Just A Little Time Chapter 4 New Friends, a ranma fanfic

Just a Little Time
By Douglas Helm and "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl
Continuing a Ranma ½ story kernel by Dark Oni

Those characters that are original and the story "Just a Little Time" are copyrighted ©2003-2004 ShoujoFiction dot com domain by Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Original kernel copyrighted ©1998 by Dark Oni.

This story and dozens of our other stories reside at ShoujoFiction dot com . Comments are welcomed.

Chapter 4 - New Friends

Nabiki Tendo's kindergarten class was busy finger-painting. She might have enjoyed this activity had it not been for her friend Maki. Maki had made Yuriko cry. Little Yuriko had been using the yellow paint when the girl had simply snatched it from her without explanation. Nabiki couldn't figure out why her normally repressed friend was acting out. She had been fuming since their arrival at school.

But then, Nabiki was in no mood to discuss the behavioral changes she'd observed in her two regressed friends or what happened to her that morning. Both Maki and Yuriko could tell their leader seemed quieter than usual. This was perfectly fine with Yuriko who simply wanted to blend into the background after enduring another evening of harassment by her "older" sister. On the other hand, Maki had been annoyed by Nabiki's lack of candor.

"She's scary," the little girl commented.

Nabiki, pulled from her painting by that statement, glanced up and then followed the gaze of Yuriko. Maki was sitting alone in a corner separated from her classmates.

'Yes, she is,' Nabiki agreed silently and then sighed, "She's mad."

"She wants to go back."

"So do I!" Nabiki hissed. 'I'm trying. What do they expect?' Yuriko looked like she might cry again so Nabiki groaned, "Sorry Yuriko." The little girl glanced over to where Maki was. For a few moments, they were distracted when another classmate came looking for one of their colors.

Once he had left with the jar, Nabiki sighed a little, glanced towards Maki, and said, "My fault."

"Huh?" another little girl nearby asked. Nabiki started waving her hand then stopped remembering it was covered in paint. Instead, she set about pushing paint over her paper again.

'Daddy was scary!' the five year old recalled. Soun Tendo had overheard his little girl swearing that morning. The fact that she had in point of fact shocked Nabiki more than it did her father. Had Ranma heard her? Would he cancel their afternoon workout? It was embarrassing. Nabiki was always one to maintain her decorum around others. Therefore, when her father took her hand and started down the hall, the little girl originally thought she was in for a spanking. Instead, she had been taken to the bathroom and presented with a bar of soap. Her father stood there with his arms crossed and didn't say a word. Recalling from a memory from childhood, Nabiki took the bar, wetted it, and rubbed a small finger on it. She then touched her soapy finger to her tongue. The taste still lingered even after rinsing her mouth thoroughly a minute later. She could have refused, but the little girl suspected that that would mean having to face Akane, not something she wished to do.

Nabiki grimaced slightly and looked around for some blue paint. 'I need to talk with Ranma.' She slopped some blue paint onto the thick sheet of construction paper the teacher had provided and smeared it about. 'Can't talk to Kasumi, the lump.' She pushed that unkind thought away although it didn't go very far. She knew her elder sister was doing what she could to support the family. 'I definitely don't want to tell Akane.' Nabiki had the very unsettling, possibly misguided, idea that if Akane were told, she'd most assuredly spank the little girl. Her now big sister was kind, tried very hard, but was still hot-tempered. Moreover, the five year old couldn't quite shake the feeling every time she was around Akane, that she was a burden.

"Nabiki?"

"Wha-?" Nabiki started, nearly knocking over a paint jar.

"Nabiki, time to clean up," the teacher instructed.

"H... 'Kay." Yuriko was looking at her with a worried expression. Maki was glaring at her. It was rather disconcerting.

# # # # #

Ranma Saotome sat slumped at his desk in Furinkan High School. His mind was not on the lecture, even though the subject was slightly interesting. His mind kept wandering back to the pond, to his father. To Akane. The teen glanced over to where she was sitting. She caught his eye and looked away. She appeared concerned.

