"All right, Akane. Try and get some sleep. Be sure to tell Ukyou she's welcome to stay with us a few days if she at all needs it." She smiled a bit, though she sensed that there was something under Akane's worry for her friend. Reassurance. She decided. "I'm proud of you, Akane. You've done well. Take care and I'll see you tomorrow."

She hung up the phone and sighed. She always had a feeling all of the roughhousing was going to lead to more serious injuries. They were all resilient, Ranma most of all, but… It was getting hard to see them coming home battered, bruised and hurt.

"Was that my son, Kasumi?" Nodoka looked up from the table as Kasumi walked into the living room and sat down.

Kasumi shook her head. "No, it was Akane. One of her friends got injured at school. Nothing serious, but she's staying with them overnight."

Nodoka smiled. "Akane is always so conscientious around others." She sighed. "She has such a gentle soul. I wish she and my son got along better."

"I think we all wish they did." Kasumi replied. "Ranma and Akane included. But they seem to provoke the worst in each other."

"I know." Nodoka sighed. "I am very fond of Akane. Even moreso after spending a week with her in my home. I had looked forward to her calling me 'Mother'." She looked down at the cards she had arranged in front of her. "However, I am beginning to believe that day will never come." She shook her head. "Had my husband not… complicated the matter, I suspect it would be considerably easier, but the damage is done. I believe it's time to take action to ease the burden on my son's shoulders."

Kasumi's focused her attention on pouring herself and Nodoka a cup of tea. "Oh? What do you intend to do?"

"My Ranma needs… the correct wife to stand with him on his journey as a Man Amongst Men. Such a thing is not a destination, but a constant path that must be walked vigilantly. This need supersedes any other agreement. I had thought Akane could be that one, but…" She stopped herself. "I fear my husband's dream of uniting the schools will need to fall to the next generation."

"What about Nabiki?" Kasumi asked, feeling a knot of worry forming at what she feared the woman was planning to do. "... Or myself?" She added reluctantly. She had no desire to marry Ranma, but she felt like the door on the engagement was being closed, and was more than willing to present herself as an option to buy her sisters more time to work things out for themselves.

Nodoka shook her head. "Nabiki lacks the proper respect or formality. She is far too taken with western ideas and lacks any appreciation for tradition." She gave Kasumi a long look. "You, my dear Kasumi, would be very nearly ideal, but my Ranma should marry a martial artist, one who can contribute their own school's teachings to the Saotome School." She folded her hands in front of her on the table. "Thankfully, my son's manliness has already attracted some very strong martial artists to his side. The matter is simply to decide who best can support my son in his future as head of this family."

Kasumi closed her eyes, taking a moment to center herself so her voice didn't quaver. She could already see disaster looming. "Should this not be Ranma's decision?"

"My son has had time to resolve the issue, and has not." Nodoka said coldly. "This has been a distraction from his training for far too long. The matter needs to be put to rest."

"But… they are all so young, couldn't the matter wait…" Kasumi protested, but was cut off by a look from Nodoka.

Nodoka closed her eyes again. "I understand your objections. And I appreciate your concern, and that my decision may… strain relations with the Tendos." She spoke slowly, picking her words carefully. "But my son has a destiny and a duty that is of vital importance to this family, and to the school of Martial Arts both our families share. His future must be plotted carefully." She took a deep breath. "I have sacrificed… far too much to leave things to chance as they have been."

Kasumi studied her tea. "And you are confident you know what Ranma wants well enough to make a decision that will make him happy?"

Nodoka gave her a puzzled look. "I'm afraid I don't understand dear?" She smiled brightly. "What my son wants is the Art. What he needs to be happy is the Art. Everything else is a distraction. Once the matters of honor have been settled, he will be free to spend the rest of his life perfecting it. Settling those matters of honor is my duty as his mother. Your sister reminded me of that."

Kasumi sighed. She had to admit, there was a certain sense to Nodoka's words. Ranma's greatest joy in life was the Art.

Is that enough for him? A nagging little voice asked her. Even his Father is far from satisfied with just the Art.

Nodoka noticed Kasumi's troubled expression and reached over, patting her hand. "Don't fret, dear. A mother knows what their child needs, even better than their child does. You will understand when you have children of your own." She finished applying the Saotome hanko to the letters, and set about sealing them in envelopes.

"Just please don't give up on my sisters, Auntie Saotome." Kasumi said finally.

Nodoka gave her a searching look. "I… will consider it. I haven't made any decisions yet."

000

Ranma and Nabiki didn't get home until much later.

For Ranma the night had been downright therapeutic. They hadn't even really done much; They had walked, talked, explored the mall a little, bought a couple of things and just blended into real life for a bit. Nabiki had even joked about buying him a pair of glasses to help him cultivate a 'secret identity', not that he really understood the reference. There was something nice about just being able to be with someone, without pressures or expectations.

It was kinda like that with Akane sometimes, too. He realize. But usually one of us would screw it up, or a fiancee or a rival would find us and screw it up. Nabiki was much better at skirting the prying eyes or usual routes. She could slip in and out of the crowd like a ninja, and Ranma noticed she was unconsciously suppressing her own ki when she did it, almost like a low-grade Umisenken. He found himself doing the same.

"We should probably check if the coast is clear." Nabiki said as they got to the front door.

"Why?" Ranma asked, confused.

"Because your clothes are different than they were this morning?" Nabiki tapped his forehead. "They probably know about the sprinkler incident at school by now, but best to avoid having to explain things if we don't have to, right? Especially since we'd need to explain why we were late getting home together."

He nodded. "I guess… we should hold off on saying anything about the 'boyfriend/girlfriend' thing too, huh?"

Nabiki stepped closer to him and slipped her arms around his neck, playing with his pigtail again in that way she had a habit of doing. "I'm not sure there's much point in telling our parents. They'll just see it as the go-ahead to try and force another wedding. As for everyone else…" She gave him a half smile. "We need to defuse your lovelife a little first before we make any announcements about dating."

"Yeah, my thought too." He said, though he couldn't help a note of disappointment creeping into his voice.

"I'll give you the coast is clear from my bedroom window, okay? You can come in that way, just in case your Dad pissed off your Mom and is back to sleeping in your room."

"Y-your bedroom?" He felt heat rise to his cheeks. Granted it wasn't the first time he had used the windows to enter, not even the first time he had entered Nabiki's room that way, but things between them were different now.

Nabiki smirked. "Don't get ideas, Saotome. Well…" She leaned into him a little more, teasingly. "... Go ahead and get the ideas, but not tonight,okay? I want to talk about a few things."

Ranma needed a second to clear the fog in his head to process that. His poor hormones really weren't going to take much more abuse like this. "Wh-what sort of things?"

Nabiki smiled, and it was gentler, more genuine this time. "Nothing bad. Just… stuff that would be weird to talk about at the mall with people around. About the curse, and China and… stuff. Okay?" She cocked her head. "I've been feeling like I've been assuming too many things lately, and I want to start fixing that. Starting with you… if that's okay?"

"Y-yeah? I mean, uh… sure." Ranma managed, feeling flustered again. Somehow Nabiki being honestly and earnestly interested in him was putting him more off balance. Cynically, he could just assume she was looking for more ways to extort him, but… no, when she was being insincere the only thing in her eyes was ice, and right now there wasn't anything but warmth in them. Thinking back, it had always been like that with her. He wondered why he hadn't picked up on it before. It seemed so obvious now

She leaned up and kissed him on the nose, then opened the door.

Ranma faded back into the bushes, unconsciously slipping into the Umisenken. The emotionless cocoon of the Umisenken did much to help him calm himself, though even then he found it hard to focus, his thoughts drifting over the events of the day. He eventually settled on some light meditation to clear his head, as he couldn't maintain the technique while mulling such emotionally charged memories. He snuck around to the dojo, stashing Ryouga's pack inside, glad to be rid of the uncomfortable heavy thing, then settled down to watch Nabiki's window.

000

"I'm home!" Nabiki announced, sliding the door closed behind her as she slipped off her shoes.

"Nabiki? Welcome home." Kasumi smiled as she peeked around the corner. "You were out late!"

"Just doing a little shopping." Nabiki replied. "I already ate, so don't worry about dinner for me, okay?"

She slipped past her sister before she could protest. Which how it normally was; In a house with almost constant martial arts challenges, supernatural crises, and whatever other drama their parents could cook up, Nabiki could generally pass unchallenged.

"Nabiki, where's Ranma?"

And then Nabiki remembered that she wasn't a bystander in The Madness anymore.

"I'm not sure. There was a fight at school with Kunou. Kind of lost track of him after that." She said airily. "I'm sure he'll be home soon. Right now I really need to get out of these clothes, so… Chat later?" She gave her sister a little wave and then made for the stairs without waiting for a reply. Whatever Kasumi wanted to discuss, she didn't want to deal with it right at this moment.

Kasumi opened her mouth to call her back, then closed it, quirking an eyebrow. I was just going to tell her about Akane, and ask if Ranma was okay. She has definitely been acting peculiar lately.

Nabiki skipped up the stairs, slipping into her room and closing her door behind her with a opened her closet, grabbing an old, comfortable pair of jeans and her heart print sweatshirt. Briefly she had a naughty thought of calling Ranma to her window and then changing.

Better not. She thought. With how… CHARGED things have been lately, that might go further than is strictly healthy for either of us right now.

She filed it away for sometime in the future, however. She hung up her school uniform, slipped into the familiar, comfortable clothes, then opened her window.

000

Things were quiet for a few minutes as Ranma watched the house, until he saw Nabiki's window open. He hopped up onto the roof, dropping his stealth and flipping around upside down to look inside.

He nearly lost his grip when Nabiki grabbed the back of his head and pulled him in for a kiss. He managed to catch himself. She's always finding new ways to get me off balance! He thought, though he wasn't sure if he was annoyed by that, or admired it.

She released him after a minute, winking at him. "Saw that in an American movie. Been tempted to do that every time your head pops up upside down in the window for the longest time."

"What, even when you were still extorting money out of me?" He teased back.

She just grinned. "Well, you are very pretty, Ranma."

He nearly lost his grip again and flubbed his swing into her room, landing awkwardly on her bed and smacking the back of his head on the windowsill.

"Ow… That's not fair, Nabiki!"

She smirked as she sat in her desk chair. "You make it way too easy, Ranma." After a second, she closed her eyes and took a breath, and the smirk softened again as the mercenary attitude dropped. "You're right, it's not fair though. It's… not a nice thing to do to my… my boyfriend." She felt uncharacteristically shy about using that word now, since Ranma had loaded it with meaning.

She opened her eyes to see his face inches from hers, a smirk of his own on his face. "I wouldn't say that, Nabiki. I like it when you tease me. Just do it when I'm less likely to fall two stories onto my skull, okay?" He darted in and kissed her nose in a mirror of the peck she had given him earlier, then sat back on the bed.

She blinked owlishly for a moment. Then she started giggling.

After a minute he joined her, and the two of them were shortly laughing helplessly. It wasn't really that funny, but after all they had been through, the tension and stress needed a release, and the outlet was welcome.

Nabiki wiped the corners of her eyes as she gradually recovered her composure. "Okay, okay, I'll be more thoughtful of your circumstances when I mess with you." She smiled at him, another of those rare, genuine smiles as silence settled in the room. She studied him for a long moment before talking again. "Actually… I was hoping to ask some… personal questions."

Ranma cocked his head curiously. "Like what?"

Nabiki took a deep breath. "What is the curse like?" She asked, leaning forward a bit. "I mean… really what is it like? I know what happens on the outside, but… what goes on in your head? What does it feel like when you change? To be in… in a completely different body all of a sudden? Does it hurt?"

Ranma's gaze dropped as he thought about that for a few minutes, trying to find the right words to describe the experience. "It doesn't hurt. Physically I guess… it's just like a muscle cramping for a second, maybe? But that's not really what you notice about it. It's… Well… You know that shock you get when something wakes you up suddenly? That… confused feeling? That's part of it." He rubbed his arm as he rewound the memories of all his changes. "But… it's more than that. The instant the water touches me… it feels… wrong. When I'm a guy, and cold water hits, or I'm a girl and hot water hits. As soon as I feel it on my skin, it's wrong, until the change happens. Then…" He took a deep breath.

Nabiki leaned forward and put a hand on his arm. She was honestly a little shocked at how hard this seemed for him. Why did I never ask before?

