A/N: Don’t own Ranma or the rights to it, so if you’re looking for someone to sue, get over it.

What If There’s No Tomorrow

Dr. Tofu wiped his brow, smiling lightly as he finished wrapping the wounded torso of Ranma. “That should do it. Just make sure he doesn’t...oh never mind, we both know he’s gonna do what he wants anyways,” he chuckled, handing Nabiki a small bottle of pills.

“That’s some antibiotics, just incase he picked up something I wasn’t able to get cleaned. Any idea what he was doing in a sewer?” he asked, closing his bag and rocking to his feet.

Nabiki shook her head. “No idea, he left in a hurry,” she told him quietly, eyeing the bottle and reading the directions. “Anything else?” she asked, looking back up at the older man.

He frowned lightly. “He was pretty beat up Nabiki, even for him. If you can, I would SERIOUSLY suggest not letting him do anything physical for a least a day or so. He recovers pretty quickly but those wounds,” he trailed off, looking concerned.

She nodded at him, having come to the same conclusion as well. ‘He came home in better shape after fighting Saffron,’ she mentally agreed, the thought alone scaring her.

“Right, well call me if something else happens or comes up, okay?” he told her, smiling at her to reassure her fears.

“Thank you, Dr. Tofu, I owe you for this,” she told him walking with him to the door.

The older man shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, Nabiki; I know how much trouble he’s going through right now. You just make sure that my hard work doesn’t go to waste,” he said, waving off his fees.

Nabiki let out a sigh. “I’ll do what I can, but he can be stubborn...okay he IS stubborn,” she amended, looking over her shoulder to the peacefully sleeping boy.

Ranma had slowly come out of the Neko-ken, more quickly after ministrations by Tofu, to the point that he was now laid in his futon like he normally was. His breathing was slow, deep and steady, the color having returned to his face.

Nabiki had assisted Dr. Tofu in bathing the boy as well, blushing profusely but finding a smile on her face the entire time. He’d been covered in various substances and garbage, none of which smelled very good. It was only then that they discovered the substantial wounds on his body, having been hidden by the filth.

“You love him, don’t you?” he asked her softly, smiling at her expression for the boy.

Her head whirled and her eyes narrowed, “What?” she asked in a quiet voice.

He was unmoved by her bluster, “It’s okay you know, it’s about time he had someone love him that doesn’t try to force him into something he doesn’t want to do,” he continued, leaning against the frame of the door.

She held his gaze with hers for a long moment before she answered him. “What I’m about to say was never said, are we understood?” she asked him directly.

Tofu chuckled at her. “I’m a doctor Nabiki, anything you tell me I won’t repeat unless you want me to,” he said.

Accepting his word, and knowing that even if he wasn’t a doctor that he would stay silent, she let out a sigh. “Yes, I love the muscle-headed, lovable lug,” she admitted to him, folding her arms across her chest.

“I just can’t come out and tell him that though or risk him taking off—or worse yet—our parents trying to force us into something,” she said to him, showing her frustration at the circumstances.

“I see. So what do you plan to do about it? The Nabiki I know wouldn’t let anyone stand in her way for long if it’s something she wants,” he asked, giving her a meaningful look with his words.

She smiled coldly at him, once more embracing her persona of the Ice Queen. “I’m working on that, Dr. Tofu. First things first, I have to make sure Ranma and I are on the same page, otherwise the chaos that runs his life could ruin everything we’ve worked so hard for,” she told him.

“I’ve got to apologize to him as well when he wakes up, I treated him kinda bad before he left,” she finished quietly, feeling slightly better about her guilt by telling him about it.

“Ranma doesn’t hold a grudge Nabiki, at least not at the people he really cares about. I think you’ll find him to be more understanding and forgiving then you give him credit for,” the man told her gently.

Nabiki nodded at his statement, having already realized that fact but not having liked her actions towards her, nor her words. “I’m better then that though, Dr. Tofu; that’s what’s irritating me. It’s like I was TOO mad at him, for something that should have at best annoyed me. We ARE talking about him and Akane fighting after all,” the girl explained, showing her confusion over the events.

He frowned at her slightly; “Like you were angry and couldn’t control it?” he asked specifically, wanting to make sure he understood her experiences.

“Yeah, something like that. It was like standing outside myself and watching it happen. I could feel the anger spiraling out of control but couldn’t do ANYTHING to stop it,” she affirmed to him, using her hands to graphically illustrate her point.

“And you’ve never had this happen to you before?” he asked, only then looking up into her sarcastic expression. “Sorry, had to ask,” he amended to her, chuckling as he realized who he was talking to.

He sighed as he thought about this latest information, an idea starting to form in his mind. “I’ve got some texts back home that I’m going to read tonight. I think I might have an idea about this,” he said thoughtfully, tapping his chin with an index finger.

Nabiki regarded him curiously. “Okay, you’ll let me know what you find out?” she asked, once more folding her arms across her chest.

His smile was wide, “Of course,” he replied, bowing to her slightly as he picked back up his bag.

“A word of advice for you, Nabiki,” he paused in the doorway, hand on the door.

She waited for him to finish, curious but annoyed. She wanted to run her fingers through his hair for a while before he woke up and she had to return to the icy world of her own creation.

“Don’t underestimate Ranma when it comes to relationships. He’s not as dumb as he let’s everyone believe,” he told her, leaving it at that before shutting the door and walking down the hallway.

She stood there listening to his fading footsteps, considering his words as she did. Her eyes drifted over to him once more, as if magnetically pulled to him.

She sighed deeply, crossing back to where he slept, gently laying down next to him. She crawled beneath the thin blanket, nestling her body next to his, tenderly wrapping an arm across his stomach.

Closing her eyes, pent up tears burned from behind the lids, the fear and anguish she’d been holding in since his departure finally boiling out of her. She silently cried into his shoulder, her slender body shaking as she did.

After some time, she slowly stopped her tears, though the ache that dominated her heart still resided within her. A warm drowsy feeling swept over her, the repetitive and strong breathing of a sleeping Ranma as well as the emotional exhaustion she felt, lulling her into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning...

He could feel the morning sun on his face, warming it. With painful stiffness, he tried to stretch, a yawn playing on his lips as he did. ‘Man, what hit me?’ he thought, realizing that his body was really beat up.

He blinked his eyes several times, finally clearing the blurry vision. His arms were above his head, palms up and fingers almost touching the top of his hair as he lay there, simply enjoying the warm feeling of resting in his bed. “Wonder where Pop’s at?” he asked himself, realizing that the old man should’ve jumped him by now.

A soft, but very distinctive snore followed by the tightening of an arm across his torso finally registered to his sleep addled mind. “Huh?” he asked, swallowing hard as his body went rigid, his eyes slowly trailing down to locate the person in bed with him.

He found a mop of messy brown hair attached to a head that was currently using his chest near the crook of his shoulder for a pillow. He could now feel the gentle rise and fall of her breasts on his side, her leg draped over his to support her weight. All in all, not an uncomfortable position; but one that he wasn’t prepared for in the least.

Instinct started to kick in, his body immediately attempting to take to flight, only to find that his muscles were currently refusing to listen to his instincts. The end result was him shifting in the futon but not dislodging the woman, for she simply tightened her grasp around his bruised torso to hold on.

He groaned as he felt the ribs creak, finding it suddenly difficult to breathe. “Okay, bad idea,” he whispered, finding a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead at the efforts.

At that thought, the events of the previous day came crashing back to him, though it was all a blank after Neko-Shampoo had attached herself to his face.

“Aw man, what’d I do this time?” he complained, quietly of course, no need to wake up the woman that would most likely kill him for being in bed with her.

Bringing one of his hands down, he absently played with her hair, resigning himself to his ultimate demise. “She sure smells nice,” he commented, a light smile on his face.

Realizing that he wasn’t going anywhere so long as the woman had a hold of him, he set about making sure he knew who it was. ‘Kinda feels like Nabiki,’ he thought.

He finally succeeded in maneuvering his body enough to see that it was indeed Nabiki, her face utterly serene and peaceful as she held him in her sleep. He’d managed to inch worm his body down so that he could wrap an arm over her shoulders.

As if sensing that he was holding her, she cuddled into him deeper, a peaceful smile appearing on her face.

His heart warmed deeply as he watched her sleep, now fully awake by both pain and motion. He slowed his breathing and regained his composure, relaxing into her as he did. “I hope she still ain’t sore at me,” he said, closing his eyes.

His thoughts drifted back to the fight with the big man in the sewers. ‘I’ve been training all my life yet this guy made some of my best attacks look like a kid’s,’ he thought, gauging his responses and scenarios over and over.

His eyes popped open as he realized, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that if Shampoo hadn’t done what she did, he’d of lost to the man.

It didn’t sit well with his ego, finding out that he’d technically lost the fight. ‘Gotta find a way to counteract both his speed and strength or the next time I fight him or I’m just gonna get myself killed,’ he told himself, his self esteem deflating.

Nabiki murmured loudly, as if disturbed by his thoughts, her dry mouth making smacking noises as she struggled to bring herself up to consciousness.

He looked down at the girl as she struggled to come back to the land of the living. He could see the bleary look in her eyes, causing him to smile as he remembered that she hated mornings.

“Good morning,” he told her, feeling her body stiffen next to his.

Nabiki was just starting to remember where she was when he spoke, her heart jumping into her throat for a moment. ‘Oh my gosh!’ her mind said in a rush, panic eating at her.

She could feel his arm around her shoulders, holding her close without constricting or making her uncomfortable. Swallowing her panic, she slowly moved her face so that she could see him, resting her cheek on his shoulder.

“I hate mornings,” she told him bluntly, blinking the remains of the night from her eyes, giving the appearance that she was batting her eyelashes at him.

Ranma felt his heart flutter at the action, suddenly unsure of himself. “Um, didja sleep okay?” he asked her quietly, struggling to keep a steady train of thoughts.

Taking a breath before answering, she nodded. “Yeah, I did. I was worried about you last night when you came home in the Neko-ken; even water didn’t turn it off. What happened last night, Ranma?” she asked.

He groaned. “How bad was I?” he asked hesitantly.

She took a few minutes to explain to him everything that had happened, including all the details of him cleaning and grooming Shampoo, in BOTH forms. As she wound up her tale, she conveniently left out her discussion with Dr. Tofu before joining him in bed. ‘Some things he just doesn’t need to know,’ she justified in her mind.

“I’m so sorry, Nabiki, I don’t know what I’m doin’ when I’m like that. Ya gotta believe me!” he apologized to her, looking horrified at what happened with Shampoo, his eyes fearful of her wrath.

Of all the responses he could’ve given her, this wasn’t high on the list she was expecting. Apologizing? Sure, probably for at least a week, but for him to be almost scared of her reaction? Nope, that wasn’t what she expected, nor WANTED to see.

‘I really must’ve hurt him,’ she thought, the ache in her heart cheerfully twisting the knife deeper.

“Don’t. Don’t apologize, Ranma. I know you can’t control it, I’ve seen it in action remember? Besides, you DID kiss me,” she teased lightly, struggling to gain the upper hand in the conversation over her emotional turmoil.

He blinked at her. “But I don’t remember doin’ it! I mean, if I’m gonna kiss you, I want to at least make sure it’s right and that I remember it, not like that,” he told her defensively, not realizing what he’d said until after it was already out of his mouth.

Her eyes widened at the admission. For once the normally emotionless girl was VERY glad for his foot in mouth disease, as it just verified that he did still care for her, enough that he was still thinking about kissing her.

“Uh oh,” he mumbled, wondering how badly he was gonna hurt for this slip up.

Rather then looking at him with the same anger and disgust she’d shown him the last time he’d seen her, she smiled happily at his admission, thoroughly confusing him.

Seeing his befuddled look, Nabiki capitalized on the moment, taking it to say her peace while he was still speechless.

“Ranma, I know I said some pretty harsh and hateful things to you earlier and I wanted to apologize to you about them. I didn’t mean them at all,” she spoke quickly, fiercely watching his eyes as she did.

“I don’t know why, but it was like I couldn’t control my anger with you. For a minute, I felt just like Akane. I’ll tell you something Ranma, I HATED that feeling,” Nabiki told him with utter sincerity.

His mind was beginning to comprehend exactly what was going on, his mouth opening and closing without a sound as the girl in his arms apologized. Something—to his best recollection—that had NEVER happened before, even after her stunt at his wedding.

Nabiki smiled at his fish out of water imitation, reaching up a hand and gently closing it for him. “I was scared yesterday, Ranma, really...really scared, when you didn’t come home. I didn’t know what happened to you or if you were okay or...or...” she stammered off, her pent up emotions breaking through and choking off her words.

Ranma watched in stunned silence as Nabiki, NABIKI, started to cry in his arms. Even more shocking and humbling to him was that hers tears were for him. No scams, tricks or blackmail. Nabiki had been truly worried about him, to the point that she had allowed her emotions to rule her, dissolving the Ice Queen persona that she held around her.

“Shhhhhh, it’s okay Nabs, I’m fine...see?” he consoled her awkwardly, not sure of what to do exactly but attempting his best to fake it for her. He held her closer, his arm tightened around her shoulder, while running the thumb of his other hand gently over her eyebrow, the warmth of his palm resting on her cheek.

His touch brought a new round of tears from her, though not out of fear or repressed emotions but of joy, that she hadn’t lost him despite the horrible way she’d treated him.

As she buried her face into his chest, he managed to hide the gasp of pain it caused him. ‘My ribs REALLY hurt,’ he thought belatedly, holding her close to him nonetheless.

She cried softly, out of relief and love, holding him as if he was a life preserver and she was lost at sea. As she slowly mastered her emotions, reining them back under control, she dared to meet his eyes once more.

Nabiki saw the concern there, as well as the affection he had for her. “I didn’t know if you’d still be hurt at what I said, or if you’d forgive me. I wanted to run after you, tell you that I really wasn’t mad at you, but I found you with Shampoo instead,” she whispered to him. Sighing heavily, she rested her cheek on his shoulder, slightly moving her body around to a more comfortable position in which to talk while looking at him.

He frowned. “I didn’t have a choice about that, Nabiki, Bill’s the one that sent her with me,” he told her, knowing how hard she’d worked to get him out of the engagements.

She closed her eyes and nodded. “Yeah, I spoke with him about it after you’d left. I was in the window watching you,” she admitted to him.

He smiled, blushing faintly as he realized that his instincts were becoming attuned to her. “I know; I saw you...felt you, something. It’s like I could feel you watching me while I was standing there,” Ranma told her.

She smiled warmly at his words. “So, what are you telling me, Ranma?” she asked coyly, unable to resist the chance to tease him.

He blinked a few times. “I guess I’m trying to say that it hurt to leave like that, with you mad at me. I didn’t want to Nabs, but I HAD to go, it was pretty serious,” he informed her missing her ulterior meaning totally, while still giving her goose bumps at his heartfelt honesty.

“What happened to you out there, Ranma? I’ve never seen you this beat up before,” she asked him, finally broaching the subject with him.

Ranma paused before answering, not wanting to worry her but also not wanting to hide something like this from her. His words started slowly, haltingly, until finally they flowed from him as he described the battle, and the man that had decimated both him and Shampoo.

Nabiki blinked at not only his story but the tone in his voice. It was something she’d not heard from him before, fear. “Can you beat him, Ranma?” she asked seriously, making sure to hold his gaze with hers.

His face twisted for a moment, then he looked away from her as if ashamed of the answer he’d come up with, “No,” he whispered.

His admission rocked her world, never had she heard Ranma admit that he couldn’t do something. “There’s gotta be something you can do Ranma, you aren’t just giving up are you?” she pressed him.

Ranma was surprised at her determination, and the passion in which she asked him. “I didn’t say I was givin’ up. Just that right now, I can’t beat him. He’s too fast, too strong. I gotta think of way to neutralize that if I’m gonna have a shot at beating him,” the boy told her, automatically going into fighter mode as he thought about a rematch with the man, this time without having to resort to the Neko-ken.

“I’ll help then,” she told him rather than offering, a calculating look on her face.

“No way, Nabiki! This guy is really dangerous and you ain’t a fighter!” he protested, worry blossoming up. He could still see the ease in which the man handled Shampoo, a potent warrior in her own right. Nabiki, who was trained in only the basics, wouldn’t last two seconds against a man of Geese’s caliber.

She frowned up at his response. “I KNOW that Ranma, I’ll leave the fighting to you. I’ll simply see what I can find out about this guy, and see if we can’t dictate the location of the fight so that it favors you,” she explained slowly, touched by his concern but annoyed that he discounted her skills.

“Oh, okay then,” he said sheepishly, giving an embarrassed grin. He attempted to sit up only to have Nabiki gently push him back down.

“First, I’m not ready to get out of bed yet, it’s way too early. Second, you’re in NO condition to be up and around like you normally are, your body needs time to heal. And last, we AREN’T done talking yet. We will not leave this bed until we’ve got some things straight between us. I’m not going to have another night like the one we just had,” she told him in no uncertain circumstances, not moving her hand from the center of his chest.

It was her tone more then her strength that kept him down, it was as if they were once more in negotiations, an arena of her expertise. “Like what? I thought we did get it worked out. You ain’t mad at me and I don’t blame you for sayin’ that stuff,” he asked, clearly confused by her actions.

Nabiki sighed as she realized that life with Ranma, while interesting, was going to take some getting used to, especially given his limited social skills and understandings. “Just because we’ve mended this bridge Ranma, doesn’t mean that we’re not going to have fights about similar things in the future. I don’t want to fight with you, it won’t solve anything and you’ll just dig in your heels further. No, don’t deny it. I’ve seen you in action too many times around here, remember?” she told him, giving him a raised eyebrow when he protested.

“But it wasn’t my FAULT! They were always tryin’ ta force...” he stopped, realizing her point rather vividly as he thought about his excuses. “Okay, okay, maybe you’re right. How do we solve it then?” he asked her.

“I was hoping you’d ask,” she smiled at him cunningly. “First, no more jumping to conclusions for me. I may get mad but I’m not going to yell at you like I did. I’m not Akane, and I have to admit I’m embarrassed that I acted that way,” she told him sincerely.

“It’s okay, Nabiki, everyone seems to yell at me most days. Well, except for Kasumi, but she never yells at anybody,” he said, thinking about the oldest Tendo sister.

“That’s my POINT, Ranma, I don’t want to be like everyone else. I’m your friend and your fiancée, you shouldn’t have to worry about me being like everyone else,” she said in an exasperated tone.

He blinked. “But, but...” he stammered out, thinking about the direct implications of her statement.

“Exactly Ranma, if we get married, we’re partners...for LIFE. That means that we always trust each other and work together, not against each other. I happen to take this VERY seriously, and I won’t get involved with just anyone, that should tell you something,” the girl told him, rising up on an elbow from his chest.

Ranma could see that she meant exactly what she said. “So, you’d really marry me even if our parents weren’t forcing us to?” he asked, shocked at the information, having always believed that the only reason any of the girl’s really wanted him was because of the various forced engagements.

“Is that so surprising, Ranma? You’re gorgeous, devoted, honest to a fault that causes you pain, loving, careful of others feelings and thoughts, and last but not least, you’ll do ANYTHING for your family. Face it stud, you’re just about every girl’s dream. Sure, you’re rough around the edges, but think about who raised you for 10 years. Gandhi himself would’ve been a mental midget at the end of that decade,” she said to him. Sliding a leg over his, she sat on his thighs, her hands on either side of his torso, preventing him from fleeing.

He gulped loudly at the position he found himself in with, becoming rapidly aware of several things. The most prominent was that Nabiki was possibly better built then his girl side, a fact he could easily see because she wasn’t wearing a bra at the moment.

Blushing as he caught himself staring at the girl’s tee shirt covered chest, he forced his eyes back to hers. He found her smiling knowingly at him, though she didn’t tease him about it for a change. “But I ain’t got nothin’ but my art Nabiki, and you’re too smart to be saddled with a dumb jock like me. I’d just hold you back,” he said, believing the words he’d told her.

Her eyes stopped smiling. “Ranma, I don’t want to hear you talk like that about yourself again, do you understand me? Just because it’s all you’ve ever known, it’s NOT all that you are. You’re better then Daddy, your father, and the old pervert, making you not only the heir to the Anything Goes School but also it’s master if I’m not mistaken,” poking her finger into his chest.

Ranma considered her words, not feeling confident enough to truly take the mantel of the school in light of his most recent fight with Geese. “I’ve still gotta challenge for it, Nabs, I just don’t think I’m ready,” he said in a quiet voice.

“Look at me, Ranma. The only person able to decide if you’re ready or not, is YOU. I’m not trying to force you into something you’re not ready for; I’m just telling you that it’s within your grasp. All you’ve gotta do is take it,” Nabiki told him soothingly, seeing the inner turmoil that was plaguing him.

He forced himself to look at her as she spoke. “What about your dreams, Nabiki? I’m pretty sure that you don’t want to be married to someone that runs a dojo,” he asked, knowing that the girl was motivated about her future like he was about the art.

She smiled at him. “Who says that it’ll just be ONE dojo Ranma? I’m still going to University and will get my degree; I’ve worked too hard not to follow that dream. You’re going to need help with the day to day operations of the dojos,” adding the plural onto the word, with a sly smile.

“Who better to do that than not only your partner, but your WIFE?” she asked him directly, leaning forwards until she was resting on her elbows, her chest pressed against his torso.

“You’re really serious about this aren’t you?” he asked her, realizing how close her face was to his.

She only nodded, not taking her eyes from his as she did. “Yes I am, Ranma Saotome. When all this started, I was only looking for a friend; someone that I could depend on and trust without having to worry. If something happened romantically, I wouldn’t have argued,” Nabiki explained, revealing some of her motivations about her actions from the start.

“Then, I found myself actually seeing who you REALLY are, and finding that I wanted more than just your friendship,” she continued.

“You’re the ONLY one that’s ever treated me like I’m somebody, Ranma. Not a money lender, not a loan shark, a betting pool...just as Nabiki. Even after everything I’d done to you, you still never changed, except to try and be my friend. Is it really so strange that I would fall in love with you?” she asked him, admitting her love within the question.

She’d said IT. The four letter word that had caused him so many problems. He waited, counted to five, sure that the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse were imminent. As he reached his countdown, and nothing happened, he realized that he’d not answered her declaration.

Ranma may be many things, but stupid is not one of them. He could see the vulnerability in her face and eyes, her body tensed as if waiting for the other shoe to drop and for his denial of her love to send her crashing in flames to the hard earth below.

“You love me?” he whispered to her, scared of her answer, remembering all too well the times him and Akane had attempted to speak that little cursed word to one another.

She could only nod, unsure of what he was thinking by his expression. She could see hesitation and worry on his face, sense the underlying fear he was feeling.

A rush of conflicting emotions assailed the boy. He felt elated and scared, unsure of what to say or do, having never been faced with a situation such as this. Swallowing hard, the lump in his throat moving almost comically, Ranma tried to sum up his feelings and found them to be beyond the scope of words.

“I, uh...ya know...you and, um...are you really sure? This ain’t no joke or game? This is for real?” he asked, starting and stopping repeatedly.

Nabiki narrowed her eyes at him, her vision blurring as hot tears filled them. “Is this for REAL? I tell you that I LOVE you and you ASK me if this is for REAL?” her voice starting in a low tone and quickly escalating as the pain of his question really hit her.

His legs tried to scoot him up and away from the angry girl, only to have his knee’s hit her repeatedly in the behind, inadvertently throwing her forwards onto his chest. Nabiki had tried to brace herself but with his knee’s beating an almost steady rhythm on her butt, it was impossible to do so.

Landing on him, her face now centimeters from his, her weight solely upon him and causing him to give a soft cry of pain from his tender body. His eyes now watered with the pain, causing her face to swim in his eyes.

