"Mmm. These cookies are delicious, Nabiki." Ranma is savoring a batch of
warm cookies with Nabiki while studying. Looking at his partner, he
realizes he is getting an evil eye. "Now what," a puzzled Ranma muses,
"did I forget this time? I said the cookies were good. What more could
she want? She went down to get... Oh!"
Ranma tilted his head and said, "Nabiki, I'm sorry. I forgot. Thank you for bringing up the snack." He looked up at Nabiki, who had a winsome smile on her face. Reaching for another cookie, Ranma made his obligatory comment about cooking in the Tendo household, "Too bad Akane can't cook. Maybe Kasumi inherited all the cooking genes!"
The sound of a small laugh came from the desk perked Ranma's attention. "What's so funny?" he asked.
"Thank you, Ranma. You didn't know it, but you just complimented me! Now you owe me a dinner."
"Huh? No I didn't. I said that Kasumi is an excellent cook."
Nabiki went into spasms, trying to hold the laughter in. "Who baked these cookies?" she managed to ask between breaths of air.
"Kasumi. Who else in this house can cook?" Ranma was totally lost, not understanding why Nabiki was laughing. He obviously had forgotten about his bet with Nabiki.
Nabiki couldn't hold her little secret any more, her laughter stopped and pride swelled in her breast, for Ranma paid her the biggest compliment she could ever receive. Fighting an urge to embrace Ranma, she sat tight and explained her victory, "Silly. I baked those cookies! I just warmed them up just before I came up here. Good aren't they?"
The idea of taking Nabiki out to dinner was a scary one for Ranma. He knew it would be expensive and that she'll want to go to a place that make him feel like a clod. He wasn't going to back down, so he sucked in his own pride for a moment, praying this would never happen again, and answered truthfully. "Yes, Nabiki, these cookies are very good."
"Saturday night, then?"
Nodding affirmative, Ranma had only one hope. "Do I get a choice where we eat?"
"Nope. Dress nice, and be ready to show me a good time." Nabiki wasn't all that sure what could happen, but one thing she was certain of, that since Ranma is involved, the night would prove interesting.
***
Ranma hasn't seen Nabiki since school let out earlier that Saturday. He wasn't in a very good mood; Akane teased him all day about losing the bet, and dealing with his father's protests that he should be dating Akane and not Nabiki made the day just a little more gray. He sat in the guest room, staring at the walls, the weather promised rain for that evening, so he had to go with a black and yellow ensemble that his girl half could get away with. Just before six, he trod down stairs, looking for an umbrella.
"Kasumi, do you know where the umbrella is? I can't find it. I thought it was in the stand in the foyer, but it isn't there."
Not looking up from the steaming pan of vegetables, Kasumi thought for a second, and answered with, "Father had it last, so it's probably on the back porch." Pulling the pan off the heat, she looked at Ranma, and judged his appearance. "You look nice, Ranma. Did Nabiki pick the outfit?"
"No, I did. I figured that with the rain, I'd better be ready." Ranma peered to see the stove, looking for a kettle. "Is a thermos ready?"
"Oh, dear. Just give me a moment, I'll get one for you. Just relax and you'll have a good time."
"I'll get the umbrella. Thanks, Kasumi." Ranma walked to the back porch. Sliding open the doors, he found the umbrella. Unfortunately, he found his panda-form father too. Genma had a stack of signs by him, ready to deliver a long, and if necessary, painful lecture.
Flipping signs almost too fast to read, Genma tried to get his point across once again. "Ranma! Why are you taking Nabiki out?"
Grabbing the umbrella, Ranma weighed the options of beating his father to a pulp versus getting wet and his outfit dirty.
His father was still flipping signs, "Shouldn't you be taking Akane, your *fiancee* out?"
Ranma popped open the umbrella in hand and shook it dry. He tensed, about to jump his father when he heard Nabiki's voice call out for him, "Ranma! Aren't you ready yet?" Realizing that facing the wrath of an angry Nabiki was worse than listening to his father, he closed the umbrella, stuck his tongue at his father, and walked back into the house.
Ranma wasn't ready for what he saw. Nabiki was standing at the threshold of the hall wearing a knee length aqua and white skirt and a white blouse. He had not seen the outfit on her before, and was surprised that it made her look soft and kind, instead of the strict disciplinarian she can be. After staring a moment too long he was able to say something.
"Wow, Nabiki. You look nice!"
"Why, thank you Ranma. You look good too, but it seems you expect trouble."
Ranma scratches the back of his head and said, "I just wanna be prepared, that's all."
"Well, then, let's go mister Boy Scout!"
The restaurant that Nabiki chose was a distance away, as Ranma and Nabiki waited at the taxi stop, Ranma felt the first drops of rain, and opened the umbrella. Nabiki moved in closer to Ranma, and held his hand, pulling the umbrella closer to her. Only after the taxi arrived did Nabiki let go of Ranma's hand.
At dinner, both Nabiki and Ranma found that eating chicken with a fork and knife wasn't all that hard, but the peas were a challenge. They shared a slice of chocolate banana cake, and left after Ranma paid the bill.
The rain had stopped for the moment, but Ranma still held the umbrella above his head, and Nabiki still held his hand. As they walked down the sidewalk, they looked at the expensive cars parked on the street, trying to imagine what kind of person drove each one.
Out from behind them, they heard a well known voice cry out. "Ranma! You traitor! Taking Nabiki out on a date while you leave Akane home! What kind of fiancee are you?"
Nabiki looked at Ranma. On one hand, she had been expecting something like this to occur, but on the other hand, she was hoping that the evening would be quiet. Sounding a little disappointed, "Ranma, Ryoga's here. Remember, no fighting."
"Don't worry Nabiki, I can handle him." Ranma said as he handed her the umbrella. "Hey, Pig! Go home!"
Ryoga stepped out of the shadows and looked at the couple. "Oh, who's the pig? The last time I saw you eat, you ate all your lunch in fifteen seconds. Oh, that wasn't so bad, but the burp you let loose, eww!"
Ranma became peeved, Ryoga was ruining the best evening he had in a long time. "Ryoga. I promised I wouldn't get into any fights tonight. So leave us alone."
"Coward. Oh, well. I guess I'll head on over to see what Akane's up to. See you!"
