A/N as some of you might notice I am having trouble with formatting. The manager seems to keep losing my section breaks. Anyone who knows a way around this please e-mail me, thanks.

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Chapter 7

It was dinnertime at the Tendo-ke, Soun and Genma were sitting, heads close together, whispering conspiratorially and occasionally glancing at the two young people who had ousted them from their normal spot by the go board.

"Those idiots are planning something again," Nabiki whispered to Ranma.
"Sshh" he replied "planning"
"Yeah right." She replied "I've seen your style before, its called seat-of-pants-fu"
"Then how come I'm winning?" he responded, making his move.
"Didn't say there was anything wrong with your style, and I think you should look again" Nabiki replied as she moved another tile.
"Ah, nasty, but I'm more worried about the flanking manoeuvre from over there" Ranma said waving at a different area of the board.
"Why Ranma, you actually can think strategically. Are you sure you're Genma's son?" Nabiki replied finding her play blocked.
"Nah, only got his word fer it." He replied. "An ya still got me in four.""Four?" she asked. Ranma pointed out a set of moves silently as she nodded along.
"Four" he said.
"What would you say if I said I hadn't considered that?" she asked
"Liar" he smirked back. She just tipped her head and smiled. She moved the table and took hold of his hand, pulling him close.
"To the victor the spoils." She whispered kissing him.
"Mmm" he replied "note to self, lose more often."
"Ahh my plan proceeds apace" she replied in mock evil overlord.
Just then Akane came downstairs. "Something's beeping in your room, pervert," she said before going into the kitchen. Nabiki and Ranma shared a look.
"No, not already," she whispered
"Maybe not, but I've gotta check," he said before bounding upstairs.

"Dad, Akane's in the kitchen again. " Nabiki said to her father. This prompted a panicked look from the dumb duo who immediately legged it after the ambulatory culinary disaster zone.
"Why don't you practise some more dear?" pleaded Soun
"Growf" added Genma, having walked straight into the stream of the tap Akane had already managed to mangle.
Fortunately it was at that moment Kasumi arrived bearing the dinner. Behind her came her husband Doctor Tofu Ono, a tall well built man in a suit and spectacles. From their body language you could tell that something was up, Tofu's shoulders were visibly slumped.

"Hey Doc what's up?" asked Nabiki.
"The firm needs me to go away tomorrow" he replied.
"I thought you were out of that lot?" Nabiki asked.
"One last trip." He said, depression rolling off him.
"But a long one huh?" Nabiki asked, already knowing the answer.
"Uh-huh." He replied
"Can't someone else go?" she asked
"This one's too important to leave to anyone else." Tofu replied with more determination in his voice. "I don't think Kasumi understands," he added sadly.
"She doesn't understand, but you know that doesn't matter," Nabiki reassured him. "She loves you and trusts you, I severely doubt that she blames you in the slightest. WE may not know who you work for but we do now that it must be important to take you away from her, especially now." Nabiki had moved to look directly at him.
"Thanks Nabiki, sometimes it all just gets a bit much you know." He said gratefully.
"Hey I'll put the counselling on your tab." She teased
"And just where did you learn that sort of thing in the first place," he asked starting to smile.
"A book called Salariman 101, So Your Wife Hates You." Nabiki replied.
"Really?" he asked.
"Wanna borrow it?" she asked only half serious
"Maybe." He replied.
"Four Hundred Yen" she teased, hand out. Then she turned to watch Ranma come down the stairs. His form mirrored Ono's from a moment before, dejection. "Bad news?" she asked quietly, already knowing the answer. At the same time she missed Tofu's look of surprise.