“I’m sorry Nabiki, I just...ya know...never thought you’d really love me too,” he said with a pained tone, wincing as he wrapped his arms around her and rolled to his left side, alleviating the pressure and pain in his chest.

As his sight cleared with blinking he saw a hurt and betrayed expression on her face. ‘Here goes nothin’,’ Ranma thought with determination.

“Nabiki, I know I ain’t the best when it comes to tellin’ people how I feel, ‘specially people I really...REALLY...care about,” he started, taking his usual meandering verbal route to affection.

“But I just don’t wanna say somethin’ that ain’t true or that would hurt anyone, ya know? With everything that’s been goin’ on, I was afraid to say anything...just in case you didn’t like me that way. I didn’t want you to feel like ya HAD to marry me or nothin’, no matter what Pops or your dad say,” he admitted to the girl, a shy smile on his face as he watched her wipe an unshed tear from her eye and give him a slight smile.

“You told me you wouldn’t force me into anything, and I kinda feel the same way about you. I’d rather die than to have you throw away your whole future, that’s why I didn’t say nothin’ about it,” Ranma told her, licking his lips nervously as his mouth became dry and the nervous tension increased in the boy.

Nabiki wanted to knock him upside the back of his gorgeous head. ‘Just get to the point, Ranma, don’t make me wait forever,’ her mind urged him, wanting to hear him say the words that would justify her actions and unruly emotions. Wanted to hear him say them of his own free will without coercion or duress from anyone.

“I kinda THOUGHT you might like me more’n just a friend with everything you did for me, and all the nice stuff you an’ me have been doing. Ya know, like acting like a real couple, touchin’ and all that. It was real nice to be treated like a person for once, instead of a prize,” he continued, oblivious to the agonizing he was causing her with his long explanation.

Ranma sighed heavily, realizing finally that he’d been babbling about stuff she already knew. “What I’m tryin’ to tell ya Nabs is that...I love you too,” he said, his voice going so low it was almost inaudible, fearful of rejection.

Her smile out shone the rising sun, tears that had been pained only moments before in her eyes, now fell from the joy and elation she felt at getting him to admit his feelings for her.

Nabiki slid her arms from the front of his chest, under his arms so that her hands rested on each shoulder, pulling him into her as they lay on the bed. Her lips found his immediately, knowing exactly what she wanted and not going to waste another second in claiming it for her own; now and forever.

Ranma’s eyes widen in shock at her actions, opening his mouth to protest only to find her tongue snaking in when he did. Before the startled young man realized exactly what was happening, he found himself deeply kissing the girl in bed with him. He slowly closed his eyes and relaxed into her, his arms holding her closely as well as they kissed.

The girl’s heart raced as he responded, very stiffly at first but a response nonetheless, until it thundered in her ears as he started to kiss her back of his own will. Their lips sought the others, slowly pulling back and creating a small suction that popped lightly as they parted. Neither of them noticed, so enraptured by the moment they’d created, intimacy they’d discovered and the pleasures a simple kiss could bring.

As she finally pulled back, she smiled at him. “Thank you Ranma, thank you,” she whispered with a deep blush that deepened the color of her eyes. She nuzzled into his neck, kissing him softly there as well, as if unwilling to forgo any opportunity to touch him like that.

“For what, Nabiki?” he asked quietly, tingling all over his body from the kiss and her sensual touch on his neck.

“For loving me like I love you. For a long time I thought I’d never find anyone that would love me for me,” she admitted to him.

Her statement confused him slightly. “Why wouldn’t I love you for you, Nabiki? You’re pretty, really smart, you don’t take crap from anyone and sexy as hell when you wanna be,” he told her honestly, once more not truly thinking his words through before saying them.

She laughingly sobbed into his neck, arms clutching to him with the compliments he’d given her. Though they may have been rough and uncultured compared to some of the lines she’d heard, they were the most beautiful sonnet to her ears, given the sincerity and affection they were spoke with.

“Did I, uh...do something wrong?” he asked her nervously gently rocking her as she cried happy tears, confused as always about the complexities of being in a relationship with a woman.

The tracks of her tears could be seen shining in the early morning light, her smile broad and happy. “No Ranma, quite the opposite. You said EVERYTHING right,” she assured him.

He smiled at her in return, “Oh, okay then. So, uh, why’re you cryin’ then?” he asked, wanting to make sure he was still on stable ground.

“Because I’m happy, that’s why. It’s not everyday a woman hears the man she loves pay her a compliment that he really means,” she explained to him.

“So, what you’re telling me is that you WANT to hear that I think you’re pretty, smart, sexy, tough, and one of the best friends I ever had, all the time?” he asked, his brow furrowing. ‘She KNEW all that already, why do I need to say it?’ he wondered, realizing he’d never understand how girl’s thought.

Her answer was to kiss him fiercely, her lips stopping his from speaking as she showed him exactly how much those words meant to her. Nabiki’s whole life had been spent keeping people at arm’s length, never letting herself become emotionally involved with anything. It was only through her constant contact with Ranma that she began to allow herself to hope that there was something out there for her beside the pursuit of money and fame.

Nabiki pulled slowly back from her kiss, a demure smile on her face. “Yes Ranma, that’s EXACTLY it. Every girl likes to be told those things, but only if you mean them,”

Ranma smiled back at her. “Then why don’t you guys just SAY so? It’d be a lot easier that way. Sheesh, they should teach this stuff in school or something. It’s not like I’m a mind reader or nothin’,” he said with relief.

“It’s better when you say it on your own, Ranma; that way we know you mean it. Besides, if they taught this in school, you’d just fall asleep anyways,” she teased him, fingers running along the ridge of his shoulder.

He chuckled at her insight. “Yeah, I guess you’re right about that. So, what happens now?” he asked her nervously, unsure of where to take this as he’d never been in this situation before.

Her face lost some of its light. “There’s a lot we need to discuss, Ranma, and I need you to keep an open mind when I do, alright?” Nabiki told him, though not letting him go.

Ranma could only nod, noting the expression she wore and knowing better then to argue the point.

“What happened with Akane?” she asked him directly, needing to know what her sister had gotten herself into this time.

Frowning at the question, he looked concerned. “Didn’t Tsuruko bring her back yet?” he asked; having assumed that she was in her room.

Nabiki shook her head. “No, we’ve not seen either of them since they left. Tsuruko wouldn’t...” she trailed off, not wanting to complete the sentence.

He shook his head vigorously. “NO! She’d never hurt anyone that badly...well, at least not intentionally. She was really holding back in the dojo against her, couldn’t you tell?” he asked her in return.

“I was afraid of that,” admitted Nabiki with a sigh, remembering that it was Akane that was on the offensive while Tsuruko and Ranma had tried to both talk to her and subdue her rather than fight her all out.

Closing her eyes, Nabiki ran through her limited options, trying to come up with a plan. “I’ll make some calls later and see if anyone has seen her then. How did she do all that Ranma? I’ve never seen anything like that from her. I mean, we’re all used to her displays of violence and anger but never to that degree of destruction,” the girl said quietly, looking into the eyes of her love.

“I TRIED to tell ya that, but you wouldn’t listen,” he said with a smirk, earning him a glower for reminding her how unreasonable she’d been.

“Thanks, it’s not like I’d FORGOTTEN that little tidbit, Ranma. Just for that, YOU get to take your fiancée for ice cream, to make it up to her,” she told him with a raised eyebrow.

Ranma groaned good naturedly, but nodded. “Okay, okay...but it’s still true, ya know. I don’t know how the tomboy got that good that fast, it just ain’t possible. I been trainin’ for years and was hard pressed against her,” he admitted with frustration, remembering how much skill Akane had gotten seemingly overnight.

Nabiki was quiet for a moment, and then nodded slowly. “I got a feeling I know someone that WILL know. How do you contact Bill?” she asked him suddenly.

He shrugged. “Told ya before, he just kinda shows up. I dunno how to reach him,” he answered honestly.

“Then I’ll have to talk with Tsuruko or someone else that would know. Something is seriously wrong here and I don’t like that it’s pulled my family into the middle of it,” she said in a low voice.

The boy held his fiancée close, happy that he wasn’t on the receiving end of her current attentions, knowing full well how protective she was of her family. “Sorry Nabs, I didn’t mean for all this to happen, I was only tryin’ to make some money to earn my keep and find some new opponents,” he said to her.

His words pulled her from her thoughts. “It’s not your fault Ranma, besides, if you hadn’t, then I wouldn’t have the opportunity to make a move on you. So, the ends justify the means as the saying goes,” she told him with a small smile.

Blinking, Ranma nodded uncertainly. “Okay, if you say so. I’m still sorry this all had to happen though. Don’t get me wrong, I LIKE having you for my fiancée an’ all, but I never thought something like this would happen,” he reaffirmed to her.

Her smile grew at his admission. She kissed his cheek softly. “That’s one of the reasons I love you, Saotome; BECAUSE this bothers you,” she reassured her boyfriend, before nuzzling up closer to him.

“Now then, I need to ask you something Ranma. Something VERY important and I want you to think about it and not freak out,” she told her, unconsciously holding him closer to her body as she spoke.

“Sure Nabiki, what’s on yer mind?” he asked, curious about what could be bothering her that she’d say something like that first.

Nabiki swallowed quietly, calming her nerves as she did. “I want to get married Ranma, now. I don’t care about the deal with our parents, the dojo or anything about that. I want to marry you because I feel like it. We don’t have to tell anyone, invite anybody, nothing. Just me and you,” she told him, feeling his body tense in her arms.

Ranma’s head swum with her quasi-request; fear and uncertainty filling him. A thousand excuses of why this shouldn’t happen filled his mind, drowning out any rational thinking he had. He could feel her body next to his react to his, stiffening as if to keep him from fleeing. “But, why?” he managed to squeak out. “Why now?”

Without looking at him, Nabiki slowly began to explain. “What happened showed me something, Ranma. I don’t want to live with what might have been, ever. I could’ve lost you last night, and I didn’t like that feeling at all,” she said, her voice small and vulnerable.

“What happens if you don’t win next time, Ranma? What if for us, there is no tomorrow? I know it’s rushed and not the way you wanted to do this, but we both love each other, right?” she asked him, lifting her chin slightly so she could look into his eyes.

“Yeah, I love you Nabiki,” he said again, graced with a warm smile from her at the words. ‘I could get used to that,’ he thought, unable to help himself from smiling in return.

“Then why not? This way it’s under OUR terms, not theirs. Do you REALLY want to trust our parents to let us have our wedding the way WE want it? I’m good Ranma, but even I wouldn’t be able to stop every hair-brained plan those two come up with,” she said dryly.

He paused as he got more than one mental picture of Mr. Tendo and his Pop in action, cringing slightly as he did. “You gotta point, Nabiki; I just...I dunno, we’re still in school an’ all,” he said nervously, not disliking the idea but unsure of what it would mean, ESPECIALLY to her. His life was tumultuous as it was, he didn’t want to put her in harms way.

“Don’t worry about that, Ranma; school is my domain. I all but OWN that place as it is, no one’s gonna say or do anything if I don’t want them too. Besides, what we do is OUR business. I don’t care if they know we love each other, I’m not ashamed or embarrassed about the way I feel, are you?” she asked, feeling more confident now that he hadn’t panicked outright and denied her request.

“No way! I just don’t want you lookin’ bad; that’s all, Nabs. My life ain’t been easy an’ I didn’t want it ruining yours is all,” he defended, looking mildly ashamed.

Nabiki looked into his eyes with a serious expression. “I’m a big girl, Ranma; I know what I’m getting into. You’ve got to trust me, Ranma; just like I trust you. Together, there’s NOTHING we can’t accomplish if we try,” she told the boy, her words emphatic and sincere.

Ranma gazed into her deep brown eyes, weighing her words and his response. She made a lot of sense to him; she was everything he wasn’t, while he strengthened her weakness. ‘We DO make a good team,’ he thought, realizing how much that actually meant to him.

“But what about...you know...” he said with a blush, unable to bring himself to really say the word.

“Sex, Ranma? It’s what married couples do, even some UNMARRIED ones for that matter. Am I really that unattractive that you couldn’t stand the thought of seeing me naked? So repulsive that you couldn’t stand the very idea of having sex with me?” she asked, tears springing to her eyes, her voice quavering.

Ranma promptly freaked out. “NO-NO-NO-NO! It ain’t like that, I tell ya! I wouldn’t mind seeing ya naked or having sex with ya!” he almost yelled into her face, anxious to stop her from starting to cry or that he didn’t find her attractive.

With a devious smile, the tears vanished and the stricken expression left her face. “That’s good, because I sure as hell intend on having my way with you,” she told him with a wink.

His jaw hung open almost obscenely, his eyes wide with shock at how easily he’d just been played. “Bu-bu-but...” he stammered, realizing exactly what she’d said to him.

She giggled as she kissed his stunned face. “Don’t worry about it, Ranma; that’s what they make birth control for,” she said in a sultry voice, the tip of her tongue running along his bottom lip.

There was a muffled thump as Ranma’s head fell backwards into the floor, his body going limp, and a thin trickle of blood running from his right nostril.

Nabiki laughed as she snuggled back into the warmth of his body. “Yep, TOO easy Saotome,” she said quietly, closing her eyes and relaxing into the arms of her soon to be husband.

Cat Café...

Shampoo sighed deeply as she brushed her long hair, her eyes on the mirror, but not seeing her reflection. Her thoughts were still on the prior evening and everything that had occurred. She frowned at the memory of the strange man that had so easily defeated both her and Ranma, well ALMOST defeated.

“Shampoo hope Ranma no is angry with Shampoo,” she whispered, though blushing as she remembered the tongue bath he’d given her.

She found it hard to stifle the giggle, a light blush on her face at the pleasant memory.

“What is it, child?” asked Cologne, pogoing into the room behind her.

Shampoo explained the night to her great grandmother, leaving out no details as she did. The girl noticed an odd expression on the older woman’s face.

“What is it?” she asked, curious as to what about the story could be bothering her.

Cologne looked up with a thoughtful expression, hopping down from her stick to land on the floor. Crossing to the bed, she sat down. “Shampoo, you must listen to what I have to say. Ranma was in the throes of the Cat Fist, and his affections may not have been what you want them to be,” she started to explain, holding up a hand to silence the girl’s arguments.

“I know the way it seemed Shampoo, but you have to realize the nature of what he was doing. In feline hierarchy, there is little to no distinction of direct relatives. For example, a mother would have no problems mating with one of her male off spring once heat has taken hold of her. In his eyes, he could have simply been cleaning a sister, not a mate,” the old lady slowly explained.

Nodding, Shampoo knew this. “Yes Grand Mother, but what if Ranma no see Shampoo as friend but as mate? Then Shampoo NOT break promise if Ranma come to Shampoo, right?” she asked her lavender eyes hopeful.

Cologne sighed heavily. “Child, you run the risk of pushing him away if you are wrong, not to mention drawing his ire. Is that something you are willing to wager?” she asked softly.

The girl’s eyes filled with tears, her hair brush falling into her lap. “I love him Grandmother, with all my heart,” she whispered brokenly, falling back into Chinese.

The Amazon Matriarch nodded sadly. “I know you do child, but you cannot force him to love you. You’ve tried that and almost lost his friendship. You have to either accept that he loves another or find a way to join them, for I fear that there is no other way for you to be with him,” Cologne told her favored grandchild.

“Shampoo willing to share, even with mercenary girl. Shampoo not so sure mercenary girl want share with Shampoo,” she told her, going back to Japanese.

“You also have to think of what Ranma would want Shampoo. Would HE be willing to share his heart with you?” Cologne pointed out.

Shampoo sniffed slightly, wiping at a stray tear with her sleeve. “Shampoo not sure, but find out. Shampoo no want to be alone for all of life,” she said in hushed tones.

Cologne’s eyes watered at the girl’s admission, causing her to leave the bed and embrace the heartbroken girl. “I know child, I know. Fear not, everything is not lost yet, there are still many factors that have yet to be put into this drama,” she soothed her, stroking her hair.

The girl finally sobbed into her grandmother, releasing her hidden pain and fears into her shoulder.

Mousse stood silently against the wall outside Shampoo’s room, a single flower in hand, tears running down his face. ‘She really doesn’t love me, even after everything I’ve done for her,’ his thoughts tortured him.

He hung his head, slowly trying to come to grips with the fact that even though Shampoo was free of Ranma, she still WANTED him. To the point that she believed that she’d be alone for the rest of her life if she couldn’t have him. “I’m sorry Shampoo,” he whispered, dropping the flower to the floor and walking silently from the hall before he got caught eavesdropping.

He walked down the stairs, back into the kitchen, automatically going to the sink and finishing the dishes he’d left. He moved stiffly, almost woodenly as he worked, unseeing or caring of the world around him.

It was only the tapping of a stick on his shoulder that drew his attention from his task. “Yes?” he asked Cologne, wiping his hands dry on a towel.

“I know you over heard part-timer, and I wanted to say thank you for not intruding on her grief,” she told him, not berating him for his actions for a change.

His answering smile was spiteful. “I heard her say that she thinks she’s going to be alone all her life. I didn’t even figure into her thoughts, that should tell you where I rank with her,” he said acidly, voice full of self loathing.

Cologne sighed at the boy. “Mousse, Shampoo has always seen you as her FRIEND. It was YOU that wanted more. You isolated her by attacking ANYONE that she could have even thought of as a friend. Now you, just as Shampoo must, have to accept your position in the life of the one you love. Can you do so, without letting it poison you?” she asked him quietly, her tone however was stern.

He looked away, his glasses falling back onto his nose, and then sliding down as he hung his head. “Yes, I can accept this,” he told her finally, though it broke his heart to admit it.

She placed a comforting hand on his head. “If you need sometime away from the restaurant, you have but to ask, Mousse; I understand that this won’t be easy for you,” she told him, smiling faintly.

He slowly brought his head up, squaring his shoulders and looking her in the eyes. “No, I will not desert her. I will be her friend, and a friend wouldn’t leave her to deal with this on her own,” he said firmly, struggling to accept his vow, even as it rankled him to say it.

Cologne didn’t need to respond to his words, instead allowing him to find peace with his words by hopping away.

The old woman entered into her dining room, silently observing the empty tables, not seeing anything before her. Her mind wandered as she tried to find a way from the quagmire they found themselves in. “Perhaps I should speak with Nabiki Tendo,” she muttered quietly, looking over her shoulder, as if seeking approval from Shampoo.

“I’m going out for a while, Mousse; be sure to open the restaurant on time!” she called out, pogoing out the door as she did.

Mousse didn’t move from his chores, only nodded silently at her command, hands finding another dirty bowl and beginning to run a rag around the inside of it.

Unryuu Ranch...

“Ryoga! Time for breakfast!” called out Akari, poking her head out the door, her hands in a dish towel.

Usually the Lost Boy was training in a converted pen she used to use to battle her pigs, but he was no where to be found. “I hope he hasn’t gotten lost again, I was just getting used to having him around,” she said quietly, a smile on her pretty face.

Akari heard a noise behind her, as if someone had just moved a chair at her table. “Ryoga?” she called, smiling that he was trying to sneak up on her.

As she re-entered the kitchen, she found Ryoga. He was being held aloft in his cursed form, his little eyes rolled back in his head. A sneering young girl that looked familiar to Akari held up, waving him back and forth in front of her.

“Looking for bacon breath?” she asked in a dark tone.

Malice filled the air around the girl, making Akari’s hair stand on end. “I know you, don’t I?” she asked, moving towards the kitchen counter, her knives still setting where she’d left them.

“Yeah, I’m Akane Tendo and this PERVERT,” she screamed the word, slamming him into the table, cracking it in two. “Spent the last few years all but molesting me,” she accused, seething in rage.

Akari flinched at the girl’s tone and action, hand extending to the injured piglet in her hand. “Don’t!” she cried; heart pounding in fear at the treatment Ryoga was receiving.

Akane glared at the girl. “You think he doesn’t deserve this?” she asked incredulously, her eyes wide and a maniacal expression on her face.

“I don’t know why you’re so mad at him, but he’s a noble and honorable man. He’d never do anything like what you said,” she told the girl, blinking back tears.

Shaking with anger, Akane stalked closer to the girl. “Lemme tell you about your ‘HONORABLE’ man! He used this form,” shaking him before her face once more, “to worm his way into my life and MY BED! I told him everything! EVERYTHING! And he used it against me. He saw me naked, slept in my bed, and took a bath with me. He doesn’t deserve to live,” she snarled, her hand clenching around the pigs neck, slowly strangling it.

Akari grabbed at her hands, trying to pull Ryoga from her grasp, only to find the girl was impossibly strong. “Please! Let him go,” she begged, swallowing back the tears of panic and frustration.

Akane glowered at her. “I can’t BELIEVE this! You want to save the pervert? Even after all I’ve told you?” she asked her.

“I’ve known about his curse and that he used to sleep with you. He’s told me everything and he’s wanted to apologize to you! He was just afraid that you’d hate him for it,” she told the girl, not realizing how badly she’d stepped up Akane’s anger with her words.

Left eye twitching madly. “You KNEW? He TOLD you?” she yelled at the girl, now the sole focus of her unbridled rage.

Faster than her eyes could track, Akane’s hands had released the now unconscious pig and were grasping her wrists painfully. “So, not only is HIS honor worth more than mine, but YOURS is too, huh?” she growled out, her teeth clenched.

With deliberate slowness, she applied forward pressure on her wrists, bending them back and forcing the girl to her knees before her. A sadistic smile crept onto the face of Akane as she did. “You know what? Maybe I’ll show him what it’s like to be weak and unable to protect the one’s he loves,” she said, a giggle escaping her lips.

Akari’s eyes widened at the madness she saw in Akane’s, and the pure hatred and rage that burned behind her eyes.

Akane’s hand blurred and a bone jarring slap echoed throughout the kitchen, Akari’s head snapping viciously to the side, her cheek immediately turning a bright red.

Yanking on her arm, not allowing her to fall to the ground, instead wrenching it around into a hammer lock. With a powerful shove, she bent the girl over at the waist across the counter, lifting on the arm she held until it popped from the socket, causing Akari to scream in pain.

“Scream. I want to hear you SCREAM! SCREAM for him Akari! I WANT him to see this!” yelled Akane, leaning forward to speak in the girl’s ear.

“RYOGA! HELP ME!” cried Akari, wanting the man she loved to save her from this lunatic.

“C’mon pig boy! WAKE UP!” cried Akane with a sharp kick into the prone form of the pig she choked out.

The kick lofted him through the air, slamming him into the wall, creating a minor divet in the stone before he slid to the ground.

“Looks like we’ll just have to try harder, eh Akari?” sneered Akane, turning her attention back to the girl.

Akari whimpered in pain and fear, her legs having given out on her and now only being held upright by the counter she was leaning on and her arm which was still in Akane’s grasp.

Akane reached out with her left hand, twisting it into her long hair and fisting it. With a scowl, she slammed the other girl’s forehead into the counter until the smooth marble cracked beneath the assault. With the sharp crack, Akane stopped and examined her handiwork.

There was blood flowing freely down Akari’s face, matting her hair to the skin. Her eyes were partially closed, her head lolling about lifelessly in Akane’s hand. “You’re pathetic!” spat Akane, disgust in her voice.

There was a slight muffled sound from the side of Akane, drawing a smile from her. “It’s about TIME Ryoga!” she told him, turning the girl so that he could see her.

Ryoga was woozy from pain and lack of oxygen, though the horrific sight before him sobered him up instantly. He stood stock still, unable to move or believe what he was seeing. There was Akane, having obviously abused and beaten Akari, and looking like she was pleased with herself for it.

“BWEE!” the pig cried, tears of rage and fear falling from his eyes. Ryoga ran at Akane, blurring from sight and bouncing around the room, his little hooves attempting to hit Akane.

With a casual move, she slapped him from the air, knocking him into the sink. “Gotta try harder than that Ryoga!” she smiled at him, jerking Akari’s hair as she did.

