Darling, are you feeling alright?
You look rather pale,
And all our friends are,
All our friends are watching us!
(I wanna go home)
Why run away?
Why, why, why?
Darling, are you seeing inside?
The wolves are alive,
And all our faith is,
All our faith is wrong!
Let me go home!
- Why by Devin Townsend
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Ryouga sighed as Ranko finished talking about the beach weekend and looked up at the sky. "'Normal' friends, huh?" He asked.
Ranko, who'd changed into a bikini – possibly the same one she'd described in the tale, given that Nabiki's was matching it – grinned. "Yep. Sorry Ryouga, you don't count as normal. Neither do I, really."
They'd migrated to near a pool. Ryouga had been worried about the water when Ranko had suggested it, but she'd rolled her eyes and handed him a package with waterproof soap in it. "Don't think I'm an idiot, Ryouga." She'd said.
They'd not gone in the water yet though; Ranko hadn't been lying when she'd said she loved the sun. Both her and Nabiki were in lounge chairs, sunbathing, and Ryouga just lay back on his own lounge chair. They'd dressed him up again, this time in a pair of trunks and a Hawaiian shirt. He was positive Ranko was messing with him, but given he knew how playful she could be when not actively malicious he found he didn't mind too badly.
Actually, this was probably the most relaxed he'd been in… ever, really. He closed his eyes and let the sun warm him while she and Nabiki talked. There wasn't anyone around them, not even staff.
"So anyway, yeah, at that point I was pretty much done with the whole thing. I didn't know who I was – still don't, not really – but I knew who I wasn't, and I wasn't Ranma, I wasn't wanting to be stuck in that place with no hope and all that chaos, yanno?"
"Mmm." Ryouga said, sighing. "I get you. I was trying to find my way to Nerima when I got here but part of me wondered if it was really worth it." He admitted. "Like you said, the chaos."
Ranko sighed as well and turned so she was resting on her side, facing him. "Well, I'm glad you're here instead." She said simply, giving him a smile as she pulled her sunglasses onto the top of her head. "Get you some time away from everything that ain't a training trip."
Ryouga blushed and nodded, trying not to look at her too closely lest his nasal blood vessels burst. "I can see why you enjoyed that weekend off. Your friends sounded nice. Do you still talk to them?"
Ranko shrugged. "A bit. I had to have a couple of escapes when I was Himeko for a while, and they provided a good reason since Juuban is far enough from Nerima that I could relax."
"When you were 'Himeko'?" Ryouga asked, puzzled.
"Oh, yeah, that comes later after we went to see Mom." Ranko waved him off. "Spoilers." She laughed and lay back, looking up at the blue, blue sky. "Hey Nabs?"
"Mmm?" Came the sleepy response.
"I think we'll take tomorrow off from telling the story, though I do want to get to Mom's training to give him an idea of what I'll be doing. You think we got time?"
Nabiki raised herself from where she'd been napping on her front and blinked. Then her brain kicked in and she shrugged. "Maybe? I mean that's when we got you out and the prep work alone was a nightmare. Then again, it wasn't a nightmare that needs a lot of description… Yeah. I think you've got time as long as you don't spend the evening going at it like rabbits or something." She grinned.
Ryouga went bright red, but Ranko guffawed. "Nabs, you'll break the poor boy. I'm trying to introduce him to such things gradually. Don't want him nosebleedin' when he's hips deep in someone."
Ryouga put a hand to his nose. "Can't you two stop that?" He whined plaintively. "I'm not good with… that sort of thing, and hearing you joke is enough to set my nosebleeds off."
Ranko giggled mischievously at him and batted her eyelashes. "Why, Ryouga-kun, aren't you all grown up now? This is grown up talk!" She snickered and returned to being more normal Ranko. "Eh, 'flirty' is definitely something I've found out about myself, though personally I think it's more Nabs' fault."
"Yeah, yeah, blame me." Nabiki muttered, turning so she was lying on her back instead.
"Well, it's either you or Mom, Nabs. Haven't seen any of the others in over six months." Ranko stuck her tongue out at Nabiki. "And I don't think it's Mom."
