Nabiki and Ranma
A TALE OF TWO WALLETS
(An Altered Destiny)
by
Jim Robert Bader
Prologue.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!" came a familiar cry just seconds
before it was followed by a loud splash caused by an
equally familiar body hitting the water.
Nabiki Tendo looked up from where she had been
lounging by the resort pool reading a book. Without
hardly any surprise she saw a shock of red hair bobbing to
the surface of the pool a moment after the huge splash as
a familiar form in Chinese clothing floated into view,
quite evidently unconscious.
Hardly surprising, Nabiki sniffed. A fall like that
should have killed any ordinary human mortal, let alone a
fall from Kami knew how great a height Ranma had fallen
this time. Nabiki had once tried to calculate the amount
of kinetic energy involved in such an impact and gave it
up after estimating an impossibly high number of foot
pounds. She chalked his continued survival up as some
kind of Martial Arts trick he knew, or just a latent gift
that made him especially hard to kill. Either way Ranma
was in no great danger from either the fall or the
landing.
Drowning, however, was another matter.
Nabiki sighed as she placed her bookmark and sat
upright on her chair. There was no one else around the
resort at this time at this day, not even a lifeguard on
duty. She was the only one on hand who could pull Ranma
to safety before she drowned, not that Nabiki wanted to
get her suit wet. She was not happy at the conclusion,
but she knew at once that Ranma needed her assistance.
"You're going to owe me big for this, Ranma-kun," she
murmured softly to no one in particular. It was precisely
this sort of day-to-day event that they were supposed to
have gotten away from during this vacation, but wherever
Ranma went trouble seemed inevitably to follow, like his
cotitiere of violent fiancées. No matter how he played
things, Ranma Saotome always seemed to wind up on the
losing end of the battle between the sexes.
Diving into the pool and getting her hair wet was a
necessary part of the operation, but once she had reached
Ranma's side she could confirm that, indeed, he was quite
out of it this time, which could only mean that he--or
rather she--had done something to upset her younger sister
more than usual. It was a simple enough task to drag the
redhead to the shallow end of the pool, and from there
carry her up to the steps, grateful that Ranma in this
form was smaller and lighter than Nabiki herself and thus
not so impossible to handle as in his male form.
It took a real effort, however, to get Ranma laid out
on the walkway, by which point she became aware of the
fact that Ranma was not breathing. The Baka must have
swallowed some water, she decided since she could still
feel a pulse, so this fact did not alarm Nabiki unduly.
All that was needed was to turn Ranma on her side and
apply a little pressure until the water flowed out of her
mouth, then roll her onto her back and put to use her
first aid training.
Nabiki paused in doing so, smiling to herself as she
stared at the beautiful face below her, so peaceful in
repose, so unsuspecting that another woman was about to
give mouth-to-mouth. If anyone had a camera she could
have used the photograph for blackmail later, but that
would have to wait, she grimly decided. Ranma needed
fresh air in her lungs, so Nabiki wasted little more time
than necessary doing what any of his fiancées would gladly
have paid big bucks to accomplish.
After only the third try Ranma sputtered and coughed
then began to breathe on her own, at which point she
became very much aware of the identity of her rescuer.
Ranma's blue eyes got very round as she gasped, "Nabiki?"
"Hiya, Ranma-kun," Nabiki said cheerfully, "Guess you
owe me for another rescue."
"Uh, yeah," Ranma said, coughing a bit before sitting
up, "Thanks. How much is it this time?"
Nabiki inclined her head and considered the point,
then smirked as she answered, "I'll let you know when I
think of something. So…what did you do to upset Akane
this time?"
"Ah, it was stupid," Ranma sounded depressed and
tired, "Your sister's got no control at all. All I said
was that it was a shame about Ukyo and Shampoo. I mean,
it's not like I asked those two to fall in love with me!
Ukyo's my best friend, and I don't want to hurt her, while
Shampoo…" she sighed, "Ever since Mousse read me the riot
act about Amazon Law I haven't been able to get it out of
my mind. I mean…the poor girl's got no options with that
stupid Tribal rules of hers, and what am I supposed to do
about it?"
"It's not your problem," Nabiki replied, "Shampoo
made her own choice about defying her traditions about
killing or marrying you. She has to face the
consequences."
Ranma flashed her an angry glance, "How can you be so
callous about what they're going to do to her if she
doesn't marry or kill me? Haven't you got any feelings?"
Perhaps Nabiki was too obvious in reacting to that
accusation because Ranma seemed to regret her words
instantly as she spoke in a more conciliatory voice, "I'm
sorry, Nabiki…I didn't mean it that way…"
"What's to be sorry about?" Nabiki casually asked the
redhead, but inwardly she cringed a little. Everyone
always thought that she had no feelings, that she really
was the Ice Queen that she normally pretended to be. She
never minded the accusation most times, but the way Ranma
had said it hurt more than it should have.
Ranma sighed as she sat up, "Look, I don't want
Shampoo to suffer on my account, she doesn't deserve that.
I don't know how I can make things right for her, but I
can't just ignore the mess I've made of her life, anymore
than I can ignore the other mess my father made by
engaging me to Ucchan."
"Seems to me that latter point is more your father's
responsibility than your own," Nabiki said reasonably,
"He's the one who should make things right for Ukyo
Kuonji."
"But she's the one who's been suffering for years,"
Ranma persisted, "I've tried talking her out of it, I've
even tried finding other guys she could get interested in,
but Ucchan just says she won't give up until I see her at
my legitimate fiancée. The same is true with Shampoo,
only she's got a death sentence hanging over her head if I
can't find some honorably way to satisfy that law of
hers…" she sighed, "Why can't Akane see that? Shampoo is
a friend and friends should stick together."
"Your friend has drugged and tricked you many times,
Ranma-kun," Nabiki pointed out, "You can't exactly blame
Akane for holding a grudge over that Mind-Wipe incident."
"But that doesn't give her the right to hit me,"
Ranma felt along her cheek then said, "Ow!"
Nabiki eyed him curiously then asked, "Was that
really all you said, Ranma-kun? That you felt sorry for
the other rivals?"
