Project A-Ko Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Vampire Hunter (Darkstalkers) Fan Fiction ❯ Nabiki 1/2 (A Very Scary Thought) ❯ Runaway Hibiki... ( Chapter 11 )

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 remembered Ryoga from when they had both met at Crossroads Junior High School. He had been a year younger than herself, and he was not in any of her classes, but the two of them had become fast friends after winding up in a scrape with some local bullies. Scraping up the streets with them was more like it, them and a much younger Arigami Keiko. As it turned out they had very little in common, other than a love for Martial Arts, but somehow she had liked hanging around with the habitually misdirected but generally good-natured Ryoga. He had more than his share of faults, but he was honorable and loyal to his friends, and while he got in fights for the slightest reason he was easy to talk down from overt aggression.

Nabiki did not mind having someone around who was slower witted than herself. In point of fact that was generally in his favor as Nabiki did not like to have her decisions second-guessed. If she told him to do something he would at least make the effort (provided she worded her instructions carefully, and left out any attempt at navigation). In truth there were times when it had been handy to have him around, even if he was basically too honest to go along with some of her schemes, particularly the ones that involved making a lot of money off of her fellow students.

Still, as good as their friendship had been at the time, Nabiki had never imagined he harbored any other feelings for her besides good, old-fashioned brotherly affection. She had seen him at other times growing up, whenever they just happened to cross paths for one reason for another (funny thing that, his seeming ability to wander in and out of her life that way, but she had just chalked it up as one more amusing foible, not more exceptional than the rest of the crazy things that seemed to happen all around her).

But now to find out that he was actually thinking of her THAT way? Not good! Especially not with Ranma looking on, a clear-cut-case of one suitor too many.

Of course as unprepared as she was to find Ryoga holding out a handful of flowers that looked as though they had been gathered from a field at random (and were probably chock-full of allergens), she was even less prepared for the sound of Ranma going ballistic!

He slammed into Ryoga like a charging rhino, fists and feet in motion, and was only slightly surprised when Ryoga turned into his charge and casually threw him over his shoulder one-handed.

"What's your problem" Ryoga asked as Ranma alighted on both feet and turned to face him.

"You!" Ranma snarled without further elaboration.

"Ranma-kun!" Soun called out, but Ranma was now past the point of reason and attacked Ryoga again, trading punches and kicks in a quick flurry of violent behavior so unlike the usually mild mannered and good-natured boy that he usually was. Soun had never seen Ranma look so angry…but neither had anyone else for that matter.

As it turned out neither Soun nor Nabiki needed to be concerned for the welfare of their new guest as Ryoga fought back with a skill and fury to match that being displayed by the enraged Ranma. He reached behind himself and drew his umbrella, using it as a weapon to fend off Ranma's attacks while retaliating with his own powerful thrusts. The two of them darted back and forth across one end of the garden to the other before Ryoga backed Ranma up to one of the walls, then stabbed his umbrella forward as Ranma made a powerful leap and somersaulted over his head, landing deftly behind him.

A good thing, too, because when the umbrella struck the wall the brickwork exploded outward.

"Kami-sama," Nabiki breathed, then tried to take a step forward, only to find Genma's hand restraining her. She fought the urge to throw him off of her when she heard Genma murmur in her ear, "Iye, Nabiki-chan."

"Iye?" she asked in surprise, looking at him in amazement.

"Nabiki-chan," Genma replied, "This is something Ranma must do for himself. If you care at all about him, let him fight his own battles."

"But he could be seriously hurt!" Nabiki argued, "He doesn't know Ryoga like I do…"

"Perhaps so," Genma said, "But Ranma has issues that must be resolved, and the best way for my son to do this is by going all out against an opponent who can match him in battle. Win or lose, he must prove to himself that he is a man or he will always feel inferior in your eyes. You must allow him to do this, Nabiki-chan, or lose him forever."

"That is the stupidest, most macho thing I've eve heard you say, old man!" Nabiki snapped at Genma, but inwardly she knew that he was right, and Genma did not flinch from the accusation. He just looked at her for a moment, then turned back to continue watching the performance of Ranma.

Ranma was beginning to realize that he was overmatched in terms of raw physical power. He had a faint thought that this might have been how Nabiki felt going up against Keiko. Ryoga was clearly much stronger than him, and he was not tiring in spite of going all out. On the plus side where Ranma was concerned Ryoga was not as fast or as agile and tended to fight with less strategy, using direct force in stead of more complex maneuvers.