Ryouga looked lost again. Ranko grinned at him and settled back onto the lounger, looking up at the sky.
"Where were we…?"
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Ranko arrived back in her boy-form to the Tendou dojo to find everything basically as she'd left it. Kasumi was patiently working Akane through cooking something and simply smiled at her as she entered. Akane, in lieu of a proper greeting, shoved a plate of something under her nose which made her blanch, but after swallowing her first response, she took a spoonful of the stuff and eventually worked up the courage to eat it.
It wasn't like it was her fault, the stuff looked positively radioactive. But as it touched her tongue she blinked. She chomped down on the spoon. Then she took another spoonful, bizarrely curious at the taste. Then another. Her eyes widened as she finished the plate.
"Akane!" She yelled, and the short-haired girl flinched as Ranko put the plate down and grabbed her hands. "Akane! That was edible!" She grinned like a loon at Akane. Her stomach gurgled. "And actually… you got any more?"
Akane took her hands back and wordlessly put some more on the plate. Ranko ate a mouthful, tasting it more slowly this time. "It's not… amazing. It's not great, or even, really very good." Akane's face darkened with every word, "But it's honestly the best thing you've ever made, Akane. I could eat this again, no problem!"
Kasumi took a spoon and tried it. "Oh my!" She said, putting a hand to her cheek. "Sh- He's right!"
Nabiki walked in, looking bored. "What's all the yelling?"
"Akane made edible food!" Ranko grinned. "Edible, not bad at all, food!"
"You're kidding me." Nabiki eyed her like she'd grown an extra head, then took a spoonful and tried it herself. The spoon clattered to the table. "Jeez, Saotome, when you're right you're right." The middle sister said, looking faint.
Akane sat down at the table, her face a conflicted mess. "I don't know whether to be angry or to celebrate." She muttered. "And when do you guys all get on so well? Did something happen on that trip?"
Ranko coughed on her current mouthful, but Nabiki just smirked. "I'll say." She drawled, holding up her camera. "I got some really great material. Probably enough for little-ol' Ranko-chan's debts to be fully paid off."
Ranko eyed Nabiki while Akane looked at her. "She didn't do anything too bad to you did she, Ranma?"
Ranko flinched and turned to Akane. "Nah, jus' the usual embarrassin' stuff, yanno? Makin' me dress up in bikinis fer photoshoots an' shit." She shrugged. "Like I said back in Jusendo." She winced and Akane's face twitched. Both still had scars from that. "It's kinda part of me now, yanno? Might as well get profit outta it, and I made sure ta demand five percent this time for myself."
Nabiki laughed. "Which will be a good amount with these pics, trust me."
Akane looked between the two of them and shrugged. Everything seemed normal. Or at least as normal as it had been lately.
Ranko finished her last plateful and nodded approvingly. "Thanks, 'Kane, that really hit the spot. Looked like someone had poured toxic waste on the plate, but I'm impressed." She grinned at Kasumi and with a flourish, from her suitcase brought out an old-looking book she and Nabiki had found in an out-the-way store. "Saw you was lookin' at Doc Toufu's shiatsu stuff, found this. Cost most'a what Nabs said I'd earn, but figured you'd like somethin' nice. And for you 'Kane…" She dug around and brought out a necklace made of shells and small stones she'd found.. "Sorry it ain't quite as fancy as Kasumi's, I kinda broked myself buyin' hers before I found yours…" She rubbed the back of her head. "But I made it myself from shells on the beach I found an' liked. I made one for me, too." She lifted a necklace with shells on out of her top, then put it back. "Just wanted a souvenir."
Akane took the necklace and gave Ranko a smile. "Thanks… You're right, it's not fancy. But you made it so it's unique." She walked over and kissed Ranko on the cheek, "Thank you, Ranma." There was that twitch again. She wondered what it meant a moment, before Ranko put a hand over the cheek, going red.
Akane laughed as the pigtailed martial artist walked out and to her room in a daze. Nabiki cleared her throat. "Awww, how cute." She said, grinning. Akane blushed.
