BTW, I'd like to thank Johnny G, my sole proofreader.

Author notes: Hello and welcome to chapter 2. For you newcomers, go back to chapter 1 please. Those of you who have read chapter 1 and are still here, welcome back. The plot thickens as Ranma and Nabiki talk. Thrilling ain't it? Well, let's start this. *presses a button on the projector and the screen is suddenly filled with the nude forms of Ranma and Nabiki having wild sex. You manage to see that Nabiki's hands are bound together before the screen goes blank.* Er... umm... *coughs.* Wrong film...*changes film and smacks the projector for good measure.* Sorry about that, you weren't supposed to see that. All you minors out there didn't see a damned thing! *presses a button and the title of the picture appears.*

First I Giveth

Chapter 2: Talking in the darkness

by Marik Kurakashi

"NABIKI," Ranma gasped, obviously not grasping the concept that the Ice Queen Mercenary Girl was the one who was invading his dreams. 'And my privacy too,' he mentally added.

"Er...hi, Ranma-kun," she said nervously. 'Damn, this is embarrassing,' she thought, 'I haven't been this embarrassed since I accidentlly flashed Kuno in the 8th grade.' She would have to see if he still had that picture of that incident, then threaten his life if he didn't give it back.

"What are you doing here," he asked, trying his best not to think of the kiss she had just given to him.

"Um.. sleepwalking," she replied, her embarrassment increasing at being caught.

"Sleepwalking, right," he said, rolling his eyes, though he knew she couldn't see him in the dark.

"Err.... um, you're not mad are you," she asked, afraid that he might not like her nocturnal visits.

Ranma gave a sharp chuckle and asked, "Do you really want an answer?"

"No, no I don't," she said, the darkness hiding her blush as she had a rather lewd thought about Ranma and a more erotic connotation of "punishment".

"Why?" he asked, confusion evident in his voice.

"B-because I think I might lo-lo- like you.... a lot," she stammered out, not sure of the wisdom of attaching love to her feelings just yet. She sighed, but only to stop herself from laughing at herself for her Ranma-esque response.

Ranma sputtered a bit at that declaration and hacked for a few moments before he got it under control. "I see," he said plainly, somehow picking those two words out of the infinite sea that was flowing through his brain.

"Yeah," she said faintly, looking away from him even though she couldn't see him.

"If that's the case then why..." he asked, but trailed off at the end, the obvious question hanging in the air.

"Did I give you to Akane?" she replied, sighing before she continued, "Because she was making a not too subtle claim on you."

"Huh, she was?" he asked, not understanding what she meant.

"Ranma-kun," she started, gathering up her courage so she would not falter, "for the last ten years, Akane has this thing where she wants to be all and have all. For example, she set out to woo Dr. Tofu, even though she knew he was crazy about Kasumi. I guess something about Mom's death got it into her head that she had to be stronger so she wouldn't be overlooked."

Ranma digested this bit of info and asked, "Is that why she's always hitting me? Because she wants to be the best martial artist and can't while I'm around? Is that why she calls me a pervert because of an accident I had and I'm better lookin' than her?" If there had been lights on, Nabiki would have seen his curious glance, and something hidden in his eyes.

Nabiki mulled it over for a few seconds and said, "Looks that way, Ranma-kun."

Ranma sighed and said, "You really need to get back to bed, we can talk later."

Nabiki frowned and asked, "And what if I don't want to leave, Ranma-kun?" She reached down and poked him in the chest.

Ranma nonchalantly said, "Fine, stay right there if you want, then you can explain it to everyone else why you've been sneaking in here." He rolled over on to his side, placing his back to her.

Nabiki chuckled at that and asked, "I wondered what Akane would do if she came into wake you up and I was the one snuggled up to you instead of Shampoo?"

Ranma sweated and gasped, "You wouldn't!"

She giggled and asked, "Is that a challenge Ranma-kun?" She moved towards his prostrate form like she was going to lay down with him.

He nervously stuttered, "N-no, i-i-it wasn't.... P-p-please d-d-don't do this?" Even though he knew she was joking, the thought of a girl in the same bed as him turned him beat red.

