Nabiki was going over the family finances in her room after dinner. The
money situation was still tight, but the expenditure rate was much better
than the previous few months. The costs for repairing damages to the house
for the last month or so has been essentially zero and Ranma has been
amazingly resourceful around the house, not only avoiding causing any
damage, but the repairs he performed saved a substantial sum of money. She
started thinking about Ranma, and looked at the strange new pen she found
on her desk when she walked in.
The pen was obviously a tourist souvenir, but it worked as well and perhaps better than many of the other pens in her desk. As she studied the pen more, she realized that, in spite of its cheap, touristy looking exterior, as a writing instrument, it was very well made.
Thinking about Ranma's and Akane's day, Nabiki sighed, "They must have had a good time today." As she toyed with the pen again before putting it away, she realized that she was jealous that Akane was able to spend a whole day with him.
"Not again," Nabiki murmured as she put her head in her hands. "What is going on here?"
***
In the kitchen, Kasumi was cleaning the counters when she discovered that the clipboard and pen wasn't in the kitchen drawer where she kept it. She turned around, and found the noticed that there was a new clipboard that held the grocery list was stuck on the refrigerator door with a magnet, and it had a pen and pad of paper was attached to it. She looked at it, and saw a motif of a man holding a string of fish. At first she thought the ensemble was from Akane, but then she realized that the clipboard was haphazardly placed on the door, and instantly deduced Ranma was the source for the gift. She was happy that Ranma thought of her, although she would have to remind him that gifts should be given in person, and not to be discovered. Smiling as she went back to work, looked forward to seeing him in the morning.
***
It was after breakfast and Ranma was in the kitchen looking for the lunch bentos when Nabiki and Akane walked in. While Akane inventoried the lunches, Nabiki walked up to Ranma and started tussling with his hair and braid.
"I don't know how you do it, Ranma. How do you keep your hair in that pig- tail?" Nabiki was facing Ranma, but her hands were behind his head, pulling his pig-tail out from his jacket. As she straightened his hair, she watched Ranma start to get uncomfortable with her being so close.
Stepping back, she looked at him and said, "Ranma, you should wear a top- knot instead of that pig-tail."
Ranma started to scratch the back of his head where Nabiki adjusted his pig- tail before saying, "Naw, I don't think so, Nabiki. If I did, Pops probably would make be cut it because of some stupid promise about some being a manly man martial artist when I was five years old!"
***
That night, when dinner was finished, but before everyone left the table, Soun and Genma attracted everyone's attention.
Genma started the meeting. "We are both very happy to see everyone getting along so well." He smiled, and slapped his son on his back.
Soun continued where his partner left off, "And since everyone is so happy today, we thought it might be a good idea to discuss when the wedding should take place. Now Genma thinks it should be sooner than later, and I think it should be sometime during the summer. What do all of you think?"
The first voice heard was Nabiki's, and she was loud, almost shouting. "Are you out of your mind! Look at them! Do they look like they are ready to get married?" Nabiki indicated the seating order at the table. Ranma was sitting between Nabiki and Kasumi and Akane was sitting at the corner, next to her father and Nabiki.
"Father, Uncle Saotome. Do you think it is wise for them to marry so soon? They still have their schooling to complete, and neither of them are ready to run a household." Kasumi kept her voice level, but there was no mistaking the severity of her tone.
Nabiki had visions of Ranma throwing up Akane's cooking and other visions of Ranma lying on the ground after being hit by Akane. Deciding that the family would be healthier if Ranma and Akane were not married soon, she interrupted her sister, "If you marry them off now, you might as well start the divorce proceedings."
Kasumi looked at her younger sister, trying to see why she was so discombobulated before continuing her own comments, "Times are different now father. If they were married now, it will not be accepted." Left unsaid was the fact that Ranma and Akane never looked as if they had a harmonious relationship by society.
When Ranma and Akane started their normal denials of getting married and just before the insults of "uncute tomboy" and "pervert" could start, they found that the elder sisters were in a coordinated attack drowned their own voices.
Ranma looked at the elder sisters, and then at Akane. Shrugging his shoulders, he listened to the verbal volleys launched by Nabiki and Kasumi, and watched his father and Mr. Tendo shrink back. "What got them so worked up?" Ranma wondered about the sisters.
Akane saw Ranma shrug his shoulders and tried to keep her own anger in check. As she listened to her sisters deconstruct or belittle her father and Uncle Saotome, she tried to remember when either of her sisters were this passionate about anything. The more she listened to Kasumi and Nabiki, the less angry she became, and before long, she was thinking, "What's the big deal? Ranma and I aren't getting married anyway."