Shaking his head and barely hanging onto consciousness, he glanced around and smiled. ‘Yes! Hot water!’ he thought triumphantly.

He jumped up and turned on the faucet, pouring hot water all over him. “Akane! How could YOU!” he cried, oblivious to the fact he was naked.

“ME? How could YOU Ryoga? You were always P-Chan! You took advantage of me!” she cried at the boy in anger.

Ryoga shook his head, “I wanted to tell you but I was afraid to...looks like I had reason to huh?” the lost boy yelled back at her, pointing to Akari’s beaten body that was still in the grasp of Akane.

“Your HONOR was more important than mine? For all you talk Ryoga, you’re nothing but a COWARD! You always pretended to protect those weaker than you, yet when it came right down to it, IT WAS ALL A LIE!” screamed Akane, windows in the house exploding outwards as her blood red battle aura flared into life, almost knocking the boy down with it’s power.

He blinked at the intensity of her anger, swallowing hard as he realized how powerful Akane had become. “Akane, what happened to you?” he asked, a fearful tone in his voice.

The tone in his voice brought a cruel smile to her face. “NOW you’ve got some respect for me. Only after I’ve shown you that I can not only protect myself, but kick your ass! Ryoga, you DISGUST me! I can’t believe I actually felt sorry for you all those times Ranma would beat up on you,” she taunted him.

“Listen to me Akane, it’s not like you think,” he said, holding out his hands before him. ‘Gotta get Akari away from her, she’s losing a lot of blood,’ he thought desperately, judging the distance between them.

Akane laughed at him, “There isn’t a way to talk your way outta this one Ryoga. I don’t wanna hear it!” she laughed at him.

“I want you to ALWAYS remember this moment Ryoga. The moment when you couldn’t protect the weak...especially the one that means the MOST to you!” she yelled, picking up Akari by her dislocated arm, eliciting a scream of pain from the girl.

Her scream was cut short to a strangled sob as Akane’s free hand shot forwards and shattered the girl’s spine at the pelvis. The force and sheer brute power of the punch almost bent the poor girl in half backwards.

Akane released the girl, allowing her to arc forwards into Ryoga, who could only sob in horror and catch the battered body of his girl friend as she flew towards him.

“AKARI! NOOOOOOOOOO!” the boy screamed, cradling her bloody body as they collapsed to the floor.

The angry girl stalked past them, as if they were beneath her notice. She paused in the door frame, looking over her shoulder with a grin that would freeze flames. “Let’s see if you can get some help for before it’s too late, I hear the hospital is only a few miles that way,” she taunted the boy with derisive laugh.

“Akane Tendo! I’ll get you for this!” he snarled at her, feeling a rage unlike anything he’d ever experienced. His body shook with the desire to not beat her, but to rend her limb from limb, to actually feel her life blood pump from between his fingers.

She laughed at him as she turned to face him fully. “What’s the matter Ryoga? Don’t like it when someone actually takes your threats and makes them real? Isn’t that what you always said to Ranma? That you’d take his happiness? Guess what you son of a bitch? I JUST TOOK YOURS!” she screamed, pointing a hand at him, black energy forming within her palm.

Ryoga got a hand up, feeling his desperation and depression burning within him. “Shishi Houkou Dan!” he cried out, pouring all his negative emotions into the blast.

Black energy met sickly green, and for one shining moment it appeared as if Ryoga’s attack would stifle hers. Then, with a knowing smile, Akane screamed in a language Ryoga couldn’t understand, and her power in the attack tripled, easily overcoming his and obliterating it completely.

The unchecked power of her attack streaked at him, giving him only precious seconds to twist his body over and around the fragile Akari before it slammed into his back.

The kitchen was destroyed utterly, leaving only a smoldering crater that extended outwards for meters in every direction.

Akane slowly lowered her arm, and looked into the smoke and debris below her. Water sprayed chaotically over her from the busted water main, giving her a sinister shine as she smiled. “I’ll see you soon Ryoga, maybe next time you’ll put up more of a fight,” she said, before spitting down on the prone boy that was lying atop Akari.

Ryoga managed to raise a shaking hand, blood covering one side of his face as he glared at her with one good eye. He could only watch in impotent rage as she walked away from them, leaving them both to die without a second look back.

He collapsed down atop Akari, stifling a sob as he did, feeling his hopelessness rising with every second.

“I’ll find a way to save you Akari, I promise,” the lost boy sobbed, knowing that it was a promise made in vain.

A sudden ringing nearby him caused him to jump. Realizing that it was cell phone, he scrambled from her side, bloody and broken hands shifting through rubble until he found the little technological savior.

“Help me, please HELP US! Save Akari!” he cried into the phone, not caring who was at the other end.

The voice on the other end was faint and growing fainter. He struggled to make it out, only to find that his vision was also darkening. “No, please...not like this...” he whispered, phone falling from nerveless fingers as the boy finally passed out from the extent of his wounds.

Tendo Dojo...

“Ranma?” she cooed to him, smiling with an overly sweet expression on her face as he slowly came around.

“Was it as good for you as it was me?” she sighed, kissing the edge of his jaw as his eye lids fluttered.

His eyes shot open, a terrified expression on his face, as he comprehended her words. “Nabiki?” he squeaked, hands tentatively touching her to make sure she was clothed. She was, at least she was wearing a shirt. He swallowed hard as his hand started to slide down her side, to her hip. He turned bright red as she wiggled under his touch, giving him an appreciative look. “Again so soon?” she asked seductively.

As his eyes started to roll back into head again, she caught his nose between her fingers. “Ah-ah-ah, not this time lover boy. We need to make some plans,” she chided him, smiling slightly.

“LEGGO!” he yelped, slapping at her hand, though her actions did keep him from passing out again. He glared at her. “That wasn’t very funny Nabiki,” he accused, not happy at being the butt of her jokes.

She raised an eyebrow at him, “Ranma, believe me when I say this. When we do make love, you’re NEVER going to forget it, trust me,” she told him with utter sincerity.

Unable to think of anything to say in light of her confidence of the statement or the absolute conviction in which she said it, he only nodded.

“Now that I have your attention, have you thought about what I said earlier?” she asked him, rolling him onto his back and resting her head on the forearm she placed gently across him.

“About what? OH! You mean gettin’ married and stuff,” he said, remembering the conversation they’d been having.

“Yeah, kinda I guess. I dreamed about it if that makes any sense,” he told her with a blush, suddenly unable to meet her eyes.

She grinned wickedly at him, “Oh really, do tell,” she said, tapping her hand on his chest encouragingly.

“Uh, maybe later?” he asked hopefully, his blush deepening.

Nabiki chuckled at him, “I’ll hold you to that you know,” she allowed. “So, what do you think?” she pushed.

He smiled at her timidly. “I dunno Nabiki, I mean yeah I want to...but, are you SURE you wanna do it this way? Don’t you want some big fancy thing with lots of guests and presents?” he asked, not wanting to ruin her dreams...or her monetary goals for her dream either.

Looking at him appraisingly. “I’m surprised at you Ranma, you actually DID put some thought into this,” she said with a warm smile.

“Yes, I’m sure. This wedding is just for us. After we tell our parents about it, I’m sure they’ll want to throw a party anyways. So, in effect, we’ll get the best of both worlds,” she explained to him.

Ranma stared at her for a long time, as if waiting for her to continue speaking. Finally, he nodded at Nabiki. “Okay, I’m all for it then. I don’t wanna make the same mistakes twice, ‘sides, I do love you an’ all so it’s only...MUMPH!” he said, or at least tried to, only to find that Nabiki had a hidden talent. The ability to suddenly appear atop him, her lips attached to his.

Reflexively wrapping arms around her, he tried to return her impassioned kiss, discovering that there was much he needed to learn, and that Nabiki was going to give him the education of a lifetime.

Her hands found his cheeks, holding him still as she kissed him, moaning softly as she did when she felt the strong yet tender arms around her. Gently pulling his lower lip between her teeth as she moved from him, she smiled lustily at him. “I love you Ranma, don’t you EVER forget that,” she whispered.

He blinked up at her, her words bringing a rush of color to his face and warmth that quickly spread throughout his body. He noticed that he still had his arms around her, and that for once it didn’t seem to bother him. In fact, it was something he could really come to enjoy. “I love you too, Nabs,” he replied, once more at a loss for words, but meaning the ones he chose.

She wrinkled her nose at him, giving her an impossibly cute look. “I’d better not hear ANYONE else calling me that. Only you, got it?” she told him, poking a finger into his chest with a smile.

He gave her a crooked smile, realizing that what had started out as a name to simply irritate her had indeed become his pet name for her. “Nobody else BETTER call you that,” he agreed, finding a pang of protectiveness about her that was amplified with the rush of emotions he now carried for the girl.

She sighed happily, content to lose herself into the intense blue of his eyes. “We’ve got a lot to do today Ranma if we’re going to get married. Plus I’ve got to figure out a way to bypass a couple of things so that dumb and dumber don’t find out,” she told him, planning aloud with him.

It wasn’t lost to him that she was making plans in front of him, something she didn’t do with anyone, including her associates. “Well, ya know Kasumi’s over 18...couldn’t you just say that she’s like your guardian or something?” he offered helpfully.

Now it was her turn to blink at his simple yet exceedingly brilliant idea. “Ranma, that’s an excellent idea!” she agreed, realizing that it’d never occurred to her to use Kasumi.

“Looks like there’s more than just a pretty face with you, huh?” she asked with a wink, kissing the tip of his nose.

“Well, ya know...um, that WAS a compliment, right?” he asked, suddenly unsure if he’d been insulted or not.

She laughed as she nodded, “Yes, Ranma; that was a compliment. Get used to them,” she said, moving slowly off of him, making sure that he could feel her whole body as she did.

“C’mon, we both need to take a bath and get something to eat. I promised Dr. Tofu that you wouldn’t do anything physical for about a day. Will you promise me that you won’t over do it while we’re out? That you’ll act like a mortal man and not a super-hero for the rest of the day?” she asked, smiling though her tone was very serious.

He swallowed. “I dunno Nabs, I mean that guy could come back and I’m in no shape to fight him, much less defend you,” he said hesitantly.

She frowned slightly. “Ranma, you came home so deep into the Neko-ken that even your transformation didn’t bring you out of it. Something tells me that you probably kicked his ass. I don’t think we’ll have to worry about him for today, not everyone heals like you do,” Nabiki reminded him.

Ranma frowned, seeing her logic but not liking the prospects of having Nabiki in the line of danger like Shampoo was. He could see how much this meant to her, the hopeful yet reserved expression clearly evident on her face.

He sighed in resignation. “Alright, but if this guy shows up you gotta promise me to run away, okay? I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you,” Ranma told her quietly, fearing that he wasn’t strong enough to truly protect her.

Her smile was luminous. “It’s a deal Ranma. Don’t worry, we won’t be out for more than a couple of hours, back in time for dinner,” she assured him, another weight lifting off her chest at his admission.

For all Nabiki’s bluster and confidence, there was a rather large part of her that wondered where she ranked with him against the other fiancées. Although she’d never of asked him about it, the very fact that he felt strongly enough about her to worry about a future without her set her fears, if not to rest, at least at ease.

“Need some help to the bathroom?” she asked, rising to her knees and extending a hand to him.

As he tried to sit up, he found the pain to be substantial but nothing he couldn’t handle. Shaking his head, he didn’t take her hand until he’d reached a sitting position. “No, thanks though. You wanna take a bath first?” he offered.

She smiled at him. “It’s okay Ranma, just make sure you don’t take too long and you’ll call if you need help. I’ve got some phone calls to make,” Nabiki said, her mind already seven tasks in front of her body.

He chuckled, knowing full well how much she could get done in a short amount of time. “Alright, I’ll take a bath first then,” he said, still holding her hand as he got to his feet, albeit slowly.

She eyes their clasped hands with a pleased expression before taking her feet as well. “I’m going to make you happy Ranma, I promise you that,” she said softly, placing her body close to his, bringing the hands up to her chest.

He gulped loudly as she placed their hands between her rather sizable breasts. “You already have, Nabiki,” he said, not realizing the double entendre he given her.

She smiled at him wickedly. “Hmmmm, just wait till later then,” she said with a wink.

Ranma didn’t miss the hungry expression, nor that fact that she’d taken it in a way he’d didn’t exactly mean it. “Um...Nabiki?” he said with a slight stammer.

Leaning into him, she rested her head on his shoulder, still holding his hand between her breasts. “Don’t worry, Ranma, we’ll be married and it’ll all be perfectly legal,” she assured him, unable to resist teasing him just a bit more.

She laughed aloud as she could actually FEEL the blush that was now covering his body. Looking up to his overwhelmed expression, she shook her head. “I’m gonna break you of that yet, Ranma,” she said, kissing him before slowly walking from the room, her hips moving seductively as she did.

He stared after her as she walked away, his hand still extended towards the door where she’d released it. “I’m in so much trouble,” he muttered, shaking his head to clear some of the hormones that had flooded him.

Ranma crossed the room and retrieved his towel, wincing as he tried to bend his battered torso. “Ouch,” he muttered through clenched teeth, still he forced himself to complete the motion.

Walking from his room, he entered the furo, flipping the sign over before shutting the door. “This is gonna feel good,” he said quietly, looking forward to a hot soak.

Downstairs...

Nabiki picked up the phone, dialing the number she knew by heart. “Hey, it’s Nabiki. I need you do some stuff for me, I’m going to be tied up. Got a pen and paper ready? Good, okay listen close,” she said, not wasting any time with pleasantries, knowing her associates would simply take care of her wishes.

“Got all that? Call me when you’ve got anything, thanks,” she ended the conversation, unable to show a smile at how well her network functioned. ‘It’s a talent,’ she thought with pride.

She walked into the kitchen, finding Kasumi at the sink, chopping leek’s for dinner. “Morning Kasumi,” she said with a chipper smile.

“Why good morning, Nabiki, did you and Ranma sleep well?” she asked, smiling though her eyes stayed on her task.

“Yeah, for the most part. He’s pretty sore this morning, but Dr. Tofu said he should be okay with a couple of days rest,” she told her sister, leaning on the counter, next to her.

“I’ve got a favor to ask you, Kasumi,” Nabiki said, looking out of the corner of her eye at the elder girl.

Kasumi paused with what she was doing; having finished the leek she was working on. Setting the knife down, she wiped her hand on her apron. “What’s that?” she asked, never losing the smile.

“First, I need you to keep this from Daddy and the Saotomes, alright?” the girl asked, drawing a slight frown from her sister, but she nodded slowly.

Leaning close. “I asked Ranma to marry me and he said yes,” she whispered to her sister.

Kasumi, normally used to odd happenings and strange occurrences, kept her smile for a fraction of a second, and then promptly froze. Her head slowly swiveled to look at Nabiki, her smile stiff and unnatural. “I’m sorry Nabiki, did you say...” she started to ask, having Nabiki nodding at her, her hand covering her mouth to stop anymore words from coming out.

“Yeah, you heard me right. That’s why I need your help, you got a few minutes?” she asked, motioning her head towards the yard.

As Nabiki’s hand came away from Kasumi’s mouth, the loving smile had once more returned to her face. “Of course, help me hang some laundry?” she offered, walking towards the two baskets near the door.

Both girls hefted the baskets and walked into the late morning sunshine, placing them at their feet as they faced each other. They spoke in quiet tones as they worked, Nabiki doing most of the talking while Kasumi nodded.

Kasumi paused at the corner of a hanging a bed sheet. “I still think you and Ranma should tell Father, he’s going to be most upset about not knowing,” she advised, looking her sister in the eyes.

“I thought about that too sis, but you remember all the problems Daddy caused at the LAST wedding. I just don’t want to put Ranma through that again, besides, we both talked about it and figured we could tell them later and have a party after the fact. That way the parents get to celebrate and we don’t have to worry about them ruining it for us,” explained Nabiki, outlining her thoughts.

Sighing as she finished with her basket, Kasumi looked pensive. “I understand that Nabiki, I just don’t want you to have any regrets. This is supposed to be your special day, one that a girl remembers for all her life,” she told her in a wistful tone.

Nabiki stopped and looked at Kasumi, seeing the distant expression she wore, the longing she normally kept hidden from everyone. ‘Gonna have to do something about Tofu, she’s got it bad and he’s worse then Ranma,’ she thought, feeling slightly guilty at the thought of getting married before her long suffering sister.

“Kasumi, I want the white wedding, the dancing, the family...everything. I’m just not going to take the chance that his father or Daddy is going to do something stupid to ruin it,” she said finally.

She watched as Kasumi folded her hands before her, looking at the house with an unreadable expression. “Will you at least let me be there? I don’t want you to have no one with you when you get married,” she asked quietly, obviously not happy about the idea.

Guilt slammed fully into Nabiki at her sister’s tone and demeanor. ‘Okay, this ISN’T what I expected,’ she thought, her mind clicking as she put together an alternative that would make her sister happy while still achieving her own goal.

“How about this Kasumi, you and Dr. Tofu come with us as witnesses today and me and you start planning a full wedding starting tomorrow?” she asked, having never expected to be bargaining with Kasumi of all people.

Kasumi’s answering smile was excited as she clapped her hands under her chin. “That would be WONDERFUL, Nabiki! I’d be honored to help you plan your wedding!” she gushed, hopping lightly on her feet before wrapping her sister in a hug.

Nabiki held her sister, allowing a loving smile to come to the surface. She felt a sense of closeness with the older girl she hadn’t had in many years. “Thanks Kasumi, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have with me,” she told her quietly.

“I’m so happy for you, Nabiki. I just knew you two would work out well together,” she told her as she rested her hands on the other girl’s shoulders.

“It wasn’t easy, and this isn’t the way we really wanted it to happen, but we’re happy about it too,” she responded, finding herself being swept up in the emotions of the moment.

Looking seriously at Nabiki, Kasumi smiled. “Don’t worry Nabiki, together we’re going to make sure you have the wedding of your dreams,” she reassured her sister, leaving no doubt in her mind that it would come to pass.

With unshed tears in her eyes, Nabiki flung herself into the arms of her older sister, allowing herself to fully enjoy the love there for the first time in many years. “Thank you Kasumi,” she whispered to her.

Kasumi absently soothed the girl while stroking her short hair. “It’s all right Nabiki, I’m happy to do this for you,” she told her.

Soun walked by the breeze way, toothbrush in mouth, pausing as he watched his two eldest daughters embrace in the yard. The sight brought a tear to his own eye, memories of his late beloved wife flooding his mind. ‘I wish you were here my dear, I’ve not been a very good father since you’ve been gone,’ he silently prayed to his love.

Forcing himself to turn away from their private moment, he continued on his way, lost in the past and his regrets.

In the bathroom a few minutes later...

Ranma rested the back of his head on the side of the tub, floating in the hot water as he watched the steam slowly curling up to the ceiling.

His mind was decidedly calm, given that he’d agreed to marry Nabiki later today. ‘Maybe it’s not as bad as I thought,’ he allowed, wondering if he’d been making a big deal out of nothing for all this time.

He could feel more than hear someone entering the bathroom, making him turn to see a towel clad figure standing at the side of the tub.

“Mind if I join you?” asked a smirking Nabiki, giving him a raised eyebrow as she observed his naked body.

Water sloshed violently from the tub as he threw himself at the side, hiding his body from sight. “NABIKI! Whaddya think yer doin?” he shouted at his fiancée, embarrassed and shocked at her sudden appearance.

Her towel fell to the now soaked floor, her long legs slipping into the tub with him until she too was relaxing in the hot water.

“I’m taking a bath with my soon to be husband, I thought THAT much would be obvious. Chill out Ranma, it’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before...in BOTH forms,” she said, closing her eyes as she smiled.

“That ain’t the point Nabiki, ya just can’t go walkin’ in on people!” he sputtered, still not facing her.

Cocking an eyelid open to look at his back, she lifted a foot and ran her toes down his back. “It’s not PEOPLE Ranma, it’s you. And after today, you DO realize that we’re probably going to see a lot more of each other,” she cooed to him.

He gulped, but didn’t answer her question, his mind racing as he felt her foot fall from his back.

She sighed, “Fair is fair Ranma, just about everyone in Nerima has seen you naked in one form or another. I was just trying to get you used to the idea of seeing me naked without having you freak out on me,” the girl said, her eyes closing once more as she relaxed.

Ranma looked at her over his shoulder, finding the majority of her body beneath the water, the rippling surface and steam all but hiding it from his view. He let out a heavy breath of relief, turning from the wall of the tub so that his left shoulder was facing her. “You coulda warned me ya know,” he pouted slightly, trying to sound at ease with the situation.

Nabiki shrugged. “Where’s the fun in that?” she asked him, chuckling quietly at his outraged sounds. “At least I know that you’re not totally adverse to the idea of seeing me naked,” she added, opening her eyes to see him almost facing her.

The boy sighed, his head hanging as he did. “I’m just not used to all this, Nabs. I keep expecting to get pounded for just being in the same room with you sometimes, ‘specially when you’re naked like that,” he admitted to her.

His comment brought the girl from her relaxed position. “Ranma,” she said quietly, moving closer to him and placing a hand on his shoulder in warning.

She could feel him tense at her approach, though he didn’t fly from the water as she’d half expected him to. Sliding behind him, she knelt in the water and wrapped both arms around him from behind.

“I know that you haven’t had the best experiences when it comes to girls, but I’m NOTHING like anyone else you’ve been with. If I didn’t want you to see me or touch me, you know me well enough by now to realize that you wouldn’t get close to me,” she assured him, holding him close as she did.

Nabiki pulled him back, so that her back was resting on the side of the tub, with him before her, arms still wrapped around him. “I asked Kasumi and Dr. Tofu to go with us today, as witnesses,” she told him quietly, resting her head on his right shoulder.

Ranma was shocked at the intimacy she was showing him, being a side of her he didn’t even realize she had. It wasn’t a bad position to be in, in fact her body pressed against his brought some rather hard to describe sensations that rushed up and down his body. “That’s cool, I’m glad you invited Kasumi. I don’t think I could’ve lied to her,” he admitted, shivering slightly as her chest slid up his back when he moved.

Her eyes widened with the stimulation he’d inadvertently given her. For a moment she couldn’t think straight, hormones flooding over her reasoning abilities. ‘If you only knew what you do to me,’ she thought, smiling as she thought about having him all to herself later that night.

“Me neither, she’s so much like my mother that it would’ve felt wrong not to invite her,” she agreed, neither speaking of the intimate contact their bodies made.

His hands came up and held hers that were wrapped around his neck, both falling into a comfortable silence, content to simply be next to one another.

“Still wanna go get some ice cream?” he asked her, his voice soft and subdued.

She smiled at him, her eyes closed once more. “Of course, you have to ask?” she teased, squeezing him tenderly with her arms.

He chuckled. “Yeah, I guess that was a dumb question huh?” he told her.

“I, uh...need to get out and get dressed,” he said finally, nervousness and uncertainty easy to hear in his voice.

With a mock sigh she released him from her arms. “If you must,” she told him, kissing his cheek before moving back.

Ranma started to stand, but paused. “You ain’t gonna peek are you?” he asked her, blushing a deep red.

Rolling her eyes, she laughed lightly at him. “Ranma, seriously; we are both NAKED, in the bathtub. Do you REALLY think modesty has a place at this point and time?” she asked him, shaking her head.

Her words did little to put him at ease, even if he did see her point. “I, uh...well, you know...it’s just...” he started and stopped repeatedly, before throwing his hands up in exasperation. “Never mind,” he said finally, standing up and stepping from the tub.

Through slitted eyes she watched him get up and leave; a Cheshire grin on her face as he left. “Very nice,” she murmured, truly admiring his toned and muscled frame.

Snatching the towel from the peg and hurriedly wrapping it around his waist, he looked over his shoulder and frowned at her. “Hey! Nabi...” he stopped dead, eyes the size of dinner plates.

