Disclaimer

Macross is owned by or licensed to lots of people - Tatsunoko Studios, Harmony Gold, Studio Nue, Streamline Video...note that none of them are me.

The same can be said of Ranma 1/2 - Rumiko Takahashi, Kitty, Shonen Sunday Comics, Viz Video. Not me.

I didn't create any of them, and I certainly do not own them. Any use of them in this story is meant as nothing more than tribute. Please don't sue me.

Wednesday's Child

Twenty: Degrees of Attraction

July 7th, 2010

Science and Technology Report

Prepared by Cmdr. Nabiki Tendo, Intelligence Division

The Macross EVE System

In the wake of the disaster over Hamilton, the civilian presence aboard Macross has been accepted, by both military and private sector groups, as a fact of life. Unless a significant development occurs, the civilians aboard the ship will remain aboard for the forseeable future.

Because of this, the decision was made to upgrade the existing Environmental Variation Emulation (EVE) system. Previously, the system could simulate the motion of the sun, and could provide variation in temperature and airflow to mimic weather patterns. The upgrades include the ability to affect humidity, even to the extent of producing fog. Holographic projectors have been used to create an illusion of a sky overhead, blocking out the deckheads above. They have been upgraded, to allow for simulated clouds, and even for illusory birds or aircraft.

The intent of this system is to provide a more Earthlike environment to the refugees. In order to maintain morale and--

A fist slammed down on the table, directly on the report that Ranma was reading. He paused, set down his teacup, and looked up at the angry face of one Ling Kaifunn.

"Yo." He indicated the irate young man's fist. "I was in the middle of readin' that."

"I'm amazed that a soldier can read at all," sneered Kaifunn. "I heard that you were in charge when Hamilton was blown up."

"I am the second-in-command of the Jolly Rogers, VFA-113, and was therefore airborne during that mission," said Ranma. "However, the position of Two-Eye-Cee is to command one flight - six airplanes - or to command the Squadron if the Squadron Lieutenant - that would be Ichigyo Hikaru - is currently engaged in Company-level command. Which he was. Therefore, my area of command was eighteen jets."

"So you did have command--"

"I repeat: Of eighteen jets. Company Command was in the hands of Commander Roberto Esteves, CO of the Wolves. Our Company answers to the CAG, which at the time we didn't have, so we answered to the Tactical Operations Officer, Commander Hayase Misa. And she answers to the Captain.

"We do not have command over the enemy. They chose to attack us."

"But your precious Tactical Officer chose to activate that shield, that overloaded and blew up Hamilton."

Ranma was starting to regret Captain Global's "Open Window" policy. "I'm not denying that it was a terrible disaster--"

"One that the military caused, by using untested technology. Again."

Ranma scowled. "The aliens attacked us. We couldn't preserve the lives of those aboard the ship without--"

"Seventy thousand lives. Twenty thousand of them military, and therefore expendable. Against the three hundred thousand killed in the explosion."

"You can argue figures if you want, pal." Ranma scowled. "But do it with someone who gives a damn what you think."

"It comes down to the same thing it always does. The military acted without thinking, and the civilians paid for it with their lives."

Ranma casually glanced around the room. Two Skulls...they won't do, the Brass will assume they're just sticking up for me...Ah, a Logistics Officer. Perfect.

He stood up slowly, and crossed his arms. "Well, at least we acted. We didn't just sit back safe on the ship, whining like a coward."

Kaifunn gaped. His face flushed red, and he balled his fists. "I won't take that kind of insult from a sex-changing freak like you."

Soul of Ice, Ranma. It wouldn't do to lose control just now.

"It must really piss you off, Ling, that I've got bigger balls while female than you do at any time. Eh?"

That was enough to push Kaifunn over the edge. He snarled, and threw a punch at Ranma.

But Ranma was already moving. One arm came up and deflected the shot. He turned, and the other arm came around, the elbow connecting with the side of Kaifunn's head. Kaifunn staggered to the side, one hand coming up to cradle his head where Ranma had struck it.

