Project A-Ko Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Vampire Hunter (Darkstalkers) Fan Fiction ❯ Nabiki 1/2 (A Very Scary Thought) ❯ Circus of Fools... ( Chapter 104 )

Nabiki 1/2

(A Very Scary Thought)

Written by Jim Robert Bader

Proofread by Shiva Barnwell

Based Upon the Altered Destinies Storyline

Inspired by the works of such fans as

Wade Tritshler

Richard Lawson

James Jones

And Many Others

Standard Disclaimer: This is inspired by the work of Takahashi Rumiko and is not my original creation. All characters belong to her. This is only a fanfictional work, and is not intended to compromise the rights of the original owners, distributors and publishers of the Ranma series. I have no money to spare and would very much appreciate if no one tries to sue me.

"What's the matter, Little Brother?" Kaoih asked Ranma as she found him sitting in his dressing room with an unusually thoughtful expression on his face, "You're not getting stage fright on me, are you? Because if you are, I know lots of ways to cheer you up and get you out there in front of the paying customers…"

"It's…nothing like that, Sis," Ranma replied, "It's just…well…I've never done anything like this before…I mean…I can handle the trapeze stuff, no problem, it ain't that much more complicated than firefighting…"

"Oh no?" Kaoih smiled, "You think so? Well, let me tell you, Little Brother, the biggest difference in the world is doing a complicated piece of acrobatics for yourself-where you have the luxury of being your own critic-and doing the same piece in front of others is that the crowds can be pretty unforgiving if you botch things up or fail to be entertaining. Don't sweat it, though…you're a natural for this sort of thing. The people will eat your act right up, and if you stick to the drill I've outlined and don't try to be too flamboyant or too much of a grandstander, you'll come off all right. Just remember that teamwork counts more than individual performance, we're all in this together and we'll be judged as one act, so just follow my lead and go along with the ride, because Ryu-san and I have already worked things out so you'll come out looking like a winner."

"Gee thanks, Sis," Ranma sniffed, "You've got a real knack for loading and unloading the pressure."

"Hmmph, Men," Kaoih sniffed, "You're always worrying about your performance anxieties, but if you just be yourself the people will love you. Trust me on that, I've been doing this nearly all of my life."

"Sure," Ranma said, the hesitated before asking again, "Uh…Sis? Mind if I ask you something that's not…circus related?"

"Oh?" Kaoih turned a curious look his way, "If it's about me and Ryu again…"

"Naw," Ranma said dismissively, "You're right, that ain't any of my business. Long as the creep doesn't try anything scummy while I'm around…" he grumbled.

"Ryu-chan is a perfect gentleman and would never do anything towards me without my direct invitation," Kaoih replied in a way that Ranma found oddly less than reassuring, "Now, what was it you wanted to ask?"

"Um…" Ranma felt his cheeks color as he glanced down, "It's just…what do you think is the reason guys like us…fall in…(ahem)…love…with the people that we do?"

Kaoih raised both eyebrows and replied, "Good question on that, Little Brother…I sure wish I knew, though if I had to say…I'd think finding a good companion that makes you feel special was important."

"But…do you…" Ranma coughed to clear his throat, "Do you think it has anything to do with…biology? I mean…reproduction stuff? I mean…like…ah…like having babies?"

"Well…some of it is that, I'm sure," Kaoih began to say when she paused and said, "Is that what's bothering you? You're worried if it's important whether or not you can have children with someone you love? Well…not to sound anti-social, but I wouldn't say it was the most important reason for being together."

"You don't?" Ranma looked back at her in surprise, "But what if…what if the person you love…couldn't have children…I mean…at least in a natural way…"

"Like you and Nabiki?" Kaoih replied, "Excuse me for saying this, Little Brother…but you're a virgin, right?"

"Hey!" Ranma protested.

"There's nothing to be ashamed about," Kaoih made a pacifying gesture, "Lots of people remain virgins before their wedding nights…the Kami knows why, but I think it's kind of sweet and quaintly old fashioned. The point I'm making is…we don't always think about having babies with the people we love, Ranma…in fact, I've known couples who remain childless all of their lives and still have happy marriages. It's true that most people want to get married and have babies…in fact, for women it's a primary concern in a relationship, deciding if a man will make a good father and provider for her children. Of course, that doesn't explain guys who have meaningless flings and never expect to see the girl the next morning, or girls who just want to have sex without any messy complications…so I guess it is partly about biology, but mostly about feeling good about yourself with another person."

"Ah…yeah," Ranma said, "The reason I'm asking is 'cause…somebody I know says it's all about a guy putting his seed in a woman…or something like that. I didn't think that sounded just right, but I was looking at it from different angles and I…couldn't completely refute him."

"You mean the old: 'Guys just want to get their Rocks off on a Girl" routine?'" Kaoih sniffed, "Like I haven't heard that one a zillion times already! Oh yeah, there's some truth to it, but it's not the whole truth. There are a lot of other reasons guys want to get close to a girl, and it's not just because of the sex part."

"How would you know?" Ranma asked before realizing how that must have sounded, "I mean…"

"Just because I'm not a guy doesn't mean I haven't been around and seen all types," Kaoih replied, "And in a lot of ways the same rules hold true with us girls…we have our own set of agenda that we look for when we decide that we want to have sex with a guy or not. For one thing, it doesn't all reduce down to a set of great pecks and a really nice personality…though I'll admit those two are definitely in the top ten qualifying points. Sometimes a girl just wants to be held by the boy she likes, with no pressure to do anything else. Snuggling's a real Top Ten Prizewinner when it comes to the relationship department, and…depending on how you feel about having someone's arm around you, it's a good first step to realizing just how much you truly like them."

"Cuddling," Ranma said as a mental image came to mind unbidden…of Shampoo and Nabiki sitting together with their arms around each other, leaning their heads together and smiling in a relaxed sort of way that told you volumes about how much they meant to one another, "Ah…yeah, I can definitely see how that might work out…"

"Don't get me wrong," Kaoih winked, "I'm not romanticizing or anything like that, but most relationships should be handled in stages rather than just jump into things with both feet forward…not that I have anything against a nice, quick seduction…" she grinned, "But I do things like that spontaneously, and not with just anyone I happen to meet. I'm a lot more selective about who I choose to be with than you might think just looking at me, Little Brother, but I'm a big enough girl to know what I want and to go for it if I choose to."