'Sorta nice,' he thought to himself. His fiancée seemed less tomboyish the last couple of days. 'At least, she didn't tease me. Seemed a little exasperated though.' The pigtailed martial artist couldn't blame her. 'But what am I going to do?' He tried to think it through. 'Okay, I change into a little kid. It was a fluke, right? But twice?' Ranma turned his mind away from that. 'Okay and then this little kid's there. What is Nabiki and the others up to?' Again, he set that aside. He didn't know and didn't really want to think about such an unpleasant thing.

'Kuno... Kuno's the same.' That, at any rate, was reassuring, 'And Ukyo too.' He considered but couldn't think of anything. Ranma might have gone back to something more appealing like thinking about "The Art" when an all too familiar battle cry made him smile.

"RANMA SAOTOME! PREPARE TO DIE!" It was Ryouga.

# # # # #

Akane Tendo shifted the bucket of water hanging from her hand fuming the entire time. "I can't believe Ryouga did this to me!" she grumbled. Not getting any response from her companion, she turned to see Ranma staring at the sloshing contents with a mixture of horror and confusion.

"Don't worry, Ranma. It isn't going to leap out of the bucket." Ranma gave her a sickly smile. She smiled back which seemed to have the effect of brightening his mood a little. "I hope Ryouga's good and lost!"

"Er... Ain't you gonna blame this on me?" the pigtailed martial artist asked.

"Why would I do that?" Akane questioned with surprise.

# # # # #

"Because, you're always doin' that, Mommy," her middle daughter interrupted. Ranma and Soun smirked as Akane glowered at the youngster. "Um... Maybe not..."

Before Ranma could continue, a knock came at the front door. "I'll go see who that is," Soun announced. He got up then shuffled from the room. After a few moments, he returned, a grin on his face.

"Who was it, Mr. Tendo?" Ranma asked.

"Me!" said a chipper voice and Nabiki Tendo popped into the room.

"Ah nuts!" huffed the second youngest. "There goes the story."

"And hello to you, too," Nabiki declared and gently patted her young niece on the head. Then turned to her sister and asked, "What story?"

"It's HIS story, Nabiki," Akane replied and pointed at her husband. The middle Tendo daughter cocked a quizzical eyebrow. Ranma for his part just grinned and motioned to his sister-in-law to sit down.

"Well?" Nabiki prompted.

# # # # #

Ranma just regarded her speechless for a moment and then commented, "You always do." Akane developed an expression on her face that indicated she was going to beat him senseless with the bucket. A splash of water striking her shoes made her remember what was in the bucket. She sighed. "Don't you, Akane?"

"Well, most of the time it IS your fault, Ranma," she huffed. "But this time, Ryouga burst into class and you weren't doing a thing."

He was puzzled but turned his attention to holding the two buckets of water placed in his charge. Their teacher hadn't taken the incident very well. The brunette turned back to her own thoughts and for a few moments, the hallway outside their classroom was quiet except for the muffled sounds of lessons in the neighboring classes.

"Um Ranma, do you think Nabiki's been acting odd?"

"Yeah, she ain't tried to blackmail me all day." Akane stifled a giggle. "Well, she hasn't."

"True, she's usually wants you to buy her some ice cream or something." He was about to respond that that wasn't what he had meant when Akane pointed out, "You've been acting odd too. What's wrong?"

'Oh jeez!' Ranma thought beginning to panic, 'What do I do now?' He stared up at the ceiling for a few moments, then he noticed that Akane was staring at him. Nervously, he sat down one bucket and put a hand behind his head. "Well... You see, Akane... Nah, you wouldn't believe me."

"Try me." That was a clear challenge.

"Okay, I turn into a little kid."

"Nothing new there," Akane said dismissively.

"I should actually turn into a teenage girl."

Much to his surprise, his fiancée donned an interested expression at that point. "So, Ranma," she began, sounding a little excited, "You figure if you can't get rid of your curse, you'll modify it to be the same age?" Before he could think of anything to say, their teacher called them back into class.

# # # # #

Nabiki Tendo squirmed as Akane dressed her in her gi for that afternoon's workout. "My, you're full of energy today, Nabiki," Akane commented with a grin.