"Oh, sure. Just stay out of that bed, P-Chan!"
"Girl!"
Nabiki stepped in front of Ranma, who looked like he was about to challenge Ryoga to a fight.
"Ranma, no," she protested. "Stop right there. You promised you wouldn't..." Nabiki found that she was talking to dead air. Suddenly a down pour occurred, the water blinding her for a second while she tried to keep the umbrella under control. A second later the rain let up enough for Nabiki to see Ranma had changed to his girl form.
"Where's Ryoga?" Nabiki inquired, "I thought I saw him right there, by the pig."
Nabiki froze. Thought one: "Pig?" Thought two: "Where's Ryoga?" Holding the umbrella, she picked up the little black pig by the bandanna and suddenly stood still.
"Ranma, this is Ryoga, isn't it? P-Chan is Ryoga!"
"Uh, oh." Ranma's first words ever spoken as a child were uttered once again.
"You've been letting Ryoga sleep with my sister! What, what, whaa...!" Nabiki became very angry, angry enough that she was having problems thinking a coherent thought.
"Nabiki, I can explain. Really..."
"You have one chance, Ranma. It had better be a good one." Nabiki still hadn't let go of P-Chan, and her hands were tightening around its neck.
"It's a long story, Nabiki."
"We've got all night. Start."
"You are choking him."
"Good. You're next if you don't start talking..."
Ranma related the story of how Ryoga became cursed, his fights with Ryoga, and his promise not to tell anyone of his weakness.
"So, you are saying that your promise to Ryoga to keep his curse a secret wasn't as important as my sister's privacy?"
"Huh? Didn't you hear me? I've been trying to let Akane know who P-Chan is all along! I've tried throwin' Ryoga out of her room many times. Remember the first night? The next morning you said that I oughta be more quiet when I'm in a girls room! I was trying to get Ryoga out of there!"
Nabiki's memory flashed back to the time when P-Chan first arrived, the noise, and the fight between Ranma and Akane that night. She dropped Ryoga, who scurried for cover under a car. The pig looked at Ranma with an unreadable expression.
"You've been trying all along haven't you? You even did it again a few minutes ago." Trying to deal the change of who Ryouga really is, Nabiki asked for more information, "Who else knows?"
"I'm not sure. Perhaps Shampoo and the old mummy, but they won't tell either."
Nabiki smiled like a vulture that's circling a newly discovered corpse, she called for Ryoga. "Come here you pig. I've got a deal for you."
Ryoga was terrified. The deal, he knew, would have a price to pay. He tentatively walked to Nabiki, who picked him up by the scruff of his neck.
"Ryoga, my little P-Chan. You know I'm not under any oath or anything. Do you know what's going to keep me from telling everyone, and especially Akane? Your cooperation. Understand?"
Ryoga nodded. He didn't really understand, but he knew that Nabiki would have him cornered at a later date.
"Come on Ranma, lets go home and show Akane what we found." Nabiki let P- chan down, and grabs Ranma's arm.
"Nabiki?"
"Yes, Ranma?"
"Can I change?"
"Yes, you may."
Akane was very happy to see P-Chan, so happy that she never noticed that Ranma and Nabiki were holding hands.
That night, Nabiki couldn't sleep. Her mind kept on wandering, thinking about how Ranma tries to keep one promise to Ryoga, and ensure her sister's purity. As she hoped, the night was interesting, she would never forget it. She looked at her hand, the hand that was held in Ranma's, and sighed. Sleep eventually came...
***
Ranma and Nabiki were discussing the next month's budget, or rather, Nabiki was discussing the budget and Ranma was doing sit-ups. A few hours ago, the family had just decided that they wanted to take an expensive vacation sometime in the following year, and they asked Nabiki to review the finances to ensure that the vacation could take place. Unfortunately, the anticipated costs were still very steep, and it looked like the vacation may have to wait another year unless a source of income was found to supplement the existing income.
After going over the books that she and Kasumi kept, Nabiki finally threw a pencil at Ranma to ensure that she had his attention.
"Well, Mister Know-it-all. Any suggestions?"
"Salvage sounds like a good bet." Ranma's brain was working for a solution.
"Salvage?" Nabiki was curious.
"Yeah. Me and Pops would go look for interesting stuff. Sometimes we would find something worth a lot of money, and then we'd sell it. Other times we would buy what we could and then resell whatever we bought in another town or to someone else that was willing to pay more than what we paid for what we were selling."
"So? We do the same thing sometimes; we sell things we don't need for money."
"It's not the same thing. Pops and I would spend days looking for the best things to sell, and then we'd look for it. It would take about a month to figure it all out. By the end of three or four months, we'd have a steady income if we didn't get caught."
"How much did you make? You couldn't have made much." Nabiki was interested in how he and his father survived, this must have been one of the tricks they used.
"It depends on the area. Places that have a lot of money tend to get rid of stuff when they are still good. We'd try to pick a place that had rich people, and we'd resell their stuff in other parts of the town."
"Kind of like Robin Hood?"
"Kinda." There had been cases in the past where Ranma couldn't be sure if the things they sold were legal. Sometimes he didn't care, but if he ever knew the stuff came from someone he knew, he'd be angry.
Curious, Nabiki wondered if Ranma thought that Nerima was a good place to resell. "Ranma? What about Nerima? Do you think reselling would work here?" Nabiki was sure it would, there were enclaves of rich families here and there, the Kunos being one such family.
Ranma thought for a moment and scratched his head before saying, "I think so. That area where the Kuno's live seem to be pretty good. There seem to be enough martial artists around here that go through training supplies, and..." Ranma's voice drifted off while he tried to assess how much money could be made by moving goods.
Nabiki was thinking along the same lines. If she was successful, she wouldn't have to sell any more of the family heirlooms, and the area did look promising to her. Getting excited at a potential financial success, she blurted, "So, when do we start?"
"We? I do this alone," Ranma said. He didn't want a girl with him in such a dirty business.
"You can't do this alone Ranma. You don't know where to go or what to look for. I can give you a one-month head start, telling you where to go to find things to sell, and I already know who will buy what you find. Remember, I have been selling some things already, I have the connections."
Ranma looked at the girl, wondering how he could keep his shirt if she was involved.
"If you help, you'll claim at least half the money."