Ranma's eyebrows rose. "I'm impressed, Kaifunn. I thought that blow woulda put you right down, like the spineless wuss that you are. I guess there's nothin' but rocks between your ears."

Kaifunn roared, and charged him again. Ranma noted the increase in speed in the man's motions. Guess he was holdin' back. Maybe I won't have to...much.

Kaifunn threw four quick punches, a standard Shotokan combo that Ranma dodged with ease. If he follows that kata, next will be a snap-kick-- He parried it easily. Then another punch--

He was forced to take a hop-step back, as Kaifunn followed up with a crescent kick instead of the expected punch. Great, he knows when to drop the playbook. He parried another punch, ducked under a hook, then sidestepped a Mantis Kick. Damn, even I can't do one of them easily.

The Skulls had stood up and were cheering Ranma loudly, but the Logistics Officer was talking on his wrist commo, and Ranma estimated he had sixty seconds before the MPs arrived.

"Look at the pacifist now," he jeered. "You're willin' to talk the talk, but as soon as the winds change, you hoist the Jolly Roger."

He went on the offensive, stepping in and bringing a high-arc axe kick down on Kaifunn's foot. The young man howled in pain.

"Well, this Jolly Roger is gonna put you on the floor."

He dodged another punch, used the momentum to snap through a pivot kick. His boot slammed into Kaifunn's ribcage, and he felt something snap under his foot. But Kaifunn stayed up.

Enough was enough. Ranma feinted another pivot kick, then stepped in to point blank range. His fist blurred to Amaguriken speed, and he delivered twenty carefully-metered blows to Kaifunn's body. As nasty as the Amaguriken was, it sounded even nastier, as his fist exceeded the speed of sound on each punch, producing a nice, satisfying crack to accompany each blow. Kaifunn staggered backwards, coughing blood, and collapsed to the floor.

Ranma turned as two MPs burst through the door, stun pistols drawn. He indicated the unconscious Kaifunn.

"He started it."

"You know," said Nabiki conversationally, "I'm seeing more of you recently than Ranma has. And since Jackson was installed as the new CAG, there's no real reason for you two not to resume where you left off."

"I know," said Misa. "But honestly...I feel like there's a wall between us now. He's closed up towards me, and I don't know why."

Nabiki snorted. "Probably because you turned all frosty on him."

"Maybe..."

Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Oh, this is somehow all so familiar...I remember. It's just how Ranma and Akane used to dance around the issue." She leaned forward, and grinned. "I can tell you how to break that wall down."

"How?"

Nabiki held out a hand. "Fifty credits."

Misa made a face, and pulled a crednote from her uniform pocket.

Nabiki made the note vanish, and said, "You know that the movie they made - 'Little White Dragon', I think it's called - is opening tonight?"

"Wait...that's fifty creds worth of advice? Take him to a movie?" Misa held her hand out. "Gimme back my fifty."

"Martial arts flick, the sort of thing he'd really like. And would you have thought of it on your own?"

Misa scowled. "I despise you."

"I know." Nabiki drained her tea, and stood up. "Same time tomorrow?"

"Sure."

"Damn, she's hot."

Ranma looked up in puzzlement. "Uh?"

"Other side of the road, there." Max indicated the woman. Long hair, dyed green - odd colours were in fashion, as Max himself demonstrated with his blue hair. And while long hair was in, this woman's hair reached down to the small of her back - no mean feat to keep that sort of mane in control. She wore a simple white blouse with a green vest, the lace-up kind, and dark green pants.

"Why not go ask her out?"

"Aw, no, I couldn't do that."

"Why not?"

Max shrugged. "She's hot, and I'm not. At best, she'll laugh at me."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Ya know, Max, humility's good an' all, but you take it too far."

"What do you mean?" Max tore his eyes away from the green-haired beauty to stare at his commanding officer quizzically.

"I mean, you ain't too hard on the eyes, and ya clean up halfway decent. Besides, looks ain't everythin'. Ya never know, you might be just what the girl's lookin' for." He pointed a finger at Max. "But if ya don't ask her, you'll never know."

"So...just walk up to the girl and ask her out?"

