodoka smiled gently. "Certainly."

"I know you got Ranma to ask me to the dance. Thanks, by the way."
Nodoka just nodded and waited. She had never expected Ranma to keep
it secret from Nabiki, the girl was far too observant for him to even
try.

Nabiki was glad the older woman did not deny it, maybe she could get
an honest answer. "I wanted to know if you did it again."

"No. Did he ask you out again?" Nodoka was proud, her son would
not have had such nerve until recently.

"Well, he never called it that, but that's what it felt like. He
asked me to go meet an author I really enjoy, but he hates. Then he
suggested maybe we could get something to eat after."

"That certainly sounds like a date to me," Nodoka responded with a
smug expression and a smile in her eyes.

Nabiki never noticed as she was too busy staring into space and
smiling widely. He had asked her out, with no one pushing him, no
one telling him what was expected or making demands on his honor. He
just wanted to ask her out. To her knowledge he had never done that
with Akane. Part of her wanted to cry over that, but for the most
part she felt very content. She did not know if this thing with
Ranma would go anywhere, 'But I wouldn't mind if it did,' she
admitted silently. Yes, things just kept getting better.

********

Chapter 5 - Revelations

Ranma was certain there was a word to describe what he was feeling,
but he did not know what it was. He hoped it was not something they
had taught in class while he slept. He had been nervous before, in
fact that was almost his regular state of being at one time, but this
was more than that. Part of it was anger, mostly at himself. It
should not be this way. He knew these people, knew this place, very
well. He should be comfortable here. There was something else,
though. Fear, perhaps.

He felt his father's hand on his shoulder, and the voice seemed too
loud. "Well, son, are you ready?"

Ranma did not reply. He simply took a deep breath, searching for
his center.

"Well, whether you are or not, it is time." His father gave him a
gentle nudge, or at least that is how he probably intended it.

After Ranma picked himself up, he straightened his gi and walked
into the dojo. He bowed to the dojo, allowing the history, tradition
and meaning of what he was about to start give him his center and
purpose.

"Good morning class." He almost wondered whose calm voice he was
listening to. "Welcome to the Tendo dojo. My name is Ranma Saotome
and I will be your Sensei."

****

I sat in the back of the dojo with daddy watching as Ranma started
with his expectations of the students and explained what they could
expect of him. He began some simple exercises, and some gentle tests
to gauge each student before beginning a skill lesson. I found
myself drawn into watching him.

It shouldn't surprise me. Objectively there was nothing to argue
about, he's a very attractive guy. There are times when Ranma was
clumsy and awkward, but not here. As he demonstrated specific
exercises, or walked between the students to coach them on their
motions, he had never looked more graceful or confident. And
confidence was something he usually had to spare. I noticed as he
demonstarted another motion that the muscles in his arms and chest
contracted in precise synchronicity to do his bidding, keeping his
movement smooth yet powerful.

Then I seemed to notice him from another angle. I saw him as a
teacher. He's not very eloquent. He didn't seem like any of the
martial arts teachers from those old movies daddy insists on watching
from time to time. In fact, he was way too young. But somehow, he
was good at this. His students listened when he spoke. Even those
that had not personally witnessed his techniques in the past seemed
to sense his experience in his words.

As he watched them, I saw in him a patience I never would have
suspected, and didn't think came from his own teacher, Genma. I
wondered where this Ranma came from, and how I'd never noticed him
before. It was some time before I saw it, before I realized what
made this Ranma tick. I saw the reverence he has for the Art which
had saved him from countless deaths, and has failed him only once. I
saw the passion he has for the work that had been his entire life at
one time - and that did come from his father.

I knew some of the students sensed something of what Ranma was, but
I wondered how many knew exactly what was going on before their very
eyes. I didn't at the time think about the requirements daddy had
once mentioned to look for in a new teacher. It was irrelevant. I
watched a young man become a sensei.

****

Soun and Genma hounded Ranma after class. They were very proud, at
least he hoped so. They seemed to pat each other on the back quite
a bit. Unfortunately, all he received was criticism. From the way
he stood to the order in which he taught the lessons, nothing seemed
to have gone well according to the men before him. His frustration
was showing on his face. He had been certain he had done well, was
sure the students had responded well, but to hear his father tell it,
nothing had gone right.

He had hoped Kasumi would be able to do something about them, but
that did not appear to be the case. 'Maybe I should talk to mom,' he
wondered to himself. He did not notice Nabiki approaching.

Nabiki also knew that Ranma had done well, she had watched with awe
as he captured the attention of the class and had been impressed with
the emergence of a side to Ranma she had never known before.
Listening to the two old men berate him set her temper aflame.
Taking a deep breath, she decided to get rid of them.

"Daddy, Mr. Saotome, Auntie Nodoka needs to talk to you," Nabiki
called out as she entered the dojo. "Apparently the wine she needed
for one of her sauces is missing. Would you know anything about
that?"

Ranma's face turned from a look of anger to a mixed expression of
relief and amusement as he watched both men starting to sweat.
Finally Soun responded "Oh, uh, well no use wondering what happened.
We can just go get some more, eh Saotome?"

"Of course, Tendo! Tell my wife we'll be back before she knows it!"
Genma was already running out the door.

Ranma could only look at Nabiki, appreciation etched on his face,
and found himself marveling yet again at the ease with which she
dealt with people. He supposed 'manipulated' was a more accurate
word for what she had just done, and he had used that word for her
activities often in the past, but he did not like the way it sounded
anymore.

"You're welcome," she responded to his silence. "So, what did you
think?" she asked with a smile.

Ranma repsonded quickly. Sharing what it felt like was something he
had hoped to do with the older men who had done this before.
Unfortunately, they had given him no chance to do so. Now he eagerly
talked with Nabiki about the sensations as he watched the students,
his excitement that they could actually learn from him, that he could
actually teach. Now that he was doing it, he was glad to be sharing
this with Nabiki rather than their fathers. This felt right.

Nabiki really enjoyed this. Ranma's excitement was infectious
anyway, but she also knew she played a part in this. In fact, Ranma
had been referring to her as his business partner for a few weeks
now. She had to admit it was true. She had brought the idea up, and
done a lot of the leg work to make it happen. Nabiki also knew that
Ranma did not just open up to anyone. He was far more open around
her now than he had ever been with anyone to her knowledge. It was
something she almost took for granted now, but every now and then, it
struck her how exceptional this was. She listened more and felt his
excitement contribute more to her own satisfaction.

Neither of them noticed the time go by until Kasumi came to call
them for lunch. Ranma regretted that he had not talked to Nabiki
about Ukyo, but his mother wanted to be there when he did anyway.

****

"There you are, Ranma! We have some more ideas to go over before
your afternoon class."

Ranma groaned inwardly at his pop's words. 'Kasumi wasn't able to
do anything. I should have talked to mom or maybe Nabiki,' he second
guessed his plans with Kasumi as he sat down for lunch. His
speculation was interrupted as Tofu stood. Ranma had not even
expected the doc to be here for lunch.

"If I may interrupt, Kasumi and I would like to make an
announcement." Tofu took a moment to clear his throat and looked at
Kasumi to gather his strength.

When he began again, his voice was quiet but firm. "Kasumi and I
would like to announce to all of you here, her family, that we have
decided to get married. We hope you will join us at the wedding we
are planning for just about a year from now."

The silence was total, for about two seconds. Then the room
exploded. Nodoka and Soun were both in tears. Nabiki hugged her
sister while Ranma's pop was torn between consoling Soun and
congratulating Tofu with enthusiastic pats to the back.

Ranma watched for a moment as the other six people in the room were
quickly divided by gender. 'Gee, Kasumi. You didn't have to do that
just to distract them for me,' Ranma thought with a smile.

****

Nabiki never noticed her sister and Auntie Nodoka walking off to go
through magazines looking at dresses. She also ignored the men
still chatting in the room with her. She did notice Ranma going out
for his afternoon class and wanted to join him, but she was already
too busy with her part, making a budget for the wedding. The family
did not have a lot of money, but Nabiki was determined to stretch
every yen to make this as special as possible, her sister deserved no
less. Some of the money she had set aside for school could be used,
especially with her staying with the Saotome's rent free. Also,
thanks to Ranma, the dojo would be bringing in more money than she
was anticipating. Add to that the fact that they did not need to pay
for a caterer...

"Daddy, be sure to thank Auntie again for volunteering to take care
of the rehearsal dinner and the wedding buffet," Nabiki absently
thought aloud.

Surprisingly, Tofu answered her. "Do you really think that's a good
idea?"