"Of course. It'll be a partnership, we'll split the money."
"What do you plan on doing with your half?"
"I'll keep some money, but most of it will go to help with the house or the vacation."
"How much you plan on keeping?"
"Nosey, aren't you?" Nabiki was getting annoyed at Ranma's line of questioning. "Probably a quarter of my share. Maybe more. I won't know until I see the money in the first place."
"Three fourths of the money we get goes to the household. We split the rest evenly." Ranma decided to go for the partnership. Once he learned the contacts, and if Nabiki betrayed him, he can continue the "business" without her help.
Nabiki quickly agreed to the proportion. Although she was shooting for a full quarter of the revenue, she realized that the household and the vacation came first, and that any income would be an increase over what anyone was earning at the time.
***
Ranma and Nabiki started to scout neighborhoods that showed signs of wealth; they paid attention to rumors as to which families were on hard times, which families just came into money, which families had members join or leave, and which families were remodeling. Simultaneously they looked for places that would be willing to buy their goods. It took time, and occasionally they would have to spend a little money to find information that was useful. In a little over a month, they had started to buying and selling merchandise. It was slow going, but the returns were substantial. Nabiki would negotiate a low purchase price, Ranma would provide the muscle to move the goods, and then Nabiki would negotiate a high resale price.
Occasionally some people would object to selling items to Ranma and Nabiki as they were so young, but they would allow them to act as sales agents. Although this wasn't as lucrative, it was easier work because the work came to them.
Nabiki quickly learned the value of looking good, and had to impress onto Ranma the importance of appearance. They started dressing better, and Nabiki began wearing dresses and skirts that showed off her legs and conservative blouses that if worn correctly, would show that she had an ample bosom.
Ranma was reluctant to stop wearing his Chinese shirts, so Nabiki looked for and found several new shirts that met Ranma's approval and he wore on their excursions.
It was about three months after the original agreement that Nabiki and Ranma found themselves lugging a large chest they had purchased from an estate sale. The original owner, a semi-wealthy Italian, had died, and the heirs decided that all the assets in Japan were to be sold. The enterprising duo had already acquired several items, and was ready to leave the premises when Ranma spotted the chest hidden in a dark corner. The deal was closed quickly, as Nabiki offered to purchase the unopened and locked chest "as is" for a mere pittance.
In the guestroom, which at the moment was acting as a warehouse for things to be sold, Ranma was getting ready to break the old lock on the wooden chest.
"Ranma, wait. Don't bash anything yet. I think I can pick the lock." Nabiki had just walked into the room and was holding a small bag. She sat down in front of the chest and pulled out two long, thin pieces of steel and inserted them into the old lock. About twenty minutes later, wiped the sweat off her brow, and spit a lock of hair out of her mouth, and let lose a smile.
"Done! That lock was really strange, every time I thought I had the tumblers right, a spring would release and twist everything around again. Thank god for hairpins!"
At the moment of Nabiki's announcement, he was trying to pick clean the gum off the insides of a vase. He had one hand inside the mouth scraping away, and the other hand was trying to hold the vase still. It was delicate work, as the vase looked to be old and fragile, but in very good shape. Ranma was under strict instructions to make sure the vase will give a good presentation to prospective buyers so he was taking the utmost care he possibly could. Tired of cleaning things he wasn't going to own, he stopped and climbed over a few boxes to where Nabiki was working.
He watched Nabiki unbuckle the old leather straps and lift the old black lid. Slowly Nabiki and Ranma started to unpack the contents of the old chest, with Nabiki handing to Ranma each item, who unwrapped and placed that item on the ground to review later. They pulled out an old Italian Navy uniform, a photo album, an ensign, several old books, a small box containing old coins, and finally a blanket that was wrapped around a shoe sized crucifix made ivory that was inlaid with copper, gold, and silver.
Ranma looked at the things and was unimpressed. To him, it was all old stuff that wouldn't have any value to anyone other than another old Italian.
On the other hand, Nabiki started hyperventilating; she reached for Ranma's shoulder for support when she became dizzy. It was obvious that she knew they had a major find when she pulled out the uniform, but the ensign and books were beyond any expectation. When she saw Ranma unwrap the crucifix, visions of an early retirement in Bali seemed to float in front of her eyes.
"Get a hold of yourself, Nabiki. It ain't that much there."
"Ra... Ra... Ranma. Those there, alone," she was pointing to the books, "are worth more than almost everything else in this room combined. That cross has to be worth even more than everything in here combined."
She blinked, shook her head, and pinched herself. "Ranma, this is what we've been looking for. This is our vacation, our scholarships."
Ranma started to wrap everything back up and put them back into the trunk.
"What are you doing?"
Not stopping, and speeding up slightly, Ranma whispered to his partner, "If Pops sees this, we'll never see the money. He'll take it all to some junk shop and get rid of it."
Nabiki sighed. As much as she wanted to inspect their find, risk of Uncle Genma showing up and making a mess of things was too great. Silently, she helped Ranma shut the chest and buckle the straps.
It was easy for them to sell the uniform, ensign, and photo album to a military collector they had met a few weeks prior. The coins and books were given to a dealer and were quickly sold on consignment, but the crucifix concerned Nabiki. That she could sell it wasn't a question; rather it was how to get full value of the sale without attracting unwanted attention. The crucifix was obviously a very old, and very well preserved artifact.
She looked at her ledger, and concluded that the sale of the Italian stuff had already paid for the vacation next year, fixed the roof of the house, paid the taxes for the rest of the year, and even bought a new water heater for the furo.
She looked at the new bankbooks and glanced at the numbers on opening page on the one that had her name on it.
***
It was a raining earlier that afternoon when Ranma and Nabiki went to the bank to open their accounts. As soon as they stepped in, a young clerk that promised to help them enthusiastically greeted them.
"Yes. That isn't a problem." The young lady looked at Ranma and Nabiki, sizing the pair up. Noting the physical closeness and the ease that they stood next to each other, she asked what she thought was an obvious question.
"Will this be a joint account?"
Although Ranma had learned some basics of economics and how banks work from Nabiki, there were still great chasms of knowledge, so his response was simply, "Huh?"