"Yeah," Ranma answered, then paused to consider the
point before resuming, "Well…maybe I also said something
about comparing her cooking to theirs…and I think that's
when she hit me."
Nabiki smiled again, suspicions confirmed. The one
consistent thing about Saotome Ranma was his inability to
speak the truth without putting his foot squarely between
his tonsils.
"It's just not fair," Ranma said miserably, "I never
asked for any of this! I don't like being so responsible
for other people, but here I've got three women after me
and I can only marry one of them, so the other two are
going to wind up hurt one way or another."
"That's your problem, Saotome," Nabiki said with a
knowing smirk, "You're just too irresistible for your own
good."
"Laugh all you want," Ranma looked at her with an
expression that tried to be scornful but just wound up
midway between hurt and forlorn, "It's not your problem
after all. I'll bet you'd know what to do if there were
all these guys out trying to marry you!"
"Eh?" Nabiki asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"You know what I mean," Ranma turned to glare at her,
"You're the smart one, figure it out! I go through all of
this hell and you get to sit back and make a profit at my
expense! Bet you'd find a way to work everything out if
you had a curse like me and the opposite sex was hot to
date you!"
Nabiki rocked back from the accusation, for once not
prepared with a ready comeback as Ranma turned away, once
more sulking in her misery before she slowly got to her
feet and said, "Look, I'm sorry…I didn't mean to snap at
you like that. I'm just so tired of this whole mess…tired
of everybody always blaming me for the way things turn
out. I don't expect you to understand, why should you?
Everybody's afraid of winding up on your bad side, and you
never have to raise a finger. I'm the one people want to
pound into the floor, especially your sister, and I don't
mind telling you that I hate it!"
Ranma started to walk away while Nabiki sat where she
was and just stared after her. It took a full three
minutes before Nabiki finally managed to stir enough to
say, "Well, what brought that up all of a sudden?"
No one was around to answer, of course, so she slowly
got up and went back to her homework. Her College
admission studies test was next week, and she had to catch
up on her reading. No time to ponder the imponderable
problem of what to do with Ranma and his pathological
problems with too many fiancées and half the population of
Nerima out to kill him.
Yet still she could not quite get her mind to focus
back on her studies. She kept going back to the look
Ranma had given her before leaving, and the accusation she
had hurled off-handedly with such a bitterness as Nabiki
had never heard before. The charges were hardly new,
having been hurled her way before with equal venom,
but…never with such a sense of futility about them. Ranma
was clearly in low spirits and had expected no sympathy in
admitting to Nabiki that the whole thing made him feel
lonely.
The irony of that word almost made Nabiki snort in
derision. Ranma alone? He had Ukyo for a best buddy and
they talked a lot about everything. Well…maybe Kuonji did
push the engagement matter from time-to-time, but other
than that she was a pretty good listener…
Except, of course, for the fact that Ranma wanted to
talk about his engagement problems with somebody who
wasn't engaged and therefore had no vested interest.
Shampoo was out for similar reasons, and as for
Akane…well, the last thing she seemed capable of these
days was listen objectively to Ranma.
And who might that be, she idly wondered? His
father? Genma Saotome was far from the most objective
sort man when it came to the fiancée problem, especially
seeing as he was instrumental in causing most of those
problems in the first place! Her own father was hardly
any better. Both men had insisted on the engagement
between Ranma and Akane, which had looked like a disaster
from the get-go and hardly seemed to have improved any
over the course of the last year. Ranma and Akane were
still fighting constantly and getting along less and less
often, and to no small degree one source of their
continual irritation was both of their meddlesome fathers,
who just could not leave these two alone to come to terms
in their own way.
And now things had settled down into a pattern where
Ranma would insult Akane and she would in turn abuse him.
Ranma did not fight back owing to that silly code of
Chivalry he adhered to, which infuriated Akane to no end
as she thought he was being condescending towards her.
Ranma intimidated Akane and berated her as both a woman
and a Martial Artist, and in return Akane sought to punish
the boy in the only way that she knew how. Neither one
would come out and say exactly what they were feeling as
it would have been like confessing a weakness, conceding
the battle that was constantly being waged between them.
Nabiki sighed, concluding sadly that there was no one
to whom Ranma could turn for advise that would listen to
him objectively and offer him the counseling that he could
use in resolving his unconventional lifestyle problem.
Even she never listened to him without charging something
in return. Everyone had a stake in whom Ranma would
eventually marry, and the betting pool on the three
fiancées was currently running at 7:4:2 in favor of Akane.
If anything Ranma had just made things complicated by
favoring the other two women (even Nabiki never thought of
including the fourth in any serious discussion of
engagements, Kodachi being little more than a nuisance),
especially in regards to the Shampoo matter. Akane feared
Ukyo because the Okonomiyaki chef clearly had the
qualities that Akane lacked as a domestic, while Shampoo
she tended to regard as a Chinese bimbo. Both girls were
better fighters and could cook and had no hesitation in
confessing their feelings for Ranma, three strikes in
their favor. For some reason, though, Ranma had managed
so far to remain faithful to Akane.
But that may have changed if he were starting to
actually think of Shampoo as a credible fiancée. Any way
you looked at matters Ranma was headed for tragedy with
two out of three girls certain to know heartbreak.
Nabiki sat where she was, finding herself growing
more depressed the longer she thought about the subject.
Ranma could be such an infuriating blockhead, a stubborn,
prideful, arrogant, thickheaded male chauvinist--and who
the hell did she think she was fooling with this aloof and
disinterested act anyway? She cared about him a lot more
than she knew she had any business doing, and not just
because he was iinazuke to her younger sister!
She heaved the kind of sigh that Nabiki would never
have heaved if she thought that anyone else were present.
She stared morosely at the ground, wondering how she had
ever let matters get so far out of her control in the past
year or so of living under the same roof as Ranma Saotome.
Every time she looked at him--in either form--she had a
sense of something special that she had allowed to escape
her grasp all because of one simple error in judgement,
one chance-of-a-lifetime that she let slip her by over a
year ago. Now matters were impossibly complicated, and
she was at a loss to know how she would ever live with the
consequences of her decision.