Nabiki had risen up in the water as he turned, water cascading down her shoulders and breasts as she did. Her eyes never left his and the smile she wore left him no doubt that she not only did it intentionally but was enjoying it as well.

“...Ki,” he finished, his tone several octaves higher than when he’d started. His mouth went suddenly dry and his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.

“Get used to this Ranma, I’m not shy about my body...or yours for that matter,” she told him, hands on her hips as if posing for him.

Ranma could only nod, embarrassed, impressed and awe struck at the sight of her blatant sexuality and comfort with her body.

Smiling at him seductively, “I’ll meet you downstairs in 20 minutes lover boy,” she told him with a wink.

Once more, he nodded and slowly turned, walking a bit stiffly to the door and making an exit.

Sinking back into the water, she couldn’t help but notice that the water wasn’t as warm when he wasn’t in it with her. “He’s coming around; in a month or two he’ll be just fine. Provided he doesn’t die of blood loss by then,” she told herself with a sly smile, resting her head on the side of the tub once more.

Downtown Nerima...

“I’ll be right back,” said Nabiki, nodding to her associates that had just entered into the ice cream parlor.

He glanced over his shoulder at them, “Why don’t you invite them over? It ain’t no big deal if they see us together right?” asked the boy.

She smiled at his offer. “If you don’t mind listening in on business, then I will. I’m sitting next to you though,” Nabiki said, switching sides of the booth as she waved over her lieutenants.

“Hey boss, you sure you want us to join you?” asked Sakura, eyeing the sundae that Nabiki had been eating.

“Yep, have a seat. You two want anything?” she asked, smiling at them.

Sakura and Akiko sat down, both frowning. “We’re broke,” complained the taller Sakura.

Ranma shrugged. “My treat then,” he told them, as if it were no big deal.

All three girls looked at him with something akin to shock. “Thanks!” both girls told him with happy, and hungry, smiles.

Nabiki nodded as she looked at him, leaning into his shoulder. Looking back at her cohorts, “So, what’s the news?” she asked after they’d both ordered deluxe sundaes.

The two girls spoke quickly; sometimes finishing the others sentence in their haste to give the information over to Nabiki.

“So, nothing but rumors on this guy Geese, huh?” asked Nabiki, thoughtfully scooping up more sundae.

“Just something about a tournament he held a while back. Someone said he died though, so believe what you want,” said Akiko, wiping her mouth as she finished her ice cream.

“Anything else you need, boss?” asked Sakura, leaning forwards on the table. It was rare to see Nabiki in such a good mood, and even more rare to find her with a boy when she was.

Tapping her spoon on her lips, Nabiki digested the information, trying to pull what she could from it. “Yeah, find out more of this tournament if you can. I wanna know when, where and what happened. If this guys a fighter then that would explain a lot,” she said, eyes narrowing as her mind began to wrap around a rather sick possibility, but one that would make sense.

“One more thing, I want a pool started on mine and Ranma’s relationship. Long shot odds on marriage, 2 to 1 on breakup. I need this done by tomorrow morning,” she added with a sly smile at Ranma who suddenly found his hamburger extremely interesting.

They both nodded. “Count on us boss,” said Sakura, bobbing her head.

Akiko chimed in as well. “We’re on it!” she agreed.

Nabiki pulled a small roll of bills from her purse and handed it to them. “Good work you two. Remember, stay out of sight and don’t put yourselves in danger,” she advised them sternly, almost like an older sister would.

Ranma watched the whole meeting with a stunned smile, amazed at the depth of her network and devotion of her employees. As they left, he looked at his fiancée with a new found respect. “That’s pretty amazing, Nabiki; I mean I know you were hooked up an’ all, but I never figured how much,” he said.

“I told you before, Ranma; just because I’m not a fighter doesn’t mean I don’t know how to handle myself. I just happen to be better at manipulating situations to my benefit,” she said with a superior tone, much like the one Ranma had when talking about a fight.

“So, you fixing the betting pools about us now, too?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Girl’s gotta make some spending money, doesn’t she?” Nabiki responded with a too believable innocent expression and tone.

Ranma groaned, rolling his eyes even as Nabiki chuckled and latched onto his arm affectionately. “How do you think I was able to make so much money for so long? I ALWAYS win Ranma, even if I have to fix the odds to make sure I do,” she told her, letting out a deep breath as she smiled.

For all her business endeavors and money making schemes, she was actually happy sitting her with him, just like a normal couple would do.

He smiled at her, “I guess we ain’t that different after all, huh? I’m the same way when I fight, makin’ sure I know all about the guy I’m fighting and that I’m prepared for whatever they might throw at me,” he told her, appreciating her hard work and dedication.

“Why Ranma Saotome, is that admiration I detect? For someone that doesn’t practice martial arts?” she gasped theatrically.

Frowning at her teasing, “Hey! I know how to appreciate people too, ya know. I just don’t have much cause to most times...well, except maybe Kasumi,” he said, looking away with a thoughtful expression.

Now it was her turn to frown. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” she said, her tone taking an edge to it.

Looking quickly back at her, he gave her a terrified expression. “It ain’t like that...” he started, and then let his shoulders sag as his face fell. “I fell for it again, didn’t I?” he asked sheepishly.

She smiled brightly at him. “Yep, but at least this time you caught it before it went too far. You’re getting better, Ranma; maybe someday I’ll actually let you play cards,” Nabiki told him.

“You ready to go?” she asked him, looking outside and realizing it was getting close to dinner.

He looked forlornly down at his unfinished burger, then back to her. “Um...” he started to say, before she stopped him.

“I REALLY don’t wanna see this,” she muttered, closing her eyes.

He scarfed up the burger, hardly chewing as he swallowed, finishing the last of his meal. With a satisfied sigh, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “Okay, now I’m ready,” he said with a grin.

“Manners. That is going to be high on my list of things we’ve gotta teach you,” she muttered, shaking her head as they left the booth.

“I got plenty of manners,” he said defensively, enjoying the fact that she hadn’t released his arm and was walking close with him.

“I’m sure they’re there somewhere, we’ve just got to find them,” she agreed dryly, taking as much pleasure as he did in the closeness they shared.

Ranma looked nervous for a moment. “You sure Kasumi and the Doc are okay with us getting married?” he asked suddenly, realizing that they were indeed headed in that direction.

Nodding as she walked with him, “I don’t think Kasumi would miss it for the world. Oh, before I forget. I promised Kasumi that she could help me plan a formal wedding for later, you don’t mind do you?” she asked.

He thought about it for a moment, but couldn’t find anything wrong with the prospect. “One condition,” he said finally.

Nabiki looked up at him curiously, “And what would that be?” she wondered, not accustomed to Ranma putting conditions on things.

“You don’t invite anyone that might blow up the house or something stupid like that. I don’t think I can take another mess like the last one,” he said with a wry smile, unable to resist the jab at her.

She stopped walking, pulling him around to look at her. “Was that a crack, Ranma? Were you just being sarcastic with me?” she asked him darkly, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

Ranma chuckled at her, realizing that she was actually playing with him. “Yep, sure was. It was your idea last time to almost get everyone killed,” he told her, leaning forwards slightly with a cocky grin.

Nabiki pursed her lips at him. “Ohhh, I LIKE it! Finally a challenge,” she said, blowing him a kiss.

He blinked at her, totally not expecting her to find him giving her a hard time exciting. “Um, Nabiki?” he asked questioningly, not quite understanding.

“You’ll see, Ranma, you’ll see,” she promised him, leading him towards the building where they’d meet with Kasumi and Dr. Tofu.

Outside the district governmental seat...

Kasumi wiped a stray tear from her eye, holding hands with her sister they walked down the stairs. “Even if it was small and quick, it was still beautiful Nabiki,” she gushed to her sister.

Nabiki wore a smile that wouldn’t end, unable to stop stealing glances over at Ranma, who was valiantly fighting a losing battle to get the good doctor to focus.

“Why, hello, Ranma; have you seen Betty anywhere?” he asked goofily, almost twisting the boy’s arm into a position that would have defied the laws of both physics and nature.

“Thank you, Kasumi,” she said honestly; still coming to terms that she was now, technically, Nabiki Saotome.

“C’mon Doc! Snap outta it! OUCH! Quit it already, I ain’t supposed to bend like that!” complained the boy, unable to appreciate his new status or bride in the light of self preservation.

“Oh my! Allow me Ranma,” said Kasumi with a smile. She never broke stride or lost her placid expression as she leaned over and with surprising quickness and accuracy, thwacked Dr. Tofu in the nose hard enough to make the tip of it quiver for a brief moment afterwards.

He blinked through the tears of pain, as if seeing everyone for the first time. “Why Kasumi, fancy meeting you here,” he said pleasantly, his glasses starting to steam up once more.

“You’re so funny Doctor, would you mind walking me home?” she asked, hooking her arm into his and leading him from the newlyweds.

“Thanks sis, we’ll see you at home,” called out Nabiki with a grateful smile, though no where near as grateful as the one Ranma wore as they walked away.

They walked silently next to one another, each lost in personal thoughts. “That was easier’n I thought it would be,” said Ranma, still kind of stunned.

Nabiki nodded. “I told you that it would be simple, you’ve got to learn to trust me,” she said, admiring her ring.

“I do trust you, more’n anyone else,” he admitted, looking at his feet shyly.

She looked at him strangely, realizing that it was a heartfelt statement from someone that was a lot like her in that he didn’t have anyone to he could rely on either. “Me too,” she admitted, pausing to look deeply into his eyes.

To everyone around them, they were the poster children for young love, staring at one another as the world passed them by.

“Nabiki Saotome, may I speak with you?” came a voice from behind her, pulling them from their thoughts.

Ranma looked over her shoulder and groaned. “What do you want, Cologne?” he asked her, and then looked wildly about for flying bicycles of pain.

“We’re actually kind of busy, Cologne,” Nabiki responded, intertwining her fingers into Ranma’s possessively as they stood side by side.

The old woman looked at them, knowing full well of where they’d been and what they’d done. “I have need to speak with you for a moment, I won’t delay your wedding night,” she chuckled at their stricken expressions.

“Come-come now, surely you didn’t expect an old woman like me to miss something as obvious as that,” she teased them, pointing to the ring that Nabiki had subconsciously displayed.

“You ain’t gonna try nothin’ funny, are ya?” asked Ranma, blushing but unwilling to leave Nabiki’s side. He’d been the brunt of too many Amazon plots to let his guard down, allies or not.

Cologne gave him an appraising stare. “No sonny boy, the funny stuff I’ll leave to you and your bride,” she said with a straight face.

Her comment had the desired effect of stunning Ranma into silence, his face slack jawed and eyes wide as he blushed at the insinuation, never mind the fact that it was true. Or at least was soon to be true.

Nabiki closed Ranma’s mouth with her free hand. “Don’t worry, she won’t do anything, will you?” she asked Cologne with a firm glance.

“Heavens no child, I simply need to speak with you for a moment, and offer my congratulations to the both of you,” she said amicably, smiling at them.

“Um, thanks,” Ranma told her, not sure he trusted her but not seeing any kind of ulterior motive.

“I’ll be right back,” Nabiki told him, walking a few meters away with the pogoing Amazon matriarch.

“Okay Cologne, what’s on your mind? I’ve got business to take care of,” the girl asked the woman with a crooked smile.

“Ah youth,” chuckled the older woman, smiling faintly as they sat on the stairs of the governmental seat.

“I’ve come to ask you some difficult questions regarding your marriage,” she said looking over to where Ranma was standing.

Nabiki got a leaden feeling in her stomach at her words. “This had better be good,” warned the girl, feeling suddenly very protective and jealous of her husband.

Cologne nodded. “I won’t waste your time, I’ve come on behalf of Shampoo,” she said.

‘Uh oh, here it comes,’ thought Nabiki, wondering what the scheme was this time.

“You know as well as I that my great grand-daughter loves your husband, even though the engagement was called off. After the events of last night between them, she is convinced that Ranma still harbors feelings for her, to the point that I fear it is unhealthy for her,” the woman told her, sighing heavily at the expression that grew on Nabiki’s face.

“Don’t EVEN go there!” warned Nabiki, narrowing her eyes dangerously. “You accepted the recompense in exchange for Ranma’s freedom from your laws,” she growled.

“Don’t quote my tribes laws back at me! I know very well the deal I made and I will not go back on it. I’ve come not as leader of the Amazon tribe but as a great grand mother worried for her great grand child,” Cologne said.

Taking a deep breath, Cologne calmed herself. “I understand you are now married to Ranma, and I wish the both of you nothing but happiness. I’m asking you to consider for a moment the possibility of accepting Shampoo as a co-wife in your marriage with Ranma,” she asked her directly.

Nabiki sat stunned at the arrogance of the woman, to approach her on her very wedding day and asking her to think about sharing the man she loved with another woman.

“This conversation is over Cologne, and for 10,000 yen I won’t tell Ranma what you just asked me to think about,” she said in a monotone voice, though her eyes flashed with pent up anger and outrage.

Cologne grabbed the girl by the arm. “I’ve no wish to fight with you over this, I just wanted to ask you to consider it. Shampoo loves that boy with all her heart, as much as you do, that I can assure you. If Ranma had chosen Shampoo, wouldn’t you seek even a little part of him from her, willing to have a piece of his heart rather then risk losing him for all time?” the woman pushed, unfazed by the threat made by the girl.

“But he DIDN’T choose Shampoo, did he?” she almost hissed at the woman, feeling the hold on her anger slipping. “Ranma made his choice and followed through with it this time, what does that tell you?”

Releasing the girl’s arm, Cologne nodded stiffly. “It tells me that even though he did finally make the choice, it was still one predetermined for him,” the woman replied coldly.

Jabbing a finger into Cologne’s face, Nabiki glowered down at her. “I didn’t do ANYTHING to coerce, bribe, blackmail or pressure him! We talked about it and decided it was something we BOTH wanted, so get off your high horse,” she said in a vicious tone.

“Yet he was only allowed to be around you, never the other girl’s whose hearts were set on him. Who’s to say that if given the same amount of time and opportunity YOU wouldn’t have come out second?” pressed Cologne, unwilling to let her point drop.

“Because I WANTED Nabiki, that’s why ya old ghoul,” said a quiet but severely pissed off Ranma.

Both women stiffened at his voice, so wrapped up in their argument that they’d missed his stealthy approach.

He slipped an arm around Nabiki’s waist, pulling her close to him protectively, his angry gaze on Cologne. “I ain’t no prize to be won, I told you that. Me’n Nabiki are married now, an’ nothing is gonna change that,” he said to her firmly, his tone leaving no room for doubt on exactly where he stood.

Cologne looked deeply into his deep blue eyes, feeling the power and love he bore there. “I would never ask you to forsake her Ranma, that’s not what I’m asking,” she said in a neutral tone, knowing that without Nabiki’s support, her request was going to fall on deaf ears.

He snorted at her. “Then what the hell do ya want?” the boy said.

“I had wanted to know if Nabiki was willing to allow Shampoo to be your co-wife, so that her heart isn’t broken and she won’t’ suffer for the rest of her life. It is a position of less prominence and importance, but she would still be with the one she loves, the ONLY one she’s ever loved,” the old woman said in a tired tone, her face losing some of its strength and superiority.

Ranma blinked at her, unable to believe something like this was even requested of him. “Huh? Whaddya mean old ghoul? I ain’t gonna marry nobody else! ‘Sides that, it’s against the law,” he said, feeling Nabiki’s arm around him tighten with his words.

Nabiki glared at the woman, but knew the laws better than anyone; after all in order to bypass them she had to first know them. “I think she’s referring to Amazonian law Ranma, that would give you the privilege of marrying as many women as you can provide for...and defeat,” she added darkly with special emphasis.

Cologne nodded. “Indeed. You do know our laws. I know it wouldn’t be recognized here in Japan but it would be a true marriage in the eyes of every Amazon,” she acknowledged.

Shaking his head, he growled in frustration. “Why cantcha just leave us alone huh? I didn’t ask for any of this, and I know for damn sure neither did Shampoo! If it weren’t for your stupid laws, neither of us woulda been in this mess ta begin with,” he said, starting to lose his patience.

“That’s where you’re wrong sonny boy. It STARTED with Shampoo following our laws, but then it turned into something else, something very real. She’s willing to give up EVERYTHING for the slim chance of being with you...even sharing you with Nabiki. Knowing that it would cost her, her position in the tribe and the respect of all Amazons,” the woman shot back, revealing just how far Shampoo was willing to go for him.

He looked at her incredulously. “You’ve gotta be KIDDING me! There ain’t no way Shampoo would do something dumb like that, she’s got too much pride in being an Amazon,” Ranma almost shouted at her.

Nabiki laid a calming hand on his arm. “Just a second Ranma,” she said quietly, her mind racing at this latest news.

When he’d quieted down, though still breathing heavy, she looked back at Cologne. “So, you mean to tell me that she’s willing to accept exile from the tribes, just to take the role of his second wife, BEHIND a non-warrior?” she clarified, narrowing her eyes.

Cologne nodded to the question. “That’s exactly what I’m saying Nabiki Saotome. Shampoo would forgo all her heritage and submit to life UNDER you, just to be with Ranma,” was the answer.

“Huh? What the heck are you talkin’ about?” asked a clearly confused Ranma, looking back and forth at them.

Nabiki’s glare turned sharp at Cologne, her mind cursing her loudly for putting them into this situation. “She’s trying to tell us that if Shampoo married you, she’d have to acknowledge me as your primary wife and lose all of her privileges that would’ve come if you’d married her,” she explained, not liking having to do it, but not wanting him uninformed either. To do so would be to give them power she didn’t want them to have over either of them.

“Why’d she wanna something stupid like that for? She’s pretty enough to get any guy she wants, why settle for something like that?” he asked, unbelieving that the proud girl he knew would do something so submissive.

Closing her eyes, Nabiki sighed. “Because she LOVES you Ranma, that’s why, and she’s willing to give up everything to be with you,” she reiterated for him, having to spell it out in simple terms for him.

It worked. He shut up and thought about what she’d said, his anger growing by the moment at the situation he’d just been asked to consider.

His arm dropped from Nabiki’s side as he took a step forwards, malice flashing in his eyes. “You think I want Shampoo treated like some kinda second class citizen? She don’t deserve that! She deserves ta be with someone that would love her and treat her like an equal...not like she’s a piecea’ meat! I can’t BELIEVE you’d even come up and ask ta do something this stupid!” he shouted, his aura flashing into existence, ruffling Nabiki’s hair and flapping Colognes robes.

Her staff shot out towards his head, only to be caught in his hand. “Not this time! You’re gonna listen to ME for a change!” he snarled, ripping the staff from her hands.

Nabiki stood in stunned silence at his tirade, unable to believe how angry he was and that he’d just disarmed the an Amazonian Matriarch with so much ease it looked like child’s play.

Tapping the shocked woman on the head with her own staff, he leaned forwards and glared into her eyes. “Shampoo don’t DESERVE to be second to anyone! Sure, she may’a done some dumb things before, but she’s always there when ya need her! She’s a good friend and deserves ta be HAPPY, not a SLAVE to your stupid traditions and stuff!” he said, throwing down her staff as he straightened up.

Stalking back to Nabiki, he scooped her up in his arms, endorphins running so thickly through his body he didn’t feel the pain as he did. “C’mon Nabs, let’s go home,” he said to her, his face a mask of barely controlled anger.

He tensed his legs and leapt to the nearby rooftops, taking the Saotome Expressway home.

Cologne slowly picked up her staff and tracked them with her eyes, a slow smile spreading on her face. “That went better than I thought,” she chuckled, pogoing back to her café.

Tendo Dojo a short time later...

Ranma was sweating and breathing heavily when they finally landed in the yard. “Finally,” he gulped, setting Nabiki to her feet as he bent forwards and placed his hands on his knees, gasping for air through the pain.

She pulled one of his arms over her shoulders, a stern expression on her face. “What part of taking it EASY today didn’t you understand?” she asked in an annoyed tone.

He managed to blush slightly as she helped him into the house. “Sorry ‘bout that Nabiki, I just kinda lost my temper,” he said sheepishly.

As they walked into the kitchen, they found Kasumi and another pretty woman sitting at the table talking and laughing over tea. “Oh my! Ranma, are you okay?” asked a suddenly concerned Kasumi, rushing to her sisters aid.

He could only nod, embarrassed by being seen so weak by everyone.

“He decided to carry me home while jumping from rooftops and over exerted himself. He wouldn’t listen to me until we were half way home, by then he’d already pushed it too far,” replied Nabiki, giving him a look that dared him to say otherwise.

Ranma knew better and simply nodded as they helped him to the table.

“Ranma, you really should take better care of yourself,” said the other woman, concern obvious in her eyes.

Nabiki glanced over at the newcomer. “And you are?” she asked, fearing that yet another fiancée had showed up for Ranma.

She smiled at Nabiki. “I’m Hope...but you used to know me as Happosai,” the woman said pleasantly.

Nabiki sat down, hard, at the news. “What? How’d...Bill,” she finishing her unspoken question.

Hope nodded. “Yes, he used some Jusenkyo water and a ladle to lock the curse so that I wouldn’t ever become that horrible pervert again,” she said with a shudder.

Ranma began to chuckle at the news, finally breaking into laughter at the revelation. Every time he’d calm down, his eyes would see her again and he’d start to laugh uproariously once more.

Even Nabiki shook her head. “Okay, the man’s got style, I’ll give him that,” she agreed, seeing the humor and irony of his punishment.

“Hope is going to stay with us for a little while since Uncle Saotome and now Ranma are injured, to help me with the daily chores,” Kasumi said, glad to see that the woman was so well accepted.

“Any news on Akane?” asked Nabiki, pouring herself and Ranma a cup of tea.

Hope and Kasumi frowned. “No, we haven’t heard anything yet,” admitted Kasumi, showing her concern over the situation. “I’m worried about her, it’s not like her to be gone for this long,” she added quietly.

“It ain’t like the tomboy to blow up half the dojo either, Kasumi,” spouted in Ranma, earning him a fierce glare from Nabiki. “Sorry, I mean she was acting all funny before she ran away,” he amended.

“Much better,” murmured Nabiki, smiling into her cup.

Nodoka walked into the kitchen, smiling brightly. “Welcome home you two. Nabiki, Bill stopped by when you were gone and left this for you,” she said, handing the girl a sealed envelope.

Frowning, Nabiki cursed under her breath. “Figures, just when I needed to talk to him,” she said quietly, accepting the envelope. “Did he say when he was coming back?” she asked the woman, covering her left hand with her right subtly.

“I’m afraid not, he seemed rather preoccupied, but he did leave us some money for repairs. I feel I may have done him a disservice by judging him so harshly,” Nodoka said with a trace of regret as she joined them at the table, folding her kimono under her knees.

Nabiki shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, Auntie; I’m sure he knows. It was a stressful situation for everyone,” she assured her mother in law.

The older woman frowned but declined to say anything further on the topic. “How are you feeling, Ranma?” she asked, turning her attention to him.

He swallowed hard and gave a weak smile. “I’m okay, Mom; just a bit tired from jumping home,” he said, actually thankful for his weakened state as it gave him an excuse to be sweaty and pale.

“You should take it easy, Ranma; perhaps a hot bath? Nabiki, you’ll be a dear and help him won’t you?” she asked with a smile at the girl.

“You know it, Auntie,” she said with a predatory smile, both women laughing at the shade of red Ranma turned at the insinuation.

Kasumi and Hope chuckled at the banter, the mood at the table light and peaceful. “What’s in the letter, Nabiki?” asked Kasumi, eyeing the envelope that was still on the table.

“I dunno, guess I should find out,” she said with a shrug, picking it up.

“It’s about some bird man according to Bill. Geese, I believe is the name he said,” added Nodoka, oblivious to the stiffening of both Ranma and Nabiki.