"Don't worry about it, it's the least we can do. Besides, once my
wife has made up her mind, there is no convincing her otherwise."
Nabiki was certain Mr. Saotome's generosity was mostly the result of
his wife's determination.

Tofu was not done, however. "Oh, and it's very kind of you, but
that's not what I meant. Kasumi loves your wife as a close friend,
but also sees her almost as a mother. I just thought she might
appreciate it more if Nodoka was there helping her get ready rather
than taking care of the food."

"Hmmm, I see what you mean, Tofu," her father responded. "Saotome,
we appreciate your offer, but maybe Kasumi does need another woman
more than a caterer."

Nodoka had never treated Kasumi like a child, except maybe when they
went shopping and Nodoka tried to influence Kasumi's wardrobe, but
just her presence had a profound effect on Kasumi. Nabiki had seen
it plenty of times. Instead of being the head of a household, or
someone's mother, Kasumi became a young woman who helped with many of
the chores around the house, as she should. Kasumi had gladly
allowed Nodoka to step in and take over dinner on more than one
occasion. Nabiki knew her father liked the way Kasumi could act her
age more, be a bit more carefree when Nodoka was around to burden
some of the matronly duties of the Tendo home, but he also had a hard
time with the thought of someone else taking his wife's place in his
daughters' lives. He may have said 'another woman,' but the better
term would be 'mother figure.' Nabiki decided to speak up.

"That is true, Mr. Saotome. Do you think we could convince her to
spend the time with Kasumi instead?"

"I don't know. Now that she already offered, she'll feel
responsible for the food. Perhaps we could find a restaurant she
would trust to take care of things and give it a proper family
touch."

"It's too bad Ranma doesn't have his restaurant connections
anymore," Nabiki joked. "I'm sure we could get Ukyo to do it up
right."

"Hey, that's not a bad idea!" Mr. Saotome snapped his fingers. "I
could get Ranma to talk to her."

Nabiki was nonplused. "Do you even know where to find her? She
sold Ucchan's and disappeared right after you guys moved."

"Oh yeah, she's about to open a new restaurant right near our place.
In fact, she was just talking to Ranma about it yesterday. I
overheard them as I was leaving. I'm sure.."

Genma did not stop talking, Nabiki just stopped hearing. She walked
toward the window, suddenly feeling rather cold. She should not feel
like this. She knew Ranma, and knew what his life was like. She had
thought he liked her, had been sure of it, and was pretty sure she
was beginning to like him. But this was Ranma, and nothing around
him was that simple. She should know that if his life seemed simple
now, it could only be temporary. 'Damn it!' she swore to herself.
'Damn him!'

Maybe she had gotten it all wrong. He knew she was lonely, maybe he
just felt sorry for her. Maybe Auntie had lied, and it had been her
idea. She smiled as the irony hit her. Did he or did he not? It
was deja vu all over again.

Her smile faded as she realized what she was seeing outside the
window. Several young girls were laughing and talking about their
cute new sensei.

"Did you see the way he moved?" asked the first one.

"How could I miss it. Do you remember the way he used to carry
girls around all the time? Do you think he still does that?" the
second responded.

"Maybe if we asked nicely?" a third companion giggled.

"Do you think he's seeing anyone?" the second wondered aloud.

"Must not be if he went to the dance with Nabiki. They're
practically family, so that had to be a favor. And if you had him,
would you let someone else borrow him for a romantic evening?" the
first pointed out.

"Ooohhh, then maybe.." the third one was speculating as they walked
out of range for Nabiki to hear.

Nabiki realized she was holding her breath and cleanching her jaw.
It took several moments of deep, even breaths before she knew what
she had to do. She was not her sister, and would not make the same
mistakes. She knew how she felt. She needed to know how he felt.
She would know - now.

********

Chapter 6 - Finding Center

Kasumi's plan worked like a charm. Ranma was able to conduct both
his late classes without a single visitor. In fact, it worked almost
too well. He found he did have some things he could use a second
opinion on, and he did enjoy talking to Nabiki after that first
class. Maybe she would stop in now that he was done for the day.
He hoped so.

Sayuri stayed after class to help clean up and sweep. Ranma had
told her about Kasumi's engagement and they talked a bit about how
class had gone. Ranma was surprised that he had done fairly well
with the younger kids. He had been worried that his lack of
experience with kids would make them the most difficult group for
him. In fact, he had gotten along well with them. He chose to
ignore Sayuri's suggestion that he was on their maturity level.

As they joked, Ranma noticed Nabiki standing in the doorway looking
rather serious.

"Hey Nabiki, how go the wedding plans?"

"Fine. Can I talk to you for a sec?" Her tone was not quite cold,
but it was not warm either.

Sayuri wondered what was up, but also knew that now was not the time
to find out. "I have to go anyway. Congratulate your sister for me
Nabiki. I'll see you guys later."

Ranma waited until he was sure Sayuri was out of earshot before
talking again. "Is something wrong, Nabiki?"

Nabiki needed to know. She had no desire to play games, so she
would be blunt about it. "Ranma, do you like me?"

"Wh.. wh.. what makes you ask that?" Ranma started to sweat,
something he had not done during an entire day of workouts. He
floundered for his internal balance, wondering what the heck had
prompted this, and now that it was happening, what to say.

"Several things. I should say I thought you did like me, but two
things make me question it." She watched him, but he was waiting for
her to continue. "First, I find out from your dad that Ukyo is back
in your life. Second, I just watched a bunch of lovesick school
girls walk out of here swooning over you."

"Oh. Well.. I.. I mean.."

"Sorry, I should give these to you one at a time. I ought to know
better. First, do you like me?"

She watched as he gathered his thoughts, staring at the floor. She
was tempted to push him, but remembered telling Akane she needed to
encourage Ranma to put more thought into his answers. She decided to
take her own advice.

Ranma's thoughts were a mixture of confusion and anger. He thought
he had shown Nabiki how he felt. It should be clear. Asking her out
the second time had been the hardest thing he had ever done. He had
even faced up to his feelings about Akane to do it. Apparently it
did not mean much. 'What more can I do?' he questioned. 'You could
answer her,' was the obvious response. After a moment, he finally
looked up at her.

"You know what it takes for me to really talk to someone like I do
with you. We've been getting along pretty well. I asked you out,
twice. What do you think? I do.." he stopped, 'like' was not the
right word. His voice carried his thoughts as well as his words. "I
care for you, very much."

Nabiki saw pain in his eyes, and realized she had hurt him with her
question. She needed to know, but there was probably a better
approach. At the same time, she was glad she asked, as his reply had
left no room for doubt.

"Okay, you're right. I, of all people, know what it meant for you
to ask me, especially the second time." She walked over and gave him
a hug before continuing in a quieter voice, "I'm sorry. I care for
you too, in case you hadn't noticed." A smile tugged at her lips.

They stood there for a while in each other's arms, recovering from
some pain, and enjoying their newfound bit of security.

In a small voice, directly into his ear, she started her questions
again, the way she should have asked in the first place. "So..
What's going on with Ukyo?"

His voice was full of emotion, but just as quiet. "Nothing.
Apparently she decided that a year was enough time to mourn, so she
bought the restaurant I used to work at. I didn't even know until
she called yesterday to offer me my old job back. She was kinda
upset too. We talked for a while. Or maybe yelled.."

"Ranma, what happened? You almost never used to fight with Ukyo."
Nabiki's concern for Ranma now dominated her other worries.

"I just realized it was all starting again, all the craziness, and
if I didn't do something it would be just like last time, and someone
would.." he paused, then shrugged the thought away. "Anyway, I told
her I had a job, at least for the break.. I also told her that it
was good to hear from her again, but I ain't gonna marry her - I
don't love her like that. We had quite the argument. In fact, I was
gonna talk to you about her tonight. Mom thought that the three of
us could sit down and figure out a way to end the engagement without
her losing honor, or at least not more honor."

Nabiki was sure of it now, she had been too hard on her sister. For
some reason, it was just easy to jump to conclusions around Ranma.
And look where she got her information, she should know better - if
Genma was a source of information, then Auntie would be a better
source. Maybe she had also been too hard on Ranma as well.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Guess I came on rather strong. It's just that
Ukyo was already going through my head when I heard the way all those
girls were talking about you. I'm sorry I pressured you, but I am
glad to know how you feel." She finally pulled back and looked into
his eyes with a broad smile. "So why were you flirting with all
those girls?"

"What? I.. But.. You know better.." He could not believe how
quickly he had gotten confused again. He did not flirt, and she knew
it. So why then would she say that and what could he possibly say to
reassure her...