He gave her a grateful look, then continued. "The change doesn't end with my body. It… whether I'm a guy or a girl, my body feels natural. It feels… I dunno, right. Even if I know it's not, the curse makes it feel normal. Like my brain gets switched too. But when the change hits… There's this moment where stuff doesn't line up. Where everything feels wrong. My body is the wrong shape, my arms and legs are the wrong length, I'm the wrong height, and… and more than that, it just feels wrong. Like this inherent sense of being in the wrong skin. And then… snap, the feeling goes away and everything is normal again. Except… except I changed. But it feels like I've always been that way."

"It's like that every time?" Nabiki said softly, eyes wide. "You don't… I don't know, get used to it?"

"You learn to deal with it, yeah, but you never get used to it." He smiled weakly. "It might be worse for the ones who turn into animals, I don't know. But… it messes with you, because it feels just as wrong when you change back. I mean… I know I'm a guy. I'm proud of being a guy. But… for that split second when the hot water hits… it feels so wrong. Being in a male body, I mean. And it messes with me, you know?"

"It doesn't just change your physical body." Nabiki said softly, finally getting a glimmer of why Ranma was so desperate to cure the curse for so long.

"That's why I end up staying in whatever form I happen to be in most of the time." Ranma said finally. "The change sucks."

"That's… worse than I thought" Nabiki said softly. "It keeps forcing you to relive that moment you first fall in the pool, every time you change."

"It's a curse." Ranma replied. "It's not supposed to be fun, or some kind of superpower or something."

Nabiki nodded. "Okay… so you said it changes your… perception of yourself I guess you could say. Does anything else change?"

Ranma considered. "It's… hard to tell. You know how when you're having a dream, and you can't tell it's a dream, even if it's really weird and twisted, until you wake up? It's like that… except I never wake up. I just… switch dreams." He crossed his arms. "One time… One time I sat up for a whole morning on the roof, watching the sun rise with a kettle and a jug of water, and kept switching back and forth trying to figure out what was changing. I figured out some stuff, but, outside of that it's just… normal and normal. It's hard to tell."

Nabiki cocked her head. "Oh? What did you find out?"

"Colors are… I don't know, more when I'm a girl. But stuff is… flatter?" He shook his head. "It's hard, I can only really tell there's a difference for a split second, and there really aren't words for it." He looked at his hands. "I think I'm better at math as a girl, though."

"Wait, what?I"

"I know, it doesn't make much sense," He held up his hands, "And I don't know if it's actually that way or not, but… I dunno, the numbers stuff just seems easier as a girl. But it's hard to be sure. You know how you're trying to figure out a puzzle, and it doesn't make any sense… until it does? It's like, when I do math… The 'when it does' part comes a little quicker. I've still got it figured out either way after that, so it's not like I can really test it with the same problem. And fractions and stuff just come quicker, so that's why I always cook as a girl."

"You cook as a girl… because of math?!" Nabiki stated incredulously.

"Y-yeah? Isn't that why girls are good at cooking?" Ranma said, confused. "I mean, except Akane, which never made a lot of sense to me because she's better at math than I am either way."

Nabiki decided to save tackling that bizarre notion for another day to avoid getting off track. For right now, she had a much more interesting topic. "So… Is there anything else different? Does one side prefer certain things?"

"I… dunno?" Ranma admitted.

Nabiki smirked and leaned forward. "You've been kissed as a guy and a girl quite a bit. Feel any different?"

Ranma blushed. "It doesn't work like that, Nabiki. I wouldn't be able to tell unless we did that Sunset trick with hot and cold water to keep switching me back and forth so I could tell the difference."

Nabiki seemed to consider a moment, which deepened his blush. "Later for that." She smiled. "But… you liked being kissed by girls as a girl, right?"

Ranma sighed. "Yes. A lot. I'm still me you know!" He rubbed the back of his head. "Actually… actually it was kind of a relief, you know?"

Nabiki rocked back in her chair a little. "You… weren't sure?"

"It's a curse, okay? And it's hard to tell how much it changes stuff, and… and…" He sighed. "That stuff with Sanzenin scared me, okay? So I just kind of blocked it all out, male or female."

"Ranma…" Nabiki was wide-eyed. "Did… did you like being kissed by Mikado?"

"NO!" Ranma shouted, leaping to his feet and clenching his fists, causing Nabiki to frantically gesture for him to be quiet. "No, okay? No…" He sat back down and dropped his hands into his lap. "I still have nightmares about it, okay? That and Kuno telling me he loved me. But the worst part of them both was… wasn't that it was disgusting. But I remember feeling… I dunno… cheated of something. Like… like the scene was something I wanted, just with the wrong players. When I'm a guy and I think about it I wanna throw up, but when I was a girl I… I was mad because I wanted it back. Like something was taken." He sighed. "I dunno if that makes any sense."

Nabiki dropped her eyes, then glanced over to her desk where she kept a glass of water. She picked it up and offered it to him. "Maybe try again, as a girl?" She offered the glass. "Maybe you can't sort out what's different in your own head, but if you tell me what you're thinking and feeling, I can help you sort it out, without needing to swap back and forth?"

He considered a moment, then nodded, taking the glass and dumping it over his own head. Nabiki watched the change, amazed that the process Ranma described was happening in such a brief span.

Ranma adjusted her belt to tighten her jeans and tucked her oversized shirt in further to take up the slack, then sighed and closed her eyes, thinking back to those two pivotal moments. The moment Mikado Sanzenin had literally swept her off her feet, dipped her, and pressed his lips to hers, and the moment Kuno had tossed her the bouquet, and with earnest intensity and surety had declared his love to her, then walked away.

There wasn't nausea or disgust, as much as there was a sense of violation, of theft. "They both took something from me." She said softly, her brow furrowing as she concentrated. "Something that was supposed to be special. Special firsts." She opened her eyes. "Like… both things were something I wanted to happen, but… not with them."

Nabiki decided to ask the question that had been pickling the back of her mind ever since she found out about the changes the curse wrought. "Ranma? Are you attracted to guys?"

"No!" Ranma said, though she modulated her vehemence this time. "I like girls! I… I just made out with three girls today!"

Nabiki held up a hand. "Ranma, I don't doubt that. That's not what I'm asking." She got up and sat down on the bed next to the redhead. "Ukyou likes boys. Shampoo likes boys. I like boys." She said, and then she leaned in and gave Ranma a gentle kiss on the lips.

To be fair, she had never actually kissed Ranma as a girl before. But if she was being honest, she had wanted to. She was curious, and if Ukyou and Shampoo were any indication, she suspected it would be worthwhile.

Ranma made a soft whimpering noise as their lips touched. Nabiki slipped an arm around her and gently pulled her closer, her other hand cupping her cheek as she gently deepened the kiss. She immediately noticed Ranma was letting her take the lead, submitting and letting her take the dominant role. It was very different from kissing her male side. Not better or worse, really. Different. And rather nice.

She broke the kiss before she was tempted to take things further, leaving her hand cupping Ranma's cheek. Ranma's eyes remained closed a moment, slowly opening as she came back to herself.

"Ummm… That was… that was nice… really really nice, but… you don't have to you know…" Ranma finally said, blushing as her eyes dropped.

Nabiki smiled. "See, that's the thing, Ranma. I want to." She waited until Ranma's eyes were on hers again before continuing. "As long as I've known you, you've always been both. To me, this is as much 'Ranma' as your guy side. This is how I first met you." She leaned in and softly whispered. "And if you remember, I thought you were cute."

She was rewarded with a deep blush from the redhead. She smirked, feeling like she was getting a bit of her own back from Ranma's declaration in the mall. "Attraction isn't an exact thing, Ranma. It's not 'nice butt plus defined abs plus strong jaw equals attraction'. I prefer males, but I'm attracted to you either way. It's probably safe to say Ukyou and Shampoo are the same way to some degree. They've certainly never been shy about showering your girl side with affection. So if you're thinking I'm going to judge you…" She sighed. "I'm just curious. I just want to know how the curse affects you so I can help."

Ranma glanced back down at her hands, fidgeting for a bit. "I'm… I'm not sure." She admitted finally, blushing deeply. "It… I don't like being groped or manhandled by guys, but… that's probably the same for anyone, right?" She sighed. "The guys in my life are all massive jerks… And that's fine with me. I kinda didn't want to know, you know? With everything else that the curse does…" She shook her head. "... Maybe I just don't wanna go there, okay?"

"Okay." Nabiki said gently. "Look, I'm sorry I pushed it." She hugged the girl. "Thank you for sharing all this with me, though."

"No… it's okay." Ranma took a breath. "Pretending it's different won't change it, right? Part of martial arts is knowing yourself. The curse kinda complicates that, but it doesn't mean I can slack off about it."

There was a polite knock at the door. There was a brief movement of air to Nabik's left, and by the time the person knocking actually spoke, Nabiki was alone in her room.

"Nabiki? May I come in?" Kasumi said softly.

"Uh, sure sis." Nabiki reached back and closed the window, a little nonplussed with how quickly and silently Ranma had vanished despite how many times she had seen her do it.

Kasumi opened the door and stepped inside. She closed the door behind her and smiled at her younger sister. "You can tell Ranma to come down from the roof, please. I want to talk to the both of you."

A little sheepishly, Nabiki opened the window again. Ranma's head popped into view, and then she quickly and efficiently swung herself into the room and onto the bed next to Nabiki, looking suitably subdued.

"Ranma, Ranma, Ranma…" Kasumi sighed and shook her head. "There are perfectly good doors for that sort of thing."

"We were… trying to avoid being seen coming home late together." Nabiki defended her. "To avoid people getting the wrong idea."

"And do you suppose Ranma sneaking into your window would give them the right idea?" Kasumi asked softly, earning a blush and silence from her younger sister. She walked into the room, pulling Nabiki's chair out from her desk, turning it to face the bed and sitting, smoothing out her skirt and taking the time to gather her thoughts. "It's not the wrong idea, is it though?"

"This isn't about the engagement." Ranma said defiantly. "This isn't… it's not because of some stupid promise our parents made, or family honor, or any of the stupid fiancee crap. It's… it's…" She trailed off as words failed her.

"We're dating." Nabiki stepped in, her posture straightening. "That's it. It's not about the engagement. We're not having an affair. We're not planning to elope. We're just dating. We're doing this our own way, and seeing where it goes, because how they want to do things doesn't work."

"I see." Kasumi said softly. "Who are 'they'?"

"I…" Nabiki was caught off guard a moment, then cleared her throat. "Father. The Saotomes. Cologne. The other fiancees. Basically, everyone who has a stake in who Ranma ends up with except Ranma."

"And you." Kasumi pointed out, her deep brown eyes pinning Nabiki's.

"I decided this." Ranma cut in, taking back Kasumi's searching gaze. Ranma's blue eyes were clear and looked back at the eldest Tendo daughter unwaveringly. "I want to be Nabiki's boyfriend. I want to date, and make stupid mistakes, and just be with someone because I like being with them, without it having to be destiny, or have their lives pivot on it, or have my entire future defined by it."

"I see." Kasumi replied, still keeping her voice and expression neutral. "And your other fiancees? And Akane?"

"We're… trying to figure that out." Nabiki replied. "We have been trying to figure that out, so that no one has to get destroyed by this."

"We… I only just decided this today." Ranma added. "And I know it's maybe not the smartest route. It's definitely not the easiest, but…" She gave Kasumi an earnest look. "I want to be Nabiki's boyfriend."

"Or girlfriend, depending on the forecast." Nabiki added, smirking.

Ranma blushed and looked at the floor. Nabiki took pity on her and slipped a possessive arm around her shoulders, which only caused her to blush harder.

"I see." Kasumi said. The closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then exhaled, smiling. She opened her eyes, and the smile was there, making them twinkle. "You have no idea how relieved I am to hear this."

"Wait, what?!" Nabiki and Ranma said in unison.

Kasumi held up a hand. "There is very little that goes on in this house that I'm not aware of. I've been aware of the tension that has settled over this house like a blanket, and to have found a reasonable and mature solution such as this is… Well…" She looked them both over. "I'm proud of you."

"You're… okay with this?" Nabiki asked, honestly a little surprised.