Nabiki, who could honestly claim that she taught Ranma everything he knows about banks, couldn't believe what she heard. There was no way she was going to share her account with Ranma, and she couldn't fathom what gave the woman across from her the impression that she and Ranma had a relationship that would suggest a joint banking account. It wasn't with an icy tone, but one could hear the coolness in her voice.
"I don't think so. We were thinking about an ordinary savings account. One for each of us."
"Oh, I'm sorry." The teller blushed at her gaffe, and hoped that the girl with the stern face and handsome companion would forgive her easily. She sat the couple in a couple of chairs in front of her desk, and retrieved two new account packets from her drawer, and explained to the two of them what they had to fill out. As Nabiki and Ranma started to fill out the paper work, the woman went to work filling out a form computer to establish the account.
Nabiki quickly finished her forms, and then started helping Ranma.
The endless small boxes that seemed impossible to fill in neatly stymied Ranma. He was barely finished with the first page when Nabiki pulled one of his forms from his stack and started filling it in for him. Occasionally she would ask him a question about his past, and would fill in another question.
When they were done, Nabiki looked over the forms one last time and decided to re-do Ranma's first sheet. His clumsy characters were barely legible, and there were several small errors that should be corrected. She asked for, and received a new form, and filled it in as if she was on autopilot. When done, Ranma signed everything in the places where he thought he should, and handed the papers to Nabiki, who without another glance, handed both stacks to the officer.
Nabiki pulled out of her purse two envelopes and put them on the desk. The woman took the envelopes and counted the cash in them. When finished, she handed to Nabiki two bankbooks, one with Ranma's name, and one with Nabiki's name, thanking them for choosing their bank. After making a quick phone call, she escorted them to a teller that was waiting for them, and they finally made the formal deposit. When finished, the teller handed both books back to Nabiki, and thanked them for coming.
As they stepped out of the bank, the weather began to get worse so Ranma and Nabiki quickly sought the protection of a covered bus stop. Huddling next to the glass to escape the wet wind, Ranma and Nabiki waited for the bus to pick them up.
Ranma flexed his hand, trying to get the pain out of his palm as he complained, "That wasn't so bad. I didn't think I be doing so much writing."
"Well, I think it took a lot longer than I thought it would." Nabiki was excited at having her own bank account. Yes, it offered almost no interest, but it was hers, and no one could touch it but her. She'll take some of it out later and invest it, but for now she was content in knowing that it was all hers.
When the bus arrived, the wheels sprayed water all over the curb, triggering Ranma's curse. Ranma sighed at his transformation, and followed Nabiki into the bus. The bus was standing room only, and Ranma and Nabiki made their way to the back.
As the bus started to move, Nabiki lurched forward a little into Ranma's arms.
"Hey! Hold on to something!" Ranma groused.
"There's a pervert over there. He just pinched me."
Ranma looked around Nabiki and couldn't figure out who it was. "Here, switch places with me."
After trading places, Onna-Ranma shook his head, letting his wet hair flow free, and made a cute smile. He stood there, holding on the pole silently, waiting to see if anything would happen.
Onna-Ranma did not have to wait long, as the bus came to a stop, he felt a hand pinch his butt hard. With speed and precision, Ranma reached around and caught the offending hand and gave a quick flick and twist. Instantly there was a quiet yelp of pain and the hand was jerked back.
Ranma was quickly pushed aside as a middle-aged salaryman bolted out the door while holding his wrist. Ranma moved forward to Nabiki and gave her a small smile of victory.
Nabiki was surprised that Ranma would take care of her like that. She knew that he'd do it for Akane (assuming Akane didn't kill the offender in the first place), but actually taking action for her was a very pleasant surprise. She found her face getting warm and the watching the rain run down the windows become very interesting.
***
It was nearly three weeks later that Ranma found a small museum that would inspect the crucifix and possibly buy it. Both Ranma and Nabiki had discussed what to do with the proceeds of the sale, and decided that they wouldn't say anything to anyone, and split the proceeds between themselves. Ranma agreed to pay twenty percent of his cut as "rent", and would give that money to Nabiki.
An investigation by the two of them of the crucifix led them to think it's value of the would be approaching eight to ten million yen, and that the buyer would offer about half that. Ranma said he would take anything, as he didn't care too much about how much money the cross was worth; Nabiki had a different opinion, she wanted to bring in as much as possible without scaring the buyer away. To this effect, they agreed that he would let her negotiate the sale.
During the sale, Nabiki was annoyed that Ranma hovered over her. She enjoyed his presence, and wanted his company, but he was physically too close. Every so often she'd smell him and she'd be distracted. He dressed nice for the meeting, and she found that her eyes wandered his direction and was not watching the buyer for signs of weakness.
In the end, the crucifix sold for just over three million Yen, less than what Nabiki expected she would get. Because the amount was so large, they had to sign some extra papers at the bank; because the payment was a single check, Nabiki had to deposit it into her account promising Ranma that his share will be transferred at a later date. In their giddiness of such a large deposit, the whole banking experience was a blur to both Ranma and Nabiki.
Outside, as they waited for the bus, Nabiki rubbed her hands as she tried to work the pain out from all the signatures and stamping she and Ranma had to do at the bank. Surprised at the amount of paperwork that a deposit for millions of Yen generated, she shook her head as her emotions quieted.
Standing behind the windbreak at the bus-stop, she tried to calm down by talking to Ranma. When she opened her mouth to speak a loud diesel fire truck passed by with sirens blaring. The loud noise was all was needed to shake her free from giddiness to thoughtful contemplation about finances.
Despite the growing bank accounts, she felt she failed. What she couldn't figure out though, was why her feelings of failure had less to do with her poor negotiation than with realization that she probably paid more attention to Ranma than the sale. She vowed that she'd think about her lack of concentration over later when she had some quiet time.
"I could have done better, Ranma. I'm sorry," she said as she leaned against the metal wall.
"Hey, you did good. You got him to pay more money than I've ever seen my whole life!"
Nabiki put her arm around Ranma's and pulled him into her. "That's probably true, but I think I should have been able to get at least five."
Ranma looked at the brown-haired girl with questioning eyes.
"It's okay, Ranma." When Nabiki saw his eyes, she leaned into Ranma and absent-mindedly placed her head on his arm. She whispered just loud enough for him to hear, "I'll have to learn how to focus better, that's all. Besides, I've never seen that much money either."
