Project A-Ko Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Vampire Hunter (Darkstalkers) Fan Fiction ❯ Nabiki 1/2 (A Very Scary Thought) ❯ Getting to Know You... ( Chapter 2 )

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.

Nabiki sighed as she leaned back into the bathwater, enjoying a good soak for the first time in what felt like ages. Only now, alone by herself in the house she had not lived in since her childhood, after all the excitement and shouting of the day, she finally had privacy and peace to sort matters out. The jumble of emotions welling up inside her could be sorted out and logically dealt with at last, beginning with the reactions of the other members of this house when they heard the story of Jusenkyo, beginning with her father…

"Saotome!!!" Soun had cried, pressing his longtime friend up against one of the support beams of the house, "This is all your fault! How could you let something like this happen to my daughter???"

"Calm down, Daddy," Nabiki had urged him, "It wasn't entirely his fault. Uncle Saotome can't read or speak a word of Chinese, like I can."

"You speak Chinese?" Ranma asked in surprise.

Nabiki's reply sounded to him like a strange set of noises, then she smiled and said, "I picked up a little Cantonese and Mandarin when we spent a few weeks in Hong Kong doing…business."

"Business?" Ranma's eyebrows perked up in confusion.

"What has that got to do with what happened to you and Saotome-sama?" Akane asked her.

"It was my fault, in a way," Nabiki explained, "I should have known what we were getting into, and I would have if Uncle had let me read the travel brochure instead of hogging it to himself. That's why I usually insisted on doing all our travel arrangements…he was forever making blunders like this that got us both into trouble."

"Then why didn't he allow you to read up about this place?" Nodoka hesitated, "I believe you called it…?"

"Jusenkyo," Nabiki helpfully supplied, "The Cursed Springs of Jusenkyo, or---to be more precise---called 'The Pools of Sorrow,' so named because it has over a thousand pools bubbling up from a natural aquifer, only there's some kind of legend about it being cursed in a war between the ancient Gods of China…"

"I have heard of this place, Nabiki-chan," Kasumi said pleasantly, "It was in one of the books I borrowed from Tofu-Sensei. It seems a great number of tragic stories are connected somehow with these pools of which you speak."

"That's right, Oneechan," Nabiki replied, nodding, "As the legend goes, whoever falls into one of the cursed springs will take the form of the person or creature who last drowned there. As it so happened, I fell into a spring called Nannichuan, the Spring of the Drowned Man, about a young boy who died there over a thousand years ago, a very tragic story."

"Fell in?" Akane asked, "Or were you pushed?" she eyed Genma with suspicion, noticing his nervous reaction.

"Actually," Nabiki eyed Genma as well, "A little of both, really. We were fighting at the time, one of our endless training missions, when I knocked him off a bamboo pole into the pool called Shonmaoniichuan, or Spring of the Drowned Panda. The next thing I know, a panda is attacking me, and I get knocked into the other pool. I come out looking like the boy you met a little while ago. It happens every time I get splashed with cold water."

"And hot water reverses the spell?" asked Kasumi.

"Hai, Oneechan," Nabiki sighed, "And in case you can't guess by now, life hasn't exactly been a picnic ever since."

"Surely there is a cure for this?" Nodoka asked, "A way to break the curse?"

"Not according to the guide who showed us to the springs," Nabiki sighed, "He said that there was an elder in a nearby village who might know of a way to break the curse, but Ojisama over here messed that up and got us in trouble with the locals. That's when I decided I'd had enough of his stupid training mission and made my mind up to come back home. I want to get my life back in order, which means, Old Man, that our partnership is definitely over!"

"Partnership?" Ranma asked in confusion, "I thought Otosan was your trainer?"

"A little of that," Nabiki smiled, "But mostly we worked as a team, fifty-fifty, dividing up the spoils of whatever fortune we came into. Don't worry, Pops, you'll get your share of the take, minus a few expenses that I've been keeping a careful tab about. Considering all you've cost me, be glad with what I give you."

Genma's expression went through a series of comical transformations, from elation that Nabiki had even considered sharing their combined assets to depression as he considered just how much she would deduct from his share of the profits.

"Saotome," Soun's growl brought him back into focus as he felt his back once more make rude contact with the wooden support beam, "Just what have you been teaching my daughter? What unnatural habits has she picked up from being around you?"

