Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Dreams Of Sakura: Rewritten ❯ Escaping to a royal life ( Chapter 1 )

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Dreams of Sakura
Ranma/MMACO (Massive Multi Anime Crossover)
by Shinji the Good Sharer
shinjithegoodsharer@gmail.com
http://shinjithegoodsharer.no- ip.info/

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story. If you think I do then you're out of your mind. This is a free fanfic and will NOT in ANY WAY generate money for my personal use.

 

A.N.: Hi, I'm Shinji the Good Sharer, and my friend Valorphoenix has abandoned fanfic writing. So I asked for permission to take over this fic exclusively. I'll be rewriting this fic, making spelling corrections and all around continuing this story to the best of my ability. I hope you all enjoy it. I will continue using the same writing style, but I'm going to rewrite this entire thing word for word, while making corrections to hopefully fix some things. Thanks to Valorphoenix for letting me do this. I hope I make you proud buddy. This is still almost all Valorphoenix's story, just with my own modifications and corrections. The MMACO acronym is my own idea though. I hope it starts to catch on.

Chapter 1
Escaping to a Royal Life
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The night air in Nerima was chilly and a bit dry, with only a few misty clouds in the sky at the moment. The clouds were just enough to distort the moon into a hazy pale glow. Times like these were about the only time Ranma got some peace and quiet, and these were all to often disrupted.

Such as right now, as some woman was kneeling behind him and had draped her arms over his chest in more of a caress than a hold. More than likely, it was Kodachi or some new girl in his life. Shampoo was actually too forward to really pull this off, and besides this girl was wearing a white kimono. If it was Kodachi, the situation could turn real badly if she managed to poison him and make off with him but the girl behind him had yet to show any aggressive intent like Kodachi.

Warm breath caressed his neck, as a warm silky voice rich with emotion for him whispered his name into his ear.

Ranma froze in surprise giving out a light gasp, as his eyes widened in shock. His throat was suddenly very dry, but after a minute, he managed to gasp out, "Sa-Sakura?" Cautiously he turned his torso around, not breaking her gentle hold on him to take in her form. She was as he remembered her, an ageless seeming Japanese woman with perfect pale skin, and long black hair that flowing past her shapely rear to pool on the roof behind her. Her kimono was a different one from last time, an elegant old white kimono with blue designs around the shoulders and end of the sleeves with a red sash around her waist.

Her expression was just as he remembered as well. She was a refined lady, and it showed in her calm and controlled expression. She did however let all of her warmth and affection show in her eyes and smile, though it was so perfect and complete one would wonder if it was perhaps a mask to hide some motive behind a pleasant exterior.

The beauty's smile widened at seeing Ranma's expression, before she leaned forward to place her lips near his left ear. Huskily she whispered, "I promised you Ranma, that I would come for you. It's your eighteenth birthday starting tonight."

Then she lowered her head a little further, dipping her lips down to lay light kisses along the side of his neck, progressively kissing more forcefully.

Still overcome with surprise, Ranma offered no resistance as his eyes lost focus before he lost consciousness.

Smiling down at the insensate young man in leaning against her breast, Sakura whispered into his ear, "Happy Birthday." Her gaze turned distant as she reflected how long she had waited for this. After a moment, a sound reached her ears, and with a dim glow she and the young man in her arms disappeared before someone could interrupt them.

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Nodoka Saotome was long used to rising with the morning sun to start on morning chores. Today, however, she was wide-awake long before dawn. Last night she had been overcome with a horrible foreboding feeling. Since then she had tried to go back to sleep, but was far to worried to rest. Now that it was morning, she could alleviate her concerns. After a moment, she calmed her nerves and called the Tendo's to ask about her son.

Kasumi as expected answered the phone in her usual pleasant tones. "Good Morning, This is Kasumi Tendo."

Nodoka was somewhat relieved to be so close to being reassured. "Yes, excuse me Kasumi, this is Auntie Nodoka. Is Ranma up yet? I had a horrible premonition last night."

Kasumi paused in thought, as Auntie seemed abnormally worried. "No Auntie, he isn't up yet, should I check on him?"

"Yes please check on him." Nodoka gasped out a bit to hurriedly.

Kasumi tried to sound reassuring, but mostly came off as concerned. "Alright Auntie, I'll get Ranma and put him on the phone for you." Kasumi then set the phone down and presumably left. After a minute, Kasumi hesitantly picked up the phone and spoke. "I'm sorry Auntie, but he doesn't seem to have slept in his room last night".

Nodoka swallowed deeply, as if she could assuage the growing pit of fear in her stomach by doing so, "Genma and I will be over right away."

Path set, Nodoka almost slammed the phone down and ran back to her room to wake her husband.

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Soon after getting to the Tendo's, they started their search by contacting the usual suspects. The Amazons were checked first since they might have decided just to kidnap Ranma and take him back to China. The Amazons of course had been indignant of those accusations, but the rest didn't really believe them considering how things normally worked.

Surprisingly it was Ukyo arriving that gave them their first clue. Ukyo had called them asking if Ranma was there and alright, and on receiving a negative answer, she had told them that Konatsu had seen something last night and they would be right over.

Now that the cute chef had arrived along with her kimono clad gender reversed servant, Ukyo prodded Konatsu to tell them all what happened before everyone could start shouting too many demands for answers at the servile 'girl'.

Konatsu kneeled down in her simple kimono and tried not to fidget under all of the attention, while she began her report before she could get too flustered. "I was watching Ranma as Mistress Ukyo asked last night when I saw it happen. A beautiful traditional looking woman in a kimono appeared behind Ranma and grabbed him from behind. Ranma seemed to recognize her, blurted out the name "Sakura" in panic, and turned to look at her. Then he slumped in her arms and she disappeared. There was also a ninja girl with her who was very skilled. I never noticed her until she jumped to the woman before she disappeared, but she was apparently watching me."

Cologne frowned at the description, muttering, "That sort of power isn't to be taken likely, nor a skill assessment from a ninja so skilled." Cologne stared upwards to the roof contemplatively, trying to sense any lingering auras. She could sense a few, and decided to share this information with the others, as this situation was already far too 'interesting' for her tastes. "I sense some powerful auras that are likely traces from our visitors. Certainly unnatural power, perhaps demonic." Cologne came out of her musing to see that oddly enough she was being mostly ignored. Everyone seemed to be staring at Genma for some reason. 'Ah' the elder mused to herself, 'the nervous sweating means the fat fool knows something about this and is trying to hide it.'

The entire room stared Genma down, until his wife broke the silence while fingering her katana and developing an itch to use it, "Husband, what do you know of this? Have you dishonored our family again?"

Genma certainly broke out in nervous sweats at that, surprising everyone that he hadn't gone panda yet in a pathetic attempt to hide or from the amount of sweat he was producing. Hastily he started protesting his innocence in this matter. "It's not my fault, honestly!" The combined glare of the room full of irate people who could cause him intense pain spurred him on. "She's the woman who found Ranma when he was first in the neko-ken. I tried to get him back but I couldn't do anything to her. After a week though she just gave the boy back, but that woman is a demon. She simply ignored anything I tried to do and it failed, even direct attacks."

The entire group was a bit surprised. They were used to Genma blustering and trying to make himself sound better, but he seemed genuinely terrified of this woman. Nodoka frowned thoughtfully at her overweight husband. "Is that all you know about her dear?"

The master of Saotome Indiscriminate Grappling swallowed nervously, before haltingly continuing, "She found us again about five years ago, and simply disappeared with the boy for a week. She brought him back and he seemed happy. He said she promised to . . ." Genma trailed off and turned paler as he suddenly remembered why he had been in a hurry to get Ranma married before his eighteenth birthday. Genma continued without prompting, but seemed to be speaking to himself. "The demon said she would be back for him when he was eighteen. My son, the demon woman has him now . . . "

The entire crew was worried, but in serious times, wiser heads prevailed as Cologne mused out loud. "Did she seem to be an ageless beauty? Wearing a simple elegant kimono, with long straight black hair and perfect skin? A old image of the perfect Japanese woman?" As reply she got a strong nod from Konatsu who was a good judge of fashion and beauty, and a slight nod from the still horrified Genma. With her answer she continued with her conclusion, "She sounds like the fabled Eternal Sakura. A mysterious woman rumored to be centuries older than myself, and untouched by time. It is said she favors samurai, or more specifically, warriors with strong hearts."