"Yeah…okay," Ranma said, "And I guess for you Ryu would do it, right?"

"Don't go turning into an overly protective little brother on me now, Little Brother," Kaoih chided, "There's a lot more to making a successful relationship than I can relate to you in a lecture…but in a way I'm flattered you came to me at all with the question, seeing how our dad seems to know slightly less than you do on the subject…"

"Uh…yeah, about that," Ranma said, "Just what do you make of Pop anyway? Sometimes I'm really proud to be his son, and other times I just want to strangle him…"

"Fathers are like that, I guess," Kaoih remarked, "It's funny…I've grown up without having one, and yet there are a lot of men in this Circus who've been like my adopted uncles, helping to raise me and all that, so I don't feel like I'm missing as much as if I'd been born an orphan. You've been raised in another man's house as his adopted son, so you probably know something about what I'm saying…the point is…actually getting to meet my real father…it does take some getting used to."

"No fooling," Ranma snorted.

"It's really odd, now that you mention it," Kaoih continued, "I met him five years ago and I thought he was one of the greatest guys who ever lived. He was real nice to me in a friendly-uncle sort of way, and I was so envious of Nabiki for being able to travel around with him and stuff…but as I got older I realized that he had a lot more faults than advantages…and now…well…it's funny. He's not all that handsome and he's not too terribly bright, and he lives like a hobo and dresses like a wandering monk, but…well…there's something about him that I can't help myself for liking. I don't really know what it is that Mom sees in him, but…but he's my father…and I guess that makes up for all the rest."

"You think so?" Ranma asked.

"You tell me," Kaoih smiled at him, "He's taken you under his wing in order to train you to be a really great martial artist. He's been coaching you to make up for a mistake that's been haunting him in the past, and I get the feeling that he's invested a lot of himself in both you and Ryoga. I actually think that he'd be willing to do anything to see that you get happily married, even if it means giving up a safe house and a nice warm bed with regularly cooked meals to go on the road and train you in the Senken. Now, how many other fathers do you know who'd be willing to do all that for his sons? Not too many in this day and age of 24/7 salarymen, let me tell you…"

"I guess maybe…" Ranma hesitated, "It's because he loves the art so much that he wants me to share that love with him. Yeah…I guess maybe that does kinda make up for…at least some of what he's done."

"Oops!" Kaoih looked up as she heard the music coming from the Big Tent reach a certain crescendo, "We'd better get out there, we'll be coming up soon and Mom will want us ready to go into our act. Break a leg, Little Brother."

"Whose leg?" Ranma asked.

"It's just an express…"

"I know," he smiled as he got to his feet, "I ain't that much of a Rube, Sis. Let's go out there and knock 'em dead."

"You'd better not," Kaoih winked back at him, "Or you could get into a lot of trouble, there's laws against the sort of thing, you know…"

"Why you…" Ranma growled when he looked up and found Ryu waiting outside their trailer…or rather he thought it was Ryu, though the outfit that the other man was wearing was a whole different cry of tailoring from his normal khakis.

"Ready to go, Saotome?" the larger boy smiled in a way that was an open challenge.

"I was born ready," Ranma growled back in a friendly-if-openly competitive manner.

"Nice to hear," Ryu said as he very decidedly slipped an arm around Kaoih, who hardly seemed to mind the gesture, "By the way…like the outfit."

Ranma did his best not to color, not that his complexion would have shown up too much in the relative dim lighting, thinking that the outfit Kaoih had made him wear was only slightly less revealing than the costume that (at least technically) constituted her state of (relative) dress, but with considerable manly effort on his part he only managed to growl back, "Look who's talking."

"Boys," Kaoih growled in warning tones, "Save the testosterone for after the act, all right?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Ranma and Ryu chorused together, and together the three of them made their way towards the stage-entrance of the Big Top, Kaoih very careful to stand between the two young men, holding both of them by the arms to steer them forward and out of trouble, all the while grinning like a cat at the sensual pleasure of having two strapping bo-hunks as her male escorts, even if one was (technically) her half-brother.

A girl could do a lot worse than this when basking in the esteem of her purely feminine glory…

"Now just remember, Sugar," Ukyo was coaching, "When they get to the lion tamer act, be sure to put on your blindfold and wear your earplugs."

"Very funny," Nabiki growled, but after a moment said, "Well…okay, that might work…"

"Too much noise?" Perfume winced over the blaring loud volume of the overhead speakers playing taped band noises off of a surprisingly advanced CD system, "Maybe I'm the one who should be wearing the ear plugs…"

"Is just for show, Cousin," Shampoo cheerfully remarked as she bared a bosom to begin breast-feeding a hungry Lylac, "Try and put up for now…is good show, but hope noise no bother Lylac."

"Indeed," Soun remarked, only to turn his head and scowl at one patron in the row behind their seats on the bleachers, "Is there something I can do for you, Sir?"

"Ah…" said fellow realized that he had been staring in dismay at Shampoo's bared bosom, but there was something about the mustachioed man's angry face that caused him to rethink saying anything about it, so he meekly replied, "N-No problem…"

Soun smiled as he turned back to regard the main ring at the center of the big tent, pleased to note that he still had the power of intimidation working for him. Though he had not worked as hard to perfect his martial arts as Genma, his own form of special attack could prove useful in a pinch in warding off potential troubles.

A squeezing of his arm caused him to turn his attention back to the stunning woman at his side, and there he found his thoughts went into the spin-cycle, for there was something overpowering yet enormously tempting about this affectionate Miss Hinako that was not entirely appropriate for the teacher of his children…and yet still hard to ignore in a perfectly normal manly sense. It had been a while since a beautiful young thing like this had paid him so much attention…almost like Yumi in a way, though if he had to make an analogy, he could suppose that she reminded him of Silk in the smooth and easy manner with which she made known her affections.