She laughed and got up to leave. She paused at the door and said, "I'll expect to have some time to talk to you later, Ranma-kun."

He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Hai, we'll talk, just go to bed."

She giggled again and exited the room. He started to relax and go back to sleep, blissfully unaware of the eavesdropper in his room. Ryoga, in his pig form, squealed in anger that the fiendish Saotome would play with his beloved Akane's heart while carousing with her sister at night. He silently vowed to finish Ranma off this time, now if only he could find where they had hidden the door...

The next morning, Ranma was once again the human vacuum they had come to expect. He was in a rare good mood, as he had successfully managed not to make his pop any stupider than he already was. Though he always thought you had to have a brain to bruise, if he understood what the word concussion meant. He smiled at the relief that showed around the table now that he was back to normal.

Soun was impressed with the amount of character the boy, nay young man, was showing this morning. In a rare display of kindness to his father, he gave him some of his food to avoid having a reason to hit his father. When his father had asked what was the matter with him, he simply responded that his father's head was messed up and any further trauma would render him unable to train further in the Art. His chest swelling with pride, he almost missed the look of admiration on his middle daughter's face.

Almost.

The look gave Soun pause, as he wondered, not for the first time, if he had made a mistake in following the lead of his elder daughters. He pushed it away, knowing that he was seeing things that simply did not exist. Unbidden, a memory flared to life in his mind and refused to go away. It was the day Nabiki declared she was going to stop practicing the Arts. He sighed, such wasted potential, but this disappointment in her wasn't the only time he felt that, he realized. He was disappointed that after all her excitement over the engagement, she simply palmed Ranma off on Akane.

He sighed again and ate at a more leisurely pace, briefly wondering why he always ate like a man possessed. He came to the conclusion that since his old friend wasn't above stealing food from his own son, he wouldn't be above stealing from him. As he thought about that, he realized that he would have to speak with him after breakfast.

"Well, I'm off to school," Nabiki said as she got up from the table.

"Have a good day at school, Nabiki-chan," Soun called, ignoring the look of shock that came from her and everyone else in the room.

Nabiki simply decided to file that away for later and grabbed her satchel and headed out the door. Ranma, once the shock had gotten through his system, grinned at him. Akane stopped in mid-stride on her way to snag the pig-tailed martial artist to get them to school and stared dumbly at her father. Genma shrugged it off and finished his food.

After the "happy couple" left, Soun noted that his eldest daughter was gathering up the dishes and said, "Here, Kasumi-chan, let me help with these." He started gathering up the dishes in front of him. He headed for the kitchen and was greeted by a dazzling smile courtesy of his eldest daughter. Now, Kasumi smiling wasn't that rare of an occurence, but it was rare that she smiled because she was actually happy. He soon realized that he had broken out into his own happy grin and simply nodded to her and placed the dishes on the counter before heading back to the dining room for more.

'Kami,' he thought on the trek back to the dining room, 'is that what I've been missing out on these last ten years? Have I really squandered away the chance to see all my daughters smile like that?' He filed it away for later and decided to bask in the glow of warmth he got from helping Kasumi.

Later that day, Ranma stood in frank disbelief at his opponent. His opponent was none other than the eternally lost Ryoga. Now, the two rivals facing off may not seem to be a big deal, but factor in Ryoga's penchant to get lost, one would not expect to see him again after watching him leave just the other day. Ranma's brain whirled with various theories on how it was possible that Ryoga had found him so fast.

Ryoga was having a hard time believing it as well, but he wasn't going to squander this opportunity at vengeance. "Ranma, for-" he started to yell, until he caught sight of both Tendo sisters. Now, Ryoga knew that Ranma knew about his curse. He also knew that Ranma's code of honor would prevent him from telling Akane or anyone else, but he knew that if he gave Ranma a reason, he would expose his curse to Akane.

Ryoga's pea brain got to work on his current dilemma, as he contemplated completing his battle cry. If he made Ranma angry enough, he would reveal his curse to Akane, which was bad. If he did that, Akane would be mad at Ranma, which was good. But then she would be mad at him, which was bad. If he unvieled what he had seen to Akane, she would be mad at Ranma, which was good. But then Nabiki would be mad at him, and for some reason that scared the living shit out of him. Tallying everything up, his brain concluded that it was not a good idea to complete the battle cry.