"Saotome," Soun murmured as he came to stand alongside his friend, "This Ryoga uses a very basic technique. I believe it is the Fire Mountain system."

"Indeed, Tendo-kun," Genma replied in the same level voice, "That is the specialty of the One Righteous Fist School. I was not aware that anyone still lived who had mastered such a system."

"Clearly one does live," Soun noted, "A fertile branch of the Anything Goes style has returned to us at last. We must welcome this boy into our house and learn where he studied the long lost art of our ancestors."

"I don't believe you two!" Nabiki glared at them, then her head snapped back to attention and she cried out, "Ranma!"

Ranma was vaulting away as Ryoga switched from his primary weapon to pulling off bandanas from the primary one he wore about his head and hurtling them towards Ranma. Ranma beat them away with his fists, but where one managed to connect it sliced through the fabric of Ranma's dark School Uniform and grazed his arm, causing bright blood to stain his jacket. Ranma darted away, now clearly alarmed about his opponent, and without further adieu he leaped for the opening in the wall, taking cover from the onslaughts of a seemingly endless supply of bandanas.

"Coward!" Ryoga challenged, "Stand and fight!"

"I'm not running away!" Ranma called out, "Come and get me!"

"You asked for it!" Ryoga said as she charged at the opening, only to stagger back as Ranma kicked him the moment he was in reach. Ryoga staggered back, but with a savage snarl he lunged forward and forced Ranma to retreat out onto the streets outside of their dojo.

"Ranma!" Nabiki shouted as she hurried to follow after them, ignoring the rubble beneath her bare feet as she hastened to catch up to the dueling pair as they retreated down the block, continuing to trade blows and kicks with fists and Umbrella.

"Oh dear," Nodoka remarked as she studied the mess left behind, "How will we ever be able to pay to get that fixed?"

"I don't know," Soun answered, then considered a moment before adding, "It is a little drafty…"

Akane and Keiko appeared just then, coming out onto the porch and staring at dismay at the mayhem left behind in the garden.

"Where did they go?" Akane asked.

Genma just nodded, "I think that should be sufficient answer to that question, Akane-chan."

"Guess we'd better get out there and stop this before it gets too far," Keiko sighed, bowing to the adults In passing, then hurrying out through the gap in the wall, followed closely by Akane.

Ranma put some distance between himself and Ryoga in order to take stock of his opponent and try and think of a counter to deal with the other boy's clear advantages in raw physical power. Unfortunately Ryoga was now fighting mad and not about to let him have the time to think, so he hurtled his umbrella like a Frisbee, cutting through trees and obstacles like a sharp knife through sushi. It narrowly missed Ranma by inches before reaching the limits of its spin, arcing back like a boomerang until it ran out of momentum. It fell short of Ryoga by several dozen meters and automatically closed itself up as he fell to its side with a clank. Ryoga was about to reclaim it when Ranma attacked him again, vaulting with a handspring to plant both feet against Ryoga's chin. The two of them recovered and started brawling.

"Clank?" Nabiki asked as she stared down at the Umbrella, then curiosity drew her to examine it closely. Clearly it was no ordinary bamboo umbrella, and once she attempted to pick it up she found out how heavy the thing was. Small wonder, it was lined with metal!

Metal? But Ryoga handled it one-handed! Just how strong was he anyway? She'd always known that he was strong for a boy his age, but this…?

"Ranma!" she cried, "Don't let him get too close! If he connects with one of those punches…"

"What?" Ranma asked, getting distracted for an all-too-crucial second in which he took his eyes off his opponent.

"WHAM!" One of Ryoga's punches solidly connected, knocking Ranma ass-over-teakettle.

"Oops," Nabiki winced, feeling very foolish and very, very worried.

Somehow Ranma managed to contrive to roll with the punch and still landed semi-awkwardly on someone's front lawn, just as the sprinkler system passed their way and caught Nabiki by surprise while she attempted to go to Ranma's rescue. She sputtered when the water hit her, and then felt the familiar change as his body thickened out to fill the dimensions of his clothing.

Ryoga was advancing to finish his opponent off when he caught sight of the transformation, then he stared at Nabiki in confusion and said, "Nani?"