"Why not?" Ranma shrugged. "The worst she can do is laugh at ya, right?"

"Well, that wouldn't exactly make me feel good about myself," said Max.

"At this stage, she don't know jack about you. So she couldn't really be laughin at you, since she don't know you."

"Still--"

"What a wimp," muttered Ranma. "Look, I'm gonna do you a huge favour, all right? Don't ask me why, since you've been largely a pain in the ass for me."

"Gee, thanks."

"Don't thank me just yet. I'm gonna go ask her to join us for a coffee. You go grab us a place at Variation." Ranma turned and walked towards the green-haired woman.

Max sighed, and walked into the cafe. He spotted a likely spot - a table, with four chairs, by the window - and headed over to it. He sat down nervously, and waited.

A waitress approached. "What can I get for you, Sir?"

"Nothing yet, thanks," said Max. "I'm waiting for two others."

"Ranma and Hikaru?"

Max looked up. Commander Hayase was standing next to the waitress.

"Um, Ranma, yes. But not Hikaru. He's buried under some paperwork, Ma'am."

"I thought I saw Ranma walking off, but since he pointed you this way, I assumed he'd be back," mused the Commander. "I wanted to get ahold of him...who else is joining you?"

"A girl. Don't know her name."

It must have been his imagination, but Hayase's face seemed to freeze. Certainly, her voice dropped a few degrees.

"A girl. What did she look like?"

"Oh, just about the second most attractive woman I've ever seen in my life." Max leaned back, and smiled. "Long hair, toned body, moves like a tigress on the hunt..."

"Indeed." Hayase scowled. "And why is it that Lieutenant Saotome was talking to her?"

"He was going to ask her to join us for a coffee."

"That bastard!"

Max blinked. "Ma'am--"

But the Commander had already turned and stormed out of the cafe.

"Oh, shit. Ranma's gonna kill me."

"Yo."

The girl turned to face him, and he was a bit surprised. She wasn't as young as she looked. At least, her eyes showed a depth of pain and experience that he wouldn't have expected.

"Can I help you?"

Ranma cleared his throat, struck by the intensity of her gaze. "Yeah. Me an' my buddy Max noticed you--well, Max noticed you. I kinda had my mind on somethin' else. Anyway, he wanted to invite you to join us for a cup of coffee."

"Then why isn't he asking me?" She seemed a bit amused by that.

"Well, he's kinda shy. Great fighter pilot, but--"

"Indeed." Her expression shifted again. Interest, and...something else. "How great?"

Ranma chuckled. "I mean, he ain't as good as me, but--"

"But every fighter pilot makes that claim."

"Well, yeah."

"Is his airplane one of those decorated with a Skull?"

Ranma tapped his shoulder patch. "You mean like this one? Yeah, he's a member of the Jolly Rogers."

"As you are." The woman considered, then asked, "How many kills?"

"Max? He's got..." Ranma frowned as he tried to remember. Typically of fighter pilots, he didn't pay much attention to anyone's kills but his own, but as the Squadron XO, he'd seen the scoreboards. "I think he's got over thirty now. Ace of Aces."

"Against what sort of targets?"

"Oh, lots of Battle Pods and Fighter Pods. Not an Officer's Pod - nobody's gotten one of them yet. You don't need to repeat that, though. It's classified. He's tangled with the female-type Power Armour, too. Not many people who have have lived to boast of it."

The woman considered that, then asked, "How would you characterize his piloting?"

"Well, he fights like a demon. You'd never know it, though, if you watched him during a fight. Looks like he's doin' a tax form or somethin'. He doesn't really seem to think about it; it just happens."

The woman nodded, and said, "Yes, I think I'd not mind meeting him."

"Great." Ranma grinned. "By the way, can I get your name?"

"Milia."

She pronounced the middle consonant in Japanese fashion, halfway between an l and an r, much as Ranma pronounced his own initial. But the name sure didn't sound Japanese.

"Where are you from, Milia?"

"Ranma!"

He turned, to see a very angry Misa charging towards him. "Oh, hell."

She stopped in front of him, and scowled at him. "Mind telling me what's going on?"