She enjoyed watching him flounder for a moment. Then she
effectively shut him up by hooking her fingers in his hair, and
pulling him down for a kiss. This was not the innocent peck on the
cheek she had given him after the dance, but a deep, passionate
expression of her feelings.

Now he was angry. She had just been trying to get to him, and he
had to admit she had succeeded. 'How does she always..? Ah, hell,'
he thought as he finally gave up and responded to the kiss.

Later, they sat holding hands, still enjoying what was happening
between them. Ranma realized Nabiki would likely always confuse him
on some level, but he did know how she felt, and that gave him some
security.

Likewise, Nabiki knew Ranma would always have women around him,
would attract them like.. well, like a gorgeous, strong, kind young
man. But she also knew that they connected in a way that was
unmatched by anyone else in their lives. She knew how he felt, and
that he had pushed himself for her. True it was the little things
like asking her on a date, but it was the little things that mattered
to her. On the other hand, other things would matter to their
families.

"Ranma, can I ask you a question?"

Ranma's eyes went wide. "Again?"

"No, not like that. About our parents. Daddy and your father did
say they wouldn't repeat their mistakes, but once they find out we're
dating, that could change."

"Yeah, I thought about that too. What did you tell your dad about
us going out Saturday night?"

"I told him it was just a graduation present. You're taking me to
meet an author I really like. But eventually someone's gonna see us
kissing or realize that we keep going out together."

"Well, my mom already knows," Ranma admitted, then rushed to
explain, "Not about the kissing, but that I like you."

"I think Kasumi has guessed, too. Not too surprising since Sayuri
has."

"So it's just our dads. Do you really think they would try for
another engagement?"

Nabiki thought for a moment before answering. "I don't know. Daddy
seemed to have learned his lesson, but.." she shrugged.

"Yeah, and I don't think pop is capable of learning." Ranma paused,
then seemed to settle on an idea. "How about we just go ahead with
what we're doing and deal with them if they bring it up. They may
not."

"On one condition," Nabiki said coming to a conclusion. "They
probably will try it, but we have to keep in mind, it does not
matter. We already like each other. If we make our decisions
together, we won't overreact and create problems with each other.
Any engagement arguments are us against them."

She got up and sat in Ranma's lap facing him with a wicked smile,
wrapping her arms lazily around his neck. "We'll decide later on if
we should let them win," she purred, pulling him in for another
kiss.

Ranma's brain shut down, except for the part working his lips. He
never even noticed Kasumi coming to get them.

"Finish that later you two," Nabiki's sister giggled. "Dinner is
served."

By the time they had all finished dinner, and Kasumi and Nodoka
completed their clean-up, there was little time to discuss Ukyo.
Since Ranma would be staying the night after their date on Saturday,
it was decided his parents would meet him at the Tendos' home Sunday
where Nodoka could talk with Kasumi more about plans for the wedding
and with Ranma and Nabiki about plans for Ukyo.

****

Later that evening, after the Saotomes had gone, and her father lay
in bed awaiting his hangover, Nabiki waited patiently. She knew
Kasumi could not hold off much longer. Finally she heard the soft
tapping at the door.

"Come on in, sis."

Kasumi edged the door open slowly, and slipped inside. "Well?"

"Well, what?" Nabiki feigned ignorance, but could not hold back the
smile.

"'Well, what?'" Kasumi imitated. "What happened? When did it
happen?"

Nabiki teased back with a smile, "Oh, like you didn't know!"

Kasumi lowered her voice to a whisper. "Shhh. Unless you want
daddy to know already!"

"Don't even say that!" Nabiki matched the whisper.

"I did know you guys were getting closer, but I sure didn't expect
to find you making out in the dojo! How was it by the way?"

Nabiki realized she had to thank Auntie again. She was worried that
Kasumi would react more like a mother. On the other hand, Nodoka
herself was like this sometimes. Perhaps the roles of mother and big
sister were not all that far apart.

Nabiki let herself take on a smug expression. "I'll never tell."

"Nabiki!" Kasumi grabbed a pillow and got ready to swing it.

"Okay, okay. It was great, but a little sloppy. We'll have to work
on that some," she giggled.

"Ooo," Kasumi wrinkled her face. "Are you going to keep it a secret
from daddy?"

Nabiki became quiet. "Well, we talked about it. Ranma is being
rather trusting I think, but he wants to just keep on doing what
we're doing and see if they figure it out on their own. I'm a little
worried, but I don't really want to hide either. We did agree to
make any decisions together, and then stand united if we have to
argue with our parents."

Kasumi was a little surprised by that. "Wow, so you've actually
talked about this, huh? I didn't think Ranma would do that."

"Actually, I kinda forced the issue," Nabiki frowned. "I heard he
had been talking to Ukyo again, and I listened to some of his female
students pining for him, and I guess I jumped to conclusions."

"Well, it looked like you worked things out," Kasumi encouraged.

"Yeah, we did.." Nabiki remembered what was happening when her
sister walked in on them in the dojo. Then her face became more
determined, "Now all we have to do is keep Ukyo at bay and figure out
what to do about daddy's agreement with Mr. Saotome."

"If it came down to it, would you marry him?"

"I don't know, sis. I do care for him, I really do. But we've only
really gotten to know each other in the last month or so. We never
really spoke that much before, but we do get along really well now.
We've only had one real date, plus a couple of casual get-togethers.
Is that enough?"

As Nabiki looked up at Kasumi's demure smile, it dawned on her. She
could just as easily have been describing Kasumi and Tofu.

Kasumi's smile grew wider. "I hope so."

********

Chapter 7 - Mutual Attraction

Ranma's second day of teaching was a bit more relaxed. While Soun
watched Ranma, Nabiki watched her father. She talked to him often,
making sure he kept his part of the deal. Unless Ranma did anything
actually wrong or harmful, either to a student or the school, all
Soun's comments had to be on the level of advice and suggestions.
It was fairly easy without Genma around, they were both even bigger
wimps on their own. Ranma took advantage of this fact and actually
asked some questions, especially after the first class.

Between the afternoon and evening classes, Nabiki asked Ranma to
take a walk with her. She did not have anything specific in mind,
but just needed some time alone with him to reaffirm in her mind what
they had said to one another on Tuesday. They spoke little about
important matters, mentioning only briefly Ukyo, or explaining
themselves to their fathers. They eventually ended up sitting in
the park for a while just people watching. Ranma absently noticed he
had to let go of Nabiki's hand for a moment to check his watch.
Reluctantly, they returned to the dojo so Ranma could teach his final
class for the day.

On the way, Ranma's mind being on other things, he never even
attempted to avoid the old woman who always seemed to know when he
was around. The resulting splash and change had Nabiki crying with
laughter.

"I'm sorry, Ranma," she apologized. "I know you've been trying to
avoid this, but she seems to know you're back."

Ranma's look of resignation faded from his face. He noticed that she
was quite beautiful at that playful moment, and her laughter was
contagious. He also noticed she never let go of his, now her, hand -
she actually seemed not to mind. "Doesn't this bother you?"

She finally stopped laughing, but could not wipe the smile off her
face. "Not really. I know it bothers you, and I'm sorry for that,
but I thought you were cute when I first met you, and this is how you
looked. I prefer you as a guy, but more to the point, I prefer you.
This is just part of you," she shrugged.

Finally he chuckled. "C'mon, or I'm gonna be late."

Nabiki was quite happy as they walked back into the house. She knew
she could not have planned a better afternoon, and she resolved to
make such simple together-time a regular occurance at least for the
summer. Daddy and Mr. Saotome would probably notice within just a
few weeks what was happening, but it would likely be worth it.

****

Ranma was enjoying himself. He found he really did like teaching
and, if his students were credible, he was actually good at it. He
had found pride in something other than fighting, even if it was
still martial arts. It had only been a week, but he decided he could
in fact see himself doing this as a career. He did a last-minute
sweep of the dojo with his eyes to make sure it was indeed spotless.
He may never be the master here, but he took more pride in this place
now than when he spent a year believing he would one day own it.
Finally satisfied, he bowed to the dojo before exiting.

"I was just about to come looking for you," Nabiki called out from
the veranda. "Are you going to be ready to go in time?" She was
obviously ready to go herself. She wore a nice teal blouse with a
matching tight mini-skirt. Her makeup was put on with a lighter
touch than she had used the night of the dance, but it still
accentuated her eyes.

"I'll be ready in no time. Let me get a quick shower and change."

As promised, Ranma was ready to go in less than ten minutes. Nabiki
had been tempted to peek in on him in the bath while she was waiting,
but had been good afterall.

