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.


    Source: geocities.com/tokyo/pagoda/2079/fanfics

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