"I--"

"How dare you! I come looking for you, to try to patch things up, and you've already moved on to some--"

"It ain't what it looks like!" This sure sounds familiar.

"Really? It looks to me like you're asking this girl to have a cup of coffee with you."

"Well, yeah, I am, but because--"

"I can't believe this!" She was almost screaming now, the propriety of the situation completely outside her grasp. That worried Ranma; when propriety ceased to matter to Misa, it meant her emotions were completely engaged, and right now, the emotion in question was obviously anger. "You tell me that you're not going to look for anyone else, and then I find you--" Words seemed to escape her for a moment, but before Ranma could get a word in edgewise, she found new ones. "Or was this just a temporary thing, to tide you over? You fighter jocks are all the same!"

Oddly, Milia seemed to take some exception to that, and stepped forward to face Misa. "Excuse me. Do you know Max?"

"Uh?" Misa seemed taken aback at Milia's approach, but recovered in seconds. "I'm not interested in making small talk with you."

"You might recall some basic manners, young lady." Milia's eyes narrowed. "I repeat: Do you know Max?"

"Yes. So what?"

"Ranma - That is your name?" He nodded, and Milia turned back to Misa. "Ranma was attempting to interest me in meeting one of his fellow pilots, a person named Max. I am not certain why you are angry with him."

That seemed to shut Misa up. She stared at the other woman, then back at Ranma. Finally, she managed to say, "Is that true?"

"Yeah." Ranma couldn't keep the disgust from his voice. "An' if ya'd stopped to listen ta me, ya woulda known it earlier."

"I--"

"Ya didn't stop ta listen, ya just decided that ya already knew the answer, and barged ahead with the accusations." He knew it was bitterness driving him now, but he didn't care. "I thought I'd gotten past all that crap when I left Nerima, but no. It's followed me here."

"I'm sorry."

He snorted. "At least that's changed. All right, I assume you were lookin' for me for somethin'?"

"Yes." She hung her head. "I was going to try to...to make things better between us, but I've gone and made them worse."

"Naw. Just pushed the wrong buttons, is all." He sighed, his anger spent. "Let's take Milia to go meet Max, and then we can grab a coffee."

"I think perhaps that I should...pass...at this time," said Milia. "I don't want to be a point of contention."

"I think it'd be better if I take ya to meet Max, just to prove my point." He considered. "Or better yet..." He pointed towards the cafe. "He's in there. Look for blue hair. Misa, why don't we go over to Ben's? I'm on the first day of a three-day pass, so I can have a pint."

"Okay." Misa sounded defeated.

"Milia, been nice to meet ya. Oh, an' like I said, Max is shy, so don't expect a lot outta him at first."

"It should not matter." Milia smiled, though to Ranma's mind, it looked a bit...predatory. She turned and walked towards the cafe.

"Jeez, I sure hope Max knows what he's gettin' into," mused Ranma.

Misa still looked downcast. "I'm really sorry, Ranma."

"It's all right." He waved it off. "I'm used to this sorta crap by now."

"But you shouldn't have to be," she said. "I just did the same sort of thing that you complained Akane did all the time. The sort of thing that I complained that Akane did. God, I'm such a hypocrite."

Ranma sighed. "Misa, Akane didn't have a trademark on misunderstandin', or she'd have been an awful lot richer. An' it ain't like ya malleted me or nothin'." He jerked a thumb down the road. "Let's go get that pint. You look like ya need it as much as I do."

"So...where are you from?"

Milia frowned. "Quite some distance from here, of course." She hesitated, then said, "Yokohama."

"Really? You don't look Japanese."

"Is everyone from Yokohama Japanese?"

Max sighed. "Good point. I suppose that, like any big city, they've got a foreign population."

She seemed relieved at that response, then asked, "What about you?"

"Oh, Bristol, originally, but I spent most of my teenage years in California."

"I've never been to either."

Silence fell again, then Max asked, "What do you do for fun?"

"Computer simulations of robotic combat. I believe the common term for it is, 'video games.'"