Kasumi looked down at her hands, folded in her lap. "I always felt the engagement was too sudden. That Ranma and Akane were too young, and not ready for such a thing. And though I tried my best to honor father's wishes… I was proven right. I had to spend the last two years watching what could have been a beautiful, promising relationship tear itself apart because our parents insisted on imposing their wishes and needs upon it." She clenched her hands briefly. "And I am complicit, because allowing it to continue… clinging to the hope it could somehow work despite all the forces against it… freed me from that same obligation." She looked at Nabiki. "And then I watched my sister's heart break. And the mark being moved to you, and I feared the worst. Especially after it became clear you and Ranma had feelings for each other."

"Wait, when did that become clear?" Ranma asked, eyes widening as she paled.

"I know my sister, Ranma. And I hear things." Kasumi replied. She smirked. "That dojo isn't soundproofed, you know."

The two of them blushed and bowed their heads.

"Even Auntie Saotome noticed. Though… I am afraid she does not approve of the idea of you being together."

"What? Why?" Ranma's brow furrowed. "This is exactly what pops and Mr Tendo want!"

"But not what your mother wants, apparently." Kasumi said softly. "She believes you should marry a martial artist to, and I quote, 'Support your journey along the path of being a Man amongst Men'. She feels that this supersedes the pledge to unite the families."

Kasumi glanced at both of them. She could see Nabiki's expression darken immediately. Ranma's expression concerned her though. The girl looked… stricken.

"That's absurd!" Nabiki exclaimed. "Even putting aside both agreements are completely insane, the agreement to unite the schools was made before any of us were born! She doesn't have the right to cherry pick which facets of honor she's going to adhere to because some don't suit her tastes!"

"I agree with you, Nabiki, but… I think this is beyond honor for her. She believes she is doing her duty as Ranma's mother, and doing what is best for him." She focused her gaze on Ranma, growing more concerned as Ranma seemed to draw into herself.

"You can't possibly…!" Nabiki started, then noticed Ranma next to her, turning to the redhead. "... Ranma?"

"It… it wasn't enough." Ranma said softly. She coughed up a bitter laugh. "I killed a god, and it's still not enough for her to believe in me."

Kasumi cringed inwardly. "Ranma, I'm… I'm sure she's only doing this because she feels it will help you." Kasumi could see her words of attempted comfort having the opposite effect, the redhead seeming to shrink with each syllable, but she couldn't stop herself. "Maybe… maybe if you talk with her? Explain the situation. I'm sure if we could just make her understand..."

"Kasumi, shut up." Nabiki said sharply, startling her older sister.

"N-Nabiki…!"

Nabiki fixed her older sister with a hard glare. A look she had never given to Kasumi before. Others had felt the full brunt of it's cold scorn, and shakingly opened their wallets to ward it away.

The Ice Queen of Furinkan was back.

"Shut up, and get out." Nabiki repeated. There was no anger in her voice. It was simply a command, but delivered with such force that Kasumi found herself standing before she even realized she was complying. She reluctantly backed out of the room, closing the door with a quiet click.

As soon as the door was closed, Nabiki's expression softened, and she took the redhead's shoulders, turning her to look in her eyes. She could see that bright flicker of optimism, of joy that had danced in them when Ranma had declared himself her boyfriend dying in them now. No, NO! Damn you Nodoka Saotome!

"Ranma, listen to me…"

"It's okay, Nabiki." Ranma forced a smile. "I… it was silly of me to think I could just put aside my obligations like that. I'm… I'm sorry…"

"Don't you dare, Ranma Saotome!"

She blinked, noticing there were tears in Nabiki's eyes—real, honest tears. Her own eyes widened.

"Don't you dare give up on me now!" Nabiki growled, the forcefulness in her voice a contrast to the moisture on her cheeks. "I promised you we would win this; That you'd come out of this with your life as your own."

"Nabiki, I can't go against my own mother…" Ranma said softly.

"I can!" She snarled back, surprising the redhead with her vehemence.

Nabiki took a breath to steady herself. She closed her eyes, taking a moment to find her center. "I know you need to respect her wishes. I know you don't feel you can oppose her. I'm not asking you to." She opened her eyes again, and gripped Ranma's shoulders tighter. "But I promised. And it's just like you said; It's just challenges. And some challenges only you can win. And some challenges only I can win, and this is one of them." She leaned in a little closer. "All those times you needed Akane to trust that you would come for her? That you would save her, no matter what? Well I need you to trust me now, okay?"

"I… okay… Okay." Ranma searched Nabiki's eyes for a moment, then seemed to find something. Nabiki could see that horrible blank resignation fade, replaced with that hopeful light again, fragile and precious.

Nabiki smiled and leaned forward, touching her forehead to Ranma's. She had no idea how she was going to fulfill her promise, but ideas were already flicking through her mind. There was an idea forming, something that could fend off Himura, Nodoka, whatever. It wasn't clear yet, not a real, crystalline thought, but something told her Ranma's trust was part of it. That it was the core of it.

"I would really kill for a demon or a Chinese prince or something right now. Anything that can be dealt with by punching it." Ranma said softly, earning a chuckle from the middle Tendo.

They stayed like that a few more moments before reluctantly Ranma moved away. She reached for the windowsill. "I'm gonna go sleep in the dojo tonight, I think. I… don't want to disturb my parents." That was a lie, of course. Right now Ranma was terrified of dealing with her mother. To see the disappointment in her eyes again, and know that she had fallen short in her eyes again.

Nabiki reached up and slid the window closed.

Ranma gave her a shocked look, which rapidly became a deepening bush as Nabiki slid her arms around her neck and leaned in against her.

"Just for tonight." Nabiki whispered softly.

000

The knock on the door the next morning was unwelcome. Nabiki was warm, and enjoying a rather pleasant dream involving being tangled up in bed with someone. Her mind reluctantly crawled to the surface of consciousness, and she waited for the pleasant feeling of having someone in her arms to fade.

It didn't. She cracked one eye open, and saw a tousle of red hair tucked under her chin, as the memories of reality replaced the dream she had been enjoying a moment before.

"Nabiki?" Kasumi's voice came through the door.

Nabiki quickly pulled the comforter up to her chin. She closed her eyes again, feigning grogginess as her elder sister opened the door.

"You should get up soon." Kasumi said softly. "I know how much you hate having to rush to get to school."

"Mnnn… thanks Kasumi." Nabiki cracked an eye open, the comforter pulled up to her nose to conceal the person she was sharing the bed with. She met her sister's gaze a moment, then looked down guiltily. "Kasumi, I'm sorry for last night. For… ordering you around like that."

Kasumi paused in closing the door. She seemed to think a moment, then smiled at her sister. "No. You were right. I wasn't helping Ranma, as much as I wanted to." She cocked her head. "Did you talk it out with her after that? Will she be okay?"

Nabiki felt a slight movement under the blanket and had to suppress her reaction. Ranma, now is not the time to be nuzzling there! "I think so. She just needed a bit of a pep talk."

"That's good." Kasumi smiled. "Now, remind her not to leave her clothes piled up on your floor in the future? It would save time ironing if she would hang them up after taking them off." She stepped out and closed the door behind her.

Nabiki closed her eyes in a slow wince. I am going to need a LOT of coffee this morning.

"Mmmnh…" Nabiki heard Ranma stir, and she peeled back the covers to reveal the readhead snuggled in against her chest, nuzzled in between her breasts, one arm wrapped around her.

Nabiki smiled in spite of herself, lightly running her fingers through Ranma's hair. "Hentai…" She said softly.

That was the wrong word to say.

Something triggered in Ranma before she was even awake, flinging her out of the bed and to the other side of the room. "I'msorryI'msorryIdon'tevenknowwhyI'mhere!" She scrabbled backwards frantically at the door, fumbling for the handle.

"Ranma!"

Ranma froze, panting, hand trembling as it gripped the doorknob. The fog of sleep and the panic of an adrenaline-fueled survival response slowly parting. She trembled a bit, still expecting the mallet to hit any moment.

Nabiki came up behind the redhead, slipping her arms around her from behind and hugging her fiercely. "It's okay, Ranma. It's okay, you're safe. You didn't do anything wrong. You're supposed to be here."

Ranma's breathing slowed, and she seemed to slump a little, her hand leaving the doorknob. "S-sorry… It's just…"

"I understand." Nabiki replied, hugging a little tighter.

"Nabiki…?" Ranma was still shaking slightly. "You're… you're not wearing a bra."

Nabiki smirked. "No, I'm not wearing a bra" She intentionally pressed a little tighter to Ranma's bare back, pressing her assets against her. She could feel Ranma's temperature rise. "It got uncomfortable around midnight last night, so I took it off."

As much as she had been tempted to pin the redhead to her bed and have her way with her last night, she knew that was really not what Ranma needed at the time. The poor girl was incredibly skittish, and it had taking some doing to coax her to share the bed with her rather than the floor, much less strip to her underwear while Nabiki did the same. She was rather proud she had negotiated that much. But Nabiki felt the redhead needed the reassurance and commitment more than modesty at that point.

That didn't mean she wasn't going to push the boundaries just a little.

"You're not wearing one either." Nabiki pointed out. She rested her chin on the girl's shoulder.

"That… that doesn't help, Nabiki." Ranma complained. Her face was bright red.

Nabiki kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry. I know you're working through a lot of stuff around this sort of thing. I promise we'll go slow with this, okay? But you are allowed to look at me, Ranma." She released the girl and stepped back a couple of paces and stood in the middle of the room, waiting.

Ranma turned timidly to look and, to her credit, resisted the urge to slap her hand over her eyes.. She fumbled with her hands, not sure what to do with them, finally awkwardly clasping them behind her as she let her gaze fall on the middle Tendo.

Nabiki smiled in a way that she hoped was reassuring. Silently, she was plotting a little revenge on her little sister and the other fiancees for traumatizing the poor sometimes-girl so badly. She took an unnecessarily deep breath as she noticed Ranma's eyes dip down to her chest, which caused a definite deepening of the blush. Nabiki's smirk grew a little. Maybe not as big as Shampoo, but more than enough to turn some heads, eh Ranma?

"You're beautiful…" Ranma said softly, her deep blue eyes locking with Nabiki's.

There was a note of awe, almost wonder in her voice and a sincerity in her eyes that hit Nabiki like a sledgehammer. Nabiki found a blush rising to her own cheeks as Ranma once again accidentally slipped past all her defences. Not cute. Not pretty. Beautiful. Her smile softened again. "Thank you." She stepped forward towards the girl and slid her arms around her neck again, losing herself a little in that deep, deep blue. "You are too."

"Nabiki! Ranma! Breakfast is ready!" Kasumi's call from downstairs broke the spell.

Nabiki inhaled sharply, as did Ranma… which given their position was probably not the best way to cut the tension as their bare chests did interesting things when pressed together.

"We… we should…" Nabiki murmured.

"Clothes." Ranma nodded. "And… umm…"

"Breakfast!" Nabiki replied quickly.

"Right! And then school!" Ranma nodded.

There was a moment of silence where neither of them moved, waiting for the other to break the embrace.

"... Screw it." Nabiki suddenly leaned in and captured Ranma's lips with her own, tightening her arms around the girl as Ranma made a muffled sound of surprise.

Not that Ranma protested very long or hard. Her arms tightened around the taller girl as she enthusiastically returned the kiss, whimpering softly. The past few days had been arousing and confusing and frustrating, and Nabiki was warm and soft, and smelled good, and right now she didn't give a damn about consequences.

Nabiki finally broke the kiss, both of them panting for air. Nabiki's hair was even more mussed, and it was currently a little difficult to tell where one of them ended and the other began.

"Much better." Nabiki said brightly, then released Ranma and quickly turned to start scooping clothes off the ground.

Ranma's brain was still fizzing and popping as her shirt hit her in the face.

"Better go change to your regular clothes and switch back to a guy before coming down for breakfast." Nabiki said, already zipping up the back of her uniform, having dressed in record time.

Ranma slid down against the door. "Buh…"

000

Nabiki was already sipping her coffee by the time Ranma managed to get himself in a presentable state (Since his mother was here, that meant male and in his chinese clothes to avoid answering any potentially awkward questions about his change of fashion). Nodoka was seated across from Nabiki. Soun and Genma were nowhere to be seen, nor was Akane.

He shot Nabiki a dirty look, which she at least had the modesty to look slightly guilty at. That in and of itself was an indicator of how much their relationship (And Nabiki herself) had changed.

He sat down next to her. "Morning Mom. Where's Pops and Mr Tendo? And where's Akane?"

"Your father and Soun have already had their breakfast." Nodoka said. "I mentioned I had some work for them back at the house, and they suddenly declared they needed to go on an emergency training trip."

