Ah My Goddess Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A Tale of Two Wallets ❯ A Different Choice ( Chapter 1 )

Nabiki and Ranma

(An Altered Destiny)

Written by Jim Robert Bader

Proofread by Shiva Barnwell

Prologue

"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!" came a familiar cry just seconds before it was followed by a loud splash caused by an equally familiar body hitting the water.

Nabiki Tendo looked up from where she had been lounging by the resort pool reading a book. Without hardly any surprise she saw a shock of red hair bobbing to the surface of the pool a moment after the huge splash as a familiar form in Chinese clothing floated into view, quite evidently unconscious.

Hardly surprising, Nabiki sniffed. A fall like that should have killed any ordinary human mortal, let alone a fall from Kami knew how great a height Ranma had fallen this time. Nabiki had once tried to calculate the amount of kinetic energy involved in such an impact and gave it up after estimating an impossibly high number of foot pounds. She chalked his continued survival up as some kind of martial arts trick he knew, or just a latent gift that made him especially hard to kill. Either way Ranma was in no great danger from either the fall or the landing.

Drowning, however, was another matter.

Nabiki sighed as she placed her bookmark and sat upright on her chair. There was no one else around the resort at this time at this day, not even a lifeguard on duty. She was the only one on hand who could pull Ranma to safety before she drowned, not that Nabiki wanted to get her suit wet. She was not happy at the conclusion, but she knew at once that Ranma needed her assistance.

"You're going to owe me big for this, Ranma-kun," she murmured softly to no one in particular. It was precisely this sort of day-to-day event that they were supposed to have gotten away from during this vacation, but wherever Ranma went trouble seemed inevitably to follow, like his cotitiere of violent fiancées. No matter how he played things, Ranma Saotome always seemed to wind up on the losing end of the battle between the sexes.

Diving into the pool and getting her hair wet was a necessary part of the operation, but once she had reached Ranma's side she could confirm that, indeed, he was quite out of it this time, which could only mean that he-or rather she-had done something to upset her younger sister more than usual. It was a simple enough task to drag the redhead to the shallow end of the pool, and from there carry her up to the steps, grateful that Ranma in this form was smaller and lighter than Nabiki herself and thus not so impossible to handle as in his male form.

It took a real effort, however, to get Ranma laid out on the walkway, by which point she became aware of the fact that Ranma was not breathing. The baka must have swallowed some water, she decided since she could still feel a pulse, so this fact did not alarm Nabiki unduly. All that was needed was to turn Ranma on her side and apply a little pressure until the water flowed out of her mouth, then roll her onto her back and put to use her first aid training.

Nabiki paused in doing so, smiling to herself as she stared at the beautiful face below her, so peaceful in repose, so unsuspecting that another woman was about to give mouth-to-mouth. If anyone had a camera she could have used the photograph for blackmail later, but that would have to wait, she grimly decided. Ranma needed fresh air in her lungs, so Nabiki wasted little more time than necessary doing what any of his fiancées would gladly have paid big bucks to accomplish.

After only the third try Ranma sputtered and coughed then began to breathe on her own, at which point she became very much aware of the identity of her rescuer. Ranma's blue eyes got very round as she gasped, "Nabiki?"

"Hiya, Ranma-kun," Nabiki said cheerfully, "Guess you owe me for another rescue."

"Uh, yeah," Ranma said, coughing a bit before sitting up, "Thanks. How much is it this time?"

Nabiki inclined her head and considered the point, then smirked as she answered, "I'll let you know when I think of something. So…what did you do to upset Akane this time?"

"Ah, it was stupid," Ranma sounded depressed and tired, "Your sister's got no control at all. All I said was that it was a shame about Ukyo and Shampoo. I mean, it's not like I asked those two to fall in love with me! Ukyo's my best friend, and I don't want to hurt her, while Shampoo…" she sighed, "Ever since Mousse read me the riot act about Amazon Law I haven't been able to get it out of my mind. I mean…the poor girl's got no options with that stupid Tribal rules of hers, and what am I supposed to do about it?"

"It's not your problem," Nabiki replied, "Shampoo made her own choice about defying her traditions about killing or marrying you. She has to face the consequences."

Ranma flashed her an angry glance, "How can you be so callous about what they're going to do to her if she doesn't marry or kill me? Haven't you got any feelings?"

Perhaps Nabiki was too obvious in reacting to that accusation because Ranma seemed to regret her words instantly as she spoke in a more conciliatory voice, "I'm sorry, Nabiki…I didn't mean it that way…"

"What's to be sorry about?" Nabiki casually asked the redhead, but inwardly she cringed a little. Everyone always thought that she had no feelings, that she really was the Ice Queen that she normally pretended to be. She never minded the accusation most times, but the way Ranma had said it hurt more than it should have.

Ranma sighed as she sat up, "Look, I don't want Shampoo to suffer on my account, she doesn't deserve that. I don't know how I can make things right for her, but I can't just ignore the mess I've made of her life, anymore than I can ignore the other mess my father made by engaging me to Ucchan."

"Seems to me that latter point is more your father's responsibility than your own," Nabiki said reasonably, "He's the one who should make things right for Ukyo Kuonji."

"But she's the one who's been suffering for years," Ranma persisted, "I've tried talking her out of it, I've even tried finding other guys she could get interested in, but Ucchan just says she won't give up until I see her as my legitimate fiancée. The same is true with Shampoo, only she's got a death sentence hanging over her head if I can't find some honorably way to satisfy that law of hers…" she sighed, "Why can't Akane see that? Shampoo is a friend and friends should stick together."

"Your friend has drugged and tricked you many times, Ranma-kun," Nabiki pointed out, "You can't exactly blame Akane for holding a grudge over that Mind-Wipe incident."

"But that doesn't give her the right to hit me," Ranma felt along her cheek then said, "Ow!"