Max chuckled. "That arcade down near the base? Figures. It's really popular. Do you do well?"

"I believe so, yes. The programs allow one who scores well to enter their initials to record their victory. I have the number one spot on six programs."

"MPF?" He leaned forward in surprise. "You're MPF?"

"Milia Parino Fallyna, yes."

He chuckled. "Yours are the scores to beat. I play there a lot, and I think I've only beaten your high scores on two machines."

"So you would be MSJ."

"Yeah, Maximilian Scott Jenius."

She smiled, though for some reason it made him feel wary. "Would you say that the simulations are accurate representations of actual robotic combat?"

"Reasonably. They're dumbed down, of course, because they're meant to be games, not actual simulators."

"Do you pilot a Valkyrie?"

"Yep." He grinned.

"One with two lasers in the turret?"

"Eh? No," he admitted. "That'd be a Jaybird or a Delta, probably a Jaybird. I fly an Alpha. My Squadron XO flies a Jaybird. But two out of every Squadron's birds are J-type Valkyries."

"And how many of them carry the Skull?"

"The only two Jaybirds with Skulls were Skull Seven and Skull Thirteen. Skull Seven died two weeks ago."

"How did he die?"

"Well, you remember that the Barrier overloaded and destroyed Hamilton?"

"Yes, I recall hearing someone talking about that," she said. "He was most upset about it, about the loss of life."

"Hayao was one of those who died. He was trying to rescue a downed pilot, and the XO - Ranma - was covering him. Hayao's Jaybird was a Block One, and didn't have as much engine power as the Block Two that Ranma drives. So Ranma extracted the pilot, and Hayao covered him to get out. He got caught in the blast, and was killed."

"At least he died nobly," she said.

"Doesn't matter. He's still dead."

"Why the interest, though?" He tilted his head. "I mean, in the Jaybird?"

She hesitated, then said, "I had witnessed one of these machines in action, and was hoping to meet the pilot."

"Well, if it's Hayao, I'm afraid that you won't be meeting him any time soon. If it's Ranma, you've already met him."

"I am uncertain which of the two it might have been. It was more than two weeks ago."

"Well..." He finished his coffee, then said, "Since you play video games, would you be interested in playing against me?"

"I think not." She stood, leaving her coffee half-finished. "You are not who I am looking for." She turned and walked out of the cafe without another word.

Max shivered. "Ouch. Guess a second date's out of the question."

"I wouldn't say it was a propaganda flick," laughed Misa.

"I didn't say it was, either," said Ranma. "Just that it was so obviously based on current events that it might as well have been." He grinned. "You seemed to enjoy the action scenes. Especially those with Kaifunn in them."

"Well, he is a treat for the eyes," admitted Misa. "Pity he's such a bonehead."

"He picked a fight with me at the White Dragon."

"I know," said Misa. "I read the after-action report. It might not have been the smartest thing he could have done."

"Yeah, and--" He blinked. "Hey, Max!"

Max looked a bit downcast, but waved to him. "Ranma. Commander Hayase."

"I'm off duty, Lieutenant. You can call me Misa."

"Where's your lady friend?"

Max snorted. "She decided that I wasn't what she was looking for, and left."

"Oh." Misa raised her hand to her cheek. "I'm sorry, Max. That's rather cold, isn't it."

"Yeah." He shrugged. "I see you two got that little misunderstanding I caused ironed out."

"Not your fault, Max, set your mind at ease on that." Ranma waved it off. "And here comes Hikaru."

"Don't you two clowns have work to do?" Hikaru grinned. "Some flick, eh?"

"Yeah," said Ranma. I expected you to be heading to the cast party with Minmay."

"She's got some business to take care of first, she said. Then she'd meet me out front." He indicated Ranma and Misa, who were arm in arm. "I see you two patched things up."

"Well, we were never really broken up," said Misa. "Just on hiatus until Jackson was confirmed as CAG. Which reminds me." She dug into her pocket, and tossed a small package to Max. "Here. Compliments of Squadron Lieutenant Ichigyo."

"What the hell...?" Max opened the box, to reveal a rank pip. Added to his currently blank rank bar, it made him a Squadron Lieutenant.