"Naturally." Ranma muttered dryly. He thanked Kasumi as she set down a bowl of miso soup in front of him, as well as a tray with rice and pickled vegetables.

"Actually, I am glad to have the chance to talk with you without them present." Nodoka said. "I have been considering your engagement problems, and how I might help you resolve them."

"Oh." Ranma paused, holding his chopsticks. He already had a pretty good idea what was going to happen thanks to Kasumi, but he couldn't exactly let on that Kasumi hadn't been keeping his mother's confidence.

Nodoka smiled brightly. "I know that this whole situation has been a terrible distraction for you from more important matters, so I have decided I will take it upon myself to resolve it. But, firstly I will need to meet these young women formally and evaluate them." She produced a number of sealed envelopes, each with a name on them, and handed them to Ranma.

"What are these?" Ranma asked, turning one over in his hand. Nabiki leaned in to look them over with him. He started sorting through them, finding the names of his fiancees written on each.

"They're invitations to my home. There is one there for you, Nabiki, and one for Akane as well, if you wish to attend." She smiled. "I am afraid I don't know how to contact most of these young women, so I fear I must impose upon you to deliver them for me."

"Mom…" Ranma turned white as he got to the last one. "... Why is there one here for Kodachi Kuno?"

Nodoka folded her hands on the table and sighed. "I am aware that you have your… preferences my son…" Her eyes flicked over to Nabiki. "But it is important to be as impartial and fair about this matter as possible, given how many matters of honor are tied up in it. While I agree Kodachi's claim does not seem valid, it is a claim, and it is entitled to be evaluated same as the others, no matter how much of a formality that evaluation will be."

"I… " Ranma squeezed his eyes shut, not relishing the idea of visiting the Kuno Manor, especially with the issues with her brother currently. Maybe I'll run into their Ninja retainer and get him to deliver it… Nah, ol' Sasuke would screw it up. "All right." He sighed and tucked the letters into his schoolbag.

"So where is Akane?" Nabiki added. "Did she leave with Daddy and Mr. Saotome?"

"Oh no." Kasumi said, settling down at the table with her own cup of tea. "I meant to tell you both last night, but…" She glanced at Nodoka. "... It slipped my mind. Akane stayed the night at Dr. Tofu's clinic. Seems she was staying with Ms. Kuonji after she took a nasty bump to the head."

"What!?" Ranma and Nabiki said in unison.

"How bad was it?!" Ranma demanded, standing up and leaning over the table. "Is Akane okay? Are they still there?"

"It wasn't serious, just a mild concussion, though Akane sounded very guilty about it." Kasumi said. "They're still there as far as I know."

"Good!" Ranma grabbed Nabiki's wrist and practically dragged her out of the house. Nabiki yelped and made a wild grab for her schoolbag before being hauled along behind Ranma to the door. She had a moment's reprieve to get her shoes on, Ranma already throwing open the front door.

"Ranma, you'd better not…!" Nabiki began, but was cut off as Ranma swept her into his arms, bridal carry style. She yelped, tried to gather another breath to protest, and lost it as he coiled and leapt, leaving her stomach and very nearly her breakfast behind.

"WhoooooooooooRanmaThisIsABadIdeaaaaaaaa!" She finally managed, but they were already speeding over the rooftops at a terrifying pace. She flung her arms around his neck and hung on for dear life. This was far more terrifying than that one time she had fallen off the balcony and he had caught her.

The walk to Dr. Tofu's clinic usually took almost fifteen minutes. Ten if they were running. They arrived in less than five. Ranma landed lightly outside the clinic doors and paused, giving Nabiki a moment to recover.

She had her hands balled up in his shirt, and her eyes shut tight. "Ranma, I swear to any deity that cares to listen if you drop me…!"

"We're here, it's okay." He said gently. "And I'd never drop you." He gently set her down, and then gave her an impish smile. "Even when you weren't my girlfriend."

She blushed a little, taking a moment to convince her fingers to unclench. She considered a moment, then looked at him with a determined look in her eyes. "After school. I want you to do that again… with warning, okay?"

He blinked. "Sure. Why, though?"

"I want to understand it." She replied, reluctantly releasing him and stepping back. "I don't want to be afraid of it." She gave him a crooked smiled. "And I want to be able to do it myself someday." She made a shooing motion. "Now go on, you've got two more fiancees in there who could probably use a friendly face and some reassurance."

He returned her smile, and then ducked inside the clinic.

Nabiki hugged herself and turned to look out across the street. Why am I just letting him go to the other girls like this? She thought, feeling a pang of jealousy and possessiveness. She had already decided to fight for him… he had chosen her, hadn't he?

Because one of them is your little sister, who needs him right now as the person who is always there to save her. A little voice reminded her. And the other is the girl who just yesterday he kissed in public in front of the whole school. And BOTH of them could snap you like a twig. He needs to let them down easy WHEN the time is right, or you will NEVER be able to be together openly.

She sighed. A twelve step program for dealing with Ranma addiction. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. She sighed and glanced back at the clinic, a small smile touching her lips. My name is Nabiki, and I am in love with Ranma Saotome. Nice to meet you all.

000

"Doc! Akane and Ukyou?" Ranma darted into the clinic, only barely resisting the urge to grab the startled doctor by the shoulders.

"In the room in the back." Tofu pointed with his pencil. He was spun around in his chair for his trouble as Ranma bolted for the back room door.

He burst through the door, stopping dead when the two girls inside gave him a startled look. It was only then that he realized he probably should have knocked, and they could be changing, or having a private conversation, or simply take offense to him barging in. He clapped his hand over his eyes reflexively. "Ukyou! Akane! Are you guys okay? I didn't see anything, I swear!"

There was a pause. Dead silence. Ranma winced, remembering the slap he had gotten from Shampoo the last time there had been dead silence. He gingerly peeked through his fingers.

Ukyou was sitting up in bed. She was wearing a green hospital gown, and her hair was unbound and messy-looking, but otherwise she seemed fine. Akane was seated in the chair next to her, her uniform rumpled and her hair a mess, but otherwise seemingly unharmed.

Naturally, both of them were gawking at him like he was a crazy person.

"Ranchan, are you okay?" Ukyou said, quirking an eyebrow. "Did you… hit your head, or chug some weird potion?"

"Or eat some weird mushrooms, or inhale any weird incense…" Akane continued.

"... Or come across any magic mirrors?" Ukyou added.

Akane turned to her and nodded. "Yeah, the mirrors are probably the worst."

Ranma dropped his hand. "No! No, I…" He exhaled heavily. "Are you two okay? Kasumi didn't tell me until this morning." He walked over to them, eyes searching them both for hidden signs of injury, even though he knew that was a little pointless with them in Tofu's care.

"We're fine, Ranchan." Ukyou continued, cocking her head as the pigtailed boy still seemed agitated. "Doc Tofu just wanted to keep me overnight to make sure. I've just got a bit of a headache, nothing serious. In fact, Akane was just going to escort me home." She slipped her legs over the side of the bed, still wearing her uniform pants. She stood up, though she wobbled a bit. Ranma moved to support her, but Akane was closer and got to her first, steadying her with a hand on her shoulder.

Ranma clenched his fist, then unclenched it. "What happened?"

"Kuno came after us. He was convinced Ukyou was a guy, despite evidence to the contrary, and that she was seducing your girl side and me." Akane said, "Ukyou went for her weapon, but Kuno used his lightning move and knocked her into a wall."

"Right. I'll be right back, I need to go put Kuno in a hospital." Ranma said tightly, but Ukyou caught his arm.

"Someone beat you to it, sugar." She glanced at Akane, who ducked her head and fidgeted.

"What… wait, like really?" Ranma's eyes went wide. "I powerbombed his head into the concrete around the school pool and it only took him out of action for a few minutes. How did you manage that?"

"I punched him." Akane mumbled. "A lot."

Ranma immediately sense something wrong. Normally, accomplishing something that Ranma hadn't done would have Akane crowing. "Are you okay?"

Akane sheepishly brought her hands out from behind her back, revealing the bandages he had missed before. "A little bruised…"

Ranma sucked in a breath. One of Akane's favorite pastimes, even when she wasn't training, was smashing concrete cinder blocks. She could shatter them with her bare hands with as much difficulty as most people snapped twigs. To have actually bruised up her hands enough to require attention from Doc Tofu meant she had to have been hitting hard.

His face fell. "I'm sorry." He said softly.

"Why?" Ukyou asked, curiously.

"I wasn't there. I should have been the one fighting Kuno, not you!"

"Hey, I was dealing with Kuno long before you even showed up in Nerima!" Akane protested, putting her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, this isn't the first time I've taken a few bumps, Ranma." Ukyou added.

"That doesn't make it right!" Ranma protested. "Kuno got dangerous and Ukyou got hurt!"

"What makes you think you would do any better?" Ukyou demanded, feeling her pride prickled. Being treated as a damsel in distress was not something she was tolerant of, even if it was borne of Ranma's concern for her well-being.

"That doesn't matter!" Ranma growled back. "I wasn't there at all! And if… if something had happened... " He started shaking.

Akane's eyes widened. She quickly touched Ukyou's hand to cut off her retort, shaking her head at the chef's confused look. Her eyes then went to Ranma. "Ranma, this isn't Jusendo." She said softly.

"It could be!" He shot back. His eyes went from Ukyou to Akane, an odd, uncharacteristic desperation in them. They finally settled on Akane. "I can't… I can't do that again, Akane. Not with you, or Ucchan, or… or anyone I care about!"

Ukyou's eyes widened as she watched the exchange, understanding sinking in. She had only heard bits and pieces from Shampoo about what had happened, but she knew that Akane had almost died, and it had nearly broken Ranma. She stepped forward and put her hand on his shoulder, wincing as he flinched at the touch. "Would it be any better if it was you that got hurt, Ranchan?" She asked softly.

"Yes!" Ranma said, an almost maniacal look in his eyes now. "I can take it! I can handle getting hit, or shocked, or burned, or cut. But… but I can't…"

"We know." Akane replied softly, moving to his other side. "It's the same for us, Ranma. It's the exact same." She put her hand on his other shoulder. "When I was stuck watching Saffron… torture you…" She stepped in and slipped her arms around his waist and hugged him fiercely, burying her face in his shoulder. "Don't wish that on yourself ever again. Not even for us."

"Especially not for us." Ukyou stepped in and hugged him from the other side, hooking her chin over his other shoulder. "We take care of each other, okay? We do that, and we don't freak out about the lumps and bruises, because if we watch each other's backs that's the worst it'll be, okay?" She squeezed.

"But… I wasn't there this time…" Ranma replied, stiff as a board as they hugged him.

"Akane was." Ukyou said softly. "And next time Akane is in trouble, I'll have her back. And the next time you're in trouble, we'll have yours. Okay?"

"Okay, Ranma?" Akane echoed her, a little muffled against Ranma's shoulder.

He sighed and wrapped his arms around them, finally relaxing and closing his eyes.

What did we just agree to? Ukyou wondered, feeling Akane next to her. She considered what had happened on the roof… and what might have happened. Tentatively she slipped her other arm around Akane's waist, finishing the circle. I guess… we'll see, won't we?

Ranma just held them both for a few minutes before he finally spoke. "Heh… some 'Man among men', huh? I come here and gotta be comforted by the girls who got hurt, because I can't deal with Kuno of all people."

"You hardly need to prove that anymore." Akane said, smiling up at him as she finally released him. "You could spend the rest of your life in a bra and panties and still be manlier than any of the rest of the jerks here."

Ranma made a face. "Speaking of which…" He sighed and disengaged from the two girls. He pulled his bag off his back, opening it to retrieve his girl's uniform. He paused, seeing the envelopes. "Oh… right… that."

"What is it, Ranchan?" Ukyou asked, leaning in to get a look at what was in his bag.

Ranma fished out the two envelopes that were addressed to Akane and Ukyou. "My mother has decided to step in on the fiancee issue. She wants to meet all of you formally." He handed over the envelopes. "So… uh… she can start figuring out which engagement to keep."

"Which one to keep?!" Ukyou scowled. "That's not her call!"

"She kinda thinks it is." Ranma said quietly. "And she thinks I should be with a martial artist, so… she's not real happy with the current state of the Tendo engagement. Look, I know this isn't fair to you… either of you, but… Me'n Nabiki are trying to defuse this whole mess, so… It'd be a big help if you played along with her for now? I'm not… I'm not ready to confront her over this yet."