As the bus arrived, they watched another series of fire trucks roll by before boarding. Nabiki found it strange that she had to untangle her arm from around him; she couldn't remember when she started to hold Ranma.
Ranma tilted his head and said, "Nabiki, I'm sorry. I forgot. Thank you for bringing up the snack." He looked up at Nabiki, who had a winsome smile on her face. Reaching for another cookie, Ranma made his obligatory comment about cooking in the Tendo household, "Too bad Akane can't cook. Maybe Kasumi inherited all the cooking genes!"
The sound of a small laugh came from the desk perked Ranma's attention. "What's so funny?" he asked.
"Thank you, Ranma. You didn't know it, but you just complimented me! Now you owe me a dinner."
"Huh? No I didn't. I said that Kasumi is an excellent cook."
Nabiki went into spasms, trying to hold the laughter in. "Who baked these cookies?" she managed to ask between breaths of air.
"Kasumi. Who else in this house can cook?" Ranma was totally lost, not understanding why Nabiki was laughing. He obviously had forgotten about his bet with Nabiki.
Nabiki couldn't hold her little secret any more, her laughter stopped and pride swelled in her breast, for Ranma paid her the biggest compliment she could ever receive. Fighting an urge to embrace Ranma, she sat tight and explained her victory, "Silly. I baked those cookies! I just warmed them up just before I came up here. Good aren't they?"
The idea of taking Nabiki out to dinner was a scary one for Ranma. He knew it would be expensive and that she'll want to go to a place that make him feel like a clod. He wasn't going to back down, so he sucked in his own pride for a moment, praying this would never happen again, and answered truthfully. "Yes, Nabiki, these cookies are very good."
"Saturday night, then?"
Nodding affirmative, Ranma had only one hope. "Do I get a choice where we eat?"
"Nope. Dress nice, and be ready to show me a good time." Nabiki wasn't all that sure what could happen, but one thing she was certain of, that since Ranma is involved, the night would prove interesting.
***
Ranma hasn't seen Nabiki since school let out earlier that Saturday. He wasn't in a very good mood; Akane teased him all day about losing the bet, and dealing with his father's protests that he should be dating Akane and not Nabiki made the day just a little more gray. He sat in the guest room, staring at the walls, the weather promised rain for that evening, so he had to go with a black and yellow ensemble that his girl half could get away with. Just before six, he trod down stairs, looking for an umbrella.
"Kasumi, do you know where the umbrella is? I can't find it. I thought it was in the stand in the foyer, but it isn't there."
Not looking up from the steaming pan of vegetables, Kasumi thought for a second, and answered with, "Father had it last, so it's probably on the back porch." Pulling the pan off the heat, she looked at Ranma, and judged his appearance. "You look nice, Ranma. Did Nabiki pick the outfit?"
"No, I did. I figured that with the rain, I'd better be ready." Ranma peered to see the stove, looking for a kettle. "Is a thermos ready?"
"Oh, dear. Just give me a moment, I'll get one for you. Just relax and you'll have a good time."
"I'll get the umbrella. Thanks, Kasumi." Ranma walked to the back porch. Sliding open the doors, he found the umbrella. Unfortunately, he found his panda-form father too. Genma had a stack of signs by him, ready to deliver a long, and if necessary, painful lecture.
Flipping signs almost too fast to read, Genma tried to get his point across once again. "Ranma! Why are you taking Nabiki out?"
Grabbing the umbrella, Ranma weighed the options of beating his father to a pulp versus getting wet and his outfit dirty.
His father was still flipping signs, "Shouldn't you be taking Akane, your *fiancee* out?"
Ranma popped open the umbrella in hand and shook it dry. He tensed, about to jump his father when he heard Nabiki's voice call out for him, "Ranma! Aren't you ready yet?" Realizing that facing the wrath of an angry Nabiki was worse than listening to his father, he closed the umbrella, stuck his tongue at his father, and walked back into the house.
Ranma wasn't ready for what he saw. Nabiki was standing at the threshold of the hall wearing a knee length aqua and white skirt and a white blouse. He had not seen the outfit on her before, and was surprised that it made her look soft and kind, instead of the strict disciplinarian she can be. After staring a moment too long he was able to say something.
"Wow, Nabiki. You look nice!"
"Why, thank you Ranma. You look good too, but it seems you expect trouble."
Ranma scratches the back of his head and said, "I just wanna be prepared, that's all."
"Well, then, let's go mister Boy Scout!"
The restaurant that Nabiki chose was a distance away, as Ranma and Nabiki waited at the taxi stop, Ranma felt the first drops of rain, and opened the umbrella. Nabiki moved in closer to Ranma, and held his hand, pulling the umbrella closer to her. Only after the taxi arrived did Nabiki let go of Ranma's hand.
At dinner, both Nabiki and Ranma found that eating chicken with a fork and knife wasn't all that hard, but the peas were a challenge. They shared a slice of chocolate banana cake, and left after Ranma paid the bill.
The rain had stopped for the moment, but Ranma still held the umbrella above his head, and Nabiki still held his hand. As they walked down the sidewalk, they looked at the expensive cars parked on the street, trying to imagine what kind of person drove each one.
Out from behind them, they heard a well known voice cry out. "Ranma! You traitor! Taking Nabiki out on a date while you leave Akane home! What kind of fiancee are you?"
Nabiki looked at Ranma. On one hand, she had been expecting something like this to occur, but on the other hand, she was hoping that the evening would be quiet. Sounding a little disappointed, "Ranma, Ryoga's here. Remember, no fighting."
"Don't worry Nabiki, I can handle him." Ranma said as he handed her the umbrella. "Hey, Pig! Go home!"
Ryoga stepped out of the shadows and looked at the couple. "Oh, who's the pig? The last time I saw you eat, you ate all your lunch in fifteen seconds. Oh, that wasn't so bad, but the burp you let loose, eww!"
Ranma became peeved, Ryoga was ruining the best evening he had in a long time. "Ryoga. I promised I wouldn't get into any fights tonight. So leave us alone."
"Coward. Oh, well. I guess I'll head on over to see what Akane's up to. See you!"
"Oh, sure. Just stay out of that bed, P-Chan!"
"Girl!"
Nabiki stepped in front of Ranma, who looked like he was about to challenge Ryoga to a fight.