"Tendo-kun…" Saotome tried to explain, wanting to convince his old friend that it really was not his fault, that he could hardly be blamed for Nabiki having the acquisitive instincts of a barracuda, and that she was hardly the great innocent she was pretending to be at the moment, but words failed him.

Besides that, with the incriminating evidence already compiled against him, it was doubtful he could convince Soun--let alone Nodoka--of anything he told them.

He silently appealed to Nabiki, who watched him back with that calculating look in her eyes that he knew so well and dreaded. This was going to cost him in some way, but he silently surrendered to her unvoiced comment. Anything was better than the fate that awaited him if she did not bail him out right then and there. Better to deal with the devil he knew, he sighed, resigning his soul to permanent indenturement.

Nabiki had enjoyed watching him sweat, but in all truth, she was not angry enough to want to get him into too much trouble. No matter his faults, he was still her Sensei and partner, and he owed her too much for her to just cast him aside before she had finished milking his market potential. Besides, it was convenient having someone in permanent debt to her that could back her up when needed.

So she just smiled and said, "He's not to blame for everything, Daddy. I take responsibility for my own conduct, thank you. Besides, Saotome-Sama is a very good Sensei. I've learned a lot from him, and we have so many interesting things in common, isn't that right, Uncle?"

Genma swallowed, then forced himself to smile, and said, "H-hai! Hai, Nabiki-chan. Your daughter is a very fine student, Tendo-kun, the best I have ever had or could ask for, and you would be proud of her having a good business sense and an ability to deal intelligently with her problems."

"Tendo-Sama," Ranma suddenly spoke up, kneeling before Soun and bowing his head with as much dignity as he could, "Please forgive Otosan for not being as careful as he could with Nabiki-san. I know it was wrong, but he is still my father."

Nabiki stared at the boy with interest. Such fine manners, she thought, so unlike his behavior a few minutes ago in the dojo…

Soun finally relaxed his grip on his old friend, his anger vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. He looked to Nabiki, then Ranma and said, "Very well, since you both have asked this of me, I will try to abide my temper. Provided I hear a more reasonable explanation for what he allowed to happen."

"Like I said," Nabiki replied, "It's as much my fault as his. I should have asked the guide for more details, but who'd believe in Cursed Springs that could turn a man into a panda and me into…a guy," she said the last part, wincing.

"Has it been very hard for you, Nabiki-chan?" Kasumi asked her.

"Well…" Nabiki hesitated, then said, "It has made my life a bit more complicated, but there are a few advantages in being able to switch genders. For one thing it helps if someone's chasing you to be able to change appearance…"

"Who would be chasing you?" Nodoka asked her in puzzlement.

In reply Nabiki just smiled and said, "It's been known to happen…sometimes when Uncle and me wore out our welcome…"

"Well, yes," Genma stammered, "Sometimes the natives aren't always friendly…" he silenced himself as he saw the reproving stare from Nabiki…

Nabiki sighed again. Uncle Genma was going to be a problem. She would have to coach him better to avoid his annoying habit of always putting his foot in his mouth, which could have been a rather endearing trait had it not tended to wind them both up in so much trouble with the wrong sorts of people.

She sank back into the bath, enjoying the luxury of being in her natural shape. Warm water was much harder to come across than cold, she had discovered with annoying regularity, and it was good to take advantage of such a pleasant sensation of being clean with unsnarled hair. She had kept it deliberately short and manageable in the front, only allowing it to grow long in the back, where she bound it up in a pigtail braid, which was a trait she had picked up during their sojourn in China.

She combed her unbound hair down the back with her fingers then stretched her legs out again, studying them critically and wondering if they needed shaving. Now that she was home she intended to make full use of all the feminine pleasures she had been denied on the open road, and she wanted especially to look good for the boys, should she ever consider doing normal girl things like dating. Her legs were one of her best attractive features, she well knew, long and shapely with graceful, athletic curves and well rounded feet that--while hardened from many years of wandering barefoot over harsh terrain--still appeared as attractively feminine as the rest of her. It would serve her needs well to preserve such qualities, like any good investment.