Akane nodded. "I spent some time with Auntie Saotome. I think I know what to expect. I was going to walk Ukyou home and take the day off to… well… " She looked down at herself and wrinkled her nose. "Shower, for one. I can talk her through it."

"I… Well, thanks, sugar." Ukyou said, honestly surprised at Akane's willingness to dispense with an obvious advantage.

"Well, it's about keeping things balanced and calm for now, right?" Akane sighed. "I suppose that means we'll need to explain it to Shampoo as well, right?"

Ranma held up another envelope with Shampoo's name written on it. "Me'n Nabiki already talked to her and the old crone about Mom's… standards, and Himura's little game. They're on board to help, so hopefully they'll play nice with this too."

Akane took it from him. "We should take it, then. A peace offering." She studied the envelope for a minute, then glanced at Ukyou. "You don't think they'd try anything, would you? Brainwash spice in the tea or anything?"

Ukyou shook her head. "And screw up a chance to get Ranma's Mom officially supporting their claim? Shampoo isn't that dumb. Doesn't mean she won't mess with us, but if we can all get to this meeting in one piece, I think she'll behave."

"Yeah, well, let her know someone else is gonna be there." Ranma held up the final envelope, with Kodachi's name on it.

"What!?" Both girls exclaimed in disbelief.

"I had to promise to Mom I'd deliver it, too." He tucked it back into his bag. "So you can bet she'll be there. You guys wanna mess with someone? Mess with her. Last thing I need right now is more Kunos in my life."

"Why Ranma, are you choosing us over her?" Akane asked coyly. Though a small part of her was wondering when it had become an 'us' thing with the other fiancees.

"I'd choose Cologne over her." Ranma snorted. "Look, I should get changed for school. I can't miss a day with this challenge hanging over my head, even if the school is a wreck."

Akane glanced at Ukyou, then at Ranma. "I'll… wait outside. I should talk with my sister before we go our separate ways." She slipped past Ranma before either of them could say anything, slipping out of the room.

"Uh…" Ranma scratched at the nervous itch on the back of his head. "So… uhhh…"

Ukyou blushed, studying the floor. "Yeah…"

Ranma took a deep breath. What do I say? I mean, we kissed, but after everything that happened with Nabiki…

"Ranchan… Ranma…" Ukyou said softly. She looked up at him, taking a tentative step forward. "I know… I know how things went yesterday… I don't think it was how either of us pictured it happening, but… I just…. I just want to make sure… That kiss meant… more than you can possibly know to me, and… and…" She closed her eyes, fidgeting. "I just want to make sure that I wasn't imagining things. That… That what I felt from you was… was real. That it meant something for you too?"

Ranma squeezed his eyes shut. He took a breath, and then relaxed. "Yeah… yeah it did Ucchan." He said softly.

"Ranma…!" Her expression brightened and she took another step forward, but he winced again and held up a hand. She stopped, a look of confusion and hurt in her eyes.

"Ucchan… Look…" He opened his eyes and look into hers, stepping forward himself and taking her by the shoulders. "These past few weeks, I've been wrestling with something. A question. And everything leads back to it. The Fiancee problem, Himura's games, the failed wedding. And I gotta sort it out before I can move forward. Everything in my life is out of order. I'm supposed to already have my future all figured out before I've even finished school. I'm supposed to know who I want to marry before I really even had my first kiss. I supposed to create a legacy for the next generation before I even understand what legacy I'm inheriting. And it doesn't work doing it that way, no matter what my parents say." He licked his lips, his mouth feeling dry. "I don't want to decide who to marry today, or tomorrow. Or next week. Regular people have this figured out. They… they date, they… they get to know each other. They break each others hearts, and they get over it. They start off with their decisions not really mattering and work their way up to the decisions that will decide their whole lives, they don't start there."

"We aren't regular people, Ranma." Ukyou said.

"I know, but…" He trailed off, his argument crumbling. How would it even work, anyway? Anything I do with any of them is me making a choice!

"... But you want something more to help you decide." She said softly. "People date to get to know each other, learn how to be around each other, right? Spend time together, without it having to be more than that?"

"I…" He looked at Ukyou, a little confused as she started to pick up his fumbled thoughts and run with them.

Ukyou was pondering the situation. Ranma wants time to decide. But… he still wants to spend time with us… get to know us, so when the time comes he sure of his decision. She had an idea tickling in the back of her mind. And I want to give him that. I… I want to be able to just be with him without it having to be more than that. A date… a kiss… A smile tugged her lips as she remembered the last one. But to do it that way, the only way would be if everyone agreed. She shivered a bit, realizing where her line of thinking was going. Would I be okay with that? With… with Shampoo and Akane doing those same things with him? Especially now, when I'm finally AHEAD, and not just chasing Akane's coattails? I could win this if I just pushed a little more!

She looked into his eyes a moment, searching. Then a small smile crossed her lips,a quiet resolution. A bit sad, but it carried with it the certainty of being the right thing. It wouldn't be winning, though. I don't want to be Ranma's wife by forcing him to concede, to always be wondering if he made the right choice. I want him to pick me because HE knows I'm the right one.

She reached up and pulled his head down and kissed him. He stiffened, but only a moment this time. She sought that same warmth as before, that feeling of belonging, and she found it, washing away her doubts. This was the right way forward.

"U-Ukyou…" Ranma finally managed as the kiss ended. He was flushed, breathing hard. For the moment he had forgotten that there were two young ladies just outside who would probably murder him if they saw what had just happened.

"I love you, Ranma." Ukyou said. "I don't care if you're a man amongst men, or the greatest martial artist in the world. I don't care if you never cure your curse, or you cure it tomorrow, or you end up locked as a woman forever. I love you, and I've never been more sure of anything in my life. And I want you to be just as sure about me. So I'm going make sure you get all the time you need with everyone you care about so that you can know what the right answer is for you." Her eyes clouded a little. "Because it's more important to me that you find the answer that makes you happiest than it is for the answer to be me."

Ranma's eyes widened. He searched her face for a moment, trying to parse what she was saying to him. "What do you mean? What are you planning?"

Ukyou held up a finger. "Don't get too excited, Ranchan. I'm pretty sure I can call a truce between the fiancees… but you're going to have to agree to make it worth our while. Which means you're going to have to spend a lot of time with each of us. You're going to have to give each of us a fair chance, okay?" She cocked her head. "Deal?"

He blinked, lost in thought for a moment, the implications filtering through. This is what Nabiki was trying to set up! A truce, and some time to figure things out! He broke out in a huge grin, pulling Ukyou in close and kissing her fiercely before he really realized what he was doing.

Ukyou's eyes widened a moment in surprise, but she quickly recovered, wrapping her arms around him tightly, fitting herself in against him, determined to take her time this time. I don't know what changed with Ranma… but I like it. I want more, too.

What had been a passionate kiss settled into something slower, deeper… the urgency to try and cram a lifetime of emotions into a single moment eased by the promise that this wouldn't be the last. Frantic need gave way to simple feeling. Finally they parted. Ranma stared at her, like he was seeing her for the first time.

Yes. That's how I always want you to look at me, Ranchan. She thought. She felt him cup her cheek, and she closed her eyes and leans against it. This was a thousand million times better than any of her lonely dreams.

"I'm sorry." He said, brushing his thumb over her cheekbone. "I'm sorry I didn't… I didn't do this sooner. I'm sorry I didn't see this. I'm… I'm sorry I didn't stop that stupid cart all those years ago."

Ukyou chuckled. She opened her eyes again and looked into his. "It would have made things a lot simpler now." She placed her hand over his. "It's all right. You're doing it now. Better late than not at all." She closed her eyes again. "This moment right now makes it all worth it. No matter what happens next."

000

Akane peeked out of of the clinic, quickly spotting her sister leaning against the wall, staring across the road at nothing in particular. She stepped out and took a few steps closer. "Nabiki?"

Nabiki seemed to come out of some reverie, shaking her head a bit, then smiling as she saw her sister. "Hey Akane. You look like you slept on your face."

"I kinda did…" Akane self consciously ran her fingers through the tangled mass of her hair. "Did you and Ranma get away okay?"

"Ranma got hit with the sprinklers, but we made it to a shed to hide without getting caught." Nabiki replied. "I heard you had a bit more trouble than us."

"Yeah…" Akane leaned against the wall next to her sister. "Kuno caught up to us on the roof."

"We saw the ambulance take him away." Nabiki smirked. "You really must have done a number on him. Didn't stop him spouting nonsense on the way out though."

Akane smiled weakly. "That's… actually kinda reassuring. I lost it when Ukyou got hurt. I was worried…"

"Hey… He attacked you. With a weapon." Nabiki replied, "That's self defense any day of the week, even if it had been worse."

"That's not the point, Nabiki." Akane huffed. She crossed her arms. "I… lost control. I mean… that's not really new for me, I know, but…" She uncrossed her arms and looked at her hands. "With all the training I've been doing… that's dangerous. What if it had been someone who couldn't take a hit like Kuno can? What if it was Ranma?" She shuddered and hugged herself. "Anytime I get stronger… That battlesuit, those soba noodles… I get dangerous. Except there's no antidote this time, it's just me."

"So? Work on control, then." Nabiki put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I don't know much about martial arts, but I do know it's not about giving up when you find a gap in your training."

"Do… do you think Ranma would help me with that?" Akane asked shyly.

Nabiki smiled and ruffled her hair. "Just give him The Smile and he'll be putty."

"Why do you keep talking about 'The Smile' like it's some sort of superpower?" Akane ducked out from the hair tousling. "There's nothing special about my smile."

"Tell that to my customers." Nabiki muttered.

"Nabiki?" Akane twiddled her fingers nervously. "Would you be okay with Ranma training me?"

"What do you mean?" Nabiki raised an eyebrow.

"Nabiki…" Akane gave her an exasperated look. "I know I can be oblivious sometimes, but I'm not stupid! You went away for a weekend alone with Ranma, and when you both came back, you were like different people! I see how you look at him. I see how he looks at you. I know you keep saying you're not serious, but…" She put a hand on her arm. "Just be honest for once?"

Nabiki glanced at the door to the clinic nervously. "Being honest is liable to get me a sharpened spatula to the skull." She glanced back to Akane, and saw that her sister had that stubborn set to her jaw that told her she wasn't going to let it go. "Fine! I'm… I'm in the race. I'm the Dark Horse."

"You're not though, are you?" Akane asked. "The truth, Nabiki!"

Nabiki reflexively backed away a step. "A-Akane…"

Akane realized she had clenched her fists. She jammed her hands under her arms and turned back to lean against the side of the building, frustrated. "I'm not going to hit my own sister!" She said. "I just want the truth!"

Nabiki took a deep breath, and forced herself to step back and take a spot on the wall next to Akane. "All right. Yeah… There's something there. I'm not… I'm not going to say I'm ready to marry him. And he's not ready for anything like that either. So right now we're just trying to defuse his life enough so that we can actually get enough breathing room to figure that out."

"Have you kissed him?" Akane asked softly. Her eyes were fixed on the road.

"Yeah. I have." Nabiki replied softly. She felt an awful cold grip on her heart. That was one advantage the Ice Queen had; She never paid guilt much mind.

"Has he kissed you?" Akane asked again.

Nabiki could have quibbled that, but she knew what Akane meant. Ranma had been kissed plenty of times, but those he had kissed back were few and far between.

Or at least they WERE, a jealous little voice noted.

"Yeah. He has." Nabiki said softly.

Akane continued to stare silently at the road.

"I'm not going to give up on him." Akane said finally.

"I know you won't, Akane." Nabiki replied softly. "You wouldn't be you if you gave up that easily."

Another stretch of silence.

"Do you love him?" Akane broke the silence again.

Nabiki scowled. "We don't know what love is, Akane. This is all hormones and fantasy, and… and…"

Akane was silent.

For some reason Nabiki trailed off. What had seemed so reasonable, so easy, sounded hollow and naive even to her own ears. She laughed softly as even her own cynicism betrayed her. "... Yeah. I do." She finally said.

"Good." Akane said softly.

Nabiki shook her head. "I knew better than to fall for him, but I did anyway."

"So did I." Akane replied. She finally looked at her sister. "We should keep him away from Kasumi."

The tension broke all at once, and Nabiki was overcome with a giggling fit. After a moment Akane joined in, then two of them leaning against each other.

"I… I think if he was going to get Kasumi it would have happened by now." Nabiki snickered, then smiled at her sister.