Finally the fathers stopped trying to push the marriage and Genma turned into a panda and started playing with a tire while Soun started crying. The older sisters stopped talking and looked at Ranma, who gave them a blank look. Nabiki and Kasumi stood up, and left the table with their heels striking sharply against the floor. Akane sat there, looking at the fathers and wondered why her sisters were so adamant about the marriage.
Ranma sat at the table, looking at the fathers, disgusted that they started to deny what just transpired. He stood up, and started to clear the table.
Akane sighed in resignation, and assisted Ranma with the plates.
In the kitchen, Ranma and Akane silently washed the dishes, both wondering were Kasumi was hiding. This was very unusual, and they both were worried. When the last dish was done and the kitchen cleaned, Akane looked up the stairs in thought.
Since Kasumi had not returned to the kitchen, Akane decided that she would try and learn why her oldest sister was being so emotional. After letting Ranma know of her intentions, she quietly entered the hall and started to climb the stairs.
For his part, Ranma was worried about Kasumi too. Kasumi was normally a very happy person, and if there were something that she had to say, she would normally speak in a reserved manner, as if she was holding something back. At the dinner table, however, Kasumi spoke with full force. She wasn't loud, she wasn't fast or slow, but the very timbre of her voice carried a tone of severity he hadn't heard before.
It wasn't just Kasumi's reaction that caused Ranma to react, but Nabiki's as well. In the past, Nabiki would make a snide comment or two and then let the matter drop, as if she's playing a greater game. This time she was as ferocious as he'd ever seen her, she showed a side that was dark and cold, a vicious wit, and that she was ready show no mercy if the circumstances required it.
Knowing it was time to study, he retrieved his book bag from his room and knocked on Nabiki's door.
Nabiki's response sounded stressed, "I'm not in the mood, Ranma."
Ranma stood there for a moment, caught between the need to study and her request. Remembering his Father's reaction when he once mentioned that he wasn't in the mood to train, Ranma was not going to Nabiki's problem stop him from studying. He knocked again.
"Ranma, not tonight." Nabiki's voice came through the door, it sounded to Ranma that she might have been crying.
Ranma knocked one more time and called again, "Nabiki?"
The door quickly opened, and Ranma watched Nabiki return to her bed, throwing her head into the pillow.
Ranma sat on the floor in his normal spot, and looked at Nabiki. She turned over onto her back, staring at the ceiling.
This wasn't normal behavior for Nabiki, she should have been at her desk and studying. It was obvious to Ranma that she was upset, so he tried to concern for her feelings, "You okay?"
Nabiki's voice was brittle, and occasionally cracked, "Do I look okay? No, damn it! I am not okay!" She turned over again, and planted her face in the pillow once again.
Ranma crawled next to the bed, and watched and listened to Nabiki. He heard soft sobs, and watched her shake a little.
With trepidation Ranma sat on the bed and gently placed his hand on her back, and started to rub it. Finding that his arm was still attached to its socket, his motions became bolder as he started to massage her back, gently working the knots he found. After a few minutes Nabiki took her face out of the pillow and started to relax.
"Mmmm." Nabiki started to purr.
As Ranma worked the base of her neck and her shoulders, he felt Nabiki finally sink into the bed. After a few more minutes of working her back, he stopped when her breathing became easy flowing and regular.
Not moving from the bed he inquired as to how she felt, "Feel better?"
"Uh, huh." Nabiki was like a rag doll on the bed. "That felt," she whispered, "so...."
Nabiki drifted into silence, and Ranma watched her eyes flutter close. Sitting still, he let her relax. After a few minutes, he started to get up when he felt a soft touch on his arm.
"Stay here for a little while. Please?" Nabiki's voice was very weak, in the same relaxed state she was in.
Ranma sat down on the floor, grabbed a book, and leaned against the bed. He felt a few of Nabiki's fingers touch his shoulder and played with his collar for a few seconds before coming to a stop next to his ear. He started reading, and in a short while, he heard Nabiki start snoring. He quietly packed up his things and left the room.
Ranma walked to Akane's room and knocked, hoping to study some with her. Not getting an answer, he started back to his own room when he saw Akane step out of Kasumi's room.
"Akane, what happened?" Ranma quietly asked his fiancee.
Akane whispered back, "She's upset because Daddy's upset. What's up with Nabiki?"
"I think she's tired. She just fell asleep." Ranma then absorbed what Akane had said, "That's all? That's nothing new, your pop gets upset all the time."
Akane was almost hissing, "That's not only why she's upset."
Ranma opened his mouth to say something more, but Akane stopped him.
"I think you'd better go talk to her." Akane turned and left Ranma alone in the hallway.
"Now what?" he thought. Ranma was confused by Akane's reaction to him, he wasn't expecting her to be angry with him, he didn't think he didn't do anything wrong.
Standing in front of Kasumi's door, he turned and looked down the hall at the other doors. Deciding that he'll deal with Akane's coarse reaction after talking to Kasumi, he knocked on the door.
