Valentine's Day

A Ranma Crossover

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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters involved in this story, detailed disclaimer to follow.

. . . Nabiki feels the contraction peak. She thinks about how ridiculous she looks, panting like a dog. The other lesson they'd drilled into her head, was to keep her mind off the process. She smiles, that wouldn't be hard.

. . . She knew she shouldn't have accepted the invitation to the Culture Day SPECIAL PARTY! at the Kuno mansion. Still, she had thought one day off, from the stress of the brokerage house and studying for her MBA, wouldn't hurt.

. . . The peak of another contraction gives lie to that thought, it hurts, it hurts a lot, and not just physical pain.

. . . Kodachi had announced she had a bottle of Nanniichuan water, salvaged from the Japanese Nanniichuan, and she was offering it as her dowry to Ranma sama. Before Nabiki could get to his side, to counsel him to be careful, the honor bound idiot had announced he'd never marry her, no matter the bribe or threat. Kodachi vowed to destroy the bottle and its contents, immediately.

. . . The other cursed men charged her, to recover the bottle. Nabiki had watched the battle become general. Somewhere along the line, the bottle was utterly destroyed in the mayhem. Blame was squarely, and instantly, placed on Ranma, and neither Ranma, nor the building had escaped the general carnage intact.

. . . When Nabiki awoke in the hospital, covered with bruises and minor injuries, she put them all down to the building falling on her. She admitted she was out of practice dodging the growing carnage and the general insanity, but she didn't expect Shampoo, Ukyo, and Kodachi to suffer similarly. Akane had, once again, escaped completely unscathed, beyond a ruined party dress.

. . . Nabiki missed her period that month, but she put it down to healing from her injuries, and the stress at the brokerage house and from her scholastic endeavors. She also learned that Ranma had left the hospital two weeks after she had, and he'd been unconscious the entire time. So when she missed her second period in a row, after she had her degree, and was well settled into her analyst job at the brokerage, she got concerned.

. . . Even with her suspicions, the doctor's diagnosis shocked her to the core.

. . . She'd returned home with the news. Once again, Ranma received the blame, despite the fact he had been unconscious the entire time it would have been possible to do the deed. Ukyo and Shampoo had also left the area, for much the same reasons. Kodachi had disappeared, it wasn't hard to imagine that she was likewise in a family way. Akane hadn't had any such problems, which led to another beating of Ranma that he'd, 'Done that to everyone except his fiance.'

. . . His denials had only intensified the violence. Nabiki knew of all the locals, he was the only one who couldn't have done it, but no one was listening, not to him, not to her. When her father had immediately insisted Ranma marry Nabiki, she'd known it was time to run.

. . . "You're doing fine," the doctor tells her as she pushes and pants.

. . . Yes she was: a good job, with a good salary and people who talked and thought, instead of beating each other senseless. There was even a really cute foreigner, he was, in effect, employed to manage his rich family's financial affairs in Japan. The two of them competed for the greatest profits at the brokerage, for once Nabiki didn't mind losing occasionally, since it meant an evening of dinner and dancing. And even without his family's money, he was cute, and rich. When they'd each gone home to discuss their marriage plans, the suggestion horrified both families, and ironically, both forbad their child to marry outside their race. Additionally, both would be kicked out of their families, if they went ahead with their plans. So they kept dating, which was acceptably scandalous, and amassing a fortune of their own.

. . . He'd been as shaken by the revelation as she was, they both knew it couldn't be his. She was glad that he'd agreed to accompany her when she went to confront and question the other honorable martial artists of Nerima.

. . . Happosai had actually come looking for them, to offer any help she might need, since the tests had revealed the child was a girl. Nabiki was beginning to show slightly, and the Master hadn't even tried to grope her. Nabiki wasn't eager to accept the Master's word, but she'd never seen him assail a pregnant woman, or a prepubescent girl. Ironically, this attitude, and his shock and fury at the circumstances of her condition, crossed this most likely candidate off her list.

. . . Ryoga denied his involvement categorically, but that didn't mean anything. Konatsu disappeared with Ukyo. Shampoo had returned to China with Cologne and Mousse, carrying Ranma's child meant she must return home, regaining some of her honor. It saddened Nabiki that despite the trappings of women in control, all Shampoo was to the other Amazons, was a baby factory for the good of the tribe, not an independent person. Tatewaki had gone into a series of poetic denials, the fact that his sister was also a victim, tended to rule him out, but not completely. Especially if there was more than one perpetrator. Kuno's father could not be located. Neither Ukyo nor Konatsu had returned to Nerima, Nabiki wondered where they could have run off to.