Maybe I can get a job as a model, she thought to herself. They did very well showing off their looks for outrageous sums of money. Body parts could be marketed just as well as the rest of her in one package, and there was never any shortage of commercial applications to arm and leg-shots. Then again, there were stars who paid a lot of money to body-doubles who could sub for them in non-facial close-ups…

Well, that was one option to consider anyway. In truth, she had a lot of other potential careers that were worth pursuing. Time enough to sort that out later, for now she decided to concentrate on her family, and what she had learned in the brief time since her arrival.

Her father seemed jumpy and nervous, barely in control of his emotions and tended to veer wildly from one extreme to the next. That was not a very good quality in a martial artist, but she decided not to rush to any conclusions. His paternally protective attitude could be a problem if he intended to interfere in her personal business. On the other hand, it also meant that he would be easy to manipulate, so perhaps there were advantages here that were worth a more careful study.

Saotome Nodoka, on the other hand, was shrewd and very alert to small details, if a bit too conventional in her thinking. She would be a more challenging party when it came to negotiations, assuming she and Ranma intended to continue living in the Tendo House now that Genma was returned. Aunt Nodoka was friendly and congenial company, which might make her a very good ally, but Nabiki sensed that there was steel behind her gentle frame, which meant that crossing her would definitely not be in anyone's best interests.

And then there was Kasumi…her older sibling. Kasumi disturbed Nabiki in a way she did not know how to grapple. She was…nice…maybe a bit too nice, and overly cheerful, as though she could find the bright spot in almost any situation. That was a quality Nabiki was not used to encountering, and there was something else about Kasumi's manner that puzzled her greatly. It took a moment to grasp one part of the significance of her behavior, especially when it came to how she and Akane acted together.

Kasumi was more than Akane's older sister, she acted almost like a surrogate mother. She helped Nodoka around the house and clearly shared the domestic chores while her father did not appear to do much of anything at the moment. Nabiki wondered if Soun Tendo was even running the dojo like in the old days. If not, then this raised some serious questions about the family's financial situation.

Like the problem with the plumbing that had caused so much confusion in the beginning. The plumbers had shown up and fixed the pipes, but when it came to payment Nodoka had been ready to haggle about delaying the payment. She and Soun had been very surprised when Nabiki offered to pay them in cash, explaining that she carried a little "pocket change" with her, not elaborating on where exactly she had gotten the several hundred thousand yen she just "happened" to be carrying on her person.

The family financial picture was definitely something she was going to have to look into. With that in mind, she turned to the last two members of the Household.

Akane was first, of course, being her sister by blood. Akane was harsh, slightly bitter, very quick to anger, and not very feminine in her behavior. She was, however, rather cute for her age, and a competent Martial Artist. Her defenses were weak but her attack pattern was formidable. She had to work a bit on her speed and maybe learn some more complicated maneuvers, but overall there was a lot of raw talent there to work with…

She smiled as she caught herself appraising her younger sister's combat potential, feeling almost like Genma. He was always sizing people up in terms of their ability to fight. Most people he would dismiss out of hand as not worth bothering over, and there was something almost charming about his chivalric interpretation of Bushido. She had learned a lot from his teaching, not least of which was that a Martial Artist only used their skills against other fighters. Not that it wasn't still handy once in a while to know the value of intimidation.

She thought of Akane again, seeing in her a basically nice girl who seemed to have a few emotional issues that would require further exploration. Her temper was, perhaps, her greatest weakness, and that was something else to be considered. The thing that bothered Nabiki the most though was the way she behaved around Ranma, her iinazuke.

And that brought up the final member of the family equation: Ranma himself. Nabiki had avoided thinking about him until now, but when she did, she found herself confronted by several conflicting emotions. On the one hand, he seemed like a very nice, if average, boy who could be so polite one minute and then turn around and be as rude as a six-year-old brat the next. He acted like he and Akane genuinely resented each other, and that condescending Macho attitude of his…yes, it was definitely clear that he and Akane did not get along that well together.

But the boy did have his good points. For one thing he was a very good fighter, perhaps the best she had seen of late, almost as good as his father. For another thing he was very brave and obviously no bully. He did not like to hit girls, and had Nabiki not been a boy at the time when they sparred he would obviously not have gone so all-out, which was a useful thing to know about him.