Nabiki eyed him curiously then asked, "Was that really all you said, Ranma-kun? That you felt sorry for the other rivals?"

"Yeah," Ranma answered, then paused to consider the point before resuming, "Well…maybe I also said something about comparing her cooking to theirs…and I think that's when she hit me."

Nabiki smiled again, suspicions confirmed. The one consistent thing about Saotome Ranma was his inability to speak the truth without putting his foot squarely between his tonsils.

"It's just not fair," Ranma said miserably, "I never asked for any of this! I don't like being so responsible for other people, but here I've got three women after me and I can only marry one of them, so the other two are going to wind up hurt one way or another."

"That's your problem, Saotome," Nabiki said with a knowing smirk, "You're just too irresistible for your own good."

"Laugh all you want," Ranma looked at her with an expression that tried to be scornful but just wound up midway between hurt and forlorn, "It's not your problem after all. I'll bet you'd know what to do if there were all these guys out trying to marry you!"

"Eh?" Nabiki asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"You know what I mean," Ranma turned to glare at her, "You're the smart one, figure it out! I go through all of this hell and you get to sit back and make a profit at my expense! Bet you'd find a way to work everything out if you had a curse like me and the opposite sex was hot to date you!"

Nabiki rocked back from the accusation, for once not prepared with a ready comeback as Ranma turned away, once more sulking in her misery before she slowly got to her feet and said, "Look, I'm sorry…I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I'm just so tired of this whole mess…tired of everybody always blaming me for the way things turn out. I don't expect you to understand, why should you? Everybody's afraid of winding up on your bad side, and you never have to raise a finger. I'm the one people want to pound into the floor, especially your sister, and I don't mind telling you that I hate it!"

Ranma started to walk away while Nabiki sat where she was and just stared after her. It took a full three minutes before Nabiki finally managed to stir enough to say, "Well, what brought that up all of a sudden?"

No one was around to answer, of course, so she slowly got up and went back to her homework. Her College admission studies test was next week, and she had to catch up on her reading. No time to ponder the imponderable problem of what to do with Ranma and his pathological problems with too many fiancées and half the population of Nerima out to kill him.

Yet still she could not quite get her mind to focus back on her studies. She kept going back to the look Ranma had given her before leaving, and the accusation she had hurled off-handedly with such a bitterness as Nabiki had never heard before. The charges were hardly new, having been hurled her way before with equal venom, but…never with such a sense of futility about them. Ranma was clearly in low spirits and had expected no sympathy in admitting to Nabiki that the whole thing made him feel lonely.

The irony of that word almost made Nabiki snort in derision. Ranma alone? He had Ukyo for a best buddy and they talked a lot about everything. Well…maybe Kuonji did push the engagement matter from time-to-time, but other than that she was a pretty good listener…

Except, of course, for the fact that Ranma wanted to talk about his engagement problems with somebody who wasn't engaged and therefore had no vested interest. Shampoo was out for similar reasons, and as for Akane…well, the last thing she seemed capable of these days was listen objectively to Ranma.

And who might that be, she idly wondered? His father? Genma Saotome was far from the most objective sort man when it came to the fiancée problem, especially seeing as he was instrumental in causing most of those problems in the first place! Her own father was hardly any better. Both men had insisted on the engagement between Ranma and Akane, which had looked like a disaster from the get-go and hardly seemed to have improved any over the course of the last year. Ranma and Akane were still fighting constantly and getting along less and less often, and to no small degree one source of their continual irritation was both of their meddlesome fathers, who just could not leave these two alone to come to terms in their own way.

And now things had settled down into a pattern where Ranma would insult Akane and she would in turn abuse him. Ranma did not fight back owing to that silly code of chivalry he adhered to, which infuriated Akane to no end as she thought he was being condescending towards her. Ranma intimidated Akane and berated her as both a woman and a martial artist, and in return Akane sought to punish the boy in the only way that she knew how. Neither one would come out and say exactly what they were feeling as it would have been like confessing a weakness, conceding the battle that was constantly being waged between them.

Nabiki sighed, concluding sadly that there was no one to whom Ranma could turn for advise that would listen to him objectively and offer him the counseling that he could use in resolving his unconventional lifestyle problem. Even she never listened to him without charging something in return. Everyone had a stake in whom Ranma would eventually marry, and the betting pool on the three fiancées was currently running at 7:4:2 in favor of Akane.

If anything Ranma had just made things complicated by favoring the other two women (even Nabiki never thought of including the fourth in any serious discussion of engagements, Kodachi being little more than a nuisance), especially in regards to the Shampoo matter. Akane feared Ukyo because the Okonomiyaki chef clearly had the qualities that Akane lacked as a domestic, while Shampoo she tended to regard as a Chinese bimbo. Both girls were better fighters and could cook and had no hesitation in confessing their feelings for Ranma, three strikes in their favor. For some reason, though, Ranma had managed so far to remain faithful to Akane.

But that may have changed if he were starting to actually think of Shampoo as a credible fiancée. Any way you looked at matters Ranma was headed for tragedy with two out of three girls certain to know heartbreak.

Nabiki sat where she was, finding herself growing more depressed the longer she thought about the subject. Ranma could be such an infuriating blockhead, a stubborn, prideful, arrogant, thickheaded male chauvinist-and who the hell did she think she was fooling with this aloof and disinterested act anyway? She cared about him a lot more than she knew she had any business doing, and not just because he was iinazuke to her younger sister!

She heaved the kind of sigh that Nabiki would never have heaved if she thought that anyone else were present. She stared morosely at the ground, wondering how she had ever let matters get so far out of her control in the past year or so of living under the same roof as Ranma Saotome. Every time she looked at him-in either form-she had a sense of something special that she had allowed to escape her grasp all because of one simple error in judgement, one chance of a lifetime that she let slip her by over a year ago. Now matters were impossibly complicated, and she was at a loss to know how she would ever live with the consequences of her decision.