"You never know! You held out a long time!" Akane protested.

"Point." Nabiki considered. "Maybe we can find a tropical island to quarantine us all on to keep it from spreading?"

"He'd still find a way to get engaged to a mermaid or something." Akane crossed her arms and scowled. "The baka…"

Nabiki smirked. "Or you'd get kidnapped by some amorous Prince of Atlantis."

"... I still get letters from Touma." Akane blushed and scuffed her foot on the ground.

Nabiki sighed and rolled her head back, closing her eyes. "I was such a fool for thinking I could get out of this place and just have a normal life. Like it was as simple as taking off a coat."

"Why would you want a normal life?" Akane asked. "You turn weird situations to your advantage faster than anyone I've ever met!"

Nabiki gave her sister a startled look.

"I mean, nothing rattles you, sis. I always kind of envied that." Akane admitted. "You're the one who's always in control."

"Not lately." Nabiki said, shaking her head. "I got complacent, and Himura yanked the rug out from under me."

"You got bored. You need challenges, just like the rest of us." Akane grinned.

"A girl from a Yakuza family is a bit more than a challenge, 'Kane." Nabiki said dryly.

"Bet you 5,000 yen she makes it to the end of the school year before you take her down." Akane replied.

"Akane, I don't think…"

Akane reached into her bag and pulled out a 5,000 yen note, holding it between two fingers as she waved it in front of her. "Is it a bet, or isn't it?"

Nabiki paused, then smirked and took the bill. "Fine. But only because you're family."

The door to the clinic opened. Ranma stepped out, wearing her Furinkan uniform, hair still a little damp from the change. Ukyou followed her, wearing Ranma's red silk chinese shirt, which caused a double helping of raised eyebrows from the Tendo sisters.

"Ranchan was nice enough to loan it to me for the trip home." Ukyou adjusted it on her shoulders a bit. "Way more comfortable than that hospital gown thing."

Doc Tofu followed them out, hands clasped behind his back, disarming smile on his face. "Now, take it easy for a few days, all right Ukyou? Repeat concussions are a serious danger, so no fighting. Your balance is going to be a bit off for the next few days, so take it easy on the martial arts in general."

Ukyou fumbled with her hair, trying to get it tied back in a ponytail. "I know. I had to take basic first aid to get my restaurant license." She smiled at the doctor. "I'll be careful, I promise."

"Here, Ukyou, let me help with that." Akane hurried over to help Ukyou manage her hair as Ranma walked over to Nabiki. From her subdued manner, and the slight remnant of a blush, Nabiki already had a pretty good idea what had happened.

"So… did you get lost in the bathroom or something?" Nabiki asked, not quite ready to let Ranma off the hook.

"Actually… Ukyou thinks she might be able to help. Y'know, with the whole 'Fiancee Truce' thing." Ranma replied. "Apparently she and Shampoo meet up fairly often, and are on better terms than we'd expect."

"Than you'd expect." Nabiki sniffed. "They always ended up pooling their money when they dealt with me." She glanced at her watch. "Come on, we'd better get going."

"Wait, Ranma!" Akane ran over to them as she saw them about to leave. She stopped in front of the redhead, both of them fidgeting a bit awkwardly.

"Ranma, can… can we talk?" Akane asked. "Not now, I mean, but… at home. Later."

"Uh… sure Akane. I mean…" Ranma scratched the back of her head.

Akane took hold of the shorter girl by the shoulders. "I'm serious, Ranma. Please don't blow me off. I need your help, okay?" She smiled weakly. "This is a martial arts problem, not… y'know."

"Oh! Oh… oh!" Ranma went through several different realizations, then backtracked a bit on the last one. She quirked a brow questioningly at Akane. "... Oh?"

"Oh." Akane clarified.

"Oh." Ranma restated.

"There are these wonderful inventions called words, you two." Nabiki muttered. "You should try them. They might even be to your liking."

"Words and those two never really got along well, Sugar." Ukyou chipped in, walking over to stand next to Nabiki, crossing her arms.

"Mmmm, point." Nabiki conceded.

Akane and Ranma turned on the two of them, and in perfect unison and with perfectly mirrored expressions, put their hands on their hips, leaned towards them and scowled. "OH!?"

The four of them managed to maintain that for approximately two seconds before dissolving into a fit of giggling.

"Okay, okay, we should get going." Nabiki said, walking up and snagging the redhead's arm. "We'll bring you home any homework that gets assigned, assuming it's not carpentry work to fix the Principal's little remodeling error."

"All right. See you at home later!" Akane waved and walked off with Ukyou.

Nabiki glanced over at Ranma, noticing a goofy smile on her face that endured as they resumed their walk. "So, was the kiss that good?"

Nabiki felt a bit of mean satisfaction as Ranma tripped and hit the pavement face first.

Nabiki crouched next to the twitching redhead. She knew that this sort of thing was still going to happen. Only an idiot would expect to jump in this late in the game and expect after all that had been happening for things with the other girls to come to a halt cold-turkey, especially since there was no real way to do that without calling down the vengeance of three or four very powerful women scorned. It still needled her in that possessive little spot that had decided to claim Ranma against all reason, though, so a little petty revenge helped salve her jealous impulses.

Ranma sat up, and immediately Nabiki regretted it, though. That scared, whipped puppy look was back in her eyes, shot through with guilt and a healthy dollop of panic. "I'm sorry! I… I…"

Nabiki sighed and pressed a finger to her lips. "Shhh… Not mad. A little jealous, but that's not your fault. I knew this was going to happen. Just…" She closed her eyes and shuddered. "Turn down the kicked puppy eyes before I hug you in public, okay?"

"Ranma took a deep breath. "I… are you sure?"

Nabiki frowned. "I'm giving you a 'Get out Of Angry Girlfriend Free' card here, Saotome. Don't question it." She offered a hand to Ranma to help her up.

"It… That wasn't the reason I had the goofy grin." Ranma said softly as she stood up.

"Oh?" Nabiki asked, curious now.

"It was… that thing before we all left. Where we were all joking and teasing each other and… no one was really mad or anything, and I wasn't walking on eggshells to keep from pissing someone off, it was… just being myself with everyone and everyone being happy." Ranma brushed herself off. "It was… It was just nice, y'know?"

"So… you didn't kiss Ukyou?" Nabiki asked, wondering if she had missed the mark.

Ranma smirked, seeing an opportunity to get some of her own back. "Oh, no, I kissed the hell out of her."

Nabiki's grip on her hand got uncomfortably tight. "You…!" She blew out the breath and then chuckled. "You are getting far too accustomed to my 'nice' side, Saotome. Maybe I should start your tab back up, hmmm?"

Ranma blanched a little. "Please don't."

Nabiki relaxed her grip a little. "Better. Come on, let's see what farce in the guise of education waits for us today."

Ranma settled into step with her. Rather than letting go, she felt Ranma's fingers weave into hers as she walked beside her. Nabiki felt like she should tell her not to, that the two of them holding hands openly was a bad idea… but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Feeling that delicate-seeming hand in hers stirred something within her.

As they approached the gates, they could already hear the sounds of students milling about in the yard. They slowed and peeked through to see what was going on.

There was a hastily erected stage set up in front of the school main doors, and Principal Kuno was there, as well as a few of the faculty, the school nurse, and Himura Tanaka. Behind them construction crews were working in and around the school, wheeling out the large industrial heater fans that had been running all night to dry the school out.

"Okay, this is new." Nabiki led Ranma into the crowd, aiming for a decent vantage.

"Senpai!"

They both turned to see Rin waving for them. She, Sayuri and the rest of the team had staked out a spot slightly off to the side. They pushed through the crowd to join them.

"What's going on?" Ranma asked. "The Head Pineapple about to announce a new round of mandatory hairstyles?"

"Nobody knows." Sayuri said, "They won't let us into the school. I guess Kuno wrecked it worse than it seemed?"

"This school has had worse than a little water." Ranma snorted.

"Ey ev'rybody!" The Principal's voice came clear over the loudspeaker. "Your Headmaster is happy to see so many smiling faces! We be havin' the big fun, ye?"

"Woo." Someone half-heartedly said from the crowd. The rest shuffled, a few coughs and a sea of bland, bored expressions.

"Yeah!" Principal Kuno cheered as if he had just got a roaring ovation. "So, we be havin' a few of dem bumps in de road yesterday, ye? Ye. So because yer Headmaster be thinkin' o' nothing but the welfare o' his keki's and wahines, while yer school is bein' fixed, we be havin' dem nurses in from de big hospital to check to make sure all of my students are healthy!"

"Do we gotta get shots? I hate needles!"

"You know, I heard the water sits in those pipes for decades. Who knows what kind of stuff was growing in 'em?"

"Can I just get a note from my parents saying I'm okay?"

"Well, I have had this rash…"

"An' here to let you know about the big fun planned for you all today, here is Acting Student Council President, Himura Tanaka!"

"Acting Student Council President?!" Sayuri snarled incredulously, "When did this happen?!"

"Remember when Kuno baby said that anyone who wanted to run for Student Council had to fight him in a kendo match first so he could 'test their mettle'?" Nabiki said, "No one has run for student council since he became president. He's been having the sports team captains fill in for the positions. Hinata was Treasurer, which is next in line since there was no VP."

"Democracy in action." Yuka muttered.

Himura walked up to the podium, smiling brightly. "Good morning Furinkan! I am overjoyed to see you all here this morning, dutifully coming in despite the calamity that was yesterday. Trust me when I say that your diligence has been noticed, and is appreciated."

"Woo." Came the same halfhearted cheer from the crowd.

Himura simply smiled. "I understand that words are cheap. Fortunately, we have a rather under-utilized student events purse left over from last year. With Principal Kuno's blessing, as well as a few contacts of my own, I have arranged for some of the local catering businesses to come provide an outdoor barbecue lunch, as thanks for your patience."

This time, there was a genuine cheer from the collected students.

Himura's smile grew. She soaked in the adulation a few moments before holding up her hand. "And… AND… The volleyball team will be making an exciting announcement regarding the coming season! The other club leaders also worked hard to get booths set up, so those of you who don't yet have a club, or are thinking of changing to a different one, today is your day!"

There was another cheer from the crowd.

"And lastly, today will be a half day, so once you've gotten your checkup, gotten fed, and checked out our many excellent clubs and sports teams, the rest of your day is yours to do with as you wish!" Himura called out.

The final roar from the students was deafening.

Nabiki narrowed her eyes.

"Well, she went all out, didn't she?" Sayuri sniffed.

"Aren't we technically part of the volleyball team now?" Yuka added. "Why are we only finding out about this now?"

"I think you all should stick close. Meet back up at the lunch tree after you get your checkups." Nabiki said, her eyes never leaving Himura. "And if you see Hiroshi and Daisuke, tell them I'm looking for them."

"Why do you want those two jokers?" Yuka asked, raising an eyebrow.

A smirk started to form on Nabiki's lips, her eyes twinkling with the beginnings of a scheme. "Because if Himura is going to do what I think she's going to do… I'm going to need some minions."

000

The throng of students was ushered around to the back of the school grounds to the exterior gym doors where lines were formed. True to her word, a large number of outdoor cooking stations had been set up, with delicious smells already wafting from the various stalls. There was another stage set up on the soccer field, with a full array of lights and a control booth up in the bleachers.

Riko whistled. "They really went all out for this."

"Yeah. I have a bad feeling about this." Ranma muttered, rubbing her arms as if she were cold.

"No volleyball court, though." Sayuri noted. "At least she isn't going to demand an immediate match."

"This is to drum up the crowds." Nabiki commented. Her eyes passed over every detail of the scene, filing away objects of importance, flagging people of note. "She wants to make this competition of hers a big public spectacle."

"Great." Ranma muttered. "Don't get enough of those normally."

"To be fair? By now everyone just assumes if you're involved it's gonna be something worth watching, Ranma." Sayuri said, patting the redhead on the back.

"And potentially life threatening." Yuka muttered.

"That just makes it more exciting!" Riko replied.

Yuka scowled. "Have you forgotten that this time we're the event?"

"It'll make it all the sweeter when we knock her and her overdone roots off her throne." Sayuri said, with an expression that could best be described as vengeful anticipation.

Nabiki noted that as well. She glanced up at the sound booth, taking note of the two students who were doing the sound checks. She reached into her bag, brought out a little black book and flipped through it. She nodded, then tucked the book away again, all without breaking stride.