If only…she sighed. What did it matter? Wishes could
never unmake the choices that she had settled for, so why
bother tormenting herself over what could never be?
The memory of Ranma staring at her with those
accusing eyes came back unbidden. That was why she had
this regret. Ranma hates me, she thought. He thinks I'm
a soulless moneymaking monster…
"There now, dearie," a voice intruded on her
consciousness, "No need for a pretty girl like you to be
crying."
"Huh?" Nabiki sat bolt upright and turned to see a
kindly face staring at her from beneath a hooded robe.
Almost by reflex Nabiki dabbed her eyes and tried to
pretend they were not wet as she assumed her usual Ice
Queen façade and said, "Don't be silly…why would I be
crying?"
"Hmmm," the hooded figure smiled as it inclined its
head to one side, then replied, "Off hand I'd say it was
because of somebody you care about who barely knows you
exist, or at least that's my impression. Don't worry
about me, though, Miss Tendo, I won't spoil your perfect
reputation."
"Hah?" Nabiki tried not to show how surprised she
was, "What do you mean by that? And how do you know who I
am?"
"I know quite a few things about you," the hooded
figure smiled more insinuatively, "For one thing you never
show your hand in any game of cards, and isn't life the
grandest card game of all? For example, see what I hold
in my hand here?"
The hooded figure extended a handful of unusually
decorated playing cards. Nabiki just looked at them then
said, "Fortune telling, huh? Can you predict how the
Tokyo market's going to be doing by tomorrow?"
"You don't need me to figure that one out," the
hooded figure chuckled, "Go ahead, pick a card. What harm
could there be?"
Nabiki continued to look at the cards in suspicion,
"I've heard that one a few times too many. What's the
scam this time? I don't have much money on me at the
moment…"
"Other than the credit card in your name that you
carry in your purse next to the roll of fifteen thousand
yen?" the hooded figure noted, "This isn't about money,
Tendo-san, and picking a card won't cost you anything…or
at least not anything that you wouldn't gladly part with
of your own free volition. Trust me, I know."
Nabiki continued to hesitate, but now she was staring
at the cards in alarm, not skepticism, "You think so?
Mind telling me how you figured that out?"
"That's obvious," the hooded figure chuckled, "I'm
the real thing as you must obviously know. You've seen
far stranger things in your time, have you not? Magic
spells, curses, love potions, floating islands, Martial
Artists who can destroy whole buildings with their Ki-
force…"
"All right!" Nabiki said, now visibly sweating, "Good
guess about the card and the yen, but why should I trust
you by playing along with this scam? You think I don't
know that something's going to happen when I pick that
stupid card?"
"Obviously you are too clever by half," the figure
sighed, "In reply I'll ask you a simple question, what are
you afraid of? What do you have to lose by drawing a card
from the deck of fate? How happy are you with affairs as
they stand, where you are alone and miserable with no one
you can call your friend except maybe Kasumi, who isn't
exactly the kind of counsel you can feel comfortable about
unloading on your darkest secrets."
"Ah," Nabiki winced, "How about if we go back to the
part about how you know all this about me?"
"You were asking yourself just now about a certain
moment in your life that you now regret and wish that you
could alter," the figure persisted, "You met a certain man
long ago who had a problem that was very unique. You have
watched that man grow as a person over the following year
and have come to admire him in spite of his many faults
and personal failings. You have exploited this man's
trust and abused the privilege of his association in the
interest of making money off his problems…a great deal of
money, only some of which has gone back into the finances
of your House. The money interests you, but you are
starting to wonder if the man himself might not be worth a
great deal more than what you have taken. You are feeling
guilty about the way matters have gone between you and…"
"All right! You've made your point!" Nabiki cried
out, staring back at the cards before reaching out to take
one at random, murmuring to herself, "I just know I'm
going to regret this…"
"Somehow I don't think so," the voice of the hooded
figure said as Nabiki stared at the card, which was the
Queen of Hearts. Another moment after this Nabiki could
have sworn that she saw the face on the card change from
the conventional flat style to a face very similar to her
own, a face very much like Nabiki's only wearing a crown
and a fancy kimono. The face winked at her knowingly, and
Nabiki almost dropped the card before looking back up at
the face of the hooded stranger.
The stranger was no longer hooded, and now her face
was fully revealed, along with the smile that she was
wearing. Nabiki Tendo stared up at the face
of…herself…only a much older and much more mature Nabiki
Tendo, who was winking at her in the same manner as the
card. Before she could ask any more questions her vision
began to swim and she gasped, "Nani…?"
"Just take a deep breath and let it happen," her
older self replied, "There's nothing to be worried about,
just let it happen, and believe me…you'll wind up feeling
like a whole new person…"
The Revised Tales of Nabiki and Ranma:
A TALE OF TWO WALLETS!
(Based on the Works of Rumiko Takahashi
& Inspired by the similar series of McKinley Morgan)
Part One.
"Nabiki, come here!" her father cried from somewhere
down the hall.
Nabiki glanced up in annoyance from where she was
reclined upon her bed doing her homework. She debated
just ignoring the summons, especially since she heard the
names of her other two sisters being called as well.
Whatever her father wanted, she was not interested. Her
father could be excited over anything, and at the moment
she had a lot of work to get caught up on before she
turned her attention to her weekly ledger.
School was a drag but she had to keep her grade point
average up if she were to be accepted into the best
college of her choice. A business major could not allow
herself to slack in other areas, one never knew when a
money-making investment option might slip you by due to a
lack of basic knowledge…
The door to her room flew open and her father beamed
proudly, "Nabiki-chan! Come quickly! Your father has an
important announcement that all of you should hear at
once."
Nabiki was surprised to see the excited look in her
father's face. Maybe it would not be bad news this
time…that would be a pleasant switch!
Soun Tendo paused at Akane's room next, only to find
his youngest daughter missing. He turned to Nabiki as she
stepped out into the hall and asked, "Where is Akane, do
you know?"
"I think she's out practicing in the dojo," Nabiki
replied, then waved a hand to forestall his next question,
"I'll go get her, Daddy."