"Shut up Nabiki!" She hissed. Kasumi's giggles overrode her and then the elder Tendou motioned to the kitchen.
"Let's keep cooking, Akane dear." She said, smiling.
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The next week passed by excruciatingly slowly for Ranko. Everything after that initial return seemed to slip back into the chaos-filled hell.
She hadn't been lying to Nabiki when she'd said it felt like going to prison.
The amazons returned, and even Ukyou seemed to have perked back up into her chasing ways.
Some of it seemed worse than before – now the scales were off her eyes, she couldn't even pretend that she was balancing everything for honour. Right now, all she was doing was balancing to survive.
She hoped Nabiki would keep her word, but she didn't get chance. Either she'd be being chased by Shampoo or an angry Mousse, or Cologne would be stalking her. Or Ukyou would show up and try to get her to date the chef.
Of course, if that happened, Konatsu would get pissed off, even if Ranko desperately pointed out to the kunoichi that she wasn't interested.
Then there'd be the chasing, the assaults, and Akane getting pissed off. Malletting would follow and it was back to that same loop. That wonderful momentary truce they'd had was shattered the first time Ranko was tripped up by Shampoo's chúi and landed on Akane's chest. Stammered apologies and the fact that she was in girl mode at the time didn't seem to matter; the short-haired girl still sent her flying.
By Thursday, Ranko was sick of it. So sick of it, she spent the entire day out on the river in her real form just walking the fences over and over and dodging anyone that came her way.
That evening, Akane heard a snuffling sound above her and wondered what it was. She opened her window and peeked out. It was crying. A girl was crying on the roof, in the rain. She'd not heard it originally because the sound of the raindrops on the roof were masking much of it, but she peered further and saw a flash of red hair.
Ducking back into her room, Akane thought furiously. Ranma never, ever cries, but that voice was definitely his in his girl form.
She peeked out again, and saw Kasumi on the roof now, and then she was joined by Nabiki too. Both of her elder sisters put their arms around Ranko and then the redhead let out a choked sob and really started bawling.
Akane watched and felt bad. She'd already hit the pigtailed martial artist twice today and broken her promise to hear the reasons out before jumping to conclusions. They'd gone right back to spinning their wheels.
Though she did note that she had heard far, far fewer insults this week, and even the ones she'd had sent her way lacked the usual fire.
Pulling on a waterproof jacket, she flipped onto the roof and approached silently until she was close, when Kasumi's head snapped up to see her. Ranma had his back to her and she hissed through her teeth. He was in his boxers and muscle shirt, and they were soaked through. Her sisters at least had had the common sense to put waterproof jackets on as she had.
Akane paused, feeling like an intruder. Even Nabiki was holding onto Ranma, muttering into his ear. Since when had they been buddies?
Then again, hearing that kind of crying coming from someone as strong as Ranma of all people set something off in her heart. A feeling of shame, and guilt, and anger at everyone else who'd done this to him.
She nodded to herself and then approached the three, kneeling in front of Ranma, taking his hands and squeezing.
Ranko flinched on seeing Akane and tried to tug her hands out, but she held on with a force that was both gentle and unyielding.
"Let's get her inside." Akane said. She eyed the clothes. "Warm clothes and a towel. A bath?"
"No bath." Ranko stammered. "No thanks."
"Rank-ma." Akane looked askance as Nabiki corrected herself. "Come on, let's get you in. Hup!"
Akane helped lift the redhead and in short order they had the dripping martial artist on the floor of the furo. Akane was rubbing her head down with a fluffy towel and Ranko was just sitting there. "Sorry for earlier." Akane said after a moment. "I did promise. You've kept yours, and I haven't."
Ranko stayed quiet.
"What were you crying about?" Akane asked as the silence deepened.
"Nothin'." Ranko said, shrugging her shoulders.
"We can talk, you know." Akane said quietly. Ranko snorted derisively. "We can!" The shorter haired girl said indignantly.
"No, 'Kane." Ranko said softly, bitterly. "We can't. Not anymore."