"What? No chinese shirt and pants? I didn't think you owned
anything else, except maybe a gi," she teased.

He looked down at his new jeans and gray denim shirt. "Is it okay?
Mom got these for my birthday, but this is the first time I'm gonna
wear them. I think she was sick of my old clothes." Ranma seemed
rather embarrassed.

Nabiki studied him closely before nodding with approval. "Looks
good on you. Brings out your eyes." She walked around him before
continuing. "Damn. Nice butt. Remind me to get you some more jeans
for your next birthday."

"NABIKI!" Ranma blushed until he was sure he glowed. He ignored
how closely her words echoed his own thoughts when he first saw her
skirt earlier.

"Are you sure that's gonna be okay though?"

That stopped Ranma short. "Why?" He inspected himself in the
hallway mirror. "What's wrong?"

Nabiki did not want to bring it up, but Ranma would be even more
embarrassed later if things went poorly. "If you change, you know,
into a girl, are those going to fit? You're not gonna pop some
buttons on that shirt, are you?"

The blush returned in force. "No. It will be fine." He gnashed
his teeth saying "I already checked," then seemed to deflate. "I
will have to roll up the sleeves and legs though."

"Well, let's get a move on. I want to be sure they still have
copies of the new collection so I can get Tanaka's signiture."

"Oh, wait!" Ranma ran to the guest room and returned shortly
holding out a copy of the new 'Fantasy Life' collection. "I already
got it for you. I told you this was supposed to be your graduation
present," he smiled.

"Oh, well thanks! Let's get going anyway. I want to get there
before the line gets too long." Her eyes suddenly flashed with
mischief. "And on the train ride, I can introduce you to 'Fantasy
Life.'"

Ranma groaned.

****

'Now this was comfortable,' Ranma thought to himself.

He was not yet used to how bold Nabiki could be in public. The
constant hand holding and just touching felt a little odd coming from
the woman that was known as the 'Ice Queen.' On the other hand, she
had never been shy. From the first day he had met her when she
openly fondled Ranma's breasts even after realizing Ranma was a girl,
or at least was at the time, Nabiki had never been shy. Still, he
had never seen her this bold in displaying affection before. It
probably helped that they were downtown, and did not see anyone they
knew.

As much as he was beginning to enjoy her more outrageous displays of
affection, though, this quiet moment was more comfortable. She was
currently hugging his arm as she leaned, or maybe snuggled, against
his shoulder.

It had been a fun evening. During their first train ride, Nabiki
had insisted on giving him a rundown on the characters and basic plot
of her favorite romance manga. While Ranma showed nothing but
disgust at first, by the time she was done, he found he did not mind
hearing about it. She seemed to have a flair for storytelling. He
figured it probably came from all the gossiping she did. He found he
was thankful for her efforts when they stood in line later and he
could listen to her talk to the people around them in line,
discussing the various characters and match-ups, without feeling
totally lost.

After she had met the author and gotten the signature, something she
plainly enjoyed, much to Ranma's satisfaction, they found a quiet
place to have something to eat. The food was unusually good and the
service was attentive, but slow enough to give them a good chance to
talk. They had talked about plans for the dojo, and the possibility
of continuing on a part-time basis during the school year. They also
talked about the classes Ranma should take at the University and made
some tentative plans for a schedule that would allow them to take
some classes together when he started the year after her.

This was very new to Ranma. Along with an earlier mention about
presents on his birthday, they had now made several references to
being together in the future. Ranma's life was so jumbled he rarely
made plans a week in advance. He was not even certain when they had
started being 'together.' He was pretty secure in the idea that they
were boyfriend and girlfriend now, but they had never really
discussed it. Well, now that he thought about it, he supposed it
started when they admitted their feelings. They had never really
discussed being boyfriend and girlfriend, but it had been
unnecessary. Her reaction to Ukyo made it clear that they would be
exclusive or nothing. That was fine with Ranma, who knew what it was
like to have several girls claiming him at one time.

His thoughts were broken when Nabiki spoke. "Thank you Ranma. I
had a really good time tonight." She looked up and into his eyes for
a moment.

'Yes, this was very comfortable,' Ranma smiled inwardly.

"Of course, the night's not over yet," she teased, bringing his hand
to her cheek for a moment before kissing the back of it.

Ranma quickly began to sweat. 'Did I say comfortable?'

****

As they walked hand-in-hand toward the dojo, Nabiki was lost in her
own thoughts. A second date with Ranma, and it had gone very well.
A few months ago she would have been surprised to ever see him again.
Heck, two weeks ago, they were going out for a romantic evening, but
she had herself convinced it would just be as friends and he was just
doing her a favor. Now they were on their second date, and there was
no misunderstanding what was happening. She was falling for this
strange, cursed, macho jock.

She had seen past his image, but still he was a manifestation of
physical strength, tradition, and the childhood fables of magic, all
values and ideas that she had hoped to leave behind when she finally
left the dojo. Instead she was leaving the dojo to move in with him
for at least two years. Depending on how their fathers reacted, she
may even be setting herself up to marry him. By all rights, she
should be running from him as fast as she could, not walking hand-in-
hand with him, enjoying the evening. In fact, she realized as she
noticed how close they were to home, that she was not ready for the
night to end.

"Ranma, we don't have to go in yet, do we?" she asked tentatively.

"I guess not, but what did you have in mind?" He seemed a little
worried, probably because of the way she teased him earlier on the
train. Speaking of which..

She could not help the smile as she responded. "Well, I didn't
really have anything specific in mind. It is kinda warm still.. How
about we sit on the roof and look at the sky? You used to like
that."

"Hmmm.. Shoulda known you knew about that. I didn't go up there
all that much. Just when I needed some time to think." Ranma
remarked, looking up at the roof as they approached the gate.

"So, would you mind some company up there?" she asked as she
squeezed his hand.

His response was to lean down and lift her into his arms. "Gee, I'm
not sure. I better think on that." With that he leapt up to the top
of the fence and then to the roof. Not making a sound, he made his
way to the top before he set her down.

She watched without comment as he settled in next to her. She
expected him to lay down, as he used to, but instead he sat down
with his feet about a foot apart and his arms resting on his knees.
He looked up at the stars for a moment before speaking.

"I'm glad you suggested this, I've missed it."

She watched him, amazed at the calm look on his face. It used to be
that he was very nervous when they were alone in a situation like
this. She had been working on him, trying to get him used to showing
some affection without going nuts. She liked to make him nervous
sometimes, and she still thought his stammer was cute, but the quiet
moments were nice too, and she had not seen him this comfortable in a
long time, outside of practicing his Art.

She finally broke the silence. "Would you be upset if I said I had
an ulterior motive for bringing you up here?"

Ranma liked to think he was not an idiot, and it did not take a
detective to figure out her motives, but he thought maybe he could
catch her off-guard this time.

Putting his arm around her shoulders he leaned over to whisper in her
ear, "Maybe I'd be upset if you didn't have another motive." Then
her kissed her neck, running the tip of his tongue up her neck and
behind her ear. This was the first time he had started the kissing,
but he thought he had copied her technique correctly. He hoped the
shiver her felt go through her covered up the fact that he was
shaking from nerves.

When she shook off the sensation and stood up, he began to worry he
had guessed wrong about her motives. He wondered if he had moved too
quickly when she took a step down the slope of the roof. His
confidence returned as she turned towards him with that smile of hers
that could mean any one of several things, but none of them innocent.
He complied happily as Nabiki moved his legs wider apart and sat down
between them.

Snuggling back against his chest, she tilted her head forward and
said "That tickled. Do it again!"

********

Chapter 8 - Discussion Groups

Ranma was up early the next morning. He took advantage of his
location to enjoy a private workout in a real dojo again. He had
done a fair amount of working out this week with his students, but
this was just for him. He let the energy and grace of the kata flow
through his body. The exercise left him relaxed and centered.

He remained in the dojo afterwards to contemplate the week gone by.
Started a new job, perhaps even a career. Found some pride in
martial arts outside of fighting. Made himself clear to Ukyo, but
that was still unfinished. Perhaps he could still save the
friendship, or at least some of her honor. Started a new
relationship.

Perhaps not, though. As he thought about it, it seemed they had
been leading up to this for several weeks. Whatever the case, they
had moved forward this week with the admission of their feelings.
They had also gone on a date last night. The dance was probably
their first date, he admitted to himself, but last night was
different. Last night was special because he had asked her out on
his own, she had not suggested it - something he was rather proud of.
Something he was more proud of was that she had accepted because she
wanted to go with him. There were no bets to win, nothing to prove.