She sighed, thinking of Akane and what her younger
sister might be up to. Akane was difficult to relate to
these days, what with her problems with boys and her
incredibly short fuse. Nabiki wondered sometimes how the
two of them could even be related. It had all started
many years ago when their mother…well, that was a painful
subject for them both. The problem was that Akane went
through building materials like there was no tomorrow, and
with their limited means it was no laughing matter.
As expected she found Akane at her usual favorite
sport of taking perfectly good cinder blocks and reducing
them to rubble. She watched as Akane effortlessly split
four blocks down the middle, then leaned against the
doorframe as she commented dryly, "Honestly, this is
exactly the reason why the boys at school think you're so
weird, neechan."
Akane was instantly on guard, "So what? Not
everybody thinks the world revolves around boys, Nabiki!
Why shouldn't I take pride in my accomplishments as a
martial artist?"
In spite of herself Nabiki frowned ever-so-slightly.
There was something about Akane's attitude that rubbed her
the wrong way, not least because of the way Akane
pronounced the word "boys" as though it were an epithet.
Her younger sister's attitude was grating for several
reasons, not least of which in that it implied that Nabiki
were somehow frivolously in pursuit of a relationship. In
truth she had not had a date in months, but that was
mostly because she had been too busy for romance, not
because she rejected the male half of the species.
"Daddy wants us back in the house," Nabiki said as
she pushed away from the dojo, "If I were you I'd take a
bath first."
"And if I were you, I'd go soak my head in a bucket!"
Akane called back in sisterly irritation.
Nabiki just sighed, deciding once and for all that
there was no way that she could be related to either
Kasumi or Akane. As far as she could tell they both
represented polar opposites of the spectrum while Nabiki
occupied the comfortable middle ground of normality.
She took the time to go back up into her room so that
she could fetch a nice kimono, confident that there would
be enough time before Akane was presentable, though why
she felt like going to the trouble escaped her. Perhaps,
she thought, dressing more formal would give her an edge
with her father in negotiation for whatever it was he had
in mind. Her father was prone to all sorts of foolish
schemes, and it was all that she and Kasumi could do to
keep their father in line. She hoped fervently that
whatever he had planned this time would not be too
outrageous.
By the time she was ready Kasumi and Akane were
already waiting. Nabiki frowned marginally as she saw
that Akane had not changed out of her gi, nor had she
bathed in spite of Nabiki's suggestion. Their father,
meanwhile, was beaming grandiosely as if bursting to tell
them all the good news that he had in mind. This was
definitely alarming, but Nabiki gave no hint of her
uneasiness as she took her place between her two sisters
and waited patiently for Soun Tendo to get down to
business.
"Now that you are all here," he said proudly, "I have
good news to relate. A very old and dear friend of mine
named Saotome Genma is coming to pay a visit, and he's
bringing his son, Ranma with him."
"How long will they be planning on staying, father?"
Kasumi at once asked, as usual planning the domestic
affairs for the household.
"Indefinitely," their father replied, holding up a
postcard that had a picture of a panda eating bamboo on
the other side, "Because Genma's son is about to marry one
of you to unite our Houses."
"What?" Akane and Nabiki said in chorus, while Kasumi
just looked puzzled.
"That's right," Soun replied, "One of you three girls
will become Saotome Ranma's wife. It has long been a
dream of mine to unite both Tendo and Saotome lines of the
Anything Goes school, a matter of honor that was decided
between us before any of you were born."
"A fiancée, father?" Kasumi seemed to consider the
point, then sighed, "I hope he isn't younger than me.
Young men tend to be so…young."
Nabiki's mind was suddenly racing and she found
herself smiling, "So one of us gets to marry Ranma and
becomes the heir for the Anything Goes school? How about
it, Akane? One of us is going to get married."
"Are you kidding, Nabiki?" Akane all but exploded,
"What kind of insane arrangement is this anyway? You
don't honestly expect us to go along with this, Dad?"
"I most certainly do," Soun grew very serious and
sober, "The traditions of our school must be passed down
within the family. You, as the only one of my daughters
who has seriously studied the art, should take into
consideration your obligation to carry on our line…"
"No way!" Akane leaped to her feet, "I can't believe
that you would do something like this without consulting
with us…"
Nabiki sighed, "Akane-chan, sit down. This is no
time to be making a fuss. So…what's this Saotome Ranma
like, Daddy? Is he cute?"
Soun slowly got up and went to stand by the porch,
looking out onto the garden, then after a suitable pause
he said, "I don't really know. I've never actually met
him."
"What?" Nabiki once more found herself echoing Akane,
but she managed to stop herself before adding anything
imprudent.
"That's right," Soun replied, "All I know is that
Ranma has been in training almost since the day that he
was born. Genma has taken him from one end of Japan to
the other studying and perfecting his knowledge of the
martial arts, and they have only just recently concluded a
visit to the interior of Mainland China."
Nabiki suddenly brightened, "Ooh! China! That
sounds exotic…"
"Would you get serious, Nabiki?" Akane continued to
growl, "This is like something out of the Feudal era!
We're living in modern times, Dad, we have rights, you
know! Don't we at least have a choice about who and when
we're going to marry?"
"What are you getting so worked up for?" Nabiki asked
her sister, "It's not like it's set in stone that you're
the one Saotome Ranma is going to marry."
"Fine!" Akane snapped, "Then you marry him! I'm out
of this completely!"
Nabiki frowned as she studied her sister's profile.
Akane had a stubborn streak a kilometer wide. It would
serve her right if she got fixed up in an arranged
marriage to a complete stranger, it might even be her best
shot at getting married. On the other hand, whoever
married her would have to contend with that incredible
temper. Perhaps it was just as well that Akane sounded so
adamant, it increased Nabiki's own chances immeasurably…
Which prompted Nabiki to suddenly examine herself and
wonder why she was getting so excited just at the prospect
of meeting this Saotome Ranma. What if the boy were
indeed some kind of horrible freak that she could not
stand to look at? She had no idea of what his financial
prospects were or even if he was of the right social
class. Why did just the name of Ranma make her feel so
eager to meet him in person? "Wild Horse" hardly sounded
like her type of person. Nabiki liked being in control,
and she had little enough to do with Martial Arts these
days, so what exactly did she have to look forward to?