"Ranma, no," she protested. "Stop right there. You promised you wouldn't..." Nabiki found that she was talking to dead air. Suddenly a down pour occurred, the water blinding her for a second while she tried to keep the umbrella under control. A second later the rain let up enough for Nabiki to see Ranma had changed to his girl form.
"Where's Ryoga?" Nabiki inquired, "I thought I saw him right there, by the pig."
Nabiki froze. Thought one: "Pig?" Thought two: "Where's Ryoga?" Holding the umbrella, she picked up the little black pig by the bandanna and suddenly stood still.
"Ranma, this is Ryoga, isn't it? P-Chan is Ryoga!"
"Uh, oh." Ranma's first words ever spoken as a child were uttered once again.
"You've been letting Ryoga sleep with my sister! What, what, whaa...!" Nabiki became very angry, angry enough that she was having problems thinking a coherent thought.
"Nabiki, I can explain. Really..."
"You have one chance, Ranma. It had better be a good one." Nabiki still hadn't let go of P-Chan, and her hands were tightening around its neck.
"It's a long story, Nabiki."
"We've got all night. Start."
"You are choking him."
"Good. You're next if you don't start talking..."
Ranma related the story of how Ryoga became cursed, his fights with Ryoga, and his promise not to tell anyone of his weakness.
"So, you are saying that your promise to Ryoga to keep his curse a secret wasn't as important as my sister's privacy?"
"Huh? Didn't you hear me? I've been trying to let Akane know who P-Chan is all along! I've tried throwin' Ryoga out of her room many times. Remember the first night? The next morning you said that I oughta be more quiet when I'm in a girls room! I was trying to get Ryoga out of there!"
Nabiki's memory flashed back to the time when P-Chan first arrived, the noise, and the fight between Ranma and Akane that night. She dropped Ryoga, who scurried for cover under a car. The pig looked at Ranma with an unreadable expression.
"You've been trying all along haven't you? You even did it again a few minutes ago." Trying to deal the change of who Ryouga really is, Nabiki asked for more information, "Who else knows?"
"I'm not sure. Perhaps Shampoo and the old mummy, but they won't tell either."
Nabiki smiled like a vulture that's circling a newly discovered corpse, she called for Ryoga. "Come here you pig. I've got a deal for you."
Ryoga was terrified. The deal, he knew, would have a price to pay. He tentatively walked to Nabiki, who picked him up by the scruff of his neck.
"Ryoga, my little P-Chan. You know I'm not under any oath or anything. Do you know what's going to keep me from telling everyone, and especially Akane? Your cooperation. Understand?"
Ryoga nodded. He didn't really understand, but he knew that Nabiki would have him cornered at a later date.
"Come on Ranma, lets go home and show Akane what we found." Nabiki let P- chan down, and grabs Ranma's arm.
"Nabiki?"
"Yes, Ranma?"
"Can I change?"
"Yes, you may."
Akane was very happy to see P-Chan, so happy that she never noticed that Ranma and Nabiki were holding hands.
That night, Nabiki couldn't sleep. Her mind kept on wandering, thinking about how Ranma tries to keep one promise to Ryoga, and ensure her sister's purity. As she hoped, the night was interesting, she would never forget it. She looked at her hand, the hand that was held in Ranma's, and sighed. Sleep eventually came...
***
Ranma and Nabiki were discussing the next month's budget, or rather, Nabiki was discussing the budget and Ranma was doing sit-ups. A few hours ago, the family had just decided that they wanted to take an expensive vacation sometime in the following year, and they asked Nabiki to review the finances to ensure that the vacation could take place. Unfortunately, the anticipated costs were still very steep, and it looked like the vacation may have to wait another year unless a source of income was found to supplement the existing income.
After going over the books that she and Kasumi kept, Nabiki finally threw a pencil at Ranma to ensure that she had his attention.
"Well, Mister Know-it-all. Any suggestions?"
"Salvage sounds like a good bet." Ranma's brain was working for a solution.
"Salvage?" Nabiki was curious.
"Yeah. Me and Pops would go look for interesting stuff. Sometimes we would find something worth a lot of money, and then we'd sell it. Other times we would buy what we could and then resell whatever we bought in another town or to someone else that was willing to pay more than what we paid for what we were selling."
"So? We do the same thing sometimes; we sell things we don't need for money."
"It's not the same thing. Pops and I would spend days looking for the best things to sell, and then we'd look for it. It would take about a month to figure it all out. By the end of three or four months, we'd have a steady income if we didn't get caught."
"How much did you make? You couldn't have made much." Nabiki was interested in how he and his father survived, this must have been one of the tricks they used.
"It depends on the area. Places that have a lot of money tend to get rid of stuff when they are still good. We'd try to pick a place that had rich people, and we'd resell their stuff in other parts of the town."
"Kind of like Robin Hood?"
"Kinda." There had been cases in the past where Ranma couldn't be sure if the things they sold were legal. Sometimes he didn't care, but if he ever knew the stuff came from someone he knew, he'd be angry.
Curious, Nabiki wondered if Ranma thought that Nerima was a good place to resell. "Ranma? What about Nerima? Do you think reselling would work here?" Nabiki was sure it would, there were enclaves of rich families here and there, the Kunos being one such family.
Ranma thought for a moment and scratched his head before saying, "I think so. That area where the Kuno's live seem to be pretty good. There seem to be enough martial artists around here that go through training supplies, and..." Ranma's voice drifted off while he tried to assess how much money could be made by moving goods.
Nabiki was thinking along the same lines. If she was successful, she wouldn't have to sell any more of the family heirlooms, and the area did look promising to her. Getting excited at a potential financial success, she blurted, "So, when do we start?"
"We? I do this alone," Ranma said. He didn't want a girl with him in such a dirty business.
"You can't do this alone Ranma. You don't know where to go or what to look for. I can give you a one-month head start, telling you where to go to find things to sell, and I already know who will buy what you find. Remember, I have been selling some things already, I have the connections."
Ranma looked at the girl, wondering how he could keep his shirt if she was involved.
"If you help, you'll claim at least half the money."
"Of course. It'll be a partnership, we'll split the money."
"What do you plan on doing with your half?"
"I'll keep some money, but most of it will go to help with the house or the vacation."
"How much you plan on keeping?"
