I'm not certain to say beyond remarking that this story was absolutely incredible. I was blown away from start to finish.

As a huge fan of alternative match-ups (I feel the open-ended nature of the story really allows for so many fantastic interpretations of how the story could truly end), I was very pleased with such an interesting take on a Nabiki/Ranma pairing.

Furthermore, while your characterizations of both Nabiki and Ranma later in the series were superbly done, I was even more intrigued by your inclusion of Lime, Monlon, and Sarutoru. You did an excellent job writing for them in my opinion, and I grew quite attached to the characters as you wrote them. In general I believe you did a very impressive job of staying as true as possible to each character you used within the confines of the plot you were developing.

As for the mystery itself, it kept me reading from start to finish to find out exactly what had happened and how Ranma brought it all about. I do believe this is the only mystery I've ever read in Ranma fan-fiction; even so, this entry is excellent enough to stand on its own as an example of what could be.

Regarding constructive criticism, I have very little to provide unfortunately. The story is on rare occasion marred by spelling or punctuation errors, but not nearly frequently enough to dampen my enjoyment. A few careful revisions would certainly do away with them entirely, but it's understandable if you're not so inclined at this point. To that end, I would much rather your energies be put towards writing the sequel, which I eagerly await.

I'm greatly looking forward to reading both the sequel to this story, as well as looking into your other entries. An excellent story by an excellent author; I hope fervently that you'll continue to write for a long time to come.

To be perfectly honest, I don't know where to begin.

I'm someone who has been fairly adamant about the concept of fanfiction. I've always called it, and I quote, "the lowest form of literature". Every now and then, I would find myself pulled to this site, whether out of boredom, or a link from a friend, or just plain fatigue letting my guard down. I've even caught myself writing a fanfic here or there on occasion, when I was too tired to ignore a stupid idea running through my head. Friends have quoted me as saying, "All fanfiction is terrible, and mine is no exception".

And yet, there is this. I've spent the entire past day Archive Binging this story. From the compelling plot hook that sinks in right to the start, to the clever and creative character work, I just couldn't put it down. The story you've woven here has actually caused me to rethink my stance on fanfiction, because it not only ended the story of Ranma 1/2 rather brilliantly, but it did so in a completely unexpected, yet somehow fitting way that far surpasses the open ending of the original.

Much of this is the willingness to take chances, that I saw in this work. To begin with, casting a secondary character like Nabiki in the starring role, and being willing to take risks with her characterization based on the fact that, yes, people do change, and a character is more than a list of traits. Throughout the story, I never felt that the narrative had lost sight of who Nabiki was as a character, but still felt her change and grow through the experiences she had in her search. Bringing up tertiary characters like Lime only helped to cement the idea that this is a story where life can happen, and where people are not defined solely by preset attributes, but by the experiences and histories that have brought them to where they are today.

It was a bold decision to still have the story be about Ranma, yet to not feature him save for a handful of chapters, that I believe ultimately paid off. The suspense and the mystery was intriguing, providing just enough clues to keep the audience guessing without losing the pacing. The side bits, with Ryoga, Akane, Kuno, Ukyo, etc. all helped to round out the story and to detail one of the more interesting aspects, the future of the NWC minus Ranma, without getting in the way of the central storyline.

Most importantly, and I cannot stress this enough, you were willing to allow for things to change, while still keeping that change fluid and organic. Too many pieces of fiction, and not just fanfiction, miss this pivotal concept. Change, in and of itself, is not antithetical to storytelling, it is the CORE upon which storytelling is founded. Any story that refuses to change, where the end of the story is just the same as the beginning, was never worth telling to begin with. The status quo is, and I cannot stress this enough, the greatest sin ever committed against quality literature. Even many works that profess change still like to do it in small, ultimately meaningless quantities, and the occasional grand gesture, leaving the status quo intact while making small modifications to it. It's always refreshing to see a story that simply ignores the concept of a status quo entirely, and allows events to flow freely and to have natural, organic consequences. You did that here, and for that, I applaud your writing skill.

And what's most important, you put a real ending on it. When the story ends, it really feels as though there's nothing left to say. All the plot threads have been resolved, including those the manga itself refused to. The characters end in a very different place from where they began, and everything isn't perfect. Nabiki's not going home, she's staying with Ranma. Ranma's still out on his own with it very firmly established that this is how it's going to be, and he's going to have to work hard to establish his new life. Akane and Kuno have only just begun to have the basis of a possible romance. And Ryoga's still Ryoga, but vital lessons have been learned by all. It's not a perfect ending, and it shouldn't be. Because it's life. It's real, it's natural, and it's beautiful. A great writer once said, "A good ending isn't Happily Ever After. It's just good enough to live with," and that's what's presented here. The cast will still have their own, separate struggles to face in the future to come. But there's a very real sense that they can, and that brings closure to it all without going into an overdone Happily Ever After.

I notice there's a sequel. I'll be following that intently. This story has really changed my mind on the possibility that some fanfiction actually can be worth a look, and I am truly impressed. Good luck in the future.

I'm impressed. This was a great way for Ranma to solve his problems and start over. I suspected that Nabiki helped him with his original plan but it was still shocking to read. And now I think I know why she was so desperate to find Ranma. There was something in her forgotten memories pushing her her on. I'll going to read the rest of the story now!