Things had also progressed between them.. physically. He had never
expected to enjoy hugging and kissing as much as he did. Just her
touch sent shivers through his body. Of course, they were not doing
most of the stuff the guys at school joked about, it was all pretty
innocent. Ranma kept his hands away from anything that he did not
have in his guy form. And all the kissing had stayed above the
neck.. 'Well okay,' he answered his own silent objection with a
smile as he got back to work, 'but nothing below the neck.'

****

I really shouldn't have done it. I knew it was wrong, but I
couldn't help myself. Part of it was nostalgia, although I suppose
to get the real effect I would've needed my camera. Part of it was
looking into the future. There was a significant possibility, and
getting more significant daily, that I could end up married to him,
and this scene would become commonplace. Mostly though, I just
enjoyed watching him go through his kata. He seemed very
comfortable in the dojo.

It was a little surprising just to find him still here. Last night
seemed like such a dream, I half thought it was. The first time he
asked me out of his own accord and the first time he started a kiss
with me. The only thing that brought me back to reality last night
was a brief report from Kasumi about what daddy was up to last night.
How much has he guessed?

Speaking of back to reality, we still have to deal with Ukyo. Well,
technically Ranma has to deal with Ukyo. He did ask me for help
though, so I guess it is 'we.' Time to get to it.

"Ranma," I said it quietly, just to see how engrossed he is in the
Art. To my surprise, he immediately turned to me with a grin.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to speak up." That
rotten fake actually stood there, grinning at me.

I decided to let him has his fun. "C'mon. Kasumi will have some
breakfast waiting soon, and I obviously need some coffee if I finally
let you catch me." I turned back toward the house.

I almost jumped when I felt his breath on my ear as he whispered
"Yeah, 'finally.' Riiight." He drew the last sylable out, but even
still he sped past me before I could do anything but stare after him.
What the hell did that mean?

****

"Well, a debt is owed. Your father accepted the yattai, and young
Ukyo devoted her life to you, or at least the pursuit of you, based
on your father's word. I hate to admit it, but hers is a valid
claim." Nodoka's brow was furrowed as she considered the
conflicting commitments.

Ranma went white. "Are you saying I have to marry her?"

"No, at least not yet, but we do owe her something. To start, we
can pay back the value of the yattai with interest. We still have
to make up for her personal efforts though, and that probably means a
considerable cash payment and perhaps finding a way to restore her
honor."

"How can we restore her honor?" Nabiki asked, her expression clouded
with doubt.

"The only honorable endings for her are marrying Ranma; avenging
herself on at least Genma, perhaps Genma and Ranma; or accepting
reparations and having her father rescind the agreement based on
false pretenses. Any of these would allow her name to be reinstated
as a daughter of her clan."

"False pretenses?" Ranma asked.

"The fact that you were already engaged means that Genma
misrepresented his part of the agreement," Nodoka explained. "I do
not care to lose my husband or son, nor will I force Ranma into a
passionless marriage, so the only option is getting Ukyo to rescind
the agreement."

Nabiki seemed confused. "I thought you said her father had to do
that?"

"Well, yes," the older woman conceded, "technically he made the
agreement. Ukyo will have to talk to him, and that is something we
have little control over."

Nabiki found clarity, in fact her mind was off to the races. No
reason to get Ranma's hopes up yet though.

Ranma was still looking for hope. "Mom, What about the promise
between our two families?" he asked, with a glance to Nabiki. It did
not go unnoticed my either woman. "Does that help us any?"

"Well, the promise is still in effect to my knowledge, but no one
has talked recently about going through with the agreement. It is
the only honorable reason we can dispute the claim, however. With
Kasumi engaged, it does naturally fall to Nabiki. We can safely
imply it even though it has not been formalized."

"Maybe you should play up the engagement when you go see her,"
Nabiki speculated.

"No," Ranma replied immediately.

Nabiki was sure she knew what this was about. "Ranma, I know it's
not ideal, and you don't want all the pressure again, but maybe we
can stop it before it starts if we can get Ukyo to give up right
away."

"But that's just the point. I was already engaged to Akane last
time and it didn't even slow her down. That won't do it."

"I agree," Nodoka said, bringing ranma to an abrupt halt.

"What? If you agree, then why.."

"Why suggest it? I don't expect Ukyo to suddenly give up as soon as
she sees Nabiki. In fact, I think you have already taken the most
important step when you told her how you felt. If she sees you as
available, though, she may continue to harbor some hope. Also,
without a prior engagement, she could refuse reparations, and force a
marriage in the hopes you will eventually grow to love her. If the
two of you are agreeable, I would suggest you confront her with a
combination of all these things. Go see her, both of you. Let her
see you together, reiterate what you have told her and offer to
negotiate reparations right then and there."

Nabiki had been nodding absently to herself as Nodoka spoke, but
finally spoke up. "She's right Ranma. You've done the hard part -
the part you were never able to do in the past. That could make the
difference."

"That and you, Nabiki," Nodoka emphasized.

"Do you really think Ukyo would be more intimidated by Nabiki, mom?
I mean, Nabiki has her ways, but Akane was pretty tough too."

Nodoka smiled, and while it was not condescending, Ranma was still
certain he had missed something. "It's not intimidation that we're
looking for. In fact, it would be better if you both go there on.."
she paused searching for the right word, "civil terms, if not
friendly ones. The reason Nabiki may make a difference is that you
make a very convincing couple. Your feelings for each other are
obvious, as they were with Akane. But with Akane, your fights made
it easy for people to ignore the obvious. Look at how much Soun used
to dispair."

Ranma understood what she was saying, but was concerned with a
specific comment. "Are we really that obvious?"

Now Nodoka's smile was full. "Well, I have been watching you both
for a while now. I was pretty sure something was happening, but
seeing you two together these last few times, it has been pretty
clear." She did not mention the evidence she collected watching
Ranma decide on Friday what to wear for the date - her son needed
some secrets.

"If we're that obvious, why did you act as though you didn't know?"
Nabiki wondered aloud.

"It was obvious, but it was also obvious you were not going out of
your way to announce it. If it was important to you to not discuss
it with your family yet, I felt I should stand by your wishes."

Nabiki laughed at herself. "We figured you knew. We talked with
Kasumi about it, or at least I have," she corrected herself as
Ranma's eyebrows shot up. "We just want to keep daddy and your
husband from over reacting, at least for now." She looked Nodoka in
the eye. "Do you think they've figured it out yet?"

"Those two are not very good at hiding anything, and they will over
react. I would say that if they knew, they would have done something
about it already. How long do you hope to keep this a secret,
though?"

This time Ranma answered. "Just as long as it takes them to notice.
We aren't trying to keep it a secret, but.. well, I'll take the peace
as long as I can get it."

"That's probably only another week or two at the most," Nabiki
interjected. "Daddy knows we went for a walk together Thursday, and
that we got in pretty late last night."

"How?" Ranma wondered. "I thought he was already in bed when we got
back."

"Yeah, but Kasumi told me he was up late waiting for us before he
finally gave up. Then too, he and your dad have been awfully chatty
today. They may already be speculating about us."

"Or planning," Ranma added with a frown.

Nodoka had a curious expression as she backtracked the conversation
a bit. "Just how late were you two last night?"

"Not all that late, Auntie," Nabiki assured her. "And don't worry,
it was just some harmless kissing. I don't think Ranma is ready for
any of the really fun stuff," she giggled.

Nodoka knew the young woman was trying to get a reaction from Ranma,
and she smiled tolerantly she watched her son glow with a blush.

****

"Well, you had to try, Ranma. You never would've forgiven yourself
if you didn't at least try," Nabiki said, dabbing the cut below his
right eye.

"Yeah, I know. And I knew that she probably wouldn't accept
anything short of an engagement, but still.."

Nabiki was pretty sure she was hurting Ranma unnecessarily, she was
not very good at this. Tofu should be doing this, or at least
Kasumi. They were both back in Nerima, though. In fact, this being
Wednesday afternoon, Tofu was working at the clinic. Nabiki had
thought Nodoka would want to do this, but the woman had taken one
look at Ranma and quickly brought Nabiki the first aid kit. She
admitted that it did make her feel good though, and the only pain she
could detect in Ranma's eyes seemed to come from him reflecting back
on the the meeting with Ukyo.

The meeting had gone very poorly. The joy that had leapt to Ukyo's
face at the sight of Ranma, had deserted her just as quickly as she
watched him hold the door for Nabiki. She had no doubt why the two
were here, and she wanted nothing to do with it. And that was when
she had only guessed part of the story.