Sitting beside Hinako, but glaring up a storm that made it hard for her to enjoy the circus performances, Nodoka scowled and wished that she had brought her trademark katana with her…just to make a point, of course. The brazen hussy was certainly pouring it on tonight, and in such a shameful and shameless manner that Nodoka could have sworn that the brown haired beauty was doing it deliberately to rub her own nose in it. It was puzzling Nodoka why the chameleon-like, Vampiric creature was still managing to remain in her adult form without changing. Ordinarily Hinako would have to "feed" about seven or eight times in one night in order to maintain her voluptuous beauty, and all the while Nodoka had been counting on her to revert to her child state, at which point "Auntie Nodoka" would assert a stronger influence.

Kasumi, sitting in the space between her father and Nabiki, was feeling a mixture of emotions that left her simultaneously sad and giddy at one in the same moment. On the one hand, she was delighted to be attending a circus again after uncounted ages since the last one…and to be next to Nabiki (even though her sister was currently female) made it an extra-special favor, and one well worth enjoying. On the other hand…Nabiki was her sister, and had a wife sitting right next to her with their baby in her lap, so it was not exactly proper for Kasumi to be feeling this way towards her own sibling. If Nabiki were male it would make matters even worse from her perspective…then Kasumi would have been nervous as a kitten sitting next to…Kaneda, and yet twice as desiring of holding his hand and leaning her head against his broad and manly shoulder.

On the other hand, she was aware of a certain tension to her right, where Hinako was flirting outrageously with their father, and Auntie Nodoka was looking ready to skin the brazenly voluptuous teacher. Kasumi was not entirely certain about whether to approve or disapprove of Hinako's infatuation with her father…but, on the other hand, it was nice seeing her father smile and relax like a man with an attractive woman at his side, so if Hinako could make her father happy, then so much the better. On the other hand, there was an uncomfortable sense that Kasumi was having about Nodoka, her much-beloved aunt, who was in so many ways like a second mother. Was Nodoka seeking to protect her father…or was there some other reason why Hinako was rubbing her the wrong way? Did Aunt Nodoka have…improper feelings towards Kasumi's father? And, if so…what was to be done about it? Nodoka already had a husband, and she was very fond of him (for all his moral lapses), so…what did all of this mean? And was there anything that Kasumi herself could do about it?

It was hard to sit back and enjoy a show with so much tension going on all around her, yet still Kasumi tried to focus her attention on the acts that were performing all around them, aware that Akane was looking unusually silent on her end of their row of the bleachers, sitting next to Perfume and constantly studying the crowd as if to look for other faces.

But then they came to an act that did draw Kasumi's attention, and with enthusiastic cheer she said, "Oh look…that woman over there is riding two horses at the same time! Oh, I love horses…"

"Hmm…" Nabiki shielded her eyes and stared across the court at the sight of a slender girl dressed in a filmy costume (which same could probably have been stored in a match box) full of bright sequins and glittering sparkles, brown hair done up with a fancy feathery headdress, standing erect with her feet on the backs of two horses whom she was straddling at one time with her hands on the reins as the twin mounts raced around the ring together. She had suspicions just viewing the girl at a distance, but as she came ever nearer she felt confident that she knew who that audacious rider was and smiled warmly at the recognition.

"Wow," Ukyo remarked aloud, "Now that's what I call riding!"

"She has good control over her mounts," Perfume noted, "The horses are responding well to her touch, and she is obviously a very good rider."

"Aiyaa," Shampoo agreed, "Is good handler of animals…Shampoo could do this, but she know it take much, much good balance."

"Big deal," Akane sniffed, "I could probably do that myself…with a little practice."

"Maybe so," Ukyo teased, "But would you fill out a costume like that in front of a tent full of absolute strangers?"

"Ah…well…" Akane faltered, then colored.

The girl riding the horses expertly steered them into the center of one of the three rings then dismounted by letting go of her reins and catching at a dangling rope that had been lowered to receive her. Two other girls in less revealing costumes caught up the reins of the horses and escorted them from the tent while the brown haired girl removed her feathered headdress and began to climb up the rope with the ease of a trained monkey. There, waiting for her at the top, were two men in thinly revealing costumes, obviously trapeze performers about to perform their act with her as a net had already been stretched out high enough to receive them.

"Whoah!" Ukyo shielded her own eyes as she stared up at the high-wire performers, "Check those guys out! What a couple of Bo-hunks!"

"Hmph," Perfume sniffed, only to do a sudden double-take that caused her face to be transfixed with complete and utter amazement.

"Airen," Shampoo murmured with unusual disquiet to her tone of voice, "Is Shampoo imagining this? One man in tights is looking like Airen husband."

"What, you mean Ranma?" Nabiki smiled, "Hmm…I guess it does look a little like him, but I was thinking more of the girl…that happens to be my old friend Kaoih, now all grown up. Did I ever tell you guys how I once came to work in this very same circus riding horses and doing back-flips…"

"No," Perfume said very audibly, "It is him…that's Ranma up there among the wires."

"What?" both Ukyo and Nabiki reacted together, then they turned and stared in utter amazement as a woman in a Ringmaster's outfit called out the names of the performers, one of which was most definitely, "Saotome Ranma!"

"Oh my," Kasumi remarked, "It is Ranma. I wonder what little brother is doing up there, do you know, Nabiki?"

Nabiki was so stunned that she hardly even reacted to the question.

"It can't be Ranma," Akane said aloud, "It must be some kind of a mistake…"

"It had BETTER BE a mistake!" Soun said archly.

"Saotome?" Hinako looked up, "Doesn't he know that this is a clear violation of school policy? And I thought Furinkan was enough of a circus already…"

"Hmmm…" Tatewaki shielded his eyes and said, "It does look rather much like Saotome…but how…?"

"Ranma is in a high wire act?" Natsume turned her head and demanded, "Did you know about this?"