. . . However, that hadn't been the darkest part of the first meeting, with any of her family, in two months. Genma again blamed Ranma for not defending helpless women, and further commented on the general weakness and inferiority of women. Although, he would probably claim, he was only reminding them all of the sacred duties of a martial artist. Genma sidetracked Akane's protest, by grudgingly admitting, that she was a martial artist too. Kasumi and Soun piling on had been worse. The two of them agreed that Nabiki would have to return home during the last months of her pregnancy, and remain after the baby was born. For her to continue working was unthinkable, she'd have to be a full time, stay at home mother. The lamentations from her father and Genma, that the child wasn't a boy whom they could train in the martial arts, really hurt. It was bad enough that the mother, his daughter, was too weak to be of any real value, so was her child. Her daughter.

. . . The message of the trip was clear, none of the honorable martial artists would admit one of their own had done this. And as a weak and defenseless woman, she was expected to crawl back into the arms of her family, and give up all her silly dreams about being a businesswoman.

. . . First, she wasn't going to bring a newborn, or any young child, into a house that still came under attack on a biweekly, or more, basis.

. . . Second, the brokerage house already was rearranging things, to let her do most of her reduced workload at home. They didn't want to lose a valuable employee, and she loved making money, for herself and for other people.

. . . Third, whoever did this, lived in Nerima, and was being protected by the rest of them. Although they'd deny it with their dying breath.

. . . The trip also had one good effect. Her friend quit trying to convince her to discover who the father's identity. 'Nabiki, the sugarplum fairies didn't come by, and sprinkle you with pixie dust to get you in this condition. Someone did it to you.' Once they were on their way back to Tokyo, he'd admitted that if those were the candidates, it wasn't a good idea, better they weren't involved. She'd told him she wasn't sure if she wanted her family involved, if the cost for their help meant dragging her back to that madhouse, and never letting her or her child escape again.

. . . "I see the head," the doctor tells her, "You're almost done. Everything is going well." She doesn't tell her, That's what you told me 30 minutes ago.

. . . During the emotional roller coaster that followed returning to Tokyo after going home, she almost lost the few friends she had. The night she learned Kodachi had been forced by her family to abort the child, she fell into a pit of screaming despair, her mind filled with wild imaginings. She actually convinced herself Akane had done this to all her rivals. How? Nanniichuan water, all the other fiances out of commission, the boys fighting elsewhere, the conclusion was irrational, but the doctor assured her, pregnancy sometimes does that. She was glad the speculations hadn't left the walls of her apartment.

. . . Ukyo's offer to remain with her father's family for the last few weeks of the pregnancy and for a time after the child was born, was a welcome one. Nabiki thought the other girl felt as lost and lonely as she did. Having some company helped, helped both of them.

. . . Nabiki thought it was even better that Ukyo delivered two weeks before she did. A blood test confirmed Ukyo's little girl couldn't have been Ranma's, Genma's, Konatsu's, or Akane's for that matter. It didn't rule out Ryoga, Kuno, or Tsubasa however. The last frightened the okonomiyaki chef, who was utterly distraught by the method of the pregnancy, far more than Nabiki was. Another strong woman reduced, that hurt Nabiki in ways she could never adequately describe. She never felt she'd been assaulted, maybe she was in denial. Maybe the events were so separated in my life, she rationalized one night, That I never made the connection between them: one I was completely unaware of, and the other came as the concerns of work and school dropped off so dramatically. She knew it was a thin defense, but it was what she believed.

. . . Nabiki vowed at that time, that she would raise her daughter to be strong, relying on herself, but not cutting herself off from other reliable people. The real value of honor, the difference between those who talked about it, versus the honor of living up to your responsibilities. The knowledge that intellect in a fight is often more important than brute strength, but there are times when nothing beats raw firepower. And most important, taking risks to get the best rewards, and no matter what, never give up. 'You can live anywhere, live through anything, if you're strong enough,' she'd tell her daughter.

. . . "Miss Tendo, would you like to hold your daughter?" the doctor holds in her arms, the most beautiful thing Nabiki had ever seen. Nabiki isn't just tired, she's EXHAUSTED. She has never worked so hard, at anything, in her life. But at the same time, if the doctor walked away with her child, she'd probably run after her.

. . . Nabiki nods. The doctor settles the baby girl in her arms. The black hair is plastered on the little one's head and her face makes an expression like a dyspeptic Winston Churchill. It didn't make her any less beautiful, Nabiki thought, It didn't make her any less mine.

. . . "Have you picked out a name?" a nurse or an official with a clipboard asks her. She hadn't, Nabiki Tendo, always organized and in control, didn't have a name for her own daughter.

. . . "From pixie dust, huh?" she mused ironically, "A fey child. Somebody's special valentine."

. . . The man writes, "Faye Valentine it is."

Disclaimer:

Cowboy Bebop belongs to Sunrise, Bones, and Bandai Visual, Yatate Hajime, Watanabe Shinichirou, Minami Masahiko

Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, Fuji TV and Kitty Film, and Viz Comics/Video