Project A-Ko Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Vampire Hunter (Darkstalkers) Fan Fiction ❯ Nabiki 1/2 (A Very Scary Thought) ❯ With Friends Like a Kuno... ( Chapter 5 )

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 enjoyed her morning bath, thinking of how easily she could get used to such luxuries after surviving many years of hardship. Morning practice had been especially grueling, and she supposed that was partly due to Genma's displeasure at having to spend much of the night as a panda. Nodoka had insisted on it as punishment for trying to rush things so swiftly, but she had also been adamant in keeping her animal-husband out of her bed, insisting that she did not need him for a blanket.

She sniffed with an especially wicked relish as she savored the look Ranma had given her during their sparing match. She was openly flirting and teasing him the whole time, no longer being inhibited by Akane's presence, and it left the poor boy in such a state of constant confusion that he'd been easy prey for even her simplest maneuvers. She had never imagined that it could be so much fun teasing her iinazuke…

The word sobered her up as she thought it over. Damn, almost managed to forget about that. What to do, what to do? Things were not shaping out quite like what she imagined they would, what with her father and Genma cornering her into this arranged marriage. Nabiki had no intention of getting married this soon in her life. She had a career she wanted to build, a life to live! She wanted to have fun, not get herself tied down with one man to whom she'd be expected to be faithful, let alone dutiful, like Nodoka!

How do you begin your career at financial world domination when people keep undermining the root terms of your existence? She wanted to hurt Genma…very hard! He knew of her ambitions, and yet he still found a way to tie her down with these stupid obligations!

And yet…and yet…the more she thought about it…the more it occurred to her that there were some advantages that came with being the designated heir to the Tendo dojo. As yet she had not looked over the books to determine the financial picture for the house, but she was rather certain of her ability to get things going, and one could start with much less than a dojo from which to work upward.

And then there was Ranma…and that was where all her calculating skills fell apart. One look from Ranma and she just seemed to lose all control over her business instincts.

This was not a good thing. Nabiki prided herself on never losing her self-control, at always maintaining her composure in the most ridiculous situations (well, that Amazon village had--to date--been one of her biggest challenges…). She could not afford to become as unhinged as she had been the night before, she could not allow herself to lose control like that again.

The problem was…where Ranma was concerned…logical persuasion went right out the window!

The boy had a positive knack for saying the wrong thing one moment, then saying the absolute right thing the next. It made her feel like she was on an emotional seesaw, teetering back and forth from one extreme to the other and it was driving her crazy! She could not afford to let herself get pushed around by his inconsistent behavior.

Still…she paused to consider. He did have a nice smile. And he was cute. And brave. And stubborn, and prideful…

She sighed, sitting upright in the tub. No sense compiling a list of her future husband's considerable assets. She knew just by looking at him that he was a catch to be prized, and many girls in Furinkan High would have jumped to be in her place. Only their fear of Akane's wrath kept most of them away and…

She stopped herself. Did she just think of Ranma as her future husband?

The door to the bathroom started to open, startling her out of her reverie as she belatedly remembered that she had not locked the door, a bad habit she had picked up from one too many times when she'd had to make a hasty exit. Ranma paused as he looked in, not seeing Nabiki ducking behind the rim, making as little splashing noise as she could manage.

"Hello?" he asked hesitantly, his eyes deliberately closed, "Is anybody in here?"

Nabiki remained as silent as she could, hoping that Ranma wouldn't notice her clothing neatly folded in one corner. Apparently, he was satisfied because he stepped into the bathroom and shut the door, then began taking his own clothes off.

Nabiki's eyes widened by a fraction. This was something she had not counted upon, but she could hardly bring herself to look away. Only fair, she considered in self-justification, seeing as how he has walked in on her the first night. He owed her a little payback…

Ranma wasted no time discarding his martial arts Gi, stripping down to his underwear, then removing that in typically haphazard fashion. From where she crouched in concealment, Nabiki's eyes got very wide, following the hard lines of his muscular body, feeling a curious sensation passing through her own body as she struggled not to make a noise of appreciation. And then he turned around, and before she could get a good enough look she had to duck down under the water.

He washed himself off, as was the custom in Japan, then prepared to get into the tub, still unaware that it was already occupied at the moment.