"Just a moment." Kasumi's voice sounded muffled. A few seconds later, the door opened.
"Ranma."
Ranma looked at Kasumi and saw that things really were wrong. Instead of bright eyes and happy smile, Kasumi's eyes were a little puffy and she looked as if she was tired beyond belief. With both concern and fear in his voice, Ranma apprehensively spoke, "Uh, Akane asked me to talk to you."
Kasumi wanted to close the door and forget Akane's visit. Her mind was torn between a need for life to be stable, to flow smoothly and calmly as stream does though a rice field. Life, like a peaceful brook, could turn into a raging river capable of flooding many acres of land, destroying houses and livelihoods if conditions are right. Once the waters have receded, the soil is often rejuvenated, and the survivors are stronger due to the change.
"Change," Kasumi finally thought, "yes, things are going to change." She let Ranma in by standing aside and lowering her head.
As she closed the door behind her and walked to her bed, Kasumi quickly thought through what she had to say. The conversation with Akane did not go well, it opened up some old wounds in the family.
"Ranma, please sit," Kasumi commanded as she motioned to Ranma that she wanted him to sit next to her on the bed. After Ranma had put his book bag down and was sitting on the bed, Kasumi sat down next to him. Looking at him was hard for her. She knew what she should say, but that was such a distasteful lie that death would almost be preferable to the lie's utterance. What she wanted to say frightened her, some members of the family would be very angry and the family could be stressed to the point it may take many years for the wounds to heal - if ever.
She had to choose between being the brook or the flooding river and she had no time to think to make a proper choice or to find a suitable middle ground. She reeled back slightly when one choice was washed away by a strange new current.
Kasumi wondered how long she sat on the bed in silence next to Ranma when she heard him ask what was wrong with Akane.
Kasumi took in a deep breath and held it in. She exhaled, and started, haltingly at first, "We had a disagreement. Akane wanted me to say what I couldn't, and didn't believe me when I said I didn't know." Kasumi shifted her weight away from Ranma before continuing. "I wanted to say something, but I didn't know myself what to say.
"I tried to tell her I was surprised as she was when I asked Father and your father to not press the marriage. She was adamant that she it was her concern and that it would be best if I not interfere."
Kasumi looked at Ranma, she could feel tears starting to well in her eye from the stress. Forging ahead and barely mindful of the consequences, she spoke what should have been a truth that the family was obviously blinded to, "Ranma, it doesn't matter who you marry."
Ranma's response was immediate, "Yeah, it does. Pop and your dad will kill me if I don't marry Akane."
Inwardly, Kasumi smiled. She knew that Ranma often missed subtle hints, it was a trait that made Ranma the individual he was, and it charmed her as much as it tried her patience. She inhaled, gathered her strength, and continued, "That's not what I mean.
"I meant that you don't have to marry Akane as long as you marry a Tendo. The agreement is between the families, not between you and Akane."
Kasumi wasn't surprised when Ranma said, "I'm engaged to Akane" as a statement of fact, not a defense. She looked at the floor, her hands sitting softly on her lap. She felt it was time to let the waters rise some more and said, "Father and Uncle Saotome don't care who you marry. More than once I heard them creating contingency plans when you two were fighting."
Kasumi watched Ranma start rubbing his hands, trying to think. When he spoke, his voice carried a slight undercurrent of confusion.
"But you and Nabiki argued for her to be my fiancee, remember?" he said. "You were constantly trying to get me to make up with her, to be nice to her."
Just above a whisper, Kasumi finally opened the floodgates. "Things change."
Ranma sat there and waited for more.
Kasumi let the silence reign for a few moments and found herself relaxing. She reached out and touched Ranma's hand for a second. When she found that he didn't back away, relief washed over her and said, "Just wait, Ranma. Things will settle down some day and all will be well."
The two of them sat on the bed, not speaking for several minutes. The quiet time with Ranma gave Kasumi hope for the future. She gave a small smile at Ramna, hoping to abate his desire for more information. When he smiled back, she knew she could sleep that night, and shooed him out of the room with, "I think I'll go to bed now."
Ranma reluctantly stood. "Uh, yeah. 'Nite, Kasumi. I hope you'll be okay."
Kasumi finally felt something similar to her normal self and was able to honestly say, "I'm much better, Ranma. Thank you."
***
A very tired and sore Ranma pulled himself out of the furo the next morning. He had not slept, for his concerns about Nabiki and Kasumi and Akane's anger bothered him. With his fatigue and lack of concentration, his father mercilessly beat him in practice. He decided that he would pretend that the events of the previous night never occurred; perhaps he could chalk up the night as a bad dream. If something were different, he would have to deal with it when the time comes.