Akane paused in her towelling of Ranko's hair. "…Was it about me?" She asked in a small voice, already knowing the answer.
Ranko shrugged. "I guess. You. Everyone. I'm just sick of everythin'."
Akane resumed rubbing the hair as Kasumi walked in with a large shirt and some of the underwear from the Tendou Ranko collection. Akane eyed it and Kasumi shrugged.
"There weren't any other clean clothes and since she didn't want a bath to turn into a boy, I thought it best to use something she already had that would be dry from what Auntie bought her."
Akane looked and Ranko shrugged. "Might as well, I guess they are mine after all. Don't need to borrow those overalls again."
Akane gave her a faint smile. "You looked cute in them though."
"Guess I did." Ranko said, taking the clothes from Kasumi. Akane frowned again. Ranma admitted he looked cute? Too much was changing lately, and it unsettled her.
She finished drying Ranko's hair and rested her head against the towel a moment. "…Sorry." She said again and Ranko's head bobbed in a nod, but she said nothing else.
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After a little time spent in the pool, Ranko still showing a competitive streak a mile long and trying to outdo him in swimming stamina, leading to him having to drag her out of the pool and onto the side before she drowned herself, the two women donned shorts and tee shirts before motioning for him to follow them for food.
Ranko still definitely liked food a whole bunch and Ryouga somehow found that very comforting. As much as she'd clearly changed or, by the sounds of it, was still changing, a love of good food was something the two of them had always had in common. Their odd friendship-stroke-rivalry-stroke-enmity had been born of bread, after all.
Sitting at what felt like a barbecue grill area, not the fancy restaurant they'd been at before, he was pressed to try several different, more western foods from a buffet table.
Every time he'd look away from his plate and at something else, Ranko would have refilled his plate (and her own) and she'd be cajoling him into trying something on it.
Ryouga felt… relaxed. Even though he knew it was his old rival there, he didn't really care anymore. He was having fun, and that felt right. And she seemed to want to include him on that, given the rib nudges with her elbow and the sharing of old stories, seen through slightly rose-tinted glasses.
Eventually, Ranko ordered drinks and grinned at him. "Alright, let's get to my 'Escape From Nerima'." She emphasised the words and he looked blankly at her. "We really gotta rent some movies for ya." She sighed.
Nabiki laughed. "So, a week after we get back, I finally figured out what to do. And Ranko… was not happy about it."
"Yeah well, you weren't dancin' to the tune of a seppuku contract."
"I wasn't the one bloody stupid enough to be willing to go through with it." Nabiki hissed, and for the first time, Ryouga saw an anger from Nabiki to Ranko, a real anger.
Ranko looked down. "…Yeah. Yeah, I know. I shoulda told you. But you know I had to."
Nabiki glared. "I don't know if I'll ever forgive the scare you gave me, Ranko. I don't want to lose my sister."
Ranko looked ashamed. "Yeah. Yeah, I know. I'm sorry."
Ryouga looked between them and cleared his throat. "I'm… missing some context."
"Yeah, you'll get it soon." Ranko groused, picking her drink up and taking a long gulp. "Huh. Don't think crème de menthe is for me, Nabs." She said, straightening up and pointing at a waiter, who came over. After a moment conversing in broken English and some money changing hands, he brought over several pitchers of sharp-smelling drink to the three of them.
Ranko pushed one pitcher and a glass over for Ryouga and he poured himself some. It turned out to be some kind of cocktail and he sipped at it slowly. He knew he had bad alcohol tolerance, and Ranko wasn't downing the drinks like she had been the other night so she definitely wasn't on the drunken express. She grinned, poured herself a drink and took a long gulp, sighing.
"Ahh. Better. Anyway, the beginnings of The Plan." She smiled at him.
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Nabiki knocked on Ranko's door in the middle of the night a few days after the crying incident and she sat up. Kasumi had 'conveniently' forgotten to wash her boxers and tank tops again, so she was sleeping in the clothes her mother had bought her. Akane hadn't even commented, and Genma was still away, so she had her room to herself.