Holding her breath was not a problem for Nabiki, in point of fact it had been a key component in her training. The problem was that Ranma was just then stepping into the tub, still not aware of her nearness, but there was really no doubt that this was about to change in another minute. She had to think of something quickly.

And then she heard his voice, muffled by the water, groaning, "Stupid girl…didn't have to hit me so hard! Sure is cute…but why does she tease me like that…?"

Without meaning to Nabiki blew air out of her nostrils, giving herself away as Ranma opened his eyes and looked towards her with astonishment. Nabiki could see this because she lifted her head up and smiled at him as sweetly as she could manage.

"Um," she hesitated, "You're probably not going to believe this…"

"AAAHHHH!" Ranma cried as he jumped right out of the water as if he were being boiled alive. His foot slipped on the floor and he went falling backwards, hitting his head when he landed.

"Ranma?" Nabiki asked hesitantly, then in greater alarm she cried out, "Ranma!" and she got out of the tub as fast as she could scramble. She went to him at once, checking for a pulse, fear turning her blood to ice as she dreaded the worst and wondered what the hell she was going to do if she discovered that she had accidentally killed him?

But he was alive, still warm, with a very strong pulse, and the bump on his head turned out not to be as bad as she had imagined. He was not very far out and soon began to regain consciousness, at which point Nabiki's concerns for him had been partially assuaged. In a calmer voice she murmured, "Lay still and take it easy, Ranma. You might have a concussion, so try to regain some focus."

"Huh?" he murmured weakly, looking up at her face with a smile that proved he was only half-awake. "You're so pretty…"

"Hah?" Nabiki asked, almost dropping him as she was so startled.

Then the boy's eyes drifted down and he caught sight of the rest of her. His eyes widened with total alertness as he stared at her chest, then moaned a bit before fainting.

"What the hell?" Nabiki asked, looking down at herself, then at Ranma, "What's your problem? Never looked at a woman before?"

Apparently he had not, but since he did not seem to be in a coma, she decided to leave him this way while she got dressed for school. Just as an afterthought she threw a towel over him so that he would not catch cold that way, and she even folded another towel and turned it into a pillow.

"Kawaii," she smiled before leaving the bathroom and it was fortunate for her that Ranma did not hear her or he might have been more animated than she was counting on. In any event, she decided to see what Kasumi was planning to pack for their lunch this morning…

"I said I was sorry," Nabiki commented on the way to school, "What more do you want?"

"Ow!" Ranma winced as Akane felt the lump on his head, "You could have said something! I wouldn't have gone in there if I'd known you were still bathing!"

"Ranma has a point, Oneechan," Akane noted, "You should have given him some warning, or at least locked the bathroom door. It's like you wanted him to find you naked…"

"Well, what's wrong with a little communal bathing?" Nabiki asked so matter-of-factly that she failed to see the surprised looks she was receiving from her two companions, "And it's not like he's never seen me naked."

Akane looked accusingly at Ranma, who winced from her glare and grumbled something about shameless behavior.

"No really," Nabiki said more audibly, "I didn't mean to shock you, but how was I to know you two led such a sheltered existence? Maybe I've just been on the road so long I take certain things for granted…"

"Nani?" Ranma blurted, then swallowed before saying, "Are you saying…? Have you…? I mean…you and Otosan…?"

"Hmm?" Nabiki asked, then quickly realized from his behavior that the question was related to his father. It took another second to make the connection, "Oh, you mean…?" she almost laughed at his confusion, then said, "No, I haven't shared a bath with your father. He wouldn't allow it. He's like you in a lot of ways, he thinks some things just aren't proper between men and women."

"I can't believe how casual you're being about all of this," Akane said, "If Ranma ever walked in on me like that, even by mistake, I'd be very angry."

"Maybe that's your problem, Sis," Nabiki replied, "You let the wrong things get to you. There's nothing wrong with having a boy be interested in what you look like. It's only a problem if he can't behave or control himself, and I know how to deal with that problem. Besides, I'm not worried about something like that with Ranma."

"You're not?" Ranma asked her.

"Of course not," Nabiki smiled, "You're a very nice guy, and besides, you're my…um…fiancée…"

"Uh, right," Ranma hesitated.