If only…she sighed. What did it matter? Wishes could never unmake the choices that she had settled for, so why bother tormenting herself over what could never be?

The memory of Ranma staring at her with those accusing eyes came back unbidden. That was why she had this regret. Ranma hates me, she thought. He thinks I'm a soulless moneymaking monster…

"There now, dearie," a voice intruded on her consciousness, "No need for a pretty girl like you to be crying."

"Huh?" Nabiki sat bolt upright and turned to see a kindly face staring at her from beneath a hooded robe. Almost by reflex Nabiki dabbed her eyes and tried to pretend they were not wet as she assumed her usual Ice Queen façade and said, "Don't be silly…why would I be crying?"

"Hmmm," the hooded figure smiled as it inclined its head to one side, then replied, "Offhand I'd say it was because of somebody you care about who barely knows you exist, or at least that's my impression. Don't worry about me, though, Miss Tendo, I won't spoil your perfect reputation."

"Hah?" Nabiki tried not to show how surprised she was, "What do you mean by that? And how do you know who I am?"

"I know quite a few things about you," the hooded figure smiled more insinuatively, "For one thing you never show your hand in any game of cards, and isn't life the grandest card game of all? For example, see what I hold in my hand here?"

The hooded figure extended a handful of unusually decorated playing cards. Nabiki just looked at them then said, "Fortune telling, huh? Can you predict how the Tokyo market's going to be doing by tomorrow?"

"You don't need me to figure that one out," the hooded figure chuckled, "Go ahead, pick a card. What harm could there be?"

Nabiki continued to look at the cards in suspicion, "I've heard that one a few times too many. What's the scam this time? I don't have much money on me at the moment…"

"Other than the credit card in your name that you carry in your purse next to the roll of fifteen thousand yen?" the hooded figure noted, "This isn't about money, Tendo-san, and picking a card won't cost you anything…or at least not anything that you wouldn't gladly part with of your own free volition. Trust me, I know."

Nabiki continued to hesitate, but now she was staring at the cards in alarm, not skepticism, "You think so? Mind telling me how you figured that out?"

"That's obvious," the hooded figure chuckled, "I'm the real thing as you must obviously know. You've seen far stranger things in your time, have you not? Magic spells, curses, love potions, floating islands, martial artists who can destroy whole buildings with their ki-force…"

"All right!" Nabiki said, now visibly sweating, "Good guess about the card and the yen, but why should I trust you by playing along with this scam? You think I don't know that something's going to happen when I pick that stupid card?"

"Obviously you are too clever by half," the figure sighed, "In reply I'll ask you a simple question; What are you afraid of? What do you have to lose by drawing a card from the deck of fate? How happy are you with affairs as they stand, where you are alone and miserable with no one you can call your friend except maybe Kasumi, who isn't exactly the kind of counsel you can feel comfortable about unloading on your darkest secrets."

"Ah," Nabiki winced, "How about if we go back to the part about how you know all this about me?"

"You were asking yourself just now about a certain moment in your life that you now regret and wish that you could alter," the figure persisted, "You met a certain man long ago who had a problem that was very unique. You have watched that man grow as a person over the following year and have come to admire him in spite of his many faults and personal failings. You have exploited this man's trust and abused the privilege of his association in the interest of making money off his problems…a great deal of money, only some of which has gone back into the finances of your House. The money interests you, but you are starting to wonder if the man himself might not be worth a great deal more than what you have taken. You are feeling guilty about the way matters have gone between you and…"

"All right! You've made your point!" Nabiki cried out, staring back at the cards before reaching out to take one at random, murmuring to herself, "I just know I'm going to regret this…"

"Somehow I don't think so," the voice of the hooded figure said as Nabiki stared at the card, which was the Queen of Hearts. Another moment after this Nabiki could have sworn that she saw the face on the card change from the conventional flat style to a face very similar to her own, a face very much like Nabiki's only wearing a crown and a fancy kimono. The face winked at her knowingly, and Nabiki almost dropped the card before looking back up at the face of the hooded stranger.

The stranger was no longer hooded, and now her face was fully revealed, along with the smile that she was wearing. Nabiki Tendo stared up at the face of…herself…only a much older and much more mature Nabiki Tendo, who was winking at her in the same manner as the card. Before she could ask any more questions her vision began to swim and she gasped, "Nani…?"

"Just take a deep breath and let it happen," her older self replied, "There's nothing to be worried about, just let it happen, and believe me…you'll wind up feeling like a whole new person…"

The Revised Tales of Nabiki and Ranma:

A Tale of Two Wallets

(Based on the works of Rumiko Takahashi

& inspired by the similar series of McKinley Morgan)

"Nabiki, come here!" her father cried from somewhere down the hall.

Nabiki glanced up in annoyance from where she was reclined upon her bed doing her homework. She debated just ignoring the summons, especially since she heard the names of her other two sisters being called as well. Whatever her father wanted, she was not interested. Her father could be excited over anything, and at the moment she had a lot of work to get caught up on before she turned her attention to her weekly ledger.

School was a drag but she had to keep her grade point average up if she were to be accepted into the best college of her choice. A business major could not allow herself to slack in other areas, one never knew when a money-making investment option might slip you by due to a lack of basic knowledge…

The door to her room flew open and her father beamed proudly, "Nabiki-chan! Come quickly! Your father has an important announcement that all of you should hear at once."

Nabiki was surprised to see the excited look in her father's face. Maybe it would not be bad news this time…that would be a pleasant switch!

Soun Tendo paused at Akane's room next, only to find his youngest daughter missing. He turned to Nabiki as she stepped out into the hall and asked, "Where is Akane, do you know?"

"I think she's out practicing in the dojo," Nabiki replied, then waved a hand to forestall his next question, "I'll go get her, Daddy."