Last of all…he was cute.

She stifled that thought. Ranma was Akane's iinazuke. No matter what else Nabiki knew herself capable of, she would never hurt family, at least deliberately. Or in any way permanent.

She sighed again. Thinking too much was one of her greatest problems. She was tired and it did not help to make decisions without sufficient rest to recharge the old brain cells. Time to get up out of the tub and get dressed in her spare traveling clothes so she could ask Kasumi to find a bedroll or futon mat on which to sleep. Akane had offered to share her room for the night since Kasumi slept in the same room with Nodoka and Ranma had another room to himself.

Genma would probably sleep out in the dojo, she thought with a smile. If it weren't for his snoring, she'd gladly join him. At least she was used to having him around in case of intruders, both as alarm system and an alternate target.

She got herself out of the tub and began to reach for the nearby towel when the door to the bathroom opened. More curious than alarmed, she turned to find Ranma striding in, halting in mid-step when he caught sight of her. The expression on the young man's face was comical dismay, which was why Nabiki checked her normal impulse to cover herself up in the presence of a stranger.

His mouth was working like a fish while his eyes remained wide open. Nabiki felt a bit like an exhibitionist as she turned to him with arms held at her side, then with a tilt of her head said, "See anything you like?"

"Gah!" Ranma finally burst out, backing away with such haste that he tripped over his owns feet and went sprawling out into the hallway. He kept on backing up until he was pressed against the hallway wall, still staring at Nabiki, who just watched him pointedly and wondered if the boy really was having a nosebleed or was that just her imagination?

"What is it, Ranma?" asked Akane, which startled Nabiki into hastily grabbing up the towel to cover herself before Akane looked in to find out what had caused Ranma to behave in such a fright. Akane saw Nabiki clutching the towel, her eyes widened, and then she turned back to Ranma and her expression became livid.

"You--you--PERVERT!" she screamed, "My own sister!!!"

"Ah," Nabiki started to say with a somewhat guilty sense of having unintentionally given Akane the entirely wrong picture, but Akane yanked the door closed, which spared her the sight of what happened next. Instead, she heard Ranma stammer some lame explanation, only to wind up on the receiving of what sounded like a lot of very violent conduct on the part of Akane. Nabiki stood there listening to Ranma make lame excuses for not having known that the bathroom was in use before fleeing in evident terror for his life. She sighed to herself then and decided to wait for Akane to calm down before assuring her that no actual harm had happened. After all, it would not do to have her younger sister believe that it was Nabiki who was some kind of a pervert.

Instead, she began to dress herself, then went to speak with Kasumi…

Nabiki had awoken early, as was near habitual from her years of training, which allowed her to escape the treatment Genma instead visited upon his son. Ranma had very loudly protested getting up a whole hour earlier than he usually did. The three of them met outside in the garden area outside of the dojo, where Genma and Nabiki squared off for their usual way of working out their aggressions.

Namely beating the hell out of one another!

"I warn you, old man!" Nabiki snarled as she and Genma squared off, "Things aren't like they used to be! I'm home, which means I don't have to obey your stupid orders!"

"Insolent girl," Genma said sternly, "I talked with your father last night and he is in total agreement that you should not be allowed to grow slack in your training regimen. That means, at least for the first two hours of this morning, you're still mine to do with as I see fit!"

"What?" Nabiki reacted, "You worked this out with my father instead of me?"

"He is your father," Genma replied, "But it was agreed between us that I should have responsibility for seeing that your ten years of training do not amount to nothing."

"But that's my decision to make, not his!" Nabiki protested.

"Foolish child," Genma responded, "He is your father. You must obey his wishes."

"Like Hell!" Nabiki snapped, "You just bought yourself a world of pain, old man! Sensei or no, you're going down for messing with my life!"

"You talk just like a woman, girl," Genma retorted, "Try backing your words up with some action!"

"You asked for it!" Nabiki snarled, and the two of them came together in a flurry of punches and kicks, dodging and darting about the yard trading blows with a speed and ferocity that was highly motivated and almost seemed to be part of a blood feud.