"Yep!" the little girl chirped and giggled as her sister reached a ticklish spot.

"How was school?"

"Good," and then Nabiki added, "Maki needs a timeout though."

"How come?"

"Grumpy!"

"She was grumpy?" The little girl nodded. "Why?"

"She wet the bed," was the reply. "And her mommy gots mad." She considered the older girl for a few moments. "Akane, would you get mad?"

"Only if you did it on purpose, Nabiki," her sister answered, "So her mommy got mad?"

"Yeah," Nabiki chirped, trying very hard to keep still. "Maki said so." Then again, her friend had said that her mother had whacked her. Nabiki highly doubted this considering the ten years she's known their family. 'Maki's just grumpy 'cause she's little again.' Then she mused, 'Not that I want to stay this way but at least I'm five.' It could have been worse. "I don't wet the bed. I'm a big girl."

"That's right," the teenager agreed then commented, "Ranma was hoping he could be older too."

"Really?" Nabiki asked with interest.

"Really," Akane affirmed. Then she gave her little sister an affectionate swat on the bottom. "Go on, Nabiki. Workout all that energy." Giggling, the five year old skipped out of the room.

# # # # #

Nabiki arrived downstairs to find a commotion in progress. Ranma was being chased by Shampoo.

"Ranma date Shampoo! Go with now so have good time!"

"No way, Shampoo!" he shouted and darted around the corner of the house. Shampoo was in hot pursuit.

"Wait for me!" Nabiki squeaked and rushed after them, her little legs pounding. She arrived just in time to see the purple-haired girl tackle Ranma about the legs. The pigtailed martial artist, by either bad luck or misfortune, fell into the pond. Nabiki waited to see if the Chinese Amazon would get splashed as well but it was not to be.

"Nihau!" Shampoo squeaked with delight and hauled a struggled and cursing Ranma to her. All Nabiki could see was a red squirming bundle. "Ramy now play?"

"Ramy?" Nabiki wondered and then rushed forward.

"Git off!" Ranma shouted in a high-pitched voice.

"You gonna turn into a kitty?" Nabiki asked.

"Aiya!" Shampoo gasped and dropped the little redhead who landed with a thud. The five year old tried hard not to giggle. She approached closer to have a good look at transformed child. As the pigtailed girl stood, Nabiki observed that Ranma was an inch or so shorter than her.

"Stupid shirt!" Ranma grumbled and shed if off.

"Ramy nakey!" Shampoo cooed. Nabiki gaped. It took a few moments to understand that she was standing exposed.

"Eep!" the redhead commented and rushed for the house, her white bottom intermittently flashing. Nabiki doubled over with a fit of giggles. Thankfully, Akane saved Ranma, although not his pride. She appeared holding a pink dress and a set of underpants.

"Oh come here, Ranma," Akane commanded. "You can play with Nabiki for awhile."

Ranma was too stunned to protest and soon, she found herself dressed in said pink dress and underpants. Both seemed to fit well. The five year old collapsed to the ground laughing, hardly able to breathe.

Ranma fumed; Shampoo just grinned. When Nabiki had sufficiently recovered, she pushed herself up and tried very hard not to laugh. It was a challenge.

"Nabiki get ball," Shampoo suggested, "We play catch with Ramy." This just set the child off into another fit of giggles. Eventually Nabiki got herself somewhat under control and she went off in search of a ball.

By the time she returned, Ranma, still in his little girl form, seemed in better spirits. Something had obviously been said to the redhead. At least Nabiki thought so because Ranma got into the game, and even seemed to like wearing the dress. She might have spent time trying to puzzle out this conundrum but the game and the ensuing fun quickly distracted her from any worries.

# # # # #

Ranma was, to say the least, upset when he finally was allowed to change back to normal. Once again, he had transformed into a cute little girl. One smaller to his dismay even than the miniature version of Nabiki. What fueled his anger was that fact that he had liked playing with the two girls. "I betcha this is the old letch's fault!" a quite wet and decidedly male Ranma declared as he sat down heavily at the low table. "Damn pervert wasn't happy making me weak, hasta make me look little too!"

