disclaimer: Don't own, not gonna, wish I did. Not getting money, not gonna be, wish I was.
Nabiki stood and surveyed the damage. *This is going to cost a bundle to fix…at least no one was hurt* The wedding had been a disaster. She had watched as one by one her almost brother-in-laws extra fiancées had violently interrupted the ceremony. The bottom line for Nabiki had always been money but maybe selling the wedding details to Ranma's admirers had not been a good idea. The damage they had caused nearly, if not completely, negated any profit she had gained by the action and now she had to help clean up the mess to boot. Her fingers itched for her abacus and the financial figures were already running through her head. Kasumi stepped up behind her and lightly cleared her throat to get Nabiki's attention.
She turned around, gave a little sigh and held out one perfectly manicured hand ready to take one of the brooms Kasumi had brought. When said cleaning item was not immediately handed over Nabiki swept her gaze up to Kasumi's. The oldest sister was not smiling. *That's not good…*
"Nabiki I…" Kasumi started and then stopped. She took a very deep breath and Nabiki's stomach dropped. Whatever Kasumi was having trouble saying, Nabiki just knew it was going to ruin her day further.
"Nabiki, I am very disappointed in your behavior. Our little sister was to be married! I know what you did and I think it's awful that money was more important to you than Akane's happiness today."
"Don't worry about it sis. It's not like Akane really wanted to marry Ranma."
"Whatever you might think, that's not the point. Daddy can't stop crying no matter how Mr. Saotome tries to calm him, I have no idea where Akane and Ranma have gotten off to and just look at this place!"
It was an effort to hold the bored expression she was so adept at using, but Nabiki managed. What she really wanted to do was cringe. Kasumi almost never spoke this strongly. Nabiki huffed, dropped her hand and forced herself to look at the damage nonchalantly. She was already helping to clean up, was that not enough? Apparently not since Kasumi's concerns and disappointment stung Nabiki. Guilt clawed its way up her throat and Nabiki exerted every ounce of will she possessed to not let it show. When she failed to really respond, Kasumi sighed delicately and began to push her broom around.
"I'll start over…"
"No Nabiki. Please, just go. I'll handle this. Why don't you go see if you can find Akane. I'm worried about her and Ranma."
The words were much nicer than Nabiki was sure Kasumi felt like being. Obeying her oldest sister's wishes, Nabiki moved to the exit. She could feel the chains dragging the guilt around behind her as she searched for Akane and Ranma.
It was evening before she gave up. She had seen no sign of either her little sister or the missing almost-groom. Dinner was set out when she arrived home. The smell had Nabiki's mouth watering but her own emotions had her stomach churning in a rather disquieting way. Her stomach would probably not thank her for eating. Not only that, but it would not be to her advantage to show up for dinner and see Kasumi. If her eldest sister had been pushed to scold Nabiki then it would probably be at least a couple of days before she was forgiven. Hopefully Akane and Ranma had materialized from wherever they had been hiding out and were eating dinner with the rest of the family.
Turning away from the mouth-watering aromas, Nabiki trudged up the stairs and stepped slowly down the hall to her room. Inside she pulled out her ledgers and got to work crunching the numbers. By now she was adept at assessing how much repair costs were going to be without needing an actual estimate. Two years of living with Ranma had forced her to develop that certain skill. *I swear he's a crazy magnet. It makes for some very interesting situations that make a nice little profit for me but once you got crazy it's very hard to get rid of.* Nabiki sighed and tilted her desk chair back slightly. She contemplated her ceiling for long moments and at last had to concede that she had definitely not helped any of those situations. In fact, she had deliberately manipulated the craziness that surrounded Ranma so that it worked to her advantage.
"Akane has made it clear from day one that she didn't love Ranma, so as long as the profit outweighs the cost and no one is seriously injured what's the harm?"
No one was there to answer Nabiki's question. Slightly disgusted with herself for talking aloud to no one and for losing focus on her figures, Nabiki let her chair back down and bent her head once more over her work. She could not get the memory of Kasumi's vastly disappointed eyes out of her mind. It bugged her, turning what should have been twenty minutes tops into an hour long project. At the end of it Nabiki was smug to see that her mental figuring had been correct earlier and that she had indeed turned a nice profit even after her estimations of damage repair and wedding costs. She frowned when she realized that the guilt was still there, the memory still niggling in the back of her mind.