"Wow," Ranma gasped from where he stood watching this exchange, then he flinched as he became aware that Akane was standing near to him and said, "If you're going to beat me up some more…"

"I'm sorry, Ranma," Akane said with unusual hesitation, "I…didn't mean to overreact like that…Nabiki explained that you were surprised…"

"Yeah, sure," Ranma said, keeping his attention focused on the fight rather than show Akane his bruises.

Akane did not speak again for a while until after Genma and Nabiki separated to recover their wind and calculate their next movements, and when she did, it was plain her thoughts paralleled those of Ranma, "They're both very good. No wonder Nabiki-chan was able to make us both look so…"

"Yeah, whatever," Ranma said neutrally, not wanting to admit that he was just as impressed.

"Your father really is as good as Dad always said he was," Akane noted matter-of-factly, "It should be interesting having him and Nabiki around."

"I'll say," Ranma said casually, but something in his tone told Akane he meant a lot more than he was saying.

Akane sighed and sat down beside him. They were not always the best of friends, but they had spent most of their life together and knew each other as well as any brother and sister. She could tell something was bothering Ranma, and knew him well enough to know he would have to be the one who decided to tell her what it was. It took another moment during which they watched Nabiki and Genma exchange blows that would have taxed either one of them, neither one holding back to all appearance, and then finally Ranma sighed and said, "This isn't what I expected."

"Oh," Akane replied, "You mean…your father…?"

"Look at what he's done to her," Ranma said, "I don't mean teaching her to fight, which he's obviously done a very good job at. I mean…things they were telling us…and other stuff they kept hinting at all night…"

"I understand," Akane said with equal sadness, "Nabiki hasn't exactly turned out like I thought she would either."

"It's not the same thing!" Ranma insisted, "She's only your sister…that man there is supposed to be my father, a father I haven't seen in ten years. You haven't seen your sister since she was eight…"

"Well, so what?" Akane asked, "I may not have a very good memory of her, but she's still my sister…"

"I didn't think you'd understand," Ranma looked away.

"Understand?" Akane retorted, losing control of her fragile temper, "You can be such an insensitive…"

"That's enough!" Genma called out suddenly, bringing the fight to a sudden halt.

"The Hell it is, old man," Nabiki growled, "I haven't finished pounding on you yet."

Genma flashed a stern look her way, and Nabiki faltered. He might not be her master in other things, but when it came to training missions, he was her Sensei. Long habit took over and she backed down, obeying his instructions.

"Ranma!" Genma turned around, putting a stern tone in his voice, "Your turn to spar with me. Nabiki-chan tells me you have some skill at fighting. It is time for your father to decide how much skill that is. Step forward. Nabiki, go sit down with your sister."

As angry as she was, Nabiki could not miss the hostile stares being exchanged between Ranma and Akane as Ranma took her place in the garden. She decided a talk with her younger sister was just the thing she needed to cool down, so she sat down on the porch once her breathing returned to normal. She nodded to Akane, who nodded back, then said, "Good morning, Sis. I hope you slept well."

"Well enough," Akane said evenly, then more tentatively asked, "Do you do this every morning?"

"Do what?" Nabiki blinked, then answered her own question, "Oh, you mean sparring? Sure, Ojisama and me, we've been doing it since I was very little."

"He seems awfully strict with you," Akane paused, fumbling for her next words, then just said the first thing that came into her mind, "He wasn't pulling any punches, was he?"

"Nope," Nabiki sniffed, "And I wasn't pulling any punches with him."

"You…seemed pretty angry out there," Akane hesitated again.

"Anger makes a good focus," Nabiki replied, "As long as it doesn't control you, and where Pops is concerned, I have a lot of pent-up aggression."

Meanwhile Ranma was sizing up the man who was his father, unable as yet to get his mind in focus at the idea that this stocky, balding man was the very one he and his mother had waited ten years to meet again. He knew, of course, better than to judge by appearance, and the fact that Genma was not breathing very hard from having gone all-out with Nabiki said a lot by itself.

Genma adjusted the glasses he perpetually wore fastened around his head and smiled as if anticipating his son's thoughts, "Ranma, you feel uneasy looking at me. Am I so very different from what you thought I might look like?"

"Ah," Ranma hesitated, staying on his guard as he considered his reply, then just said what came into his mind, "Not really…Otosan."