It's too bad that I can't find the follow-up story. I was wondering how Nabiki would explain Ranma to her family.

Wow. I really liked this story. So Ranma had Cologne send a message to the Amazons that she was retiring? Did she also tell them that Ranma was dead to save Shampoo's honor? I like how Nabiki was giving advice to everyone. I'm going to check for the follow-up in a minute. Thanks for the story.

Very good story! And it was somewhat fun to see Nabiki fighting herself so to say :)

Thank you for a very enjoyable story. I will check for more by you.

Again, thanks.

Oh, your friend with the memory problem. In 1984, I stopped to help some people that had slid off an icy road, and had another car slide into me. I have no memory of the accident or the following January, and had to work hard to get every thing before that straight.

But think about it. No memory of extreme fright and pain. Then throw in a very cold January (at least that's what my family says). Then I get to be reminded of my marriage, childrens births, birthdays, and other things even better.

What that all means is not all things are that horrible, and you get to help your friend remember and enjoy all that they have experienced. Grin, "I" think that has some good in it!


May the MUSE always be with you!
~!^

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. I love a good Ranma/Nabiki story, and this one is great. It's one of the best I've read. Well done. :)

Loved the story. I started reading it a long time ago not long after it started coming out, but i only got as far as nabiki going to see herb. then i stopped as that was the most that was out back then, and as life would have it I didn't get a chance to return to it until just a few days ago. So i started back from chapter 1 and read it straight through! and boy was i glad i did.

You really managed to get that epic feel to it. And indeed you got me to view those chars in a whole new light. I was sad to see the NWC (2) leave. They were a great group. Unfortunately i couldn't leave a review last night when the story was fresh on my mind cuz of issues, so i can't say all that i would have wanted. regardless This was a great story, and i look forward to it's sequal.

I liked it. I really did. There are some rough edges, but all told I am looking forward to re-reading this on a rainy day like I have with other fics that are special to me.

As for rough edges, a bit of constructive feedback if I may:

First of all, in mysteries like this one, it is very annoying when the protagonist uncovers a clue but the reader is not told what the clue is. Half the point in a mystery is guessing along with the main character, guessing ahead even. Something that is ruined when details are awkwardly withheld. Examples of this would be not mentioning that Nabiki found a death certificate and is visiting a graveyard until Ranma's grave is mentioned (later in the same chapter even!), or not letting the reader know that Toma is sending Nabiki to Ryugenzawa. In most cases I could not even see a point in omitting this info on purpose. I would suggest simply not omitting details about such short-term clues.

My second gripe is with the whole magic trump card not working out too well in a mystery either. The beautiful part of unraveling a mystery is all the fine details of its making, and how clues to them lead us to realize what actually happened. Some of this effect is lost when most of the details are just solved by magic/martial arts. An example would be Ranma's use of a 'slave and memory pressure point' on Cologne to make her mix the incense. This kind of deux-ex-machina effect makes the mystery a lot harder to figure out as we go along, while also making it a lot less believable in the end. In the example I think it would have been better if Ranma had a more realistic plan for mixing the incense, and remnants of this plan turns up as clues for Nabiki to help unravel the mystery. The memory incense itself was fine, and does have a strong precedent in canon, it is mostly the other times magic or other esoteric arts were used to circumvent difficult parts in Ranma's plan.

All in all, it was a good fic though.

This has got be one of the most original Ranma fics i have ever read. I mean you actully gave Lime the spot light in the story. I have never seen that. Awesome story anyways!

Just finished the whole story, and it's pretty good. I like the storyline overall. I would have love to see one more epilogue where it's years later and we have a glimpse on Ranma & Nabiki's life together, you know, a teaser for you sequel (hint, hint).

Only a couple of things bothered me. Some characters just feel OOC no matter what explanation you may have in the notes. Oh well, it did not detracts from the story much. The second thing is much more minor. It's the fact that Nerima is part of Tokyo, it's not a separate town. It's a ward within Tokyo. But you're not the first fanfic author to make that mistake. Given you've done research on Japanese geography in order to write about Nabiki's trek north, this little mistake was odd.

Anyway, good fic. I enjoyed reading it. Hope to see more from you.

I just finished reading the rest of the story and it is outstanding! I enjoyed the way you handled Nabiki, keeping her true to herself while also moving her forward. She is one of the Ranma 1/2 characters least likely to leave a mystery unsolved, regardless of the personal cost to herself.

Also, Ranma's actions are in perfect keeping with his character and considering what he has been through I thought it was completely believable that he would take this drastic an action.

It is also possible that, despite his stated efforts, that subconsciously he wanted Nabiki to remember him and come after him (after all they had a very nice date). Due to that, his subconscious mind caused him to overlook her earplugs.

I did like where you ended the story. Although it provides room for a sequel, and there are many possibly ways to continue it, it does provide a satisfying ending.

Thanks for writing an outstanding story.

This is an absolutely incredible story!

This was pretty good. I'm normally not one for mystery stories, and I almost stopped reading this when I realized that's what this was. But, as it wasn't too long, and I'm generally fond of non-cannon pairings for Ranma, I kept with it. My biggest complaint is how soon it ended after Nabiki found Ranma. I know that is part of the style for mystery stories, but I don't really like mysteries, and that is one of the reasons. I had hoped for several more chapters of them being together, but that was circumvented by the ending time skip. Oh well. Good job anyway.