In my Arms, In my Heart

Chapter 2

Stumbling Blocks

Two days later
Saotome Cottage

"Like the name?"

"Well, it kinda makes sense, but don't you want yours to be on it also?" Ranma scratched his head.

"Nope, daddy will buy the land anyway regardless, but we need a nice place to call home." Nabiki finished the signpost with a small mailbox outside with a flourish. We've already got the Tendo Dojo, might as well give Ranma his own home.

"But it doesn't really look like a cottage..." Ranma was still dubious, "If I had to put a name to it, it would be closer to derelict, or ruin..."

"Shush you." She stuck her tongue out at him, "Just give me this little bit of fun for once. I've registered our names at the school, and gave this name including the region, so they know where we live now." She tapped the home-made sign with the carving, made by Ranma simply tracing the wood with a ki-hardened finger.

"So, what's the school like?" He asked as they went in, locking the new door behind them.

"Just your average bog-standard secondary school you can find anywhere in Japan. No kendo masters with illusions of grandeur, no chefs who fight with oversized kitchen utensils, no rival schools with pupils who use rose petals to disappear, no Chinese students from a small village, and finally no people who turn up once a month because they got lost on the way to the locker room." She paused for a breather, "I could go on listing everyone you met back at school, but I think you catch my drift."

"That's good..." Ranma sat in the chair and leaned back, "A normal school."

Nabiki sighed loudly, "Come on Ranma, if there's one thing you should know by now, it's that your life is never normal, and that somehow you attract strange people near you." She winked, "I'm one of them don't forget, I scoured for you throughout Japan and China just to get a glimpse of you. Don't be complacent and fall for what other people say or do, and especially try not to get too much attention, not yet at least."

"Yeah, you've taught me that much when we've been together." He nodded.

A fluttering by the window indicated that someone was trying to come in. As it was tapping the glass impatiently, Nabiki went over to open the door.

"Hi Ranko, good journey?"

The eagle landed on her arm and bowed its head twice, before squawking a few times, dropping the message into her other hand at the same time.

"Ah, so you got a good meal on the way." Nabiki raised her eyebrow, "That better not have affected your flying speed." A disgruntled chirp was her reply, "Okay, fine, I believe you. How was your stay there?" Its head moved to one side before another few squawks came out, "I thought so, Kasumi really does do too much." Stroking the bird's head, she smiled warmly, "Thanks for the message, you can sleep now."

Enjoying the feel of Nabiki's fingers the Messenger stood up tall and became wood once more. Placing the statue on the counter, she unfolded the letter.

"Kasumi." She said to Ranma unnecessarily, "She says that daddy is quite upset, and so is Akane, no surprise there then. He'll be coming some time next week, and she'll be coming with him."

"That'll be good day then..." Ranma quipped sarcastically, "I'd better get the cold water ready."

Nabiki smirked, "Yeah, I'll try to be home too that day." She looked at him, "So, you ready for school tomorrow?"

"I think so..." He looked at his bag behind him, "I still have my old textbooks, do you need the documents from the Public Offices?"

She shook her head, "We can do that later, right now a bit of education won't hurt us, will it?" She winked at him, "I also convinced them to put you in the same class as me, so this'll be your last year of formal education, unless you want to go to university or anything like that."

He shrugged, "I don't know about that, I mean I never had any real hobbies other than the art."

"I thought so, that's good, because now they're looking at seeing what you want to do in your life, like career-wise and so on." She wiped the table as she sat down next to Ranma, "For me, it's easy, I can go into accountancy without a moment's notice. However, perhaps a real job would do once I graduate, then I can see about going to university later."

"Do you want me to carry you to school?" Ranma asked in a gentlemanly fashion.

"Seeing as it is a few miles away, and that there's almost no public transport near here, that would be great." She grinned, "I don't even mind if you jump a few trees now and then, but we have to remain fairly normal when we get closer to the school."

"Got it..." He agreed, "I'll walk you home as well, from work also if you want." He thought of something and asked her another question, "How should I explain the fact we go to and from school together?"

"We're just friends." Nabiki stated simply, "That's all they need to know, definitely don't say we were engaged, we don't want the weirdos to pop up again."

"Easier said than done." Ranma sighed, "I hope no one tries to challenge me to a fight or anything..."

"This isn't Nerima, Ranma, people are more human here, no random fights for honour or things like that."

"I can't even think of what a normal school is like..." He thought back, "I only remember one school Ryoga and I went to, and then Furinkan High."

"Not good examples..." Nabiki flexed her muscle in her arm, "I'm going for my job after school, filing things away for a local accountant. Not great but it's a start."