The answer was surprisingly obvious. She was bored
and lonely! She had not dated in a long while because
none of the boys at her school were interesting enough to
hang around with. What few friends she did have were as
much business prospects as confidants, and even with those
she never confided in anything more than the strict
minimum for a social relationship. Perhaps meeting a new
boy was just the thing she needed to put some excitement
back into her life, make things less predictable and maybe
even open up new business ventures if he had any
marketable skills besides fighting.
So she smiled and said, "Fine by me. Your loss is my
gain, Sis."
"Won't you reconsider, Akane-chan?" Kasumi attempted
to reason, "Father is only thinking of what is best for
our family."
"Hah!" Akane said derisively, as rude as she had ever
overtly been to their father, which had the inevitable
effect of making Soun Tendo weep, which made Nabiki feel
even more irritation.
Before matters could deteriorate too far, however,
there came a knock at the door, which caused all heads to
turn towards the hallway.
"That must be them!" Soun beamed proudly, already
moving towards the front, only to find Nabiki a step
behind him.
"Great!" she said, "I can't wait to see what this
Ranma looks like."
Inwardly she was thinking about her own appearance
and wishing fervently that she had taken more time to
create the best impression. She had no illusions that she
could compete with either Kasumi or Akane in the looks
department. She was attractive enough, she knew, but she
lacked the honest charm of either of her siblings and felt
grossly inferior around them. Akane had an entire school
full of boys practically climbing the walls to date her,
while Kasumi had been a very popular girl. Nabiki could
never understand why her older sibling was still a virgin
with her prospects…
Her inward reflection was suddenly knocked completely
off track as both she and her father came to an abrupt
halt, confronted by a creature that had entered through
the front door, practically as wide and tall as the frame
itself and very dangerous looking.
The rational part of her mind seized up as she gazed
in disbelief. Could that actually be a panda standing on
its hind legs with a person slung across its shoulder?
The panda growled something at them both, and as one both
she and her father spun about and started running back the
way they had come.
"Gaah!" her father cried while she called out to her
sisters, "Akane! Kasumi! Stand back, it might be
dangerous!"
"You hear that, Pop?" another voice responded,
"You're scaring them! Put me down so I can explain what's
happened!"
Nabiki whirled about once again, staring in even
deeper confusion around her father's shoulder as she saw a
redheaded figure alight on bare feet before turning around
with the bear's paws still firmly gripping the stranger by
the shoulders.
Soun stared at the redheaded figure a moment before
saying, "Are you…?"
The figure looked sheepishly back and said, "I'm
Saotome Ranma. Sorry about this."
Nabiki continued to stare, then slowly she began to
smile again and replied, "Oohhh…he is cute! And such
exotic looks, too…"
"Huh?" the redhead looked back in confusion, and
Nabiki found the stranger had very nice blue eyes that
added to the effect created by the red hair. Ranma
Saotome was not a very tall person, but there was much
promise that he would one day grow into a real dreamboat.
Nabiki found her enthusiasm increasing by the moment.
"At last!" Soun was all but sobbing again as he moved
forward to put his arms around Ranma, "You have no idea
how long I have waited for this moment…"
Nabiki suddenly sensed a change in her father's
attitude. Soun tensed up as he held Ranma close in his
embrace. Soun's hands began to explore the boy's
dimensions as if trying to puzzle something out. He then
held Ranma out at arms length and stared down at the
stranger with a look of utter purplexion.
Nabiki moved closer to discover what had sparked such
unusual behavior in her father and at once noticed little
things she had not paid attention to at first glance.
Almost against her will she looked down and saw a telltale
bulge beneath the Chinese shirt Ranma was wearing.
"Huh?" she exclaimed before extending a finger to
explore what she found before her. She touched Ranma's
chest and found that it did indeed give slightly at her
push. She poked the stranger several times before
satisfying herself that those were indeed a set of breasts
the stranger was wearing.
"Um," Ranma hesitated, "Would you please stop doing
that?"
Nabiki suddenly became aware of what she was doing
and withdrew the finger. Her surprise gave way to a
profound sense of disappointment, and then she glared at
her father and said, "Daddy, I thought you said Ranma was
a boy!"
"I-I don't understand," Soun stammered, "I was
certain Genma's son would be male…"
"I don't believe you two!" said Akane, causing Nabiki
and their father to turn and look at her in surprise, "Boy
or a girl she's still our guest! Is this any way to treat
her?" She stepped forward and at once adopted a friendly
greeting, "Konichiwa, my name is Akane. Would you like to
go somewhere?"
"Uh…sure," the redhead said hesitantly, "Where would
you like to go?"
"How about to the dojo?" Akane smiled, "We can work
out together. You studied Kempo, right?"
"Uh, yeah," Ranma replied uneasily, "A little."
"Great!" Akane beamed, "Then we can spar to see how
good you are."
"But…" Ranma started to protest when Akane took her
by the wrist and hurried her along.
Nabiki stood where she was for only a few seconds
before frowning. There was something very odd going on
around here and she knew she had to get to the bottom of
it. She was missing a significant piece of a puzzle, and
the one thing she could not stand was an unsolved mystery.
With great resolution she turned to follow this Ranma and
her sister. In her haste to get to the bottom of the
matter she unwittingly forgot about the panda, who was
even then heading towards the nearest bathroom.
She caught up with the other two girls just as Akane
was assuming a ready stance, facing Ranma from a distance
of only two arms lengths. The other girl just stood where
she was and gave no hint at all of taking the challenge
seriously. As Nabiki studied them both, however, she took
note of how relaxed Ranma's posture was and somehow knew
implicitly that the other girl did not find Akane's
attitude intimidating.
Almost at once Akane unleashed her opening attack,
but though her punch was powerful it missed Ranma, who
easily dodged it. Nabiki stared with widening eyes as
Akane tried several more punches, then a kick, all of
which Ranma avoided with an ease that made Akane look like
a statue. In growing frustration Akane threw everything
she had into her next punch, but Ranma just leaped over
her head and landed on the other side, then tapped Nabiki
on the back of the head. Ranma smiled, and after another
moment Akane smiled, too, then said, "Friends?"