Ranko sleepily padded to the door and opened it, blinking at Nabiki standing there in her pyjamas. "Yeah?" She asked, yawning.
Nabiki motioned to her to follow, and Ranko followed her down the stairs and out to the dojo. Nabiki had a bag with her that she opened and placed some sheets of paper down on. Ranko looked at the complex charts and raised an eyebrow. "…Making plans?"
Nabiki smiled, shushed her with a finger and then began speaking in a low voice.
"I have the plan ready, and now everything's in place. We need a few specialist items I think you'll be able to get if you're sneaky enough, but those aside…"
Ranko felt a bubbling in her chest. "…I can be free?" She asked. Nabiki nodded. "Free to just… find myself and stuff?"
"Yeah, squirt, free for that. This isn't going to be easy, though, and before we settle down – you do know you'll have to come back eventually, right?"
Ranko nodded. "I know, onee-chan. But I will be coming back as me. Not anyone else, me, and I'll sort everything then because I'll know who I am."
"Good. I can run some interference, but I say we can get about a year of time."
"…That long?"
Nabiki grinned and held one sheet out. "First stop is getting you out to the outskirts of Nerima. We need people to think you've gone on a training journey to China or something, for one of those cures. I've a few ideas bouncing that'll also interest the other cursed folks, so it should get them out of our hair."
"Why stay in Nerima?" Ranko asked.
"Because they'll think you ran away." Nabiki said, shrugging. "If you're in the area in disguise then they can't do anything about it. That's just part of the first phase though."
Nabiki picked another paper up. "We'll have to disguise you, maybe lock your curse and go all-in on your impending girldom. Something I'm sure you'll have no problem with." She snickered.
Ranko laughed softly. "I think I can manage, onee-chan."
Nabiki nodded. "So we'll need to have you a headquarters here in Nerima, not too close, and not too far, that's somewhere I won't be looked at funny for visiting. We can't afford an apartment. And you've got to be there for… well, till the end of the school year. I'm not fucking up your grades for this."
Ranko looked at Nabiki's face. "I'm… not that clever, onee-chan…"
Nabiki sighed. "Yes, you are Ranko. You just don't apply yourself. You're strategic as hell in combat. But enough on that." She looked at the map. "You aren't going to like where we're going to have to go."
When Nabiki told her, Ranko nearly screamed, but managed to keep it to a harsh whisper.
"Are ya INSANE, Nabs? I can't go there!"
"It's the only place!"
"Yeah, because I'd have to have lost the plot to go there!"
Nabiki pointed. "No one. And I repeat, no one would think to look for you there!"
"Yeah, Nabs, but that's because I'll be six fucking feet under!"
"So? If she refuses, it's not like you have to agree to the contract."
"She's my mom, Nabs."
"Doesn't matter. If she starts swinging, we escape, alright?"
Ranko spent a long moment quietly, and then she nodded. Nabiki didn't like the look in her eyes, but let it drop. Ranko had good self-preservation instincts.
Nabiki pointed. "OK, so we hole you up at your Mom's house if she agrees, for four months. We disguise you and lock your curse there so you're in girl mode all the time. There's things we can do to disguise you, maybe introduce you as either a new student or something like that."
Ranko sighed. "That'll look suspicious, though, another redhead joining after I've left?"
"We can dye your hair or something, or a wig. Besides, one shower in the locker room will dissuade anyone from knowing it's you. And if you're actually wearing girls' clothes that fit and not fighting or anything, I think there's a chance. You can be a really good actress when you put your mind to it."
Ranko nodded. Then she pointed to the third sheet Nabiki had produced. "What's that?"
"That's a cruise ship. Once we get out of Nerima after the school year, we should both relax. We'll have to figure out the money, but it'll be worth it. After that… well I can get you lost in the world. You can go on a journey to find yourself for a few months before you come back."
Ranko looked the plan over. "Onee-chan, it's all a bit… vague."
Nabiki shrugged. "You gave me a week. Besides, it's all hinging currently on your Mom and how she takes you being… you."
Ranko looked down. "…Yeah. I guess." She swallowed, then looked up. "When do we start?"