".....making my life a living hell, I will kill you," he lamely finished about half an hour later.

"Zzzzzzz," was Ranma's response, as he was asleep standing up, a snot bubble coming from his nose.

Ryoga facefaulted, then slowly pulled himself to his feet. He dusted himself off and roared, "RANMA, PREPARE TO DIE!" With that he lunged at the pig-tailed one.

To most of the spectators, it looked like Ranma was in deep shit. As Ryoga neared, many winced in anticipation of the sound of his skull being shattered. In the next instant, many were rubbing their eyes to see if they were seeing things. With a simple yawn, Ranma had launched a mighty backfist that sent Ryoga skidding across the dirt for about 10 meters.

Ranma stretched some more and asked sleepily, "I thought I heard Ryoga yellin', where'd he go?"

Nabiki, one of the few who still had command of their voice, asked in total disbelief, "You don't know?"

Ranma shook his head and said, "Er.. no. Why?"

Nabiki pointed to the struggling form of Ryoga as he tried to get up. "Wow! What happened to him," Ranma asked, his brain not having the chance to get rid of the fog of sleep.

Nabiki managed to keep an amused smirk off her face and asked, "You really don't know do you?" Ranma shook his head. "You stretched when you woke up and you hit Ryoga with a backfist that sent him flying," she said, keeping the disbelief out of her voice somehow.

"Oh," Ranma non-plussed, shocked that he had essentially repelled Ryoga's attack in his sleep.

By this time, Ryoga had managed to stand again, his wits had left him, though one could argue that his wits were never there in the first place. He glared at Ranma and shakily took a fighting stance. 'I will make you pay,' he thought to himself, not trusting his mouth to say anything right now.

"Ya sure you want to continue, Ryoga?" Ranma asked, not wanting to be seen as picking on a weakling.

"Chickening out are you, Ranma? I shouldn't be surprised that a *girl* like you would chicken out," Ryoga responded, his brains unscrambling as he spoke.

"Bite me, P-chan," Ranma growled back. He took a stance of his own and continued, "Are you ready this time P-chan, or are ya gonna stand there like a statue?"

"I will have my revenge," the lost boy roared, rushing back at Ranma.

The battle began anew, with Ryoga throwing everything he had at Ranma, and Ranma simply dancing around, counter attacking all the while. It was business as usual for those who were used to the scraps between the two, though some whispered that Ranma should have already pounded Ryoga into the turf. As the fight intensified, the crowd's chatter ceased as they were left breathless yet again by the display put on by the two rivals.

The battle had left one spectator silent, but for different reasons than the skill that was displayed. Akane was trying to figure out her older sister's strange behavior for the second day in a row. While everyone else was gawking at Ranma's apparent nonchalance to Ryoga's challenge, Akane was staring at Nabiki, who was not charging Ranma for the information she provided.

She easily dismissed Ranma's blow as sheer luck and was paying attention to Ranma and Nabiki's conversation. The fact that she had not charged him was not lost on her, but the fact that she had a fairly mirthful air about her was reason enough for alarm. Over the past few days, Nabiki seemed to be warming up to Ranma. Even scarier was the fact that he didn't seemed to mind.

And for the life of her, she couldn't understand why.

While Nabiki hadn't been the most sympathetic person to most of Ranma's plight, she couldn't help but feel threatened by her older sister. She would not deny that if her sister was a lot more open with people, Ranma wouldn't be able to resist her obvious charms. She worried that Ranma would be caught in her sister's web, unsure of her ability to free him from her if she succeeded.

It simply chilled the marrow in her bones.

She pushed that aside for now, deciding to focus on the brawl between her reluctant fiancé and her would-be friend, if only he'd show up more often than every other week. She watched the fight with a slightly worried look on her face, turning away from Nabiki so she wouldn't have to endure the teasing that she liked Ranma. She had always estimated that Ryoga was somewhere around Ranma's skill level, with Ranma only marginally better than him.