"Surprised?" Nabiki asked him, not meaning to sound so harsh as he bent down over Ranma, "I hope you're happy now! This is some way to have a reunion!"

"Uh…who are you?" Ryoga asked, sounding nervous.

Nabiki looked sharply at Ryoga, "Can't you guess?"

"Not really," Ryoga replied, "You look a little like Nabiki-chan, and you're wearing the same outfit, so I guess you must be related…"

Nabiki paused to consider this. Perhaps Kuno didn't have a monopoly on such linear thinking…

A high-pitched cry heralded the sudden appearance of Keiko, just before she struck Ryoga full on the chest and knocked the boy sprawling. Keiko assumed a defensive crouch as Ryoga shook off the blow and regained his footing. He stopped to gape at her in surprise, then gasped, "Keiko-san? Is that you?"

"Ohiyo, Ryoga-kun," Keiko replied, "Long time no see. Hope you're not planning on continuing this little dance, otherwise I'm going to insist on a change in partners."

"I don't want to fight you," Ryoga insisted, "I don't have any quarrel with either of you. I just want to know why that man attacked me…"

"Please forgive him," said Akane, "He can be such an idiot sometimes, but I'd still rather you didn't try to hurt him any worse than he deserves…"

Ryoga turned to find a beautiful girl looking at him with soulful dark eyes as he stopped to stare at her in surprise, then very hesitantly replied, "I…I guess. I mean…I didn't come here to fight…I wouldn't… I mean…I'm not like…who are you?"

"Tendo Akane," she smiled, "Nabiki-chan's sister. And you?"

"Hibiki Ryoga," he replied, then blinked before he added, "Nabiki's sister?"

"Hai," Akane replied, turning back towards Nabiki, "How is Ranma-kun, Oneechan?"

Ranma groaned as he felt his jaw to see if it was still in one piece. Nabiki smiled at that and said, "He'll live. Good thing you've got a thick skull, Ranma-chan. Must run in the family."

"I'll be all right," Ranma said, "Just as long as you wait for me to get my wind back…then you've had it…OOF!"

"He says he's sorry he lost his temper and he didn't mean to cause everyone so much trouble," Nabiki said pleasantly while maintaining two fingers pressing down on Ranma's Solar Plexus, "Please forgive a misunderstanding. He thought you were making a pass at his iinazuke."

"Iinazuke?" Ryoga faintly replied.

"Ranma and Nabiki-chan are engaged," Akane explained, "Our parents idea. I used to be Ranma's iinazuke."

"An arranged marriage," Keiko snorted, "In these enlightened times no less."

"I am Kaneda, Nabiki's cousin," Nabiki explained, bowing to Ryoga, "Please let there be peace between you and my cousin's iinazuke. He thought he was looking out for her best interest and he mistook the nature of your intentions."

"Ah…I see," Ryoga replied, "Kaneda? Well, I suppose I could understand how it must look, not that I like being attacked when I only meant to give Nabiki-chan some flowers…"

"It was a very considerate thing to do," Nabiki replied, "And I'm sure you only had honorable intentions. Please return to the house, I'm sure Nabiki will appreciate it. We'll be along soon enough. Akane-chan, show him the way and try to explain what happened to Ota…um, Uncle Soun?"

"Nani?" Akane sounded surprised, "But our house is over there…"

"Never mind," Keiko smiled at her as she took both Akane and Ryoga by the arms and guided them back down the block, "I'll explain everything later…"

Nabiki waited until Keiko had gotten Ryoga well past earshot, then she took her foot off Ranma's chest and glared down at him as he started to sit upright.

"What did you do that for?" Ranma gasped, slowly getting his wind back.

"You…" Nabiki growled, then took advantage of his larger size and strength to haul Ranma off his feet and throw him hard against the nearest tree, holding him there as she glared at him from close proximity. Ranma just stared at him in surprise, too shocked to put up any sort of defense, not that he was much worse than shaken up at the rude treatment.

"You," Nabiki started again, "Just scared me out of six years growth! What kind of macho display were you trying to get away with there, Saotome? Attacking an old friend because he shows me a little courtesy? Come on! That's nothing like you!"

"What are you getting so mad at me for?" he asked in genuine confusion.