At breakfast, everyone sat in the usual places, and the morning conversations started to flow. As Kasumi started to serve everyone, Ranma felt Akane started eyeing him, obviously looking for signs of what transpired between Ranma and Kasumi during the previous night.
When Nabiki held the bowl for Ranma to take, he saw that she was blushing before she turned away. He felt his hackles stand on end when he saw Akane's ire rise.
When breakfast was over, Ranma was waiting for Akane to step out the door when Nabiki called him to the gate. Ambling over to her, he noticed that she had a slight smile on her face.
"I wanted to thank you for last night. I'm sorry I fell asleep like that on you. I know you wanted to study."
"Nothing of it. I got some reading done any way." Ranma stopped talking when he saw Akane step out the door.
The three students walked briskly in the dank air. Ranma did not walk on the fence, as it was too slippery given his distracted state of mind. On the ground, he found himself between the two sisters. Akane was quieter than usual, and looked as if she was thinking about something.
Nabiki looked at Ranma, and moved in closer to him, making him wonder what was on her mind.
Not at all comfortable with the latest developments, which surely would degrade to violence, he tried to diffuse the situation by talking to his fiancee. "Hey, Akane, what's going on? You haven't said a word since we left the house."
"Nothing" was Akane's cold response.
Ranma looked at his fiancee, and asked the one question that would certainly cause him the biggest trouble, "Is it about last night?"
Akane turned and glared at Ranma. "You IDIOT! Yes, what do you THINK has me upset! Just LEAVE ME ALONE!" She clenched her bags, and started running towards the school.
"Well, that was unexpected. What happened last night, Ranma?" Nabiki stuck her hands into her jacket pockets to warm them.
"I dunno, and I don't think I ought to talk about it." Ranma watched Akane turn the corner in the distance ahead.
Ranma stood still, afraid that he may set off a land mine.
Nabiki stepped closer to Ranma. With an urgent tone, she asked again "Ranma, what happened?"
Ranma was slow answering. "Kasumi and I had a talk." Ranma looked up at Nabiki, shuffled his feet, put his hands in his pockets and finally said, "She, uh, was really vague." Ranma faltered.
"She told you what?"
"Something was changing," Ranma started to stutter in nervousness. "And something about me not marrying Akane."
Nabiki almost dropped her bag in shock. How her sister knew what was running through her mind was beyond comprehension. She was sure that she kept her thoughts under control and was not giving off any signs of what she felt. She wasn't even sure of how she felt herself. There have been a few inopportune times it has been hard for her to keep Ranma out of her mind. Before dinner the previous day when she tried to plan for potential monetary gains, she eliminated a few possibilities simply because she didn't want to upset Ranma. It wasn't that she discarded a few likely lucrative scenarios that bothered her, but what surprised her was that she knew why she had that little "problem being nice to Ranma for no reason."
She actually cared for the studly guy standing next to her, and she wanted to him to be her friend.
As she stood there in front of him, she brushed her hair behind her ear for a moment as she looked at Ranma's chest. She took a measured breath and tried to relax. If she had a chance, she knew she would have to have Ranma thinking of her as a friend, and maybe, just maybe, something better will come of it in the future. For now, she decided, patience was a virtue, so it would be best to bide her time.
"Nabiki? I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't want any more fiancees. I just want to get through life and be the best martial artist there ever was."
Emotions splattered all over the place like paint from a full can being dropped from a high ladder. "He's turning me down?" she thought. "We never started... He..." Nabiki started to cry.
Ranma saw Nabiki's face tense and saw the tears coming down. With a wary motion, as if he was afraid for his life, he put his arms around her and gently pulled her in.
When Nabiki felt Ranma's chest, she wrapped arms around Ranma and hugged him back, trying hard not to let her voice crack when she tried to prevent Ranma from loosing his confidence as she said, "It's okay Ranma, I want you as a friend."
"You do?"
She pulled back a little, putting a smile on her face, and looked at him. Ranma had a irresistible puppy-dog look on his face that threatened to destroy any sense of moderation she retained at the moment. "I don't know what Kasumi said last night, and you know I'll find out. But, yes, I want, and need, you as a friend. Can you be one?"
All Ranma could do was nod "yes".
Letting go of Ranma, Nabiki stood straight and regained her composure. It was time to return to the real world for a while, and she didn't want to face the principal for being late. "We'd better get going, we'll be late for school as it is. That is, unless you can to do something spectacular."
Ranma smiled, "I've got something new for you to try! So jump on, and hang on tight!"
Soon as Nabiki was on his back she found that she was hanging on for life. She found the buildings and streets becoming a blur as Ranma ran faster than she expected. When he passed cars and jumped over streets, she entered a state of disbelief, what he was doing wasn't possible. Finally Ranma came to a stop at the gate and let her down. She looked him over and marveled, he had no signs of sweat, and wasn't even out of breath.