"Ranma!" Akane hissed, sending a meaningful look towards her little sister. She'd have to warn him about watching his language in front of Nabiki. Nevertheless, the pigtailed martial artist ignored her.

"You not s'pposed to be little?" Nabiki asked, a slight frown creasing her brow.

"Don't worry, Nabsy," Akane began, making the little girl frown even more, "Ranma's a little grumpy. Ryouga attacked him at school today." She gave the youngster a smile. "Ranma still likes to play games with you... Now eat up or else your supper will get cold."

He sent a dark look towards the teen muttered something, and then told Nabiki, "Yeah, I'm supposed to stay sixteen when I change."

The five year old suddenly felt very sad. "Don'tcha wanna be my friend?"

"Ranma, see what you did?" Akane demanded of him in a loud whisper.

"Oh come on, Akane. This has gone far enough," Ranma declared, causing everyone at the table to stare at him. "Where in the world is the REAL Nabiki? What are you guys all up to?"

"Son?" Genma asked, for once in human form.

"What do you mean, Ranma?" Soun asked, looking as if he might burst into tears, "Is something wrong with my sweet little Nabiki?"

Kasumi put an elbow on the table, rested her chin in her hand, and with the other tapped Nabiki hard on the head while saying, "She's right here, Father."

"Ow!" Nabiki complained and gave her oldest sister an annoyed look.

"See?" asked Kasumi.

"What do you mean by 'the real Nabiki?'" Akane questioned, looking both puzzled and a little worried.

"Well for starters," Ranma ranted, "She shouldn't be five."

"I'm not?" Nabiki questioned.

"Because you're supposed to be older than me."

"He's lost his mind. What's a father to do? Tendo, please forgive me," Genma commented to his longtime friend. That drove the father over the edge and into a fountain of tears.

"Shut up, old man."

"Meow!" Genma replied which got the reaction he had been looking for. Ranma had shot to the other side of the room. Nabiki giggled. She couldn't help it and then felt a little guilty.

"Don'tcha like me no more, Ranma?" the child asked softly.

The martial artist didn't even pause to think. "No," he stated emphatically. The little girl's face crumpled up, she sniffled, and then burst into a flood of tears that outdid Soun's.

"RAN-MA!" thundered a towering Akane swinging a large mallet, produced seemingly from nowhere, over her head.

'Urk!' was Ranma's only thought before the blow landed.

# # # # #

Luckily for the young martial artist, the blow never connected. At the last instant, Akane jerked the mallet away and let it sail out of her hands. Unfortunately for Genma, said mallet hit him knocking him out cold. Ranma blinked.

"Sorry, Mr. Saotome." Akane turned back to Ranma. "I promised Nabiki I wouldn't hit you," she remarked. "Ranma, Nabiki's been a good girl all day. Unless you know something she did wrong, I think you should apologize to her."

Ranma blinked again. He was still waiting for the uncute tomboy to hit him. He glanced at his unconscious father and then at Nabiki, whose initial burst of tears had subsided into hiccupping sniffles. He sighed and walked over to where the little girl was. The youngster glared at him; he didn't blame her.

"Sorry, kiddo," Ranma apologized, "Didn't mean it."

"You like me?" Nabiki asked again, sounding as if she'd burst into a fresh set of tears at any moment.

He gave this serious consideration. 'Nabiki can sure be difficult. She has helped out though.' It wasn't that he hated the mercenary girl; he just didn't like some of the crap she pulled. "Sure I do, Nabiki," he said and patted her gently on the head. "I just had a bad day and got mad at ya. Like I said, didn't mean to hurt ya or nothing." The little girl wasn't about to forgive Ranma completely but he had apologized.

"I wanna hug," Nabiki requested and got one. After that, supper continued.

During the rest of the meal, Nabiki considered what she had learned. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to find out if the Ranma sitting at the table was the Ranma she knew or the other Ranma, the one that belonged to this reality. The youngster didn't have to wait long for the opportunity to find out.