With hasty fingers, she slid open the envelope and pulled two folded sheets of paper from within. Opening the first, her eyes scanned it quickly, her mouth setting into a fine line the further she read.

Slowly folding it, she opened the next and read it quickly as well. Everyone at the table waited patiently for the girl to finish, curiosity and in one case fear, eating away at them.

“I’ve got to make a couple of phone calls,” she said, standing and walking from the room, taking the letters with her.

Ranma frowned after her, concerned about her sudden attitude. “I’m gonna go make sure she’s okay,” he muttered, slowly taking his feet and hobbling away.

“I do hope everything is okay,” Hope said, looking at the doorway they’d departed through.

“They’ll be fine, I’m sure,” Kasumi said, even though her face showed a trace of trepidation as well.

Nodoka was placing empty cups on a tray. “I just hope they take nice long bath together,” she said with a silly smile, still entertaining thoughts of dozens of grandchildren.

The other two women giggled at her words as they made their way into the kitchen to clean up.

Upstairs...

Nabiki waved Ranma into her room, a small phone glued to her ear. “Yes, this is Nabiki Tendo, I was told to call and talk to you,” she said as the person on the other end of the line answered.

She nodded while looking at Ranma. “I understand, yes. I’m at home now if you want...okay, I’ll talk to you then,” she said, pushing the end call button on her phone.

“What’s up, Nabs?” he asked her, seeing the pensive look on her face.

“I’m not sure Ranma,” she said handing him the letters and sitting in her desk chair, crossing her legs and kicking her right foot thoughtfully.

He read the letters, a concerned and slightly confused look on his face. “So this person is supposed ta help us?” he asked, looking up from the sheet of paper.

Nabiki nodded. “I guess so, at least she said she’d be here in a little bit to explain and help us,” the girl answered.

Ranma frowned. “Wonder why Bill didn’t stick around and tell us himself,” he thought aloud sitting down on the floor by the closet, his hands behind his head.

“I’m not sure Ranma, and I wanted to ask him some questions as well about Akane,” she said, smiling at her husband, liking the sound of the word.

“Has it sunk in yet?” Nabiki asked quietly, her smile going soft as she regarded him.

“Huh? Oh that! Yeah, kinda I guess. I mean, it’s not like I feel any different or nothin’, but at the same time it’s, I dunno...peaceful,” he said, trying to explain the feelings he’d been carrying since their wedding.

“What about you? You feelin’ any different?” he asked shyly, the light on her mothers ring catching his eye as her hands moved.

Nabiki took a deep breath and held it as she thought about her answer. “I think I am, to tell you the truth. This morning I was so...unsure, of everything. I didn’t know what was going to happen when you woke up, only that I wanted to make things right between us and never let anything like that happen again,” she admitted, standing up from her chair and crossing the floor to sit down by him.

She could feel him tense slightly as she rested her head on his thigh, pulling his hand down so she could hold it. “Even after you said you’d marry me today, I still had doubts it would happen. Like something bad would stop us from getting there, only nothing did,” she continued in a quiet voice, her fingers running over his hand.

He listened closely to her as she spoke, finding her voice and actions strangely soothing, and his own hand beginning to caress her ear and playing with her hair. “But I meant it, Nabs; when I said I’d marry you. Didn’t you believe me?” he asked.

She smiled and kissed the palm of his hand. “Yes, I did; for your information. It was just an irrational fear that came from an emotional overreaction,” she explained, pausing to see if he’d understood it.

Nabiki rolled to her back, her head still in his lap, the fingers of her left hand linking with the one’s from his right. “I got scared because of everything that happened and didn’t think it was going to happen that smoothly,” she restated, finally seeing comprehension on his face.

Ranma smiled down at her. “Oh, well, I was scared too ya know. It ain’t like I ever really thought about something like this before, an’ I’m afraid I’ll screw it up,” he admitted.

“As long as we talk about it, Ranma, I’m not worried about you screwing up anything. I don’t want someone that won’t talk to me, won’t trust me. I want you to be able to talk to me about EVERYTHING, no matter what,” the young wife told her husband sincerely, clasping his hand to her chest, just above her breasts.

He blushed at the contact, but realized that she wasn’t intending playing with him as she normally did. “I’m, uh...sorry about earlier, with Cologne,” he said to her, swallowing as he saw her face darken at the memory.

“It’s not your fault, Ranma, don’t worry about that. I still can’t believe the ARROGANCE of that woman! We hadn’t been married an hour and she wants to try and get us to think about having Shampoo get in on this,” she fumed at him.

He nodded. “I don’t wanna marry anybody else Nabiki, I just don’t think it’s fair. You shouldn’t have to share the person you love with anyone,” Ranma told her, frowning at the thought of having a tender moment like this when Shampoo was with them.

She nodded slowly. “I agree Ranma, completely. It’s not that I don’t understand what she’s going through, that I understand. I don’t see how she could tolerate playing second fiddle to anyone, much less someone that isn’t even a martial artist,” the girl told him.

Ranma gave her a strange look. “You mean you’d of come to Shampoo and tried to get her to let you marry me too?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.

Her dark eyes met his blue ones, neither blinking for long moments. “I don’t know...probably. Ranma, I LOVE you, without a shadow of a doubt. I meant what I said about never forcing you into something you didn’t want to do. If you’d of decided that Shampoo was really who you wanted after all, well...” she swallowed and shrugged, looking away.

It was his turn to move her face back to look at his, where she found him smiling warmly at her. “I was YOUR fiancée, and now I’m your HUSBAND, Nabs,” he assured her, wanting to put her fears at ease as she’d done to his.

Her smile could’ve melted the ice she proclaimed to have in her soul at his words. She reached up and pulled his face to hers, kissing him softly. She could hear and feel him groaning with the gesture, until she released him.

Ranma sat up and gasped for air, having been unable to breathe in the position as well as aggravating his rib injuries by being flexed into such an uncomfortable position. “Owwww,” he complained weakly.

Nabiki sat up quickly, turning to face him in a flash. “Ranma! I’m so sorry, I forgot all about your injuries,” she said, hands touching his torso tenderly as if her touch alone could make him feel better.

His smile was strained but heartfelt at her concern. “S’ok, I really didn’t mind too much,” he tried to assure her, coughing through the pain.

She wrapped her arms around him, resting her forehead on his strong shoulder. “What am I gonna do with you?” she asked him.

“Just don’t do that again,” he joked, resting the side of his head on hers.

“I love you, Ranma,” she said quietly, suddenly very aware of his body next to hers, how his smell seemed to fill her room, how warm his skin was under his top.

He gave her a smile. “I love you too, Nabiki,” her replied, kissing the top of her head awkwardly.

Nabiki lifted her head at the action, pleased that he was comfortable enough to actually initiate affection with her. ‘Was starting to feel like a pervert with all the come on’s I’d been giving him,’ she thought ruefully, though it seemed her actions had finally paid off.

They spent a tense moment looking at each other, before with almost painful slowness their lips approached each other.

“NABIKI! You have a visitor,” called Kasumi up the stairs.

Both of them blinked at the other, faces only inches apart. “I love Kasumi, but I’m SO gonna kill her for this,” she breathed.

“Um, I don’t think she knew, Nabs,” said a blushing Ranma, smiling uncomfortably at the ruined moment.

She chuckled. “That’s not the point, Ranma; you’d just better not forget where we were,” she told him with a wink as she got to her feet.

Ranma followed suit before letting her lead the way from the room, and down the stairs.

“Who is it, Kasumi?” asked Nabiki as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

Kasumi was talking with a slender good looking woman with silver blue hair. She was wearing a pair of tight blue jeans, a yellow long sleeved top and a puffy yellow vest that was emblazoned with a trio of concentric C’s.

Standing next to her with a happy smile was a muscular man that was almost 6 feet tall. His black hair was unruly and seemed to defy the laws of gravity. He wore a training gi of orange and black, comfortable looking and very functional for one in the fighting arts.

Behind him, scowling like someone had just kicked his dog while peeing in his breakfast cereal was a shorter but just as muscular man. The man’s hair line was receding, though what was there also seemed to defy natural laws regarding hair. He wore a casual pair of khaki’s and a pink Hawaiian print floral button up shirt.

“Oh, Nabiki, she says that you called her earlier,” said Kasumi, smiling at them as they made their way to the foyer.

The woman looked at Nabiki with a wary but friendly expression, the men both eyed Ranma after pausing only a moment on Nabiki.

The way they stared at him made him feel distinctly uncomfortable. They said nothing to him, only eyed him as he stood at Nabiki’s side, as if content to let the woman do the talking for them.

“Sorry it took so long, we, uh...had to stop to get a snack,” the woman said apologetically, casting a hostile look at the taller man. He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head with a shrug.

“I’m Bulma, nice to meet you,” she extended her hand to Nabiki, who accepted it with a smile.

“I’m Nabiki, good to meet you too. C’mon, let’s go to the dojo where we can talk,” she told them, motioning for them to follow her.

“WOW! You guys got a dojo here? That’s great!” enthused the taller man, looking pleased at the prospect of seeing the structure.

The shorter man simply rolled his eyes and made a slight noise of disgust at the other man’s actions. He grumbled darkly under his breath as they followed the women towards the dojo.

“Hey Kasumi, could you bring us some snacks?” called Nabiki over her shoulder, pausing in the hallway.

The older girl nodded. “Okay Nabiki, I think I have some leftovers in the fridge,” she said, walking to the kitchen.

Hope followed her friend. “I’ll give you a hand, Kasumi,” she offered with a smile.

“What a strange group of people, I do hope Nabiki isn’t falling in with the wrong crowd,” worried Kasumi, pulling various containers from the fridge and handing them to Hope.

“The shorter man seemed very grumpy, I wonder if he’s had a bad day?” the other girl added, popping open lids and starting to re-warm the food.

Kasumi nodded. “It is getting late, perhaps he’s a morning person?” she wondered.

Hope paused to consider that theory. “Perhaps tea and coffee then? Caffeine might help his demeanor,” the nun thought.

“That’s a wonderful idea, I know Nabiki likes coffee sometimes after school,” Kasumi agreed, pulling the small pot from beneath the sink.

As they worked, Kasumi started to hum a happy tune, with Hope joining in a moment later. Both girls kept perfect pitch and time with the other as they worked, neither noticing the other doing so.

Inside the dojo...

Ranma sat close to Nabiki, still unsure of what to make of the new comers. The two men seemed okay, though the short one still looked like he’d sat on a rather large and sharp telephone pole a couple of times. The woman was pleasant and seemed nice enough, making small talk with Nabiki with little effort.

“So, Bill told me you guys could help out with this guy; Geese,” Nabiki said, looking over at the woman.

Bulma nodded at her. “Yes, but before we get started, let me introduce my friend, Goku, and my husband, Vegita,” she said, extending her hand to point at them correspondingly.

Ranma nodded at them, smiling lightly. “Yo, what’s up guys? I’m Ranma Saotome,” he said raising his hand in greeting.

Goku smiled at him, mimicking the gesture. “Hey, good to finally meet you,” he said.

Vegita barely moved his head in acknowledgment, his perpetual frown firmly in place.

“You’ll have to forgive my husband, he SEEMS to have forgotten his manners,” Bulma growled at him, glaring heatedly.

Vegita snorted at her look, but spoke nonetheless. “Hello,” he said in a gravely voice.

Ranma looked at Goku curiously. “Whaddya mean, finally meet me?” he asked suspiciously.

Goku blushed and grinned, “Well, it’s kinda a long story really,” he started to say, to have Bulma take over for him.

“They were asked to fight against you guys by Drake, but didn’t take him up on his offer,” she explained, shooting her husband a dark look.

“They decided to find out why he wanted them so badly and scouted out the one’s Bill had brought into this. Figuring out that it was in their BEST interests,” she continued, raising her eyebrows challengingly at Vegita with the word, “to help you guys rather then him,” Bulma finished.

Vegita scowled deeper then before. “Bah, they posed little challenge, besides Drake has been annoying us for far too long. It’s time he learned his place,” he said, as if that would explained everything.

“C’mon Vegita, even you were impressed by some of what we saw,” coaxed Goku, wrapping an arm across the man’s shoulders in a comradely fashion.

The shorter man cringed as if the contact pained him, but he didn’t move. “Hmph, they show some redeeming qualities,” he said with a condescending tone.

Ranma glared at the man. “Yeah? Well who asked you anyways, huh? What makes you think you’re so tough?” he challenged the man, rising to his feet.

Nabiki placed a warning hand on Ranma’s arm. “Ranma, sit down and let’s listen to what they have to say BEFORE we go challenging them to some honor duel,” she chided the pig tailed boy.

Bulma meanwhile had turned on her husband, Goku wisely stepping away from the line of fire. “And you, Mr. I-don’t-need-anybody-I’m-the-toughest-guy-in-the-universe! We’re SUPPOSED to be helping each other, NOT provoking fights,” she scolded the man.

Goku had sidled up next to Ranma, leaning over in a conspiratorial whisper. “He’s not so bad once you get to know him, really,” he assured the young man.

“Kakkorot!” the man yelled at his friend, annoyed at his whispering. “If you’ve something to say, then say it!”

“Aw geez, Vegita, all I was telling him was that you ain’t such a bad guy once he gets to know you,” complained Goku, unphased by the man’s anger.

Nabiki watched the interactions with a practiced eye, noting that each seemed very comfortable and at ease with the other, even if they did bicker.

“Gentlemen, if you don’t mind, I’d like to find out why this man is trying to kill Ranma,” she said, bringing everyone back to the topic at hand.

“Sorry about that, they tend to be easily distracted,” apologized Bulma, shaking her head in slight frustration at their antics.

Kasumi and Hope entered as everyone took a seat once more. They set down a tray laden with goodies and another with pots of tea and coffee. “Just call if you need anything,” said Kasumi sweetly as they left.

“HEY! Alright! I’m starving!” cried Goku, digging into the food with gusto, finding a partner in Ranma at his side.

The two women and Vegita watched in relative amazement at the speed and voracity of the two men, neither fighting over food as they ate, but rather working together to polish the majority of the food.

“Excuse me, Ranma?” Nabiki said, tilting her head to the side.

They both paused at her tone, Ranma from knowing that it meant she wanted something and Goku because he thought he’d been rude. Both had mouth’s so full of food they looked like chipmunks with too many seeds.

“What I wouldn’t give for a camera,” the younger girl smiled at him, pointing to a relatively untouched plate of her favorite cookies.

Ranma handed the plate to her, trying to grin around the food and almost losing it onto the floor for his efforts.

Goku handed them the pot of tea, then two cups before getting the go ahead look from Bulma. Though neither had said a word, they both dug in once more at the same time, finding Vegita had joined them as well.

“I’m glad to see they’re not the only one’s that eat like a vacuum cleaner,” said Bulma, shaking her head but smiling at the trio.

“And I thought Ranma and his father could eat a lot,” Nabiki said, nibbling on her cookie as Bulma poured them some tea.

“Don’t even get me started on grocery bills. When we get all the families together, we have to buy out a full store...AND hire a caterer,” she added, smiling fondly at the two men.

Pulling a small device from a pocket, she depressed the button on top before setting it on the table. There was a small flash and muffled pop, and where a canister was before now sat a state of the art laptop computer.

“Okay, let’s see what I’ve got here,” Bulma said, tapping at the keys quickly.

Nabiki’s eyes shot open at the object, cookie between her lips forgotten. “How’d you do that?” she asked.

“Huh? This? Oh, my company makes all kinds of things. You’ve never heard of Capsule Corp?” the silver haired woman inquired, only getting a blank stare in return.

Bulma smiled as she explained, all the while continuing to work on her computer. Looking up, she finished her typing with a flourish. “There ya go. All done,” she said with a smile. Spinning the screen to face Nabiki. “That’s everything we know about Geese Howard, both fact and rumor,”

Nabiki set her cookie down and began to quickly read, her mouth settling into a frown the more she found out about the man. “Can I get a copy of this?” she asked, not taking her eyes from the screen.

“Tell you what, why don’t I just give you one of mine? I brought 2,” offered Bulma, handing her an identical canister.

That thought pulled her gave from the screen. “How does it work?” she asked, hesitant to simply start pressing buttons without prior instruction.

After the woman had explained it, including how to return it to capsule form, Nabiki proceeded to open her new laptop. Her smile spoke volumes as to what she thought of the gift.

“Pretty cool, huh?” teased Bulma, leaning her shoulder into the younger girls.

“This has definite possibilities,” agreed Nabiki, finding that she honestly liked the woman’s open and honest nature, not to mention her tendency to speak her mind.

The men meanwhile had finished with the remnants of the food, all leaning back on their hands as they smiled contentedly around the table. “That was really good,” complimented Goku.

“Kakkorot, ANY food is good to you so long as you get to eat it,” said Vegita, smirking at his friend.

“Yeah, guess you’re right,” chuckled the mighty warrior, he then turned to Ranma.

“So, having much problem with everything that’s been happening?” he asked.

Ranma shrugged. “Not really, that last guy I fought was really strong though. Don’t know where he came from, but he’s not someone to take lightly,” he admitted to them.

“We looked at him too, but he’s got his own problems,” added Goku, making Ranma sit up with interest.

“What do you mean? He’s got a weakness?” he pushed, eager to find any advantage he could.

Vegita frowned at the boy, “Everyone has weakness, you simply have to exploit them,” he growled at Ranma.

Goku rolled his eyes. “You can beat him easy if you wanted to, you just gotta train for it, focus only on the fight,” he advised, ignoring the caustic comment from Vegita.

“That’s easier said then done man; I’ve got enough to worry about around here. With all the crazy stuff happening and every weirdo trying to jump me an’ Nabs, it ain’t like I can really concentrate. I can’t even go on a training journey without one of them trying ta hurt my family,” he complained, rolling his eyes.

Shaking his head, Vegita sighed at him. “That is YOUR weakness! They will use your love for your family against you, keeping you weak so that you won’t be able to stand against them,” he told Ranma, motioning towards the home.

“Whaddya want me to do about it, huh? It ain’t like I can just leave them! They already tried to kill Nabs, Akane, Ukyo, and even Mr. Tendo! They ain’t gotta a chance without me around ta protect them,” Ranma shot back at the arrogant man.

Goku smiled as he leaned forwards. “What if we could help you train? I know someplace you get all the training done without interruptions and it wouldn’t take more than a day,” he offered.

Ranma snorted as he looked at the man. “Yeah right! Like THAT could happen,” he said dismissively.

“C’mon! I’m serious! I could even help you,” Goku pressed him, sudden very eager to help the young man.

“Goku, are you offering what I think you are?” came the warning voice of Bulma, her and Nabiki walking over to them.

“I’m only trying to help Bulma, honest! I figured I could help him train in the Room of Spirit and Time, that way he’d only be gone a day and Vegita could keep an eye on things while we train,” he explained, somewhat sheepishly.

Vegita truly frowned now, looking rather upset at having been offered to help without being asked. “And why should I protect them?” he asked darkly, glaring at Goku.

“Because if you don’t, YOU’RE going to have to LIVE on the outlook until I decide I’m not angry at you anymore!” growled Bulma pointing a finger in his face, matching her husbands glare with the same intensity.

“Fine, I’ll help them,” he finally relented crossing his arms almost petulantly, looking as though the words actually hurt him to say it.

Shaking her head, Bulma turned her attentions back to Goku. “ChiChi will kill me if she finds out you did anything stupid Goku. Don’t over do it in there, okay?” she said, not happy with the plan but seeing the immense benefits of it.

Ranma and Nabiki looked at one another, unsure of exactly they were talking about. “‘Scuse me, but, uh...what exactly is this room you guys are talking about?” he asked, turning from face to face in search of an explanation.

“It’s, uh, kinda hard to explain really. Basically, for every 24 hours that passes out here, 365 days goes by in the room. So, you can train for a whole year but only lose a day outside of the room, it’s GREAT!” enthused Goku.

Nabiki blanched at the thought, blinking slowly as her mind wrapped around the concept. “Wait a second. A YEAR?” she asked, not liking the thought of Ranma aging so much.

Bulma nodded. “Yeah, a year in a day. These guys have used it before to do some intensive training when they didn’t have a whole lot of time,” she confirmed, seeing the concern on her face.

“Ranma, I’m not sure I like this idea,” Nabiki told him, feeling a cold weight in her midsection.

He nodded. “Yeah, I know Nabs, but think of how much I can get done. I gotta try it, I can’t afford to lose to that guy, not now...not since...” he trailed off, unable or unwilling to continue his statement.

“What? Not since what?” asked Goku, looking at the two younger people.

“Not since we got married,” finished Nabiki, not taking her eyes off Ranma, realizing the extent to which he would go for her. It both warmed and frightened her, to know that he would risk so much, sacrifice some of his life just for the chance to ensure her safety.

“You guys are married? That’s great! How long you guys been married?” asked Goku, slapping Ranma on the shoulder, almost sending him face first into the table.

Rubbing the wounded skin, he looked at the man. “What time is it?” he asked with a smirk.

“We got married a few hours ago,” added Nabiki, blushing at the sudden attention of them. “No one knows right now and we’d like to keep it that way,”

“No problem here, your secret is safe with us,” assured Bulma, taking the impulse to hug the girl in congratulations.

Nabiki stiffly returned it, caught off guard by the sudden embrace. “When would you go?” she asked as the woman pulled back.

“Well, how about right now? That way we can get it done as quickly as possible,” Goku told her as he got to his feet.

Ranma looked over to Nabiki with a strained expression. “Um...I dunno...” he said, finding her less then eager about the whole idea.

‘This is my WEDDING night!’ her thoughts railed at her, not wanting to be without him on this of all nights. “Just a moment,” she started to say, only to have Bulma come to her defense.

“MEN! Didn’t you two hear them? They just got MARRIED! TODAY!” she almost shouted at them, adding the second word when they both gave her blank expressions.

Both Goku and Vegita got a sudden look of understanding, with Goku going so far as to blush while rubbing the back of his head. “Oh..well, uh...we can start tomorrow morning. Is that okay?” he asked, chuckling.

Nabiki couldn’t help but smile at the man’s sudden understanding and change in attitude. “That would be fine...but make it LATE morning. I don’t do mornings,” she advised him, drawing a dark chuckle from Vegita.

“What’re you laughin’ at?” asked Ranma, startled at the sound, having come to think that the man was incapable of humor.

“Oh, you’ll find out soon enough,” he said cryptically, looking over to Bulma who blushing in her own right.

“Ooookay,” Ranma said, unsure of the meaning but figuring he could ask Nabiki about it later. ‘She’s better at figuring out people than I am, she’ll explain it to me,’ he thought, smiling over at Nabiki, finding her blushing slightly as well...with a hungry look in her eyes.

Bulma stood and crossed to Vegita, standing by his side as they observed Ranma and Nabiki. “You don’t really mind, do you?” she asked him quietly.

He gave her a look from the corner of his eye, but smiled at her without saying a word.

“Thank you,” she whispered to him, showing him the smile that she gave only to him in private moments.

Walking closer to the two newlyweds, Bulma smiled at them. “Why don’t you guys go get a nice room somewhere? Me and Goku will pick you up in the morning and we can get started,” she offered.

Nabiki smiled at the woman. “That sounds good, let me go and tell my sister that we’re going out for the night so that they don’t worry, plus I’ve got to explain about Vegita staying here as well,” she said, running her fingers down Ranma’s arm.

He watched her go, feeling nervous and excited at the thought of spending the night with her...alone, in a hotel, on their wedding night. His mind FINALLY realized what Vegita was laughing at, his blood pressure rising along with the blush on his face, his eyes widened in shock.

“Hey, looks like he finally figured it out,” teased Bulma, laughing at the boy’s expression.

Room 1430, Hyatt Regency, Nerima...

“Thanks again,” said Nabiki, firmly showing the bellhop the door, locking it behind him. ‘Finally,’ she thought with a sigh and grin.