But Ranma was easily dispelling that theory.

She always figured that if she could get Ryoga to stick around long enough for him to teach her how he fought Ranma so well, it wouldn't be long before she would avenge her defeat at his, at the time her, hands. After she had lost to him, she decided that she would discourage her sisters from getting close to him, if only so she could figure out how he was so good. Once her defeat was avenged, she would decide what she wanted to do with him.

If Nabiki truly was interested in him, then she could have him after she had her revenge.

The cry went up, resounding out amongst the school, Ranma Saotome was victorious again. It was the clincher for those who were still stubborn enough to bet against Ranma, as they had lost the last of their yen to this devil in Chinese clothes. Nabiki casually weaved through the crowd, collecting her winnings, before stopping to congratulate Ranma on his win. It was doing this seemingly innocent event that Ranma discovered something that blew his mind.

He discovered that Nabiki had a really nice smile, even if he had never seen it before this moment.

Meanwhile, Soun sat across the shogi table from Genma, sharing a cup of tea before they would start their eternal struggle to see who the better cheater, er.. player, was between them. The Tendo patriarch looked surprisingly thoughtful as he contemplated what he would say to the Saotome patriarch. "Saotome-kun, this is hard for me to say and I would never question your parenting skill, but do you think it's wise to press the engagement like we have?" Soun asked, sipping his tea at the end of his question.

"Of course it is, Tendo-kun," Genma scoffed. "If it's left up to the boy, our families will never be joined!"

It was a rare sight indeed that at the mention of the possible failure of their plans that Tendo Soun did not cry. He did not wail, all he did was sip his tea. He took a deep breath and asked, "Every time you've mentioned the engagement to him, how does he react?"

Genma looked puzzled and said, "He yells that he's not going to marry Akane. You've seen it enough times yourself to know this Tendo-kun."

"Saotome-kun, have I ever told you that I envy you for having a son," Soun asked, taking another sip before he continued, "I have three wonderful daughters, but I now realize what I regret most from my wife's early demise... I never got to have a son, someone I didn't need to be careful with. Someone who would emulate me, like my daughters did with their mother." He sighed and wiped a single tear from his eye.

Genma was simply amazed that his old friend hadn't broken down into his usual hysterics and just stared blankly at him, wondering just what manners of aliens had kidnapped Soun, and how would he thank them if he met them. After a few moments of silence, Genma realized that Soun was waiting for him to say something. He took a deep breath and said, "I understand what you're getting at Tendo-kun. Don't take the boy for granted, because you never know when he'll be gone right?"

Soun nodded, a slight smile on his face at being able to get his point across. He thought for a second, frowning slightly before he said, "The best course of action is to make sure he understands that we will only force him to marry if he continues to protest the engagement. Maybe we can compromise that if he agrees to stop with all of his protests, we will stop any schemes to get him married to one of my daughters."

Genma nodded along, until Soun came to the end of his little speech and recoiled in horror. "I thought we agreed that he would marry Akane," Genma asked, sounding completely mortified that Soun was about to give Ranma far too much middle ground.

Soun narrowed his eyes in a look that put even Nabiki's harshest glare to shame. "Are you insinuating that my other two daughters are so hideous that Ranma wouldn't even think of them?" he asked, his tone promising a lot of pain.

"N-n-no, o-of c-course not T-tendo-kun," Genma nervously stammered, his natural cowardice flaring to life.

"Good," Soun said simply, "You don't want to know what I'd do to you if you were insinuating such a thing."

While Genma had no way of knowing what he would do physically, he thought of all the horror stories Soun had told him of Akane's cooking. He then remembered how terrible Soun was at cooking and blanched even deeper. He gingerly rubbed his stomach and asked, "Say, Tendo-kun, you want to play another round of shogi?"

It was the only thing he could do to prevent himself from having a Soun-esque breakdown of his own.

A little while later, Ranma, Akane and Nabiki had returned home from the after-school brawl, Nabiki yet again crowing about the profits she had made this day. Akane sulked past both of them, thoroughly ignored by her sister and fiancé, who was trying his best to look like he was interested in what Nabiki had to say. Ranma may not have understood most of the lecture on the importance of money, but he did understand that it was a chance to see Nabiki let her hair down. While he wasn't having any sort of romantic feelings for her, he at least wanted to be her friend.