After supper, the two fathers left the house saying they'd be gone a while. Nabiki suspected she knew where they were going. Meanwhile, Akane prodded Kasumi into helping her with the dishes so it was up to Ranma to watch the youngest Tendo daughter.

When she thought that her two older sisters were sufficiently occupied washing dishes, Nabiki padded around the table. She sat down beside Ranma who was flipping through channels. "Ran-ma?" He laid the remote down and turned his attention to the five year old.

"Do you 'member when you fought that prince guy?"

"Which one?" Ranma asked.

"Of Illuthions," Nabiki supplied. She winced as she mangled the last word.

"Oh, monkey boy."

"Yeah, him."

"Yeah. What about it, Nabiki?" Ranma asked.

"Well..." Nabiki glanced about to make sure that nobody was around. "You blew up the spring... BOOM!" She giggled and tried to stifle it. "You messed up your chance to stop being a girl, right?"

The teen gaped at her for several seconds before asking, "Yeah but... Hey wait... How do you know about that?"

"We all went on Kuno's boat. I was wearin' a real pretty bathing suit and stuff."

"That was some fun, huh?"

"Fun?" Nabiki asked with a dubious expression but then took a deep breath and continued, "Ranma, Akane didn't wanna be your girlfriend no more, right? So I took over and you chased me into a maze and grabbed her, right?"

"Hey!" The martial-artist exclaimed and stared at the little girl.

"What's all the fuss?" Akane asked, coming into the room.

"Nothing," Nabiki and Ranma both said. They regarded each other and grinned.

"Nabiki was just tellin' me a story."

"Oh... Okay then. Just keep it down to a dull roar, will ya?" Akane turned around and left the room. They waited until they were sure she was gone.

"Are you the real Nabiki?"

"Are you the real Ranma?" Nabiki asked in return.

Ranma thought for a moment and said, "Well if you are the real Nabiki, you know what I asked you when I borrowed that money from you for Akane's Christmas present."

"Sure," the child chirped. "You wanted to know if I'd stiff you on the in-int-interest again. I didn't."

"Oh man!" Ranma moaned, "So this ain't just me!" Nabiki blinked but didn't say anything. "I thought I was going nuts. Couldn't figure out why Pop and Akane weren't acting like me changing into a little kid was weird. Shampoo and Ukyo seemed okay. Heck, even Ryouga was the same." He gave Nabiki a look. "But you..."

"Did you think I set this up?" the little girl asked.

"Most of it," he answered after a moment.

"Ranma, I might be sneaky but not that sneaky," Nabiki declared, although she felt rather proud that Ranma thought her intelligent enough to cook something this big up. "'Sides, no gain. 'N' who'd wanna be five again?"

"Uh, about before..." Ranma was looking nervous. Nabiki got up and settled into his lap making him even more nervous.

"You did say you were sorry," Nabiki supplied, "'N' I think you meant it."

"I was mad," Ranma said, "But not at you, Nabiki. So what happened?"

Before Nabiki could respond, Akane appeared again. "Well, I'm glad you two have made up. Nabiki, if you want to watch that movie tonight, you'll have to take your bath now."

"Movie?" he questioned.

"Akane, can Ranma watch me?" Nabiki asked and then commented, "Kasumi's boring! Please?"

"Well Ranma?"

"I guess..." he reluctantly agreed and then mumbled so that only Nabiki could hear, "Are you sure?"

"Come on, Ranma. Gotta get my stuff." She grabbed his hand. Bewildered, Ranma let the little girl lead him from the room.

A short time later, Nabiki and Ranma were in the outer room to the furo. The little girl was glaring up at Ranma with undisguised exasperation.

"You can't watch me from out in the hall," she told him sternly.

"Doesn't it bother you that I'll see you naked?" Ranma asked plaintively.

"Don't worry 'bout it," Nabiki replied although she blushed a little. "This body ain't worried unless I really thinks 'bout it." She regarded Ranma and said seriously, "Ranma, you're a girl too... sometimes." He seemed unconvinced. She looked down at her socked feet and offered, "'Sides, I'm five, and I sometimes get carried away. It's weird. I might wanna try diving into the furo." Ranma winced. "I won't though."