"It is good that you can say this," Genma replied, "There is no shame in admitting your feelings. I will have to work to rebuild your image of me, to earn your respect so that you can have no doubt that I am your father. I can freely say that I am proud of what I see in you, my boy. Your mother and Tendo-san have raised you well. You are a son any father could be proud of. Now, show me what you know and I will teach you what I should have taught you the last ten years of your existence."

"H-hai, Otosan," Ranma said, feeling a strange mix of pride and awe at the praise he had just been given.

The next second he was almost flat on his back, having been overcome with the suddenness of Genma's charge, not to mention the punch that had knocked him sprawling.

"Too slow, my son," Genma said sternly, "You must have better defenses than that! Get back to your feet and we will try this again."

Ranma wasted no time flipping himself back onto a standing position. Genma's blow had not really hurt him very much and was obviously meant to shake him up, which Ranma was expert enough to recognize as a warning shot. The next blow would most likely take his head off.

Genma allowed himself one smile of pleasure. His son was a fighter, there was no doubting it. Now all he had to do was bring out the best that was within Ranma. There was a very promising beginning in the boy, and all it would take was to make Ranma call upon his own potential, the duty of a father.

He came at Ranma with as much speed as he felt the boy could handle, and Ranma leaped to one side and counter-attacked. This went on for several moments before Ranma got serious in his offensive. At no point did he come anywhere near to connecting with his father, but Genma was pressed hard keeping up his defenses. Only when the boy slackened, showing signs of fatigue, did Genma lash out at him in earnest, sending Ranma sprawling in the dirt, and only then did he relent in order to allow the boy to regain his bearings.

"Too slow, Ranma," Genma deliberately taunted, "Nabiki-chan could take you in her sleep! Get up and fight me for real!"

"Hai!" Ranma cried, in spite of being nearly winded feeling a surge of renewed spirit. No matter if he was tired, he would not allow himself to look weak in the eyes of his father.

"Good," Genma praised, then tweaked the boy's pride a little more, "An enemy will not allow you time to rest in a serious fight. We're going to have to work on building up your reserves if you want to be worthy of carrying on the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts."

"Hai!" Ranma cried more fiercely then came at Genma for real, only to wind up sprawling in the dirt nearest to the Koi pond.

"A fighter must use his brain as well as his body, Ranma!" Genma continued to taunt, "Get angry if you must, but stay in control and use your anger to strengthen your movements!"

"Wow," Akane said with rounded eyes, "Uncle Saotome really doesn't take it easy on anyone."

"Pops just knows how to push all the right buttons," Nabiki smiled, thinking privately that she would never allow Genma to provoke her that easily. She knew most of his tricks intimately, which was unfortunately not true of poor Ranma.

Akane was looking at her curiously, then asked, "Why do you call him Pops?"

"Habit mostly," Nabiki replied, "On the road he always told everyone that I was his niece, but sometimes he also pretended I was his daughter. I got in the habit of calling him Pops any time I felt like ribbing him. It was mostly a reminder that I wasn't really his daughter, and that there were only some things he could get away with around me."

"He doesn't seem like the type to…" Akane started to say, jumping to the incorrect conclusion.

"How would you know?" Nabiki challenged, "I've met all kinds in my travels, but no, Ranma's Dad isn't the kind of man who'd take advantage of any woman. That often worked to my advantage, but sometimes…it could really get annoying."

"Annoying?" Akane asked in confusion.

"I mean he could sometimes wind up practically useless in situations he'd get us both in when he did something dumb, like think with his stomach," Nabiki replied, "I've lost count of all the indignities I've had to put up with bailing the both of us out of his messes, but he's never done anything intentionally wrong that I can remember. In fact that's his biggest problem: good intentions, poor execution."

"So, what was it like traveling to all the places you've been to?" Akane asked her.

"Educational, mostly," Nabiki smiled, "Sometimes very profitable, which is a good thing, or else I'd have sold him to a Zoo the minute I wound up with this curse."

"Enough!" Genma suddenly cried, stepping back as Ranma fought bravely against the urge to collapse from exhaustion, "You have potential boy, but you're an embarrassment as you are. Get your breath back then we'll try this again, only this time I think you should spar with Nabiki."

"N-nani?" Ranma stammered, badly winded.