Walking into the main room of the expensive suite, she found Ranma glancing around at the opulent room with awe. “This is really nice,” he whistled with an approving nod.

“It may not have been a proper wedding ceremony Ranma, but I’m not going to skimp on the wedding night,” she said with a seductive smile.

He looked uncomfortable at her attention for a moment, but was unable to tear his eyes from hers. “Are you sure? You know, about this...” he waved in the general direction of the bedroom.

When she was in front of him, she wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her face close to his. “Yes Ranma, I’m VERY sure of this,” she told him in a hushed voice, as if afraid any loud noises would cause the boy to flee.

Nabiki met his eyes with hers, showing not the predatory glint he was sure she’d have, but one of love and understanding.

“I married you for the same reason you married me: LOVE. I want to be with you Ranma, no matter what; and I want to share that love with you,” she assured him, pulling him into her lips.

Ranma kissed her back, his arms finding their place around her, bringing the heat of her body next to his. When her tongue found her way into his mouth, he responded in kind, having learned a thing or two about this from the last time. A fact he was quite proud of...and happy of as well if his body’s reaction was any indication.

As he kissed her back, pressing her closer to him, Nabiki moaned in satisfaction, giving in to her emotions and hormones. With a supreme effort of will, she forced herself to break the kiss, her breathing heavy and ragged with the effort.

“Let’s go to the bedroom, I’ve got a surprise for you,” she whispered in husky desire.

He gulped. “Surprise?” he managed to squeak out, blinking distantly.

Her smile was demure but inviting. “Oh yes Ranma, you’re going to find out that I’m FULL of surprises,” she assured him, taking him by the hand and leading him to the large 4 posted canopy bed.

Pushing him down on the bed, she winked at him seductively. “I’ll be right back,” she told him, swaying her hips as she walked to the bathroom, looking over her shoulder before shutting the door.

He sat and stared at the door, his fingers idly moving as he waited. Fighting supremely powerful fighters? No sweat. Taking insane risks to protect the ones you love? Piece of cake. Facing overwhelming odds and coming out on top? Child’s play.

Waiting calmly for your new wife to unveil a surprise after giving you a look that could’ve made the dead rise? Not a chance in hell.

Luckily, he was spared too much thought and trepidation as the door cracked open slightly. “Would you mind dimming the lights and lighting some candles?” she called from the bathroom.

His body moved without any stimulation from his brain, having decided that thinking was highly overrated and thus unneeded. He found himself once more on the bed, candles sending flickering shadows to play on the walls.

“Are you ready for me?” she asked, her voice wafting over to him as the door opened fully.

Ranma had always thought Nabiki was pretty, if not beautiful when she tried. What he saw now blew away any preconceptions he’d held about the standard for beauty.

Her right hand rested on the door frame, left shoulder leaning on the opposite one, a sensual pose of her hips that was both inviting and extremely stimulating.

Nabiki wore a thin negligee of white silk, thin enough to show the promise of what was beneath while covering just enough to create intrigue. Her legs were shapely and toned, one foot in front of the other.

“You’re...perfect,” he muttered, stunned by her beauty, almost silenced by the sight of her.

With deliberate slowness, she crossed to him; each step intended to increase desire and anticipation. She succeeded with flying colors. “Perfect? We’ll find out,” she whispered, hands finding his shoulders as she pushed him to his back, straddling him provocatively.

He looked into her eyes, once more finding the hungry demanding glint, only this time it was met by one of his own. “You’re so beautiful, Nabiki,” he said as she descended to claim his lips again.

“I love you, Ranma,” she whispered, just as her lips sealed themselves to his.

Tofu Clinic...

“DOC! Come quick!” shouted Ukyo, almost throwing the door from its hinges.

The young doctor almost ran into his waiting room, “What is it?” he asked in concern, looking at the terrified and pained expression on the girl’s face.

“It’s Akari, she’s busted up really bad! Ryoga is too, but...ya gotta come quick!” she cried, tears almost falling from her eyes as she remembered the sight she’d found.

Ukyo had been calling to check up on the young couple, making sure that Ryoga hadn’t wandered off again. The begging cry she’d heard from Ryoga had tortured her the entire way to Akari’s ranch, where she found her worst fears come true to a degree she could barely comprehend.

After calling an ambulance for them, she’d rushed to find Dr. Tofu, knowing that his expertise with the human body could mean life or death for the severely injured young woman.

Grabbing his arm, she started to pull him from his home. “Ya gotta come, they ain’t gonna make it!” she pleaded with him.

Twisting his arm from her firm grasp with ease, he quickly spun her around and planted her into a waiting room chair. “Calm down Ukyo, I have to make a phone call,” he said to her sternly, his demeanor cutting through her worry and panic.

“O..okay,” she stammered, sniffling in the chair as she tried not to focus on her friends plight.

He picked up the phone and dialed a number that had at least 4 digits too many. He waited only seconds before the line was answered. “It’s Dr. Tofu, I have a situation that I might need your help with. Could you meet me at...” he paused and looked at Ukyo.

“Mercy Hospital,” she said reflexively.

“Mercy Hospital,” he parroted back, nodding as he listened. “Thank you Jules, I’ll see you there,” he told the person on the phone, hanging up as he finished.

“Let’s go, I have a friend coming that will be able to help,” he assured the girl, taking her hand in his and walking with her to the street. They only walked a small distance before he was able to hail a cab and they scrambled in.

They both sat in silence; fearful of what they’d find when they finally got to the hospital.

Mercy Hospital...

There was already a crowd of people gathered around the gurney by the time she appeared around the corner and walked into the casualty ward moving at a brisk walk as though she owned the place. Spotting Tofu she made her way into the knot of people with a frown on her face. “Have you ordered an x-ray yet?” she asked.

“I’m sorry, I don’t seem to know you,” the doctor in charge of Casualty said, looking up from Akari to Jules.

“I’m Doctor Menzies and I’m here to take charge of this young lady. I have extensive experience in treating injuries like these. Now, has that x-ray been ordered yet?”

“I, well no, I was about to do that when you walked in. I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait outside with the others,” he said with an emphatic nod of his head as one of the nurses pressed yet another bandage on the large gash in the girl’s forehead.

Jules sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’m not gonna to get into a pissing match wit’cha. The girl needs specialized treatment. We need to get her stable and then we’re going to take her back to Doctor Tofu’s clinic.”

Just then the portable x-ray machine appeared in the room and the assembled mob backed up to let the radiologist work. In a couple of minutes they had the results and all three doctors were shaking their head.

Tofu pulled Jules aside. “You can make her well, can’t you” he asked hopefully.

Her green eyes were intense and her voice barely over a whisper. “Aye, I can, but it’s going to take time as well as some specialized equipment which we can’t get here. You know my passion for breaking the rules, hell I’m breaking them even being here at all, but there are things that even I can’t do. We need to get her out of here and back to the clinic where I can use what I need.” With that she walked back to the gurney and started giving orders.

“There’s far too many people here. You, you, and you can stay” she said indicating two nurses and one of the technicians. “The rest of you can go now.” The dismissal in her voice was final and several people departed the area. That left the young doctor.

“Doctor Menzies, you don’t have privileges at the hospital, I’ll have to ask you to move away from my patient.” There was bravado in his voice; the majority of which she guessed was manufactured.

“Look,” she said with a sigh as the x-ray came back and was hung on the light. “She doesn’t have a lower spine anymore, it’s been completely shattered. Have you ever read about something like this?”

“Well no,” he admitted at the same time that Jules realized just how young this doctor was. ‘I don’t think I was ever that young’ she observed to herself. “Hospital rules state,”

“Rules are made to be broken, my young colleague,” she said with a wink and a shake of her red curls. “That’s one of the first things you need to learn. Now,” she continued in her most patient tone, “what we’re going to do is get her stable and then discharge her into Doctor Tofu’s care. Would you like to help or would you like to wait somewhere else?”

Wordlessly the younger doctor turned and regarded the x-rays and then turned back to her. She could tell the wrestling he was doing in his own mind; obviously this wasn’t someone used to thinking outside the box. He then called for a suture kit and took the gauze off her forehead to reveal the large gash. “She probably needs a cat scan to ensure there’s no internal hemorrhage,” he ventured as one of the nurses brought over a suture kit.

“Now you’re starting to think in the right way,” she said in approval as she peered across to look at the large gash in her forehead. “What’d she do anyway, walk into a wall or summat?”

An hour later¼

“This is still against my better judgement,” the young Casualty doctor remarked. Despite the depth of the gouge on Akari’s forehead there was no internal bleeding and her dislocated shoulder had been popped back into place. They’d eventually had to go to the director of the hospital to get her released into Tofu’s care. Luckily the director has a rather high opinion of the young doctor and had finally relented.

“We don’t always get our way now do we?” Jules asked with a smile. “Don’t worry, it’s going to be fine,” she assured as Tofu completed the last of the paperwork.

Akari was loaded in the back of the ambulance and they took off for Tofu’s clinic. Once there things advanced rapidly. Jules picked up the phone and again dialed an impossibly long number and spoke quietly for several moments and then loudly and tersely for several more. Finally she slammed the phone down and rolled her eyes.

The shadows in the room seemed to move and deepen somewhat after several minutes. Jules walked to the corner and pulled from it several large cases on wheels. She opened one and immediately put something on Akari’s temple before beginning to unpack.

Finally the girl was placed on her stomach on the examination table. The IV ran from her the tree into her left hand, keeping her both hydrated and unconscious. Dressed from head to toe in surgical “greens” Jules and Tofu began this most delicate of procedures. Using a laser scalpel, Jules created a large incision in the girls back, from the pelvis up to the T12 vertebra. The laser scalpel immediately cauterized the wound, significantly reducing blood loss.

There was no easy way to pick up the fragments of bone that had been destroyed. It was a tedious process that both doctors worked at for over two hours. Saline helped, as did a little gadget Jules had that showed them the location of each of the fragments, highlighting those which weren’t visible to the naked eye. Bit by bit they worked on the fragmented “L” vertebrae. When they were finished they were looking at the entire section of spine which had disappeared.

Jules walked over to the corner, where another of the machines she’d unpacked sat working away. Tofu walked over and murmured his appreciation. There, sitting in some gelatinous goo, sat a replica of a spine; looking for all the world like the exact portion they’d removed from the girl.

“Bloody good, in’it it?” Jules asked as she prodded the finished product before picking it up. “We replicate it from her own DNA. Not even her immune system will be able to tell the difference.”

The process wasn’t an easy one, but it would certainly be worth the effort. The spine segment was laid in place in Akari’s back. Jules worked tirelessly to make the transition between old and new bone as seamless as possible. Muscles had to be knit together, tendons connected and finally nerves grafted together in a process that seemed never-ending. Jules and Tofu worked well into the evening hours working on the girl.

After what seemed like forever Julia used another of her ‘gadgets’ to seal the wound. The gadget seemed to simulate time, closing the layers of skin until the top layer knit together perfectly. There’d be no scar from this surgery. Finally satisfied they turned the girl over. Tofu cut the stitches put in place at the hospital and used the gadget on her head, ensuring there would be no ugly scar there to remind herself of what Akane had done.

“Bloody good work,” Jules declared as she took off her mask and cap. “She’s going to have to go through a bit of physical therapy to re-teach her muscles how to move and stuff but rehab for this kind of injury isn’t as bad as people think it’s gonna be.”

Tendo Dojo...

Nodoka led the battered and almost catatonic boy into the house, gently setting him down on the couch. “You just rest dear, I’ll be right back with something hot for you to drink,” she told him; though he made no indication that he’d heard her.

Vegita looked at the boy from his standing position by the stairs, noting the injuries he’d suffered and his shocked body language. As Nodoka came back with some tea, he walked over to them. “What’s happened?” he asked gruffly.

“It would seem someone attacked him and his girlfriend and left them for dead,” she said, sighing heavily as she tried to get Ryoga to take the cup, something his limp hands wouldn’t do.

He grunted at the news. “He’s suffering from shock and fatigue, I will help him,” Vegita said, seeing the thousand yard defeated stare in the boy’s eyes. ‘I understand this, I too have been where you are,’ he thought, remembering when he’d thought he’d lost both Trunks and Bulma not so long ago.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” the mother asked, still not quite sure about the surly man.

He gave her a harsh stare. “Yes, leave us. You cannot help him,” he ordered stiffly.

Nodoka glared at the man. “Young man, you’ve no right to be so RUDE!” she proclaimed, not fazed by his harsh nature or words. She was, after all, married to a blustering idiot.

Vegita growled in his throat, stifling the biting remark he wanted to make at the woman. “I apologize,” he almost snarled.

Looking at him a bit mollified, but still annoyed nonetheless, Nodoka accepted his words. “I’ll leave you be, should you need anything, please call,” she said stiffly, walking away with a noble air.

“Insufferable woman,” he muttered after she’d left, standing before the catatonic Ryoga.

“Wake up boy!” he ordered him, slapping him firmly across the cheek.

Ryoga shook his head with the blow, blinking up angrily at the man that had hit him. “What’d you do that for?” he asked darkly, rubbing his face.

“You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself, that’s why. Are you going to sit there and let the person that tried to kill someone you love get away with it?” he asked him, no sympathy in his voice, only derision.

Ryoga’s eyes teared up at the mention of Akari, her weak and battered body coming back to his mind. Another slap by the man once more drew him out of it. With a snarl, Ryoga jumped to his feet and swung at the man with a mighty haymaker, only to have his fist caught in the man’s meaty hand with ease.

“That’s better! Now you’re showing the spirit of the warrior you’re supposed to be. Use that anger and hatred; make those that hurt you suffer with it! That’s what a REAL warrior would do,” he said haughtily.

Jerking his hand away from Vegita. “Who’re you and how do you know so much?” he asked, shaking his hand slightly.

“I’m Vegita and I’m here to help you with Drake,” he said by way of introduction.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, wondering how many more weirdoes Bill was going to find to help them out.

Sighing deeply at having to explain himself, Vegita glared at him. “Ranma is off training for a fight with someone that tried to do to him what happened to you,” he explained. “I’m watching his family until he returns,” he finished, stating the fact like it was the biggest disgrace of his life.

“He got someone to watch HIS family? What about me?” he shouted angrily at the man, feeling betrayed by the whole situation.

Vegita shrugged. “I’ve no idea, maybe they thought you could handle yourself?” he said dismissively, not really caring one way or the other.

Ryoga sat down hard at the news, feeling even more useless and unworthy in light of it. “I couldn’t though...she just walked through me like I wasn’t there,” he said miserably.

Nodoka, Hope, and Kasumi walked in, all looking concerned by the loud voices. Before any of them could say anything, Ryoga’s outburst stunned them all.

“How could she? The Akane I knew would never have done this!” he cried out, tears falling from his eyes, both at his shame for the dishonor he’d given her as well as the fact that Akari was now paying the price for it.

“Oh my, are you sure Akane did all this?” asked Kasumi, eye’s wide, hand over her mouth.

Hope hung her head sadly, now realizing what was happening by his outburst, enlightenment shining down on her.

“Are you certain it was Akane?” asked Nodoka, knowing the girl was violent but never having believed she could take measures this far.

He spun on the woman with wild eyes. “YES I’M SURE! She taunted me about it, that I was powerless to stop her, you don’t forget something like that,” he almost yelled.

“So, what do you plan to do about it?” asked Vegita, his tone easily pulling the boy’s attention back to himself.

Ryoga shook his head. “I dunno...I can’t hurt her...” he trailed off brokenly.

Vegita crouched down before the boy, his face stern, almost angry. “Yes, you can...and you will! She tried to take everything from you, make her pay for it,” he said in a low tone, his eyes narrowing.

Ryoga slowly nodded, ignoring the protests from the three women as he did. “I can’t face her like this though, I’m too weak after what she did to us,” he said, trying to think of a plan.

Reaching into his pocket, Vegita pulled out a small black pouch. Opening it up, he pulled a small greenish brown bean from within. “Eat this, it’ll return you to full strength. Then, go find her and make her pay for what she did!” he encouraged the boy, handing it to him.

Looking at it apprehensively, he popped it into his mouth, crunching down on it then swallowing. It only took a matter of seconds for his eyes to widen; the wounds on his body to miraculously disappear, and him to shoot to his feet.

“I feel...I feel...” he said, his face starting to quiver in unbridled rage.

“Use your hate to make you strong! Now go, it’s your turn to hurt her,” said Vegita with an approving nod.

Ryoga stalked past the man to the door, opening it and rushing out into the night, breaking into a run as he left the yard.

“What have you done?” shouted Nodoka, glaring at the man angrily.

Hope and Kasumi looked positively ill at the sudden turn of events, leaning on one another for support.

“I gave him reason to find his pride. A warrior must NEVER let a stain go on his honor, he MUST avenge it,” he told her.

“That young woman you just sent him after is the youngest daughter of this family!” Nodoka yelled at him, waving a hand towards the boy that had left.

Shaking his head and rolling his eyes. “Are you dense woman? That ‘girl’ you’re talking about has joined those that are trying to KILL you! She’s working for them!” he shouted back at her, growing tired of having people question his motives and information.

“Oh no, oh no...” murmured Kasumi, breaking into tears at his words, burying her head into Hope’s shoulder.

“Shhhh, it’s okay Kasumi, we can still save her...it’s not too late,” consoled Hope, rubbing the girl’s back soothingly.

Nodoka looked from the irate man to the visibly upset women, growing fearful of what was happening. “Are you saying that, that what he’s saying is true?” she asked in a horrified tone.

Hope could only nod slowly, not willing to vocalize her fears.

A sudden peal of thunder broke overhead, sending chills throughout the room as if reverberated in the house.

Both Hope and Kasumi looked up at the noise, growing a deathly pale from the sound. “It can’t be,” whispered Hope.

“It’s too soon, it’s not time yet,” murmured Kasumi, turning tearful eyes to her friend.

“I never thought one of them would be my own sister,” Kasumi said, lower lip quivering as emotions over took her once more.

Nodoka and Vegita looked at each other with stupefied expressions. “What are you talking about, Kasumi dear?” asked the woman, trying to keep her voice level.

Hope shook her head sadly. “I’m afraid we can’t tell you Mother Saotome, please forgive us,” she said, leading the girl down the hall towards the phone.

Kasumi wiped her eyes hurriedly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be so upset, I knew this day was coming,” she apologized.

“Think nothing of it, neither of us was truly expecting this day to be here so soon,” the other girl said in a comforting voice, falling back onto her faith to sustain them both. Picking up the phone, Hope hurriedly dialed a number that she pulled from her pocket.

“Yes, may I speak with Mutsumi please?” she asked.

Hinata Sou...

“Mutsumi! Phone calls for ya!” shouted Su at the top of her lungs, even though the woman was only 20 feet way in the living room.

“Isn’t that nice? I don’t usually get phone calls,” she said, rising from where she’d been playing with Tama and Kuro and crossing to the phone.

Accepting it from the blonde genius, “This is Mutsumi, can I help you?” she asked, a smile on her face.

That smile slowly faded as she listened, nodding in understanding. “I see, I will be there shortly then, thank you for telling me,” she said, an unusual serious expression on her face as she replaced the handset onto the cradle.

With a thoughtful sigh she walked to the living room and picked up her shawl. “I’m sorry but I have to visit some friends,” she apologized to the animals, smiling lightly as she started to walk away.

The girl made it to the stairs just as Tsuruko and Vash arrived, all of them smiling at the other. “Are you going home, Mutsumi?” asked the swordswoman, looking over her shoulder.

“Oh no, I’ve got to go see Kasumi, they need to talk with me,” she assured them, starting to walk past them.

“What a fortunate set of circumstances, we also have business to discuss with Ranma, would you mind if we traveled with you?” smiled Tsuruko happily as if it were indeed a coincidence.

Mutsumi smiled in return, nodding in pleasure. “I would enjoy that, I do hate traveling alone,” she agreed, as the three of them made their way down the stairs.

A few hours later, Shinmei Ryuu...

Funaki stood so still outside the room that if it were not for his uniform, he could have been confused with one of the many statues that decorated the grounds. Though it rankled him a bit to have guard duty when something so monumental was transpiring, he did understand the significance of their guest.

A shuddering crash broke the stillness of the night, walls and floors vibrating with its power. Brow furrowing as his eyes snapped open; he turned and flung open the door as he pulled his sword, taking a ready stance as his eyes searched the darkened room.

A sinister figure stood amidst the broken remnants of the wall and window, large wings spreading ominously from it. “Why if it isn’t my old friend Funaki, so good to see you again,” said a cordial Drake, a vile smile on his face as he tipped his hat to the master.

“Wha...How is this possible?” he said, unable to believe that the demon was able to enter this plane.

Drake clucked his tongue in disapproval. “Now, now, I would love to stay and have a chat to catch up old boy, but I’ve much to do. You won’t mind if I invite your guest to join me though, will you? You’re a good bean, no matter what they say about you,” he taunted, snapping his fingers once.

Naru had a glazed expression, holding neither fear nor trepidation, walking to where Drake was standing and wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing her body to his.

“Oh, she seems a bit randy tonight, I say, what HAVE you been doing with her?” the demon questioned, laughing in a deep booming voice.

Funaki snarled at the sight, unleashing the spirit attacks he’d been using all his life against the demon while he was preoccupied.

Drake leaned backwards, falling out the window as his wings wrapped around Naru. The attack sailed out into the night air, missing the creature entirely. Rushing towards the opening, Funaki swore as he looked down, an inky shadow taking wing once more and soaring off into the night.

Slamming his sword back into his sheath, he broke into a run, racing towards the meeting to hall to alert the others. The end was here, the time was now.

Cat Café...

Shampoo smiled at the last customer as they left, wiping the thin veil of perspiration from her brow. “Whew, good thing we closed, Shampoo bushed,” she said, walking towards the door and starting to close it.

A large hand stopped her from doing so. “There you are my dear, I’ve been looking for you,” said the sneering face of Geese Howard, ducking under the signs as he entered the café, followed by 4 of his fighters.

Shampoo’s eyes widened at the sight of the man, involuntary backing away from him. “Mousse! Get Great Grand Mother!” she cried, pulling her bonbouri from behind her, falling into a fighting stance.

Geese laughed and motioned his men back. “Don’t worry, she’s more bark than bite,” he told them, not even bothering to take a defensive stance.

With a yell, Shampoo charged the man, kicking and swinging her maces in tight vicious arcs, looking for an opening.

The man easily batted them away, twisting away from her attacks with ease. With a snap punch, he broke through her defenses and slammed a fist into her side, throwing her clear across the restaurant.

A series of chains and knives flew at the man, cutting his immaculate suit to ribbons, though none broke the man’s skin.

Looking down at the ruined silk, he looked up dangerously under his brows. “This suit cost me 10,000 dollars boy,” he growled, dropping his hands in disgust.

Mousse, his glasses firmly on his nose, growled back at the man. “No one does that to Shampoo and lives!” he promised, leaping up and throwing even more hidden weapons at the man.

Geese was forced to back flip away from the barrage, before rolling low under a fallen table to further avoid the onslaught. Grabbing a chair, he spun quickly as he stood, flinging it at the boy.

Having been so wrapped up in trying to destroy the man for harming Shampoo, Mousse was blind sided by the sudden unorthodox projectile. With a sickening crunch, it slammed into his face, sending him crumpling boneless to the ground.

“Now then, where were we?” he asked, turning back to Shampoo, and walking right into a jumping kick from the Amazon, knocking him backwards through the outer wall of the restaurant.

Shampoo landed lightly, taking an offensive pose as she did eyeing the hole warily, remembering all too well how talented this man was.

“Must find Great Grand Mother,” she said, taking a few steps back before turning and running into the kitchen.