"Akane could've watched you," the pigtailed martial artist countered.

"Sure but we need to talk 'n' stuff, right?" The youngster looked up at Ranma. "I know you're ain't a per... that word what Akane says you are sometimes." He got a sour expression on his face, which made her giggle. "Just watch me. I promise to be good."

"Why?"

She stared him with round eyes. "You don't get it, do ya?"

"What?"

"If I'm naughty, somebody's gonna lower the boom. That includes you." Ranma blinked so she related the incident about the rice. She certainly didn't want to follow in Yuriko's footsteps.

"Wish I could have seen that, Nabiki," he mused with a smirk. "Okay, kiddo, you're gonna have to help me though." The little girl just smiled at him and raised her arms so her T-shirt could slide off.

Sometime later, Nabiki was splashing happily in the furo. Once her initial burst of energy had passed, she stopped and rested her arms on the side of the tub and put her chin on them. "Well, Ranma, I s'ppose we can talk now."

"Guess so," he agreed. "So what happened?" This question produced a story in which little Nabiki felt compelled to act out. Her narration came to an abrupt halt when Ranma leapt to his feet and started for the door.

"Hey, where are ya goin'?" Nabiki demanded.

"I gotta a score to settle with that monster. That's what got me and if I pound the snot out of it, things should be back to normal."

"But... Ranma, you can't!"

"Huh? Don't you wanna change back, Nabiki?" Ranma asked.

"Yeah I do," she answered. She knelt in the water her head barely above the surface of the water. "Ranma, if you take off now, Akane's going to have a fit. You're already making her susp-suspicious."

"That's bad, ain't it?"

"Yes!" Ranma came back. "Look, beating it up may not fix stuff. If you kill it, we may be stuck like this."

"Oh man!" The little girl nodded.

"We won't have long though. Ain't no way you'll be able to keep it up, Ranma."

"Hey!" Ranma squawked. "I can handle anything!"

"Oh yeah?" Nabiki asked.

"Yeah!"

"Okay, smart guy, what if I earn a spanking?"

"Won't happen."

"I ain't so sure. It's getting harder to think like a big girl. That's why I need your help, Ranma. Please?"

He didn't want to talk about it so asked, "What if we get you dried, and then you can watch that movie?" 'I'll just wait until she's asleep and then sneak out of the house.'

"'Kay!" Nabiki chirped and scrambled from the tub.

# # # # #

Late that night, at least it seemed to Nabiki, she was roused from a sound sleep by something. At first, she lay there trying to determine what it was.

'Well,' Nabiki mused, 'I don't have to use the bathroom.' She checked herself. 'And I'm not wet.' That was a good sign. 'But what woke me up?' At first, she assumed it might have been the wind but as she lay there, she could hear voices. Still clutching the stuffed panda, she padded to her open door and listened. It was Akane's voice, and somebody else. It took her still sleep-clouded brain to figure out that the next voice was of Ranma, although in his much smaller girl form.

"It was scary!" the high-pitched voice whined plaintively.

"Ranma," Akane began, "I know it was but it's okay now. You're home."

Curious, Nabiki crept down the hallway cautiously. "How on earth did you get soaked?" her sister demanded. The voices were getting closer. Squatting down, Nabiki inched her head around the corner and saw Akane carrying a smaller version of Ranma up the stairs.

"Monster!" Ranma declared and hid her face against Akane. The teen hugged what appeared to be a frightened child.

"Shh! It's okay. You don't wanna wake up Nabiki." Ranma, much to Nabiki's surprise, sniffled and shook her head. "There there, honey." Akane smoothed some of Ranma's matted hair. "You wait here and I'll get you a towel."

"NO!" Ranma uncharacteristically wailed and clung to Akane, "It'll get me!"

Nabiki's heart leapt into her throat as her imagination suddenly went into overdrive. "EEE!" she squeaked, dropped the stuff panda she was holding, fled around the corner, and rushed headlong towards Akane. Even before the teen could say anything, Nabiki had wrapped her arms around her sister's legs.