"I won't have my heir in worse shape than my other star pupil," Genma told him solemnly, "I am proud of the way you fight, but pride alone won't preserve you in a real battle. From now on you will train with Nabiki and Akane until all three of you are worthy of the Anything Goes School."

"I'm not fighting with them!" Ranma protested, able to get the words out now that he wasn't struggling for his life, "I can't fight against girls…"

"And what if you are attacked by a woman?" Genma asked him, then sighed, "I understand your feeling son, and they do your father proud. But you should know that women can be every bit as dangerous as men. Underestimating one has gotten me into situations I am rather reluctant to talk about. I would not see you suffer the same humiliation as your father."

The words obviously stung Ranma, for he straightened up and clearly made an effort to regain full command of his breathing. Genma saw this but resisted the temptation to smile, instead nodding to the two girls watching them and said, "Akane-chan, Nabiki-chan, indulge us both by sparring together until Ranma is ready to fight the winner."

"Hai, Ojisama," both girls replied, stepping out into the garden while Ranma walked off his fatigue, making practice punches and kicks at the air to keep himself limber while Genma supervised the next match.

Soun and Nodoka came out onto the porch just then, having watched the whole thing from inside, and Ranma was pleased to see his mother smiling at him before turning to Genma and saying, "That was a very good thing you just did, husband. Ranma has always been difficult to control, but he seems to respond to your voice like the obedient son I have always wanted him to be."

"It's nothing, Nodoka-chan," Genma beamed proudly, "You are to be praised for teaching our boy to be as manly as he is. In no time at all I will have him fighting with the same tenacity as Nabiki."

"Saotome-kun, you are indeed a wonder," Soun said in praise, "I had my doubts about you last night, but I can see that Nabiki has turned out well in spite of her…um…problem."

"I only did what I thought was best, Tendo-kun," Genma replied, "I am sorry for my lack of caution that lead to both our…problems…but in spite of this, she has proven an excellent student. There is not too much more that I will soon be able to teach her."

"If only…" Soun's voice faltered, then he spoke again more firmly, "If only Akane-chan could learn to fight with the same spirit. She is very good, make no mistake, but she has…difficulties that I have not been able to help her master."

"So I see," Genma said as diplomatically as he could, having already defined a dozen problem areas from the way Akane was trying to lay a hand on the quick-moving Nabiki, "She has good control over her power, but her movements are controlled by her anger. Her defense is pitiful, and her speed is inadequate. She needs to slow down more and work on building up her reflexes."

He half feared that Soun would take his words the wrong way, but instead his old friend responded with enthusiastic confirmation, "Hai, Saotome-san! That is it exactly! You have hit the nail on the head, my friend. That is why I ask that you take it upon yourself to train her. I…have done as much as I could, but she needs a Sensei who will not spare criticism or go lax on her because she is my daughter."

"I thought as much, Tendo-kun," Genma sighed, "It will be an honor to help her learn to be more like her sister. But…something puzzles me greatly."

"Yes?" asked Soun, as if anticipating the question.

"She and Ranma…" he did not elaborate, nor did it seem that he needed to.

"I know," Soun replied in droll understatement, "Things have not turned out quite the way we had intended.'

"If you are referring to that iinazuke business," Nodoka said with just a slight edge to her otherwise pleasant voice, "Then you must know how I feel about the matter. Uniting our families in marriage would be a good idea if both parties were in total agreement. However, perhaps there is still a chance that Ranma and Akane will grow out of this angry phase they are going through and realize that they truly do care for one another."

"Perhaps," Genma said.

"Hai," Soun agreed, "Perhaps," but he was nonetheless studying his middle daughter with a look of speculation.

Akane could not remain on her feet any longer and collapsed to her knees, panting fiercely as she snarled, "Why won't you hit me, Oneechan?"

"Because it wouldn't be fair," Nabiki replied, not even breathing hard, which infuriated her sister.

"Fair?" Akane snarled, trying to summon up the strength to renew her onslaught, "I'll show you…"

"Akane-chan!" Genma barked out, "Trade places with Ranma!"

"But all she's done is warm Nabiki up!" Ranma protested.

"Shut up, Ranma!" Akane snapped.

"Uncute Tomboy!"

"You…!"