After she straightened her skirt and jacket, Nabiki started walking towards her classroom when she heard Akane's voice from behind her.
"She's behind me? Ranma carried me past her?"
The pen was obviously a tourist souvenir, but it worked as well and perhaps better than many of the other pens in her desk. As she studied the pen more, she realized that, in spite of its cheap, touristy looking exterior, as a writing instrument, it was very well made.
Thinking about Ranma's and Akane's day, Nabiki sighed, "They must have had a good time today." As she toyed with the pen again before putting it away, she realized that she was jealous that Akane was able to spend a whole day with him.
"Not again," Nabiki murmured as she put her head in her hands. "What is going on here?"
***
In the kitchen, Kasumi was cleaning the counters when she discovered that the clipboard and pen wasn't in the kitchen drawer where she kept it. She turned around, and found the noticed that there was a new clipboard that held the grocery list was stuck on the refrigerator door with a magnet, and it had a pen and pad of paper was attached to it. She looked at it, and saw a motif of a man holding a string of fish. At first she thought the ensemble was from Akane, but then she realized that the clipboard was haphazardly placed on the door, and instantly deduced Ranma was the source for the gift. She was happy that Ranma thought of her, although she would have to remind him that gifts should be given in person, and not to be discovered. Smiling as she went back to work, looked forward to seeing him in the morning.
***
It was after breakfast and Ranma was in the kitchen looking for the lunch bentos when Nabiki and Akane walked in. While Akane inventoried the lunches, Nabiki walked up to Ranma and started tussling with his hair and braid.
"I don't know how you do it, Ranma. How do you keep your hair in that pig- tail?" Nabiki was facing Ranma, but her hands were behind his head, pulling his pig-tail out from his jacket. As she straightened his hair, she watched Ranma start to get uncomfortable with her being so close.
Stepping back, she looked at him and said, "Ranma, you should wear a top- knot instead of that pig-tail."
Ranma started to scratch the back of his head where Nabiki adjusted his pig- tail before saying, "Naw, I don't think so, Nabiki. If I did, Pops probably would make be cut it because of some stupid promise about some being a manly man martial artist when I was five years old!"
***
That night, when dinner was finished, but before everyone left the table, Soun and Genma attracted everyone's attention.
Genma started the meeting. "We are both very happy to see everyone getting along so well." He smiled, and slapped his son on his back.
Soun continued where his partner left off, "And since everyone is so happy today, we thought it might be a good idea to discuss when the wedding should take place. Now Genma thinks it should be sooner than later, and I think it should be sometime during the summer. What do all of you think?"
The first voice heard was Nabiki's, and she was loud, almost shouting. "Are you out of your mind! Look at them! Do they look like they are ready to get married?" Nabiki indicated the seating order at the table. Ranma was sitting between Nabiki and Kasumi and Akane was sitting at the corner, next to her father and Nabiki.
"Father, Uncle Saotome. Do you think it is wise for them to marry so soon? They still have their schooling to complete, and neither of them are ready to run a household." Kasumi kept her voice level, but there was no mistaking the severity of her tone.
Nabiki had visions of Ranma throwing up Akane's cooking and other visions of Ranma lying on the ground after being hit by Akane. Deciding that the family would be healthier if Ranma and Akane were not married soon, she interrupted her sister, "If you marry them off now, you might as well start the divorce proceedings."
Kasumi looked at her younger sister, trying to see why she was so discombobulated before continuing her own comments, "Times are different now father. If they were married now, it will not be accepted." Left unsaid was the fact that Ranma and Akane never looked as if they had a harmonious relationship by society.
When Ranma and Akane started their normal denials of getting married and just before the insults of "uncute tomboy" and "pervert" could start, they found that the elder sisters were in a coordinated attack drowned their own voices.
Ranma looked at the elder sisters, and then at Akane. Shrugging his shoulders, he listened to the verbal volleys launched by Nabiki and Kasumi, and watched his father and Mr. Tendo shrink back. "What got them so worked up?" Ranma wondered about the sisters.
Akane saw Ranma shrug his shoulders and tried to keep her own anger in check. As she listened to her sisters deconstruct or belittle her father and Uncle Saotome, she tried to remember when either of her sisters were this passionate about anything. The more she listened to Kasumi and Nabiki, the less angry she became, and before long, she was thinking, "What's the big deal? Ranma and I aren't getting married anyway."
Finally the fathers stopped trying to push the marriage and Genma turned into a panda and started playing with a tire while Soun started crying. The older sisters stopped talking and looked at Ranma, who gave them a blank look. Nabiki and Kasumi stood up, and left the table with their heels striking sharply against the floor. Akane sat there, looking at the fathers and wondered why her sisters were so adamant about the marriage.