She sighed, thinking of Akane and what her younger sister might be up to. Akane was difficult to relate to these days, what with her problems with boys and her incredibly short fuse. Nabiki wondered sometimes how the two of them could even be related. It had all started many years ago when their mother…well, that was a painful subject for them both. The problem was that Akane went through building materials like there was no tomorrow, and with their limited means it was no laughing matter.

As expected she found Akane at her usual favorite sport of taking perfectly good cinder blocks and reducing them to rubble. She watched as Akane effortlessly split four blocks down the middle, then leaned against the doorframe as she commented dryly, "Honestly, this is exactly the reason why the boys at school think you're so weird, 'Neechan."

Akane was instantly on guard, "So what? Not everybody thinks the world revolves around boys, Nabiki! Why shouldn't I take pride in my accomplishments as a martial artist?"

In spite of herself Nabiki frowned ever-so-slightly. There was something about Akane's attitude that rubbed her the wrong way, not least because of the way Akane pronounced the word "boys" as though it were an epithet. Her younger sister's attitude was grating for several reasons, not least of which in that it implied that Nabiki were somehow frivolously in pursuit of a relationship. In truth she had not had a date in months, but that was mostly because she had been too busy for romance, not because she rejected the male half of the species.

"Daddy wants us back in the house," Nabiki said as she pushed away from the dojo, "If I were you I'd take a bath first."

"And if I were you, I'd go soak my head in a bucket!" Akane called back in sisterly irritation.

Nabiki just sighed, deciding once and for all that there was no way that she could be related to either Kasumi or Akane. As far as she could tell they both represented polar opposites of the spectrum while Nabiki occupied the comfortable middle ground of normality.

She took the time to go back up into her room so that she could fetch a nice kimono, confident that there would be enough time before Akane was presentable, though why she felt like going to the trouble escaped her. Perhaps, she thought, dressing more formal would give her an edge with her father in negotiation for whatever it was he had in mind. Her father was prone to all sorts of foolish schemes, and it was all that she and Kasumi could do to keep their father in line. She hoped fervently that whatever he had planned this time would not be too outrageous.

By the time she was ready Kasumi and Akane were already waiting. Nabiki frowned marginally as she saw that Akane had not changed out of her gi, nor had she bathed in spite of Nabiki's suggestion. Their father, meanwhile, was beaming grandiosely as if bursting to tell them all the good news that he had in mind. This was definitely alarming, but Nabiki gave no hint of her uneasiness as she took her place between her two sisters and waited patiently for Soun Tendo to get down to business.

"Now that you are all here," he said proudly, "I have good news to relate. A very old and dear friend of mine named Saotome Genma is coming to pay a visit, and he's bringing his son, Ranma with him."

"How long will they be planning on staying, father?" Kasumi at once asked, as usual planning the domestic affairs for the household.

"Indefinitely," their father replied, holding up a postcard that had a picture of a panda eating bamboo on the other side, "Because Genma's son is about to marry one of you to unite our Houses."

"What?" Akane and Nabiki said in chorus, while Kasumi just looked puzzled.

"That's right," Soun replied, "One of you three girls will become Saotome Ranma's wife. It has long been a dream of mine to unite both Tendo and Saotome lines of the Anything Goes school, a matter of honor that was decided between us before any of you were born."

"A fiancé, father?" Kasumi seemed to consider the point, then sighed, "I hope he isn't younger than me. Young men tend to be so…young."

Nabiki's mind was suddenly racing and she found herself smiling, "So one of us gets to marry Ranma and becomes the heir for the Anything Goes school? How about it, Akane? One of us is going to get married."

"Are you kidding, Nabiki?" Akane all but exploded, "What kind of insane arrangement is this anyway? You don't honestly expect us to go along with this, Dad?"

"I most certainly do," Soun grew very serious and sober, "The traditions of our school must be passed down within the family. You, as the only one of my daughters who has seriously studied the art, should take into consideration your obligation to carry on our line…"

"No way!" Akane leaped to her feet, "I can't believe that you would do something like this without consulting with us…"

Nabiki sighed, "Akane-chan, sit down. This is no time to be making a fuss. So…what's this Saotome Ranma like, Daddy? Is he cute?"

Soun slowly got up and went to stand by the porch, looking out onto the garden, then after a suitable pause he said, "I don't really know. I've never actually met him."

"What?" Nabiki once more found herself echoing Akane, but she managed to stop herself before adding anything imprudent.

"That's right," Soun replied, "All I know is that Ranma has been in training almost since the day that he was born. Genma has taken him from one end of Japan to the other studying and perfecting his knowledge of the martial arts, and they have only just recently concluded a visit to the interior of Mainland China."

Nabiki suddenly brightened, "Ooh! China! That sounds exotic…"

"Would you get serious, Nabiki?" Akane continued to growl, "This is like something out of the Feudal era! We're living in modern times, Dad, we have rights, you know! Don't we at least have a choice about who and when we're going to marry?"

"What are you getting so worked up for?" Nabiki asked her sister, "It's not like it's set in stone that you're the one Saotome Ranma is going to marry."

"Fine!" Akane snapped, "Then you marry him! I'm out of this completely!"

Nabiki frowned as she studied her sister's profile. Akane had a stubborn streak a kilometer wide. It would serve her right if she got fixed up in an arranged marriage to a complete stranger, it might even be her best shot at getting married. On the other hand, whoever married her would have to contend with that incredible temper. Perhaps it was just as well that Akane sounded so adamant, it increased Nabiki's own chances immeasurably…

Which prompted Nabiki to suddenly examine herself and wonder why she was getting so excited just at the prospect of meeting this Saotome Ranma. What if the boy were indeed some kind of horrible freak that she could not stand to look at? She had no idea of what his financial prospects were or even if he was of the right social class. Why did just the name of Ranma make her feel so eager to meet him in person? "Wild Horse" hardly sounded like her type of person. Nabiki liked being in control, and she had little enough to do with martial arts these days, so what exactly did she have to look forward to?