"Nosey, aren't you?" Nabiki was getting annoyed at Ranma's line of questioning. "Probably a quarter of my share. Maybe more. I won't know until I see the money in the first place."
"Three fourths of the money we get goes to the household. We split the rest evenly." Ranma decided to go for the partnership. Once he learned the contacts, and if Nabiki betrayed him, he can continue the "business" without her help.
Nabiki quickly agreed to the proportion. Although she was shooting for a full quarter of the revenue, she realized that the household and the vacation came first, and that any income would be an increase over what anyone was earning at the time.
***
Ranma and Nabiki started to scout neighborhoods that showed signs of wealth; they paid attention to rumors as to which families were on hard times, which families just came into money, which families had members join or leave, and which families were remodeling. Simultaneously they looked for places that would be willing to buy their goods. It took time, and occasionally they would have to spend a little money to find information that was useful. In a little over a month, they had started to buying and selling merchandise. It was slow going, but the returns were substantial. Nabiki would negotiate a low purchase price, Ranma would provide the muscle to move the goods, and then Nabiki would negotiate a high resale price.
Occasionally some people would object to selling items to Ranma and Nabiki as they were so young, but they would allow them to act as sales agents. Although this wasn't as lucrative, it was easier work because the work came to them.
Nabiki quickly learned the value of looking good, and had to impress onto Ranma the importance of appearance. They started dressing better, and Nabiki began wearing dresses and skirts that showed off her legs and conservative blouses that if worn correctly, would show that she had an ample bosom.
Ranma was reluctant to stop wearing his Chinese shirts, so Nabiki looked for and found several new shirts that met Ranma's approval and he wore on their excursions.
It was about three months after the original agreement that Nabiki and Ranma found themselves lugging a large chest they had purchased from an estate sale. The original owner, a semi-wealthy Italian, had died, and the heirs decided that all the assets in Japan were to be sold. The enterprising duo had already acquired several items, and was ready to leave the premises when Ranma spotted the chest hidden in a dark corner. The deal was closed quickly, as Nabiki offered to purchase the unopened and locked chest "as is" for a mere pittance.
In the guestroom, which at the moment was acting as a warehouse for things to be sold, Ranma was getting ready to break the old lock on the wooden chest.
"Ranma, wait. Don't bash anything yet. I think I can pick the lock." Nabiki had just walked into the room and was holding a small bag. She sat down in front of the chest and pulled out two long, thin pieces of steel and inserted them into the old lock. About twenty minutes later, wiped the sweat off her brow, and spit a lock of hair out of her mouth, and let lose a smile.
"Done! That lock was really strange, every time I thought I had the tumblers right, a spring would release and twist everything around again. Thank god for hairpins!"
At the moment of Nabiki's announcement, he was trying to pick clean the gum off the insides of a vase. He had one hand inside the mouth scraping away, and the other hand was trying to hold the vase still. It was delicate work, as the vase looked to be old and fragile, but in very good shape. Ranma was under strict instructions to make sure the vase will give a good presentation to prospective buyers so he was taking the utmost care he possibly could. Tired of cleaning things he wasn't going to own, he stopped and climbed over a few boxes to where Nabiki was working.
He watched Nabiki unbuckle the old leather straps and lift the old black lid. Slowly Nabiki and Ranma started to unpack the contents of the old chest, with Nabiki handing to Ranma each item, who unwrapped and placed that item on the ground to review later. They pulled out an old Italian Navy uniform, a photo album, an ensign, several old books, a small box containing old coins, and finally a blanket that was wrapped around a shoe sized crucifix made ivory that was inlaid with copper, gold, and silver.
Ranma looked at the things and was unimpressed. To him, it was all old stuff that wouldn't have any value to anyone other than another old Italian.
On the other hand, Nabiki started hyperventilating; she reached for Ranma's shoulder for support when she became dizzy. It was obvious that she knew they had a major find when she pulled out the uniform, but the ensign and books were beyond any expectation. When she saw Ranma unwrap the crucifix, visions of an early retirement in Bali seemed to float in front of her eyes.
"Get a hold of yourself, Nabiki. It ain't that much there."
"Ra... Ra... Ranma. Those there, alone," she was pointing to the books, "are worth more than almost everything else in this room combined. That cross has to be worth even more than everything in here combined."
She blinked, shook her head, and pinched herself. "Ranma, this is what we've been looking for. This is our vacation, our scholarships."
Ranma started to wrap everything back up and put them back into the trunk.
"What are you doing?"
Not stopping, and speeding up slightly, Ranma whispered to his partner, "If Pops sees this, we'll never see the money. He'll take it all to some junk shop and get rid of it."
Nabiki sighed. As much as she wanted to inspect their find, risk of Uncle Genma showing up and making a mess of things was too great. Silently, she helped Ranma shut the chest and buckle the straps.
It was easy for them to sell the uniform, ensign, and photo album to a military collector they had met a few weeks prior. The coins and books were given to a dealer and were quickly sold on consignment, but the crucifix concerned Nabiki. That she could sell it wasn't a question; rather it was how to get full value of the sale without attracting unwanted attention. The crucifix was obviously a very old, and very well preserved artifact.
She looked at her ledger, and concluded that the sale of the Italian stuff had already paid for the vacation next year, fixed the roof of the house, paid the taxes for the rest of the year, and even bought a new water heater for the furo.
She looked at the new bankbooks and glanced at the numbers on opening page on the one that had her name on it.
***
It was a raining earlier that afternoon when Ranma and Nabiki went to the bank to open their accounts. As soon as they stepped in, a young clerk that promised to help them enthusiastically greeted them.
"Yes. That isn't a problem." The young lady looked at Ranma and Nabiki, sizing the pair up. Noting the physical closeness and the ease that they stood next to each other, she asked what she thought was an obvious question.
"Will this be a joint account?"
Although Ranma had learned some basics of economics and how banks work from Nabiki, there were still great chasms of knowledge, so his response was simply, "Huh?"
Nabiki, who could honestly claim that she taught Ranma everything he knows about banks, couldn't believe what she heard. There was no way she was going to share her account with Ranma, and she couldn't fathom what gave the woman across from her the impression that she and Ranma had a relationship that would suggest a joint banking account. It wasn't with an icy tone, but one could hear the coolness in her voice.