Ukyo muttered a distressed. "That sounds like my Ranchan. How do we find this woman?"

Cologne shook her head sadly. "It sounds like she has the ability to teleport. If she did, then there is no trail to follow, and that would make her immensely powerful. I'll prepare some ceremonial scrying while the rest of you organize a more mundane search. I think we all agree it's not wise to let Ranma remain with such a woman. You don't kidnap someone with good intentions."

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Smirking, Nabiki did a more thorough data request. After two weeks of nothing, it was apparently her getting the first lead. Cologne's magical location attempts had been thwarted by obviously better magic. Ground searches by everyone else had been futile but mildly entertaining in all the fighting it caused.

However, she wasn't about to fully trust her lead. After all of that she didn't expect to find Ranma taking private classes at a girl's college that was a bit over an hour away. The extra data search gave a Sakura Hisagawa as the one paying this Ranma's way, though that was apparently a formality, as she practically owned the college. It could be a fluke though since the small city seemed a bit famous for it's cherry trees. Still though it seemed a bit too convenient that a Ranma Saotome would suddenly enroll there for tutoring not to long after their Ranma disappeared.

Tomorrow would be Wednesday, and that was just as good as any day to go. Quickly she got herself a train pass online, and made sure to get maps and area information, deciding to explore this herself tomorrow. It was apparently a beautiful area with a decent cheap college there, so it wouldn't be a waste if it wasn't where Ranma really was.

Also as Akane had confided to her over a weak ago, Genma's story did have its holes in it. They knew that in neko-ken mode that Ranma only went after people he liked, or barring that a nice person like Kasumi would do. This Sakura that calmed him down the first time had apparently been nice enough for Ranma, though that wasn't saying much since Akane her 'Nice violent maniac' sister qualified as well. The woman was probably to be respected though if she could trouble Genma like that. Genma had also let slip the second time she met Ranma, that Ranma was happy afterwards. That also wasn't saying much, as wild wolves would probably be a nice change from Genma on the road. More than likely the woman just had a sweat spot for Ranma and had actually fed the poor boy.

Shaking her head at the unfailing stupidity and foolishness of Genma, Nabiki sat up and read up for her trip tomorrow. If it was just her, then hopefully she could just reasonably find out what was going on. More than likely, she'd be able to ignore any of this foolishness that everyone else liked to wallow in.
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The next afternoon, Nabiki stepped off the train and checked her map. Her excuse for the trip was simple, she was checking out a good cheap college to attend next year. It was even mildly truthful, which was a pleasant experience. Now for the gritty part though, the Hisagawa house was near the campus, which was on the edge of town. Luckily the train station was on the same side of town, since the college was one of the bigger draws for the town.

Sighing and grumping loudly at the unfairness of it all, Nabiki began the twenty-minute hike to her destination at the Hisagawa residence. Her information search had mentioned a few weird things about the area, but no martial arts. Strange sightings were common though. That was a bit worrisome, as she didn't have any concrete information, such as `springs of sorrow', `forests filled with giant animals `or' floating magical prince carrying island. Hopefully she'd be able to handle the lack of information with her usual aplomb.

On arriving at the gate of the Hisagawa residence, Nabiki developed a slight tick in her right cheek. Apparently, it was the Hisagawa manor, as in large mansion with accompanying estate. Her information hadn't prepared her for this, but hopefully it would be a profitable turn of events.

Ringing the doorbell brought a slight blond girl in a fancy dress and apron to the door. The young blond had a calm happy expression like Kasumi's, except hers was less happy and more intelligent, but not enough so to unnerve anyone. The blonde greeted her politely enough though, "Hello, may I help you?"

Nabiki decided to get straight to the point with a minimum of politeness. "That's what I hope to know. Is a Ranma Saotome staying here?"

The blonde gazed a bit more intently at her, something which few people would notice before replying with a counter question. "May I ask why you want such personal information?"

Nabiki internally grinned as the girl's question gave herself away, but kept her expression mostly serious. "I'm looking for a missing person by that name."

The blonde's expression didn't change much as she replied. "I suppose that will do Miss Tendo. Would you like to come inside?"

Nabiki allowed herself to be led inside while outwardly examining the inside of the manor. Internally she was a bit worried at being recognized so early. She might actually end up dealing with intelligent people here. Nabiki allowed herself a frown as she enquired of her host. "So, is he here?"

The pale skinned exotic beauty gazed at Nabiki with a sidelong glance as she led her to one of the greeting rooms, which had a leather couch. The girl took up an odd position on the wide leather arm of the loveseat of the set, leaving Nabiki the couch. After a moment of sitting still the blonde's ear twitched and she gave her answer. "Master Ranma is currently bathing after his workout. "

Nabiki digested this information and chewed on it for a bit. The house was very nice. The furnishings were expensive and well chosen, and it all seemed well cared for. The blonde had not only referred to Ranma as Master, but also seemed to hold genuine affection for him of a respectful kind. It would probably be to forward to outright ask what was going on, so she settled for asking. "Well, how is he?"

The blonde didn't answer her question directly, simply smiling instead in her own way. "He will be here shortly and you'll be able to see for yourself."

Silence descended between the two again, and while the blonde seemed comfortable with the quiet, Nabiki decided to get a little more information. "Well, since you seem to know who I am, care to tell me who you are?"

The petite blonde settled herself on her perch before introducing herself. "I am Maria Belmont. I take care of the house and see to Master Ranma."

Nabiki gave the girl a speculative look, noting her interest in Ranma and that this girl didn't seem to be that Sakura woman. "So, what's your interest in Ranma?"

A bit of fondness slipped into Maria smile, making it much warmer. "Five years ago he valiantly saved my life." Maria closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them her smile had faded as she pinned Nabiki with an intense gaze. "Now that Ranma is with us, I will see to his happiness."

Nabiki was a bit taken back by that last bit. She was used to declarations about Ranma, especially declarations of affection from girls about Ranma. This girl's statement was neither passionate nor melodramatic, instead it was a calm assured tone that told she was level headed and meant it.

Nabiki was brought out of her thoughts by Ranma's voice. "Aww, what did I tell you about that Maria? Sure it was a little scary, but I was happy to help."

Nabiki glanced at where Ranma's voice was coming from, but almost didn't recognize the young man standing in the open room entrance. The tanned and lean muscled frame was easily recognizable, as was his face. The relaxed happy expression was a bit surprising as it was odd to see Ranma relaxed normally. Nabiki was used to his confident nothing can get to me front. Also right now his hair was loose and hanging down damply on is back, while he was dressed in a simple white house kimono known as a yukata.

Over all, he seemed to have a quiet confidence and an air of elegance that suited his natural grace. He gave Nabiki a quick look over, and then proceeded to sit on the loveseat beside Maria, who promptly slid down a few inches off of the arm of the short couch to sit partially in his lap. The easy familiarity was bothering Nabiki a bit, along with the fact that he hadn't reacted to her in any way that mattered.

Nabiki's attention was diverted to the girl following Ranma as she walked between herself and Ranma to sit beside the young man on the couch, wedging him between two very attractive girls. The most notable thing about this new girl was her chest, though that led to noticing other visual clues about her. Her white yukata was barely holding in two volleyball-sized breasts, and the girl's hair was damp, meaning she had apparently been in the bath with Ranma.

Ranma willingly bathing with a girl that would make Shampoo green with envy showed just how odd this situation was. Nabiki shook that aside to take in the rest of the girl's features to try and prepare herself. Despite her immense breast size, she appeared to be Japanese, with dark green hair that hung straight and loose a bit past her shoulders. She seemed to have a light tan, and more muscle tone than Nabiki would expect, though certainly in a feminine manner.

Overall Nabiki was certain Shampoo's jealousy fit over this girl's looks would be interesting to see, let alone how close this girl had managed to get to Ranma. Nabiki didn't even want to contemplate what her dear youngest sister's explosive reaction would be to this scene.

Seeing she had a reaction from Ranma now, Nabiki turned her attention back to him.

Ranma seemed satisfied gazing at Nabiki and finally spoke. "You're Nabiki right? Kasumi's sister?"

