Author's Notes: One of the reasons why Nabiki seems to be so popular as an alternative partner for Ranma might be because she gets a surprising amount of moments in canon that could have led to a Ranma/Nabiki couple if Takahashi had been at all interested in that ship. In particular, the anime version of the "Nabiki, Ranma's New Fiancee" arc has a sequence where Nabiki asks Ranma to prove he wants to keep their engagement by kissing her. Which, of course, begs the question: what if he HAD kissed her? This fic was inspired by that question, before I decided to take it in a slightly more unusual direction.

Confession Aftermath

It took a surprising amount of control on Nabiki's part not to slam the door behind her as she stepped into the genkan.

"I'm home!" she called instinctively, even as she kicked off her shoes and stepped into her personal house slippers.

"Oh, my; you're home early, Nabiki. Is everything alright?" Kasumi asked, sisterly concern radiating off of her as she met Nabiki in the hall from the kitchen.

"Just... I wasn't feeling well. Is Daddy here?"

"Oh, dear... why don't you go up to your room and I'll bring you up some orange juice? Daddy isn't here; the council called him in for a meeting. And Mister Saotome is out for a shift at Dr. Tofu's clinic," Kasumi explained.

Nabiki put on a thin smile and nodded to her sister. "Thank you, Kasumi."

'At least I don't have to deal with those two on top of everything else... What a day!'

As the door to her bedroom clicked shut behind her, Nabiki inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to get a better grip on herself. She glanced at her desk, and her arm twitched as the sudden impulse to sweep everything off its top flooded her mind.

'I think I finally understand why my little sister likes to hit things when she gets mad... but I can't let Kasumi hear me making a mess! I have to do something, though! Wait a minute...'

Snatching up the pillow from her bed, Nabiki buried her face in it as hard as she physically could and then swore as loudly as she dared, screaming profanities into the impromptu muffler until she was panting from the effort. Unceremoniously dropping the pillow back where it belonged, she adjusted her hairline with one finger, sighing softly.

'Okay, that helped... but that doesn't change the real problem. How did this happen?! This shouldn't have happened!'

She began to pace around her bedroom, the unthinking movement mirroring the way that her thoughts were racing.

'...He kissed me. Ranma. Kissed. ME. How?! Why?! I never saw it coming! It was just supposed to be a joke! He was supposed to get scared and pay me to annul the engagement! Or at least to run away whilst I was playing at being hurt by the rejection! Okay, him getting all shy and asking if I shouldn't be saving that kind of thing for somebody he really liked, not a big upset in the scheme of things. He said something like that to Akane back after Mikado... seriously, who would expect a jock like Ranma to have a romantic side?'

She stopped and slapped her cheeks, trying to reroute her mental train.

'It's not my fault! I didn't do anything wrong! How was I supposed to know he'd been nursing a crush on me since he came here?! How could I have known that the real reason he and Akane never went anywhere wasn't just because they were so immature?! There was no way to know that if I made him think I actually liked him back that he'd actually grow a pair and kiss me! Oh, and for the icing on the cake, Akane was spying on me all along, just as I expected she might, so she had a front row seat to Ranma confessing he'd always wanted to be engaged to me instead of her!'

Physically and mentally exhausted, Nabiki unceremoniously flopped down on her bed, the western style mattress's springs jangling as they adjusted to her sudden weight.

'What a mess... I don't blame Akane for bursting onto the scene and demanding an answer... I don't think I even blame Ranma for jumping off of the roof and running away; I thought she was actually going to hit me for a moment there! Poor Akane... despite everything, I was always sure she had a crush on Ranma... but she can't really blame me! She's the one who gave him up to me! Okay, I only accepted because I wanted to teach her a lesson about being such a spoiled brat, but it's not my fault that it turned out this way! I didn't set out to seduce Ranma!'

'...And the worst part might be that it was actually the best kiss I've ever had... I mean, wow, for a guy who's only been kissed twice as far as I know, he was pretty sweet... wonder how good he'd be with some practice... What am I thinking?! Ugh, damn you, Ranma, you ruined a perfectly good scheme!'

Nabiki rolled over to face the wall and sighed.

'What am I going to do? This has wrecked everything! There's no way Akane will take him back now... even if I make him fall out of love with me, I have to convince her that I wasn't seducing him, and she's always been so stubborn! I could giftwrap Ranma back and she'd refuse him... no, things won't be going back to normal, not after today.'

'So, what am I supposed to do? What are my options?'

'...I could keep him, I guess. It's not as if Daddy minds us being together... hah; Daddy doesn't care which of us marries Ranma, so long as we do. All he cares about is keeping the dojo in the family and making sure we pop out grandkids. And I could do worse for a husband than Ranma... he's surprisingly sweet when he wants to be, he's funny, he's absolutely gorgeous...'

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than Nabiki suddenly sat bolt upright, eyes wide and cheeks burning red.

'Where the hell did that thought come from!? Ugh, damn you, Ranma, I will not be another victim of your strange charms! Stupid macho jock... and all that baggage! Ugh! No, I have to get rid of this engagement, and that means I need to pass him on to one of the other girls... but which one? I know I can break his heart by doing it, so I won't need to worry about him trying to get back with me afterwards, but I need him to actually want to stay with that girl... sooo... Kodachi's off the table. Pity, she would have paid the best price for him. That means either Ukyo or Shampoo. But which one? Hmph, decisions, decisions...'

A knock at the door drew Nabiki's attention, and she called out, "Who is it?"

"It's me, Nabiki. May I come in?" came Kasumi's voice, gentle and concerned, as always.

"Sure thing, Kasumi," Nabiki called back in response.

The door quietly swung open as the eldest of the Tendo daughters stepped inside, carrying a tall glass of orange juice. She shut the door behind herself before making her way over to Nabiki's bedside, where she placed a hand on her surprised sister's forehead.

"Hmm... you do feel a little warm," Kasumi observed quietly.

Nabiki repressed the urge to blink. "It's really nothing serious - I just needed to get out of school for the day."

"Did something happen, Nabiki? Was it something to do with Ranma?"

Nabiki hesitated for a moment, looking up at her sweet, guileless sister. 'Should I tell her...? But if I don't, Akane probably will when she gets home...'

"Ah... well... Ranma and I, we might have... kissed, at lunch today," Nabiki slowly admitted, the words uncharacteristically slow to come out. She flinched at the shocked gasp that Kasumi emitted.

"He did what?! Oh, Nabiki, are you alright?"

Now Nabiki gave a startled look at her sister. "Just what do you think he did?! I said we kissed! That's all! I dared him to and... well, he took me up on it."

Kasumi did something Nabiki could barely remember her doing before, and raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Really? Ranma did that?"

Feeling like she had somehow stepped back in time about ten years, Nabiki squirmed before she admitted, "He... might have confessed to being in love with me... and Akane might have seen and heard the whole thing..."

"Oh...Nabiki," Kasumi sighed softly - not in judgment, but just in empathy, before she gently hugged her younger sibling, a rare gesture of affection that Nabiki only tolerated from her family. "What are you going to do?"

"Don't worry, Kasumi, I have a plan... don't I always?" NAbiki asked, trying to project her usual confidence.

'Ukyo or Shampoo... have to get to them quickly, before they catch it on the Furinkan gossip vine! The sooner I get rid of Ranma, the better!'

'...Does seem kind of a waste, though...'

Chapter End & Closing Notes

And I think this is a good point to close this oneshot down on. What happens next? Well, I'll leave that up to you to decide. Maybe Nabiki successfully passes Ranma off to one of Akane's rivals. Maybe she finds herself re-evaluating her plan. There's so many ways that things could go from here...