Racing through that room to the stairs, she easily bounded up them to the living area. Looking about frantically, she couldn’t locate the old woman. Her heart pounding almost painfully in her chest, she felt more than saw something move behind her. Before she could dive out of the way, a large hand closed over her throat, cutting off the supply of oxygen to her brain.

Thick arms pulled her to his chest, wrapping themselves around her slender body and squeezing the air from it. She kicked and clawed at the man, trying desperately to do enough harm to him to break free.

“Nice try my dear, but I won’t be denied my prize,” Geese hissed into her ear, viciously shaking her from side to side.

She could feel her body growing light even as she struggled to break free from the unnaturally strong choke hold she was in. Her body was thrown about like a rag doll, her struggles finally going limp, her head lolling to the side.

Geese laughed darkly, releasing the choke and slinging the girl over his shoulder. He walked down the stairs with his prize, nodding to his men. “Burn it to the ground. I want NOTHING left,” he ordered as he left, leaving his thugs to carry out his orders.

Outside a long dark limo sat, two more muscled men waited; hands inside jackets, eyes on the roof tops. “When the old hag returns, let her know I’ve got the girl. I want Ranma Saotome to challenge me for her or I kill her,” he said to the man by his door as he got in, handing him an envelope as he did.

The man nodded; his face expressionless as he shut the door. As the car pulled away, faint flickering could be seen within the restaurant as the other four men exited...without Mousse.

They stood mutely as the restaurant began to burn, neither moving nor speaking as they waited for the Amazonian Matriarch to arrive.

Room 1430, Hyatt Regency, Nerima...

Ranma held the sweating girl close, both of them breathing hard, smiles of contentment and love on each face. She nuzzled his chest, her fingers playing with the firm muscles she found there. “Wow,” she murmured, breaking into an even wider smile.

He chuckled. “Is that all you can say now?” he teased, kissing the top of her head. Truth be told, the boy’s expression was one of loving mystification, still unable to believe that he could feel this much for another person.

“I could think of several other things but I have better things to do with my tongue,” she countered with a husky chuckle, licking his nipple with the tip of her tongue.

The effect was instantaneous, his body writhing under the tickling touch of her. “I give, I give!” he pleaded with her, his chest rising and falling rapidly as his heart rate sky rocketed again.

“I’ll take, I’ll take,” she said, sliding atop him once more, her face inches from his.

He blinked into the eyes of his wife, lost once more in their depth and love. “I love you so much, Nabs, I never dreamed...” he started to say, watching her eyes water as he spoke his love to her.

“I know,” she said brokenly, her body beginning to rock slightly, drawing a moan from him.

“For so long I never let myself even dream I could be happy,” she told him, her eyes closing letting her body express the depth of her words and feelings.

She opened her eyes slightly, looking at him through thick lashes. “Now I don’t ever want to live without this...without you,” she said emotionally.

The covers fell from them, revealing rapidly moistening flesh to the romantic light of the candles, consummating their marriage again for the third time in as many hours.

Neither heard nor knew of the peal of thunder that foretold of events that were now on a collision course with them.

Hinata Sou...

Moe appeared in Kanako’s room, a fearful expression on her face. “It’s time Kanako Urashima,” she said dismally.

Kanako opened her eyes from her meditation, licking her lips nervously. “Are you certain?” she asked quietly, finding cold fear clutching her heart, doubt creeping up on her abilities to meet this threat.

The doll spirit nodded. “Yes, I am. Something unexpected has happened, and now we must make preparations,” she said to the dark girl.

There was a light knock at the door, but for once Moe didn’t move back into the shadows. Looking at her curiously, Kanako opened the door to reveal the three village elders standing there. They bowed low to them. “We have come as you ordered,” they said in unison.

The goth girl turned with wide eyes to the doll spirit. “You’re really going to make your move now?” she asked quietly.

“I must if he is to survive, Kanako, I will not desert him,” she said, her eyes blinking slowly.

Walking towards the three men, she paused, turning to regard Kanako. “You may wish to enlist the aid of Koalla Su, her help and ingenious could prove decisive in the coming battle. Be sure she brings the Keitaro Tracking Devices, we will have need of them,” she said, walking into the hall, disappearing into a mist that sudden flowed through the corridors of the inn.

Icy fear now firmly gripped the girl, freezing her in place for long seconds after the doll spirit had left. Finally her resolve and training kicked in, moving her feet towards the mysterious and mostly frightening room that housed the blonde mad scientist and inventor.

‘I won’t let you down, brother; I swear it upon my very soul,’ she pledged, charging into the jungle filled room in search of an ally.

Tendo Dojo...

Cologne pogoed past the girls, her face worried. “Where is Ranma?” she asked them tensely, her eyes moving until they locked on Hope.

“Well now, isn’t that a change?” she asked, blinking in surprise.

Hope smiled at her. “It’s been a while Cologne, I’m happy to see you again,” the woman said with a formal bow.

Shaking her head, she frowned once more. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude but I have business with Ranma,” she reiterated.

Kasumi looked uncomfortable, not wanting to give away their secret but just as unwilling to hide the truth from the woman that was so obviously in distress. “He’ll be home in the morning, he and Nabiki went out for the night,” she said, not quite giving away everything but not hiding it either.

Both Soun and Nodoka almost leapt for joy at the news, dancing around the room.

Cologne cleared her throat angrily. “Shampoo has been kidnapped and if Ranma doesn’t fight for her the man is going to kill my great grand daughter,” she said in a level tone.

That stopped all celebration immediately, all eyes concerned as they peppered her with questions.

“THAT’S ENOUGH OF YOUR MINDLESS PRATTLE!” shouted a very annoyed Vegita, hands over his ears at the sound.

“Listen here little man, I don’t know who you think you are but you’ve no right to yell like that in this house, who do you think you are creating a disturbance like that? I’ve got half a mind to teach you a lesson about disturbing the rest and peace of others!” growled a barely healed Genma, glowering at the warrior with a false air of superiority.

A vein began to throb on Vegita’s forehead at the man’s words; his look could have killed a more intelligent man.

He began to stalk towards the man, but smiled cruelly instead, turning towards Soun. “I have need of your phone, I will summon Ranma for you,” he said, then pointed towards Genma.

“IF I am allowed to teach this WORM some manners about speaking to his betters,” he growled.

“Done,” said Nodoka, almost before the man had finished speaking.

Genma’s face fell, terror in his eyes as he watched the muscular man crack his expansive knuckles as if promising a whole new world of pain he was about to visit.

As the man walked to the phone, Genma began to whimper on the couch, trying to sidle his way to the closed window.

A firm and unyielding hand on his shoulder stopped his impromptu escape. He swiveled his head to look into the sweetly smiling face of Kasumi, on the other side of her, the serene face of Hope. “Uncle Saotome, wouldn’t you feel more comfortable over here with the rest of the family?” she asked him innocently.

“Ka...Kasumi? You TOO?” he asked in horror, realizing that there was no escape for him.

“Now, now, Saotome, it’s a martial artist duty to find those more skilled then himself and learn from them. Just think of all the experience you’ll get in this encounter,” said a noble looking Soun with an approving nod.

A very pleased looking Vegeta walked back into the room, his smile not at all pleasant to look at. “I’ve called someone to bring Ranma back here. Now then, may I use your dojo?” he asked, turning his attention to the now opening sobbing Genma.

Nodoka shook her head sadly. “I’ll have the talk with Ranma about teaching his father how to act like a man,” she clucked, taking her seat once more as she awaited the arrival of her son.

Room 1430, Hyatt Regency, Nerima...

A pounding at the door brought Ranma from his slumber, not at all pleased to be disturbed. “This had better be good,” he growled, gently extricating himself from the arms of a naked and sleeping Nabiki.

Ranma had just turned the handle of the door to open it, intending on peeking out a crack when the person on the other side decided to pound again, knocking the door open to reveal Ranma in all his naked glory.

Goku blinked dumbly at the boy, his eyes trailing down until he blushed a deep red and jumped back, covering Bulma’s eyes. “Oh my gosh! Sorry about that! You and Nabiki gotta get dressed, something terrible happened,” he said in a rush, trying to usher the woman away from the door.

“GOKU! Get your hands off of my eyes this very instant or I swear...” she struggled out, finally succeeding in peeling a finger from her eyes. Seeing more of Ranma then she’d intended, she also flushed a bright red and averted her eyes. “Right, like Goku said, you guys gotta get moving,” she agreed, now allowing herself to be pulled away.

Leaping back behind the door, Ranma felt his face burn. “HEY!” he shouted unnecessarily, even as they moved beyond his immediate line of sight.

His shout brought Nabiki’s head up from the bed, blinking in the dim light. “Ranma?” she called sleepily, hand searching the blankets for her husband.

Shutting the door, Ranma moved back to the bed, still a bit self conscious about being totally naked in front of her. “Something’s up, Nabs,” he said, pulling back on his underwear as he sat on the bed.

She sat up, sheet falling down to reveal her lush breasts, swinging her legs over the bed. “This had BETTER be good,” she said darkly, glancing at the clock.

“Bulma and Goku said something terrible happened, but, uh...they...” he stammered, once more blushing fiercely.

She eyed him closely as she gathered her clothes, clutching them to her chest. Kissing him on the cheek, she smiled at him. “Let me guess, they both saw you naked?” she asked in a teasing tone.

He could only nod as he watched her giggle and walk to the bathroom, not quite shutting the door so they could still talk. “Don’t worry about it Ranma, I’m sure they’ve seen naked men before,” she assured him lightly.

“Why does it always happen to me though?” he said quietly, shaking his head as he pulled up his pants, tying the strings at the waist.

“What was that?” came the call; Nabiki’s still ruffled head popping from behind the door.

“Nothin’, just wonderin’ why stuff like that always seems to happen ta me,” he said sheepishly, pulling his shirt back on.

She winked at him before disappearing again. “I’d say it’s a curse, but you’ve already got one of those. I wouldn’t worry too much about it, Ranma. Now if you go and PURPOSEFULLY expose yourself to people, THEN we’ve got a problem,” she added.

He walked closer to the bathroom, leaning his back against the wall next to the door as he waited for her. “Yeah, like THAT’S gonna ever happen,” he said, though her words did make him smile.

The wait wasn’t long as within a moment she walked from the bathroom, her hair looking almost normal. “Let’s go find out what’s so terrible,” she said, locking her fingers with his as they went to the door.

Goku and Bulma were leaning against the far wall, looking down at the ground. When Ranma and Nabiki walked out, neither could look directly at Ranma, though Bulma smiled broadly at Nabiki.

“Geese has Shampoo and is threatening to kill her unless Ranma challenges him for her,” she said, the smile slipping quickly off her face.

Ranma stiffened at the news, uncertainty and angry filling him at the news. “I’m gonna kill’m!” he said, punching his hand into his palm.

Nabiki narrowed her eyes, “Hold on just a second, Ranma, you barely beat him and got away last time...and that was WITH Shampoo’s help. You’re in no condition to fight him and I’m not about ready to bury my husband,” she said, touching his arm.

He blinked at her in surprise. “But I just can’t let him hurt her! It ain’t right!” he said in frustration.

Bulma looked up and down the hall, realizing how loud their voices were. “C’mon, we’ll explain on the way back to the house, Cologne is there now,” she said, motioning for them to follow her.

As they walked through the corridors, Nabiki slid her arm around Ranma, leaning into him as they walked. “Don’t worry Ranma, we’ll find a way to get her back,” she assured him.

He nodded but didn’t take his eyes off Goku’s back. “I hope so Nabs,” he echoed quietly as they left the hotel.

Tendo Dojo...

Ranma’s face was a mask of controlled rage and impotence, his fingers laced into his hair as he hung his head as he sat on the couch.

“You can’t blame yourself, Ranma,” murmured Nabiki, rubbing his back with a hand.

“I shoulda been stronger...” he said tightly, rocking slightly back and forth.

Cologne shook her head. “It wouldn’t have mattered; they easily dispatched both Shampoo and Mousse. You must focus on what must now be done, not what might have been,” she advised him.

Goku looked stern as he listened, unable to believe what had transpired. “I can help you Ranma, I can help you train,” he said.

Bulma and Vegita looked at the man, neither really surprised at his reaction to the crisis, but knowing that he couldn’t physically interfere no matter how strongly he felt. “He’s right, but you’re not going to be able to stay in there a full day, you’ve got to answer his challenge,” said Bulma.

Looking up, Ranma nodded to Goku. “I’m ready then, let’s go,” he said, taking his feet.

Nabiki stood with her, trepidation on her face. “You’re going to walk right into a trap, you know that right?” she asked him seriously, taking his hand.

He nodded at her. “Yeah, but what else am I gonna do? Shampoo’s in trouble,” the boy said with a frown.

She smiled tightly at him. “Let me worry about that, I’ll find a place for you to fight him that will cater to your strengths. Go...and Ranma?” she asked, suddenly very aware of everyone in the room watching them.

‘Screw them, we’re married,’ she thought defiantly. “Hurry back,” she said, leaning up and kissing him on the lips.

He blushed at the public display of affection, but returned the kiss, going so far as to bring his free hand up to gently stroke her face.

“I love you,” she whispered breathlessly, her eyes searching his and finding the love she’d longed for.

“I love you too, Nabs,” he said with a soft smile, blushing furiously but not shying away from her.

There was a loud thud from across the room, causing the young couple to jump.

“Ma!” shouted Ranma, rushing over to his mother, who had collapsed on the floor with a deliriously happy smile plastered on her face.

“Oh my! I think Auntie may have fainted,” said Kasumi, kneeling next to her and fanning her slightly with a towel.

“Father, maybe you could...Father?” she called seeing Soun standing stiffly by the wall, a matching smile on his face.

“Looks like he’s unconscious as well,” Hope told her friend, snapping her fingers before the man’s wide open but unseeing eyes.

Ranma and Nabiki couldn’t help but laugh at their reactions, falling into each other’s arms for a moment before separating.

“We’ll be back by noon tomorrow. Make sure you set it up,” Goku told Bulma, leading the younger man outside.

Bulma nodded and put an arm over Nabiki’s shoulders as they watched them go. “Just make sure he’s ready Goku, we’ll take care of everything else,” she told them.

As the door shut, Nabiki felt the wall of ice descend down upon her again, locking her emotions away. “I’ve got a plan, will you help me?” she asked the woman.

“Sure, what do you got in mind?” asked the surprised woman, marveling at the sudden change in demeanor of the younger girl.

Nabiki gave her a sly smile. “It’s time that Geese found out that you don’t mess with the Ice Queen,” she said, motioning for Bulma to follow her.

“You know that this guy plays for keeps, Nabiki; are you sure you’re ready to deal with someone like this?” asked Bulma, a worried tone creeping into her voice as they walked into her bedroom.

“Trust me, Bulma; this is something I do know how to do. The trick is going to be getting him to commit to it without us becoming pawns in the game,” she said, opening the laptop Bulma had given her.

Taking a seat next to the girl, Bulma watched her pull up information. “What’re you planning?” she asked, furrowing her brow as she saw what the girl was looking at.

“Simple. This guy’s not only a fighter, but some kinda crime lord. That means he’s a BUSINESS man as well. You can’t run a syndicate without knowing a thing or two about deals and contracts. I intend to use that to my advantage,” she explained, pointing to the screen.

Bulma’s smile started small, then widened more and more as she read. “Oh that’s GOOD, that VERY good!” she said, chuckling at the devious nature of the girl next to her.

“Thanks, I do what I can,” Nabiki replied modestly.

There was a knock on her door, interrupting them. Nodoka opened the door, an uncomfortable look on her face. “Nabiki dear, I’ve something to tell you,” she said, looking anywhere but at the girl’s face.

Bulma and Nabiki both looked at one another. “What’s going on?” asked Nabiki.

With a deep breath, the woman slowly began to explain the situation with Ryoga and Akari, including what Vegita had done.

Bulma’s face grew dark, anger almost crackling around her. “Excuse me, I need to speak with my husband,” she growled out, her foot falls echoing on the wooden floors.

“You...you’re serious, aren’t you?” whispered a horrified Nabiki, feeling positively sick at the news. ‘Ranma was right...he was right the whole time,’ her mind screamed.

Nodoka put her arm around the girl’s shoulders. “Yes my dear, I’m afraid I am. We just got word from the nice Dr. Tofu that Akari is going to be fine but she’s going to need several months of intensive therapy,” she said, trying to put a positive light on it all.

Shaking her head, Nabiki forced herself past the emotions that assailed her. ‘NO! I can’t do this now...too much is riding on it,’ she chastised herself. “Thank you Auntie, but I’ve got some work to do,” she said with a thin smile.

“Shouldn’t you be calling me ‘Mom’?” the woman asked; a sad smile on her face.

Nabiki looked at her for a moment. “Not yet, but soon,” she said, smiling lightly in response.

Hugging the girl tenderly, the Saotome Matriarch rose and quietly left the room.

Watching her go, Nabiki pondered the sudden turn of events, trying to place them into categories that she could understand.

Turning back to the laptop, Nabiki scrolled down her information, finding the tidbit she needed. “Okay, it’s show time,” she murmured, closing the lid and exiting her room.

She found Bulma and Vegita staring angrily at each other in the dojo. “Sorry to interrupt you two love birds, but I need a favor,” she said coolly, once more in control of her environment.

They regarded her for a moment, unsure of what to make of her tone. “Anything is better than arguing with him!” muttered Bulma, shooting a look at Vegita.

He turned his head as if ignoring her, closing his eyes as he did.

Rolling her eyes, she focused back on Nabiki. “You said you need some help?” she changed the topic.

Smiling coldly, Nabiki nodded. “Yes, I need you to listen to what I’ve got in mind. If everything goes right, Geese will never know what hit him,” she said.

Bulma nodded as the girl explained, smiling as she finished. “I’ll make the calls now. Vegita, it’s time to make up for your boneheaded idea,” she said firmly to the man, motioning for him to follow her.

He crossed to the women. “What?” he growled, not liking being ordered about like a common servant.

Bulma just smiled at him sweetly. “You’ll see,” was all she said, leading him from the room.

Nabiki pulled her small phone from her pocket, using a speed dial button when she did. “It’s me. I need you to hold some information for me, and put it out over the network by 8am, got it? Good, I’ll have it waiting for you,” she said, closing the phone with a click.

Tapping her foot, she looked around the dojo, the girl was swept by sudden sense of loneliness and loss, missing the confident and comforting presence of Ranma. Wrapping her arms around her middle, she tried to force the melancholy away with little success. ‘Just be safe Ranma...I need you,’ she thought desolately, hoping that he’d be ready for the fight.

Meanwhile, in the living room...

Dr. Tofu was a study in self control. He practically vibrated being so close to Kasumi, yet he hadn’t succumbed to the madness that normally seized him. ‘I can do this, I can do this...’ his mind repeated over and over, hands clutching the cup so tightly it was on the verge of shattering.

The doorbell saved the man, allowing him a moment’s respite as Kasumi went to answer it. He let out a sigh of relief, looking around at the people in the room with him. The woman called Hope was sitting at the low table, quietly talking with a still recovering Soun, a wet cloth on his forehead.

Nodoka was once more on the couch, a very bruised, burnt and battered Genma propped up next to her, small wisps of smoke still curling off his body. ‘He really does have quite an impressive constitution to sustain all the beating’s he has and still remain in one piece,’ the doctor thought with a nod.

“Good evening, I do hope I’m not intruding,” said the sweet voice of Mutsumi as she joined everyone.

“Look everyone, Mutsumi came over for a while and she brought some friends,” Kasumi said with a smile.

There was a humming in the man’s ears, as if a thousand voices were trying to speak with him all at the same time. He winced as it increased, becoming almost painful.

“Oh my, Dr. Tofu are you alright?” asked a concerned Kasumi, touching the man lightly on the hand.

There was a brilliant flash of light that could be both felt and seen at the contact, causing both of them to gasp.

Hope smiled at Mutsumi as she took a seat next to her. “That’s four...good to see you again Mutsumi,” she greeted the woman.

“Yes, you as well. How long before the others arrive?” she asked, nodding thankfully as Hope poured her some tea.

Hope shrugged, “Soon I would imagine. They do make a sweet couple don’t they?” she asked, pointing her cup to the now smiling Tofu and Kasumi.

Mutsumi cocked her head, “Awwww, they are adorable! I’m so happy for them,” she gushed at them.

“Hush you two, you’re embarrassing me!” proclaimed Kasumi, blushing as she waved a hand at her two friends.

“I...never, I um...wow,” stuttered the doctor, feeling a sense of peace and purpose.

“Kasumi, I...” he started to say only to have her hush him with a soft voice.

“There will be plenty of time for that later, Doctor; right now we still have much to do,” she assured him, smiling warmly. “Would you join my friends and me for some tea? I just made it,” she asked, standing and extending her hand to the man, leading him to the table.

Nodoka looked at Soun, who held the same puzzled expression she did. Shaking her head, the woman promptly pushed the odd event from her mind, it was after all Tuesday. ‘Strange things always happened on Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, Thursdays... Perhaps a vacation is in order; yes, I believe a vacation is definitely called for,’ she thought with a distant smile.

Tsuruko watched them with interest, unable to place the reason she felt so oddly at the four of them having tea together.

“Hey Tsuruko, you, uh...feeling kinda funny watching those guys?” asked a hushed Vash, never taking his eyes off them.

She nodded, frowning as she did. “Indeed, perhaps there is something more to this than I’ve been led to believe,” she told him, turning towards the door once more.

“Where’re you going?” he asked, curious as to her sudden departure.

“To find a statue, and hopefully some answers,” she replied over her shoulder. “Stay here and make sure nothing untoward happens while I’m gone,” she told the man walking from the house.

Rolling his eyes, Vash watched the tea party. “I wonder if they’d mind if I joined them?” he wondered aloud.

Geese Howard’s Office, Downtown...

He replaced the phone onto its cradle, looking thoughtfully at his men in the room. “That was Ms. Nabiki Tendo; she wants to have a negotiation with me regarding my interests in Ranma Saotome. It would appear that she’s something of his AGENT,” he said with a chuckle.

“I’ve agreed to meet her in neutral territory, it would seem she doesn’t trust me for some reason,” the man said in a mock hurt tone, drawing chuckles from the men.

He passed them on the way out of the office, pointing to where Shampoo was lying on the leather couch. “Bring her, it should prove interesting to find what she has to say about this,” he said, exiting his office.

The next morning, Spazz’s Italian Restaurant...

“You sure this is going to work?” asked Nabiki, holding the capsule in her hand.

Bulma nodded. “Don’t worry, I used to use it all the time to get out of dates that weren’t going well. Worked like a charm,” she said with a wink.

Taking a deep breath, Nabiki picked up her brief case. “Okay, here goes. Make sure Vegita remembers I’m one of the good guys if this goes bad,” she said dryly, a crooked smile on her face.

“Don’t worry Nabiki, you’ll do fine. Go get’m,” encouraged the older woman, closing the door of the van behind her.

Walking into the restaurant, Nabiki walked confidently over to the table where the large man was seated. “Mr. Howard?” she asked, standing by the side of his table.

“Ms. Tendo, please have a seat,” he said magnanimously.

“Thank you,” she replied, setting the case on the table and sitting down.

“Let’s cut right to the chase, shall we? You want Ranma to fight for you in an upcoming underground fight club style tournament and have procured one of his friends to ensure his cooperation? Am I correct in this so far?” she asked, popping open the case and handing him a folder from within.

He blinked for a moment, unbelieving of her attitude and information. “Yes, so far. What game are you playing at, girl?” he asked darkly, suddenly wary of this meeting.

She regarded him coolly. “Game? Mr. Howard, I assure you of this, I DON’T play games. I’m a businesswoman and MY interest here is about making some money, so don’t play dumb and we’ll get along just fine,” she said, her tone professional and curt.