"Sure," Ranma replied, "Why not?"
"You're pretty good," Akane said as she reached for a
towel and glanced over her shoulder, "But just the same,
I'm glad you're not a boy."
"You are?" the look on Ranma's face was suddenly very
nervous.
"Of course," Akane replied as she passed Nabiki by
without glancing, "I'd really hate losing to a boy."
"Oh," Ranma sounded deflated, "That's just terrific."
Nabiki frowned, sensing a deepening mystery. She
studied the dejected profile of the girl, unable to fathom
what was making her seem so depressed. She was tempted to
go in there and confront her directly, but that had never
been her way, so she silently withdrew to reflect on the
facts as she knew them. No doubt other clues would drop if
she were patient and observant, and Nabiki was nothing if
not a very careful and thorough observer with patience by
the liter. Whatever the truth was she was determined to
find it.
With this resolve in mind it was almost a shock when
the next big clue fell right into her lap, or rather was
sitting there in the living room, conferring with her
father. The man was middle-aged, heavy set, wore glasses,
wore a white gi and had a bandana wrapped around his head.
In all other respects he was a total stranger.
"Nani?" she exclaimed to herself, then sought out
Kasumi in the kitchen and asked, "Hey, Sis, who's the man
talking to Daddy?"
"I don't know, Nabiki-chan," Kasumi replied in her
usual pleasant demeanor, "He only showed up a few moments
ago. I didn't even hear him enter."
"Weird," Nabiki said as she returned to the living
room and took immediate notice of the fact that her father
was crying, "Daddy?"
"Nabiki," her father replied, indicating with a nod
the man in front of him, "May I present my dear friend,
Saotome Genma. Saotome-kun, my middle daughter, Nabiki."
"I am honored," the other man nodded in a deep, gruff
voice, "Although this is the first time that you've
actually seen me in my true form."
"True form?" Nabiki blinked.
"I was the Panda you saw earlier," the man remarked,
"I was under a curse that prevented me and my son from
presenting ourselves in proper form when you sought to
greet us into your house."
"Panda," Nabiki eyed the fellow skeptically, but then
the other part of his statement sank home and she said,
"Your son? You mean that girl…?"
"Ranma is not a girl, Nabiki," Soun replied, "That
was part of the curse that they both live under. You see,
Genma and his son have just returned from a forbidden
place called the Cursed Springs of Jusenkyo."
"Cursed Springs?" Nabiki scowled, "Really, Daddy,
what's this man trying to sell you? You don't honestly
expect us to believe such a far-fetched story?"
"Not without proof, of course," Genma replied, "But
if you will abide for a moment…"
A sudden scream rocked the Tendo house, jolting
Nabiki out of her normally aloof reserve as she saw Akane
come racing into the living room to hoist up the table
over her head while her father and the other man snatched
their tea implements up in haste.
"Akane?" Soun asked, "What is the meaning of this
child?"
"There's a Pervert in the bathroom!" Akane declared
while getting ready to hurl the table out of the living
room onto the porch, "He saw me naked!"
"So why didn't you clobber him up there?" Nabiki
asked in confusion.
"I got scared, that's why!" Akane barked angrily at
Nabiki.
"Excuse me," a masculine voice intruded on the scene,
and Nabiki turned around to stare at one of the most
handsome boys she had ever laid eyes upon. He was not
very tall but he had rugged good looks and looked to be
about Akane's age with black hair done up in a pony tail.
He was also dressed in exactly the same Chinese
clothes as the redheaded girl had been. Nabiki continued
to stare as she took note that his eyes were also as blue
as the redheads.
"Oh my," Kasumi gasped as she appeared with a tray in
both hands, "Another guest? And who might you be?"
"I'm….Ranma Saotome," the boy replied with the same
apologetic look as the redhead, "Sorry about this."
Nabiki heard the table fall on Akane's head as her
sister took this news as gracelessly as she ever took
anything. Nabiki on the other hand just stared in
disbelief. This boy was the redhead? If so, then he was
a consummate master of disguise, being at least nine
centimeters taller and quite a few kilograms more massive.
Without a word she sank to her knees and stared in
confusion, unable to grasp why nothing made sense any
more. Everyone else but her father and the old man
reacted similarly to this revelation, and they all sensed
a very strange story in the making…
It was some minutes later, after the strangers gave
their explanation, complete with graphic illustration,
that the three Tendo daughters sat together with equally
stunned looks (well, Nabiki felt stunned, while Akane
looked angry, and Kasumi…well, how to describe how Kasumi
looked when trying to take in such an impossible thing as
a Curse that was activated with the touch of cold water?).
"How I feel for you both," their father openly wept,
"To bear this burden as you have…well, never mind. This
is actually great news! It means that now your son can
marry one of my three daughters, just as we planned,
Saotome!"
"Huh?" Nabiki gasped, knowing she had missed
something significant in all of these exchanges.
"But father," Kasumi said, "He's too young for me."
"You've got to be kidding!" Akane protested, "He
turns into a girl! And he's a pervert besides!"
"What?" Ranma suddenly went from looking sullenly at
the table to full-fledged anger, "What did you call me?"
"You heard what I said, you Pervert!" Akane spat.
"Just how am I a pervert?" Ranma wanted to know, as
did Nabiki.
"You saw me naked!" Akane naturally replied.
"Whoah!" Ranma blinked, "How is that again? Who
walked in on me while I was taking a bath?"
"I…" Akane hesitated for only a fraction of a second,
"It doesn't matter! You're still a pervert!"
"Because I turn into a girl?" Ranma was rising up in
his seat, "That's not my fault! It's because of the
curse, I tell you!"
"Please," Soun said, "There is no reason to fight.
Now, Ranma…you have a choice of one of my three girls to
be your iinazuke. There is Kasumi, aged 19, Nabiki, age
17, and Akane, age 16. Choose one and you will unite our
families and make the Anything Goes school the stronger
for our union."
"Now just a minute!" Ranma protested, "Don't I have
any say in who I'm going to marry? I don't even know
these girls and you expect me to pick one to become my
wife just because the two of you say so?"