"I don't think so. We were thinking about an ordinary savings account. One for each of us."
"Oh, I'm sorry." The teller blushed at her gaffe, and hoped that the girl with the stern face and handsome companion would forgive her easily. She sat the couple in a couple of chairs in front of her desk, and retrieved two new account packets from her drawer, and explained to the two of them what they had to fill out. As Nabiki and Ranma started to fill out the paper work, the woman went to work filling out a form computer to establish the account.
Nabiki quickly finished her forms, and then started helping Ranma.
The endless small boxes that seemed impossible to fill in neatly stymied Ranma. He was barely finished with the first page when Nabiki pulled one of his forms from his stack and started filling it in for him. Occasionally she would ask him a question about his past, and would fill in another question.
When they were done, Nabiki looked over the forms one last time and decided to re-do Ranma's first sheet. His clumsy characters were barely legible, and there were several small errors that should be corrected. She asked for, and received a new form, and filled it in as if she was on autopilot. When done, Ranma signed everything in the places where he thought he should, and handed the papers to Nabiki, who without another glance, handed both stacks to the officer.
Nabiki pulled out of her purse two envelopes and put them on the desk. The woman took the envelopes and counted the cash in them. When finished, she handed to Nabiki two bankbooks, one with Ranma's name, and one with Nabiki's name, thanking them for choosing their bank. After making a quick phone call, she escorted them to a teller that was waiting for them, and they finally made the formal deposit. When finished, the teller handed both books back to Nabiki, and thanked them for coming.
As they stepped out of the bank, the weather began to get worse so Ranma and Nabiki quickly sought the protection of a covered bus stop. Huddling next to the glass to escape the wet wind, Ranma and Nabiki waited for the bus to pick them up.
Ranma flexed his hand, trying to get the pain out of his palm as he complained, "That wasn't so bad. I didn't think I be doing so much writing."
"Well, I think it took a lot longer than I thought it would." Nabiki was excited at having her own bank account. Yes, it offered almost no interest, but it was hers, and no one could touch it but her. She'll take some of it out later and invest it, but for now she was content in knowing that it was all hers.
When the bus arrived, the wheels sprayed water all over the curb, triggering Ranma's curse. Ranma sighed at his transformation, and followed Nabiki into the bus. The bus was standing room only, and Ranma and Nabiki made their way to the back.
As the bus started to move, Nabiki lurched forward a little into Ranma's arms.
"Hey! Hold on to something!" Ranma groused.
"There's a pervert over there. He just pinched me."
Ranma looked around Nabiki and couldn't figure out who it was. "Here, switch places with me."
After trading places, Onna-Ranma shook his head, letting his wet hair flow free, and made a cute smile. He stood there, holding on the pole silently, waiting to see if anything would happen.
Onna-Ranma did not have to wait long, as the bus came to a stop, he felt a hand pinch his butt hard. With speed and precision, Ranma reached around and caught the offending hand and gave a quick flick and twist. Instantly there was a quiet yelp of pain and the hand was jerked back.
Ranma was quickly pushed aside as a middle-aged salaryman bolted out the door while holding his wrist. Ranma moved forward to Nabiki and gave her a small smile of victory.
Nabiki was surprised that Ranma would take care of her like that. She knew that he'd do it for Akane (assuming Akane didn't kill the offender in the first place), but actually taking action for her was a very pleasant surprise. She found her face getting warm and the watching the rain run down the windows become very interesting.
***
It was nearly three weeks later that Ranma found a small museum that would inspect the crucifix and possibly buy it. Both Ranma and Nabiki had discussed what to do with the proceeds of the sale, and decided that they wouldn't say anything to anyone, and split the proceeds between themselves. Ranma agreed to pay twenty percent of his cut as "rent", and would give that money to Nabiki.
An investigation by the two of them of the crucifix led them to think it's value of the would be approaching eight to ten million yen, and that the buyer would offer about half that. Ranma said he would take anything, as he didn't care too much about how much money the cross was worth; Nabiki had a different opinion, she wanted to bring in as much as possible without scaring the buyer away. To this effect, they agreed that he would let her negotiate the sale.
During the sale, Nabiki was annoyed that Ranma hovered over her. She enjoyed his presence, and wanted his company, but he was physically too close. Every so often she'd smell him and she'd be distracted. He dressed nice for the meeting, and she found that her eyes wandered his direction and was not watching the buyer for signs of weakness.
In the end, the crucifix sold for just over three million Yen, less than what Nabiki expected she would get. Because the amount was so large, they had to sign some extra papers at the bank; because the payment was a single check, Nabiki had to deposit it into her account promising Ranma that his share will be transferred at a later date. In their giddiness of such a large deposit, the whole banking experience was a blur to both Ranma and Nabiki.
Outside, as they waited for the bus, Nabiki rubbed her hands as she tried to work the pain out from all the signatures and stamping she and Ranma had to do at the bank. Surprised at the amount of paperwork that a deposit for millions of Yen generated, she shook her head as her emotions quieted.
Standing behind the windbreak at the bus-stop, she tried to calm down by talking to Ranma. When she opened her mouth to speak a loud diesel fire truck passed by with sirens blaring. The loud noise was all was needed to shake her free from giddiness to thoughtful contemplation about finances.
Despite the growing bank accounts, she felt she failed. What she couldn't figure out though, was why her feelings of failure had less to do with her poor negotiation than with realization that she probably paid more attention to Ranma than the sale. She vowed that she'd think about her lack of concentration over later when she had some quiet time.
"I could have done better, Ranma. I'm sorry," she said as she leaned against the metal wall.
"Hey, you did good. You got him to pay more money than I've ever seen my whole life!"
Nabiki put her arm around Ranma's and pulled him into her. "That's probably true, but I think I should have been able to get at least five."
Ranma looked at the brown-haired girl with questioning eyes.
"It's okay, Ranma." When Nabiki saw his eyes, she leaned into Ranma and absent-mindedly placed her head on his arm. She whispered just loud enough for him to hear, "I'll have to learn how to focus better, that's all. Besides, I've never seen that much money either."
As the bus arrived, they watched another series of fire trucks roll by before boarding. Nabiki found it strange that she had to untangle her arm from around him; she couldn't remember when she started to hold Ranma.