Nabiki was a bit taken back by this line of questioning. It was almost like he didn't remember her, though something else about that question struck her oddly. Deciding to play along though, Nabiki nodded to the young man in a cute girl sandwich. "Yes I am, I take it you know why I'm here?"

Ranma in turn nodded towards her, acting uncharacteristically together and calm. Then he turned to the petite blond in his lap and smiled at her. "Could I have some hot chocolate Maria?"

Maria lit up with a pleasant smile, which she directed at Ranma while murmuring. "Of course Master Ranma." With that, the girl slipped from his lap and gracefully made her way to the kitchen with only a quiet swish of cloth.

Ranma smiled fondly in her direction before turning back to Nabiki and adopting a serious thoughtful look. Finally, he answered her with a calm seriousness she found a pleasant surprise. "You're here to ask me out on a date?"

Nabiki glared up at Ranma from her sudden position on the floor. She had been perched on the edge of the leather couch to prevent herself from getting comfortable and letting her guard down. Embarrassingly, Ranma's little stunt there had shocked her enough for her to lose her footing, so she ended up on her rump on the floor. Setting herself downing on the couch again, she tuned her glare down to a frown directed at Ranma. "That wasn't very funny Saotome."

Ranma further annoyed her by just seeming to be a bit confused at her statement, before seemingly shrugging it off. "Well sorry Nabiki, but all I really remember about you is when we met and you thought I was cute. You seemed interested at the time, but I guess things changed between now and then."

Nabiki blinked at that, as Ranma seemed oddly disappointed when he said that. Ignoring the admitted lapse in memory for the moment, Nabiki decided to poke at him. "Wanting to date me Saotome? I would think you already had enough girls to satisfy you right now?"

The young Saotome seemed confused at what she said, but seemed to figure it out after a moment. With a shrug as he dismissed it from his mind he replied. "Eh, well if you don't want to be friends and have some fun, that's alright. I don't know how I could have to many friends though."

The middle Tendo sister was once again pleasantly surprised by Ranma, and speculatively murmured. "Well, perhaps I was a bit hasty there Ranma. What did you mean about not remembering though?"

Ranma in turn tilted his head slightly to the side, showing a lack of concern, "Well to be cured of something called the Neko-ken I had to lose some of my memories. I remember some general stuff about you, and a few specific things, but not stuff that happened."

Nabiki's eyes narrowed as she considered how convenient his memory loss was. Thinking it over for a second, she figured she would take him up on his offer for a date, as it was the best way to get to know the situation without raising any alarms. Smiling a bit to set him at ease, she inquired. "Well, I don't think I would mind a night out on the town. To be honest I wasn't sure I would find you here and was interested in the college as well." Once again Nabiki congratulated herself on her well-done research.

Ranma blinked at that, seeming to suddenly remember something. "Ah, That reminds me. Kasumi is invited to attend the college here. She can have free tuition and stay here in one of the rooms if she helps out around the house and cooks for me. I'll have a letter drawn up about it before you leave, okay?" Seeing Nabiki's surprise, Ranma decided to continue and hopefully guess right. "Well I think she deserves it, don't you agree?"

Nabiki was touched by the kind offer, but very much suspicious about a number of things. "I thought your memory was Swiss cheesed?"

Ranma nodded in turn, accepting her slightly accusatory tone. "She's the only person I really remember from the past few years."

Nabiki accepted that and dismissed her concerns for a moment to grin at Ranma. "So you're giving her a college education just to keep eating her cooking? That's the Saotome stomach I know at least."

Ranma just grinned and shook his head in amusement, then paused to accept a steaming cup of hot cocoa from Maria. Holding his arms up he allowed Maria to take her seat in his lap again and put his arms around her so he could hold his cup.

Nabiki internally frowned in thought at seeing the two snuggled up again like that. It was odd to see Ranma so comfortable with a girl. It was obvious though that the two were simply comfortable together, and weren't acting like lovers. The almost forgotten busty girl was simply sitting beside Ranma companionably and watching Nabiki like a hawk. Hopefully she would find out more tonight on this little date about how far Ranma had gotten with the girls. Nabiki was pleasantly surprised though when Maria leaned over to hand her a cup of hot chocolate off of the tray she brought in.

Quietly sitting there as everyone enjoyed their hot chocolate, Nabiki suddenly realized something as she watch Ranma settled comfortably in between the two girls. They were there simply to comfort Ranma. She could actually see how Ranma was relaxing between them, and from the fact that Ranma and the big busted girl were still in yukata and in no hurry to change, then they probably relaxed like this often, explaining part of the situation. Of course, she could be wrong about it, but it was her current understanding for the situation. Still though, Maria had sat on the arm of the couch, which only made sense if she was expecting this cuddle session to happen right now.

After a few minutes of enjoyable peace in the gently sunlit room, Maria turned in Ranma's lap to face him and gently ask. "Master, will you be going out tonight?"

Ranma gave her s gentle nod and murmured. "In a bit, I don't think there is any need to hurry."

Maria and the green haired girl shared a look, until Maria quietly asked her. "Ayumi, would you inform the cook to save Master Ranma's portions for later?" The busty girl nodded her acceptance, and then leaned over and kissed Ranma on the cheek, which was apparently a pleasant surprise for the boy. Nabiki wasn't too sure, whether it was the kiss or all that cleavage pressed up against him that surprised Ranma.

Nabiki blinked as she realized the green haired girl had already slipped out of the room. She didn't think she was that distracted, though it was possible. Maria took this opportunity to turn herself in Ranma's lap, so that her slim legs were resting on Ayumi's recently vacated spot. She also wrapped her thin arms around Ranma's neck, while placing her head on his shoulder, in a position where she could kiss his neck easily. Ranma for his part transferred his cup of cocoa to his free hand, then placed his now free hand around the petite blonde's back.

Nabiki could practically see Ranma's protective instincts kicking in with this girl. It was hard to tell with the somewhat ornate European style dress since it was so thick, but she placed the girl as smaller than even Ranma's girl form, which was fairly petite. This Maria however lacked female Ranma's curves and muscles, giving her a weak and vulnerable look that the girl was apparently taking advantage of Ranma with.

Nabiki was so caught up in trying to figure out Ranma's current relationships, that she almost forgot that she had a date with him that was going to happen soon. That gave her a new plan of action for the moment. With a girl snuggling in his lap, Nabiki was open to teasing him either verbally or physically. Grinning a bit, she felt that physical teasing would give her the most interesting results.

Setting her mug of hot chocolate on the table, Nabiki sashayed over to Ranma, standing by the spot on his free side. Maria obligingly tucked her leg in onto Ranma's lap, surprising Nabiki a bit as the girl apparently wasn't possessive. Nabiki took this opportunity to take Ranma's cocoa from him to set on the table, and then pressed herself up against his free side. With her cheek almost resting on his left shoulder and with one hand around his back while the other rested on his thigh, she didn't get either of the two reactions she was expecting.

Nabiki was expecting either his old nervousness, or the smoothness of his new playboy persona. Instead he seemed somewhat uncomfortable and confused. Unlike his old self though, he was controlling it, and cautiously put his free arm around her waist. Nabiki found the position surprisingly comfortable, as Ranma's presence was more pleasant than she remembered. Neither Ranma nor Maria said anything about her cuddling up to Ranma, so that gave her a moment to consider what she had just learned.

Ranma had been surprised from her small show of affection, which meant he still wasn't used to girls showing affection, though it was nothing like how he much he used to react. That meant that Maria had been building up his resistance with lots of friendly activity. The girls were friendly and apparently didn't show any jealousy over Ranma, which explained a few more things about Ranma.

They had somehow managed to make him forget everyone back in Nerima, except Kasumi oddly enough, and were working on getting to him slow and easy, with teamwork. It was also very obvious how well this was working for them, though Nabiki could see how it could easily be disrupted.

Nabiki allowed herself to grin while giving Ranma a smoldering lusty look, as she started rubbing her hands around, especially the one on his thigh. Ranma was slowly but surely starting to squirm as he became increasingly uncomfortable with how forward Nabiki was being. Before it got to far and someone objected, Nabiki gave her captive young stud a smile and she rested her hands on him. She was pleasantly surprised when Ranma began rubbing the small of her back, apparently trying somewhat tamely to please her despite his discomfort. Nabiki allowed herself to purr a bit as she rested her head on his shoulder and looked up at him with a look that would melt most boys. "Oh, you certainly know how to treat a girl."