"No way am I marrying you!" Akane spat insistently.
"I can't marry him, father," Kasumi replied, "He's
much too young."
"I'll do it."
Everyone turned their attention towards Nabiki, who
started as if the words she had just uttered had been
spoken by a total stranger. She had been looking at Ranma
the whole time that her sisters had been laying out their
arguments against the marriage. She had been about to put
her own two-yen in when she found herself staring at
Saotome Ranma with an eye towards considering him as she
would any other prospective business proposition.
Nabiki prided herself on her ability to rapidly
assess a given situation and determine on the spot its
potential net worth and likely turnover. Those same
instincts had been considering Ranma's given assets and
came up with the conclusion that he was (ichi) very good
looking, (ni) a superb martial artist, (san) under an
unusual curse that caused him to switch genders without
warning and (shi) honor-bound to marry a Tendo. On the
down side was his curse, his attitude and an impression
she had that the boy was lacking in basic social skills.
The way he and Akane reacted to one another meant that
they had a lot in common, but were basically incompatible,
having too many of the same basic faults and personal
failings.
She was not certain if that were a good or bad thing.
Knowing how volatile Akane could be at the best of times,
a male version of Akane might not make the best potential
mate, but then again that was merely assuming that they
were indeed going to be married. Most likely it was an
honor thing that her father would insist on, but if the
boy were less than agreeable then it might be possible to
wiggle out in the end after she had satisfied herself on
whether or not he were a good enough investment.
So she smiled after only a brief pause and said,
"I'll be his iinazuke since Akane and Kasumi don't want
him."
"On my sweet child," Soun beamed proudly, "You make
your father so happy!"
"Better you than me, Sis," Akane said with a
dismissive snort.
"Hey!" Ranma recovered from his brief surprise and
said, "I never agreed to marry anybody! I'm not just
going to tie myself to some girl…"
"Well, aren't we a prize?" Nabiki's tone dripped
sarcasm, but for some reason she was not really offended
by his refusal.
To her surprise the boy looked at her as though he
were taken aback by her statement. After a fractional
hesitation he said, "No offense…I mean, I'm sure you're a
very nice girl, and you're sure pretty enough that I'll be
you have a lot of boyfriends…"
"Oh," now Nabiki found that she was indeed being
affected by his statement, "Sure…lots of boyfriends…"
"So why would you want to tie yourself down with me?"
he asked reasonably, which was a close mirror to Nabiki's
own thoughts, though she would not have voiced them aloud
as casually as Ranma, "I mean…you might not even like me!"
"Don't you mean that the other way around?" Akane
said with a dismissive snort, "Just wait until you do get
to know my sister, assuming she'll let you."
"Hey!" Nabiki rounded on Akane's unexpected jibe,
"Just what do you mean by that?"
"Only that you can be such a heartless mercenary that
you'll probably wind up selling him to a freak show!"
Akane turned away, "You don't care at all about the
Anything Goes school, you don't even practice the art
anymore, remember?"
Nabiki was trying to come up with a retort to that
when Ranma beat her to the punch, "So? What's wrong with
her having some interests outside the Art? It's not like
she has to be an Uncute Tomboy like you!"
"What did you call me?" Akane was suddenly livid with
anger.
"You heard me," Ranma turned away with an aloof look
of smugness about him, "You fight like a boy but you're
about as graceful as a walrus. I'll bet Nabiki here is
twice as nimble on her feet without half trying."
"Why you--!" Akane suddenly hefted the table off the
floor and brought it down once on Ranma's head, smashing
him to the floor and knocking him senseless while everyone
else just stared in dismay, including Nabiki.
"Akane?" Soun looked as surprised as Kasumi at the
violent behavior of the youngest Tendo daughter while
Nabiki was stunned speechless. Only Genma looked down at
his son and merely sighed, "Now that he had coming."
"Don't talk to me--any of you!" Akane cried as she
stormed away, as angry as anyone could ever remember
seeing her behave.
Nabiki turned to study the prone form of her new
iinazuke, then sighed in relief to see that the boy was
still breathing. With Kasumi's help she extricated Ranma
from the table, then their fathers carried him towards the
guestroom where they laid him out on a tamati while Kasumi
fetched an icepack and Nabiki propped his head up on a
pillow.
The two fathers withdrew to begin laying plans for
the marriage. Nabiki considered joining them to work out
the best deal for herself that she could possibly manage
but found herself reluctant to leave the side of Saotome
Ranma. She contented herself by shedding the Kimono and
changing into a pair of plain shirt and shorts instead,
then waited with Kasumi until Ranma began to regain
consciousness. The boy groaned profusely then asked,
"What happened?"
"Please forgive Akane for her outburst, Ranma-kun,"
Kasumi urged him in her best motherly fashion, "She's
really a very nice girl, she just has these violent
impulses."
"Oh yeah, Kasumi," Nabiki said with a bitterness that
was unusual for her, "Like that excuses everything! I'm
sorry, Ranma…Akane just has a problem controlling her
temper. You shouldn't have insulted her like that."
"Me?" Ranma tried to sit up, then immediately
regretted it, "What about her calling me a Pervert? And
don't tell me you liked it when she called you a heartless
mercenary."
"Uh, well…" Nabiki flinched, "That's…kind of a
private joke between us. She knows I'm interested in
making money and she resents it. She thinks I don't have
any emotions because I don't let little things get to me
the way she lets them…"
"Nabiki," Kasumi chided, "That's hardly fair of you!
Akane has a lot on her mind right now. You shouldn't
tease her that way, you only hurts her feelings."
"And what about my feelings?" Nabiki asked, "It may
surprise people to know I have them, but I don't like
being teased about the way I make my money."
"What are you, a business major or something?" Ranma
asked without a trace of malice or sarcasm in his voice.
"Uh-huh," Nabiki smiled, "I hope to one day be a
self-made millionaire. I've got the brains and the looks
to go far, and I'm the only one here, besides Kasumi, who
knows a thing about balancing a check book."