"Mind you," Nabiki smiled even more coyly, "If you ever wanted to take liberties with me…"

"Ah…" Ranma suddenly looked very nervous, but Akane was too curious not to ask, "What?"

Nabiki pretended to be unconcerned, "I'd tell you to wait until we're married, of course. What kind of girl do you think I am anyway?"

Ranma was fortunately spared saying the first thing that came into his mind by their arrival at Furinkan High School, where a familiar gathering was already beginning to take place. Akane saw this and sighed, "All right, time to get it over with. Nabiki, stay out of my way and let me handle these guys."

Nabiki just stared at the assembly of heavily armed Jocks, "They do this every day? Don't they get tired of getting beat up by Akane?"

"You'd think," Ranma sighed, "But somehow they just keep on coming."

Not exactly the smartest thing to do," Nabiki commented, then batted her eyes in surprise as the onrushing attackers avoided Akane and came rushing up towards them, "Ah…Ranma?"

"What the Hell?" Ranma gasped, forgetting about his language.

Akane turned around in dismay, astonished at being ignored for the first time in almost the entire semester. With disbelieving eyes she saw her love-struck athletic assailant's part before her like the proverbial Red Sea and go after Nabiki and Ranma. She was too shocked by this to even think about going to their aid and just watched as Nabiki and Ranma both sprang into action, taking defensive maneuvers to side step the rush before counter-attacking.

"How swift like the wind she moves," a familiar voice commented from close nearby, "Such grace, such control, such beauty in motion. Verily can I believe that yon sylvan fawn is your own most formidable sister."

"Don't tell me you put them up to this, Kuno," Akane growled, "Haven't you got anything better to do than mess with me and my family?"

"Do I detect a note of envy in your melodious voice, sweet Akane?" Kuno asked her, "You need hardly fear, for I have not lost interest in you, though I confess to be intrigued by this new element that is your charming sister.'

"Aren't we lucky." Akane said with the driest of humor.

"Nay, it is I whom am fortunate," Kuno replied, failing--like always--to get the none-too-subtle message, "Finding two such sweet roses from the same fertile bush is greater favor than the heavens could be asked to bestow upon unworthy humanity. That I, Tatawaki Kuno should be so blessed is a sure sign that the Fates smile upon my destiny…"

"Nabiki's not going to be very happy with you for sicking those guys on her," Akane cut into his usual spiel.

"She will know that I am but merely testing her to discover her true potential…" Kuno began, when Akane decided to shut him up with a well-placed kick to his glass jaw.

Meanwhile the attackers were all laid out sprawling with Ranma and Nabiki standing over the last to go down. Being that they fought together like a team meant that the fight was that much shorter, and when it was done neither one of them looked very happy.

"Kuno!" Ranma growled out the name in disgust, only to see his friend collapse as Akane pivoted on one heel and stormed up the steps into the building. Ranma just shook his head, feeling deprived of his chance at retribution, muttering to himself, "Bad enough he's got them after you now, but he could have told them to leave me alone…"

"I think he did," Nabiki looked at him, "You didn't have to jump into the middle to cover my back, I'm pretty sure they would have ignored you."

"I…" Ranma faltered, "I didn't really think about that. I just…didn't want to see you hurt or nothing…"

Nabiki slowly smiled, "That's so sweet, Ranma. But I've been handling myself like this for a long time. You don't have to feel obligated to fight my battles, just because we're…um…iinazuke."

"I guess maybe I did sort of overreact," Ranma sniffed, "But I don't like guys attacking girls. I hated it when it was just Akane, but now you…well, it's just not right!"

"There ought to be more like you, Ranma-kun," Nabiki said as she turned away, slowing her pace from her usual long stride to allow him to walk beside her.

"Ah, Nabiki-chan," Ranma said softly, "I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but when we get inside…you think maybe you can, like, not mention that you and me are…"

"Got you covered there, Ranma-kun," Nabiki smiled, "We keep this to ourselves for now. Wouldn't want people getting any wrong ideas about us, right?"

"Uh, right," Ranma said reluctantly.

"I'm glad that we're in agreement then," Nabiki nodded as they parted company at the top of the stairs leading to their respective homerooms, "See you around lunchtime?"

"Yeah, sure," Ranma agreed, feeling an odd reluctance as he glanced over his shoulder, watching Nabiki as she walked down the corridor, being greeted by friendly looks and nods from her fellow class mates.