Although she misunderstood Nabiki's presence, it had led her to the
correct conclusion - Ranma was there to discuss reparations. The
young restauranteur had completely ignored Nabiki, and immediately
begun yelling at Ranma. For his part, Ranma made no attempt to
defend himself, but simply took every insult Ukyo leveled at him.
He even stood still when she threw a few dishes at him. She did not
step over the line until the end of her tirade.

"So I don't care what you came here to talk about, unless it's our
wedding. And one last thing. This is a family agreement, we don't
need lawyers." Looking at Nabiki, she continued. "In the future,
bring your family and leave your pet shark at home."

Ranma's expression hardened at that. Reaching out to take Nabiki's
hand, he spoke in a quiet, forced tone. "Ukyo, my father and I have
done many things for which I am sorry. I apologize for those, and I
am trying to make them up to you. There is.. no call for you to
insult Nabiki. Don't do it again."

Ukyo's face went white with recognition, and she stared at the
couple's joined hands.

Ranma turned and led Nabiki out of the restaurant without another
word. In fact, Ranma had not said another word until Nabiki started
tending his few wounds.

"Nabiki," he finally broke her train of thought. "Thanks for comin'
with me, and I'm sorry you had ta.."

Uncertain what word he was looking for, she decided not to wait for
it. Instead, she took his hand and gave him a kiss on the cheek -
the one without the cut. "Hey, I wanted to be there. And don't give
up yet, you asked me for help on this, remember? Give me a couple of
days, and I'll come up with something. In the mean time, I think
your mother said something about baking up some treats."

****

Seeing his future father-in-law in his waiting room was fairly
unusual, especially with no injured martial artists there also.
Seeing Mr. Saotome there as well convinced the doctor that something
was wrong, but what?

"Mr. Tendo, Mr. Saotome! Please come in." Tofu led the way to his
office, still wondering what could bring the two gi-clad men here.
Usually, when the two got together, they wanted nothing more than to
find a shogi board. "Have a seat, please. Now, what can I do for
you gentlemen?"

"No need to be so formal, son," Soun replied with a grin. "We'll be
family soon enough."

"Quite so," Genma chimed in his agreement. "Tendo and had a
question for you Tofu. We were wondering what it took to convince
you to pop the question to Kasumi. Did someone say something to you?
Do you have an herb that helped with your courage? What was it?"

Tofu realized that as destructive as the two men could be, it was
probably a good thing that their motives were so obvious. Using the
level gaze he generally reserved for young martial artists that
refused perscribed bed rest, he said firmly, "I thought you had both
learned your lesson already. Just leave Ranma and Nabiki alone."

Genma immediately responded, "It's not like that at all, Tofu. We
just want to make sure we don't hurt their chances anymore than we
already have. We thought we should know what signs to look for."

Tofu did not believe that for a moment, but thought he might be able
to dissuade them with his answer.

He appraised them for a moment as he carefully organized his
thoughts - a gift to his brother-to-be. "Well, there were two
important things. First, I had to know that she felt the same way
about me." He watched as the two men exchanged an excited look.
"Second, I had to wait for the right time. I had to know it was
right." This brought a frown to both of them.

"Hmmm.. How did you know it was right, then?" Soun probed.

"Well, it's funny. If you had asked me before I did it, I wouldn't
have known. In fact, my family tried to convince me to propose to
another woman about six months before I returned here." He paused to
let the two men react for a moment.

"You mean you considered marrying someone else?" Soun asked in a
scandalized voice.

"No, I never considered it. It is what my family wanted and pushed
for though. Well, all except my mother."

Genma tried to ease Soun's tension a bit. "Of course Kin would know
better. How is she, by the way?"

"She is well, thank you. And yes she did know better. She also
wanted me to marry Yumi, but knew it was not right until I felt it
was right. She knew that while my family wanted what was best for
me, my uncles and the others were wrong to try and force it." Tofu
tried to keep his voice even, not stressing certain words too hard.
It was not easy.

"Well, son," Soun responded after a moment, "it's a good thing you
had the inner stregth to know what was right."

Walking back to the dojo a bit later, Soun broke the silence.

"Can you believe how wrong Tofu's family was, Saotome?"

"It is difficult, Tendo. How can anyone not see that he and Kasumi
are meant for each other? Still, they have never met Kasumi, so we
should not be too hard on them."

"I guess you're right there. Still, it makes me realize how lucky
our children are to have us. Who knows what sort of mis-matches
lesser men might have contemplated for Nabiki and Ranma."

"Too true, Tendo. Now all we have to do is see that my son actually
proposes. Any ideas yet?"

****

The idea had been rolling around in her head since they had talked
to Nodoka on Sunday. Now that she had done some research, she felt
even better about the idea. It would be better if he were in
financial trouble. Even still, few business people would turn down
some extra money.

Nabiki was double-checking her suit as the older woman walked back
into the quiet restaurant dining room.

"Mr. Kuonji will see you now."

********

Chapter 9 - Confrontations and Decisions

It was a beautiful day out, but Nabiki was not enjoying it. She
could probably get Ranma to cheer her up with a walk to the park
when he finished his current class, at least she could if she were at
home. Instead she was at Ranma's house of all places.

"Here you go, dear." Nodoka placed a tray on the table and served
tea for both of them before kneeling down to watch her guest. She
did this for several moments before she smoothed her kimono and spoke
again. "Now why not just tell me what's wrong and we can get on to
resolving the issue."

Nabiki smiled for a moment. "You need to work on Ranma more. I
wish he could be as direct at times." Realizing that she was herself
avoiding the issue, she decided to come to the point. "I think I may
have screwed up."

Nodoka snorted a bit without sounding the at all unfeminine. "Well,
as direct as that is, why not be more specific?"

A long moment of silence passed before, "I went to see Ukyo's dad
yesterday."

Nodoka let her eyes fall closed slowly. A long, but quiet breath.
In a steady voice she said "Tell me what happened."

Nabiki decided to keep it short. "Well, I thought I could at least
talk to him about breaking the engagement. Ukyo is too stubborn, and
like you said, he is the one that made the agreement. I got in to
see him okay, he didn't even know what I was there for. When he
found out.. well, he became upset and refused to talk to me. He said
that he would only discuss it with one of the Saotomes, and threw me
out." She found herself looking at the floor. "I didn't mean to
cause a problem, I was trying to help." When she looked up, she was
surprised by Nodoka's expression, which was contemplative rather than
the anger she was expecting.

"Hmmm.. That could have gone worse. You were very lucky."

Surprise turned to amazement. "Are you kidding? He was livid. How
could it have gone worse?"

"Well, for one thing, he could have challenged your clan on the spot
for the right to marry Ranma and asked you to name a champion - one
from your clan," she explained in a relieved voice.

"WHAT?"

"Nabiki, for one from such a traditional family, you show a
remarkable lack of understanding of the rules of honor. You had best
correct that deficiency before you attempt any more meetings like
that one." Nodoka sipped from her cup. "Enjoy the tea while it's
still warm dear, it will help you relax and think more clearly.
Going to see him was not a bad idea, but you should not have been the
one to go, or at least not alone. You were not party to the
agreement. Still, let me think a moment, and perhaps we can salvage
your plan yet."

"You really think he might still be willing to talk about it? Like
I said, he was pretty upset when I talked to him."

"And understandably so. Still, if he said he would discuss it with
a Saotome, then I see little reason we cannot take him up on the
offer." Nodoka refreshed her tea. "Tomorrow, the three of us can
make the trip out to see him."

"Who do you mean by 'the three of us?'"

"You, Ranma and myself. I wouldn't take Genma, if that is what
you're asking. There is no telling what Mr. Kuonji might request for
reparations, and I do not want to give my husband the chance to do
further damage to our honor by making more commitments we cannot
meet."

Nabiki's voice was very tentative as she made a request. "Could we
leave Ranma out of it for now?"

The surprise was evident. "Why would you want to do that?"

The younger woman was quiet for a moment, looking for a logical
reason that would not require her to give voice to her fears. "He's
not very good at negotiations, I don't want him to make any promises
he can't, or shouldn't, keep."

"Ranma can be rather impetuous, like his father. But that's not
what you're talking about, is it? Nabiki, are you afraid Ranma will
agree to marry Ukyo?"

Nabiki squirmed, but knew she was caught. "Why would I.. No I
don't.." She lapsed into silence, taking several deep breaths before
trying to start again. This time her voice was steady. "Like you
said, I don't understand all these rules of honor. Every time a girl
starts to cry, he loses his backbone. I was really glad when you
suggested I go with him to see Ukyo, 'cause I was trying to figure
out a reason to tag along. He has known her a lot longer, and he
does like her-" Nodoka interrupted taking Nabiki's hand in hers.