"I got my uniform too for that maid café I found, the owner has kept it there for me." He seemed proud, "I was lucky to find it among all those shops. The guy wanted me immediately also, said he liked my hair."

"Yeah, about that..." Nabiki looked out the window, "Be careful there, Ranma."

"Why?" He was confused, "I can handle a few trays, no worries there."

She shook her head, "That's not what I meant..." She realised he didn't understand what kind of café it was, "Just, watch out, that's all I'll say."

The next day
9am

"My name's Ranma Saotome. Pleased to meet you all."

"I'm Nabiki Tendo. It'll be nice to get to know some new people here."

They both bowed lightly and after the teacher showed them their seats, they went to sit among a hubbub of noise.

Glancing at each other, Nabiki winked at Ranma, confident that things had begun well.

"So, are you two going out or something?" A girl whispered to Nabiki, her neighbour when she sat down.

She was ready for this question, and swept a hand through her hair, "No, nothing like that, we're just friends."

"That's good..." The girl in question stared at Ranma, her eyes looking over his body, "I was worried for a moment..." She held out her hand, "The name's Yuko, good to meet you."

"Same here." Nabiki shook her hand briefly, before pulling out her books.

I'm still a bit stupid...

She placed them neatly in front of her, ready for the coming lessons.

I didn't consider the fact that people may actually like Ranma, or want to go out with him... A quick glance at Yuko confirmed her opinion, as the girl was busy scribbling on a piece of paper. She's writing down things she can say to him, not good, not good at all...

Catching Ranma talking to some other boys, she began to panic.

Seeing her look over at him, Ranma winked fast, returning her earlier one, before turning to the two guys that started speaking to him.

"Like I told ya, we're just friends, that's all."

"She has a nice rack, does she work out?"

Ranma growled, and cracked his knuckle by merely clenching his fist. The boy who said that got the message, but Ranma felt he had to say something also.

"Just because she's only my friend, doesn't mean you can say things like that." He narrowed his eyes, "Don't talk about her that way again."

"O-Okay..." The boy, whom Ranma didn't bother to catch his name, shirked away.

Turning back to face the front, annoyed at how someone referred to Nabiki, he tried to pay attention to the lesson.

Lunchtime

The layout of the school was similar to all the other schools in Japan, as they were all modelled after a standard, to keep an impression of community.

Therefore, it wasn't strange to find Nabiki and Ranma sitting underneath a tree in the playground, almost in the exact location as the one back in their old home.

"So, what do you think so far?" She asked, tucking into her bread from the cafeteria.

"It's okay, it's a bit quiet..." Ranma leaned back against the tree, "I don't really like the guys though."

"Well, it's early days yet." Nabiki looked up at the school, "It's better for the place to be quiet than to have lots of fights, right?"

"That's true." Ranma grinned, "I kinda miss it though, Kuno's face just needs to have my foot in it."

"Yes, I'm sure his doctor will agree too, the number of times he's visited him would certainly mean he earned a lot for that."

They both laughed out loud, before Yuko turned up.

"Hey, Ranma, this is Yuko, she sits next to me."

"Hi there." He waved good-naturedly.

"Do you mind if I sit with you two?" She had her bentou with her.

"Sure, there's plenty of space," Nabiki waved at the tarmac, "Help yourself."

Sitting next to them, Yuko opened her lunchbox and the smell of freshly cooked rice and spices attacked their senses.

Ranma began to pine for a nice home-cooked meal, his own cooking not really up-to-scratch.

Yuko saw this impression from him, that and the small amount of drool, and she held up the bentou to him, "Would you like some?"

His instant reaction in normal circumstances was to say yes, however, he realised that Nabiki was nearby, eating her bread very slowly.

"Nah..." He ate his own food, "I'm okay thanks," He smiled back at her, "Maybe another time."

Nabiki wolfed down the rest of her bread, gulping to try to allow it to enter her stomach faster.

Ranma noticed her choking sounds and hit her sharply on the back, as she took in a deep breath.

"You okay, Nabiki?" He asked out of concern.

"Fine, thanks..." She gathered up her dignity and stood up, "I'd better take this chance to look at the school."

"Oh, you want me to come along?" Ranma began to get to his feet.

"No, it's alright..." She tapped him on the shoulder, pushing him back to the floor unceremoniously, "I'll just look around on my own, you can get Yuko to help you."

His awkward expression followed by Yuko's ecstatic one was all the incentive Nabiki needed to get into the school.