The answer was surprisingly obvious. She was bored and lonely! She had not dated in a long while because none of the boys at her school were interesting enough to hang around with. What few friends she did have were as much business prospects as confidants, and even with those she never confided in anything more than the strict minimum for a social relationship. Perhaps meeting a new boy was just the thing she needed to put some excitement back into her life, make things less predictable and maybe even open up new business ventures if he had any marketable skills besides fighting.

So she smiled and said, "Fine by me. Your loss is my gain, Sis."

"Won't you reconsider, Akane-chan?" Kasumi attempted to reason, "Father is only thinking of what is best for our family."

"Hah!" Akane said derisively, as rude as she had ever overtly been to their father, which had the inevitable effect of making Soun Tendo weep, which made Nabiki feel even more irritation.

Before matters could deteriorate too far, however, there came a knock at the door, which caused all heads to turn towards the hallway.

"That must be them!" Soun beamed proudly, already moving towards the front, only to find Nabiki a step behind him.

"Great!" she said, "I can't wait to see what this Ranma looks like."

Inwardly she was thinking about her own appearance and wishing fervently that she had taken more time to create the best impression. She had no illusions that she could compete with either Kasumi or Akane in the looks department. She was attractive enough, she knew, but she lacked the honest charm of either of her siblings and felt grossly inferior around them. Akane had an entire school full of boys practically climbing the walls to date her, while Kasumi had been a very popular girl. Nabiki could never understand why her older sibling was still a virgin with her prospects…

Her inward reflection was suddenly knocked completely off track as both she and her father came to an abrupt halt, confronted by a creature that had entered through the front door, practically as wide and tall as the frame itself and very dangerous looking.

The rational part of her mind seized up as she gazed in disbelief. Could that actually be a panda standing on its hind legs with a person slung across its shoulder? The panda growled something at them both, and as one both she and her father spun about and started running back the way they had come.

"Gaah!" her father cried while she called out to her sisters, "Akane! Kasumi! Stand back, it might be dangerous!"

"You hear that, Pop?" another voice responded, "You're scaring them! Put me down so I can explain what's happened!"

Nabiki whirled about once again, staring in even deeper confusion around her father's shoulder as she saw a redheaded figure alight on bare feet before turning around with the bear's paws still firmly gripping the stranger by the shoulders.

Soun stared at the redheaded figure a moment before saying, "Are you…?"

The figure looked sheepishly back and said, "I'm Saotome Ranma. Sorry about this."

Nabiki continued to stare, then slowly she began to smile again and replied, "Oohhh…he is cute! And such exotic looks, too…"

"Huh?" the redhead looked back in confusion, and Nabiki found the stranger had very nice blue eyes that added to the effect created by the red hair. Ranma Saotome was not a very tall person, but there was much promise that he would one day grow into a real dreamboat. Nabiki found her enthusiasm increasing by the moment.

"At last!" Soun was all but sobbing again as he moved forward to put his arms around Ranma, "You have no idea how long I have waited for this moment…"

Nabiki suddenly sensed a change in her father's attitude. Soun tensed up as he held Ranma close in his embrace. Soun's hands began to explore the boy's dimensions as if trying to puzzle something out. He then held Ranma out at arms length and stared down at the stranger with a look of utter purplexion.

Nabiki moved closer to discover what had sparked such unusual behavior in her father and at once noticed little things she had not paid attention to at first glance. Almost against her will she looked down and saw a telltale bulge beneath the Chinese shirt Ranma was wearing.

"Huh?" she exclaimed before extending a finger to explore what she found before her. She touched Ranma's chest and found that it did indeed give slightly at her push. She poked the stranger several times before satisfying herself that those were indeed a set of breasts the stranger was wearing.

"Um," Ranma hesitated, "Would you please stop doing that?"

Nabiki suddenly became aware of what she was doing and withdrew the finger. Her surprise gave way to a profound sense of disappointment, and then she glared at her father and said, "Daddy, I thought you said Ranma was a boy!"

"I-I don't understand," Soun stammered, "I was certain Genma's son would be male…"

"I don't believe you two!" said Akane, causing Nabiki and their father to turn and look at her in surprise, "Boy or a girl she's still our guest! Is this any way to treat her?" She stepped forward and at once adopted a friendly greeting, "Konichiwa, my name is Akane. Would you like to go somewhere?"

"Uh…sure," the redhead said hesitantly, "Where would you like to go?"

"How about to the dojo?" Akane smiled, "We can work out together. You studied Kempo, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Ranma replied uneasily, "A little."

"Great!" Akane beamed, "Then we can spar to see how good you are."

"But…" Ranma started to protest when Akane took her by the wrist and hurried her along.

Nabiki stood where she was for only a few seconds before frowning. There was something very odd going on around here and she knew she had to get to the bottom of it. She was missing a significant piece of a puzzle, and the one thing she could not stand was an unsolved mystery. With great resolution she turned to follow this Ranma and her sister. In her haste to get to the bottom of the matter she unwittingly forgot about the panda, who was even then heading towards the nearest bathroom.

She caught up with the other two girls just as Akane was assuming a ready stance, facing Ranma from a distance of only two arm's lengths. The other girl just stood where she was and gave no hint at all of taking the challenge seriously. As Nabiki studied them both, however, she took note of how relaxed Ranma's posture was and somehow knew implicitly that the other girl did not find Akane's attitude intimidating.

Almost at once Akane unleashed her opening attack, but though her punch was powerful it missed Ranma, who easily dodged it. Nabiki stared with widening eyes as Akane tried several more punches, then a kick, all of which Ranma avoided with an ease that made Akane look like a statue. In growing frustration Akane threw everything she had into her next punch, but Ranma just leaped over her head and landed on the other side, then tapped Akane on the back of the head. Ranma smiled, and after another moment Akane smiled, too, then said, "Friends?"