"I suppose we should get in line…" Riko indicated the long, snaking line leading from the door to the gym. "... ugh."

"There you are!"

They all glanced to the side to see Hana approaching, flanked by Megumi and another girl. Hana was smiling brightly, brand new high-end digital camera hanging from a strap around her neck.

"What are you doing here?" Sayuri growled.

"Don't tell me no one told you?" Hana put her hands on her hips, exaggerated scowl appearing on her face. "You're on the Volleyball team! Sports teams get to skip the line! Just go up to the door and tell them you're here, they've been expecting you!" She glanced at Nabiki. "Ooooh… sorry Ms. Tendo. 'Fraid it's sports team members only. Fan club members have to wait in line like everyone else."

Nabiki simply smirked. "Of course."

Hana's expression darkened for a moment. "You know 'Boss', you've been awful quiet lately." She smiled brightly. "I wasn't really expecting you to just quietly accept all of this like I suggested! I guess maybe you were more ready for retirement than I thought, huh?"

"I'm sure you're right." Nabiki continued to smile, showing entirely too many teeth.

Hana opened her mouth as if to say more, but then glanced at the others watching her curiously. She cleared her throat, recovering her composure. She turned to them and clapped her hands. "Well, we should get you taken care of so you can get first crack at all this lovely food, right? This way please." She smiled and gestured towards the door.

They walked past, giving her wary looks. As Sayuri passed, she paused and hooked the camera strap with one finger. "Nice collar." She said softly. "Must have cost Himura a mint. Hope it doesn't get too tight when she tugs on the leash." She released it and continued on.

"Heh…" Hana twitched a bit, took a breath, then followed after them. Megumi and the other girls followed, though Megumi spared Nabiki a curious look.

Nabiki watched them go. Good. Hana is accounted for. Now I just have to find Hiroshi and Daisuke… She scanned the line and spotted them about halfway to the first bend in the line, near the back. She briskly walked over to them both and clapped them on the shoulders. "You. This way. Now." She said in her best authoritative voice.

Both of them stiffened, though they didn't resist as she frog marched them out of the line; well-honed submissive instincts kicking in from many years of being on the bottom of the Furinkan food chain. She walked them a safe distance away then released them and casually walked in front of them. "Come on, you two. We have work to do."

"Wha… Nabiki!" Hiroshi yelped, looking back at the line where their spots had already been filled in. "You made us lose our place!"

"Ugh, and the line is going for another bend!" Daisuke wailed.

They both were about to confront Nabiki, but she had already moved between them, throwing an arm around each of their necks and pulling them down to her level.

"Listen, you two. Right now, I'm going to give you a choice. Do you want to stuff your faces with barbecue? Or do you want in on a caper?"

They paused.

"Real-deal Nabiki Tendo caper?" Daisuke asked carefully.

"Uh huh. Foot in the door time." She flashed him a smile.

"Who's the mark?" Hiroshi added.

"Himura Tanaka." Nabiki replied. "And grifting all of the 'extra-curricular' proceeds for this event she's going to announce." She winked. "As well as a couple of openings to be my eyes and ears on the street in Furinkan. Assuming you can be discreet."

"We're the picture of discretion." Daisuke replied.

"Except when we're wearing the tutus." Hiroshi added.

"Then we're even more discreet." Daisuke finished.

Nabiki grinned. "Actually… We'll need the tutus for this. And if the barbecue is all gone by the time we're done, I'll throw in lunch from the Nekohanten on me." She tightened her grip a little. "Do we have a working arrangement?"

"Might I confer with my… uh… associate?" Daisuke asked.

"Discreetly, of course." Hiroshi added.

Nabiki nodded and released them.

They turned and walked a couple of paces away to put their heads together.

"What do you think?" Hiroshi asked.

"Minion work for Nabiki Tendo. Long hours, low pay, demeaning work taking naughty pics, and association with the most notoriously heartless mercenary in Nerima." Daisuke muttered.

"I know, but we shouldn't just list the positives." Hiroshi warned him. "Do you think we can fit this into our busy schedules as cheerleading detectives?"

"You mean in between our daily routine of looking for things to investigate and being told to buzz off?" Daisuke asked.

"Well… okay, point." Hiroshi admitted.

"Also, Nabiki hangs around Ranma, and cute girls hang around Ranma, and lately not all of them have been engaged and/or legally married to him already." Daisuke drove his point home.

"Including Yuka."

Daisuke winced. "Okay… fair point, but it's still better than what we have going on now. Which is nothing."

Hiroshi pondered. "Do we dare become Cheerleading Detective Henchmen?"

"Do we dare not?"

They were silent a moment, then nodded to each other, and in unison turned and walked back to Nabiki.

"For the record, we're henchmen, not minions." Daisuke stated clearly.

Nabiki smirked. "Deal. Now, you two ran the sound board for the school play last year, right? And have either of you got an MP3 player with you? And keep those tutus ready!"

000

The school gymnasium was cordoned off with a mass of wheeled dividers, with portable examination tables and wheeled instrument carts in each, each one a little nurse's office. Orderlies shuttled back and forth, ushering students to where they needed to go.

"Oh god, are we going to have to strip for this?" Rin squeaked, hiding behind Ranma. "I can barely handle that at a regular nurse's office! I-in front of all of these people…?!"

"It's not like they're going to have you strip out in the open, Rin." Riko replied, patting her on the shoulder. "Besides, it's just a checkup. Probably just eyes, ears, nose and throat stuff to make sure we didn't pick up some horrible infection from the 60's or however old those pipes are."

"Besides, not like you've got anything to be ashamed of." Ranma said over her shoulder.

Rin blinked. "R-really, senpai?"

Ranma shrugged. "Sure, I-ow ow ow OW OW OW OW!" Ranma was cut off as a finger and thumb grabbed her earlobe and pulled sharply.

"I'm sure one of your fiancees is going to thank me for this." Sayuri muttered, finally releasing the girl.

"Girls Volleyball Team, second string?" One of the orderlies ran up, checking his clipboard.

"Second string!?" Sayuri snarled, advancing on the orderly. She was quickly restrained by Yuka and Riko.

"I-I'm sorry, miss, that's just what it says on the clipboard." He bowed in apology. "If you'll just come with me, there are nurses to see each of you."

He lead them into a corridor made of the portable walls, directing each of them to a cubicle. "The nurses will be with you in a moment." He ushered each of them into a separate one, and closed the curtain.

Ranma sat on the examination table and sighed. "Well, this is fun." She muttered.

The curtain parted, and a dark haired woman with glasses and a nurse's uniform stepped inside. "Ranma Saotome?" She asked.

Ranma nodded, uncertain what to expect. She hadn't had much experience with medical visits outside of Dr Tofu. In fact, Dr Tofu was the closest she had ever gotten to modern medicine.

The nurse smiled. "I'm Nurse Ninomiya, pleased to meet you." She stepped inside and settled onto the stool next to the bed. She looked at the chart on her clipboard. "It… looks like it's been a while since you've been to the doctor's office? We don't have much detail on file for you."

"I've been travelling with my father. Uh… a lot." Ranma replied weakly.

"Well, that's no problem, we can fill in those blanks today. As a member of the Volleyball team, we'll need a little bloodwork… height, weight, basic physical." She checked off a few things on her chart. "Could I get you to take your clothes off, please?"

Oh boy… Ranma thought nervously.

000

The physical wasn't as bad as Ranma had feared. The Nurse's professional demeanor had helped a lot, though the needles still hadn't been a lot of fun. Ranma rubbed her arm and wondered if there was any blood left in it at all. No diseases from the scummy old sprinkler water (thankfully) and all the rest of her vitals had been, as the nurse put it, 'amazing'.

She walked out of the corridor of cubicles to see the other members of the volleyball team waiting for her. Rin waved as she approached.

"Wow… They kept you for the full treatment, huh?" Riko said. "I thought I'd be last, since I didn't have an up to date physical."

"Physical and bloodwork." Ranma replied, showing off the bits of cotton taped to her arm. "I kept hearing stuff about doctors being vampires, and I never understood what they meant until today."

Riko winced and patted her shoulder sympathetically. "Well, at least it's over for a while, huh? So…" She glanced about conspiratorially, then leaned in. "... What about your weight?"

"What about it?" Ranma asked, confused.

"Over, under, what?" Riko poked her side. "Come on, I know I'm not the only sweet tooth in this group! Please tell me there's some justice in the universe!"

"Ummm…" Ranma fidgeted nervously.

"Give it up, Riko." Yuka put a hand on her shoulder. "Ranma burns more calories brushing her teeth than we do in an entire week. She's either on the mark or under." She peered around the girl to glance at Ranma. "Right?"

"B-but she's short and curvy, so I thought…" Riko gave her a teary-eyed look.

"I… don't remember?" Ranma blushed. She actually hadn't paid much attention to that part of the exam. Who cared how much she weighed?

"Isn't being underweight bad too, though?" Rin said sheepishly. "The nurse always gives me a hard time about that…"

"You're all traitors." Riko sniffed, crossing her arms and huffing.

"I suppose now is a bad time to ask if we're going to go get some barbecue?" Sayuri asked.

"I… wouldn't say that…" Riko's demeanor abruptly changed. She grabbed Rin by the arm. "Come on underweight, let's get you fattened up!"

Yuka and Sayuri exchanged a bemused look with Ranma and followed after.

"So… why did yours take so long?" Yuka asked.

Ranma shrugged. "The nurse said my records were really empty, so she needed some bloodwork, basic medical history, that sort of stuff." Ranma said. "Me and pops didn't see many doctors on our training journey, and most of the time they were village healers or at best free clinics that didn't need too much documentation."

"You didn't try and explain the curse, did you?" Sayuri asked.

Ranma snorted. "If I had, I'd still be there. Nah, I mean… Doc Tofu knows all about it, and he's the guy I go to if I need help, so… who cares what the school's records say? They're all gonna get fixed once we beat Himura anyway."

"True, I guess." Sayuri replied.

They stepped out into the sunlight, squinting a little at the brightness. Most of the students were still lined up, though a few were milling about. The air was starting to fill with the smells of cooking food.

"Oooh, this isn't fair!" Riko whimpered. Yuka gave her another comforting pat.

"Look at it this way," Ranma replied. "You're going to be burning a lot of calories playing volleyball from now on, right? So… you can probably afford to indulge."

Riko's eyes widened. "You're right! Thank you Ranma!" She gave the redhead a sudden hug, which caused Ranma to immediately go stiff as a board.

"Oh… sorry… Not a hugger?" Riko backed away sheepishly. "Sometimes I forget you're not one of the girls."

"It's just that getting hugged by a girl tends to have nasty consequences for Ranma." Sayuri said.

"Just don't try and marry her, and you'll be good." Yuka added.

"Oh, I'm not into gi…" Riko started, then blinked. "Now Rin has me doing it!"

"Doing what?" Rin asked, cocking her head.

Ranma sighed heavily. And the old manhood takes another couple of blows below the belt.

"We should make sure to get some for Nabiki too." Rin said as they walked among the various stalls. They seemed to be setting up a buffet-style arrangement, with each table offering a different dish, the cooks working behind the tables to crank out a number of plates. "Ranma, what does she like?"

Ranma considered. "She likes sweets, especially cakes. She also tends to like sweeter sauces… oh! And she likes the Karaage in the Transit mall. She's not on a diet… but she's not a big eater, and she complained I was a bad influence on her eating, so probably something with sweet sauce with a side salad or something lighter?"

Ranma paused as the four girls stared at her. "What?"

"Oh my god they're actually dating." Sayuri said, completely deadpan.

Ranma froze, eyes widening in horror, mind racing as she wondered frantically how they had figured it out, and what kind of damage that would do, given they had all seen her kissing Ukyou the day before. If they told Ukyou before she and Nabiki had defused things... !

They all broke up laughing, derailing her train of thought.

"Oh my god Ranma, your face!" Sayuri giggled.

"Don't worry, Ranma. We all know Nabiki knows better." Yuka said. "But you have to admit, the only other person I've ever heard you actually know anything about was Akane. If we didn't know any better…"

"I'm sorry, Senpai, but it is pretty ridiculous." Rin managed, still giggling.

Ranma scowled. "I'm liking all of you a lot less right now." She stuck her nose in the air and stalked off to the food tables.

000

Ranma had gotten over her sulk by the time they had eaten. Sampling some of the best grilled food in Nerima certainly helped her mood.