As she strolled in, changing into her indoor slippers at the same time, she began to look around, memorising the classrooms and which department they belonged to.

Well, it had to be expected... She sighed loudly, attracting the attention of some male students. Ranma and I would be the talk of the class for the first few week. It's no doubt people like Ranma, girls especially.

She reached the roof of the school, and saw that there wasn't anyone up there. Walking to the tall fence, she looked down at the playground to see Ranma still talking to Yuko, the latter fairly animated.

I know we're being friendly now, and that we may plan to be more, but I'm not going to tie him to me, if he doesn't want to. He needs to see some other options.

She felt the breeze and held her top closer to her.

I can't exactly hog him all to myself, I'm not that selfish. He deserves better than me anyway. I'm just a girl who was magically forced to find Ranma, nothing more. I shouldn't try to control his life any more than I do now, it'll just upset him.

She turned to go back inside.

At least the day's almost over, just a few more hours, then I go to work.

3:30pm
School

The bell rang, and two people were first out of their classes, running down the steps and out into the street outside.

"Nabiki, I'll meet you at the square to take you home, okay?" Ranma stated whilst jogging next to her.

"No problem, meet you at seven there." She was breathing slightly heavily.

"Here..." He saw they were out of sight from the school at this point. Picking her up, he leapt a few streets and buildings to get somewhere close by, "Better?"

She relaxed, trying to cool down, "Thanks, Ranma, you didn't have to do this though..."

He shrugged, "It's no sweat for me, it gets us closer and you don't need to run so fast."

She pinched him on the arm jokily, "You're such a gentleman." Her wry smile returned, "Be sure to treat all girls like that?"

"Huh?" He put her down as they were within walking distance, "What do you mean?"

Keeping a cool face, she waved him off, "Nothing, doesn't matter." She adjusted her skirt as it was slightly ruffled at the edges from their run, "I'm going to go in now, and earn ourselves some cash." She winked at him, "You do the same, but don't forget to change somewhere."

"Yeah, I already found a private place thanks to you." Ranma grinned as he pulled out a small bottle of water, "This should be enough for me."

"Like I said though, be careful there." She warned him gently.

"I don't get it, it's just a café where you dress up as a maid...?" He scratched his head, "You already said the same yesterday..."

"Never mind... Just, don't lose you temper, promise me, okay?" Her worried expression surprised him.

"Okay, I promise!" He sighed loudly, "Though I don't get it, I won't get angry."

"Good." She thumbed at the building behind her, "I'm going to work now, I'll meet you later, okay?"

"Have fun." Ranma grinned, knowing how she liked finances.

"I will." She returned the smile.

As she turned around, Ranma ran off with his top speed to get to the café he was due to work at.

Thirty minutes later
Nabiki's workplace

Reading over figures, she cross-referenced them with those in the database. Marking each one she worked on, she noted any discrepancies in the forecast for the next month's expenditure.

She understood almost immediately what her boss wanted her to do; the job description of filing was only a minor part of her job. Despite her being a woman, Nabiki managed to unnerve him by repeating what he wanted in greater detail, using official terminology.

That'll show him for thinking I'm stupid just because I'm a girl.

She continued to type in the database, occasionally sipping from the plastic cup of water she was given at the same time, ignoring her other colleagues, who were much older than her.

I know that they're not going to take my work as is, they'll need to double-check it themselves just in case the newbie got it wrong after all. She firmed her resolve. But, I'll make sure that I get nothing wrong, so much so that they'll have no option but to give me more things, until finally I'll be too useful to just walk away after I leave school.

She smirked. It's a difficult plan, but with this much opportunity in it, I have to take this chance to excel at everything to get far.

"How are things going Nabiki-kun?"

She looked up to her boss, touch typing her notes whilst still speaking to him, "Going well Kimura-san. I've finished the first quarter results and working on the second quarter. There's been an increase in personal expenditure for personal taxis by a large amount from particular people."

He peered closer at her monitor, taking this chance to glance at her cleavage, Nabiki did not miss this look.

"Most interesting, I look forward to your final report by the end of this week." He patted her shoulder, "You know, you may have a long future with us, all things considering."

Yeah, considering the fact you may try something with me, or for me to magically want to rise up the ranks by sleeping to the top. She smiled outwardly. I'm not going to take that route, much to your surprise when I report you to your superiors in a few month's time.

"I am only too happy to help, Kimura-san."

"Good, I'll let you get on then." He adjusted his circular lensed glasses and walked around the other cubicles.

Saving the document, she moved on to another, and thought about the person she was closest to, worrying for him.

I hope you're okay Ranma...