"Sure wish I had that talent," Ranma sat up again,
finding it easier now that the room was not spinning, "All
I know is Martial Arts, and I've spent nearly all of my
life going from one place to another studying with the
best. Don't know if I'll ever make any money at it,
money's never really been all that important."
"You're kidding, right?" Nabiki looked at the boy
beside her in disbelief, "You beat Akane hands down in
that match. You could have beaten her even quicker if
you'd fought back instead of merely dodging her."
Ranma smiled at that, "I don't hit women. It's just
not manly. I respect that she's good enough for an
average fighter, but she's not good enough to justify me
hitting back. It's against the code of Budo."
"But you were both girls at the time!" Nabiki
retorted, surprised at how casually she could say it.
"Doesn't matter," Ranma looked down, "All my life
I've tried to live by a code, which hasn't been easy with
a father like mine. I don't hit girls and I never hit
anyone who can't fight back. The art is for self-defense,
and I'm as good as anyone I've ever met, and I don't need
to beat people up to prove it."
"Why, how Chivalrous you are," Kasumi said happily,
"Not many boys these days have that nice an attitude. You
must be very proud of your iinazuke, Nabiki-chan."
"Oh yeah," Nabiki said faintly, "He's a regular
saint."
Ranma laughed bitterly, "I'm nothing like that! I
just don't think it's right throwing my weight around,
unlike some violent Tomboys I could mention," he groaned
as he felt the lump on his head.
"Ah…" Nabiki looked down and curled her toes as she
thought of something else to say, "So…what kind of girl
are you interested in, Ranma? Someone to cook and clean
House?"
"Naw," Ranma said, giving Kasumi a pleasant smile,
which she returned, "I've got nothing against women who
feel like doing that stuff, but it's not that important to
me. I've cooked and cleaned enough houses in my time to
know I don't want a domestic servant. I'm not out to have
a slave, and I sure don't want to have any girl think she
has to do stuff to please me or nothing like that."
"Then what kind of a woman would you like to marry?"
Kasumi asked in sincere curiosity.
"To tell you both the truth," Ranma said as he got
back to his feet, in spite of their protests, "I never
really gave it much thought. I wasn't planning to ever
get married, and especially not now when I still have so
much to learn about the Art."
"I see," Nabiki tried not to look at him, even though
she could see him looking at her out of the corner of her
eye, "In other words you'd rather wait a few years?"
"If you wouldn't mind," Ranma said, "Look, I don't
want you taking this the wrong way or nothing. I mean…you
seem like a very nice girl, but I'm not looking for any
romance right now. I'd rather have a friend than a
fiancée. I was hoping that maybe I could be friends with
your sister, but now that she knows about my curse…"
"You…?" Nabiki slowly turned to look at him
incredulously, "Want to be my friend?"
"Uh, if you don't mind or nothing," Ranma looked at
her as if he feared that he had just made a social
blunder.
To his surprise Nabiki just smiled at him and stuck
out her hand, "All right, it's a deal. You be my friend
and I'll be yours, Saotome, and I won't even charge you
for the interest."
"Excuse me?" he blinked.
"I'm just kidding," she chuckled aloud, "I'm the
family Mercenary, remember? I don't do anything without
charging a price."
"But, I, uh…" Ranma faltered, "I don't have any
money."
Nabiki inclined her head to one side, still grinning,
"We'll work something out, just as long as we don't tell
our fathers about this. Your Dad seems pretty strict,
while mine tends to get all weepy and emotional for the
slightest reason…"
"Nabiki," Kasumi gently scolded, "That isn't very
nice."
Nabiki stuck her tongue out at her sister, then
smiled again, "I know, but it's the truth, Sis. Look, why
don't you finish making dinner and let me have a private
chat with my iinazuke, pretty please?"
Kasumi sighed, "Very well, if you think that's best."
She got up to leave while Ranma watched her go, then
turned to Nabiki and said, "Is she always like that?"
"You mean calm, demure and motherly?" Nabiki asked,
"As long as I can remember."
"She's…nice," Ranma said without conviction, "But…I
hope you won't get mad at me for saying this, but…she
makes me feel nervous."
Nabiki found herself nodding in agreement, "You and
me both, Saotome-kun. Now, tell me all about your trip to
China. Was it expensive?"
"Not exactly," Ranma said with matter-of-fact
nonchalance, "Truth is we hardly spent any money at all.
Dad and me swam to China…"
"WHAT?" Nabiki stared at him incredulously, "Across
the Sea of Japan? You've got to be kidding!"
"I'm not," Ranma looked at her innocently, "Why would
I lie about a thing like that?"
"Ah," Nabiki decided to reserve her normal judgement
and gave Ranma a closer study, seeing no trace of guile
about him, "Never mind. Go on. What did you do when you
got to China?"
"Wandered about, mostly," Ranma shrugged, "Dad and me
don't exactly speak the language, so we needed to hire a
tour guide, which is how we got to Jusenkyo. Then, after
we received our curses, we next ran into this village of
Chinese Amazons…"
"Amazons," Nabiki said faintly, now certain beyond
doubt that the boy was a consummate liar and very good at
hiding his emotions, either that or he and his father had
indeed experienced some very strange adventures.
"Yeah," Ranma looked sheepish, "But that's something
I'd rather not go into, except to say that Pop got us into
trouble with the locals and we had to leave in a hurry.
You sure you want to hear about all of this? I don't know
if my life story would make very interesting telling."
Nabiki simply nodded, already coming to suspect that
there was a great deal more than met the eye when it came
to Saotome Ranma. She was beginning to have second
thoughts about this engagement business, but for some
reason she liked hearing the boy speak, so she kept her
questions to a minimum beyond that point and merely nodded
whenever he paused to encourage him to continue. She
absently wondered what Kami had possessed her to go along
with this iinazuke business, but now that she was engaged
to this strange boy in the Chinese clothing with the dual
nature she was beginning to suspect that times were about
to become a lot more interesting in the province of
Nerima…
Continued.
Comments/Criticism/Health Inspectors/Lottery Numbers:
shadowmane@ndti.net
This was done in the spirit of "What If?" Fanfiction
where only one small detail is changed, which affects the
larger picture in the life of Saotome Ranma.
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