"Ah…" Mousse rubbed the back of his head and said, "Kind of…it was a last minute substitution…Lady Sakura announced it to us a while back…"

"And you only now felt like telling us this?" groused an unhappy Kurumi beside him.

"Oh Ranma!" Nodoka surprised everyone by clapping her hands together and declaring, "My son looks so MANLY!"

"He'd better not be getting too manly up there, if he knows what's good for him," Ukyo growled, even as Nabiki just continued staring.

Kaoih had, by this point, begun her act by swinging out on the trapeze with daring panache that drew appreciative gasps from the audience (and several slaps from neighboring girlfriends to their wayward and overly attentive companions), but now she was swinging back to join the two men waiting for her at their end of trapeze platform. She smiled as she dismounted, with their assistance, and gave Ranma an affectionate grin before saying aloud, "You see how easy it is, Little Brother? There's practically nothing to it."

"Why don't you remain here and let a man show you how it's done, Saotome," Ryu taunted, taking the bar in one hand and preparing to swing out into space.

"Get stuffed why don't you," Ranma growled as Ryu ventured out to try his hand at aerial performance, but after a moment, when he was certain that only Kaoih could hear him, he murmured, "He's good."

"You don't know how good he can get, Little Brother," Kaoih teased back in a sultry tone that implied a lot more meaning than any mere trapeze performance.

"Hmph," Ranma sniffed at that as he waited for his turn, then as Ryu prepared for a dismount, Ranma vaulted out over his head and seized the trapeze bar only instants after Ryu had released it.

"What are you doing-?" Kaoih started to snap, only to growl, "Little Brother…"

"I guess he's showing off his stuff," Ryu remarked, watching as Ranma twisted around and brought his body fluidly back under the bar, then began to generate momentum to make the leap out towards the second trapeze bar, much to the favorable attention of the crowd far below them.

"He's grandstanding," Kaoih said in irritation, "I warned him not to do that…"

"Maybe so," Ryu lowered his voice and added, "But you have to admit, he's pretty good for a total novice."

"Says a guy who just learned his act about a week ago?" Kaoih responded, but smiled, "You don't really hate him as much as you pretend, do you?"

"Should I?" Ryu replied, "He's a pretty amazing guy…but don't you dare tell him I said that."

"And if I do?" Kaoih asked sweetly, "Will you spank me?"

"If I have to, yes," he responded.

"Oooh, sounds kinky," Kaoih teased back, "Well…gotta go…it looks like it's my turn again up at bat…"

She swung out over the net with an ease that as much as implied that safety features were not necessary, leaving Ryu to admire her rather stunning backside with an appreciative smile, then murmur softly to himself, "Knowing you, you'd probably enjoy it…"

Below in the bleachers, the Tendo posse was currently watching the act as Ranma caught Kaoih by her wrists and swung her back and forth in the air in order to generate more power. When Ryu came out on the first set of trapeze he was ready as Ranma tossed the girl in his direction. Kaoih executed a perfect turn and a somersault before catching the other man by the forearms as Ryu gripped her back with firm-but-gentle devotion. This was followed in turn by a number of increasingly more breathtaking maneuvers that continued to generate in the crowd a sense of wonder and excitement, mainly because the three youths made it all seem as easy as if it were second nature.

"Is very good," Shampoo remarked after several long moments, "Whoever girl is, she almost as good as Ranma."

"But who is that other guy?" Ukyo wondered, "And how does Ranchan know these people?"

"I have often said in the past that I had thought Saotome would one day run off to join the circus," Tatewaki remarked, "But I had never in my wildest dreams imagined that he would actually do it."

Nabiki just sat like a stone and stared, committing everything to memory, especially any time that Ranma and Kaoih made any sort of physical contact, and without being consciously aware of the fact, she crumpled up her half-eaten box of popcorn.

As the three youths took a pause in their act and took a bow from the rafters in acknowledgement of the Ringmistress's praising tribute, Akane sniffed aloud and growled, "It figures that baka would get himself into something like this on his own! Not at all like my Ryoga, who'd have way lots more sense than that idiot, Ranma."

"You think so?" Perfume asked, turning her attention towards the other end of the circus arena.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" the Ringmistress paused dramatically, "A MOMENT OF SILENCE, PLEASE, IN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF A RECENT UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENT THAT BEFELL TWO OF OUR PERFORMERS SOME TIME TODAY DURING PRACTICE. THOUGH THEIR INJURIES WERE NON-FATAL, WE HAVE BEEN FORCED TO STAGE A SUBSTITUTION FOR OUR HUMAN CANNONBALL ACT…SO…IT IS WITH GREAT PRIDE AND PLEASURE THAT I GIVE TO YOU…OUR NEW HUMAN CANNONBALL…HIBIKI RYOGA!!!"

"Say-WHAT???" Akane's head whipped around so fast that she nearly gave herself a case of whiplash, her attention riveting to a certain boy-shaped figure wearing a colorful leotard and looking more than a little nervous under his helmet.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" said boy was asking of his nominal partner, a lady who worked the cannon for the sake of her usual partner; whose name was Ritsuke.

"Of course it will work," Ritsuke assured him, "There's nothing to it…you just climb into that end and slide down to the powder chamber, then wait until I pull the trigger, and the rest is just a simple case of physics."

"Uh…Physics?" Ryoga said dubiously, rubbing the back of his head as he said, "That's…not exactly my best subject…"

"No fooling?" Ritsuke mused, "I never would have guessed. There you go…be a good boy and climb up the ladder…"

"Well…" Ryoga reluctantly complied, "If you're sure that it's going to be safe…"

"Absolutely positive," Ritsuke assured, "At least…within an acceptable margin of error…"

"An acceptable…" Ryoga paused at the mouth of said cannon, "What?"

"Hey, my regular partner and I have done this plenty of times," Ritsuke reassured him, "It almost never goes wrong, at least not so much that I usually have to wind up getting a new partner."

"Oh, well…in that case," Ryoga started to climb into the cannon.