"Tomorrow." Nabiki grinned at Ranko's shock. "Get while the getting's good, imouto-chan. Tomorrow I want you to put only a change of clothes into your bag instead of the school books. I'm going to play hooky and visit your Mom's house officially to cause trouble and squeeze some money out of her for information on her son's whereabouts."
Ranko eyed her a moment and then laughed. "That reputation of yours does come in handy, onee-chan."
Nabiki shrugged. "What can I say? It works for me. Anyway, you get changed somewhere out the way. Make sure it's one of the outfits she bought for you as Tendou Ranko and try to look tomboyish yet you're trying to be feminine. So, you know, basically normal." She dodged the swipe and laughed. "Once I've gone in, you knock on the door and we'll go from there."
Ranko shivered. "I'd rather not… but if it's the only way…"
"There are others, but this has the best chance of success." Nabiki shrugged. "Once we're in, follow my lead. We're going to demonstrate the curse, then you're going to tell her everything that's happened."
"Nabs… is that a good idea?" Ranko asked, looking worried. "I mean we've only really gotten on recently and you've done… stuff to me… I'm not gonna lie if I have to."
Nabiki looked down. "If she gets pissed off with me, fine. I deserve it. You know how I feel about the things I did to you."
Ranko circled her sister in a hug and held her a moment. "And you know I've forgiven most of it, and the other stuff don't matter." She said quietly, squeezing Nabiki close. Then she separated and smiled bashfully.
"Thanks, Ranchan, means a lot. After you've told her, we'll gauge her reaction and then we'll ask for her help."
Ranko nodded.
The next morning, Ranko woke early and stuffed one of the outfits into her bag; a light sundress with a shawl, tights, mary-jane shoes. She also put a small makeup compact into the bag and then a ribbon. She fetched out a small pair of fake glasses, too, and put those in ready.
She dressed in her usual Chinese silks and switched to her boy form, sighing as the dysphoria really got started quickly this morning. The wrongness pervaded everything again like it had never left.
She dug into a loose floorboard under the matting of the room and pulled out a scripted wooden box. Pulsing some chi through it, she checked the contents and nodded, satisfied, She sealed it back up and put it into the bag, too. From what Nabiki had said, this would be useful stuff to take.
She looked around the room. With a pang, she realised it would probably be the last time she'd see it for a long while.
Then she walked out into the corridor, yawning and stared at Akane.
"You're up early." The short-haired girl said, a touch of suspicion in her face.
"Couldn't sleep properly, and without Pop to throw me out the window in a morning my sleep routine's all off." Ranko shrugged. "Hey 'Kane?"
Akane was walking off but stopped and turned around. "Yeah?"
"Sorry for the other day. And thanks for apologisin'. Meant a lot, even if I was too outta it at the time ta 'preciate it." She rubbed the back of her head. "I hope someday we get on way better, huh?"
Akane smiled. "Yeah."
Ranko felt a twist in her heart at the thought of what she was going to do, but Nabiki had expressly forbidden her from saying goodbye outright. Even so…
"See ya around, ya cute tomboy." Ranko said, grinning as she went down the stairs.
Akane was about to draw her mallet when the actual words spilled into her head. "Wait… what? Ranma!" She ran to the stairs and looked down at the pigtailed martial artist. "What the hell did you…?"
Ranko winked at her. "I'm goin' on ahead, 'Kane. Take care awright?" Then without another word she went to the genkan, changed her shoes and was out, whistling as she put her hands behind her head.
Akane stayed at the top of the stairs, bright red, for about a half hour before Nabiki broke her out of it by laughing as she walked down the stairs.
"Ranma got your tongue there, imouto-chan?" The bob-haired girl teased. "You could fry an egg on your face right now!"
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Nodoka was sweeping the front of her genkan in her usual kimono when she spotted a familiar face headed towards her house.
"Auntie!"
"Nabiki-chan, how lovely to see you, dear!" Nodoka said warmly. Nabiki eyed her; even now she had the Saotome family honour blade tucked under one arm, wrapped as always. "But isn't this a school day?"