“Now then, as you’ll read, this is a binding and legal contract for a one time appearance by one Ranma Saotome. Further appearances and subsequent alternative sporting activities are going to hinged on whether or not you’re able to live up to the expectations of my client. He’s no wish to waste his time on opponents that aren’t up to his caliber. I understand that you, based upon his last meeting, are a fighter of just such a distinction,” she continued, talking quickly and smoothly, as if she did this type of thing everyday.

He nodded, torn between listening to her and reading the 5 page legal document before him, his frustration rising. “Now wait a moment! I’m signing NOTHING! He’ll fight for me or I will KILL THIS GIRL!” he shouted, losing his patience as he lost control of the meeting.

Glaring at him, but looking nonplused, Nabiki shook her head. “Weren’t you listening to me, Mr. Howard? He’s willing to do so WILLINGLY, provided you meet the criteria and contractual obligations set forth in the document before you. Should you wish to try and force my client, well...Mr. Howard, let me explain it to you like this. He knows of your activities and the locations of every single one of the people that would take great pleasure in your downfall, including several governmental agencies. Do you REALLY wish to have him against you?” she asked, leaning on the table with her elbows.

He growled at the arrogance from the girl, rapidly losing interest and humor at the meeting. “And what’s to stop me from killing you, her, and then HIM?” he asked, voice growing louder by the second.

“Nothing, but I assure you, the victory would be both hollow and short lived,” she replied without a beat, going so far as to smile at the man.

“Mr. Howard, you’re a businessman that craves both recognition and money. I wouldn’t be here if you weren’t as I had assumed you to be an intelligent individual. If you read on page 4, paragraph 5, titled Addendum 2a,” she told him, flipping open the document and pointing to the aforementioned section.

“It clearly states that the event will be fully documented and televised via a closed network that will be accessible via a pay per view style node. Your take of this, provided you meet the rest of the contract, would be 85 percent of the gross. Given my rather substantial publishing and advertisement capabilities, I estimate the take home of that alone would be in excess of 10 million dollars. I already have a sponsor willing to fund the advertising rights in Capsule Corp,” she informed him, leaning back in her chair with a smug smile, seeing the greed in his eyes.

Now she had Geese’s interest. Having the boy fight for him in his tournament, having it televised world wide with a public sponsor, and he was already written into the bulk share of the profit. He started to read carefully, looking for the loop hole. It wasn’t hard to find.

He looked up at the girl, noticing she wasn’t even paying him attention anymore, but was rather filing one of her fingernails absently, waiting for him to finish reading.

“According to your paper here, I have to PROVE that I’m within his caliber of fighter?” he asked incredulously, pointing to the second page.

She nodded without looking at him. “Yes, he wants to ensure that the first fight wasn’t a fluke. It should be of little matter to someone with your credentials, I’ve seen your tapes. Quite impressive,” Nabiki said, glancing at him and smiling slightly.

Geese looked at the girl, both sizing her up and determining her intentions. “What’s the catch here, Ms. Tendo? Why so many addendums and provisions in this contract?” he asked directly, licking his lips as he considered her not as a negotiator but as a woman, a very attractive and smart woman.

She rolled her eyes slightly. “I told you before; I’m in this for the money. I won’t take chances that someone could decide to simply NOT pay me or my client. This ensures everyone knows where they stand and what they are going to get from the get go. Quite simply put, Mr. Howard, I’m going to make your little endeavor legitimate...and therefore, legal. No worries about police or federal services knocking down your doors,” Nabiki told him slowly.

He cocked his head to the side. “And this would make you a partner of sorts?” he asked suggestively, raising his eyebrows at her.

“That all depends on whether or not you can beat my client. If you can’t, then this whole conversation is moot. However, if you can...we’ll TALK about it,” she cooed at him seductively, leaning forward and pushing out her chest as she did.

He laughed at her, slapping the table as he did. “You’ve no idea what you just got yourself into, Ms. Tendo, but I assure you that I’m going to ENJOY every SECOND of our...partnership,” the man told her, giving her a slimy smile.

“We’ll see. So, do we have a deal?” she asked him, eyeing the contract before looking back into his eyes.

He opened the document to the final page and signed it with an extravagant flourish. “So, when I can I claim both my fighter and my prize?” he asked, sliding it back across the table to her.

Nabiki smiled devilishly at him, replacing the contract into the briefcase before shutting it and standing up. “In 3 hours at this location, don’t be late or you forfeit,” she advised him, handing him a slip of paper.

Geese caught her hand in his, taking the slip of paper and running his tongue on the back of her hand. “I’ll see you there,” he promised.

She simply regarded him with a cold expression. “I look forward to it,” was all she said, turning and walking from the room.

The man’s laughter followed her from the restaurant, grating on her nerves as she calmly crossed the street and rejoined Bulma. “I hope that you’re right about what Goku can teach Ranma, or I’m going to have to slit my own throat,” she muttered in a foul mood, rubbing her hand roughly against the seat.

Bulma smiled knowingly. “Don’t you worry about that, after Goku gets done helping him...that guy is gonna regret the day his father had an itch and saw his mother,” she promised, driving from the scene.

Nabiki laughed at the mental picture, though she was still concerned about the ordeal they faced.

Abandoned Rock Quarry, 3 hours later...

Geese stood in pure white gi, arms crossed as he waited the arrival of his opponent, frowning as he waited. “It’s almost time Ms. Tendo, don’t tell me your client chickened out,” he taunted the woman, smiling vilely at her.

She smirked at him. “Don’t worry, he’ll be here,” she assured him, then turned to Bulma.

“Where are they?” she hissed, growing more and more nervous as the time passed.

Nabiki blinked and there they suddenly stood before her, both of them looking cold and deadly. She gasped involuntarily, jumping slightly by their sudden appearance.

Ranma was dressed in an all black gi with no sleeves. His body, while well muscled and toned before was now even more so, giving him a more rugged appearance. His face was cold, almost stone like, his eyes the purest ice blue, deadly and uncompromising.

“Ranma!” she said, smiling broadly at him, almost throwing her arms around him.

“Sorry I took so long, Nabiki,” he said quietly, his voice and emotions tightly controlled, even his voice radiated power.

Goku smiled darkly at Geese. “This is your last chance, you can submit now without losing your honor,” he said.

Geese laughed aloud. “Please! This boy isn’t any where near my equal; I’ve no need to submit. In fact I relish this chance to prove myself superior in EVERY way,” he taunted.

“Well, looks like he’s too dumb to quit. You ready for this, Ranma?” asked Goku, clapping his friend on the shoulder.

Ranma looked at Nabiki, and for once the Ice Queen saw something that was even colder than she was. “Yeah, I’m ready. It’s time for this guy to pay,” he said, reaching out a hand to touch Nabiki’s face.

Though the touch was gentle and sweet, it belied what she found in his eyes. “I love you, Ranma,” she whispered, finding her heart in her throat.

Something flickered behind the cold eyes, and for a brief moment, she saw the eyes of the man she loved, before he was once more ice cold.

He turned to face Geese, striding forwards without haste. He stopped a few meters from the man, his arms at his sides, eyes boring holes into him.

Nabiki walked out behind him. “This fight will go on until one of you either submits, quits or cannot continue due to injury, pain or death. If Ranma wins, he is free of your syndicate and any attachment to your organization and Shampoo is free to go with him. Should Geese win, Ranma is to become one of his stable to fight when ever and where ever Geese declares and he can do with Shampoo as he sees fit,” she called out in a loud voice, bringing more than one gasp from the assembled audience.

“May the best man win,” she said finally, dropping her arm and moving from the impromptu battle field.

Cologne smiled darkly as the fight began. “You realize what you’ve done, Nabiki Tendo?” she asked the girl.

“Shut up, Cologne, it’s going to be HIS choice, NOT yours,” she growled back, not taking her eyes from the fight.

Geese moved so quickly he blurred, slamming an elbow into the unprotected face of Ranma, sending him flying backwards. Before the boy could recover, he was once more a top of him, fists punishing his face and torso. The impacts could be heard and felt by all, his hands glowing with a slight blue from the man’s ki.

Nabiki gasped, wanting to look away but unable to do so. “C’mon Ranma...” she whispered as the attack finally abated.

Leaping up, Geese landed only a few paces back, smiling triumphantly. “I thought you’d put up more of a fight boy!” he said, beginning to laugh.

“You really talk too much,” said a calm Ranma, now standing behind the man. No one actually saw Ranma’s hands move, only heard the shout of his attack. “Kachü Tenshin Amaguriken!” echoed around the quarry.

The man’s body was pummeled by the surprise attack, unable to form any type of defense at the speed and power of the assault.

He found himself in the very same position he’d just put Ranma in, though he was bleeding from the mouth as he slowly got to his feet. “Nice trick,” he said.

“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” smiled Ranma, finally dropping into a fighting stance.

The men rushed one another, fists and feet blurring from sight. Each blow seemed to set off another concessive force, giving the audible illusion of thunder.

“Shippuken!” cried Geese, having just separated from Ranma with a backwards leap.

Ranma batted aside the attack as he followed the man into the air, smiling arrogantly as he did. “Gonna have to do better’n that this time loser!” he taunted the man, driving his rising knee into the man’s midsection.

The air exploded out of Geese, shock evident on his face along with the pain. ‘He’s so fast!’ his mind thought, trying to gain control of his sudden speedy descent.

Even as he landed and bounced along the hard broken stones, he caught sight of the boy following him down. He rolled to the side, just in time to avoid the crushing heel strike, but not far enough to avoid the spinning leg kick that followed it.

Rolling like a rag doll over the ground, he came to a rest near the blue green water. With a groan, he struggled to his feet, finding his body weakened and already protesting.

“I don’t know how you did this but I promise you...you’ll regret it!” he snarled, pointing to the rim of the quarry.

Even as Ranma turned, he knew he’d been had. A lone man holding a heavy rifle was observing the battle the whole time, waiting for the signal. He gently squeezed the trigger, the massive gun bucking against his shoulder painfully, a gout of fire exploding from the barrel.

The bullet moved at speeds almost at the speed of sound, moving with unerring accuracy towards the boy.

The bullet caught him in the left shoulder, spinning him around in a mist of bright red blood and throwing him to the ground.

“RANMA!” screamed a terrified Nabiki, starting to rush to his side, Bulma and Goku restraining her.

“You can’t interfere Nabiki, you’ll void your contract!” said Bulma through gritted teeth, hatred glinting in her eyes for the man before her.

“Ranma! Don’t give up! You can do it! Concentrate!” cried Goku, trying to will the boy back to his feet from where he lay.

Geese laughed derisively at the wounded boy. “I warned her not to toy with me, and now BOTH of you will pay the price. I’m going to enjoy owning you AND her you fool!” he said, powering up his attack once more.

“Jaei Ken!” he yelled, throwing three of the most devastating punches anyone had ever seen. Each found its way through the weak guards Ranma had up, slamming into him with brutal accuracy and efficiency.

As this transpired, Vegita had spotted the man responsible for interfering in the match. Taking flight, his aura exploded around him turning his black hair a vibrant yellow and making it almost stand on end. There was a sonic boom as he soared to the rim of the quarry, coming to rest right above the sniper.

“FOOL! You DARE interfere in a matter of honor?” he snarled, holding out the palm of his right and summoning a ball of ki.

With a vindictive smile, Vegita unleashed the attack, watching with pleasure as the man tried to flee. The crackling ball of energy slammed into the ground where the man had been hiding, exploding with incredible power, crushing the wall and disintegrating the stone beneath.

When the dust cleared there was no trace of the man or the ground he was at. The quarry now had a new entrance, complete with gravel driveway that was over 20 meters across.

Looking around him, Vegita began to search for others, sharp eyes finding yet another glint of metal. With the same smile that would cause nightmares in his foes, he moved to take care of them as well.

Vegita’s attack had the added benefit of giving Ranma a few precious seconds to gather his wits about him. He stumbled to his feet, his head swimming from the pain, left arm dangling uselessly at his side. Blood poured down from his face, a long deep cut over his right eye, his nose bloodied and lip busted open.

Spitting the blood from his mouth, he found Geese standing only feet away. “I ain’t done yet,” he said darkly, feeling his powers rise exponentially.

“Yes you are; this is it for you!” shouted Geese, summoning the dreaded Jaei Ken yet again as he closed.

Ranma side stepped the first attack, ducked under the second and rolled back from the third, coming up on his knees.

“Möko Takabisha!” he cried out, putting everything he had into the attack as Geese tried to recover from his own attempt to end the fight.

Unlike the first meeting, Geese wasn’t able to block this attack, his defenses easily blown away by the sheer power of it.

The man screamed as the ki attack exploded around him, trapping him within its fury and preventing him from escaping its horrible wrath.

The man was thrown almost the full distance of the quarry, his body creating a long deep trench as it slid along the rocky ground. When he finally came to rest, there was little that remained of his gi, his skin a mass of cuts and bloody openings.

Ranma’s arm fell, his body sagging as he did, fatigue washing over him. His eyes were stone cold as he slowly brought back up his head, forcing himself back to his feet. “It’s time to end this,” he said.

The spectators watched in stunned and fearful silence as the pigtailed martial artist made his way to where Geese lay.

Standing over the unmoving man, he extended his hand once more. “This is for everything you’ve down, Geese Howard; may Kami-sama have mercy on your soul,” he said, a fierce ball of blue ki forming in his hand, soon swirling with a deep red.

Goku felt the power of the attack, his eyes widening as he released Nabiki. “DON’T DO IT!” he shouted, suddenly disappearing and reappearing before the young man.

Holding his arms out to the sides, preventing Ranma from getting a clear shot at the defenseless man, he spoke “You won Ranma, you don’t need to do this,” he said calmly, showing no fear at the power before him.

When Ranma didn’t say a word, nor look at him, Goku switched tactics. “Can you face Nabiki after you do this Ranma? Can you face yourself? You’re better then this, don’t stoop to his level. There’s no need to kill him,” he reasoned with the boy.

Slowly Ranma turned to face his wife, his eyes losing the cold expressionless depths, and the warmth return. “Thanks Goku,” he said, the anger finally bleeding away.

Goku smiled at the young man as he helped him walk back to the audience. “Hey, it’s alright. Man, you sure had me scared there for a second. I thought for sure you were gonna kill him,” he said with a wry chuckle.

“Me too,” Ranma said with a wince, his eyes only on Nabiki as she rushed towards him.

She had tears in her eyes as she reached him, trying to be careful when she wrapped her arms around him. “Oh Ranma,” she whispered to her husband, relief and worry still warring within her.

“Here, eat this,” ordered Vegeta, once more back to his normal state, handing a small bean to the boy.

“Huh? I ain’t hungry or nothin’,” complained Ranma, eyeing he bean suspiciously.

“It’s a Senzu bean, it’ll help with your wound,” explained Goku with a chuckle. “They taste pretty bad though,” he warned.

Popping the legume into his mouth, he chewed thoughtfully, making a sour face before swallowing. “Ugh, that’s almost as bad as the tomboy’s cookin’,” he complained, but his posture had improved dramatically.

Ranma blinked and stood upright, his right hand coming up to check the now totally healed bullet wound in his left shoulder. “That’s pretty cool, I don’t feel bad or anything,” he said with pleasure.

Nabiki, having heard that he felt much better, decided that this moment was the time for her to do her best Amazonian glomp imitation, accompanied by the patented Tendo Lip Lock.

The couple kissed passionately for a long moment, everyone around them turning respectfully away.

“I’m missed you so much, Nabs,” he said breathlessly, his blue eyes dancing as they drank in her features.

“You’ve only been gone almost 12 hours Ranma,” she teased him not taking her arms from around his neck.

“Um, actually...we trained for about 6 months Nabiki,” Goku said sheepishly, though smiling.

Nabiki gave Ranma an appraising look. “Well, I guess it’s time we picked up where we left off hmm?” she asked him pointedly.

Ranma blushed but nodded, eagerly. “I couldn’t stop thinkin’ about you,” he admitted, kissing her softly.

She smiled into the kiss, wanting to lose herself there forever in his arms.

“Pardon me, but I believe that someone wishes to speak with you,” said Cologne, smiling faintly.

Shampoo walked up to the couple, looking both embarrassed and ashamed. She paused in front of Nabiki, smiling uncomfortably. “Shampoo thank Nabiki,” she said formally, before turning to Ranma.

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, “Wo Ai Ni, airen,” she said quietly, bowing her head submissively.

Nabiki growled in her throat, wanting to slap both Amazons, but deciding not to relinquish her hold on Ranma.

“Shampoo, what the hell’re you talkin’ about? You ain’t my fiancée no more! I’m married now, to Nabiki!” he said to her heatedly, hating to see her like this.

Cologne pogoed over to them, “But she is now your wife Ranma. You accepted and defeated the man that had claimed her, making her your wife,” she said calmly, earning her a look of almost hatred from Ranma.

“WHAT! I didn’t do anything like that! I just beat him so...” he stopped dead in the sentence, looking to Nabiki for support.

“Nabs, she...she ain’t right is she?” he asked in a hushed voice that sounded sick.

“Technically yes, if you follow the letter of the law. AMAZON law that is. When Geese not only defeated her but carried her off, it fulfilled one of the myriad of marriage customs of their tribe. When you fought to get her free, you then claimed her as yours,” Nabiki said to him, forcing him to look at her eyes.

“I, however, knew about this and took certain measures against it. By adding a stipulation in the contract that states you can give Shampoo her freedom so that she isn’t obligated to be your wife,” the sly girl concluded with a smile.

“Oh you’re quite right Nabiki, but by giving Shampoo her freedom, it also gave her the right to CHOOSE her fate,” added Cologne.

The three younger people turned to face the matriarch. “How could you have known about that clause, unless...” Nabiki trailed off, eyes widening as she realized how badly she’d just underestimated the old woman.

“YOU KNEW!” shouted Ranma, his anger rising up to and past the boil over point.

“GREAT GRAND MOTHER!” cried a humiliated Shampoo, cheeks burning with blood.

“Now-now, I had nothing to do with his actions, I just simply made sure that he didn’t harm my heir...or FORMER heir,” she said, her voice growing cold as she looked at Shampoo.

“You accepted a lower position in a marriage, and have now lost your claim to the rule of our tribe Shampoo. You will always be an Amazon but you will no longer be their champion,” she decreed formally.

“Wha...WHAT?” asked a stunned Shampoo, almost falling forwards at having been stripped of her title and honor.

Ranma caught the girl by an arm before she fell, his face a mask of rage at the actions of the manipulative woman. “You can’t do this, Cologne! That’s been her whole LIFE!” he said, shaking from barely restrained anger.

The old woman looked at Ranma with a tired expression. “Now, YOU are her whole life Ranma, I leave her in your tender care,” she said in a tired and weak voice.

Nabiki felt hate at that moment, hate for the woman that had so ruthlessly and knowingly played them all to achieve her desired result. “This isn’t over, old ghoul!” she spat at the woman, venom in her voice.

“You bet it ain’t! Don’t worry Shampoo, we’ll find a way to fix this,” promised Ranma heatedly, seeing the shocked tears in her lavender eyes.

The once proud warrior could only nod, her legs wobbling beneath her forcing Ranma and Nabiki to catch hold of her to keep her from falling to the ground. She leaned into the married couple, feeling alone and out of place within their grasp, wondering how her grandmother could have done something so horrible to her.

“I’ll be here for a few more weeks Nabiki. If you discover a way out of this, you can easily find me. Now that my restaurant is gone, my great grand daughter married to her husband and nothing for me to do here now, I’m returning to my village. I must find a new heir,” she told them sadly, pogoing quickly away.

Nabiki turned her face to Ranma, finding a lost expression that met her own. “We’ll figure something out, Ranma; I promise,” she pledged to her love, though she wondered if perhaps it was a claim well beyond her reach for once.

He nodded to her, wrapping an arm around her possessively to comfort her. Both noticed the stiff body of Shampoo, realizing that nothing was ever going to be the same again.

Tendo Dojo...

Chase rang the bell, cursing under her breath after she did. When Kasumi opened the door, the lady smiled at her. “Hello, I’m a friend of Bill’s and was wondering if you’ve seen him?” she asked the woman.

“Why no, not for some time, would you like to come in?” asked the oldest girl.

“Sure, that is most kind of you,” responded Chase, smiling as she followed her in.

Kasumi paused at the archway. “Everyone, this is a friend of Bill’s...I’m sorry, what was your name?” she asked politely.

“Chase, it’s a pleasure to meet all of you, and nice to see you again Doctor,” the lady introduced herself, smiling at Tofu.

“You too, Chase; it’s been some time. Thanks for bringing Jules around, her skills really helped out recently,” he said, waving her over to the table.

“I couldn’t kept her away with wild horses, you know her,” chuckled Chase as she joined them at the table, waving to Vash.

“Vash. Where’s Tsuruko?” she asked, accepting a cup from Hope that Kasumi had poured.

“I dunno, she said she had to find a statue or something,” he answered with a shrug.

Another knock came to the door, causing Kasumi to frown. “My, we certainly are busy today. I wonder who this could be,” she pondered walking to the door.

A stifled cry of panic brought everyone running to the foyer. Kasumi was slowly backing away from the door, a look of fear etched on her face.

“Why my dear Kasumi, there is no cause to be frightened of me,” came the smooth voice of Drake.

Vash instantly had his silver pistol in hand, diving through the air to snatch Kasumi from being so close to the demon. He rolled with the stunned woman, coming up on his knees with her behind him, his gun leveled at the being.

Tofu pushed aside the other ladies, taking up a protective fighting stance between them and the demon as well, his eyes narrowed warily.

Holding up his hands, Drake laughed at them easily. “My friends, I’ve no wish to fight you here...not YET at any rate. I’m here...why if it isn’t Chase,” he said with sincere pleasure.

Chase regarded the demon with shocked fear. “You can’t be here,” she whispered, swallowing hard as she realized now exactly what Bill had done.

“It’s a funny story actually, but I’m sure I’ll just get something lost in translation. It’s better to let your good friend Bill explain it. He’s currently resting with two other pupils, if you care to visit that is,” he said, smiling wide to show two rows of sharp pointy teeth.

“Don’t do this, Drake; you know what’s going to happen,” she said, trying to mount her courage.

He shook his head. “It’s already done, Chase; thanks to Bill. Now then, I think in 24 hours from now we should get together, talk about old times...oh yes, and start hell on earth, I ALWAYS forget that part,” he said with a snap of his fingers.

His demeanor suddenly changed to one that revealed his true nature: cruel, evil and vicious. “Unless you want me to toss him through the rift, you’ll bring your silly little underlings to the place between. This war is over, you’ve lost. He’s badly wounded, Chase; so I wouldn’t delay too long,” he added.

Vash’s finger started to squeeze on the trigger, his left eye closing as he took aim on the demon’s head. “I’ll stop you here and now,” he promised.

Drake turned to the man, and smiled. “If you do that, BAD things will happen here, my good man. You want the chance to stop me? Meet me in 24 hours, and all will be settled,” he challenged.

“Vash! Stand down, he’s right,” came the calming voice of Chase, eyes still locked with the monsters.

“I knew there were brains behind that beauty,” taunted Drake with a chuckle. “Now, if you would be so kind as to excuse me, I have business to attend to, ta-ta,” he said in a chipper tone as he waved.

The man turned and left the foyer, his wings unfurling as he took to the skies, shadows seemed to absorb him as he disappeared.

Hanging her head, Chase looked at the confused expressions around her. “I can explain, but it’s gonna take a bit, and I need to use your phone before I do,” she said to them, her expression tired yet tense.

End of Chapter notes:

Okay, this is the longest chapter I’ve EVER written. I hope it meets with everyone’s approval. Horrible cliff hangers I know, but all will be revealed in the next chapter of Immortality Sucks. Thanks so much to Innortal for his Excellent help in being my beta, and big UPS to apoggen for guest writing in this chapter. To all my fans and reviewers, I once more thank you, as you humble me with your support and comments. Thank you. RnR if it moves ya to do so, and look for the next chapter soon.