"Funny," Nabiki sniffed, "I was going to ask you the same question."

Nabiki let Ranma go, stepping back a half step to allow him time to think it over. Very slowly Ranma seemed to grasp the significance of her statement, and then he looked at him and said, "Uh…I guess maybe I kind of overreacted…?"

"You guess?" Nabiki snorted, "Try harder, Saotome."

Ranma looked down, then up at the male Nabiki, then sighed, "I just didn't like how some guy I'd never even met before would hit on you that way. I guess it kind of made me a little crazy…"

"I don't know, Ranma," Nabiki shook his head in dismay, "If you're going to react like this every time some guy tries to talk to me, then maybe we ought to rethink this whole iinazuke business."

"Hey, It wasn't our idea in the first place," he truthfully pointed out.

"Maybe so," Nabiki replied, "Do you want to tell our folks that the engagement is over?"

"They wouldn't accept it, even if it were true," Ranma said with a trace of bitterness, then looked up at her as he realized how that must have sounded, "I mean…it's not really over…is it?"

Nabiki leaned forward, for a moment ignoring the fact that they were both male as he looked Ranma in the eyes and said, "You tell me. I'm not going to force you, but I won't have you starting up fights and disturbing the neighbors. I thought we agreed that we'd do this stuff as a team?"

"Ah…" Ranma hesitated, "You're…not gonna kiss me or anything like that? "Cause we're both guys, and guys don't do that sort of thing…"

"You haven't been to some of the places I've been to, Saotome," Nabiki smiled, "But watch your step or I won't be held responsible for my actions."

"Ah…" Ranma thought about what he was next going to say, then decided anything he did say at that point might have unfavorable consequences. It wasn't that he really minded having Nabiki this close to him, but doing it with a guy was still too weird a concept, especially as he'd never really kissed the real Nabiki.

At last he/she relented and gave Ranma that coy look that he now recognized as Nabiki at her best: the cunning negotiator. He stuck out his hand for Ranma to examine and said, "I'll make a deal with you, Ranma-kun: you learn to control your temper and we forget this ever happened."

"Ah, okay," Ranma said, then accepted the handshake.

"Partners?" Nabiki smiled.

"Partners," he agreed, then cried out with a sharp, "WHOOOAAH" as he/she threw him onto his back, then casually stepped over him, heading back to the dojo.

"Well, don't sit on your rump all day, my barbarian iinazuke," Nabiki called out over his shoulder, "I'll see you back at the dojo."

"Uh…right," Ranma replied, then hesitated for a minute before murmuring to himself, "Maybe if I just lay here and let the leaves cover me over…"

"You wish!" Nabiki called back at him without pausing in his stride.

Ranma just shook his head as he slowly sat up again, "I'm never gonna figure out that woman…"

Ranma felt awkward stepping through the hole in the wall, then looked around at the rest of the mess created by his altercation with Ryoga. Guilt warred with pride as he considered the extent of the damage as he remembered that this was as much his home as it belonged to Nabiki. Not exactly the best way to treat one's own residence, and he had a pretty good idea who Tendo-sama and his father were going to assign the task of clean it all up.

Nabiki was sitting on the edge of the dojo, now clearly herself once again, looking slightly damp, female and very thoughtful. Ranma halted when he came up in front of her, looking down without knowing what to say. She glanced up at him without smiling, then looked out at the Koi pond more hesitant than he had seen her behave since the day of her arrival.

When was that? Two weeks ago? Maybe not even that! Two of the most turbulent weeks of his life, yet somehow he found he did not regret the change of pace. He'd always thought his life could use a little excitement.

Ranma glanced towards the house and saw the rest of the family gathered about the dinner table with Ryoga sitting next to Akane. Keiko appeared to be telling him a story, and Ryoga was listening raptly, somehow continuing to glance back to Akane while appearing to all the world as a young man who seemed out of sorts and apologetic.

It would be his turn soon enough, and Ranma did not relish having to explain his conduct or the flash of temper that had caused him to act so crazy. In a very real sense it terrified him to know how easily he had lost all control and turned into a raging Oni, heedless of the destruction he created. Well, actually Ryoga had done most of the destroying, but Ranma was still responsible for provoking him in the first place.