Ranma sat at the table, looking at the fathers, disgusted that they started to deny what just transpired. He stood up, and started to clear the table.
Akane sighed in resignation, and assisted Ranma with the plates.
In the kitchen, Ranma and Akane silently washed the dishes, both wondering were Kasumi was hiding. This was very unusual, and they both were worried. When the last dish was done and the kitchen cleaned, Akane looked up the stairs in thought.
Since Kasumi had not returned to the kitchen, Akane decided that she would try and learn why her oldest sister was being so emotional. After letting Ranma know of her intentions, she quietly entered the hall and started to climb the stairs.
For his part, Ranma was worried about Kasumi too. Kasumi was normally a very happy person, and if there were something that she had to say, she would normally speak in a reserved manner, as if she was holding something back. At the dinner table, however, Kasumi spoke with full force. She wasn't loud, she wasn't fast or slow, but the very timbre of her voice carried a tone of severity he hadn't heard before.
It wasn't just Kasumi's reaction that caused Ranma to react, but Nabiki's as well. In the past, Nabiki would make a snide comment or two and then let the matter drop, as if she's playing a greater game. This time she was as ferocious as he'd ever seen her, she showed a side that was dark and cold, a vicious wit, and that she was ready show no mercy if the circumstances required it.
Knowing it was time to study, he retrieved his book bag from his room and knocked on Nabiki's door.
Nabiki's response sounded stressed, "I'm not in the mood, Ranma."
Ranma stood there for a moment, caught between the need to study and her request. Remembering his Father's reaction when he once mentioned that he wasn't in the mood to train, Ranma was not going to Nabiki's problem stop him from studying. He knocked again.
"Ranma, not tonight." Nabiki's voice came through the door, it sounded to Ranma that she might have been crying.
Ranma knocked one more time and called again, "Nabiki?"
The door quickly opened, and Ranma watched Nabiki return to her bed, throwing her head into the pillow.
Ranma sat on the floor in his normal spot, and looked at Nabiki. She turned over onto her back, staring at the ceiling.
This wasn't normal behavior for Nabiki, she should have been at her desk and studying. It was obvious to Ranma that she was upset, so he tried to concern for her feelings, "You okay?"
Nabiki's voice was brittle, and occasionally cracked, "Do I look okay? No, damn it! I am not okay!" She turned over again, and planted her face in the pillow once again.
Ranma crawled next to the bed, and watched and listened to Nabiki. He heard soft sobs, and watched her shake a little.
With trepidation Ranma sat on the bed and gently placed his hand on her back, and started to rub it. Finding that his arm was still attached to its socket, his motions became bolder as he started to massage her back, gently working the knots he found. After a few minutes Nabiki took her face out of the pillow and started to relax.
"Mmmm." Nabiki started to purr.
As Ranma worked the base of her neck and her shoulders, he felt Nabiki finally sink into the bed. After a few more minutes of working her back, he stopped when her breathing became easy flowing and regular.
Not moving from the bed he inquired as to how she felt, "Feel better?"
"Uh, huh." Nabiki was like a rag doll on the bed. "That felt," she whispered, "so...."
Nabiki drifted into silence, and Ranma watched her eyes flutter close. Sitting still, he let her relax. After a few minutes, he started to get up when he felt a soft touch on his arm.
"Stay here for a little while. Please?" Nabiki's voice was very weak, in the same relaxed state she was in.
Ranma sat down on the floor, grabbed a book, and leaned against the bed. He felt a few of Nabiki's fingers touch his shoulder and played with his collar for a few seconds before coming to a stop next to his ear. He started reading, and in a short while, he heard Nabiki start snoring. He quietly packed up his things and left the room.
Ranma walked to Akane's room and knocked, hoping to study some with her. Not getting an answer, he started back to his own room when he saw Akane step out of Kasumi's room.
"Akane, what happened?" Ranma quietly asked his fiancee.
Akane whispered back, "She's upset because Daddy's upset. What's up with Nabiki?"
"I think she's tired. She just fell asleep." Ranma then absorbed what Akane had said, "That's all? That's nothing new, your pop gets upset all the time."
Akane was almost hissing, "That's not only why she's upset."
Ranma opened his mouth to say something more, but Akane stopped him.
"I think you'd better go talk to her." Akane turned and left Ranma alone in the hallway.
"Now what?" he thought. Ranma was confused by Akane's reaction to him, he wasn't expecting her to be angry with him, he didn't think he didn't do anything wrong.
Standing in front of Kasumi's door, he turned and looked down the hall at the other doors. Deciding that he'll deal with Akane's coarse reaction after talking to Kasumi, he knocked on the door.
"Just a moment." Kasumi's voice sounded muffled. A few seconds later, the door opened.
"Ranma."