"Now just keep in mind," Ritsuke warned before he could drop out of earshot, "The Air cannon fires a blast of compressed gas at the platform on which you'll be standing, rocketing you out of there at close to eighteen Gs, which might seem a little rough on your first time out. The force will momentarily compress your spine and make it seem as if your brains are falling to your toes, which-in your case-is probably not going to be too much of a problem, now…in you go…"

"Hey…what?" Ryoga gasped as she girl flicked a switch that made the cannon barrel tilt upwards, causing him to drop all the way down to the bottom. Ritsuke then adjusted the muzzle back down to the pre-set coordinates, calculating trajectories and angular motion along the complex formula of sine and cosine, which she knew from experience would aim him right at the far net that was waiting to receive him on the other end of the circus.

Ranma, from where he and his fellow Aerialists were pausing to watch the act, still high in the trapeze as they had another act to run through, was silently tensing as he waited for the cannon to fire, hoping that Ryoga would come out of it all right, though he was less concerned about the possibilities of a safe landing. Ryoga was next to indestructible when it came to taking a fall, so Ranma was far more concerned about the possibilities of his missing the net and landing on some poor innocent shmuck and quite possibly doing them damage, which would most definitely not reflect well on their school or the dojo.

Akane all but shredded her program guide as she waited tensely, and then all at once the cannon fired and out came Ryoga like a human guided missile, screaming all the way before he hit the net in an upside-down position and bounced off of it, heading for the ground and a massive face-fault.

"OOOH!" Kaoih winced, "I hope that didn't hurt too much…"

"Naw," Ryu replied, "His face broke his fall, he'll be all right."

"I'm more worried that he might have done damage to the ground," Ranma remarked, trying not to sound as concerned as he was about the matter.

"Oops," Ritsuke remarked from where she stood beside the cannon, "Guess maybe I used a little too much pressure…"

"RYOGA!" Akane cried as she got up out of her seat and vaulted out of the bleachers, bounding over the heads of several people before startling everyone and rushing into the area.

"Hey," Ryu saw the girl going to Ryoga's aid and said, "Who's that?"

Ranma saw and paled, "Oboy…I don't believe it…it's Akane!"

"Oh?" Kaoih said in surprise, "You mean that girl you said was his fiancé? But what is she doing out here, unless…"

Ranma followed the line from where Akane had appeared back towards the bleachers and said, "Oh Kami…it's Nabiki…!"

"Really?" Kaoih followed his gaze and said, "Hey! That does look like her…sitting right next to that purple haired girl…the one holding the…baby…?"

"That's the She-male you're engaged to?" Ryu asked with amazement, "What a cutie…"

"HEY!" both Ranma and Kaoih declared together.

"Relax," Ryu smiled, "I wouldn't make a play for her anyway, though the babe baring her bosom looks to be a real hot number…"

"You had better be joking about that," Kaoih growled menacingly enough, before a thought occurred to her and she arched her voice to a different pitch and said, "Although, now that you mention it, I suppose you do have a point about her being a cutie…"

"Huh?" Ryu blinked his eyes as he tried to decide if she were being serious or not…when all at once the felt the entire tent shake all around them, "W-What?"

"Ryoga, what are you doing here?" Akane demanded in concern as she lifted Ryoga's face from the head-shaped impression that he had created in the ground.

"Gah…hah?" Ryoga looked up at her blurry eyed, "What wonderful birdies…I hear her voice, like an Angel…Akane…"

"You baka," Akane growled affectionately, "Snap out of it…are you hurt or aren't you?"

"Huh?" Ryoga blinked his eyes, then sat upright, "AKANE??? But…what…?"

"I'm here with my family, stupid," Akane growled in relief that he appeared to be all right, "But what are you doing here, Ryoga? You never told me that you'd run off to join the circus…"

"Ah…well…" Ryoga hesitated, when all at once a panda standing on top of a large ball came stumbling past, said panda fighting to remain on top of said ball, holding up a sign that read, "HELP! HOW DO YOU STOP THIS CRAZY THING???"

"Uncle Saotome?" Akane gasped as the ball-balancing panda began to increase his momentum.

"Pops?" Nabiki gasped, shaking out of her daze as she recognized said panda.

"He's heading for that tent-pole…" Ukyo said in sudden worry.

"More than that," Perfume added in growing alarm "He's going to hit!"

Sure enough, Genma-currently comprising a quarter metric ton of out-of-control Ailurodopa melanoleuca-had been intending to serve as a distraction for the crowd to take their mind away from the fall of Ryoga and the unexpected appearance of Akane, but had not taken into account the fact that he had yet to master the finer points of balancing on top of a meter-wide round surface. As he was picking up considerable momentum by the time he struck a solid object-in this case one of the poles currently holding up the tent. By some miracle of the kami he managed to avoid snapping the impediment in twain like a colossal toothpick, but the shockwave he sent reeling up said pole was enough to knock three youths off their purchase, and of those three it was Kaoih who proved to be unable to recover her bearings.

She started to cry out as she found herself losing her balance and tumbling out into open space…a space not protected by the net below them. A twenty meter fall from sigh a height was bound to be near-fatal, but before she could plummet too far a desperate Ryu leaped out and caught her by one ankle…unfortunately forgetting to anchor himself to anything as he was not currently connected to a tether.

In one instant Ranma took stock of the matter and saw disaster looming before them, and without even taking a second to think of what he was doing he grabbed the tether in hand and then launched himself out into the space separating both him, Ryu and Kaoih. As the only thing in easy reach was Ryu's leg, he snatched it, gripping hard on the tether rope to halt their plunge and swing them back towards the Net, where he hoped to release them safely into its waiting embrace.

Unfortunately the material around that leg was very thin and gauze-like, and as the trio reached the low-point of their arching swing it choose that moment to give out, causing Ryu to slip out of his grasp with him and Kaoih still fifteen meters shy of a very rude landing.

That was when Ranma did something so unexpected and risky it caused Nabiki to stand upright while Ukyo gripped the edge of the bleachers and tore out a piece of planking. He let go of the tether and fell towards Kaoih and Ryu, winding up in the midst of this trio as he tried to concentrate and let his mind expand upon the image of a giant circle. He opened himself to the Chi force lines all around them and summoned up this power while trying to imagine himself becoming twice as light as a feather.