"Sure," Ranma replied, "Why not?"

"You're pretty good," Akane said as she reached for a towel and glanced over her shoulder, "But just the same, I'm glad you're not a boy."

"You are?" the look on Ranma's face was suddenly very nervous.

"Of course," Akane replied as she passed Nabiki by without glancing, "I'd really hate losing to a boy."

"Oh," Ranma sounded deflated, "That's just terrific."

Nabiki frowned, sensing a deepening mystery. She studied the dejected profile of the girl, unable to fathom what was making her seem so depressed. She was tempted to go in there and confront her directly, but that had never been her way, so she silently withdrew to reflect on the facts as she knew them. No doubt other clues would drop if she were patient and observant, and Nabiki was nothing if not a very careful and thorough observer with patience by the liter. Whatever the truth was she was determined to find it.

With this resolve in mind it was almost a shock when the next big clue fell right into her lap, or rather was sitting there in the living room, conferring with her father. The man was middle-aged, heavy set, wore glasses, wore a white gi and had a bandana wrapped around his head. In all other respects he was a total stranger.

"Nani?" she exclaimed to herself, then sought out Kasumi in the kitchen and asked, "Hey, Sis, who's the man talking to Daddy?"

"I don't know, Nabiki-chan," Kasumi replied in her usual pleasant demeanor, "He only showed up a few moments ago. I didn't even hear him enter."

"Weird," Nabiki said as she returned to the living room and took immediate notice of the fact that her father was crying, "Daddy?"

"Nabiki," her father replied, indicating with a nod the man in front of him, "May I present my dear friend, Saotome Genma. Saotome-kun, my middle daughter, Nabiki."

"I am honored," the other man nodded in a deep, gruff voice, "Although this is the first time that you've actually seen me in my true form."

"True form?" Nabiki blinked.

"I was the panda you saw earlier," the man remarked, "I was under a curse that prevented me and my son from presenting ourselves in proper form when you sought to greet us into your house."

"Panda," Nabiki eyed the fellow skeptically, but then the other part of his statement sank home and she said, "Your son? You mean that girl…?"

"Ranma is not a girl, Nabiki," Soun replied, "That was part of the curse that they both live under. You see, Genma and his son have just returned from a forbidden place called the Cursed Springs of Jusenkyo."

"Cursed Springs?" Nabiki scowled, "Really, Daddy, what's this man trying to sell you? You don't honestly expect us to believe such a far-fetched story?"

"Not without proof, of course," Genma replied, "But if you will abide for a moment…"

A sudden scream rocked the Tendo house, jolting Nabiki out of her normally aloof reserve as she saw Akane come racing into the living room to hoist up the table over her head while her father and the other man snatched their tea implements up in haste.

"Akane?" Soun asked, "What is the meaning of this child?"

"There's a pervert in the bathroom!" Akane declared while getting ready to hurl the table out of the living room onto the porch, "He saw me naked!"

"So why didn't you clobber him up there?" Nabiki asked in confusion.

"I got scared, that's why!" Akane barked angrily at Nabiki.

"Excuse me," a masculine voice intruded on the scene, and Nabiki turned around to stare at one of the most handsome boys she had ever laid eyes upon. He was not very tall but he had rugged good looks and looked to be about Akane's age with black hair done up in a pony tail.

He was also dressed in exactly the same Chinese clothes as the redheaded girl had been. Nabiki continued to stare as she took note that his eyes were also as blue as the redhead's.

"Oh my," Kasumi gasped as she appeared with a tray in both hands, "Another guest? And who might you be?"

"I'm….Ranma Saotome," the boy replied with the same apologetic look as the redhead, "Sorry about this."

Nabiki heard the table fall on Akane's head as her sister took this news as gracelessly as she ever took anything. Nabiki on the other hand just stared in disbelief. This boy was the redhead? If so, then he was a consummate master of disguise, being at least nine centimeters taller and quite a few kilograms more massive. Without a word she sank to her knees and stared in confusion, unable to grasp why nothing made sense any more. Everyone else but her father and the old man reacted similarly to this revelation, and they all sensed a very strange story in the making…

It was some minutes later, after the strangers gave their explanation, complete with graphic illustration, that the three Tendo daughters sat together with equally stunned looks (well, Nabiki felt stunned, while Akane looked angry, and Kasumi…well, how to describe how Kasumi looked when trying to take in such an impossible thing as a curse that was activated with the touch of cold water?).

"How I feel for you both," their father openly wept, "To bear this burden as you have…well, never mind. This is actually great news! It means that now your son can marry one of my three daughters, just as we planned, Saotome!"

"Huh?" Nabiki gasped, knowing she had missed something significant in all of these exchanges.

"But father," Kasumi said, "He's too young for me."

"You've got to be kidding!" Akane protested, "He turns into a girl! And he's a pervert besides!"

"What?" Ranma suddenly went from looking sullenly at the table to full-fledged anger, "What did you call me?"

"You heard what I said, you pervert!" Akane spat.

"Just how am I a pervert?" Ranma wanted to know, as did Nabiki.

"You saw me naked!" Akane naturally replied.

"Whoah!" Ranma blinked, "How is that again? Who walked in on me while I was taking a bath?"

"I…" Akane hesitated for only a fraction of a second, "It doesn't matter! You're still a pervert!"

"Because I turn into a girl?" Ranma was rising up in his seat, "That's not my fault! It's because of the curse, I tell you!"

"Please," Soun said, "There is no reason to fight. Now, Ranma…you have a choice of one of my three girls to be your iinazuke. There is Kasumi, aged 19, Nabiki, age 17, and Akane, age 16. Choose one and you will unite our families and make the Anything Goes school the stronger for our union."