"Nabiki, in the year they really got to know each other, did you
ever see him ask her on a date, or spend an evening kissing her?"

"Well, no but.. I know he liked Akane, and he never did that with
her either."

"And what did he do when Ukyo called here, now that he is ready to
do these things with someone he cares for? No, let me tell you since
you weren't here. He told her he did not love her and asked her to
find someone else. He told her he would not marry her. He never
said such things to Akane, did he?"

Nabiki squeezed Nodoka's hand. "I know, you're right, but he hates
doing this, and he's not very good at it. Can't you and I take care
of this?"

Nodoka knew it was a mistake, knew problems would come of this, but
Nabiki was right about Ranma's difficulties where a girl's feelings
were concerned.

"On one condition: If we arrive at an agreement, you must tell
Ranma immediately."

"Done!" Nabiki declared, with some enthusiasm showing through.

Nodoka wondered if she needed help negotiating. "Let's go on Tuesday
when Ranma is teaching again."

****

"Here you go, Ranma." Kasumi set down a tray of lemonade and some
snacks. "How was class?"

"Seemed to go okay," Ranma shrugged. He adjusted his gi as they sat
down in the dojo.

"You never quite have the same enthusiasm after your second class.
Is something wrong?" She made herself comfortable across from him.

Ranma chuckled. "Not really. Just not much to be proud of in that
group. Only a couple of them are actually interested in the Art.
The rest either have someone they want to beat up or want to know
just enough to impress the girls."

"That's awful. Are the other classes like that?"

"No actually, not at all. The kids really want to learn, and will
do just about anything. The girls.. well some of them are okay,
pretty serious. And the morning class is all serious."

"What about the rest of the girls?" she smiled.

Ranma thought for a moment before answering. "I don't know what
they're doing here. It's like they're daydreaming most of the time.
Kinda feel like I'm wasting my time and their money," he shrugged
again.

"Oh, I doubt they feel cheated," Kasumi smiled.

"Did you ever find out where Nabiki went?" Ranma asked, trying to
make it sound casual.

"No. I know she was kind of quiet this morning, but it was nothing
you did, Ranma. She was like this last night too. She was out most
of the day yesterday, and was not very happy when she got back.
Maybe it was something to do with that?"

Kasumi wished Ranma a good afternoon and gathered up her tray and
other items. As she entered the house, the phone was ringing.

"Tendo residence."

"Hello, Kasumi."

"Hello, Auntie. How are you today?"

"Oh, just fine. Listen, I wanted to let you know that Nabiki is
over here, and will be eating here."

"Oh, can I ask, is she feeling better? She was rather quiet this
morning and last night."

Nodoka's smile was clear over the phone. "She's better. She is
still troubled, but we may be able to take care of that together on
Tuesday. If she is not better Tuesday night, we may have a
problem."

"Hmm, is there anything I can do?"

"Not yet, but I'll let you know more Tuesday."

"Okay. Is everything okay between her and Ranma? If she is gone
Tuesday, that will make it a week that the two of them will not spend
any time together. That's unusual lately."

Nodoka's smile shone through again. "I thought about that too, and
that is the other reason I'm calling. Don't feed my son tonight.
Tell him I need him back here for dinner. In fact, I think Nabiki
will spend the night here as we work on her room some more."

****

Ranma started another kata, trying to lose himself in the exercise,
but could not get his mind off Nabiki. They had a great time
together Saturday night, but now she was gone again, and again he did
not know where. She did seem a little distracted at times on
Saturday, but he never did find out why. His mom seemed to be
involved, or at least knew what was going on. Now today, both his
parents had come to the dojo with him and his mom had disappeared
with Nabiki. For not the first time, he wondered to himself 'What
the hell is going on?'

His concentration was interrupted as he noticed someone standing in
the doorway. He looked up to see his dad and Mr. Tendo coming toward
him.

Mr. Tendo started things off. "Son, we'd like to talk to you."

And his dad joined in. "Sit down, and let's discuss some things."

Ranma stayed on his feet and looked back and forth between the two.
"What did you want to discuss? I am not changing anything else in
the class, it's goin' great already."

Soun sat down in hopes of taking Ranma off his guard. "You
misunderstand, Ranma. This has nothing to do with the class. The
class IS going great." This was true. Many students had already
talked to the dojo's owner about continuing during the school year or
on their next break. Most had asked when Ranma would be teaching
again.

Despite the compliment, Ranma became more alert. These two did not
compliment him under normal circumstances. "So, what do you want?"

His dad responded this time. "We've noticed that you and Nabiki
have-"

"OH!" Ranma interrupted. Suddenly it was all clear. "You want to
talk about engaging Nabiki and me. Right?"

Soun was taken back by Ranma's insight and open attitude. "Well,
yes. You obviously get along. We just wanted to help-"

"No," Ranma cut in again. "IF, and I mean 'if,' we decide to get
married, we'll invite you to the ceremony. Until then, back off."
Ranma was rather proud. Weeks of teaching had taught him a skill he
badly needed - the ability to assert himself with authority, but
without anger. "If you don't have anything else-"

"Listen here, boy! I raised you to respect your elders better."
Genma immediately yelled back. "We have worked hard and been
patient, but now it is time-"

"Time for what? Time for you to break your promises?" Ranma
matched Genma's volume. "You both told me this would not happen
again!"

Soun attempted to bring things back to a civil level. "Now Ranma,
we only want what's best for both of you. As I said, classes are
going well. Don't you want to teach here permanently? Why, after you
wed, this dojo would be yours."

Ranma's face turned red as he realized the bribe he was offered, and
how cheap it made him feel. "Don't you dare! Don't you ever.."
Ranma paused looking for the right words to fit his outrage. Someone
else saved him the effort.

"Father," Kasumi's voice came from the doorway as she carried in
some lemonade. "I believe what Ranma is trying to say is that you
sound like a horse trader, and despte Ranma's name, it is totally
inappropriate. Nabiki is a wonderful young lady, you do not need to
entice or compel anyone to consider her, especially not Ranma. You
only slight her in doing so, which is why Ranma is so upset he can
barely think or breathe. They already like each other, and get along
very well. If it continues, they will come to the usual conclusions
in their own time. Leave them be."

The three men calmed for a moment, looking at one another, before
Kasumi spoke again. "Ranma, would you do me a favor? I need to
carry some things to Tofu's."

Ranma looked back at Kasumi, amazed she could smile through the
tension in the room. Taking a deep breath, he finally walked out of
the dojo with her before responding, "Thanks Kasumi."

****

I could feel myself relax as I settled in next to Auntie. The train
was already starting to move, and we were just a few hours from home
now. I learned several years ago that there were different levels of
relaxation, including both 'I won!' and 'It's over.' I wished for
the former, but got the latter.

Auntie was actually pretty good at negotiating, and she was right, I
need to learn more about the rules of honor before I try something
like this on my own. Mr. Kuonji had made several demands in exchange
for breaking the engagement. At one point he was dead set on
adopting Ranma and having complete control over his future. At
another point, his only offer was that he name another Kuonji girl to
take Ukyo's place.

Finally, Auntie had been able to negotiate a two-part deal. She
would arrange another match for Ukyo. It had to be another martial
artist, and had to be approved by Ukyo, with the stipulation that
Ukyo could not demand Ranma. Secondly, they would have to pay back
the dowry, the value of the yattai plus interest. Unfortunately, he
would not budge on this, and the value he insisted on was millions of
yen more than Ranma's family had, I was certain.

"Auntie?" I said, breaking the silence.

"Yes dear?" Her voice was somehow, both tired and strained.

"I think you did a great job, don't get me wrong, but the dowry?
Can you pay that?"

Nodoka sighed deeply. "I was just trying to decide what to do about
that. We can execute the agreement later on, when we can arrange the
money, but that could take years. The only other thing I can think
of would be to sell the house. I just can't decide which does the
worse damage."

We were silent for the rest of the ride. I spent most of that time
staring out the window. The idea of Ranma not being free for years
made me realize something. I did not like that. I did not want to
wait that long. I wanted Ranma as my fiance, and waiting years was
unacceptable.

Likewise, I did not like the idea of the Saotomes' selling their
house. They might stay with us for a short while, but Nodoka was an
honorable woman, and would not do that for long. They would move,
and on their meager income, they would have to move well out of the
Tokyo area to find something they could afford. That meant I would
be seeing little of Ranma for some time. Also unacceptable.