That was certainly true Nabiki was inwardly crowing. The girls were apparently not wasting their time with Ranma, and were acting on his natural caring instincts that everyone in Nerima had done their best to blunt with mistreatment. That left Ranma open to non-hostile people such as herself however. Idly she wondered if she would have been able to get Ranma to act like this if she hadn't have foisted him off on her dear violent little sister. Ranma's impromptu massage of her back and sides was proving to feel very nice, and he was being attentive to both girls at the same time.

Interruption to the mood came lightly, in the form of Ayumi's return. She was standing behind the three occupants of the loveseat with her hands on Ranma's shoulders, letting him know she was there through physical contact before making her announcement. "Everything is in order, you should go get prepared now Master Ranma."

Ranma simply tilted his head back to look up at the slightly grinning green haired girl, giving her a relaxed smile. "Mhmm alright." Truth to be told, Ranma was just as happy where he was and didn't feel any need to get out of the house to spend time with Nabiki since she was already cuddled up to him and being a bit too friendly. Still though, he knew that was no excuse not to get out for a while. Carefully he got up, simultaneously disentangling himself from Nabiki and setting Maria on her feet. Feeling the need to be a bit courteous he turned to Nabiki for a moment. "I should be ready shortly, then I can take you out, alright?"

The middle Tendo daughter in turn gave him a saucy grin. "Sure thing Ranma, though if you make me wait to long, or you'll just have to make it up to me tonight."

Ranma in turn nodded to her, missing both her innuendo and a sense of impending financial ruin. As he and Maria left to get ready for tonight, Ayumi moved around the couch to sit next to Nabiki sideways on the couch so she was facing the flirty Tendo girl. Casting a quick glance to the way Ranma left to confirm he was gone, Ayumi turned a serious expression on Nabiki. "I know about your past actions Miss Tendo, and don't think you've been forgiven for your part in his suffering. I suggest you use tonight as a beginning to fix that."

Nabiki took in the changes in Ayumi's clothes first. The girl was dressed in short sleeved dark blue kimono that stopped at mid-thigh, while the fabric above her red obi tried to contain her large bosom. Black stockings and a red sash around her waist serving as an obi completed the outfit. Retro-traditional clothing Nabiki mused, though it was a Japanese style of the short dressed that Shampoo wore, which was probably another thing Shampoo would be bent out of shape over.

Assessment complete, Nabiki gave the green haired girl a smug but restrained grin to show she wasn't backing down. "Tough words from a kidnapper. You and that blonde seem to be working hard to get him wrapped up in you like that."

Ayumi frowned at the girl, upset with her accusations, and crossed her arms under her chest. "We've been working hard to fix the trauma you girls have inflicted on the poor boy. Even without his memories, it's hard work. If you cause him any more pain, then I'll have to see to it that you leave him alone."

Nabiki frowned at the girl. Her and Maria were being too serious for her tastes about this. It wouldn't do to anger them at this point nor make herself look weak, as either would damage her position with dealing with them about Ranma. Nabiki allowed herself a confident smirk as she addressed the green haired girl. "We'll see about that."

The green haired girl gave Nabiki a light nod, but continued watching her intently, but more relaxed than before, seemingly confident in herself.

With these people being so serious and well organized, Nabiki wondered how well the rest of the people from Nerima would deal with this. More than likely it would hinge on whether Ranma suddenly got his memories back like that time Shampoo had shampooed Akane. If Ranma didn't spontaneously get his memory back, then he would probably defend his new 'family' here. If that happened, it would be fairly disastrous.

Ranma apparently didn't plan on making her wait long, because he came back in after not to long, dressed rather nicely. The black silk Chinese cut pants tied at the ankle and waist was fairly normal, along with the gray-blue Chinese silk shirt with mahogany ties up the middle. Unlike the silk clothes he used to wear, these were new and had a bright sheen to the silk; compared to the worn silk of the clothes that Kasumi had carefully mended for him.

A pale yellow sash adorned his waist, complimenting a golden medallion that hung from his neck on a steel chain. His hair was in a loose ponytail, brushing along the back of his shirt. His sleeves here rolled up to near his elbows, showing off the metallic bracers that looked like liquid mercury coating his forearms. Reflected light flowed across it like water, making the bracers somewhat hard to look at.

Seeing Nabiki staring at him so intently, Ranma spread his arms out and slowly turned around for her, then stopped with a little grin, giving Nabiki an amused look.

Nabiki couldn't help but giggle at the way Ranma was acting. The carefree confidence made him a lot more desirable. It certainly made him a lot more pleasant to be with as opposed to his blustery personality that she was used to.

Ranma cocked his head to one side while grinning at Nabiki, as she seemed to be a bit lost in thought. "Well, shall we go?"

Nabiki gave a short chuckle and grinned at the relaxed young man. "Sure Saotome."

Ranma went over to the entranceway and grabbed the long well made umbrella that could serve as a walking stick and opened the doorway, giving an exaggerated gentlemanly bow to Nabiki in good humor. "After you then my lady. Let us be off."

Nabiki continued her amused grin, and gave a melodramatic swoon as she passed Ranma. "Oh my, you're such a charming gentleman." Inwardly Nabiki wondered how Ranma could be acting or talking so well. She knew he could act, and do so as a second nature, as his blustery martial artist front was just that, an act. It used to be easy to tell though his newfound easygoing confidence might be making the difference.

Ranma twirled his umbrella around, not needing to open it since there were only a few clouds in the sky and no sign of rain.

Nabiki was almost surprised that he didn't take her arm and continue the gentleman bit, but apparently from the quick sidelong look he gave her, he figured that she was to independent of a woman for that. Due to her business dealings she did have a cultivated independent streak, but Nabiki wasn't so jaded yet that she couldn't enjoy a bit of girlish romance such as hanging possessively on a handsome young man's arm. The curious thing was how difficult it would be to get Ranma to do that now.

Watching his body language discreetly, Nabiki reached over to Ranma and grasped his arm, holding it in the affectionate and possessive manner that some girls apply. She was gratified in reading his new personality correctly when he kept his happy disposition and bent his arm a bit so she could hold onto it easier.

Nabiki glanced over slyly at Ranma, wondering if she would be able to be his fiancée then and handle his other fiancées from a more solid position. As nice as that might be, it was probably too risky, since her old ways of dealing with Ranma probably wouldn't work. As it was though, she had a decided head start advantage already.

Of course, part of her current content came from her current position. Ranma had always been something of a catch, especially compared to the male population of Nerima. He had always been blustery and confident most of the time, and did his best to hide his caring nature though it didn't help much as most anybody could take advantage of him. Being such an easy mark had been disappointing to Nabiki.

Now though, he was apparently calm, collected and passably intelligent. His biggest disadvantages were apparently gone now, and his boyish charm was polished with a self-assured confidence that made him more like a properly raised prince than a boy who had grown up on the road with Genma. Nabiki had to be suspicious of this radical change however, certainly the apparent change in intelligence.

Nabiki was brought out of her musing as Ranma led her into a restaurant. It was one of the nicer places to eat found near colleges for students who could afford a good meal and wanted a variety of quality food to choose from at reasonable prices. Seating was quickly arranged at a table for four, and the waitress took their drink orders, tea for Ranma and a latte for Nabiki, who preferred the rich foreign drinks.

Ranma gave the menu a quick glance, having eaten here before and knowing what he liked, before turning a grin to Nabiki. "Know what you'll be having?"

Nabiki gave the boy a grin before saying. "Your treat, right?" She was glad Ranma chose this restaurant. It was nice but relaxed, meaning that she wasn't out of place in her tight jeans, pale pink tight t-shirt and blue jean jacket.

Ranma smiled back, trying to fit this girl in with what he knew of her. From what he knew, she tended to have other people pay for her, and generally ran a small hobby of side bets and information for pocket change. She was being more pleasant than what his limited memories told him she would, so he decided to continue feeling her out pleasantly. "Of course, unless you insist of course. I mean an independent business woman such as yourself must have quite a bit of pride, and I wouldn't want to offend you by presuming."