Ranma looked at Kasumi and saw that things really were wrong. Instead of bright eyes and happy smile, Kasumi's eyes were a little puffy and she looked as if she was tired beyond belief. With both concern and fear in his voice, Ranma apprehensively spoke, "Uh, Akane asked me to talk to you."
Kasumi wanted to close the door and forget Akane's visit. Her mind was torn between a need for life to be stable, to flow smoothly and calmly as stream does though a rice field. Life, like a peaceful brook, could turn into a raging river capable of flooding many acres of land, destroying houses and livelihoods if conditions are right. Once the waters have receded, the soil is often rejuvenated, and the survivors are stronger due to the change.
"Change," Kasumi finally thought, "yes, things are going to change." She let Ranma in by standing aside and lowering her head.
As she closed the door behind her and walked to her bed, Kasumi quickly thought through what she had to say. The conversation with Akane did not go well, it opened up some old wounds in the family.
"Ranma, please sit," Kasumi commanded as she motioned to Ranma that she wanted him to sit next to her on the bed. After Ranma had put his book bag down and was sitting on the bed, Kasumi sat down next to him. Looking at him was hard for her. She knew what she should say, but that was such a distasteful lie that death would almost be preferable to the lie's utterance. What she wanted to say frightened her, some members of the family would be very angry and the family could be stressed to the point it may take many years for the wounds to heal - if ever.
She had to choose between being the brook or the flooding river and she had no time to think to make a proper choice or to find a suitable middle ground. She reeled back slightly when one choice was washed away by a strange new current.
Kasumi wondered how long she sat on the bed in silence next to Ranma when she heard him ask what was wrong with Akane.
Kasumi took in a deep breath and held it in. She exhaled, and started, haltingly at first, "We had a disagreement. Akane wanted me to say what I couldn't, and didn't believe me when I said I didn't know." Kasumi shifted her weight away from Ranma before continuing. "I wanted to say something, but I didn't know myself what to say.
"I tried to tell her I was surprised as she was when I asked Father and your father to not press the marriage. She was adamant that she it was her concern and that it would be best if I not interfere."
Kasumi looked at Ranma, she could feel tears starting to well in her eye from the stress. Forging ahead and barely mindful of the consequences, she spoke what should have been a truth that the family was obviously blinded to, "Ranma, it doesn't matter who you marry."
Ranma's response was immediate, "Yeah, it does. Pop and your dad will kill me if I don't marry Akane."
Inwardly, Kasumi smiled. She knew that Ranma often missed subtle hints, it was a trait that made Ranma the individual he was, and it charmed her as much as it tried her patience. She inhaled, gathered her strength, and continued, "That's not what I mean.
"I meant that you don't have to marry Akane as long as you marry a Tendo. The agreement is between the families, not between you and Akane."
Kasumi wasn't surprised when Ranma said, "I'm engaged to Akane" as a statement of fact, not a defense. She looked at the floor, her hands sitting softly on her lap. She felt it was time to let the waters rise some more and said, "Father and Uncle Saotome don't care who you marry. More than once I heard them creating contingency plans when you two were fighting."
Kasumi watched Ranma start rubbing his hands, trying to think. When he spoke, his voice carried a slight undercurrent of confusion.
"But you and Nabiki argued for her to be my fiancee, remember?" he said. "You were constantly trying to get me to make up with her, to be nice to her."
Just above a whisper, Kasumi finally opened the floodgates. "Things change."
Ranma sat there and waited for more.
Kasumi let the silence reign for a few moments and found herself relaxing. She reached out and touched Ranma's hand for a second. When she found that he didn't back away, relief washed over her and said, "Just wait, Ranma. Things will settle down some day and all will be well."
The two of them sat on the bed, not speaking for several minutes. The quiet time with Ranma gave Kasumi hope for the future. She gave a small smile at Ramna, hoping to abate his desire for more information. When he smiled back, she knew she could sleep that night, and shooed him out of the room with, "I think I'll go to bed now."
Ranma reluctantly stood. "Uh, yeah. 'Nite, Kasumi. I hope you'll be okay."
Kasumi finally felt something similar to her normal self and was able to honestly say, "I'm much better, Ranma. Thank you."
***
A very tired and sore Ranma pulled himself out of the furo the next morning. He had not slept, for his concerns about Nabiki and Kasumi and Akane's anger bothered him. With his fatigue and lack of concentration, his father mercilessly beat him in practice. He decided that he would pretend that the events of the previous night never occurred; perhaps he could chalk up the night as a bad dream. If something were different, he would have to deal with it when the time comes.
At breakfast, everyone sat in the usual places, and the morning conversations started to flow. As Kasumi started to serve everyone, Ranma felt Akane started eyeing him, obviously looking for signs of what transpired between Ranma and Kasumi during the previous night.