While he was doing this, however, Ryoga was far from idle. Seeing that the trio would fall beyond the reach of the net, he left Akane's side and sprung into action, placing himself directly below where he thought that they would fall and beginning to concentrate on summoning up his own power, instinctively reverting to the Kosenken maneuver that he thought could prevent a tragedy from occurring.

To the amazement of the crowd of witnesses, it seemed almost as if the three youths were falling at a slower rate of descent than would have been expected. Ranma was straining himself while trying to appear not to, the flow of energy being less intense than it would be in full daylight, though he did sense that he was having an effect of reducing their inertia so that the force of gravity was lessened upon them. It was only a few seconds later that they nearly reached the ground when Ryu-who had drifted to the bottom of their arrangement-felt a pair of strong hands catch him on the back while a strong voice cried out, "REINFORCED FRAME WITHSTANDS MANY SHOCKS!" which halted their fall in a very abrupt manner.

Kaoih landed on top of him, with Ranma falling on top of her, which broke his concentration as he found his face making unexpected contact with his sister's bosoms. All at once gravity was restored and he found himself pressing down on top of Ryu with his sister pressed in the middle of this makeshift sandwich. Ryoga continued to hold them aloft for a few seconds more before grunting slightly and depositing them on the ground in a not-too-gentle manner.

"OOF!" Ryu gasped, having had the wind knocked out of his sails in that landing.

"Ooohhh…" Kaoih groaned, looking up as she said, "Mind getting off me, Little Brother? I don't mind the idea of winding up in a sandwich with a pair of hunks like you, but…"

"Oops, sorry about that," Ranma said sheepishly as she stood on his feet, less affected than the others, then offered his sister a hand to get her back on her feet, making the same gesture at Ryu, who briefly debated the wisdom of handing it back to him.

In the end, however, Ryu relented to be allowed to stand on his own too feet with Kaoih's assistance, then the three of them turned to the cheering throngs and took their bow as if this had been part of their act all along and not a near disaster.

"Wow, what a save," Perfume remarked just before reacting with a dismayed expression, feeling the rising heat of a battle-aura forming around Ukyo, who was glaring at Ranma like a furnace.

"I'll kill him!" Nabiki suddenly declared in a blind fury. "I-WILL-ABSOLUTELY KILL HIM!"

"Better get in line, Sugar," Ukyo growled, "I've got first dibs on that hussy beside him!"

"Be my guest," Nabiki growled as she cracked her knuckles, "Saotome had BETTER have a good explanation for this, or HE'S GONNA BE SORRY!!!"

"Ah," Tatewaki stood up, "Perhaps we should give Ranma the chance to relate his side of affairs before jumping to any conclusions?"

Not waiting to hear the assents of the others, Nabiki made like Akane had done, only she crossed the space to the arena in a single bound and started off towards Ranma like a stalking panther.

"Ryoga," Akane said as she rejoined his side, "That was amazing! You saved them!"

"Ah…well…" Ryoga rubbed the back of his head, even as Sakura began to reassure the crowd that everything was under control and back to normal. Ranma was just about to ask if Ryu was feeling all right as the larger boy seemed a bit pale at the moment, when all at once Kaoih turned and said, "Uh oh…Nabiki?"

"NABIKI?" Ranma whipped his head around, just in time to see the rage in her expression, "Uh oh…"

"Sao-TOME!!!" she snapped, and like a shot her hand came hurtling towards him, but Ranma saw it coming as though it were slowing down in mid-motion and moved to avoid the hand altogether. The slap missed him wide of the mark but caught Ryu along the side of his face and sent him sprawling.

"HEY!" Kaoih began to protest when an enraged Nabiki rounded on her. Before anything bad could happen, however, Ranma was suddenly in the space between them, shielding Kaoih with his own body.

"Nabiki-stop this!" he protested.

"Get out of my way!" Nabiki growled as she tried to shove him to the side, only to find that Ranma gripped her arm and twisted it sideways, forcing her to stagger beyond them.

"Calm down!" Ranma snapped, "What are you getting so mad about? Aren't you glad to see me?"

"Glad to see you?" Nabiki rounded on him, "Glad to see you flaunting yourself in the arms of another woman?"

"Huh?" Ranma blinked his eyes, "Say what?"

"She means me," Kaoih calmly but gently pushed Ranma to the side and said, "Nice to see you too, Tendo. Don't tell me you're jealous about me spending time around my little brother?"

"YOU'RE DAMNED RIGHT I-" Nabiki started to growl, then halted herself and said, "Brother?"

"It's a surprise to me too," Ranma chuckled a bit nervously, "I mean…who would have thought that the old man would have it in him…?"

"Hear I you right, friend Saotome?" asked Tatewaki as he came up to join them, along with Natsume and some of the others, "Dare you claim that your sire fathered another child who was given to the circus?"

"Um…not exactly," Ranma said, "It's…kinda complicated…"

"Complicated?" Nabiki repeated, still looking stunned.

"Our dad had me before he married Ranma's father," Kaoih replied, "He was under a love spell, or something like that…go ask Mom for the details."

"Is this true?" Natsume asked, "You are truly Saotome's half-sister?"

"Older half sister," Kaoih remarked, flashing a smile as she added, "Don't you see the family resemblance?"

"We only found out about it-uh-hold that thought," Ranma said as he turned around and caught the edge of a descending baker's peel, halting it in mid-descent, "Hey Ucchan, how's it hanging?"

"I'll show you what's hanging, you two-timing Casanova!" Ukyo snarled as she fought to free her spatula, only to find Perfume gripping her by the arms, which got an outraged protest of, "HEY! Per-chan…!"

"It's all right," Perfume said, "I overheard everything on the way here…he's not to blame for this…at least…I think he's not. Saotome?"

"Thanks for the assist," Ranma smiled at the Enforcer with genuine affection, only to find himself seized by the shoulders a moment later and shaken like the proverbial leaf by an enraged Soun, who was in full Angry Father mode and looking to avenge a perceived family dishonor.