Nabiki almost blanched, but managed to restrain it at his comment. She knew he had changed, but she wasn't expecting a mental challenge, especially of this magnitude. The comment at the end there had been unnecessary, but delivered honestly enough that she couldn't directly contest it. Still though, she did have experience in dealing with people, and rolled with the mental blow to her pride by continuing the role of a girl with romantic dreams. "Why that may be so, but that doesn't mean I can't relax and enjoy myself like any other girl. Can't I enjoy a simple date?"

The silk clad young man withdrew a bit, not liking the tone she took. Apparently, he went a bit far and put her on guard, ruining her enjoyment of the evening. He just wanted to know what the real Nabiki was like, and didn't want to ruin the evening. Ranma gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I guess my memories of you are worse than I thought. I didn't mean to upset you, I was just curious about you."

Nabiki looked a bit surprised and concerned. The idea of Ranma apologizing like that was still a surprising thing, and he seemed to be genuinely disappointed. Nabiki decided that wouldn't do if she was trying to get Ranma to like her. While his 'captors' were important, it was obvious to her that Ranma was key to this situation. Nabiki gave the young man her best comforting smile. "That's alright Ranma. I don't think I gave you too many good memories of me."

Ranma nodded, relaxed and smiling again. "I guess that's a shame then."

Before Nabiki could consider that comment further, the waitress arrived, ready to take their order.

Ranma happily nodded at the girl, with the thought of delicious food on his mind. "Sure, I'll have the shrimp platter, Chilean sea bass, and the grilled sirloin. Mhmm… and a bowl of chicken ramen to start off with too."

The waitress blinked at Ranma for a bit and felt the need to clarify. "Sir, those are three full dinners."

Ranma nodded without losing a beat. "Good, cause I have a healthy appetite." He then gave the girl a wink, eliciting a blush from her, though it didn't seem he was intentionally flirting as he turned back to Nabiki.

The waitress noticed Nabiki as well and did her best to ignore her own blush as she took Nabiki's order. "And for you miss?"

Nabiki was annoyed with herself, as she had been so tied up with Ranma that she hadn't decided on what she wanted yet. Seeing her hesitation, Ranma offered his suggestion. "How about the sweet onion chicken salad? It's light but tasty."

Nabiki read the entry for that and checked the picture out. It was a cold salad with chicken cooked in a sweet onion sauce spread liberally over it. Nabiki decided that would be good, and nodded her thanks to Ranma, while addressing the waitress. "Sure, that sounds good."

The waitress gave a nod, and turned to leave after checking on their drinks.

Nabiki propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands while staring at Ranma. She decided to go for some light conversation and asked. "Where did you get the medallion and bracers?" It might actually be important to know. For all she knew with Ranma, they were mind controlling jewelry or had weird magical powers.

Ranma looked down contemplatively and fingered his golden medallion as if seeing it for the first time. "Well, this is a gift from Maria for saving her life. She takes that way to seriously." Ranma looked a bit bashful at that, embarrassed with how deeply emotional about that Maria was. Recovering from the memories involved, he put his right forearm across the table so Nabiki could examine the bracer on that arm. After giving her a few seconds to try to follow the reflections in it, he explained. "It's made of three different materials. Most of it is silver, which is the kinda bluish metallic part. The really white silvery part is platinum, and the dark gray metallic stuff is actually a stone called hematite. It's supposed to look like waves of a stormy ocean." Ranma paused and gave a happy sound as the memory came to him. "Sakura says they match my eyes that way."

Nabiki paused in examining the bracer, since now she could tell where one reflective material met with another to form flowing curved lines. Looking up at Ranma, her face crinkled contemplatively. "So who is this Sakura? I didn't see her today."

Before Ranma could formulate a reply, a girl in her early twenties with short black hair approached the table, greeting Ranma happily. "Hey Ranma, what are you out doing tonight?"

Ranma turned to look at the girl, apparently recognizing her. "Oh, just taking out an old friend. Nabiki is interested in the college here I think."

Seeing the slight frown Nabiki was developing caused the new girl to smile, before bowing to Nabiki and introducing herself. "I'm Neshito Yukima, secretary of the Stargazer club here. Ranma here is responsible for getting us a lot of new members after he joined our Astronomy class." Grinning suggestively she turned to Ranma. "You sure she isn't an old girlfriend? Are you trying to hide something?"

The young man wasn't too fazed by her teasing accusation, and responded with light surprise. "Huh? No, I don't think me and Nabiki ever dated or anything."

Yukima looked between the couple, noting that Nabiki still looked unhappy, which she had assumed was because she was interrupting a date, while Ranma was his normal innocently honest self. Not liking the feel of the situation, she decided to leave quietly. "Oh, well I'll see you Friday in class, alright?"

Ranma blinked and nodded while waving to her a little bit off balance. "uh later then." Turning back to Nabiki, he saw she seemed to have a neutral somewhat stony expression, and tried to recall what they had been talking about. A bit unsure he ventured. "You wanted to know about Sakura, right?"

Nabiki's expression softened some, letting him know he had it right, and she was apparently upset about having their conversation interrupted. Seeing that she was waiting, Ranma decided to start at the beginning. "Well, she was the one that brought me out of the Neko-ken the first time. She basically took care of me and taught me about honor and chivalry. Eventually she gave me back to my father, since I wanted to continue my training, even after what he did to me. We met again when I was thirteen, and she really wanted to take me away from Genma then. I wanted to wait until I had finished my training journey though, and she respected that. So we agreed to wait until I was eighteen, and here we are."

Nabiki raised a somewhat incredulous eyebrow at that story. Not so much that it sounded untrue, but because it left so much out, though that was apparently because there wasn't a lot tell about it. Nabiki decided to start with the most glaring bit. "So, a woman you never mentioned or had any contact with for five years just shows up one night, and you drop everything and leave, abandoning your old life?"

Ranma gave a frustrated grunt and frowned in thought. That was a difficult question. After a moment he came up with an answer that was partially satisfying to himself at least. "Well, my old life was. . . well, really not my life. The only thing that might have held me were the arranged marriages, and those were just arrangements. I gave them a try, and they didn't work out." After a moment he paused and looked out the window at the darkening sky. "I know I would face it eventually, but I wanted a little break from it for a while at least to find myself again. Do you think any of them would let me be me?"

Nabiki gave a confident smirk; now knowing she was getting the information she needed. "So who is the real you? It's awful convenient of you to have memory problems and a sudden personality change. Pretty much everyone back home is going to assume it's mind control or a spell, and they're going to look for a target, probably this Sakura of yours."

Ranma seriously frowned at that, disturbed at the thought of the craziness from Nerima going after Sakura, or anyone in his new life really. Weighing his options, he decided to be honest since he didn't really plan on keeping the truth away anyways. Being heard out completely now would probably be for the best. Hesitantly he began, wanting to get the words just right. "Sakura wouldn't deny it. She still probably feels guilty about it, even though it's what I wanted. She didn't just cure the neko-ken, she took all of the bad memories and pain I had, and then gave it back to me. Except instead of holding me down, they're just like someone is telling me about them."

Ranma paused for a moment to see Nabiki's reaction, and noted she seemed to be very intent on his tale, but no outward judgment of it. Nodding to himself, he gathered himself and continued. "Sakura has an ideal, it's something I've wanted and believed in since she held me when I was six. To have the heart of a samurai warrior, with the chivalry of a European knight. To be a modern day prince who saves his princess like a fairy tale. Probably sounds pretty strange hearing me say that, huh?"

Nabiki looked at him contemplatively for a moment, before thoughtfully responding. "It makes some sense knowing you, though I can't say you acted very 'princely'. As a matter of fact, you were more of a prince destroyer if you remember."

Ranma smirked at that while letting out a brief chuckle. "Yeah, I remember them and all the trouble they caused. Hopefully they learned their lessons. You're right though; I wasn't acting like I wanted to be. You see; I've spent maybe an entire month in my life so far with Sakura, while about eighteen years under Genma's thumb. If you know Genma, you know how opposed he is to good honorable behavior like that. Sadly, he beat a lot of it out of me. I tried my best you know, but I just didn't know what to do."