He forced himself to turn to acknowledge his own buddies, Hiroshi and Daisuke, who had been calling to him several seconds before he answered. They fell in stride together as Hiroshi at once pelted him with questions, most of which concerned Nabiki, while Daisuke asked the question that had been bugging Ranma the most, "What's with Kuno? Did he tell those guys to attack you?"

"I don't know," Ranma replied, "But I'm going to find out."

"Word has it that Kuno's got the hots for Nabiki," Hiroshi naturally mentioned, "But he's not giving up on Akane either. Can you believe that guy? I don't know how the two of you can be best buddies.'

"Well, Kuno's always been a little funny in the head," Ranma said dismissively.

"That's an understatement," Daisuke replied, "Hey, what's with you and Nabiki anyway? I thought you always walked Akane to school in the morning."

"I was walking with both of them," Ranma said irritably, "Didn't you notice?"

"What I can't figure out is how guys like you get all the luck," Hiroshi said wonderingly, "Living in the same house with two great babes…"

"Three if you count Kasumi," Daisuke reminded.

"Oh man," Hiroshi winced, "She's pretty, but that'd be like including my mother…"

"Wound you guys knock that off?" Ranma suddenly stopped and glared at them, and something in the gleam of his eyes made both boys back away. They knew Ranma well enough, knew what he could do, and--more to the point--knew how quick his temper was if somebody said or did anything that touched on sensitive subjects.

They were extremely fortunate that his mother had counseled Ranma on starting fights with other students or they might have found out the hard way about his displeasure. Backing down when they did meant that they could avoid a great deal of pain and suffering, which was only a pale reflection of what Ranma felt like dishing out towards Kuno.

Without a word he turned and entered his classroom, his mood quite foul as the day was turning out to be something which he would much rather have avoided…

When Nabiki reached her homeroom, she noticed a lot of curious faces turned her way, not to mention a considerable amount of muted gossip. Fingers were pointed at her, which was never a good sign in her book. She wondered what had happened or what it was that she was being blamed for, then looked inside the room and immediately realized the answer.

In point of fact, her nose should have been a giveaway. A blind pig would have trouble not smelling the scent of several hundred roses all decked about the desk where she had been sitting the previous morning.

Nabiki stood stock-still and stared at what her mind automatically calculated to be about a million yen worth of flowers, then before she could frame a question about who would spend that much over her she found herself looking automatically at the desk formerly occupied by Kuno.

Kuno himself, naturally, was still outside, so she lacked the opportunity to address herself towards him and his peculiar obsession. Instead, she walked up to the desk and stared at tasteful arrangement, thinking of how often she had always dreamed about catching the interest of a guy this well endowed with monetary resources.

The problem was…she felt oddly reluctant about returning his affections. Not that she would have difficulty faking it, of course, but…for once in her life she was not that interested in meeting another man. Her life was complicated enough, and all her instincts warned her that Kuno was trouble.

"You are so lucky, Nabiki-san!" said Kyoto, one of her other classmates whom she had met just the previous morning, "I wish I could get Kuno-chan to notice me like this! Aren't these roses absolutely gorgeous?"

"Hai," Nabiki said clinically, trying to think of something else to say when a rose tapped her on her shoulder, and she spun around in surprise, coming face-to-face with Kuno.

"Fair blossom, though she weep in repose at fortune's favor, be not diminished by the sparkle of her eyes…"

"Excuse me, Kuno-Sempei?" Nabiki interrupted his usual monologue, "It's very nice that you feel this way and all, but Sensei is signaling for us to sit, and I'd rather not spend the rest of the day standing out in the hallway, thank you."

"Ah, please forgive my abruptness," Kuno said by way of apology, "Our time was so rudely cut short by the arrival of your cousin that I wanted to offer you these in token respect that we never got the chance to properly say good bye to one another.'

"Cousin?" Nabiki started, her mind momentarily sidetracked before memory kicked in, "Oh, you mean Kaneda?"

"Kaneda," Kuno growled the word, "While I can admire a man who looks after the welfare of his closest female kin, I cannot abide such rudeness that would spoil the otherwise perfect moment we two were sharing…"

"Actually, he's a very nice man and I'd appreciate it if you'd treat him with respect in the future," Nabiki again interrupted, "But I really do think we'd better heed the wishes of Sensei," and she promptly sat down before he had the chance to continue.