"Now just a minute!" Ranma protested, "Don't I have any say in who I'm going to marry? I don't even know these girls and you expect me to pick one to become my wife just because the two of you say so?"

"No way am I marrying you!" Akane spat insistently.

"I can't marry him, father," Kasumi replied, "He's much too young."

"I'll do it."

Everyone turned their attention towards Nabiki, who started as if the words she had just uttered had been spoken by a total stranger. She had been looking at Ranma the whole time that her sisters had been laying out their arguments against the marriage. She had been about to put her own two-yen in when she found herself staring at Saotome Ranma with an eye towards considering him as she would any other prospective business proposition.

Nabiki prided herself on her ability to rapidly assess a given situation and determine on the spot its potential net worth and likely turnover. Those same instincts had been considering Ranma's given assets and came up with the conclusion that he was (ichi) very good looking, (ni) a superb martial artist, (san) under an unusual curse that caused him to switch genders without warning and (shi) honor-bound to marry a Tendo. On the down side was his curse, his attitude and an impression she had that the boy was lacking in basic social skills. The way he and Akane reacted to one another meant that they had a lot in common, but were basically incompatible, having too many of the same basic faults and personal failings.

She was not certain if that were a good or bad thing. Knowing how volatile Akane could be at the best of times, a male version of Akane might not make the best potential mate, but then again that was merely assuming that they were indeed going to be married. Most likely it was an honor thing that her father would insist on, but if the boy were less than agreeable then it might be possible to wiggle out in the end after she had satisfied herself on whether or not he were a good enough investment.

So she smiled after only a brief pause and said, "I'll be his iinazuke since Akane and Kasumi don't want him."

"On my sweet child," Soun beamed proudly, "You make your father so happy!"

"Better you than me, Sis," Akane said with a dismissive snort.

"Hey!" Ranma recovered from his brief surprise and said, "I never agreed to marry anybody! I'm not just going to tie myself to some girl…"

"Well, aren't we a prize?" Nabiki's tone dripped sarcasm, but for some reason she was not really offended by his refusal.

To her surprise the boy looked at her as though he were taken aback by her statement. After a fractional hesitation he said, "No offense…I mean, I'm sure you're a very nice girl, and you're sure pretty enough that I'll be you have a lot of boyfriends…"

"Oh," now Nabiki found that she was indeed being affected by his statement, "Sure…lots of boyfriends…"

"So why would you want to tie yourself down with me?" he asked reasonably, which was a close mirror to Nabiki's own thoughts, though she would not have voiced them aloud as casually as Ranma, "I mean…you might not even like me!"

"Don't you mean that the other way around?" Akane said with a dismissive snort, "Just wait until you do get to know my sister, assuming she'll let you."

"Hey!" Nabiki rounded on Akane's unexpected jibe, "Just what do you mean by that?"

"Only that you can be such a heartless mercenary that you'll probably wind up selling him to a freak show!" Akane turned away, "You don't care at all about the Anything Goes school, you don't even practice the art anymore, remember?"

Nabiki was trying to come up with a retort to that when Ranma beat her to the punch, "So? What's wrong with her having some interests outside the Art? It's not like she has to be an uncute tomboy like you!"

"What did you call me?" Akane was suddenly livid with anger.

"You heard me," Ranma turned away with an aloof look of smugness about him, "You fight like a boy but you're about as graceful as a walrus. I'll bet Nabiki here is twice as nimble on her feet without half trying."

"Why you-!" Akane suddenly hefted the table off the floor and brought it down once on Ranma's head, smashing him to the floor and knocking him senseless while everyone else just stared in dismay, including Nabiki.

"Akane?" Soun looked as surprised as Kasumi at the violent behavior of the youngest Tendo daughter while Nabiki was stunned speechless. Only Genma looked down at his son and merely sighed, "Now that he had coming."

"Don't talk to me-any of you!" Akane cried as she stormed away, as angry as anyone could ever remember seeing her behave.

Nabiki turned to study the prone form of her new iinazuke, then sighed in relief to see that the boy was still breathing. With Kasumi's help she extricated Ranma from the table, then their fathers carried him towards the guestroom where they laid him out on a tamati while Kasumi fetched an icepack and Nabiki propped his head up on a pillow.

The two fathers withdrew to begin laying plans for the marriage. Nabiki considered joining them to work out the best deal for herself that she could possibly manage but found herself reluctant to leave the side of Saotome Ranma. She contented herself by shedding the Kimono and changing into a pair of plain shirt and shorts instead, then waited with Kasumi until Ranma began to regain consciousness. The boy groaned profusely then asked, "What happened?"

"Please forgive Akane for her outburst, Ranma-kun," Kasumi urged him in her best motherly fashion, "She's really a very nice girl, she just has these violent impulses."

"Oh yeah, Kasumi," Nabiki said with a bitterness that was unusual for her, "Like that excuses everything! I'm sorry, Ranma…Akane just has a problem controlling her temper. You shouldn't have insulted her like that."

"Me?" Ranma tried to sit up, then immediately regretted it, "What about her calling me a pervert? And don't tell me you liked it when she called you a heartless mercenary."

"Uh, well…" Nabiki flinched, "That's…kind of a private joke between us. She knows I'm interested in making money and she resents it. She thinks I don't have any emotions because I don't let little things get to me the way she lets them…"

"Nabiki," Kasumi chided, "That's hardly fair of you! Akane has a lot on her mind right now. You shouldn't tease her that way, you only hurts her feelings."

"And what about my feelings?" Nabiki asked, "It may surprise people to know I have them, but I don't like being teased about the way I make my money."

"What are you, a business major or something?" Ranma asked without a trace of malice or sarcasm in his voice.

"Uh-huh," Nabiki smiled, "I hope to one day be a self-made millionaire. I've got the brains and the looks to go far, and I'm the only one here, besides Kasumi, who knows a thing about balancing a check book."