Nabiki gazed at Ranma contemplatively and gave him an encouraging nod. That actually made a surprising amount of sense in describing Ranma's behavior. While it was still possible that something more subversive was going on, she didn't have any evidence. Ranma had admitted to somehow having his memories tampered with, but his explanation for it was solid and agreed with his behavior beforehand. Curious she decided to test him a bit more, while giving him an encouraging smile to set him at ease. "So, Akane was your princess?"

Ranma blinked in surprise at her, digesting that question for a moment. Eventually he gave Nabiki a wry grin and set his hands on the table. "Akane is a princess, but she wasn't my princess."

Nabiki raised both eyebrows on that one, having her curiosity peaked. "What do you mean by that Ranma?"

Ranma frowned and starting fiddling with his silverware package, which was wrapped in a napkin, twirling it around in his hands as he thought. "Well, I thought she was at the beginning, because of the fiancée thing. I sort of looked at it as my duty even if we didn't get along to well. I was confused about exactly what I was supposed to do as a fiancé, but I tried my best. Eventually though stuff happened, other fiancées arrived and things got complicated. I still don't know what to really make of it all."

Ranma paused and looked Nabiki in the eyes for emphasis. "The difference between a Princess and just protecting someone, is she makes it all worthwhile." Ranma looked down and heaved a heartfelt sigh. "No matter what I did though, Akane never seemed to respect or admire me. Sometimes I thought she did, but she would get upset and deny it. Even though she didn't like him, she treated Kuno better than me, not to mention Ryoga and practically every other guy she met."

The middle Tendo girl frowned thoughtfully at his assessment of Akane. It was a bit more negative than she would have expected, though she couldn't fault him too much. His voice was filled with regret, not resentment. She didn't know if the regret was due to his assessment of his relationship with Akane, or over his own actions from back then. Probably both. Nabiki decided to clarify that. "Aren't you being a little harsh about Akane there?"

Ranma made a noncommittal sound and looked out the windows again. "I know she's a nice girl. Sometimes she really was nice to me, but usually not. There was just something… wrong between us. It actually hurt more to know how nice she could be. I know I wasn't acting right then either, so it's not all her fault, but after she found out I was a boy, it seems like she held everything that happened against me."

After staring out at the sky for a moment Ranma gave a grunt, he turned to Nabiki with a small forced smile. "Enough of that, alright? We're supposed to be enjoying ourselves, right?"

Nabiki allowed herself a somewhat cheery grin, since she had a fair amount of information, and it wouldn't do to ruin Ranma's goodwill yet. "Sure Ranma, sorry for bringing up painful memories." Nabiki internally winced as she realized what she said. Apparently though his `past', which was everything before two weeks ago, was a painful thing to him, which would certainly make getting him back from here a difficult thing.

A somewhat awkward silence descended over the table, to be broken up after a few minutes by the waitress bringing out their food with the help of another waitress to carry it all. After placing it all down, their waitress gave an apologetic bow before apologizing. "I'm sorry I didn't get your ramen out before, I got tied up for a while. Please accept my apologies."

Ranma dismissed it with a grin and short bark of laughter, waving the apology away. "That's alright, we were caught up talking anyways. Don't worry about it, okay?" He then clapped his hands and looked over the three hot entrees before him and his bowl of noodles before exclaiming for the waitress's benefit. "Ah, it looks and smells wonderful!" Then he tried his shrimp and some of the rice pilaf, eating with the gusto of a normal person as opposed to a human vacuum cleaner assaulting the table.

After asking briefly if there was anything else they needed and receiving a negative reply, the waitress left with a small sense of relief.

Accepting his offer to try the variety of shrimp on a bed of rice pilaf on one of his plates of food, Nabiki gave him a wry grin before teasing him. "All of these new manners and smarts, and you pass up an opportunity to get the price of your meal reduced. If you had suddenly developed a sense for money, I'd be seriously worried." Internally she thought that was because Ranma was suddenly worth a lot more money, which made his business sense or lack thereof a lot more important now. This meal alone was costing a pretty penny that even Kuno would balk at treating her too, even though Ranma was eating most of it.

The grin Ranma gave her though unsettled her more than she cared for. Apparently finding Nabiki's attitude amusing, he decided to elaborate and explain his humor. "Well, first of all, Suichiko is doing a good job as a waitress, and that would hurt her wages, which she probably needs a lot more than me. Also she was tied up by that woman over there," Ranma nodded his head slightly to his right. "So she really didn't have a choice."

Nabiki glanced back over at the woman, whom she had noticed arguing with their waitress. The woman had kept her voice down, but the chewing out the waitress got over what was probably some perceived wrong was easy to see. Except Ranma had been looking her way the entire time and paying attention to their conversation, while the woman was behind him and to his right past several other tables. She had never noticed his attention wavering, and she couldn't figure out any way for him to have noticed except somehow hearing it over the murmur in the restaurant. As she paused in delightfully poaching another shrimp off of Ranma's plate, she decided to bite the bullet and ask. "Alright Ranma, how did you know that?"

Ranma shrugged lightly, cutting off and eating a piece of his steak. "I can see her in the reflection in the windows behind you, along with everyone else here. Also her voice is a bit grating, very whiny."

Nabiki blinked and accepted that, being glad for the small pleasure that it wasn't some supernatural martial arts ability that he had developed, before realizing just how observant that marked him. Giving him a strained grin, she tried teasing him to relieve some of her sudden stress. "Well, you're still missing an opportunity to save money there."

Ranma gave a dismissive shrug, showing how little that bothered him. "I think the food and service here is good for the money. Besides, that's why I'm getting a Business degree."

Nabiki's eyes crossed for a few seconds before she managed to swallow the piece of chicken she almost choked on. Feeling seriously worried as her own personal world cracked slightly. "Business? You?!" she exclaimed, a bit louder than she liked.

The silk clad young man leaned back slightly, doing his best to not let her outburst faze him, before cautiously replying. "Well, yes. My Economics class was very tough to start out with, but Kizachi and Humeki have helped me catch up. Gives me a bit of admiration for how you handle money so well."

Narrowing her eyes, a bit of accusation crept into her voice. "Alright, now how did you get into college when you're a grade behind me and not done with high school?" Before it hadn't bothered her, but him getting a business degree just struck her wrong.

The young martial artist rolled his shoulders in a shrug while taking a bite of the sea bass. "Well, I have a special observer like status where the classes are considered tutoring. After I'm caught up with high school and then some, I take the test to prove it, and I then have some credits already under my belt, making up for lost time."

Wide-eyed and actually a bit impressed with it, the stunned girl muttered out. "Making up for lost time?"

Ranma just hummed slightly, a pleasant pleased note, before starting on the shrimp. "Well, Sakura wants me to be her heir, so I need to learn to handle that stuff. After I get the degree, I'll be able to learn hands on, which I really prefer ya know."

Nabiki numbly nodded, before picking through her salad and eating slowly. This was disturbing her a lot more than she was comfortable with feeling.

Seeing his dinner companion was seemingly depressed, Ranma attempted a cheerier smile. "Hey, how about desert? They have some nice ice cream dishes here." He was fairly sure of knowing that Nabiki had a sweet tooth.

The brown haired girl didn't really react, aimlessly poking her plate with her fork, before mumbling. "Sorry, I'm not really hungry."

Seeing that she was fairly depressed, Ranma nodded to her even though she couldn't see it and signaled his waitress down for the check. When she came back with it and Nabiki hadn't changed, he handed the waitress enough for his bill and a hefty tip and helped Nabiki up and outside.

Seeing that it was raining lightly, he opened his umbrella and put an arm around Nabiki to comfort her and keep her under the umbrella so she would stay dry. "You want to go home now?" he asked with concerned warmth in his voice.

Nabiki looked up at him with an unreadable look, seeming to search something out in his face. "No that's alright. My return ticker isn't until ten PM anyways. Sorry for getting bummed out like that."

Ranma chuckled and gave her a reassuring confident grin. "Ah, it's alright. I'll pay for your ticket, so you can go back now."

"Trying to get rid of me already Saotome?" asked Nabiki, grinning slightly as she tried to put her bad mood behind her.

Shaking his head lightly in good humor, Ranma looked out at the gray sky and city. "It's probably for the best."

Looking at her companion for a moment, Nabiki nodded her acknowledgement. Nodding to her as well, Ranma escorted her to the train station, stepping fully under the roof before shaking off the excess water and closing his umbrella. Approaching the counter he waited as Nabiki requested her ticket then paid for it.