Actually, she was considering what to do with the Roses as morning class began. Technically they were her property, assuming the school administration did not order them to be taken away, or something. Their resale value was considerable, and she was certain she could work out a reasonable market price for other students to pay, breaking them up into small enough sets to insure that she had some spending money for the afternoon. She was thinking about improving her wardrobe, and good clothes meant good money.

Too bad she could not wear most of them around school, let alone her fellow students. The incident with the sprinklers had demonstrated the risk of wearing anything too feminine for her male half to wind up wearing, so for the foreseeable time she would have to stick to her Chinese-style outfits, at least until she could check out something else for casual wear that would look good for either genders. Owning any kind of property beyond what she could carry was a luxury in which she intended to fully indulge now that she had a roof over her head and intended on staying. It would be a nice change to have more than one thing she could wear, and maybe some jewelry would also be nice.

Too bad she would have to do without dresses, at least for a while. Unless she found a cure for her curse very soon she was going to have to specialize in Unisex tailoring, either that or come up with a story that explained that "Cousin Kaneda" was "kind of funny."

She only half-paid attention to the teacher giving a standard drill about school standards and behavior. She was studying her fellow students more ardently, intent on learning all that she could so that she would know the Marks from the Predators. Time to start exploring the potential of this target-rich environment of bright and cheerful potential. She had already made a few tentative contacts and was investing in some information resources and would soon have a feel for just how this school was actually run by the students.

Of course, her wandering eye registered something very curious happening around Kuno Tatawaki. A student was leaning close to him and murmuring something in his ear. She could not hear what was being said, but she did see Kuno's sudden reaction to the news as the student was grabbed quite violently and held up to closer inspection by a very outraged Kuno.

"What?" Kuno demanded, "Is this true? How dare he!"

"Kuno-san," the Teacher automatically remarked without even glancing in his direction, "Out into the hallway."

"He cannot be allowed to get away with this betrayal!" Kuno looked sharply at Nabiki, then said, "Fear not, fair damsel, I will rescue you from this devil's bargain with foul Saotome!"

"Excuse me?" Nabiki asked, but hardly needed a clarification, as there was only one thing that could have brought about such a sudden change in attitude. She silently cursed, wondering how anyone could have found out about the engagement, then corrected herself as she realized one universal truth she had encountered in all of her travels:

No information traveled as fast or as far as a rumor, and it would hardly take much speculation to draw the obvious conclusion from the way she and Ranma had been behaving that very morning!

In either event, Kuno was leaving the room in greater haste than might have been appropriate had he merely been complying with the wishes of their teacher. Sudden fear gripped Nabiki's heart as she realized the serious trouble this meant for Ranma. She did not as yet know what Kuno was fully capable of, but her instincts had warned her that he was not to be taken lightly. She and Akane had only overcome him because the boy had such a tremendous ego that he had failed to be on guard against them.

The same most likely would not hold true for Ranma.

"Sensei!" she suddenly got up out of her chair, "May I be excused for a minute?"

"Tendo-san?" the teacher asked, "This is only your second day. You're not going to cause me any trouble, are you?"

"No, Sensei," Nabiki said more sweetly than she felt, "It's just…I have to use the facilities…" she put on an act of looking uncomfortable, as if squirming in her chair.

"Oh," he acknowledged, "Well, in the future be sure you take care of that before you get here."

"Hai, Sensei," Nabiki bowed, then made an effort to walk casually towards the door when her greatest desire was to break out into a dead run. Ranma had to be warned before Kuno could attack him!

As she passed, she heard the whispered comments of the other students, as though every one of them already knew her personal secrets:

"You see that? It must be true, then!

"About her and Ranma? Who could believe it!"

"Imagine dumping Akane for her…"

"Oh, I don't know…take a good look at her, man! What a babe!"

"You pig!"

"She must be a pretty good fighter to take on Kuno like she did…"

"Yeah, no wonder he wants to date her!"

"What a shame she's got to be tied down with that damned Saotome…"

Nabiki grit her teeth as she exited the room, muttering under her breath, "You owe me for this, Ranma…"

Continued

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