"The worst," Ranma replied raising his head to meet her eyes, "I gotta be at the airport for five tomorrow morning."
"No, tomorrow, that's not fair." She said dipping her head and so missing Ranma's own look of shock and surprised recognition. "Never mind," she said moving to him "you WILL come back, won't you?" she finished quietly, holding his hands.
"If I can," he replied. "And I promise not to let up trying while I breathe." She just kissed him; trying to pass on all the words they wouldn't have time to say.
"Uh-hum" coughed Soun from the kitchen door. "What do you think you are doing to my daughter?"
"Not now dad." Nabiki said, waving her father down, before kissing Ranma again.
"Oh my" said Kasumi from the recently vacated doorway, "should you really be doing that before you are married?" This finally caused the two to break off their kiss, standing for a moment with their foreheads pressed tenderly together. Afterwards they turned and moved to sit, still holding hands.

"Hiya Doc" Ranma said to Tofu as he sat down "Fancy meeting you here."
"Hello Captain," Tofu replied, "I never made the connection, silly really there can't be that many Saotomes"
"Glad to hear it, fewer people associating me with Fatso the better." Ranma replied. "You belong to Kasumi I take it?"
"Belong, yes well I guess I do," Tofu said, his glasses starting to fog, "Very much so, isn't that true Betty." He turned to say to the nobody next to him.
"Don't set him off," whispered Nabiki, her mind working frantically at the new information. "How could the two have met before, unless… Tofu was in the same service? Nice, quiet, family-man, Tofu was a drugged killer like Ranma? No he couldn't be."

"Tofu, can I ask you a question?" Nabiki asked. "How is it that you know Ranma here?" she knew that if she was correct about the two of them being in joint service then Tofu couldn't answer but the question itself would provide some information. Indeed no sooner had she made her inquiry when Ranma and Tofu shared an alarmed look. For a secret organisation this X-com really needed to beef up security training.

"Uh, we met at a conference in, uh Osaka, yes Osaka." Tofu lied. Nabiki did not believe a word of it.
"Just one more question Tofu, and I expect a truthful answer to this one." Nabiki added, her face becoming deadly serious. "Are you taking the same supplements Ranma is?"
"No," replied Tofu "It is not required of those in support roles." He was just as serious. Then he turned to Ranma "how did she find out?"
"By nosing around in places she shouldn't." Ranma answered, but he was smiling, and finished by picking up Nabiki's hand again.

Dinner was a subdued affair. It took several minutes for Kasumi and Tofu to actually start smiling at each other again. Nabiki and Ranma were sharing their own looks. All of them however were occasionally interrupted by Akane. She was attempting to emulate the chopstick-spinning technique from lunchtime, and failing. The result was flying chopsticks, seemingly always headed for something that would splash or at someone's eyes. The one exception was the chopstick that had bounced off the table and into Genma's ear, a fact that he had yet to register.

"Damn, its impossible!" swore Akane, after yet another stick went skywards. Ranma caught it, before it landed in the sauce, and handed it wordlessly to Nabiki. Nabiki looked at Akane, raised the stick and span it. First one way then the other, before returning it to her sister. All the while she maintained her Ice-queen façade, only her eyes revealed her mirth.

"You cheated!" Akane shouted, breaking her other stick in her hand.

"Thank you for the meal Kasumi, Tendo-san. Now if you will excuse me I have some packing to do." Ranma said politely, before standing and heading upstairs. Any suggestion that he was leaving rather than insulting gorilla-girl would have been pure speculation. Nabiki excused herself a few moments later and followed Ranma.

As she reached his door she found it open and Ranma slowly repacking his gear. "What are your chances?" she asked.
"Huh?" he responded
"This 'big one' its dangerous I got that much. Whatever it is that you and Tofu are up to, you clearly feel there is a chance you won't come back. I'm just asking for some odds." Nabiki explained.
"Truth is I don't know, there are several different options for the mission, and the survival rates vary." Ranma replied, but Nabiki could tell he was dodging the question.
"None of them are very good are they?" she asked, her mask cracking.
"No" he replied, "not really." She ran to him, he stood and wrapped hr in his arms. For a while she just lost herself in his embrace, one hand holding her the other gently stroking her hair. Her tears ran hot onto his shoulder.
"'S not fair" she whispered.
"Never is, Biki-chan" he whispered back. They held each other for a while longer, and then Nabiki sniffed.
"Better get on with this?" she moved to help, he pulled her back.
"It can wait." He kissed her again.