Nabiki shrugged. "I'm playing hooky. Besides, I've got important information to share with you and it couldn't wait!"
Nodoka pursed her lips. Nabiki really should be in school right now, but at the same time the girl was mercenary enough for Nodoka to know whatever information she had was important.
"It's to do with Ranma!" Nabiki announced. "He's coming today!"
Nodoka dropped her broom and the honour blade. "He… he is?" She looked at Nabiki, who nodded.
"Yes, Auntie, I managed to convince him to come here. He won't be long!"
Nodoka picked the broom and katana up and walked back into her house. "Come in, dear!" She bubbled. "Come in, let's get some tea!"
Nabiki looked at the genteel woman as she followed. The moment she'd mentioned her child the woman had brightened to an incredible level. Like hearing her child's name was a balm to her soul and Nabiki felt a pang as she realised how much constantly 'missing' seeing Ranko had been.
She hoped that was a good sign regarding the stupid contract.
In short order the two of them were seated in the family room with tea and Nodoka was pressing Nabiki for details on 'Ranma's' recent exploits. She gave a toned down, swapped version of the recent weekend getaway.
"Oh, I thought Akane was the one engaged to him?" Nodoka asked. "Not you."
Nabiki smiled and rubbed the back of her head. "That's right, I just borrowed him. Really, I took him more as a pack mule and fake boyfriend, Auntie, you know how men are at the beach and I just wanted to get away. Besides, I fed him all sorts of food and he forgave me for using him like that." She giggled. "Besides, it also made Akane very jealous and he takes note when that happens!"
Nodoka tittered. "Just so. Ah, how manly he must be."
Nabiki eyed her and inwardly laughed. Nodoka had no idea.
The doorbell rang and Nodoka shot to her feet. "That must be him!" She cheered excitedly and Nabiki smiled warmly to see it. Nodoka bustled to the genkan and slid the door open, and then her happy mood diminished a little, but not entirely. "Oh! Ranko-chan, how lovely to see you!"
Ranko smiled at her mother warmly. She'd changed en route after using a similar set of changing trains and outfits to the weekend away and now had the dress, tights, shoes and shawl on, as well as her hair in a bow. She'd put the stylish glasses on, though the frames weren't any strength, and she'd done a subtle makeup job. "Hello M-Auntie!" She said brightly. "Look!" And she gave a twirl.
"My my, dear, you do certainly look fetching and less of a tomboy than usual! That's one of the outfits I bought for you isn't it?"
"Yep! Thank you Auntie. May I come in?"
"Cerainly, dear. Your cousin is already here." Nodoka stepped to the side to let the redhead in, and she changed her shoes while the auburn-haired woman looked out on the street. "You haven't seen my son have you, Ranko-chan? Nabiki-chan said he'd be coming by."
Ranko twitched slightly. "Not yet, Auntie. Why don't we go and sit and wait?"
Nodoka scanned the street and then deflated slightly. She slid the door shut and looked a little down. Ranko walked to her and put a hand on her arm as the older woman sighed forlornly.
"He'll be here, Auntie, he promised me and Nabiki both." She said gently. "Come on, let's sit down and have some tea." She linked her arm with Nodoka's and led the auburn-haired woman to the family room, where she sat her down and poured a cup of tea for herself.
Nodoka brightened after a short time. "Oh, where are my manners, girls? I'm sorry, I was just very excited to see my son."
Ranko smiled. "It's fine. Besides, I think… Ranma might be closer than you think."
"Really?" Nodoka asked.
"Yes. Nabiki?"
Nabiki nodded and stood up, going to the kitchen and returning with a tray. Nodoka looked curious a moment at the several cups of water, hot and cold. She put the tray in front of Ranko and Nodoka looked absolutely lost.
"What is this, Ranko-chan?"
Ranko smiled sadly at her mother. She clutched the object in her pocket – one of the reasons she'd chosen this dress was the pockets, after all. "I'm going to show you a magic trick." She said, standing up and taking her hand out of the pocket, taking her glasses off and then picking up a glass of hot water. "Are you watching closely?"