"This is a field brevet," said Misa. "It has to be confirmed by a board, but we don't have time to assemble a board. We received sixty new pilots and twenty additional Valkyries over the last two weeks - a hell of a lot more reinforcement than we expected - and they're all green as grass. So you're getting four from Ranma's Flight, five from the Wolves, and two from Windsor. Plus Lieutenant Park, Warrant Goldsmith, and four nuggets from the transferees. Congratulations, Mr. Jenius, you've got a Squadron."

"Holy fuck," breathed Max. Then blushed. "Sorry, Ma'am."

"I've got your brief on my desk...somewhere," said Hikaru.

"VFA-121. We've reactivated the Diamondback colours for your Squadron. Call sign Snake."

"Ma'am, I've not even had a Flight before," said Max. "I'm not sure I'm up to this."

"Suck it up, soldier," snapped Ranma. "You've got orders. You don't like 'em? All you can do is register a formal complaint, put on the damn pip, and do your best."

"Complaint? I don't think so." Max snapped to attention and saluted him, caps notwithstanding. "Thank you, Sir."

"You don't gotta 'Sir' me anymore, Max." He grinned. "Now, since I still got two more days of leave, why don't we hit--"

The alert klaxon chose that moment to begin its raucous howling.

"Attack warning. Never mind, let's go!"

The foursome turned and ran down the corridor. Being somewhat taller, Max led the pack, but Ranma was close on his heels. Misa and Hikaru were lagging behind.

The corridor shifted, and Misa stumbled and fell. Hikaru stopped to help her up. Ranma slowed, and turned back, but the corridor broke in half, one side rising up rapidly.

"Aw, hell."

"We'll find another way around," yelled Misa. "You two get to the flight deck."

"Yes, Ma'am." Ranma turned and ran down the corridor.

"Hello, ugly," breathed Ranma.

The attack was not a full-force assault; the enemy had not even committed a capital ship, merely a legion of combat robots. But a quarter of the Battle Pods were artillery types, and in order to protect Macross against their rockets, Global had ordered the modular transformation and the activation of the Barrier System.

Tactical orders were coming from Gunsight Four, also known as Shammy Milliome, Petty Officer. Which meant that Misa hadn't made it to the bridge yet. She obviously wasn't up to the challenge. Her orders were often self-contradicting, and she kept correcting herself. But against the light assault, the Valkyries were managing to hold their own.

But in and among the Battle Pods were a few Officer's Pods, and one in particular had caught his attention: A red-and-silver unit, its unique paint job setting it aside from the other Officer's Pods. He'd encountered that livery before, in the asteroid field.

And here was another, just like it. The Officer's Pod had blasted five Valkyries before Ranma reached it, and it was obvious from its posture that it was determined to make Ranma number six. He pickled off three missiles, but the Pod reacted with the same near-prescient reflexes, destroying each shot with last-minute bursts from the forward cannons. Then returned fire, forcing Ranma to yank and bank out of its firing arc.

Same style, same reflexes...probably the same asshole. One of their aces.

He shifted to GERWALK mode, and started loosing burst after burst from the GU-11 towards the target, but it evaded them cleanly. He flipped the weapon selector over to the Coral Snake missiles, and fired a pair - one from each box - at the enemy Pod. They hit, but whatever it was using for armour wasn't overly concerned about a ten-kilo HEAP warhead.

And, as had happened once before, the entire enemy force suddenly turned as one and burned away, abandoning the attack completely. Ranma considered giving chase, but the opportunity was taken from him by Milliome's voice.

"All units, recover aboard Macross."

He watched the enemy Battle Pod burn away at top speed, and snorted.

"I'll get you next time, pal."

Macross had resumed its normal cruise configuration, and Ranma reconfigured to GERWALK to slide to a halt on the landing deck - a procedure that was still referred to as a 'trap', despite the lack of arrester hook and cable. He waited, fidgeting, until the liftlock had lowered his Valkyrie to the hanger deck, and popped the canopy.