"Did you just call my sister a Tomboy?" Nabiki asked Ranma curiously.

"It's just a nick-name I give her," Ranma replied as Akane sat down beside Nodoka.

"That's what I thought," Nabiki smiled, and suddenly Ranma had a close inspection of the bottom of her foot, which was one inch away from the bridge of his nose. He tried not to flinch but could not help swallowing. Akane smiled in spite of herself and wanted to cheer her sister, but Genma was not amused by the display of restraint on Nabiki's part, or Ranma's sudden paralysis.

"What are you waiting for, Boy?" he called out, "Defend yourself and hit back!"

"B-but I can't!" Ranma protested as Nabiki withdrew her leg, allowing him to get a better look at her from no more than two arms lengths distance. She winked at him and he swallowed, feeling his stomach knot up for some reason.

"Foolish boy!" Genma growled as he stalked up to both of them, then casually kicked Nabiki into the Koi pond, "If you won't fight her as a girl, will a boy do instead?"

"What did you go and do that for!" snarled Nabiki as he splashed around in the pond, his voice now two octaves lower than before with no trace of femininity about him.

Ranma just blinked, startled more than before at the sudden transformation.

"Enough of your bellyaching," Genma said sternly to Nabiki, "Get out of there and work off your aggression. Show Ranma you're twice the man he is and maybe he'll really start to learn something."

Ranma was staring at his father in disbelief, then back to Nabiki. Genma could not be serious! Male body or no, that was still Nabiki!

"All right," Nabiki-kun said as he leaped out of the pond and came to stand, soaking wet in his Chinese style clothing as he turned with a furious look towards Ranma, "Better get your guard up kid or you're going to get pounded!"

At that moment Kasumi appeared to call out, "Breakfast is ready everyone…oh my!"

"We'll be there in another minute, Kasumi-chan," Soun said with a smile, "Let's watch this last match, then I really will have an appetite."

Kasumi said nothing. Her eyes were focused on the two fighters, but she seemed intensely concerned with her transformed sister.

Genma returned to the porch, then folded his arms while he watched his son come out of his daze to fight back in earnest against the now-male Nabiki. Without turning his head he spoke, "Akane-chan?"

Akane was surprised as she looked up at him and asked, "Hai, Ojisama?"

"You need work," Genma replied, "But you have many good points to work from, almost as many as Ranma."

"Ranma," Akane growled his name and looked sullenly at the fight, "He never goes all-out like that with me…"

"You don't turn into a boy, dear," Nodoka said patiently, "It's my fault, really. I always told Ranma that a man does not prove himself by fighting with women. Perhaps I should have taught him to make more of an exception in your case."

"Because I'm not very lady like?" Akane said with both anger and sadness.

"Any fool with eyes could see that you are a young woman entering the flower of your beauty," Genma replied, "You have the heart and soul of a warrior. You will make Ranma a good wife…"

"I'm not marrying him!" Akane protested.

"Akane!" Soun said sternly.

"I'm not!" Akane said more loudly, "He's arrogant, opinionated, insufferable and…"

"In other words much like most young men his age," Nodoka said sweetly, though her smile was all but transparent, "He will grow out of it in time, you'll see."

"I doubt it!" Akane said flatly, "Sometimes I just want to beat some sense into his fool head…"

"Good," said Genma, "Then that gives us something to work with. If you can learn to restrain your anger it could be one of your most devastating weapons."

"You think so?" Akane asked with a hint of pleasure in her voice.

"I have trained the best," Genma smiled, "I know I can train you to be as good a fighter as you want to be, just so long as you listen to my teaching."

"I will, Ojisama!" Akane said enthusiastically, standing up with a broad grin, "I'll go wash up and get myself ready for school. Now…"

"Please be sure to eat your breakfast first, Akane-chan," Kasumi reminded her without taking her eyes off the two combatants.

"I will, Oneechan, I promise," Akane smiled as she headed into the House.

There was a pause before Soun spoke in a level tone, "Saotome-kun?"

"Hai, Tendo-kun?"

"What you said just now," Soun remarked, "About Ranma and Akane…did you mean that?"

There was a very long pause before Genma replied evenly, "What do you think, old friend?"

Soun just sighed, "That was what I was afraid of…"

Continued

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