He looked down at Nabiki again and caught her staring at him, meeting her glance for but an instant. She looked away hastily, but the impression created by the mutual exchanges in their eyes lingered a moment beyond the sensation it created. For the very first time since he had first encountered Nabiki he thought--just for an instant--that he could grasp the emotions she was feeling before she slammed her defenses back into place. She was scared, confused, uncertain and apprehensive, an apt description of his own feelings and anxieties, his immanent fear of rejection.

It would have been easier if one or both of them said something. With Akane he had learned to trade insults every time she did something that made him feel good. Insults had a different effect on Nabiki, she didn't get angry or retort with some standard phrase or casual insult. She took things personally, even while pretending not to. She was fragile and vulnerable in ways he understood only too well, and with that knowledge came the realization that they were not really so different as he had always suspected.

What to do to make it up to her? If he said anything he risked making things worse. He could never trust himself to say the right thing…he always wound up hurting himself and Akane. How then to keep from ruining his budding friendship with Nabiki? They were supposed to be engaged to one another, but in all basic respects they were still little more than strangers.

Well, she was afraid of rejection, of that much he was certain. How then to make her understand that he did not want to hurt her or make her feel alienated? Telling her that would not be enough this time, she'd just suspect that he was saying it to make her feel better, not because he actually meant it.

Well…there was one way that came to mind, and with that thought he stopped thinking about it and just acted on instinct. He reached down and pulled her to her feet, stood looking at her for a brief few seconds until he was certain that they had full eye contact, then leaned in and kissed her.

Nabiki was taken completely by surprise by the gesture, and her first impulse would have been to slam him through a wall, but something stopped her in time. Ranma had used very little force, and she could have easily resisted. She had been rather uneasy with his silence, so having him act in this way was more of a relief than alarming. It was only when he actually kissed her that she felt her knees turn to water and something melted inside, causing her to respond to that kiss as her arms went around him.

Ranma had not known what to expect, had feared rejection or even abuse, but when Nabiki started to return his kiss he felt an awkwardness he had never known before, which passed immediately when he felt her arms slip around him. For a blissful instant all the tensions simply flowed out of his body and the many cuts and bruises he had received during his fight utterly ceased to matter. It felt good holding Nabiki in his arms, feeling her lips meeting his, and it was with considerable surprise that the two of them parted for a moment just to stare at each other in mutual wonder.

And then--inevitably--the splash of water hit them both, and Keiko's cheerful greeting intruded on their personal universe, "All right, you two, break it up! We've got family business to discuss here and your parents want the both of you inside, this minute."

"Who appointed you the bearer of bad news?" the now-male Nabiki sputtered, half fearing Ranma would draw away in disgust at finding a guy in his arms, but Ranma just converted their hug into a more brotherly embrace and gave Keiko the evil eye.

"You know," he growled, "I've always wondered if buzzards taste just like chicken…"

"Sticks and stones, Saotome," Keiko remarked, "Either put up or shut up."

"You're lucky I don't hit women," he snorted.

"Yeah, right," she said in mild disbelief.

"Maybe hitting her isn't such a good idea," Nabiki's tone became suggestive, "What about turning her over your knee for a spanking?"

"Now that's an idea," Ranma noted.

"You kidding?" Keiko sniffed, "I'd probably enjoy it."

Ranma settled for just glaring at her, momentarily stumped, but Nabiki said, "Let's postpone the foreplay and talk business. Keiko-san, I'm flattered that you like me and all, but Ranma is my iinazuke, and I'd rather you left it to me to pound him to his senses. Ranma-kun, I still owe you an explanation for the things I still haven't got around to sharing with you, but Keiko's old news, so let's try to get along and let bygones be bygones."

"Oh, I'm hurt," Keiko murmured, thought she did seem less than thrilled by that statement.

An idea came to Ranma just then and he smiled, then reached out with a hand and said, "Nabiki-chan wants us to get along, I'm willing to make the effort. How about you?"

Keiko gave him that cocky grin of hers and took his hand in a firm grasp, "Sure, I've no problems with that…"

Of course she tried to throw him, but he'd anticipated this and used an Akaido move to counter, throwing her head over heals to land with a splash in the Koi pond. The angry squawk of a slightly soggy Vulture was like music in his ears as he flashed her a grin and said, "Sucker."

"Not too shabby, Saotome," Nabiki said in approval, "You're learning…"

Continued

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