"You brought it back in one piece, at least." WO Bell grinned. "Barely a mark on it."

"Yeah." Ranma pulled off his helmet. "You hear anythin' about Commander Hayase?"

"No, sorry."

Ranma frowned, and walked down the hallway. His office was posted conveniently near the flight deck, though not so near the ready room - an occasional source of complaint for him, but what could he do? There was only one adjacent office, and of course, that went to the Rogers' CO.

Paging an on-duty officer was considered bad form, but Macross' commo system allowed for text-messaging, which would be read on demand and therefore not interfere with ship's operations. That done, he then turned his attention to his post-mission paperwork. Seems I spend more time flyin' a friggin' desk than I do a jet, he thought. He'd managed to get six pages - screens, really - completed when his terminal beeped at him. He thumbed it over to communications.

"Ranma! How'd you do?"

He grinned. "Not too bad, Misa. Ran into an old friend. One of the Zentraedi Officer Pods. I duked it out with him shortly before our capture in the asteroid fields."

"Are you sure it was the same one?"

"Hell, yeah. He got away again, but next time, I'll take him down." He paused. "Shammy made a bit of a mess of the op, though. I take it you didn't make it to the bridge?"

"No, got trapped during reconfiguration." She smiled. "Hikaru led us down the wrong way, the big dope. Got us stuck in the middle of nowhere, and I couldn't get through on the wrist comm."

"So you and Ichigyo were trapped together for...what? Two hours?" He smirked. "I bet they hadda pick him up with a sponge."

"We managed to avoid coming to blows," she said. "You know, you're right about him. Once you get past the crap, he's an okay guy. Reminds me a lot of you."

"Given their past history," groused Ranma, "I would have expected stronger words for him than 'the big dope.'"

"She's probably telling the truth," said Nabiki. "You've always said that Hikaru isn't the jerk that Misa thinks. Perhaps she's realized this."

"Well, yeah, that's pretty much what she said." He paused to sip his tea. "But it set off...like, alarm bells. Ya know?"

"Can I ask you something?"

Ranma shrugged. "Sure."

"Why aren't you discussing this with her?"

"Well..." He shrugged. "I guess you're, like, a disinterested bystander. Ya know both of us pretty well, and I know you've helped Misa out."

"Hardly disinterested, brother dear." Nabiki set down her espresso. "Let me tell you something. When you first came to our house, I was the only one of the three of us who was interested in you."

He blinked. "Sure didn't seem that way to me."

"My life didn't have room for boys at the time," she said. "And I had a reputation as a mercenary to keep up. Daddy told us about this arranged marriage, and I thought to myself, 'Finally! A boy who doesn't know my rep!'"

She paused, and looked down at her hands. "But the reality turned out to be much stranger than I expected. The curse. The one-sided martial-arts-centric personality." She looked up again. "But I also learned that you didn't pre-judge people. You treated foreigners and Japanese alike, you weren't sexist - Akane thought you were, at first, but you'd sparred with her, discovered that she wasn't as good a martial artist as she thought she was. Of course you'd leap to defend her; you loved her, and on top of that, it's the duty of a martial artist to protect the weak." She snorted. "Just that Akane hated being considered weak.

"And me. You put up with a lot of crap from me, but never did you underestimate me. On top of that, you came to me when you needed help for things outside your realm of experience."

"What exactly are you sayin', Nabs?" Ranma felt a bit worried now. This really reminded him of an incident from back in their younger days.

Nabiki looked up, and grinned. "Don't call me that. You know how much I hate it."

"Sorry."

"Basically, brother dear, I'm saying that I love you." She raised a hand, forestalling his reply. "Not that way. But I'll help you out, whenever you need it. You know that. Just don't dare call me disinterested."

"Okay." Ranma sighed. "So what should I do?"

"Simple." She picked up her espresso again. "Realize that you're being a jealous idiot. You know, a normal human being."

"Sure seems that way," he muttered.

"Then forgive yourself, and remember that you've got eight years experience on the little punk."

He snorted in amusement. But his amusement faded quickly as he remembered that Hikaru was a lot closer in age to Misa than he was.