It was the least he could do for her.

Soun noted the entrance of the younger Saotome and his two daughters and called, "Ranma-san, if I may have a moment of your time before you spar with your father?"

Ranma and Nabiki blinked at each other. She shrugged and said, "We'll talk later Ranma-kun."

Ranma nodded and said, "Sure thing, Nabiki-san." He headed towards the gaming area to find his father moping about like he had just been told the world had run out of food. "What's up, Tendo-san," he asked, respect in his tone that was not there before.

Soun smiled and said, "I just wanted to let you know what your father and I have decided about the agreement between or families."

If not for their talk last night, Ranma would have already started his protests, causing it to degenerate into an argument that Akane eventually ended with her mallet. Thanks to that, Ranma now saw the wisdom in hearing Soun out and said simply, "Go on, Tendo-san."

Soun nodded and said, "We've decided to compromise with you on it."

Ranma arched an eyebrow and asked, "Oh?"

Soun nodded again and said, "Yes, if you agree to stop saying you will never get married, your father and I will quit pushing you to marry one of my daughters." He looked expectantly at Ranma, while Genma simply whimpered in lieu of saying he didn't support this compromise.

Both of Ranma's eyebrows looked like they were ready to jump off his face as he asked, "One of your daughters? I thought you said I had to marry Akane?"

Soun hung his head and said in a remorseful tone, "Before, I thought you were just some boy who needed the proper guidance of an elder. Now I understand that you are no longer a boy, but a man who deserves to have a little leeway in this agreement."

Ranma was genuinely touched by Soun's words and simply nodded his head and said, "Hai, Tendo-san. Please excuse me for my oversight."

Soun lifted his head and dismissively waved a hand. "You have done nothing to apologize for. So, do we have an agreement?" He extended the hand he waved to Ranma.

Ranma reached out and shook Soun's hand and said, "Hai, Tendo-san."

Soun nodded and said, "If you wish to remain Akane's fiancé so she won't have to deal with those boys at school, I understand. Just remember, you have agreed to marry a Tendo, and Akane isn't the only single Tendo female in this house. Just remember your promise, Ranma-san, this promise between men." He patted Ranma on the back and chuckled a bit.

Ranma instinctively winced when he sensed Soun rear back for the back slap, but was surprised that there was no sting to it. He popped one eye open, spotting Genma there on the floor, still moping. "Hey, Pop, we got practice, don't lay on your lazy panda butt all day," Ranma said, making his way out back.

Genma groaned, praying to the gods, asking just who he had pissed off to deserve this. Naturally, he didn't get an answer, if only because the gods decided against compiling a list of everyone Genma ever pissed off in his life. He got up from the floor, realizing he was about to have a very real stomach ache thanks to his son's promise to not hit him in the head.

'There is no justice in this world,' he thought bitterly, though the rest of reality's definition of justice slightly differed from his own.

Later that night, dinner was the most enjoyable one Soun could remember since his wife died. He had miraculously managed to get most of his crying fits under control, as such he merely sniffled as he thought of her. To his pleasant surprise, Nabiki had actively engaged in conversation with Kasumi, Ranma, Akane, and she even had a few kind words to say to him. He only grinned like a moron this time, instead of his usual waterworks, much to the delight of all those around the table who didn't have to worry about getting soaked.

He felt alive. For the first time in ten years, Tendo Soun felt alive. He actively chatted with his daughters, as well as his old friend and his prospective son-in-law, which reinforced his decision to come out of his hollow shell.

For the first time in years, he could clearly see his wife's smiling face.

With dinner eaten and everyone about to go off on their own, Soun began to silently gather up the platters and usher them into the kitchen, pausing only to kiss Kasumi on the forehead. The rest of the table stared at him as he silently worked to clean the table. He ignored them, the only thing on his mind was that happy smile on his eldest daughter's face.

And he knew he would do anything in his power to keep that genuine smile on her face.