"Oh jeez!" the sixteen year old grumbled. Ranma, for his part, squirmed out of the teenager's arms and dropped to the floor. After a moment, the child flung her arms around Nabiki and started to cry again. It took Akane a few minutes to get untangled from the pair. "Ranma?"

"Wha-?" the little girl replied.

"Wanna stay with Nabiki tonight?"

Nabiki blinked in surprise and then was even more startled when Ranma nodded she did. "She looked after me."

"Nabiki, go back to bed while I get Ranma ready."

'Into that dark room?' Nabiki wondered. "Not on your life!" It seemed her older sister was in a good humor because Akane didn't explode at that point. Soon the child found herself in the middle with a stuffed panda on one side and a soundly sleeping Ranma on the other.

Yawning, Nabiki let her panda go and hugged Ranma before going off to sleep.

# # # # #

It wasn't until Saturday that any real action could be taken. Kasumi was still at work, Akane had gone off with her friends, and the two fathers were off somewhere so that just left Nabiki and Ranma home alone.

Ranma had gone for a change so wore an orange sleeveless shirt and black pants. Nabiki was dressed in a set of green overalls and a blue shirt.

"This is new for me," Nabiki remarked between mouthfuls of food, "Akane usually gets attacked 'n' stuff."

"Hmmm..." Ranma mumbled in a distracted tone. The little girl frowned.

"Think we should see Cologne?"

"The Old Ghoul? Why not tell Akane?" Ranma asked.

Nabiki's eyes opened wide. "No way!" He frowned. "'Sides, Ranma, she would think I was just pretending."

"Then why go to Cologne?" Ranma wondered. "She might be behind this."

"I forgot."

There was silence for several seconds and then Ranma began, "What about..." Nabiki stopped her eating, several ramen noodles hanging from her mouth. "Well, Nabiki, Dr. Tofu might know something I suppose. He knows a lot about all kinds of stuff. Besides, he's a lot friendlier than the Old Ghoul."

The five year old mumbled something around the noodles then swallowed. "Can we go now, Ranma?"

"Okay, finish up then we'll go for a walk." There was a moment's silence and then Ranma asked, "Can I ask you something?"

"Wha?" Nabiki replied, a curious expression on her face.

"You seem to like working out with me."

"Yeah, it's fun!" Nabiki beamed. Ranma only frowned. "What's wrong?" she questioned, her voice becoming worried.

"You seem to like me too." The little girl just smiled and went back to finishing her lunch.

The duo was just heading out the door when Akane came in. "Hi you two, where are you going?"

"Ice cream!" Nabiki squealed happily.

"Hey!" Ranma exclaimed, "I didn't say nothin' about ice cream."

"Oh pooh, Ranma!" Nabiki said, "Don't be a meanie!" Akane cocked an eyebrow.

"I asked if you wanted to go for a walk. Didn't say nothing about no treats." Her bottom lip shot out in a pout.

"Guess she doesn't want to go, Ranma," Akane commented. The five year old pouted even more and crossed her arms.

"What about getting some on the way back, Nabsy?" Akane sighed and shook her head.

"Yeah!" Nabiki cheered and giggling, ran out of the house.

"Ranma, you give in way too easy." 'He'll be a great father someday.'

"And you want to keep her here where she'll sulk?"

"Uh... no. Of course not," Akane admitted and produced some money, "Take your time. I'm gonna like having the house to myself for a few hours." He just grinned.

"Thanks!" Then he rushed off after Nabiki who was standing with an impatient expression on her face at the end of the gate.

# # # # #

Nabiki was squealing with a mixture of terror and delight as Ranma moved along the fence-tops at a fair speed. She was sitting upon his shoulders, clinging tightly to his head.

"This is fun!" she declared. Why hadn't she tried this before? She then gave a yelp of fear and yanked rather hard on Ranma's hair as they vaulted over an intersection.

There were nearly to Dr. Tofu's clinic when Nabiki realized she needed to use the bathroom. 'I can't tell Ranma!' Nabiki worried, 'Hey, I ain't no baby. I can hold it until we get to Dr. Tofu's.'

End of Chapter 4

Coming in Chapter 5 - Not So Great Detectives