"You know, if Himura wasn't actively trying to screw up the lives of a bunch of my friends, I'd think she was pretty cool. This is amazing." Riko said, biting into a kebab of delicately spiced, lightly charred meat.

"That's the point." Sayuri said. "That's how she works. At first you think she's the best thing ever." She pushed the food around on her paper plate disinterestedly. "When I first joined the volleyball team, she was all about us having equal time on the court, promising us she could make us Olympic level players if we just followed her lead and put in the effort." She speared a chunk of roasted red pepper with her fork, examining it. "Bought us coffee every day for the first week. Made us feel like we could really play. Then, once she had picked out her favorites, she just… neglected to schedule us."

She popped the pepper into her mouth. "When we asked her why, she started telling us we weren't hustling, we were taking her for granted. Started demanding longer practise hours. Started coming down on us for small mistakes. It was never as a group either. Every day she'd single someone out. Start off by pointing out they looked a little flabby, or make fun of their practise shoes, or something inconsequential. She liked to call me 'thunder thighs'."

"But…" Ranma looked confused. She glanced at Sayuri's legs. "... You don't…"

Sayuri shot the redhead and dirty look, blushing. "I know, Ranma. That wasn't the point. The girl who's shoes she made fun of? Two other girls wore the same shoes and she didn't say a word. See, the girls who picked up her abuse and carried it? They got put on the schedule. Not much, a game here or there. But better than nothing. That was the point. If you subscribed to her version of reality, you got fed. It was only scraps by this point, but when you're starving…" She shook her head, sighed, and dumped her plate in a trash bin. "I actually started to believe I did have thunder thighs after a while. That's when it was time to quit."

Ranma stared at her plate. Thunder thighs. She had used that one against Akane. A lot. As well as a lot of other stuff that simply wasn't true. She glanced at her plate queasily, then dumped it in the trash as well.

"ATTENTION STUDENTS! PLEASE GATHER AT THE MAIN STAGE!"

"Looks like it's showtime." Sayuri said.

"Not quite yet."

They all turned to see Nabiki standing behind them. She was smirking, that confident shark-like grin that signalled a caper was underway. She walked up and joined the group, putting a hand on Sayuri's shoulder. "Sayuri… how would you like to reject Himura's reality and substitute your own?"

The game was afoot.

000

Himura smiled as the throngs of students gathered in front of the stage. There was something satisfying about putting on a show, though doing so with the nearly daily spectacle put on by the martial artists had been almost impossible.

Just like stray cats. They'll ignore you, but if you wave a few scraps under their nose suddenly you're the center of their universe. She nodded and waved to random people in the crowd, doing her best idol impression. Keep it up, and in no time they're domesticated. All except a few ferals, but at that point they're easy to single out. She tapped the mic to check it was on.

"Hello Furinkan!" She said, "Is everyone enjoying the barbecue?"

There was a roar of approval from the crowd.

Already purring. She smirked. "Great! I just wanted to thank you all for your cooperation. I know that visits to the Nurse's Office are no fun at all, and I've just sent the entire school there!"

There were some mock boos from the crowd, people she had tapped to do so. The critical notes were hollow and empty… as they should be.

She bowed deeply in apology. "I am so sorry! I hope that the lunch helps start to make up for it, but I know myself and the Student Council have a long way to go."

There were sympathetic noises from the crowd, and one student even shouted out "We love you, Himura-chan!"

She grinned. That hadn't even been staged. "So, this year we're going to make things right. Starting by stepping things up a little as far as making Furinkan a school you can be proud of. Starting with your sports teams!" She stepped aside and gestured as the music started up. Something suitable generic and stirring as the the various sports teams were ushered out - In their uniforms of course. Pulling them aside for the little clinic had made it easy to get them all up to speed and into their uniforms.

Obediently they marched up onto the stage. The hulking boy's soccer team was first, followed by the girls, then the basketball teams, and finally the boy's volleyball team.

"Now, they're an impressive group, aren't they? Aren't they?" She motioned to the crowd, and they cheered, like the good pets they already were. "Yeah! They make us all proud. But, I have to admit some bias here. There's one team I left for last. The team that went all the way to the Finals last year, and is ready to do it again this year, and bring home the cup! I present to you your Girl's Championship Volleyball Team!"

There was a cheer from the crowd as the girl's team trotted onto the stage. Himura had sprung for new jumpsuits for all the girls, emblazoned with Furinkan's logo.

"Mineko Kimura and Omi Sakoda, our blockers!" She announced as the two girls stepped forward. Mineko was a taller girl. She had short hair, with a lock dyed with a stripe of color matching the Olympic logo. She grinned and spun a volleyball on her finger before tossing it out into the crowd. Omi was shorter, cute and bouncy with long hair tied off to the side in a ponytail. She stood next to Mineko, doing a couple of idol poses and waving to the crowd, blowing kisses.

The crowd went nuts.

"Sanae Araki and Umeko Miyashita, our mid-field!" Himura cried out, gesturing for the other two girls to step forward. Sanae had long light colored hair and was curvy in all the right places, and Himura had intentionally had her suit tailored a little on the small side to show it off. It helped that Sanae had unzipped the top enough to show a decent amount of cleavage. She sauntered up onto the stage with a strut that would have made a model proud, and gave the crowd a sultry pose, which set off a cacophony of wolf whistles. Umeko was the trained martial artist. Not at the level of the insanity at the school, but that hardly mattered. She had her headband tied around her head, and she bowed to the crowd as she would in a match, then went into a flurry of kicks and spins, earning another roar from the crowd.

Perfect. Himura thought. "And, of course, myself, the humble server and Captain!" She grabbed the front of her school uniform and tore it away.

It had been quite a trick to get a uniform tailored that would look normal on stage, but she could cleanly and dramatically rip off with one hand. Underneath she wore the bloomer shorts and t-shirt of the team, with a metallic 'C' on the left breast side. She flung her dummy uniform aside and thrust her fist into the air, and was greeted by the loudest cheers of all.

She soaked that in a moment. It was so meaningless, so minor, these people and this place, such petty and small things, but it felt good nonetheless. A taste of what she would accomplish in the real world, once she was free of this prison of adolescence.

"Now, JUST having a winning team isn't good enough! Not for Furinkan!" Himura cried out. "The greatness of this school is born in competition! And who here is more competitive than Ranma Saotome?"

Murmurs ran through the crowd. Ranma had a well-earned reputation for causing chaos, after all. There was also the matter of him being male, but thanks to the curse this wouldn't be the first female team she had competed as part of.

"Of course Ranma isn't just going to play for the girl's volleyball team!" Himura chuckled. "Not without a little competition of our own! So Ranma has challenged us to prove ourselves, by defeating her in a volleyball rally!"

"Ooooooh!" She crowd was interested now.

"Our team will play five our our school's matches, and Ranma's team will play the other five of the first ten of the season. If we win and prove our team up to the challenge, Ranma Saotome will play for our Championship team for the rest of the season!"

The crowd cheered, immediately seeing the benefit of having the martial artist playing for Furinkan at a competitive level.

Himura again enjoyed the roar of the crowd, letting it die down. "I know, right? But even better, if we tie—and I expect we will—There will be a final face-off between Ranma's team and ours! What a spectacle that'll be, right!"

Again the crowd cheered.

Himura grinned. "Come on up, Ranma! I see you there in the crowd! Let everyone know how the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts never turns down a challenge!" She beckoned to the redhead, not bothering to mention the rest of the team.

Such a shame no one had let them know to come up in uniform. Or provided them with one.

As expected they came upon stage, single file. Next to the other sports teams they looked out of place in their regular school uniforms. Next to the glamorous Volleyball team, they looked positively ragtag.

"Oh, and your friends came too. Everyone give a hand to the girls who are filling the other spots on Ranma's team! Aren't they good sports?" Himura said, clapping and smirking as they filed up onto the stage. "Well, Ranma? Got anything to say?"

Ranma's face was blank, unreadable. Even cold. But then a broad smile spread across her lips as she stepped forward, right into Himura's personal space. "Actually…" She said, "you should ask that of our team captain." And with that she casually bapped the microphone from below, popping it out of Himura's grasp and sending it over her head, arcing behind her, right into Sayuri's grasp.

And at that moment Himura's carefully planned lighting and sound went into chaos as the spotlights focused on Sayuri, and the speakers kicked into the opening strains of Saikyo Yuusha Robo Gundan.

"I think what we've got to say is this deal seems a little unfair to us!" Sayuri said. She lifted her hand up in the air and snapped her fingers.

Ranma blurred. The girls weren't wearing tearaway Furinkan uniforms, but with Ranma's Amaguriken speed (And the absence of fiancees who might seek to destroy her for it), it was only an eyeblink to snatch the uniforms off each of the girls and herself.

Underneath they were wearing what looked like a modified red leotard, with a white and red half shirt overtop. Something very similar to the girl's uniforms from Gunbuster (Because it was) but it was also serving as a sufficiently eyecatching team uniform to make Himura's flashy tracksuits look a bit lazy.

"This ISN'T martial arts, Himura, and expecting Ranma to just play a challenge by your rules is a bit naive. What say we spice this up a bit, huh?" Sayuri pointed at Himura. Her eyes were flashing, and the music boomed and ebbed around her, a little wind stirring her hair though the day had been dead still a moment before. The image she was cutting was absolutely striking, and the crowd was going nuts. "5 games. 5 wins each and we have a final face off. And if you win, you get Ranma for the year. But if you lose… well, that just shows you're not fit to be team captain, because you've been outplayed." She smirked. "Which you should probably start getting used to NOW."

Himura clenched her fists, her eyes widening with rage. She opened her mouth, then glanced at the crowd and closed it.

"Oh, or did you have some way you wanted to coerce Ranma to play your game?" Sayuri cocked her head and touched her chin with her finger. "But that would be both unladylike AND unsportsmanlike, wouldn't it?"

"You should be careful what you say, Kamei-san."

Sayuri flicked the switch on the mic off and winked at Himura. "Oh, I'm done being careful. Or being afraid of you." She flicked it back on and turned to the crowd. "Let's hear what the students say, huh? Winner takes Ranma, the Volleyball team, AND the Captain's position! WHAT SAY YOU?!"

The roar from the crowd was the only answer needed. Himura had already ignited them, making Sayuri's over the top proclamations vastly more effective. The student body wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than a grudge match now.

Himura ground her teeth, glaring hatred at the ponytailed girl. She took a breath and regained her composure. "All of these theatrics are…"

"What was that?" Sayuri grinned and held the mic out to her, though it was too far away to easily pick her up.

Himura trembled with rage, struggling mightily to keep her anger in check. "Very well." She said tightly.

"THERE YOU HAVE IT!" Sayuri crowed, to a renewed roar from the crowd. "And just to show we're not just relying on Ranma here…" A volleyball was tossed up from the crowd, which Sayuri tossed into the air.

Rin leapt up, and all the lights focused on her as she smashed the ball. There was a retort like a gunshot, and the volleyball was propelled at tremendous velocity over the crowd's heads and off into the distance.

"And, if that's not enough to make things interesting… well, you know who to talk to." Suddenly the lights flicked off on the stage, and a spotlight flicked on, trained on one student standing in the crowd.

Nabiki Tendo.

Himura's eyes narrowed.

The spotlight snapped off, the lights returning to the stage. Sayuri and the others were gone.

Himura gripped the podium, eyes staring sightlessly forward as she trembled with rage. Her gaze flicked up to the control booth… where two boys wearing tutus over their Furinkan uniforms waved back. Her eyes then flicked down to Nabiki Tendo. She was in the middle of a throng, already taking bets.

The Middle Tendo looked up, smirked and winked at her, then went back to tallying odds for the anxious gambling addicts of Furinkan High.

Leaving Himura on stage, exposed yet ignored.

Himura tried to say something but realized that Sayuri had taken the mic with her, leaving her voiceless in a situation that had completely escaped her control. She shuddered once more and stalked angrily off the stage.

To her chagrin, the spotlights followed her until she was out of sight.

000

(Wow, this was a big one!

Big thanks to Jaime for helping me get this one edited. I know it was a huge amount of work, and Jaime is very thorough.

There's a little that will be made more clear in the next chapter, such as 'Where the hell did Nabiki get Gunbuster uniforms on zero notice?', but this one was already going long. I just wanted to make sure that I fit in the bit where Himura takes her first real broadside in all this.

So, I eagerly await judgement, scorn, hatemail, and hopefully constructive criticism!

And if you happened to like it, feel free to say that too ^^)