He thought back to after lunch and how slightly put off Kasumi had been that he went off to play shogi after bringing the dishes in, so he asked tenatively, "Um, Kasumi-chan, would it be alright if I sat in here and talked to you while you wash the dishes?"

Kasumi continued to smile and nodded, afraid of gushing praise to her father, lest he turn into a blubbering mess. She could not be paranoid of her father's change, and simply accepted it without hesitation. She started up a conversation with her father, happily chatting away, her spirit soaring high.

For the first time since her mother's death, Tendo Kasumi felt desire burn within her breast again. She swore to herself that she would no longer accept being a daughter her father could be proud of, but rather a daughter that he would no longer feel guilty about ruining her life.

She owed it to him far too much not to try.

Later that evening, Ranma sat in his room, talking to Nabiki. As he had done with Soun, he was trying to get her to open up to him. She stymied his efforts, though he could feel it was more of she wanted him to fidget in curiosity before she would tell. "So, what hobbies do you have besides making money?" he asked, hoping that there was indeed something more to her than the facade she put up everyday.

She smiled, setting off a strange array of feelings within him, and said, "As long as I have your word that you won't say anything, I like to collect manga."

He nodded his head and simply said, "I see..." He couldn't shake the fact that he was missing something, so he asked, "What kind do ya collect?"

Her smile deepened into a grin and she asked in a tone that mocked Kodachi, "And why should I tell you that?"

He slumped his shoulders and said, "Aw, come on, Nabiki...."

She giggled girlishly and said, "I'm only teasing you, Ranma-kun. I like to collect romance manga."

Ranma noted two things from her latest response, it was weird when she giggled and it shocked him that she collected those silly romance manga most of the other girls seemed to be glued to during lunch. He blinked several times before he asked, "Any particular reason why?"

She neither giggled nor did she smile and she quietly said, "Most likely because they remind of how a normal girl is supposed to act."

He noted there was a small amount of longing and a slight twinge of depression in her tone. He realized that he would have to reevaluate his opinion of the middle Tendo, if only because he was now looking to be her friend. He steeled himself and apolgized for his thoughtlessness and changed the subject.

They talked long into the night, both learning more about the other in the span of a few short hours then what they hadn't in a month. Both left that conversation feeling revitalized and were both able to face the morrow with renewed hope and vigor. They both silently realized that this was the start of something neither one might have totally control of ever.

And that thought didn't scare them as much as they thought it would or, perhaps, should.

For Ranma, it was another step towards seeing the Tendo dojo as home. He realized that his life on the road was over, and that he was not as torn up about that as he thought he would be. He then realized that he was beginning to see Soun something more of a sensei and friend, rather than some idiot friend of his father's. He also realized that he was starting to find the Nabiki frozen in the sea of ice that she had erected. He was determined to help her find her true self again. He fully realized that this place really was his home.

And he knew he would move heaven and earth to make sure his home was safe.

For Nabiki, it was the tenative first step out from her shell that she had cocooned herself in so very long ago. She hoped that she would be able to transform herself from the Ugly Ice Queen to the Beautiful Princess that she often dreamed of being so long ago. She realized fully that she owed Ranma a debt that she may never be able to pay him. She realized that she wanted to change herself for him, to be a good friend for him.

And she knew that she would move heaven and earth to stay by his side.

End Chapter 2

Teaser for Chapter 3:

Ranma, Akane and Nabiki were near the city aquaducts, when a familiar sing-song voice cried, "Nihao!"

Ranma sweated when he saw the purple-haired Amazon peddle up to them on a bike he had no idea she owned. "S-shampoo, h-how nice to see you," he stammered, hoping that she would not glomp him and get him sent into LEO.

"Nihao, friend Ranma," she said simply.

"W-what? You're not going to call him 'airen'," Akane blustered, confused that the Amazon had seemingly given up.

"Shampoo do some thinking and she decided to do what in her best interest," she replied.

"And that would be?" Nabiki asked, putting a little more anger into her voice than she had intended to.

"That Shampoo not return to Joketzusoku. All there for Shampoo is pain and torture. Shampoo no want Jusenkyo curse, so she stay here." The purple-haired girl replied, her voice not wavering once.