Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ nor do I own the Legacy of Kain series but that will change after I built my own Chronoplast room and travel back in time.
((Thoughts))
"Dialogue"
/Telepathy/
'Panda signs'
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"Nabiki…"
Ranma looked warmly at the sleeping girl; he never would have expected her to care about him even if he saved her last night. He slowly stood up and noticed for the first time that he was only wearing his boxers. He began searching for his clothes, all the while sneaking around because he didn't want to wake Nabiki. Ranma didn't find anything though,
"Just where the hell are they?" he whispered to himself
"If you are looking for your clothes, don't bother, I threw them away." said a voice behind Ranma
The pig-tailed martial artist almost jumped to the ceiling in shock, he quickly turned around to see Dr. Tofu standing in the door, looking sheepishly.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." said the doctor
((God, I wish I would know how he's always doing this.)) thought Ranma and then replied, "Don't worry doc, I should have paid more attention. Now... did I understand you wrong or did you really say that you threw my clothes away?"
"They had several rips in them and they were blood stained, so I threw them away."
"Then what should I wear? I can't go back to the dojo like this." stated Ranma while gesturing at his boxers with his hands
"You can have one of my gi; they may be a bit too big for you, though."
"Thanks, I really appreciate it."
"No need to thank me, Ranma." replied the doctor with a friendly smile
"Hey, doc."
"What is it?"
"How long was I out?"
"Almost the whole day, the sun is already setting."
"Really?" asked Ranma surprised, ((Did I really spend so much time talking to that man?))
"Really, when I came to the school you were in a state of shock, I used a shiatsu point to make you unconscious. I was really surprised that it lasted this long, it effects should have faded after an hour." said Tofu thoughtfully
((They probably did but this guy certainly kept me asleep.)) considered Ranma in his mind, "Did Nabiki stay here all the time?"
"Yes, I told her that she should go back to school or at least back to the dojo but she persisted to stay with you."
Ranma smiled at this, he didn't know many people who would care about him like that… okay, he knew no one who would do that, except maybe his mother.
"Ranma, is that you?" said a voice from the side
Both men turned in that direction and saw the now awake Nabiki who looked at them with sleepy eyes.
"Yeah, I stood up some minutes ago." replied Ranma, "We can go back to the dojo after I am dressed."
"Okay, I'm waiting for you here." said Nabiki while stretching a little and giving of a yawn
Ranma went with Dr. Tofu to get the clothes, after some time they came back down and the teenagers said their farewell to the doctor. On the way back home both of them talked about the events of the day.
"Ranma, what happened to you at school?" asked Nabiki concerned, "You never used a weapon before and you almost killed Kuno."
"I don't know, I saw that you were in danger and suddenly this sword appeared. Everything went red before my eyes and I began fighting Kuno. The next coherent thought I had was when you yelled my name, then everything went black." answered Ranma, ((No need to tell her that I share my body with another soul…))
"Ranma, what else is wrong?" questioned Nabiki further
"Wha- What do you mean?" responded Ranma with several sweat drops appearing on his forehead, ((How the hell did she notice that I didn't tell her everything?!))
"Well, I mean that red glow surrounded you while you were asleep and that you mumbled some incoherent things too."
"Errr… what things did I say exactly?" asked Ranma, ((Please Kami-Sama, don't let her have heard what I discussed with this man!))
"Something about the neko-ken, demons and your soul… but I couldn't make anything out that would make sense."
"Oh yeah, I had such nightmares before when I was younger, mostly the first months after the Cat-fist training." said Ranma, ((Please let her buy it!!))
"Hmmm… then what about the strange glow?" asked the girl again
"Errr... I don't know?"
"Come on, tell me what's going on, it's not like I'm going to sell it to others."
Ranma raised an eyebrow at this; his whole face expressed 'do you take me for an idiot?'
"What is it?! Why do you look at me like this?"
"Nabiki, think about the sentence you just said."
The girl's right eye began to twitch, "Ranma, for what do you take me?! You saved my life, do you really think that I'm still going to sell you out?!"
"Well, it's not like you indicated that anything changed." replied the young man
"Ranma, you may not know it but if someone gains my trust, he can always depend on me and you certainly did that."
"You don't have many friends Nabiki, do you?" asked Ranma
"What do you mean?"
"If someone needs to save your life to gain your trust you can't have many friends."
"Do you mean to say that no one would be willing to save me?!" said Nabiki in a sharp voice
Ranma was totally obvious to her angry tone, "No but I don't think that you often come into situations where you need to be saved."
"Oh…" Nabiki felt a bit embarrassed, she almost had a rage fit like her little sister, ((How can he be so insulting without even knowing?))
"Nabiki, you didn't answer my question."
"What que… oh yeah, about the friends!" said Nabiki and then lowered her head a little, "No, I don't have any friends."
Ranma now looked at Nabiki weirdly; he wasn't very serious with his question, "What about the girls that always hang around with you?"
"You mean Sakura and Yuki? They are only interested in the money I earn, not me."