Meanwhile
Maid café

"Three vanilla milkshakes and one mille-feuille right here sirs!"

The redhead was unmistakably happy, her bright smile a surprise hit with the clientèle, and the owner offered a fairly handsome wage for just a starter, and was even more impressed when she showed how many trays she could hold at the same time.

She didn't mind the frilly outfit she had to wear, as no one here knew her real identity, and it fit well, unlike most of her male clothing which was always a bit loose when she became a girl.

Thinking only of the money, Ranma hummed to herself as she served the customers, each of whom were young men, most of them fairly fat and wore weird clothing.

She saw the other waitresses wore tired looks, each one grimacing slightly as they approached and left tables, though she was unsure as to why.

Until she felt a hand brush up from behind and beneath her skirt, only for a second.

She froze, still holding the tray from earlier, and turned slowly to the only person that hand could have belonged to.

A thin man, somewhat resembling a less healthy version of Gosunkugi returned her look, his hands folded away on the table.

"What?" He defensively asked, his friends sniggering beside him.

The owner of the café spotted this immediately, knowing that this did happen there, but waiting until the customers got too angry before intervening.

"You..." She pointed at him with the empty tray, "You touched me."

"Who says?" He shrugged, "Did anyone else see that, did you guys?"

His friends just shook their heads, chuckling beneath their hands.

"How's about you try that again?" Ranma was used to Kuno acting amorous, but this was something else she hadn't expected.

Cracking her knuckles she picked up his can of some domestic beer, drained by now of course.

"This is what will happen to your fingers if you do that again, to anyone here..."

Gripping the can with one hand, she proceeded to crush it entirely, folding it with her fingers until it resembled something akin to a 50 yen coin, with the hole in the middle as well.

"Here's your tip..."

She flicked it in the air, landing on his head and bouncing onto his plate, his stunned face showing some sort of incomprehension on it.

Sending one more glare to him and his friends, they got up and half ran out of the door, leaving a large amount of money on the table, not even waiting for their change.

"Thank you, and come again soon!" She exclaimed cheerfully, before muttering, "If you haven't already that is..."

Growling to herself, she stalked off to the bar and to the staff room, only to be followed by the owner.

"Ranma-kun..." He began, "I saw what you did back there."

At least she used her real name, but he didn't ask for any birth certificate of the sort as yet, so for the time being kept all information about herself more or less private.

Ranma sighed however, knowing that she may get into trouble now, "Yes boss, what's up? Something wrong?"

"Not wrong exactly..." He sat down at the table, pouring himself some tea, "Usually our girls keep away from that guy, he's always trying these things, but there's nothing I can do, as he's a paying customer."

"Perhaps you could bar him from coming in again..." Ranma mentioned off hand, grabbing some fresh oranges and squeezing them herself into a glass instead of using the machine provided, as she needed to let off steam somehow.

"I could, but his father is influential, not someone I want to get on the wrong side with."

"Influential, huh?" Ranma held her chin, thinking about what Nabiki said before, "In what way...? Government, financial or...?"

The owner pulled his tie down, getting nervous.

"Yes, Sakata-san?" Ranma used his name to get his attention more.

"Well, more of the 'other' category..." He shifted his eyes, "But I didn't tell you that."

"Local mob boss then... I see, not someone I should mess with, not yet anyway."

"What do you mean?" Sakata was scared now, "You're not going to -"

"Don't be silly." She interrupted him, "I won't touch the boy, trust me, but a few scares like that wouldn't hurt."

"You mean, you didn't touch him?" Sakata was surprised.

"Nope, though I can't say the same for what he did to me." She glowered at her juice.

"Then it's settled." He clapped his hands together, "You seem to be a bit more head-strong than the other girls here..." He glanced at the door briefly, "No offence to you or them, but you are a bit more tomboyish, and with strength to show it."

"Heh, none taken..." She grinned, at least she wasn't becoming more of a woman being in that outfit.

"I can help the girls only so much," He looked worried, "would you be so kind as to help me out when we have some difficult customers?"

"Like that guy then?"

"That's right, when I need your help, I'll just ask you to serve a table with a special red tray, just to warn them in your own way, without harming them. Despite them scaring our girls, they are also our main customers. Without them we would be without a job."

"No problem." She smirked, "I hope you give me that tray soon."

"Thanks, Ranma-kun." He nodded in satisfaction.

"No, thank you Sakata-san."

Returning to the café itself, the other girls watched Ranma with slightly happier faces, after word of what she did spread. Smiling confidently, she winked at them, and flexed her arm muscle, going further to prove that they were all well protected.