A while later the two of them returned downstairs to the front room. Nabiki had helped him pack, and between that and the tickling, kissing and play fighting they had been away for at least a couple of hours. The fact that Nabiki was rather red in the face and limping slightly combined with their absence to cement certain opinions in people's minds.

"Wahh, My daughter is sleeping around in my own house. She has sold her virtue for a few kind words. WAAAH my daughter's a – "Don't even think it Tendo," Ranma interrupted, hauling Soun towards him. Soun shut up. Nabiki smiled. Akane came running in
"Get your perverted hands off my father!" she commanded swinging madly. Ranma dodged effortlessly, and politely refrained from using the Tendo patriarch as a body shield.
"Hey nutbar, you gonna give up yet, or do I haveta point out that your pants are on backwards." Ranma asked while still dodging both Soun and himself. Akane of course immediately looked down, unbalanced and did a forward roll into the wall. Her head connected with a resounding 'thunk' like so much lumber.
"klutz." He remarked before putting Soun down.
"Lets go for a walk" Nabiki suggested. When Ranma didn't object she grabbed him by the arm and off they went.
"They are following us ya know" he said to her
"That's the plan" Nabiki replied, cuddling closer.
"Huh?" Ranma asked.
"Kasumi and Tofu needed to sort a few things out, this makes it easier."
"You Are good" he snuggled, inhaling. The moment was broken by a cat's screech and a dustbin's crash. Ranma laughed "No offence but your sister is really clumsy. Are you sure she's related?"
"What do you mean?" Nabiki asked, not really thinking.
"I mean look at you, all grace, beauty and control n stuff" he said his voice dropping off.
"Flattery will get you anywhere," she whispered back, finishing with a kiss.
"You wanna lose the audience?" he asked with a naughty glint
"Kasumi." She pointed out.
"Damn!" he whispered.
"Now come on soldier boy, the lights are meant to be really pretty from up here," Nabiki said, leading him up the hill.

At the top they stopped in a small pagoda and sat arm in arm watching the lights twinkle. Suddenly there was a flash and a roll of thunder. Rain soon followed.

"I love the rain" Nabiki said, head resting on his shoulder.
"Specially when some people ain't got no shelter," Ranma whispered, smirking and giving her a kiss on top of her head.

When the procession returned Ranma and Nabiki were laughing and running, behind them came the others, drenched from being caught out in the sudden downpour. Of course the fat tat Ranma and Nabiki shut the door, firmly, as they came in might not exactly be helpful.
"You get dried up, I'll check on Kasumi." Nabiki said
"I was gonna get a bath, they ain't exactly common on base." Ranma said.
"Okay, knock yourself out." Nabiki finished pulling him in for a kiss. As she walked off to the phone his eyes never left her backside. She stopped "uh-hum, bath upstairs stud," she said, looking over her shoulder through her bangs.

While Ranma relaxed in the bath the others gruped their way inside, and dispersed to their rooms. By the time Ranma finished his bath Akane was already sealed in her bedroom and the parental prats were ensconced around the go board, drinking themselves unconscious. Ranma crept over and looked into Nabiki's room. He called her a couple of times, and got no reponse. Figuring she had fallen asleep he shrugged and went to his own room. Only to find Nabiki waiting for him.

"Took your time Saotome. Now shut the door and come to bed." She ordered. So he did.

When Ranma awoke he was still wrapped around the delightful form of his own sleeping beauty. He kissed her gently and untangled himself. He took a few moments to gather his clothes and moved to the door to go dress in the furoba. As he looked back at Nabiki he saw she had rolled onto her belly and was watching him. He stopped, kissed her once more and left, trying hard to ignore the shimmer in her eyes.

At the airport he met Tofu and two others together they took a helicopter out towards the uncertain future.