When Nabiki held the bowl for Ranma to take, he saw that she was blushing before she turned away. He felt his hackles stand on end when he saw Akane's ire rise.
When breakfast was over, Ranma was waiting for Akane to step out the door when Nabiki called him to the gate. Ambling over to her, he noticed that she had a slight smile on her face.
"I wanted to thank you for last night. I'm sorry I fell asleep like that on you. I know you wanted to study."
"Nothing of it. I got some reading done any way." Ranma stopped talking when he saw Akane step out the door.
The three students walked briskly in the dank air. Ranma did not walk on the fence, as it was too slippery given his distracted state of mind. On the ground, he found himself between the two sisters. Akane was quieter than usual, and looked as if she was thinking about something.
Nabiki looked at Ranma, and moved in closer to him, making him wonder what was on her mind.
Not at all comfortable with the latest developments, which surely would degrade to violence, he tried to diffuse the situation by talking to his fiancee. "Hey, Akane, what's going on? You haven't said a word since we left the house."
"Nothing" was Akane's cold response.
Ranma looked at his fiancee, and asked the one question that would certainly cause him the biggest trouble, "Is it about last night?"
Akane turned and glared at Ranma. "You IDIOT! Yes, what do you THINK has me upset! Just LEAVE ME ALONE!" She clenched her bags, and started running towards the school.
"Well, that was unexpected. What happened last night, Ranma?" Nabiki stuck her hands into her jacket pockets to warm them.
"I dunno, and I don't think I ought to talk about it." Ranma watched Akane turn the corner in the distance ahead.
Ranma stood still, afraid that he may set off a land mine.
Nabiki stepped closer to Ranma. With an urgent tone, she asked again "Ranma, what happened?"
Ranma was slow answering. "Kasumi and I had a talk." Ranma looked up at Nabiki, shuffled his feet, put his hands in his pockets and finally said, "She, uh, was really vague." Ranma faltered.
"She told you what?"
"Something was changing," Ranma started to stutter in nervousness. "And something about me not marrying Akane."
Nabiki almost dropped her bag in shock. How her sister knew what was running through her mind was beyond comprehension. She was sure that she kept her thoughts under control and was not giving off any signs of what she felt. She wasn't even sure of how she felt herself. There have been a few inopportune times it has been hard for her to keep Ranma out of her mind. Before dinner the previous day when she tried to plan for potential monetary gains, she eliminated a few possibilities simply because she didn't want to upset Ranma. It wasn't that she discarded a few likely lucrative scenarios that bothered her, but what surprised her was that she knew why she had that little "problem being nice to Ranma for no reason."
She actually cared for the studly guy standing next to her, and she wanted to him to be her friend.
As she stood there in front of him, she brushed her hair behind her ear for a moment as she looked at Ranma's chest. She took a measured breath and tried to relax. If she had a chance, she knew she would have to have Ranma thinking of her as a friend, and maybe, just maybe, something better will come of it in the future. For now, she decided, patience was a virtue, so it would be best to bide her time.
"Nabiki? I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't want any more fiancees. I just want to get through life and be the best martial artist there ever was."
Emotions splattered all over the place like paint from a full can being dropped from a high ladder. "He's turning me down?" she thought. "We never started... He..." Nabiki started to cry.
Ranma saw Nabiki's face tense and saw the tears coming down. With a wary motion, as if he was afraid for his life, he put his arms around her and gently pulled her in.
When Nabiki felt Ranma's chest, she wrapped arms around Ranma and hugged him back, trying hard not to let her voice crack when she tried to prevent Ranma from loosing his confidence as she said, "It's okay Ranma, I want you as a friend."
"You do?"
She pulled back a little, putting a smile on her face, and looked at him. Ranma had a irresistible puppy-dog look on his face that threatened to destroy any sense of moderation she retained at the moment. "I don't know what Kasumi said last night, and you know I'll find out. But, yes, I want, and need, you as a friend. Can you be one?"
All Ranma could do was nod "yes".
Letting go of Ranma, Nabiki stood straight and regained her composure. It was time to return to the real world for a while, and she didn't want to face the principal for being late. "We'd better get going, we'll be late for school as it is. That is, unless you can to do something spectacular."
Ranma smiled, "I've got something new for you to try! So jump on, and hang on tight!"
Soon as Nabiki was on his back she found that she was hanging on for life. She found the buildings and streets becoming a blur as Ranma ran faster than she expected. When he passed cars and jumped over streets, she entered a state of disbelief, what he was doing wasn't possible. Finally Ranma came to a stop at the gate and let her down. She looked him over and marveled, he had no signs of sweat, and wasn't even out of breath.
After she straightened her skirt and jacket, Nabiki started walking towards her classroom when she heard Akane's voice from behind her.
"She's behind me? Ranma carried me past her?"