7pm
Central Square

Nabiki tapped her foot impatiently. She had sped through her work not because she had to rush, but because it was so beneath her abilities that she unconsciously worked at her normal processing speed, which was far above that of a normal trainee.

I was surprised at completing everything so soon, I even checked and double-checked the work again, but I still had plenty of time to spare.

People walked by, couples holding hands, other just walking home from work.

I even asked for more work, which Kimura gave me. At least it was of a slightly higher level, which, while still not taxing enough for me, nice pun by the way, it gave me a little more exercise of my brains.

The clock in the square struck for seven o'clock, echoing so far as her, since it was drowned out by the hubbub of the city, Despite everything, I had to finish early, much to my chagrin, since I don't want to seem like I was slacking off at this stage.

She ground her teeth. Kimura noticed this, but acknowledged the fact that I had at least completed the work right, and so he let me go, promising to give me something harder for the next day.

She held her body closer as she sat on the bench, the wind beginning to bite at her heels.

Not useful, having a skirt in this weather, perhaps I need to invest in an overcoat for times like this.

She shivered slightly as her nose began to tingle at the thought of the chill passing up her legs. Damn it Ranma, where the hell are you?

The air around her began to grow warmer, and she too felt warmer both inside and out.

"You're late, Ranma."

"Not really, you're just early as always." He grinned as he appeared from behind her, "Ready to go?"

"Yes, I need a long hot bath, I don't want to catch a cold now of all times."

"Oh..." He idly picked up her bag and looped it over his head to carry it for her, "You were that cold?"

"I've not had years of training like yourself, I'm just a girl."

"Girls are strong too..." He laughed as they walked out of the square, "Like those ones at the café..." His face clouded over.

"Did something happen there?" Nabiki was dreading the answer.

"Yes, and no..." He gave her a thumbs up, "Trust me, I didn't lose my temper, just showed someone that you can't mess about with women like that."

She breathed a sigh of relief, "Ranma, defender of women, it's got a nice ring to it." She cheekily nudged him in the side.

"Not quite, but I think it must be hard to be a girl all the time, harder than I can imagine."

"You're right about that." Nabiki sighed, "I may never reach the level I want, women are second class citizens in this country, and don't get me started on foreigners..."

Sensing Nabiki's downward mood, Ranma chose a new tact, "You know, girls are strong, but some lucky ones can get stronger."

"What's brought this on?" Nabiki was surprised at the change of topic.

"You, for some reason you have some ki that I can see, when you're really upset that is..."

"Yeah, I think I got it some time ago, not sure when..." She thought about it, "I think it's purple coloured, but it is tiny."

"If you want..." He glanced at her, "I can help you train to make it bigger."

She groaned, "No, come on Ranma, I don't need training, there are no battles to be won, or at least, none that can be won with fists alone."

"I'm not talking about stuff like that..." He dropped his warm ki and suddenly they both felt the cold, though he was much more used to it than she was.

"What did you do that for?" She grumbled, holding her jacket closer to her body.

"Like this..." He looked at her now, "Your ki is really small, but with a few weeks training from me, you may not even need a jacket for the cold." He peered closely, "You may not see it, but right now it is working, but it's not strong enough to keep the cold away."

Nabiki looked at herself, but couldn't see anything, "I suppose I need to be more used to ki, right now I'm too grumpy to see anything."

"Besides, I may have found someone interesting where I work, a mob boss of some sorts."

"You what?" Nabiki grabbed his by the collar and dragged him to an alley, "Why didn't you say so?" She was searching everywhere looking for a tail or something out of the ordinary.

"What wrong with you?" He held her hand, "It was just his son, and I didn't fight him or anything." He looked to one side, "I already checked, no one is following us, I just opened the lines of communication, like you said, we have a way to get what we want."

"I guess you're right..." My paranoia must be getting to me... "Just promise me you won't do anything stupid, okay?"

"Gees thanks for the vote of confidence..." He sighed, "Trust me, I'm not going to do anything weird." He looked about the place, "Looks quiet, want to start roof hopping home for that bath of yours?":

"God, yes please..."

Picking her up in his arms, he leapt a few walls before jumping from roof to roof, heading straight for their small home by the lake, where a warm bath awaited Nabiki, who held Ranma closer enjoying the heat he was generating.

-
Author's Notes

Another chapter in the life of Ranma and Nabiki after the original.

Hopefully, this is more realistic, but not too odd compared to my previous story. I plan on bringing in more action and drama later, not to mention the return of some much loved people.

Have a good read!

- J