With that done, they went and found a bench to sat on, quietly waiting for the train. Eventually Nabiki looked over at her escort, seemingly searching for something in him again. After a contemplative moment, she told him. "Thank you."

Ranma in turn gave her a warm smile, before replying. "You're welcome, it was my pleasure."

Shaking her head ruefully, Nabiki glanced over at him, smiling regretfully at the handsome young man beside her. "It was nice, but I don't deserve a prince." Hurriedly she got up and walked over to the loading platform before it could get awkward between them.

Ranma watched her go with a sense of sadness, though he only allowed it to show in his eyes. Standing up to go, he watched her a moment before turning to go. As he approached the edge of the roof, he snapped open his umbrella and murmured. "That just means you need one more than most." Shaking his head to clear it of regret, he looked out at the gray sky before starting on the long walk back to the manor.

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Nabiki watched him walk away out into the rain with a measure of honest confusion. She wasn't used to being so emotionally effected by anyone. Idly she wondered if she should snoop around and attempt to find anything else out since she still had her later train ticket, but decided against it. More than likely, it would just be a waste of time and get her a cold for her troubles.

While waiting for her train, she considered what she had found out. While the situation was fishy, Ranma was apparently happy and well off now. It was certainly a good thing she decided to go alone, as the others probably would have just jumped into things and started trouble here. She was fairly well informed, but what was she going to do with that information? Until someone attacked Ranma and she saw how he responded, getting on his bad side could be a very bad thing, especially since being on his good side could help her future career.

Still though, the people in Nerima would eventually find him, as he wasn't trying very hard to not be found. The best she could do really was go ahead and inform them for a fee then run a little damage control until she had a better handle on the situation here. Kasumi accepting Ranma's offer and moving here for college would be a positive thing, unless somehow Ranma was brought back or made a family enemy before then. Masking plans was pretty useless with that group; the best she could do was handle them as it unfolded and hope for the best.

However unlikely that was with this group.

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After walking a ways away form the train station to a darkened patch of bushes and grass, Ranma stopped by one of the trees and waited. Eventually Ayumi walked out into the dim light and accepted his silent offer of sharing his umbrella. He gave the soaked ninja girl a look over before slowly continuing his walk home, not happy that she was out in the rain on his behalf. He knew from experience though that trying to talk her out of her duty as his personal ninja and bodyguard was a lost cause, so he instead decided to engage her observation skills so she would feel more useful. "Well Ayumi, what do you think of her?"

The busty girl in the short Kimono glanced sideways at her young master, contemplating his request. Once she had a suitable reply, she gave it. "I think you handled her well. She might treat you differently this time, since I think you earned a some respect from her tonight." As she walked uncaring of being cold and soaked, she continued her review of what she saw. "I think you surprised her a lot too. That may threaten her, which would cause her to treat you poorly, or treat you better in the future. I think she was pleasantly surprised though."

Ranma nodded to her absently, not really caring that much for speculation of what Nabiki might do, since she would simply do whatever she does. He was really interested in hearing the ninja girl's point of view so he could compare it to his observations. Taking it in he nodded thoughtfully, before concluding that he had observed her well enough. Thinking of other things, he glanced over at the green haired girl beside him. "When we get back, you're taking a warm bath, okay?"

Ayumi looked up at her young master, frowning internally. He was kind to a fault. He should just accept her service and make use of her, instead of worrying over her like this. It was hard to hold it against him though, especially since it was one of the qualities Mistress Sakura adored him for. She would just have to protect him from others that much more. It was worth it though, as it was more rewarding to personally serve him. Grinning lightly she looked up and sideways at his face, letting him see her playful grin. "Only if you wash my back for me." Seeing him sigh in acceptance, she grinned a bit wider, as teasing him this way was so much fun. The poor boy still had problems with nude women, and having him help wash her back and other parts and then soak with her was a delightful way to tease him and get him over that little problem. She wholeheartedly looked forward to the day when she would teach him so much more.

Ranma gave the busty girl next to him an odd look, successfully hiding his nervousness at her grinning and giggling after he had resigned himself to 'bathing' with her again. He trusted her not to push things to far with him, because so far she had restrained herself, but sometimes she just unnerved him.

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Later that night, the rain clouds had cleared out, leaving the sky partly cloudy, with a hazy crescent moon glowing through the last of the clouds. On a blanket a top the roof lay Ranma, with Maria cuddled to his right side while Ayumi laid to his left. In the quiet times before he had to go to bed, he liked to come up here and watch the stars.

On Thursday nights, the Stargazer club from Astronomy class would come over again, watching stars and chatting with each other quietly until late in the night, watching for meteors that crossed the sky several times a night. After they got tired and some of the girls fell asleep, Ranma would start bringing them in and some would just sleep over for the night, instead of heading home so late in the night.

That was enjoyable in it's own way, but tonight Ranma was happy to share it with just two girls. It was a lot more personal and comfortable that way, and both of these girls enjoyed watching the stars, making it even better.

Hearing someone call his name, Ranma sat up, recognizing Sakura's voice. He glanced down and to her, seeing her with a surprised looking girl with long pink hair. Sakura was dressed as usual in a long kimono that was as elegant as it was simple, gazing up at him fondly. Though her face and posture was as poised as usual, he could see the affection in her eyes. Hopping down he smiled at her before looking over at her guest.

The pink haired girl was wearing blue shorts and an orange t-shirt, while her left ankle was in a cast and brace. Currently she was standing with the aid of her crutches, and was staring at him in apparent awe in her blue eyes.

The pony tailed young man nodded politely at the girl, introducing herself. "Hi, I'm Ranma Saotome." He stared at her for a few seconds as she continued to stare almost raptly in return, apparently having not heard him.

Sakura shook her head, faintly smiling in amusement before touching the girl's arm and speaking to her. "Utena, this is Ranma. I intended for him to be your prince."

Utena's blush deepened, before suddenly looking down in shame, unable to look at him anymore.

Frowning in concern, Ranma stepped forward, touching her elbows to get her attention in a light caress without being to familiar. Seeing her shyly look up at him, he extended his senses, reaching out to her with what Sakura called his empathic abilities. He felt shame from her, a failure in something important to her, and how little confidence she had in herself. He felt the lack of confidence directed at himself now, probably meaning she didn't think she was worthy of having a 'prince'. Softly, with as much concern as he could muster he asked her. "What's wrong Utena?"

Instead of responding she looked down again, her shame eating at her and keeping her from speaking. Worried about her and not knowing how to find out what was wrong, he turned to Sakura with a questioning look.

The stately woman smiled kindly at him and Utena, before supplying the information he wanted. "I met her when she was a young girl, and intended for her to be your princess. She took it upon herself though to become a prince, since she felt the world lacking in heroes. Eventually she found a princess in need of rescuing, but failed in her attempt a few days ago at freeing her."

Seeing that Sakura had said all she was likely going to say for now, the young man examined the despondent girl again, trying to feel out what she needed. He could see her need to curl up in his lap and be protected form the world, but he also saw something else within her. Steadying her with one hand, he gathered her crutches and handed them to Sakura, who took them gracefully without complaint. With the unwieldy sticks out of the way he gathered the pink haired girl in his arms to comfort her, resting his chin on top of her head. Feeling her relax and lose her sense of personal sadness, he then picked her up by cradling her in his arms, smiling at her as she gasped in surprise and growing delight. Softly he asked. "Would you like to watch the stars with me for a while before bed?"

Receiving a hesitant nod, he gave her yet another of what he hoped to be a comforting smile and hopped softly back up to his spot on the roof. The girl in his arms stared at him in amazement, as the transition from ground to roof had been so smooth that she hadn't been surprised or scared by it. Just as carefully he sat down, with her sideways in his lap holding onto his neck still.

Reaching into what he felt to be his empathic powers, he tried to keep her in this mood so his questions wouldn't ruin it. Gently he asked. "Can you tell me about the princess you want to rescue?"

Utena contentedly nuzzled against his clavicle, eyes unfocused as she recalled Anthy. "She's very quiet, but I haven't met her much. She's the prize in a secretive tournament at my new school. They call her the Rose Bride, and she 'belongs' to whoever the current champion is and has to do whatever he wants. If you want her, you just have to challenge and defeat the current champion. She's so quiet, but to me she looks sad."