"RANMA! HOW DARE YOU DO A THING LIKE THIS TO MY NABIKI!!!"

"GAK!" Ranma exclaimed as he found hit teeth rattling in his head.

"Is this true, Ryoga?" Akane asked.

"Ah…well…" Ryoga's voice became a little squeaky as he tried to think how to explain the past few days of dramatic revelations.

"Is what true?" asked Nodoka, who pleasantly joined the others with a somewhat more nervous seeming Kasumi, "Ranma, what have you been up to lately?"

"Uh…Mom?" Ranma wondered himself where to begin, then turned and cried, "OYAJI!"

Said panda was only just then beginning to recover from his collision, and held up his sign, which read, "What happened? Did anybody get the license number of that elephant…?"

"Oh my," Nodoka said as she studied the young girl before her, "You look just like…Sakura-chan?"

"Nodoka-chan," said Sakura herself, who only just then came up to join them, "You're looking as radiant as ever."

"Oh please," Nodoka said modestly, "You haven't changed a bit since we were both young girls. Oh my…that seems like such a long time ago…"

"Yes, doesn't it?" Sakura smiled, "May I introduce my daughter, Kaoih? Kaoih…this is Ranma's mother, Nodoka."

"Charmed," Kaoih smiled, then turned and said, "You must be Ukyo…and you're Perfume, right? Your boyfriend's told me all about you…oh my! And are you Shampoo, Nabiki's significant other?"

"That right," Shampoo looked puzzled, "Why everybody upset all of sudden? Is no like Ranma flirt with girl who is sister, yes?"

"Sister?" Hinako blinked, "Are you serious?"

"Oh my," Kaoih moved even closer to study the face of the baby in the Amazon's arms, "Is this…yours, Nabiki? Oh my…she's so beautiful…"

"Ranma has a sister?" Kurumi asked as she and Mousse joined the others.

"Apparently so," Mousse replied, "I was just as surprised when I first heard about it."

"Hey Tachi," Ranma acknowledged as Soun reluctantly released him, "Where's Kodachi and Keiko?"

"Off visiting with her parents," Tatewaki replied, taking stock of their surroundings before adding in a low voice, "You have been busy…"

"You don't know the half of it, Pal," Ranma responded, then frowned as he added, "What's that Mousse creep doing here, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Apparently he is now married to the fair Kurumi," Tatewaki said, and when he saw Ranma's astonished look he nodded and added, "Truly."

"Husband?" Nodoka approached the half-conscious panda, "What is this about you having a child by my friend Sakura?"

One and all could hear the audible sound of a panda swallowing as Genma lifted his sign, which read, "I'M INNOCENT, I SWEAR IT!"

"Innocent?" Nabiki scoffed, "Oyaji…!"

"Oh, don't blame him," Kaoih replied, "He may be my father, but he's not really the problem here. The problem, as I see it, is that you have been neglecting your fiancé, and how dare you accuse me of wanting to flirt with my own little brother!"

"Neglecting?" Nabiki blinked, "HEY!"

"This is the man I'm after," Kaoih reached down and half-dragged a stunned Ryu back to his feet, "A man that you went and slapped for no good reason!"

"This…guy is your…boyfriend?" Nabiki slowly put it all together, "Oboy…ah…sorry about that…"

"S'no problem," Ryu said as he felt his bruised jawbone, then groaned, "I think…you may have knocked a tooth loose…"

"Oh, I'm sure Nabiki will be more than willing to pay the dental costs to fix that," Kaoih glared at her erstwhile friend and said, "Right?"

"Uh…yeah," was Nabiki's sheepish answer.

"Let me get this straight," Ukyo said to Ranma, "She's your sister and you've gone and run off to join the circus, right?"

"Er…not quite," Ranma said, "I mean…about that last part. I'm filling in for a guy who got injured this afternoon, but I've really been studying to master the…ah…special techniques that my Pop's been teaching me and Ryoga."

"You've been in training all this time," Nabiki said slowly, "While hiding out with a circus?"

"Two week engagement," Kaoih replied, "Ends the day after tomorrow. You should have looked me up earlier, I could have gotten you guys a family pass and saved you some money."

"We'll be pulling out and moving on to our next show in a few days," Sakura noted, "But I think we could manage a one-day delay since I hear you two are going to be putting on a show of your own…a challenge match, I believe you call it?"

"Say what?" Nabiki murmured.

In reply, Sakura brought her microphone up to her mouth and said, "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS, OUR APOLOGIES FOR THIS UNPLANNED DELAY IN OUR SHOW, AND MY THANKS FOR YOUR KIND AND GENTLE PATIENCE! I HAVE AN IMPORTANT ANNOUCEMENT TO MAKE…AS YOU MAY KNOW, WE CLOSE THIS CIRCUS IN TWO DAYS AT THE END OF OUR LEASE, BUT A NEW DEVELOPMENT HAS SPRUNG UP THAT WE WILL OFFER TO YOU NOW AT SPECIAL DISCOUNT RATES! A CHALLENGE MATCH TO RIVAL ANY MARTIAL ARTS DUEL OF THE PAST CENTURY BETWEEN A BOY AND A GIRL WHO ARE ENGAGED TO BE MAN AND WIFE IN A FEW MONTHS. THEY REPRESENT THE TENDO AND SAOTOME SCHOOLS OF MARTIAL ARTS, AND THEY HAD AGREED TO A DEMONSTRATION BATTLE IN WHICH THEIR TWO STYLES WILL BE MATCHED TOGETHER TO DETERMINE FOR ONE AND ALL TO SEE WHICH ONE OF THEM WILL BE THE DOMINANT MARTIAL ARTIST!"

"HEY!" Nabiki spoke up.

"Wait a minute," Ranma declared, "We didn't…!"

"ON THE ONE HAND YOU WILL HAVE SAOTOME RANMA, UNDISPUTED MASTER OF THE THOUSAND FIST SCHOOL OF ANYTHING GOES MARTIAL ARTS…!"

"Thousand fist school?" Nabiki repeated, "What the heck is that?"