"Sure wish I had that talent," Ranma sat up again, finding it easier now that the room was not spinning, "All I know is martial arts, and I've spent nearly all of my life going from one place to another studying with the best. Don't know if I'll ever make any money at it, money's never really been all that important."

"You're kidding, right?" Nabiki looked at the boy beside her in disbelief, "You beat Akane hands down in that match. You could have beaten her even quicker if you'd fought back instead of merely dodging her."

Ranma smiled at that, "I don't hit women. It's just not manly. I respect that she's good enough for an average fighter, but she's not good enough to justify me hitting back. It's against the code of Budo."

"But you were both girls at the time!" Nabiki retorted, surprised at how casually she could say it.

"Doesn't matter," Ranma looked down, "All my life I've tried to live by a code, which hasn't been easy with a father like mine. I don't hit girls and I never hit anyone who can't fight back. The art is for self-defense, and I'm as good as anyone I've ever met, and I don't need to beat people up to prove it."

"Why, how chivalrous you are," Kasumi said happily, "Not many boys these days have that nice an attitude. You must be very proud of your iinazuke, Nabiki-chan."

"Oh yeah," Nabiki said faintly, "He's a regular saint."

Ranma laughed bitterly, "I'm nothing like that! I just don't think it's right throwing my weight around, unlike some violent tomboys I could mention," he groaned as he felt the lump on his head.

"Ah…" Nabiki looked down and curled her toes as she thought of something else to say, "So…what kind of girl are you interested in, Ranma? Someone to cook and clean the house?"

"Naw," Ranma said, giving Kasumi a pleasant smile, which she returned, "I've got nothing against women who feel like doing that stuff, but it's not that important to me. I've cooked and cleaned enough houses in my time to know I don't want a domestic servant. I'm not out to have a slave, and I sure don't want to have any girl think she has to do stuff to please me or nothing like that."

"Then what kind of a woman would you like to marry?" Kasumi asked in sincere curiosity.

"To tell you both the truth," Ranma said as he got back to his feet, in spite of their protests, "I never really gave it much thought. I wasn't planning to ever get married, and especially not now when I still have so much to learn about the Art."

"I see," Nabiki tried not to look at him, even though she could see him looking at her out of the corner of her eye, "In other words you'd rather wait a few years?"

"If you wouldn't mind," Ranma said, "Look, I don't want you taking this the wrong way or nothing. I mean…you seem like a very nice girl, but I'm not looking for any romance right now. I'd rather have a friend than a fiancée. I was hoping that maybe I could be friends with your sister, but now that she knows about my curse…"

"You…?" Nabiki slowly turned to look at him incredulously, "Want to be my friend?"

"Uh, if you don't mind or nothing," Ranma looked at her as if he feared that he had just made a social blunder.

To his surprise Nabiki just smiled at him and stuck out her hand, "All right, it's a deal. You be my friend and I'll be yours, Saotome, and I won't even charge you for the interest."

"Excuse me?" he blinked.

"I'm just kidding," she chuckled aloud, "I'm the family mercenary, remember? I don't do anything without charging a price."

"But, I, uh…" Ranma faltered, "I don't have any money."

Nabiki inclined her head to one side, still grinning, "We'll work something out, just as long as we don't tell our fathers about this. Your dad seems pretty strict, while mine tends to get all weepy and emotional for the slightest reason…"

"Nabiki," Kasumi gently scolded, "That isn't very nice."

Nabiki stuck her tongue out at her sister, then smiled again, "I know, but it's the truth, Sis. Look, why don't you finish making dinner and let me have a private chat with my iinazuke, pretty please?"

Kasumi sighed, "Very well, if you think that's best."

She got up to leave while Ranma watched her go, then turned to Nabiki and said, "Is she always like that?"

"You mean calm, demure and motherly?" Nabiki asked, "As long as I can remember."

"She's…nice," Ranma said without conviction, "But…I hope you won't get mad at me for saying this, but…she makes me feel nervous."

Nabiki found herself nodding in agreement, "You and me both, Saotome-kun. Now, tell me all about your trip to China. Was it expensive?"

"Not exactly," Ranma said with matter-of-fact nonchalance, "Truth is we hardly spent any money at all. Dad and me swam to China…"

"WHAT?" Nabiki stared at him incredulously, "Across the Sea of Japan? You've got to be kidding!"

"I'm not," Ranma looked at her innocently, "Why would I lie about a thing like that?"

"Ah," Nabiki decided to reserve her normal judgement and gave Ranma a closer study, seeing no trace of guile about him, "Never mind. Go on. What did you do when you got to China?"

"Wandered about, mostly," Ranma shrugged, "Dad and me don't exactly speak the language, so we needed to hire a tour guide, which is how we got to Jusenkyo. Then, after we received our curses, we next ran into this village of Chinese Amazons…"

"Amazons," Nabiki said faintly, now certain beyond doubt that the boy was a consummate liar and very good at hiding his emotions, either that or he and his father had indeed experienced some very strange adventures.

"Yeah," Ranma looked sheepish, "But that's something I'd rather not go into, except to say that Pop got us into trouble with the locals and we had to leave in a hurry. You sure you want to hear about all of this? I don't know if my life story would make very interesting telling."

Nabiki simply nodded, already coming to suspect that there was a great deal more than met the eye when it came to Saotome Ranma. She was beginning to have second thoughts about this engagement business, but for some reason she liked hearing the boy speak, so she kept her questions to a minimum beyond that point and merely nodded whenever he paused to encourage him to continue. She absently wondered what kami had possessed her to go along with this iinazuke business, but now that she was engaged to this strange boy in the Chinese clothing with the dual nature she was beginning to suspect that times were about to become a lot more interesting in the province of Nerima…

Continued

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