Ranma smiled down at her, genuine affection warming his smile further now. He definitely liked her heart. It was good and pure, and had potential to be very strong, explaining what Sakura had seen in her years ago. "What about the fight?" he carefully asked.

Utena's pleasant mood dropped slightly before Ranma regained control, but she was still relaxed contentedly. Quietly she continued. "You can only compete by invitation of having a signet ring. It's a sword fight where you destroy a rose on the opponent's lapel. I brought a bamboo practice sword to the challenge since I had nothing else, and his katana cut through it easily. I twisted my ankle badly stumbling back, and that was it."

Haloed by the gentle blue glow of the moon, Ranma smiled down at the pink haired girl in his arms. He knew what he wanted to do for her now. Giving her his best encouraging smile, he stated. "Well then, until you get better, I'll take care of you my princess. Then I'll teach you how to fight, so you can go save her."

Utena stared up at him with wide bright blue eyes, speechless and overcome with emotion. She had taken Sakura's wonderful tale about her being a princess with a prince out there for her to heart, but had been disappointed as the years passed and she met no princes. She had absolved then to be a prince herself, more to depend on herself than really thinking of saving a princess herself.

Now after her failure and being brought 'home' in defeat, she was in her prince's arms. Staring up at him, she couldn't help but notice all of his qualities. He was handsome, ethereally so in the moonlight. He was strong and apparently very skilled if his casual inhuman jumps were any indication, not to mention the feel of his arms. He was treating her with more concern and kindness than she felt she deserved, but not only that, he believed in her, his voice exuding his confidence in her, just as it assured her of his words and intentions. Compared to the mental ideal she had of a prince, he completely blew it away, showing it to be a shallow weak idea compared to his presence.

Maybe most mind blowing of all was that he wouldn't hold her to being a princess, which was a role she would likely be happy to fulfill. He seemed to understand how much saving Anthy and proving herself meant to her, maybe even more so than she had understood it. Treating her this kindly, then letting her continue on with her life, when she would happily stay as a bird in a gilded cage for him, simply showed too much integrity for her to comprehend fully at this moment.

Incapable of expressing her feeling in voice or sound, or even in motion, she melted against him, feeling incapable of anything else.

She couldn't tell, but he didn't hold her too long before she started to drift asleep in the most comfort she had felt in a long time. Seeing she was drifting off, Ranma stood up and carefully took her into the house. Quietly getting Sakura's attention with his eyes, she understood his request and led the way to his room, and opened the door for him. Ranma stopped at the doorway for a moment to stare at Sakura, though after a moment of thought he understood. Nodding his assent to Sakura, he entered his room with a light sigh. Apparently she wanted him to take personal care of Utena, and he trusted her judgment on this.

Carefully sitting on the edge of his bed, he pulled back the covers to carefully lay Utena on his bed. When the half-asleep girl refused to let go of him, he understood Sakura's silent request. Staring at the pink haired girl latched on his arm he contemplated her street clothes. He knew girls didn't like to sleep in their clothes, especially bras, but he also knew he'd have to try pretty hard to wake her up enough for her to dress herself. He also knew he wouldn't be getting any help on this, unless he really objected, since Sakura wanted him more comfortable with girls in situations like this.

Sighing quietly to himself and hoping she wouldn't hate him for this, he decided to go through with it. Quietly he asked her. "I'm going to help you get ready for bed, alright? Just tell me if you're uncomfortable."

Looking into her eyes for an answer, he saw no change in the dreamy half asleep stare she was giving him. He thought she might have actually gotten happier at that, but that made no sense, so he dismissed it.

Slowly he unbuttoned her shorts, and slowly pulled them off of her, taking special care of her ankle, while taking note for any reactions that would indicate he should stop. Considering her top, he knew the bra would have to go for her to sleep comfortably, which also meant removing her shirt. Thinking for a bit, he decided she could wear his silk Chinese shirt to sleep in, which meant he wouldn't have to leave her to fetch something, since she seemed latched onto his presence at the moment.

First, he took off his own blue silk shirt, leaving him in his black muscle shirt. Setting that aside for later, he gathered her up in his arms again so she would be sitting partially upright. He noted she seemed a lot more comforted when he did, giving him some reassurance that he was doing the right thing. He started removing her shirt by rolling it up her chest, doing his best to not disturb her too much. When he went to pull it over her head, she cooperated woodenly, like a damaged marionette, her arms going loosely around his waist once the shirt was off.

Firmly grabbing the clasp of her bra with both hands, he separated it, then slid the straps off of her arms, having a little difficulty getting her to cooperate by letting go off him so he could pull it fully off.

Letting out a small sigh of relief at the hard and dangerous part being over, he reached over and grabbed his shirt without disturbing her. When he tried to pull her arms from his waist to dress her in the shirt, she tightened her grip while burying her face in his shoulder. He was getting a strange feeling of desperation from her. After a moment of staring at her and trying to figure her out, he noticed she was getting cold in only her panties.

Giving a sigh of regret as he had a sinking feeling that he would pay for this in the morning, he tossed the shirt to the floor with the rest of her clothes. Then he piled the pillows up before laying back on them, pulling Utena along so she would lay halfway on his chest. With his shoulders and head partially propped up, he shouldn't turn any during the night, so he hopefully wouldn't hurt her ankle any by tossing and turning in his sleep.

As he pulled the covers over their bodies, the slim girl in his arms pulled herself tighter against him, proving his instincts right. She seemed to be fully into a contented sleep now, with her long straight pink hair partially fanning out from under the covers. The peaceful look on her face made the violence he expected in the morning as a result worth it, though he couldn't understand some of the feelings that had come from her recently.

He did pause to admire the rest of her beauty, as Sakura had tried so hard to teach him. He didn't feel the guilt or shame that used to creep up uncontrollably, though he did expect her to be angry with him in the morning for touching her and seeing her, no matter the circumstance.

She certainly did have a natural beauty to her though. Her skin was very lightly tanned and smooth, while her body was slim and well toned. Probably the most important aspect of her body right now to him though was the way she was holding him and being held. It filled him with a sense of contentment to have her happy and in his arms like this.

Calmly he stroked her long hair, causing it to fall in a waterfall of silky pink across the bed. Contentedly he watched a smile grow on her lips. It was a precious moment he would treasure. Smiling at the angelic beauty who was trusting him so much right now, he whispered a promise to her, that was more to himself.

"I'll always be here for you."

In her dreamless state, where her admiration of him for treating her kindly as his princess while preparing to let her go to her own princess floated among other wonderful feelings, she noted the resigned sense of loss in his promise. She already felt he would be there for her whenever she needed him, and it only firmed her belief in him.

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End Chapter 1

Translations:

Hime-chan - Little/Cute Princess

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Author's Notes:

Well that's the end of this piece.

Utena is from Revolutionary Girl Utena, though obviously from slightly altered circumstances. Sakura inspired by Sakura from Masquerade and Tomoe from Rurouni Kenshin OAV Trust&Betrayal. Maria Belmont inspired by Maria from Castlevania, Symphony of the Night. Ayumi is inspired by Ayane from Dead or Alive, and Yaku from La Blue Girl Returns and Lady Blue. College girls are original characters.

If Ranma seems more intelligent than possible in two weeks, it is due to the change in environment. His prior schools have been horrible, while at the college he has private tutors and good professors. Also a complete change in attitude will account for a lot. As an Education Major, I sort of know this stuff. As for the personality change, it's mostly because he's still learning how to properly behave, so that means he is attentive to people. Attentiveness can account for a lot, besides him being an adaptable and quick learner.


Pages: 22

Words: 14,357

Characters: (No Spaces) 66,704

Characters: (With Spaces) 81,514

Paragraphs: 250

Lines: 1,267

Hey, I'm Shinji the Good Sharer and this is Chapter 1, Version 2.01 as ValorPhoenix might say. I've been granted permission to take over his work since he's chosen to retire from the fanfiction world. I hope I do him proud with this work.

Rewritten by Shinji the Good Sharer on, March 2006. Please send comments and reviews to shinjithegoodsharer(at)gmail(dot)com. Thank you for reading.

 

P.S. I am NOT taking credit for ValorPhoenix's work. I am merely continuing where he has chosen to leave off.