"…AND ON THE OTHER HAND YOU WILL HAVE TENDO NABIKI, HEIR APPARENT TO THE TENDO SCHOOL OF ANYTHING GOES MARTIAL ARTS AND MISTRESS OF A THOUSAND DEADLY FORMS OF UNARMED COMBAT, TRULY AS BEAUTIFUL AS SHE IS MERCILESS AND DEADLY…"

"Hey!" Ranma protested.

"WHICH OF THEM WILL EMERGE THE VICTOR IN THIS BATTLE OF THE SEXES?" Sakura continued, "WILL LOVE WIN OUT OVER THEIR RIVALRY, OR IS THIS THE ULTIMATE IN DOMESTIC CONFLICT? COME LEARN THE ANSWER FOR YOURSELVES, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN…AND SEE WHO WILL EMERGE AS THE TRUE INHERITOR OF THE ILLUSTRIOUS AND WORLD-FAMOUS TENDO DOJO!"

"Say what?" Soun blinked his eyes, then turned to the panda, "Saotome?"

"Don't look at me," read the sign held up by said panda, "She's only my ex-girlfriend."

"I'm a little more than that now, Gen-chan," Sakura grinned, giving Nodoka an affectionate nod before adding, "Call it a long-delayed wedding gift to the both of you, but I'm declaring myself as your official manager…a temporary position, to be sure, but one that should prove lucrative as I am planning to share the proceeds of ticket sales to both you and Soun-chan."

"Now just wait min-did you say ticket sales?" Nabiki's ears perked up.

"Uh oh," Ukyo exchanged looks with Perfume, "Did somebody say the magic word?"

"Of course," Sakura smiled, "I'll set everything up with a land developer I know…I'll get his approval to reserve a vacant lot that should be sufficiently large enough to host your fight while providing ample room for a set of bleachers. We'll make it an outdoor affair and divide the profits 20-80…"

"Sixty-forty," Nabiki instantly snapped.

"Thirty-Seventy?" Sakura smiled as if enjoying this particular challenge.

"Thirty-five-sixty-five," Nabiki countered, and so it went on until they agreed on a profit margin that seemed acceptable to both women.

"I don't believe it," Kurumi remarked, "Oneechan will bargain over everything…"

"I guess so," Mousse noted dubiously.

"So we're going to have this challenge match in front of witnesses?" Akane asked, "I thought it was going to be in private…"

"Not to worry," Nabiki declared, "We'll stage this so that the people will have a nice show, and I'll try not to win by too large a margin…who knows, maybe Ryonami and the others can even get a betting pool going on the side, and I'll give Ranma a good point spread."

"I thought you said you were never going to bet against me," Ranma asked suspiciously.

"I won't bet against you," Nabiki assured, "But I can't say the same for anyone else who places a bet with Ryonami.""

"And who says you're gonna win?" Ranma persisted.

Nabiki gave him a casual look and said, "Feeling cocky are we? You think the old man trained you that well in a couple of weeks, Ranma-kun?"

"Well, if you feel that way about it," Ranma held up an object, "I suppose you won't be wanting your wallet back, right?"

"My-what?" Nabiki blinked as she saw him holding her wallet, and instinctively slapped the hidden pocket in which it was normally carried, "Why you-!"

She lunged for the wallet but found Ranma quite easily avoided her. She rounded on him and found him somewhere else than where she had been expecting.

"Like you said," Ranma smiled as he tossed the wallet to her, "I've been in training, and I'm going to beat you, Nabiki. Get used to that idea, 'cause it's gonna happen whether you like it or not."

"You're…WHAT?" Nabiki look flustered as she quickly checked to see that the contents of her wallet were in place, only to go round-eyed as she saw Ranma holding up a two-thousand yen bill between his fingers.

"Two more days," Ranma declared, "And then I'm going to show you what I'm made of. I'll just keep this, if you don't mind, so I can treat my Sis and her boyfriend to some dinner."

"You-FINE!" Nabiki snapped, "Two days, Saotome, and then I'm coming for your ass!"

"Not if I get yours first," Ranma smiled as he turned and winked at her, then gave an affectionate nod to Ukyo in passing.

"Did I hear that right?" Akane blinked, "It almost sounded like Ranma…"

"Has grown some balls all of a sudden," Kaoih grinned, "That's my brother!"

"Did I hear that right?" Ryu's own ears perked up, "Saotome just offered to buy us dinner?"

"Sure sounded like it to me," Kaoih smiled at him, "And it would be rude of us to refuse since Nabiki's so generously paying for the privilege."

"What?" Nabiki blinked again, "HEY-RANMA!!!"

Ranma did not acknowledge that he heard the reply, but neither was he surprised when a little man in a clown suit said, "Congratulations, my boy, you've finally managed to get her attention."

"Heh, that was what I was counting on," Ranma said as he continued on without breaking stride, "Money always was the best way of getting Nab-chan's attention."

"She's gonna be awfully mad at you the next time you guys meet up," Happosai confided in an almost friendly manner, "No matter how much she likes you, a woman's pride ain't nothing to sneeze at, and she'd gonna be looking to take it out of your hide, so you'd better train hard and master the Arashisenken before that happens."

"Tell me something I don't already know," Ranma averred grimly, wincing slightly as he heard Nabiki cry, "SAOTOME--I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!!"

"Oh yeah," he said softly, "She's definitely motivated…"

Cologne thought much the same thing one hour later, having resumed her normal appearance in time to greet Nabiki as the latter came storming home well ahead of the others.

"You seem to be a bit upset, Child," the 'old woman' asked without a trace of calculation in her voice, "Is there something that I can do to help you?"

"Yes," Nabiki whirled around, "In fact, you're just the person I was looking for. You wanted me to tell you when I was ready to learn that new technique? Well…now I'm ready! Show it to me, I've only got two days left before I go and kick that iinazuke of mine in the ass!"

Cologne managed to appear unruffled, but inwardly she was smiling, thinking to herself, (Perfect) as she readied to prepare her charge for the day of the coming battle…

Continued

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