"Then why aren't you ditching them, It's not like you need the girls."
"They are cheap workers." responded Nabiki while shrugging with her shoulders
"Oh…" was Ranma's intelligent answer and then looked down the street again, "Hey look, we're almost back!"
"Ranma?"
"Hmm?"
"What was that strange glow?" she asked with a small smile
((Damn, I thought she forgot that when I changed the subject! Well, maybe she is going to believe me…)) thought Ranma, "Do you really want to know?"
"Yes!"
"Well, then you have to wait a little bit longer, I don't want to tell you here on the streets."
"Why not?" questioned the girl curiously
"The usual, you know? Cross-dressing inanimate objects, rat-like ninjas, ancient perverts and ghouls, insane amazons and people without a sense of direction, they are all wandering around here."
"Okay, you have a point. Let's wait until we are back home."
It didn't take them long to reach the Tendo dojo and when they entered it a small surprise awaited them. In the living room Ranma's mother was sitting along with Kasumi, Soun and Genma.
Nodoka looked up to the teenagers and said, "Ranma, Nabiki, where have you been? We were worried about you!"
"Yes, boy!! What where you thinking staying away from home like this, we needed your help with the master!!" yelled Genma, earning a glare from his wife
"WAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Nabiki you are alive!!!!!" wailed the head of the Tendo clan
Kasumi didn't say anything but the two youths noticed the relieved look on her face.
That was when Nabiki replied, "Didn't Akane tell you?"
"Tell us what? She came home from school, went up to her room and stayed there for the rest of the day." responded Nodoka
"Well it was like this…" the middle Tendo daughter proceeded with retelling the events of the day (she left the talk she had with Ranma and what she heard and saw when he was asleep out, though), "…then we arrived back here."
At the end of the story, Mrs. Saotome and Kasumi were the only one's who were still listening; Genma was laying unconscious in the backyard because he threw a fit when he heard that HIS son used a weapon… Ranma quickly knocked him out. Soun was unconscious too but he passed out because lost too much water through his tears.
"Son are you okay, what about your injuries?" asked the worried Nodoka
"Injuries? I don't have any injuries… I would have noticed them when I got dressed."
Nabiki looked at Ranma oddly now, ((I know he was hurt in the fight against Kuno… His clothes were bloodied… I know he heals fast but this is ridiculous.))
"Ranma, Nabiki, why don't you go to the kitchen and eat something, Aunty and me saved some of the dinner for you." said Kasumi
"Yes son, I think too that you should eat, both of you had a long day and you should strengthen yourselves." came from Nodoka
"What are you and Kasumi going to do, mom?" asked Ranma
"We are going to bring these two…" she said pointing to the two unconscious men, "…back to their rooms."
"Shouldn't I help you with that?" questioned the martial artist
"No, you two go and eat, leave Genma and Soun to us!" replied Nodoka in a stern voice
"O- okay! Come on Nabiki!" responded Ranma while grabbing Nabiki by the arm and running to the kitchen
Nodoka turned back to Kasumi and said, "Well, now for your father and my husband…"
The kitchen…
Both teens were sitting at the table, eating.
Nabiki then asked Ranma, "So, we're alone, are we going to talk now?"
"What I'm going to tell you is a secret; I really hope that I can trust you." answered Ranma after swallowing his last bite
"I said it once and I say it again, you CAN trust me!"
"Good, I only hope you won't think that I'm insane… It started one month ago…" Ranma told her everything that happened the last month; about his dreams, visions and finally about his talk with strange soul that resides within him.
After almost two hours he was finished and Nabiki had a shocked look on her face, "You are going to die?"
"That's at least what he told me."
"How can you take that so calmly, that man said you are going to DIE!!" Nabiki could never accept death ever since her mother died, she was totally afraid of it
"Well, I won't die necessarily, I can still merge with that other soul." replied Ranma casually
"But you won't be you anymore, Ranma!"
"It's either that or death… I think the former is a better choice."
"Come on Ranma, can you even trust this being? That was the first time you talked with it, how can you know if it's trustworthy?!" questioned Nabiki loudly, "It could be some kind of monster that trying to get your body!"
"It's not like I have much of a choice, besides I felt that I could trust him, he radiated a sense of honor I never saw before."
"I still can't understand how you can accept death so easily…" said Nabiki on the verge of tears
Ranma in one of his moments of not being completely unaware of the emotions of others noticed Nabiki's condition. He walked to the girl and hugged her,
"Nabiki, why are you so sad?"
"It's just that I don't want to lose another person I care about… It was terrible enough when I lost mother but I couldn't bear it to lose the first friend I ever had."
"How about this, I swear that I will be there for you for all eternity, if you ever need me."
Hearing this, Nabiki looked up from Ranma's shoulder and into his eyes; she quickly shot forward and kissed him on the lips,
"Thank you!" and with this words the girl ran to her room
Ranma had a glazed look on his face and touched his lips with his fingers,
"She kissed me…"
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