Nabiki huffed to herself and got up. She felt a little restless and definitely exhausted. The short exercise routine she practiced nightly before bed did nothing to help either. She felt cheated of her piece of mind. *Damn Kasumi. Guilt is so pointless.* Thinking a little cool night air might clear her head Nabiki marched over to her window and opened it. There was a nice breeze tonight and the backyard looked very serene in the light of the waxing moon. She leaned out slightly to let the breeze waft over as much of her head as possible. Strands of her short hair swung in front of her face. Nabiki went to swipe them out of her way and back behind her ear but froze. There were voices on the wind. Quiet but still there. She held her breath and listened as hard as she could.
"Look, about today…I…"
"Don't worry about it. I'm not mad."
"You're not? You sound it."
"I'm not. I'm more…sad, ya know?"
"Huh? You mean you wanted to…"
"Ha, look at you…are you blushing?"
"Yeah right. Guys don't blush. Anyway, no fair changing the subject."
"I wouldn't have minded…if nothing else for some peace and quiet."
"Is that the only reason?"
"…no."
"Akane, are you…I mean, do you…"
"Spit it out, Ranma."
"It's not that easy ya know!"
"Ranma…please. I'm tired."
"Fine…I…why did you want to marry me? According to you I'm nothing but an arrogant pervert remember?"
"And I'm a macho, un-cute tomboy but that wasn't stopping you as I recall."
"Uh, that's because…"
"Yes, Ranma?"
"Maybe…I…kinda, sorta…man, why is this kinda thing so hard?"
"It's ok. I already know…"
"What?"
"I don't care what anyone says, I heard you. When you thought I died."
"But I didn't say it out loud. I know I didn't."
"Whatever Ranma. For what it's worth, me too."
"Huh?"
"I love you too, stupid. Now, it's late, I'm beat."
"…How come that was so easy for you?"
"Probably because I've decided to stop fighting it. I'm tired of constantly being afraid of saying it. I'm tired of denying it when I clearly heard you tell me you love me. I'm exhausted trying to fight with your other 'fiancées' for your attention…maybe if I'd just admitted it things would have been different today. What are you staring at like me that for?"
"I…I'm still waiting for the regular Akane to come back. The one who gets angry and yells."
"I'm too tired for that right now. Hold your breath, maybe she'll be back in the morning."
"I'm sorry."
"Whoa, the mighty Ranma apologizing? What ever for?"
"Everything. All that mushy stuff I'm no good at, that I can't say. And all that mean stuff I do say, and just…everything."
"Think we'll figure this out someday and get married for real? I really think I'd like that. Someday."
"Someday…huh, weird. I like it."
"What?"
"Not fighting it. Peaceful…well, 'till tomorrow when everything gets crazy again."
"Ugh! Don't remind me. I really do need to get to bed Ranma."
"Uh…can I…um…"
"Can you what?"
"Nothing…nothing…um, can I walk you to your room…ya know, in case there are any more surprises. With my luck ya never know."
"…Okay."
There were two sets of footsteps barely audible walking away. The feeling that she should not have listened to that conversation was a minor annoyance but Nabiki swatted it away as she would a mosquito and focused. It had been extremely interesting considering the intimate subject. There were several people who would dish out big-time for this kind of information. *Oh boy, I could make so much. They actually love each other. Who would've guessed?* Nabiki was so excited that she could barely stand it. She pushed all guilt and shame aside from her earlier actions to the back of her mind and immediately got down to business. The list of who would pay and what she would charge started with Tatewaki Kuno, ran through all of Ranma and Akane's suitors and ended with the fathers. It was not until Kasumi knocked and bid Nabiki a soft goodnight that it hit her. Nabiki went completely stiff in her seat, appearing for all the world like a statue. Slowly her eyes closed and her hand came up to rub her temple.
"Shit."
a/n: Ok, give me a break. This is my first Ranma 1/2 fic and I'm doing my best which means taking my time which means updating seldom. If this turns out how I want then trust me it will be worth the wait. In the meantime my readers will have the next chapter to look forward to :D and those will happen much sooner if I get reviews because then I feel guilty for not get the next chapter posted in a timely fashion. There's the secret. This fic will also be my first using an OC but it will not be AU or OOC. Wow, lots of abbreviations there. LOL. Anyway, questions, comments, concerns, hell even flames are totally welcome. Feedback in any form really...ok, I'll stop rambling now.