There was a third option. It was a scary option, but if he agreed,
it could well be worth it. I could re-pay the dowry from my college
funds. It would pretty much deplete what I had left, after paying
the first semester's tuition, but I could do it. It would mean
working a lot more than I had planned during school. I might not
even be able to afford to go full time.

It was worth it. He was worth it.

But I was getting a bit ahead of myself, I did not even know if
Ranma wanted this, wanted me. We said we would make these decisions
together. I needed to talk to Ranma.

****

Arriving at the clinic, Ranma looked at the two bowls he was
carrying, and the single tray Kasumi held. Normally she would easily
carry all three in one of the baskets she had for just such an
occasion. "Thanks again, Kasumi."

"You impressed me, Ranma. When I heard what they were doing, I was
worried you wouldn't do well alone, but you handled yourself very
well. Much better than they did," Kasumi smiled.

"Yeah, right up until your dad.. Well anyway, thanks again."

"I wish they would stop, but you do realize, they are likely to
continue."

Kasumi took a moment to greet Tofu in silence as he walked into the
room. They shared a silent hug before Tofu looked over to Ranma.

"The fathers take to the offensive already? Sorry, I should have
warned you this was coming."

"No biggie, doc. We've been expecting it," Ranma shrugged it off.
"That's why we decided to make our decisions together."

"So, know what you want to do yet?" Tofu asked tasting some
wonderful dishes on the table.

"Well, Nabiki-"

"Hang on a sec," Tofu stopped him. "I wasn't asking what the two of
you want, but what you want. Making a decision together is good, but
you should still have your own opinion. Do you know what you want?"

"Well yeah, but it ain't that easy. I can't.. do what I want yet."

"Does she know what you want?" Kasumi asked.

"Well, not yet. Like I said, I can't do it yet."

Tofu smiled at him. "You don't have to do it right away, Ranma.
But if you have a goal in mind, she should know. If she wants the
same thing, you can work towards it together. You guys do pretty
good work together, you know."

Ranma scratched the back of his head. "That's true, doc. That's
true."

****

I got home while Ranma was teaching his late class. I was going to
wait until after dinner to talk to him, but someone else had their
own ideas.

"Would you mind a suggestion, Nabiki?" Kasumi asked. "I was
thinking I could wrap something up for the two of you and you could
have a picnic. It's a lovely evening, and you guys haven't had much
time to yourselves lately."

Now I love my sister, and I know she would never lie to me without
reason, so I figured something big was going on. Kasumi was the one
that was always arguing for everyone to eat together. Also, she
wouldn't look me in the eye.

"Hmmm, not bad sis, but you need to work on your delivery. Care to
tell me what's really up?"

Kasumi looked me in the eye for a long few seconds. "Daddy and
Uncle Saotome went to Ranma this afternoon and tried to get him to
agree to an engagement. It was a pretty bad argument. I rather
doubt he'll enjoy his dinner if he has to eat with them."

"Ahh, now that makes more sense. Okay. And thanks sis."

I helped gather up some of the items for our dinner, and while I
missed Ranma as he stepped into the washroom, I was waiting for him
when he came out.

"Hey you! What do you say to a picnic?"

Ranma looked like he had had a bad day, and it took a moment for my
question to register. "Huh? I thought.. I thought Kasumi had
already made dinner."

"Yeah, but she told me about your afternoon, and we thought a quiet
evening out might help. So?"

Ranma slowly grew a smile. "So, where to?"

We had a pleasant walk to the park, with Ranma holding a basket of
food in his left hand and my left in his right hand. Once we found a
nice spot, I started to lay out Kasumi's dishes and asked him what
happened.

"Ahh, they got me when I wasn't expecting it. I figured they'd try
to talk to us together, ya know? I saw them walk in and next thing I
know they're telling me about how they only want what's best for us.
I tried to tell them we could decide for ourselves, but they didn't
want to hear it. Finally, your sister separated us." Ranma began
eating, but sure was taking his time about it. I decided to try to
get some more out of him.

"So, what do you want to do?"

Ranma started at my question. "How much did your sister tell you
about this afternoon?"

"Less than you did, why?"

Ranma gave a lopsided grin, and shook his head. "No reason, you
just reminded me of something."

"I have a question for you."

Now he raised his eyebrows. "Uh oh."

"What was that for?" I asked.

"You only announce a talk or question when it's something big." He
looked me in the eye, but with a smile. "What's the question?"

I held his gaze for a moment. "Will you marry me?"

His brow furrowed, but he showed no other response for a moment.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes," I nodded.

He snorted. "That's funny," he said quietly.

I wondered how much pain showed on my face. "What's so funny?"

"I wasn't laughing. I just meant I was about to ask you." He took
my hand. "I want you to be my wife."

I pulled him into a long hug. "Thank you," one of us said, or maybe
both of us. I didn't even know I was crying until I pulled back and
saw the wet spot on his shirt.

He seemed to look right through me as he took a deep breath. "We
need to figure out what to do about Ukyo, though."

"Done," I said and filled him in on the last few days.

"Wow, that is a lot of money. I don't know where.." He drifted off
into thought. "And what happened to acting together on this?"

"Consider it a present, an engagement present. Now I have another.
I can pay the dowry."

You'd have thought I suggested one of us sleep with Kuno-baby for
the money. "No way! I know you don't have that much, not without
using all your school money. I'll.. I'll earn the money somehow.
You're going to school."

I patted him on the cheek. "Actually, you already did."

"Huh?" he responded in that insightful way of his.

"Where do you think I got my college money? Mostly off you.
Pictures of you. Blackmail. Bets. I may have collected it, but you
earned it."

I could tell he was trying to think of an argument against what I
was saying. "What about college?"

"Well, my first semester is already paid. After that, I should be
able to continue part-time, depending on what kind of job I can get,"
I said, trying to look hopeful.

"One condition."

Ranma negotiating? "What's that?"

"I help you pay for college."

Not it was my turn to be shocked. "No! You shouldn't-"

"Stop," he cut me off. "We're partners. I say we make your college
graduation one of the things we work for. With references and
experience I should be able to get a decent job. Between the two of
us, you should be able to stay in full-time. Deal?"

I looked him in the eye, wondering when he had turned the tables on
me again.

"Deal, partner. Or should I call you my fiance?"

********

Epilogue

Ranma did not look much different. There was still some pain etched
in his face. Some of it was probably a permanent feature now, he had
been sad for so long. But I had not failed. The pain was assuaged
somewhat, mixed with happiness, and the reason was obvious. Nabiki
fairly glowed as they held hands.

It felt wonderful to have them coming here to talk to me. Not that
I didn't already know what they were coming to tell me, I mean I had
been working towards this for nearly a year. I found some peace when
they finally started talking again. My heart soared when told each
other how they felt. It soared impossibly higher when they decided
to marry. And now, they were coming to tell me what happened,
little did they know.

Of course, they were probably here to tell mother as well. Like she
knew any less than I did.

It did feel good though, having them come here. This is all I have
left, the happiness and honor of my family, and yes Ranma, that
includes you.

I watched the tears roll down his face as they tell me she is
moving, and that they are engaged. The idiot choked for a moment,
and actually asked my forgiveness. How can he still feel guilty? He
risked everything for me, trying to change fate.

I reached out to them, to where their hands joined, wondering, God
please, how could I make them understand. Their expressions started
a bit, and changed. They felt me, if only for a moment. Thank you
God, they felt me! Realization seemed to dawn on them.

As the two turned their attention to mother, I turned to Kasumi,
standing a ways down the path, also watching over the young couple -
right where I expected to find her. She had known for a while what I
was up to. I wondered if she realizes her job is coming to an end
of sorts. Daddy is healing nicely with the Saotomes, and now the
last of her wards is.. well, healing nicely with the Saotomes too,
actually. The last of this group anyway. I want lots of nieces and
nephews after all the trouble I went through to bring Tofu back here.
She smiled at my thoughts.

Ranma and Nabiki finally get up, and I see the peace in them.
Finally, they will both know the love they have always deserved.
Look out for each other. Protect her, my idiot, as well as you
always did me, and it will work out this time. I promise you that.
I love you, both of you.

****End A Deft Touch****

I got the idea for this from one of Lord Archive's fics. I was re-
reading "Bridging the Gap" and got stuck on the idea of what Ranma
would be like if Akane had died. Would he be like Soun? How would he
recover differently? As I examined the idea more closely, this story
began to take shape.

I must also thank Jennifer and Stephen for their encouragement and
input, without which I would never have finished it.